BM P4K - Garbled ProRes playback in camera

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ted ramasola

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BM P4K - Garbled ProRes playback in camera

PostTue Jan 29, 2019 9:37 am

I hope I just missed some setting here since it's 3 AM when I'm doing some tests.
When I do ProRes recording and I play it back in-camera, the image is garbled, like a badly tuned old TV.
The footage is fine though when played back in the computer. But not having a clear playback in the field is risky when I want to confirm the shot.

I tried the different Prores modes, HQ, 422, LT.
I tried different media, SSD, CFAST and SDXC.
I tried 30fps and 24fps,

In-camera playback of RAW video is ok.

Here's a recording of the garbled view on the P4K LCD.



I hope I just missed something, I hate having to return this camera.

EDIT:

Updating to FW 6.1 made it worse. Now I can no longer record in ProRes at all and camera locks requiring a power off and on.
Last edited by ted ramasola on Tue Feb 05, 2019 5:34 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Robert Niessner

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Re: BM P4K - Garbled ProRes playback in camera

PostTue Jan 29, 2019 11:09 am

Ted, you will find more about this issue here:
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=84358

Either way, you should contact support.
Saying "Thx for help!" is not a crime.
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ted ramasola

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Re: BM P4K - Garbled ProRes playback in camera

PostTue Jan 29, 2019 6:35 pm

Thanks, Robert.
System:
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i7 3.5ghz 32gig RAM
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ted ramasola

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Re: BM P4K - Garbled ProRes playback in camera

PostTue Jan 29, 2019 8:00 pm

So, after having just talked with U.S. tech support, they said;

It's a known issue and their engineers are working on it.
It's a firmware issue not hardware, so they will release a firmware to address this.
Not every camera has it.
No guarantee that if I exchange it, that the new camera won't have it.
They don't know when this fix will be released.
They advice to "hang on to it" while they're trying to fix it.


This is sad.
So, for those wanting this camera now, I would advice against it as its still a work in progress.
At least wait until they sort out the more serious bugs.
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Pete Tomkies

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Re: BM P4K - Garbled ProRes playback in camera

PostWed Jan 30, 2019 9:17 am

This seems to be a growing problem. Makes me wonder if a component was changed in the manufacturing process which is why the flickering ProRes batch of cameras has just appeared. Also might explain why there are so many reports that production has been halted.

If it's a hardware issue then Blackmagic will have a big recall on their hands.
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Chris Whitten

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Re: BM P4K - Garbled ProRes playback in camera

PostWed Jan 30, 2019 12:39 pm

You liked your point so much you posted it twice?

Nope, let's keep the rumour mill to a minimum.
I received my Pocket 4K just before Christmas. I have shot Pro Res HQ to a Wise SSD and played it back in camera without a single issue.
I would say my camera is a recent build - because I was on a long waiting list with a major dealer.
I don't know what the issue is, but it's also guess work to claim it's a build issue with recent BMPCC4K's and link it to the other 'rumour' that production has shut down.
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ted ramasola

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Re: BM P4K - Garbled ProRes playback in camera

PostTue Feb 05, 2019 5:33 am

So after updating firmware to 6.1 I thought my problems would be solved but now I can no longer record in ProRes at all and the camera locks up and would need a power off to recover. This is on all flavors of ProRes, all resolutions, and all 3 types of media.

Upon pressing record, the timer would stop at 1 frame and an "!"(exclamation) appears on the red rec icon.
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rick.lang

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Re: BM P4K - Garbled ProRes playback in camera

PostTue Feb 05, 2019 5:39 pm

Ted, check the new BMPCC4K manual just released and verify your media and camera settings are supported for that media. There’s a lot of detail in the manual about what you can and cannot do.


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ted ramasola

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Re: BM P4K - Garbled ProRes playback in camera

PostTue Feb 05, 2019 6:07 pm

rick.lang wrote:Ted, check the new BMPCC4K manual just released and verify your media and camera settings are supported for that media. There’s a lot of detail in the manual about what you can and cannot do.


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Rick,

The ssd I use is the samsung T5 which they recommend. Also used a CFast card which records lossless raw just fine.
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rick.lang

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Re: BM P4K - Garbled ProRes playback in camera

PostTue Feb 05, 2019 7:57 pm

Thanks, Ted. I know there are some differences between the requirements for raw and ProRes, but as that’s not the issue apparently, then try BMD Support.

It’s a lot of bother, but I wonder if a downgrade and then reinstall of the upgrade would fix the problem. Obviously BMD isn’t going to release something that breaks ProRes so something may have just gone wrong somewhere related to your software install or settings. Good luck w/BMD Support.


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