new ex1 firmware out
 

not as expected user upgradable.

Looks like they have changed their minds on that one.

free with silver support in eu

The new features of the firmware are :

- Support for SBP-32 32Gb SxS PRO Cards
- Support for PHU-60K 60Gb HDD Unit
- 24PsF Output in EE mode
- Chinese Language Support
- Menu Enhancements (i.e. more shutter speeds)

How do we go about getting his update done?

Thanks
Steve

contact prime silver support the usual way if there was fault. tell them you want to update the firmware.

Not as expected user upgradeable ?
As in
Not user upgradeable, as expected/hoped for
Or
Not as expected/rumoured lately, it WILL be user upgradeable ?
And will prime support tell us to send it in or will they point us to somewhere we can download and install ourselves ?

Paul.

Well at least Sony Europe is being reasonable about covering it under warranty, unlike Sony Canada which is asking for even more money for a simple firmware upgrade. The Canadian EX1 is $2500 more than the US price. What a way to do business in global market???

what is the version of the new firmware?

Interesting I sent my camera in for service and the firmware upgrade was included. Just received the camera back yesterday.

Anyone know the charge if you don't have support?

What are the new shutter speeds? Have they closed the gap in the slow shutter speeds?

Thanks for the note, Phil.

The pre-record cache hasn't been implemented yet. I wonder if it ever will, or if that's even possible?

Version 1.11

It is factory upgradable only. Whether they change their mind in the future we can but hope.

Mine came back from repair FINALLY after 2 months lost in system etc yesterday. If it came back today it would have the new firmware in, unfortunately it doesn't so it will be going back for it!!

Makes as much sense as buying a clock and making you send it back for the numbers.

I don't really understand firmware... but I know that mine is not the most up-to-date, even before this new release.

If the new version is 1.1, does it include updates from all previous firmware versions?

I think 1 way to get free upgrade is to call Sony that we have bought the 32GB card or HDD recorder only to find that it is un-useable and demand Sony to do a firmware upgrade for free!

I just received my EX1 back from Sony San Jose yesterday. (among other things) I asked them to put on the latest firmware and it came back with 1.05...

that is poor

Hooray!

I'm still pootling along with 1.03, so I get erratic up/down movement when I'm using the menus under pressure, the shot transition is horribly out of sync and there's some other voodoo that crops up but not enough to remember (apart from the paint around my ND switch).

Having successfully nailed jelly to the wall with back focus, would love to have Sony oil and grease its silicon chips, but not if it re-introduces a bunch of problems.

Just seeking reassurance - this one's watertight?

Who knows. Is anything ever water tight. I am getting mine sent in this week to be done. May as well even though I have no current plans for the 32gb cards or the hard drive. It will just bring them into line with the ex3

After all, these are just computers with a bit of glass in front. And one-point-oh-dear isn't very comfortable.

Just as wary of software with an '0' in its name as one would be of oysters gathered when there's not an R in the month.

Yes, Matt. I agree totally. But I am always impressed with the overall stability of these computers even at the 1.0x stage.

like this illustration, a complete new way of looking at my cam!

rgds, eva

Sorry guys, we've removed that link. The documents contained Sony Confidential information. DVINFO does not allow posting links to files not intended for the general public.

-gb-

Not sure what the big secret is all about....but if you google "Sony EX1 1.11 firmware" you will find a link to a publicly available page on the SONY website where you can download the firmware and instructions on how to update your EX1.

I would think most folks would want to download the firm ware update just to get at the items that are fixed from reading the readme file alone....

looks to be a good update...

The website in question is located in Sony Korea. And the 'big secret' is the fact that those files are not supposed to be available. I've already spoken to someone here in the US about it. Someone in Korea messed up.

Do you feel entitled to obtain a company's proprietary and confidential information because someone left the door unlocked? If I find videos and other intellectual property on your website can I have them for free even though you would normally charge for such material?

As always, there's a difference between what you can do and what you should do.

Sony America is aware of the user's desire to have the firmware at no charge. I believe they are working toward that end but the camera will still need to go in for the procedure.

-gb-

The information below I have copied from another forum because I think it is relevant to a number of questions that have been raised here:

Subject: RE: Does the PMW EX1 shoot 1080P or 1080PsF?
From: "Martinez, Juan (Park Ridge)" <Juan.A.Martinez@am.sony.com>
Date: Tue, 26 Aug 2008 00:03:00 +0100
X-Message-Number: 3

Hello, this is Juan Martinez, I work for Sony.

Regarding the EX1 update firmware: Look for an official announcement in the next two or three weeks. In a nutshell, the new firmware enables the use of 32GB cards and PHU60K HDD recorder. Other enhancements are:
23.98PsF "progressive segmented frame", EE output via HDSDI, several additional shutter speeds, REC indication on the LCD/ EVF even if data display is set to OFF, Chinese language menus, enrichment of the "clip menu" and other minor changes. All of these are market driven. EX3 and all EX1 shipped by Sony on the send half of August have the latest firmware. Early EX1 require a firmware update to acquire the functionality described above.

I would like to elaborate on some points. EX cameras record true native progressive at 23.98, 25, 30, 50, & 60p. When the camera is in the progressive mode the imagers always run at 1920 x 1080p. So, when shooting at 720p at 50 or 60 fps the EX's imager and DSP front-end run at full raster 1920 x 1080 50p or 60p. The 1280x720 signal is derived from the 1920x1080p signal by an advanced filtering algorithm similar to what is in our $100K+ cameras. Oversampling has two major benefits over using a camera with native 1280x720 imagers:
1- Less aliasing (strong aliasing sets in at over 600TVLPH on 2/3-inch native 1280x720 imagers)
2- Better MTF.

EX progressive signal recordings are always stored to the SxS cards in its native progressive frame rate and resolution. Therefore, the data ingested by the NLE will also be native progressive

We added PsF to the EX3 and EX1 HDSDI EE output due to user requests.
This feature enables capturing the EX's clean, live camera10-bit 4:2:2 progressive signal directly by NLE. The NLE's capture utility recognizes the PsF payload as a true signal and stores it as such. PsF frees the user from having to apply reverse telecine such as Adobe After-Effects or Cinema Tools in post to remove pull down.

Please note that the PHU60K has an USB 2.0 interface, therefore, over or
under cranking is not possible. SxS cards have a PCI Express 2.5GB
interface type and transfer at 800Mbps. We looked into certifying non SxS cards for EX but the results were very poor; ranging from not meeting their own specs to taking a long while to do so....

Juan Martinez
Senior Manager Technology
Sony Electronics Inc.

Did anybody try to update with the file from the korean site?
I have an important job with the camera tomorrow so I don't risk it.
Will try tomorrow afternoon

There is some evidence of this on the Abel CineTech EX1/3 pages. There you will find "Software Downloads" in the Resources pane. Follow through and you arrive at an official Sony US site with firmware updates available for download but us mere mortals. The "XDCAM: Downloads" header reveals firmware updates for the F300 and 700 series Camcorders.

So clearly user firmware updates on Sony XDCAM are in the public domain, downloadable from a credible Sony US web site. Obviously, the infrastructure is in place. We can only hope that Sony will feel inspired enough to add the downloadable firmware updates for XDCAM EX1/3 Camcorders ... in response to customer needs.

Yeah... While of course Greg is right about the difference between what one can, and what one should do, I've a gut feeling that Sony has planned to start charging for EX1 fw updates (at least for those adding "new" functionalities, like the HDD handling) from the very beginning, and never allowed the users to do it themselves for this very reason. Not a very decent attitude, considering it's free for those lucky ones who are buying their EX1's now, after we have made our free beta testing...

Whether this entitles us to use their own "confidential" data somebody left accessible by mistake, is therefore a question of a more ethical than technical kind. Most certainly though a forum like this should not openly contain links to this stuff, if it's not intended for public access. Let everyone make his own decision :)

But doesn't the silver support include firmware upgrades? My camera is in for upgrade and some other fixes right now. Surely they are not going to charge for it?!

Yes it does, but I've heard of at least one customer who got his camera back recently with the fw upgraded to... 1.05!

I'd like to think that this was a timing issue in the US - they either haven't released it, or they haven't communicated it to all the techs (I assume the former). If you ask for a firmware update in the next 2-3 weeks, it might be 1.11. still, I was a bit disappointed that Sony considers 1.05 the currently available firmware version...

Yes, the F300 series cameras are upgradable by the end user, and to date, those updates have been free of charge. As I stated earlier, (and what I am hoping for as well because I think it's the right thing to do), is that Sony will offer no charge updates for the EX series.

-gb-

Sony should offer these firmware upgrades for free since they are REQUIRED in order to use the PHU-60K hard drive recorder and the new larger 32GB memory cards!

At the very LEAST allow them through local authorized service centers.

When you consider cost of firmware update, shipping, insurance on shipping, days of downtime, you can be talking about a 4 digit expense for some of us!

Please tell me you don't think that is "reasonable."

I believe the whole industry is confused as to what to do with software upgrades. Just to bring my car in to the dealer they charge to hook-it up to the computer to do a diagnostic. Sony lets the user upgrade yes their 350 cameras but not the EX1.

It was interesting to see the Sony's Korean site offered the software, hey they beat the EU Sony site to the punch! Even if it was a mistake, but it illustrates a good point, one that makes me say over again; "I just hope the Sony's of the world will get their act and branding together and present one site to the customer for their broadcast products".

Just confirmed with Sony Australia - updates to 1.11 here are free. Will be sending my camera in for the full facial next week including new boards for battery drain, new case covers with the improved coating on them (so the writing does not rub off) and of course the version 1.11 firmware - all under warranty as should be the case.

Just called Sony support for the back focus problem (which I had slightly since the begining) and also asked them to upgrade the firmware. The guy on the phone said "yes, you want the 32Gb card support, I understand".
So, no problem for a free upgrade. If they want you to pay, mess with the back-focus and ask for a back-focus repair :)

On the other side, I need the camera for the 07/09. Do you think I will get it in time if I send it back on friday the 29/08 ?

Thanks.

Why don't you just upgrade with the file from the korean site?

The 1.05 software is also available from the site, if something were to go wrong.

I'll do it tonight and post my results. Please pray for my EX1 :)

BTW, does anyone know for sure the 1.11 is cumulative? The question is: does one need the 1.05 fw version to use it, or will it work (and be safe) with 1.02 or 1.03 as well?