It really looks like 1080i50/HBR mode (shifting it away from the shared GOP of 24p setting) has been given its own encoder setting which hopefully, VK, will be able to find and allow us to make use of in the next version of ptools. :-) Maybe the GOP is 13 for 25p...Update: nope. Maybe its still sharing some settings with 12 gop (24p30 setting HBR) to make it work under the wrap... So we now have a new setting which we need VK to bring to us in the next version of ptools.
I am already shooting comparison videos for before and after. I should have it done tonight. Can't compare ISO 6400 and above of course since the new firmware won't allow it for 1080p video. Looking at the stills could tell us a lot though.
The AF appears to be vastly less sensitive than it was before. That is exactly what I was hoping for. The noise reduction for jpgs is a lot better. ISO 6400 is now usable for jpg stills.
@paglez i also have 5.5 YOu can tell that premiere see the footage as progressive, if you make a new sequense with progressve settings and put the new 25p footage , you dont get a yellow bar (it doesnt need render). That tells me that cs5 does see it correctly. In FCPX , even i make a new timeline as proggresive and declare the footage as progreesive too, it needs render (there is an orange render bar ).
@driftwood So I assume that the 30p is also just a wrapped gop30 1080i? --- @ Dazza I realize 1080p 30 should be GOP 15 BTW....this isnt my first rodeo...please refer to Driftwoods' previous statement...
i tried clipwrap... but it doesnt make the footage to appear as progressive (in FCPX and Avid), without re-encode them. Only transcode mts to mov (rerwap). Premiere reports as interlace too, but it treats it like progressive.
@Toxotis70 In premiere 5.5, right clip over m2ts 25 p file: Modify/Interpret Footage: Field Order: Upper field first. If you do the same process over 24p file, you get: No fields (Progressive Scan). Any idea about this?
I think this new "high" bitrate 25p is a real bonus! Did some simple low-light tests tonight: noise is much more "restless" than @ 24p and in many case strobing in tungsten was less - 3200 iso looks beautifull and 25p is better for sideway motion, gliders and steadicam! I am very pleased with this update. 24p has also different color (greener) in lowlight tungsten but seems sometimes sharper!? Settings: 3200 iso - shutter 20 - f=4 - SMOOTH -1-2-1-2 @ the right is 25p - the 2nd and last scene is also 25p.
Updated an NTSC (U.S.) GH-2 to 1.1. For the NTSC camera, the new HBR mode delivers 1080/30p wrapped in 60i/29.97 stream. Works fine imported to Sony Vegas. Looks and behaves just like progressive images.
I did a brief and poorly executed before and after upgrade shot to look at the video noise at ISO 2500. Subjectively, I'd say the video noise is about 40% to 50% reduced.
I just ordered a 2nd GH-2 after doing my tests, although that was in the planning stages before the new firmware update.
Question - I updated the firmware and then shot some footage using the new 'High bitrate" option.
I then used Log and Transfer in Final Cut Pro and the footage was automatically 25p.
Did I do it correctly to shoot in 25p? I heard about all this 50i wrapper talk, thought there would be a more complicated procedure to conforming to 25p.
the problem is when you have footage that is Real 25p (not wrapped in 50i). I have both footage from sony nex and sony a65 that is 25p and when i put them both in the same timeline , it needs render! So ... we have a problem.
How do you end up with such a clean image with high ISO?
I've finally picked my GH2 from the box now that it offers me 25p and made a couple of shots in my bedroom with awful noise pattern at 3200ISO. Completely unusable! (Standard Film Mode, HBR)
I just realized that after updating fw, a footage @ 25p is brighter than 24p, also exposure meters shows around 3-4 bars more. I kept GH2 settings and light the same, Manual, 1/25sec. 3200 iso, Standard Film Mode all=0, noise is slightly thinner/less visible. Also after pressing record color shifting seems a tad smaller. MediaInfo (ver 0.7.51) say it's 25fps interlaced, SplashPro 25fps, VLC says 50fps.
@paglez - "In my opinion, new 25p stream is a malignant PsF. "
I think PsF would more accurately be characterized as "benign". By packaging the 25p video stream in a 50i wrapper, Panasonic insured compatibility with Blu-ray-spec'ed HDTV's and players. It's not technically challenging to reconstruct the 25p stream from a PsF video. If FCPX doesn't detect and do it automatically, it should provide manual settings that allow you to specify exactly how it should be done. If the problem lies in Panasonic's native AVCHD importer, it's a bug they should fix ASAP.