Downloadable Firmware Upgrade for BR-HD50U

[Carl Hicks]

JVC has announced that a firmware update for the BR-HD50U is available that provides 3 important enhancements:

• Optimization for the recently announced Final Cut Pro upgrade 5.1.2 (adds native 24p and 25p support with FCP)
  
• Adds 60p/50p record and playback capability (records encoded signals via 1394)
  
• Ability to clone tapes when recording from GY-HD100U/110U/250U or another BR-HD50. The time code from the source tape will now match the cloned tape.

Please proceed to this website for instructions.

http://pro.jvc.com/pro/attributes/HD...ade/index.html

The firmware upgrade download is free of charge. If you elect to have JVC install the upgrade for you, a nominal fee will be charged.

[Tim Dashwood]

Thank you Carl. I made this a sticky.

For those planning to do this firmware update themselves, please print out and follow the instructions exactly. The flash animated guide is a good thing to watch before you actually perform the upgrade.
Remember to unplug the DC power from the deck BEFORE you insert the SD card.

Also, you will require a SD Card reader/writer to transfer the firmware file to a SD card.

[Panos Bournias]

I am wondering if the same upgrade must be used for the BR50 (PAL) Model??
Anybody that can advise?

Thanks Panos

[Tim Dashwood]

Originally Posted by Panos Bournias

I am wondering if the same upgrade must be used for the BR50 (PAL) Model??
Anybody that can advise?

Thanks Panos

Good question. I've always assumed that the "U" and "E" models of the BR-HD50 were the same internally because of the ability to switch from PAL to NTSC. However, you should call JVC Europe and check before attempting to use this firmware on an "E" model.

Here's the BR-HD50 website on the UK site. http://www.jvcpro.co.uk/item/index_html?item=BR-HD50E

Keep in mind that JVC U.S. only just posted this download a few hours ago and it is already the end of the business day in Europe.

[William Hohauser]

This is all very positive but where is the firmware file download?

[Tim Dashwood]

Originally Posted by William Hohauser

This is all very positive but where is the firmware file?

Go here: http://pro.jvc.com/prof/attributes/s...&itempath=null

Click on the link "Upgrade your BR-HD50U for 24p compatibility with FCP 5.1.2"

Click "Continue," enter your serial # & contact information, click continue again and you will be presented with a download link.

[William Hohauser]

Thank you. The procedure taxed my comprehension skills.

[Dave Beaty]

Thank you so much JVC. Whoever made this user installable upgrade possible. Kudos to you. The thought of having to once again send in 3 units via Fedex was a little annoying. Most of us can handle the upgrade ourselves. and , well, if we fry our machines PROM , we can always send them to Carl to make all better.

Just kidding.

Dave Beaty

[Dave Beaty]

Upgrades worked like a charm and now we are running 1.0.6 firmware.

Once, I forgot to put the VTR switch into HDV mode. The update menu won't come up unless it's in HDV mode.

Capture went fine in FCPro 5.1.2. I wish I could use the BR-HD50's RS-422 port for machine control while capturing Firewire HDV. But I could not get that to work.

Dave Beaty

[Jiri Bakala]

Originally Posted by Dave Beaty

I wish I could use the BR-HD50's RS-422 port for machine control while capturing Firewire HDV. But I could not get that to work.

I wonder why?

[Eric Darling]

I just wanted to add my .02 - the firmware upgrade fixed all the problems I'd been having with the BR-50 since upgrading to FCP 5.1.2. Before the upgrade, any digitized clips were being sub-divided into numerous clips as if there were timecode breaks.

Furthermore, video refresh is much closer to real-time on downconverted signals going into the AJA LHe card than ever before. For the first time, I've noticed NO hiccups on batch jobs, and I'm overjoyed to have native HDV 720p24 support through the deck, too.

Thanks to JVC for providing the means and support to upgrade my own deck!

[Jiri Bakala]

Originally Posted by Eric Darling

...For the first time, I've noticed NO hiccups on batch jobs...

How about mastering back to tape? Have you tried that? As I mentioned on another thread, I am having a hell of a time trying to get the finished project back to tape. On every attempt, there is at least one hiccup. Using the camera is much better but even that gives me a hard time. It could be the combo Avid/JVC.

Hence a question; (no point of going to another editor right now, the project is done and sitting on the Avid) - so, I have exported an m2t file and I am wondering if there is a program available for a Mac that would allow me to take that m2t and bring it back to tape clean. Or is the file just a 'shell' that doesn't really hold the media? The project is about 7 minutes long and the m2t is approx. 1.2 GB, while an uncompressed QT (1280x720) is some 42 GB.

Thanks.

[Panos Bournias]

Jiri, I had the same problem with Avid and BR50, I never tried the camera. It was the very beginning of the format and I made a big noise to JVC about it and they end up with an upgrade (In a month or so) that solved the problem permanently.
I cannot check for that upgrade any more as I re-upgrated the spooler after the famous "A" version, I am also a PAL user.
I think if you contact JVC they will have a remedy as they did have in my case.
I never had this problem again, it works well. So call them complain send them a tape with the problem (That is what they asked me to do).
Panos

[Tim Dashwood]

Originally Posted by Jiri Bakala

Hence a question; (no point of going to another editor right now, the project is done and sitting on the Avid) - so, I have exported an m2t file and I am wondering if there is a program available for a Mac that would allow me to take that m2t and bring it back to tape clean. Or is the file just a 'shell' that doesn't really hold the media? The project is about 7 minutes long and the m2t is approx. 1.2 GB, while an uncompressed QT (1280x720) is some 42 GB.

DVHSCap or LumiereHD will output a m2t file as a stream to firewire. Your file sizes make sense because the mpeg2 stream is only 19.2 mega "bits" per second, and uncompressed 1280x720 is somewhere in the range of 100 mega "bytes" per second. A huge difference.

[Daniel Patton]

Thank you Carl!

I agree with Dave Beaty, JVC allowing us to do our own firmware updates is more than just a little appreciated.


I have a couple additional questions if you don't mind:

- Can this be installed over any existing firmware? I purchased the deck less than 3 weeks after release, and it has not been updated since, so I'm guessing it's an early firmware. I didn't see an obvious answer on the JVC site (not obvious to me anyway), only "Affected Models and Serial Numbers".

- Is this all that I need to bring the deck current in place of existing firmware updates that JVC would have done, had I the time to send the deck in? Or does this only address FCP users?

- Any chance we could see something like this for the HD100U? I'm also guilty of not sending it in for the "A" updates, we need it here more.


Thanks again Carl!