Tagged with spanning - Personal View Talks

what makes spanning work in GH2?

apefos — Sat, 02 Jul 2016 07:34:34 +0000

Please share your knowledge and experience.

Which patches do spanning in 24p , hbr30p and 720p60?

What settings in ini file makes spanning work?

Thanks!

Spanning at 24H-- does this exist?

Brian_Siano — Sat, 02 Mar 2013 14:07:05 +0000

I've finally acquired a Sandisk Extreme Pro card, 95 mbps, 32 gig, and I'm trying to find a patch that will span reliably at 24H.

I've been trying various patches, at 24H and 24L, and here are my results: Sanity 5.1 and Flow Motion don't span in 24H, but they span in 24L. Intravenus 2, Quantum 9b, Quantum 2 don't span in either mode. I'm trying Cake 2.3 right now.

Now, I understand that one needs a Sandisk Extreme Pro 64gig card to be absolutely sure that spanning can work. I'm not sure why that is, but that's been reported. But others seem to be able to get some of the above to span on the 32gig card (for example, Quantum 2's supposed to be able to do it).

So I have two questions. Is there a patch that reliably spans the 32gig card? And is this an indication that I got a bum 32gig card?

ADDENDUM: Cake 2.3 seems to be spanning in 24H m mode. But my questions still stand.)

GH2 AVCHD spanning

sohus — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 07:01:41 +0000

Spanning is discussed a lot on these forums. It probably doesn't matter that much if you are a narrative filmmaker, but it is very problematic if you shoot events, documentaries, interviews, weddings where you can't have the camera stop recording. These people still want to shoot at the best possible settings, which is not really possible at this moment. I think the goal should be a 24H and 24L settings (in one set) with 24H not spanning but shooting higher quality and 24L spanning reliably (ideally all settings would span, but I don't think that is possible). Spanning is also very important if you shoot dual system audio as it safes a lot of time syncing clips.

What we know:

@KAE's 65M settings spanned (PTool 3.61)

After the release of PTool 3.62, spanning became more of an issue (at least it appeared to). Does this have something to do with the AQ settings that were opened up?

With PTool 3.62D, I have confirmed the following settings to be spanning:
@CBrandin 44M/32M at 24L setting (32M) --> GOP12, 32M, AQ4 (44M setting is not spanning)
Stock settings

Let me know if you know other settings with good quality and reliability that do span.

These two examples are extremes in terms of bitrate so I am pretty sure the bitrate alone is not the sole cause.

Driftwood's setting has no AQ set and the iFrames are smaller than most other settings (around 6MB instead of 8 - 11 MB) for most other settings. It also has no P & B frames (does the codec still need to work as hard?). Furthermore, it is GOP1 instead of GOP 3/6/12/ It would be nice if we could pin down what affects spanning: bitrate, AQ settings, GOP settings, memory card speed, scene detail (extreme: death chart). What makes that KAE's setting spanned with 3.61 but @CBrandin's 66M setting does not span? Is there someone who has an idea about this?

Ideally, I hope we can create a setting (ideally a 24L setting ) that spans at a decent bitrate (say 44M - 66M - 88M).

Looking forward to your thoughts and experiences on this matter.

Spanned MTS file recovery after GH2 freeze

inqb8tr — Wed, 02 Jul 2014 04:22:55 +0000

First, I apologise for making new topic about this since I know it has been talked about over and over but I'm on tight schedule and after quick search couldn't find definite answer.

GH2 froze during long recording. Not sure for how long it remained frozen since the camera was fixed on tripod and I have been messing with sound recorder, all the time checking the red record circle on display, which was frozen, that i haven't figured out immediately. I continued filming after reinserting the battery.

Tomorrow morning, on the card I have 00-03.mts spanned files that are not recognised in Premiere as spans, but all work, and 04 is the beginning of new spanned sequence. I am missing 10 or more minutes of the show (EDIT: between that 03 and 04, to make it clearer).

Does this mean that it crashed on spanning point and that it is pointless to try with recovery software or something..

Sandisk ExtremeUHS-I, 64gb 80 mb/s, any use?

belfryman — Tue, 17 Sep 2013 02:58:22 +0000

I ordered a 64gb 45 mb/s in the hope of spanning moon T7, it wouldn't on my 32gb. The supplier has sent the SDXC UHS-I 80 mb/s. Does anyone know if this will span, I don't want to open it and find it doesn't and find they won't refund because it's opened. ??? Thank you.

95MB/s Sandisk Extreme Pro cards

alcomposer — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 16:42:07 +0000

There has been various reports from P-V users that the new 95mb/s Sandisk Extreme Pro SD cards are fast enough for previously un-span-able PTool settings to now span.

@Jspatz reported earlier today that he was able to achieve spanning with @driftwoods SeAQuake on a 64GIG Sandisk Extreme Pro 95Mb/s. This is HUGE news!

UPDATE:
@SAGE
>Only the 64gb will work.

>Ed Lee confirmed that his 32gb 95MB/s failed to span. Its safe to assume that the 16 and 8 will perform likewise.
>Only the 64gb is labeled as 'SDXC'.

UPDATE 2nd Dec 2011:
@itimjim
>I can confirm that the card (95MB/s 64gig) spans with SeAQuake

WHOOHO!

Using ffmbc (FFmpeg for broadcast) for AVCHD rewrapping & conversion

Nityananda_SCSMath — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 18:58:05 +0000

Hi. I am on a mac and I want to rewrap my spaned .MTS files into single .mov files, and sometimes I want to convert my .mts files into DNxHD and Prores. I have different issues with Clipwrap and 5DtoRGB and want to use ffmbc (FFmpeg designed for video broadcast users) but I have to admit I find the installation and use confusing.

Can somebody please post here how to download, configure, compile, and use within the terminal ffmbc to rewrap MTS files and convert to Prores/DNxHD? I am personally interested in Mac OS X but others may need this for windows also.

Thanks so much!!!

@sampledi

Hacked GH2 - No Spanning, multiple copies of the same file instead.

MetaControl — Sun, 28 Oct 2012 03:44:50 +0000

I just got the GH2 and tried some hacks, but they do not seem to work for me.

I tried Flow Motion 2 and some Driftwood series 6 settings, but I had the same problem with both of them. I did not go into quality tests yet, because I wanted to check workflow options first, with different fps settings in Flow Motion 2, without success, but also found out that spanning did not work with it and I wanted to get that right first. After some tests I found something strange happened. Instead of a range of MTS files spanning, I now get several files with the same content. The longer the clip gets, the more files there are, which makes me believe it creates a new copy of the original file every time it is supposed to span into a new clip due to the 4GB limitation. The files do have subtle differences in size, but are all around 4gigs, but I think it is only the variable bit rate. Here is some stream info example on 3 (of five) duplicate files.

\PRIVATE\AVCHD\BDMV\STREAM\00000.MTS Size = 4.305.033.216 Bytes (22.422.048 Packets) Stream: TS Max Speed = 96.897.200 bps Mode = 1080/24p Average PCR Timing Interval = 0,094 seconds Clip Duration = 0:08:06,02 PCR Duration = 0:08:06,10 Average Total Bitrate = 70.861.957 Average Video Bitrate = 69.022.876 Average Audio Bitrate = 235.013 Average Other Bitrate = 1.604.066 Max GOP Size = 4.662.528 Bytes (37.300.224 bits) Video Frame Count (All-I/P/B) = 11.653 - 971 / 2.914 / 7.767 Video Frame Size (Min/Ave/Max) = 12.288 / 367.482 / 1.031.232 I Frame Size (Min/Ave/Max) = 282.624 / 979.755 / 1.031.232 P Frame Size (Min/Ave/Max) = 87.552 / 463.923 / 504.384 B Frame Size (Min/Ave/Max) = 12.288 / 254.803 / 329.664

\PRIVATE\AVCHD\BDMV\STREAM\00001.MTS Size = 4.302.151.680 Bytes (22.407.040 Packets) Stream: TS Max Speed = 96.897.200 bps Mode = 1080/24p Average PCR Timing Interval = 0,094 seconds Clip Duration = 0:08:11,98 PCR Duration = 0:08:11,93 Average Total Bitrate = 69.956.059 Average Video Bitrate = 68.133.383 Average Audio Bitrate = 235.007 Average Other Bitrate = 1.587.668 Max GOP Size = 4.587.648 Bytes (36.701.184 bits) Video Frame Count (All-I/P/B) = 11.796 - 983 / 2.949 / 7.863 Video Frame Size (Min/Ave/Max) = 234.240 / 362.747 / 1.009.728 I Frame Size (Min/Ave/Max) = 945.216 / 967.698 / 1.009.728 P Frame Size (Min/Ave/Max) = 440.640 / 470.262 / 520.704 B Frame Size (Min/Ave/Max) = 234.240 / 246.841 / 264.192

\PRIVATE\AVCHD\BDMV\STREAM\00002.MTS Size = 4.301.021.184 Bytes (22.401.152 Packets) Stream: TS Max Speed = 96.897.200 bps Mode = 1080/24p Average PCR Timing Interval = 0,094 seconds Clip Duration = 0:08:14,99 PCR Duration = 0:08:14,87 Average Total Bitrate = 69.513.383 Average Video Bitrate = 67.701.911 Average Audio Bitrate = 234.995 Average Other Bitrate = 1.576.476 Max GOP Size = 4.569.792 Bytes (36.558.336 bits) Video Frame Count (All-I/P/B) = 11.868 - 989 / 2.967 / 7.911 Video Frame Size (Min/Ave/Max) = 234.432 / 360.450 / 991.488 I Frame Size (Min/Ave/Max) = 934.656 / 948.918 / 991.488 P Frame Size (Min/Ave/Max) = 457.344 / 471.075 / 510.720 B Frame Size (Min/Ave/Max) = 234.432 / 245.438 / 264.192

Even the clip duration seems vary, but inside premiere they are all the same length. Usually only one of the files retains any sound. I am deeply confused to what is happening, and would appreciate any insight any one might have. I will try some more settings and probably go back to stock too, just to check whether it happens there too.

One thing to note is the card I am using. I read some controversial and mostly unclear posts one which cards work or do not. I have been using a 64GB SanDisk Extreme the SDXC1 U1 Class 10 with 45MB/s. Even if, what some of the posts say, it would be only half as fast, it should still be able to keep up with the bps the tried settings use. The only other card I have to test at the moment is a 32GB Transcend Class 10, but that has only 10MB/s and is used usually for photography only. I am about to order the 64GB Extreme Pro 90MB/s but I still think the one I haver should be fine. I am not using the highest bit rates anyway...

Thanks for any knowledge you can share

Importance of Proper Tests for Reliable In-Cam Playback: Lessons from the Field

qwerty123 — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 14:35:26 +0000

===NOTE: none of what I say below is meant belittle the fantastic and wonderful low gop patches that driftwood has produced (or any others with "extreme" patch settings). If anything, this is my fault for not testing thoroughly enough. But I think my experience is worth sharing===

==MY TEST==

I went on a shoot this weekend, and was using Sandisk Extreme 16gb 30mb/s cards. I wanted to ensure both spanning and playback in camera for the shoot, so I went with driftwoods "spanmybitchup" patch. I did just a few short preliminary tests: the test I did was to shoot the papasarts star chart (which I've attached--I also attached the more extreme codec test chart v2 2010), and let it run. I waved my hand around in the frame from time to time and also had some talking to get audio. Everything seemed good: I was getting spanning and smooth playback in camera with audio. (EDIT: also attaching Stray's death charts with color information!)

==MY SHOOT==

So during the shoot, after a few shots, I was getting the message "motion image cannot be played" for all my clips (or something like that I don't remember exactly)--my heart sunk! An actor asked me to check to see if we recorded something on a previous take, I had to say that "yes it was" without checking. I was worried about requests for playback--and this was only with one actor: imagine this on shoot with clients! For certain shots, I wanted to be sure that something was recorded since I wasn't at the camera, and I couldn't do this. The scene I was shooting was an actor in a car at night--he was lit and most everything else was dark. That's when I got the messages. I put in a new Sandisk card, and formatted it. Reshot the same scene and I was getting the same error.

==LESSONS==

1) In camera playback is important at least for some of us, and for some, like me, it is even more important than low gop. For me, I am willing to forego a very very high quality low GOP setting (awesome work driftwood!!) that doesn't have playback in camera on good SD cards for an improved long GOP with ultra reliable in camera playback. I'm NOT saying that everyone wants this or should want it (especially if you have the cash for more super high end SD cards or for extra harddrive space). But I'm guessing some people are in my situation as well.

2) It seems there's a relatively standard procedure for patch development (using streamparser, tweaking settings incrementally, etc etc). BUT there seems to be no standard procedure for testing spanning and in-camera playback. You might not think that makes a difference, but it seems that it does: it seems to matter what you shoot when you are testing things like spanning and in-camera playback. Or, at least the number of clips you shoot or the ISO you shoot at makes a difference: otherwise, I don't know how to explain the divergence between my pre-shoot tests and what happened on the shoot. I welcome some constructive thinking about standardizing spanning and camera playback tests.

==DESIRES==

The ideal for me would be to get a hack that improves quality over the stock settings, that has very very reliable spanning and in-camera playback with audio, and works on good quality cards like the Sandisck 30 mb/s (16gb). I know some people are getting the SandDisk extreme pro 64gb cards... but a lot of people (like me) already have a stash of good quality cards and don't want to fork over even more money to get these super high end cards.

I did test w/ @cbrandin 's (Chris's) 66M patch. We know that this doesn't span (but getting around 10 or 11 minutes is okay for me, although I'd love spanning). But what I did notice is that I couldn't get in camera playback with this either. I'm going to try the 44M patch.

Thoughts?

The Spanning List (settings that span)

chrimsbroome — Sun, 06 May 2012 22:25:22 +0000

I started this topic because I felt that there are a lot of patches out there, but who knows if they span. In situations were you have a patch but don't know which memory card to use.

Please everyone list the patches you used and the memory card you used in a orderly manner, so that we know does...it...span.

Make sure your 100% sure that its spanning on every mode if possible & include a small photo of the memory card.

Best settings for safe spanning

raizman — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 22:45:02 +0000

I'm shooting a 1.5 hour performance tomorrow night (just got the gig tonight) and I can't afford to have the any issues with spanning. I've seen posts that 32MB at 1080p/24 is stable but I don't have time to test it out. Can anyone share their experience? I'm tempted to reset the camera to its original firmware to avoid any problems. I've got 32gb Transcend Class 6 cards. Thanks.

SD Cards and exFat formatting? Cure for Spanning.

vanawesome — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 01:22:22 +0000

I'm wondering if this is something that could possibly be addressed in the pTool. I know everybody is having issues with spanning and if it were possible to get the camera to recognize cards formatted at the new exFat format instead of fat32, spanning would no longer be an issue at all.

Just a thought, sorry if there is a better section to talk about this, please move it and feel free to yell at me. I'd be curious to see what you all have to say about this topic.

GH13 Concert and Event settings 24p with file spanning

DrDave — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 17:22:19 +0000

I'm starting this thread for people who are interested in a high quality, 24p, stable patch for events such as weddings, concerts, theater, poetry readings, lectures and so on. And pub crawls. Maybe impossible, but progress continues to be made.
Although not always high art, I get a lot of requests to video a show, concert, event, wedding, etc., and these events typically are indoors, with poor or varied lighting.
Sometimes these events run several hours. And for these events, I sometimes prefer the IQ of the GH13 over the GH2, at ISO 400-1000.
My requirements are:
24p for easy editing in Premiere and others. Premiere offers real time playback and effects with Mercury engine.
Reasonably good IQ, regardless of the bitrate
Minimal pulsing (some ppl don't see it but it drives me nuts)
Fine grain at ISO 800 and usable 1600
File spanning, in case I need continuous coverage
Smooth transitions in shadows, given the limitations of the camera.
Ability to use F/5.6 on a sharp lens in places that have good lighting
Good IQ and grain with lens wide open in bad lighting.
Plays back in camera so the highlights ("overs") can be checked, and also IQ checked on a monitor.
Static scene bit rate 0f 20-24, typical of events and shows, or stages where there are a lot of fixed objects or open space
Works on a Transcend 32gb Class 10 card or better

First off, I would like to acknowledge all those who have done the real work, including Vitaliy, cbrandin, lpowell, blackout, rigs, and many more.
Basis line: my starting point was the BP patch and lpowell's amazing high reliabilty patch. The HR patch has really served me well. It file spans reasonably well, has great IQ. It does not of course have 24p (hence the reliable part). The BP patch is also great, and is 24p, but did not span reliably. Another issue is that high bitrate patches often give low rates in low light. And theatre lighting with F/5.6 would occasionally lock up at 24p.
Along came the rigs patch, which gives HIGH rates in low light and static scenes. My static scene bit rates doubled. Also, pulsing in shadow areas is minimized.I made three changes to this patch. First, I used the suggestion to raise the buffer to 84. Next, I lowered the overall bitrate in the regular section to 36 and the minimum to 22. I found that I could not see a big difference in static scene rates of 24 as opposed to the 33 I was getting in Rigs. Also, after a certain point it seemed that noise in shadow areas became slightly more visible after the bitrate exceeded 24.
So far, in three days of testing, quality is good, file spanning is good and I get a solid 24 minutes per 4 gig chunk on my card--the reasonably priced Transcend 32gb. Mileage plus.

Like all 24p patches, I suspect it will crash, so those who really need reliability should go for lpowell's high reliability patch. As with all patches, use at your own risk.
I'm sure those better versed in the subtleties of the patch can make a better one, and I welcome suggestions.

The zip file has the most conservative version of the patch. I will try to bump the bit rate up ten percent with the same stability,and also work on possibly a GOP of 8 or 6.