ETC and GH2 hack..... at DVinfo.net

Mark Slade · October 17th, 2011, 08:53 PM

I know I read somewhere about the hack fixing ETC to work with a monitor....but I'll be darned if I can find it. I've searched everywhere including Vitaly's site. Anyone remember reading it and where??

Thanks
Mark

Nigel Barker · October 21st, 2011, 06:41 AM

I think that you have misremembered. The only useful hack for the GH2 that I have seen is to remove the 30 minute recording limit that we have in Europe. The other tweaking about with mega high bit rates gives marginal if any improvement from what I have seen. Don't forget that this hack is no more than the ability to access to some internal settings on the camera. It is not a reverse-engineered total re-write of the camera firmware like the Magic Lantern hack for Canon DSLRs. There are not going to be any new features added unless Panasonic put them there originally.

Mark Slade · October 21st, 2011, 12:33 PM

Thanks Nigel....I actually finally found the info I was looking for last night. They did in fact "fix" the ETC to work with an external monitor....but it frequently locks up the camera......but it is apparently still being worked on.

Mark

Brian Luce · October 22nd, 2011, 04:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nigel Barker

I think that you have misremembered. The only useful hack for the GH2 that I have seen is to remove the 30 minute recording limit that we have in Europe. The other tweaking about with mega high bit rates gives marginal if any improvement from what I have seen. Don't forget that this hack is no more than the ability to access to some internal settings on the camera. It is not a reverse-engineered total re-write of the camera firmware like the Magic Lantern hack for Canon DSLRs. There are not going to be any new features added unless Panasonic put them there originally.

I think you need to find out a little bit more about the hack, they're getting remarkable results with the 176 intra frame hack. It's not "marginal" improvement. It's dramatic change. Gamechanger.

Nigel Barker · October 23rd, 2011, 01:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian Luce

I think you need to find out a little bit more about the hack, they're getting remarkable results with the 176 intra frame hack. It's not "marginal" improvement. It's dramatic change. Gamechanger.

Novelty features like this may be useful for pixel peepers & wannabee film makers but are sadly not so useful for those of us working professionals who shoot weddings, events & such like. It would fill up cards awfully quickly at around 1GB/minute. File size is limited to 4GB too so no take can be longer than 4 minutes. Then we would have to transcode to even be able to edit the files. Always assuming that the hack is 100% stable & never freezes.

As I said apart from lifting the 30 minute record limit for PAL-users the hack gives nothing really useful for most users. Really useful features include as a top priority 25fps for us in PAL-land. Other really useful features would be1080 50/60fps or ETC with 720 50/60fps or HDMI out with ETC.

Brian Luce · October 23rd, 2011, 05:07 AM

Most people consider thinks like better image quality. better shadow detail, better motion signature, less banding, more robust file for color grading and other features as huge improvements. The hack has turbocharged the gh2. Perhaps others don't care about the image quality, I happen to care a lot about it.

Kevin McRoberts · October 23rd, 2011, 12:10 PM

I've been quite pleased kicking the 720p and 1080i modes to 35mbps. The files still span and there's a noticeable compression artifact reduction.

Might not be right for everybody, but it works for me.

Jeff Harper · October 23rd, 2011, 01:28 PM

I agree Nigel, nice idea, great for higher end shooters, artisitics, and hobbyists, but for wedding shooter like me, the higher bit rate is not practical, takes up too much space.

Nigel Barker · October 24th, 2011, 02:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian Luce

Most people consider thinks like better image quality. better shadow detail, better motion signature, less banding, more robust file for color grading and other features as huge improvements. The hack has turbocharged the gh2. Perhaps others don't care about the image quality, I happen to care a lot about it.

I am in the fortunate position that the GH2 isn't the only camera that I own & in any case the GH2 image quality is pretty good already without hacking & perfectly acceptable for what I am using it for. If I need higher quality I will use a proper video cameras e.g. Canon XF305

Harry Pallenberg · May 21st, 2013, 01:07 PM

So - anyone know what hack will work with ETC AND allow HDMI monitoring?

October 17th, 2011, 08:53 PM	#1
Mark Slade Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 121	ETC and GH2 hack..... I know I read somewhere about the hack fixing ETC to work with a monitor....but I'll be darned if I can find it. I've searched everywhere including Vitaly's site. Anyone remember reading it and where?? Thanks Mark

October 21st, 2011, 06:41 AM	#2
Nigel Barker Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Norwich, Norfolk, UK Posts: 3,531	Re: ETC and GH2 hack..... I think that you have misremembered. The only useful hack for the GH2 that I have seen is to remove the 30 minute recording limit that we have in Europe. The other tweaking about with mega high bit rates gives marginal if any improvement from what I have seen. Don't forget that this hack is no more than the ability to access to some internal settings on the camera. It is not a reverse-engineered total re-write of the camera firmware like the Magic Lantern hack for Canon DSLRs. There are not going to be any new features added unless Panasonic put them there originally.

October 21st, 2011, 12:33 PM	#3
Mark Slade Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 121	Re: ETC and GH2 hack..... Thanks Nigel....I actually finally found the info I was looking for last night. They did in fact "fix" the ETC to work with an external monitor....but it frequently locks up the camera......but it is apparently still being worked on. Mark

October 23rd, 2011, 05:07 AM	#6
Brian Luce Inner Circle Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 2,290	Re: ETC and GH2 hack..... Most people consider thinks like better image quality. better shadow detail, better motion signature, less banding, more robust file for color grading and other features as huge improvements. The hack has turbocharged the gh2. Perhaps others don't care about the image quality, I happen to care a lot about it.

October 23rd, 2011, 12:10 PM	#7
Kevin McRoberts Major Player Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Charlottesville, VA Posts: 700	Re: ETC and GH2 hack..... I've been quite pleased kicking the 720p and 1080i modes to 35mbps. The files still span and there's a noticeable compression artifact reduction. Might not be right for everybody, but it works for me. __________________ Freelance pudgy bearded lighting camera operator www.mcbob.tv

October 23rd, 2011, 01:28 PM	#8
Jeff Harper Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 8,425	Re: ETC and GH2 hack..... I agree Nigel, nice idea, great for higher end shooters, artisitics, and hobbyists, but for wedding shooter like me, the higher bit rate is not practical, takes up too much space. __________________ "The horror of what I saw on the timeline cannot be described."

May 21st, 2013, 01:07 PM	#10
Harry Pallenberg Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 122	Re: ETC and GH2 hack..... So - anyone know what hack will work with ETC AND allow HDMI monitoring?