BMPC 4k Raw Playback

The place for questions about shooting with Blackmagic Cameras.
  • Author
  • Message
Offline

rosshamil

  • Posts: 6
  • Joined: Fri Jun 27, 2014 5:37 pm

BMPC 4k Raw Playback

PostFri Jun 27, 2014 5:47 pm

I did some shooting with the new 4k raw firmware (1.8) the other day and when I went to playback the footage, at first it played a few frames and the image froze (audio continued to play). I then stopped the playback and started it again and the screen went black.
The camera was still functional (menu button brought up the menu, etc.).
So, I powered off the unit and powered it back on and it started playing and then the image froze again farther into the clip.
I'm wondering if anyone else has had issues with this.
Offline

4K-Jay

  • Posts: 28
  • Joined: Mon Mar 24, 2014 8:31 pm

Re: BMPC 4k Raw Playback

PostFri Jun 27, 2014 6:22 pm

I assume you're trying out your new comedy routine :)

Lots and lots of problems.
Offline

Timothy Montoya

  • Posts: 135
  • Joined: Sat May 31, 2014 7:28 pm

Re: BMPC 4k Raw Playback

PostFri Jun 27, 2014 6:27 pm

Your SSDs aren't fast enough to handle the playback
Offline
User avatar

adamroberts

  • Posts: 4538
  • Joined: Wed Aug 22, 2012 5:27 am
  • Location: England, UK

Re: BMPC 4k Raw Playback

PostFri Jun 27, 2014 6:40 pm

This usually occurs if you SSD is not fast enough and you drop frames.

Playback will then freeze at the point where the frames were dropped.
Offline

Miguel Salinas

  • Posts: 34
  • Joined: Wed Jun 25, 2014 11:31 pm
  • Location: Mexico

Re: BMPC 4k Raw Playback

PostFri Jun 27, 2014 7:37 pm

I have a samsung 840 pro 256GB and the results of the BM speed drive test are: Write: 178.1MB/s Read: 340MB/s
I can record with my BMPC 4k RAW without drop frames. I have recorded the entire disk (19:30) in RAW 4K and no drop frames.
But the playback in camera stops after a few seconds.
I cant find an explanation for this having those results on the Write: 178.1MB/s and Read: 340MB/s
Offline
User avatar

Donnell Henry

  • Posts: 1110
  • Joined: Wed Dec 25, 2013 9:04 pm
  • Location: Brooklyn ny

Re: BMPC 4k Raw Playback

PostFri Jun 27, 2014 8:33 pm

adamroberts wrote:This usually occurs if you SSD is not fast enough and you drop frames.

Playback will then freeze at the point where the frames were dropped.


Hey adam can you tell us if when using your digistor for 4k raw, does the REC button flash on the camera? Are you also able to get playback as well?
Thanks
GODS CREATE
Offline

joechiazza

  • Posts: 1116
  • Joined: Fri Aug 09, 2013 6:25 pm

Re: BMPC 4k Raw Playback

PostFri Jun 27, 2014 8:38 pm

adamroberts wrote:This usually occurs if you SSD is not fast enough and you drop frames.

Playback will then freeze at the point where the frames were dropped.

+1. Also had this experience. Playback is absolutely fine as long as it doesn't encounter he dropped frame


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Offline

Kevin Stewart

  • Posts: 46
  • Joined: Fri Jun 27, 2014 10:55 pm

Re: BMPC 4k Raw Playback

PostFri Jun 27, 2014 10:58 pm

I also have this problem. My REC logo starts to blink after a little while. When bringing one DNG folder (one shot) into Resolve it usually breaks it up into multiple clips signaling that it dropped frames throughout the recording/shooting of that shot.

I'm using the Sandisk Extreme 480 GB SSD.

Any word of advice on this?

Thanks in advance,

Kevin
Offline
User avatar

Robert Niessner

  • Posts: 4948
  • Joined: Thu Feb 21, 2013 9:51 am
  • Location: Graz, Austria

Re: BMPC 4k Raw Playback

PostFri Jun 27, 2014 11:05 pm

Kevin, while this won't help with already dropped frames footage, you should try this to prevent frame drops in the future:
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=24019
Saying "Thx for help!" is not a crime.
--------------------------------
Robert Niessner
LAUFBILDkommission
Graz / Austria
--------------------------------
Blackmagic Camera Blog (German):
http://laufbildkommission.wordpress.com

Read the blog in English via Google Translate:
http://tinyurl.com/pjf6a3m
Offline
User avatar

Donnell Henry

  • Posts: 1110
  • Joined: Wed Dec 25, 2013 9:04 pm
  • Location: Brooklyn ny

Re: BMPC 4k Raw Playback

PostFri Jun 27, 2014 11:25 pm

Robert I've tried partitioning my 480g kingston hyper x ssd. I left 100g unallocated with 380 to record on. I formatted in exfat. After testing the ssd it recorded for 3:31 seconds before the Rec started flashing. Pulled it into resolve and saw my 1 take split in 3 different clips. I'm on a mac. I Couldn't safe erase with apple disk utility so I did a basic erase before I formatted. Can you give step by step instructions on how to format the ssd on a mac in disk utility
GODS CREATE
Offline
User avatar

Robert Niessner

  • Posts: 4948
  • Joined: Thu Feb 21, 2013 9:51 am
  • Location: Graz, Austria

Re: BMPC 4k Raw Playback

PostSat Jun 28, 2014 6:54 am

I found no way to initiate an ATA secure erase on OSX.
You could try the following: create 2 partitions, the first one is the 380 GB and second one the rest.
Format them as exFAT. Then delete the second partitions. This should initiate a trim command.
Now the over privisioning might work.
Saying "Thx for help!" is not a crime.
--------------------------------
Robert Niessner
LAUFBILDkommission
Graz / Austria
--------------------------------
Blackmagic Camera Blog (German):
http://laufbildkommission.wordpress.com

Read the blog in English via Google Translate:
http://tinyurl.com/pjf6a3m
Offline
User avatar

adamroberts

  • Posts: 4538
  • Joined: Wed Aug 22, 2012 5:27 am
  • Location: England, UK

Re: BMPC 4k Raw Playback

PostSat Jun 28, 2014 7:59 am

Seal of the gods wrote:
adamroberts wrote:This usually occurs if you SSD is not fast enough and you drop frames.

Playback will then freeze at the point where the frames were dropped.


Hey adam can you tell us if when using your digistor for 4k raw, does the REC button flash on the camera? Are you also able to get playback as well?


In all of my tests I was shooting 4K 24p. Had no issues. Recording long takes >10min. Playback was also fine.

Shooting 25p and 30p recently I've been getting dropped frames at various lengths. Much better than the SanDisk but still dropping frames. I'm currently discussing the issue with DigiStor.
Offline
User avatar

Luca Iasevoli

  • Posts: 48
  • Joined: Wed Jun 19, 2013 4:40 pm
  • Location: Roma, Italy

Re: BMPC 4k Raw Playback

PostSat Jun 28, 2014 8:04 am

thanks adam
Please keep us informed about Digistor replay.
Luca Iasevoli
https://vimeo.com/lucaiasevoli
Offline
User avatar

Donnell Henry

  • Posts: 1110
  • Joined: Wed Dec 25, 2013 9:04 pm
  • Location: Brooklyn ny

Re: BMPC 4k Raw Playback

PostSat Jun 28, 2014 12:11 pm

Robert Niessner wrote:I found no way to initiate an ATA secure erase on OSX.
You could try the following: create 2 partitions, the first one is the 380 GB and second one the rest.
Format them as exFAT. Then delete the second partitions. This should initiate a trim command.
Now the over privisioning might work.


Thank you Robert i'm going to try that...as of right now i need to delete the second partition

adamroberts wrote:
Seal of the gods wrote:
adamroberts wrote:This usually occurs if you SSD is not fast enough and you drop frames.

Playback will then freeze at the point where the frames were dropped.


Hey adam can you tell us if when using your digistor for 4k raw, does the REC button flash on the camera? Are you also able to get playback as well?



Thank you as well Adam i'm about to pull the trigger on a digistor.. they're so expensive, i just wanted to make sure they work

In all of my tests I was shooting 4K 24p. Had no issues. Recording long takes >10min. Playback was also fine.

Shooting 25p and 30p recently I've been getting dropped frames at various lengths. Much better than the SanDisk but still dropping frames. I'm currently discussing the issue with DigiStor.



Thank you as well adam these digistors are expensive just wanted to make sure they work before purchasing.. this really helps
GODS CREATE
Offline
User avatar

rick.lang

  • Posts: 17175
  • Joined: Wed Aug 22, 2012 5:41 pm
  • Location: Victoria BC Canada

Re: BMPC 4k Raw Playback

PostSat Jun 28, 2014 5:45 pm

adamroberts wrote:In all of my tests I was shooting 4K 24p. Had no issues. Recording long takes >10min. Playback was also fine.

Shooting 25p and 30p recently I've been getting dropped frames at various lengths. Much better than the SanDisk but still dropping frames. I'm currently discussing the issue with DigiStor.


Very interesting. BMD must have tested raw 4000x2160 records on some SSDs; another message indicates they are working on an update to the list of approved SSDs for firmware 1.8. Your conversation with Digistor should prove interesting as BMD updates their list of approved drives. At least this won't be an issue for the URSA.

Rick Lang
Sent using Tapatalk HD
Rick Lang
Offline
User avatar

Donnell Henry

  • Posts: 1110
  • Joined: Wed Dec 25, 2013 9:04 pm
  • Location: Brooklyn ny

Re: BMPC 4k Raw Playback

PostSat Jun 28, 2014 5:46 pm

Hey Robert, I tried partitioning, then deleting the second partition. So the the first partition has 380 g. Unfortunately it didn't work, it started to drop frames after 1:31 into the footage

Guess i have to wait for the approved ssd list..or buy a digistor and record at 24 fps like Adam.

Thank you guys either way for the advice
GODS CREATE
Offline

Kevin Stewart

  • Posts: 46
  • Joined: Fri Jun 27, 2014 10:55 pm

Re: BMPC 4k Raw Playback

PostSun Jun 29, 2014 6:19 pm

Just wanted to report back that using Disk Utility to erase the drive and partition it did not work. I still get dropped frames and a blinking REC after about 1 minute of recording RAW 4K.

I am now using Parted Magic to safe erase, partition and setup disk allocation. I will report back once I have tried it out.

My SSD was updated to the firmware recommended in the thread posted above.

Stay tuned.
Offline
User avatar

Robert Niessner

  • Posts: 4948
  • Joined: Thu Feb 21, 2013 9:51 am
  • Location: Graz, Austria

Re: BMPC 4k Raw Playback

PostMon Jun 30, 2014 9:50 am

I did some further research and would like you to try the following:
As OSX supports TRIM command only for Apple SSDs and the presence of TRIM seems to be related to activating over provisioning, you should try again the procedure with formatting and using the tool TRIM enabler.

http://www.cindori.org/software/trimenabler/

In theory that should activate the user defined over provisioning.
Saying "Thx for help!" is not a crime.
--------------------------------
Robert Niessner
LAUFBILDkommission
Graz / Austria
--------------------------------
Blackmagic Camera Blog (German):
http://laufbildkommission.wordpress.com

Read the blog in English via Google Translate:
http://tinyurl.com/pjf6a3m
Offline
User avatar

Donnell Henry

  • Posts: 1110
  • Joined: Wed Dec 25, 2013 9:04 pm
  • Location: Brooklyn ny

Re: BMPC 4k Raw Playback

PostMon Jun 30, 2014 8:34 pm

Thank you robert i'll try that now
GODS CREATE
Offline
User avatar

Donnell Henry

  • Posts: 1110
  • Joined: Wed Dec 25, 2013 9:04 pm
  • Location: Brooklyn ny

Re: BMPC 4k Raw Playback

PostMon Jun 30, 2014 9:44 pm

Screen Shot 2014-06-30 at 5.27.19 PM copy.jpg
Screen Shot 2014-06-30 at 5.27.19 PM copy.jpg (31.39 KiB) Viewed 16512 times


Hey Robert it did not work..what am i doing wrong with this software..i keep getting a message saying trim is enabled but my ssd may not support it. Or maybe do a reboot . I did that, and i'm still getting the message. Their site says this works with 3rd party ssds. I have a 480 g kingston hyper x 3k. From what the software is telling me about my kingston ssd the write speed is 299 mbs/ and read speed is 347mbs. is this to slow for 4k raw. My dng's fluctuate between 8.6 mbs and 8.7mb.. without moving the camera, and shooting in a poorly lit room. Rec is still flashing after a couple second of recording
GODS CREATE
Offline

Kevin Stewart

  • Posts: 46
  • Joined: Fri Jun 27, 2014 10:55 pm

Re: BMPC 4k Raw Playback

PostMon Jun 30, 2014 11:35 pm

Just wanted to report back about my adventures with the Blinking REC of Death or BROD.

So I went ahead and tested out the secure erase and partitioning with Parted Magic and have had no success so far.

At first the problem was that I was using my iMac with bluetooth keyboard and mouse and since they are not recognizable under the Parted Magic interface, I could do nothing while in it. Then I went digging around for an old USB mouse but couldn't do much because I needed to type in some numbers while partitioning the drive. (I didn't have a USB keyboard). I don't recommend trying to use bluetooth interface while in Parted Magic. Maybe someone smarter than I can relay how to use it. ;)

*note: for those who don't know, understand that Parted Magic is a linux interface and acts as its own operating system of sorts.

Then I thought why not use my laptop since mouse and keyboard functionality is built in obviously. After booting from the Parted Magic CD by holding down C on the keyboard while booting up, I was able to access my 480 GB Sandisk Extreme SSD and secure erase it while in Parted Magic.

I then used the Partition tool to partition the drive as recommended (365 GB) but I couldn't figure out the disk allocation so I skipped that step. Maybe someone has a lead on how to do this on Parted Magic?

After all that, I put the drive in the camera and started shooting 4K RAW only to get the blinking REC (dropped frames) after about 10 seconds and sometimes 1 minute at the most.

Then I tried using TRIM enabler as Robert suggested and had a minor success! After enabling the TRIM on my SSD, I was able to record over 2 minutes without dropping a frame. It was my longest RAW shot to date but alas did not fix the problem entirely. After that 2 minute shot, I tried recording RAW again and I got the blinking REC after about 10 seconds again.

In either case, I just wanted to let everyone know that my endeavors in trying to eliminate the Blinking REC of Death have not yet brought success.

I will continue to to try but I have a feeling my particular drives are just not fast enough to record 4k RAW.
Offline
User avatar

Donnell Henry

  • Posts: 1110
  • Joined: Wed Dec 25, 2013 9:04 pm
  • Location: Brooklyn ny

Re: BMPC 4k Raw Playback

PostMon Jun 30, 2014 11:52 pm

kevstew13 wrote:Just wanted to report back about my adventures with the Blinking REC of Death or BROD.

So I went ahead and tested out the secure erase and partitioning with Parted Magic and have had no success so far.

At first the problem was that I was using my iMac with bluetooth keyboard and mouse and since they are not recognizable under the Parted Magic interface, I could do nothing while in it. Then I went digging around for an old USB mouse but couldn't do much because I needed to type in some numbers while partitioning the drive. (I didn't have a USB keyboard). I don't recommend trying to use bluetooth interface while in Parted Magic. Maybe someone smarter than I can relay how to use it. ;)

*note: for those who don't know, understand that Parted Magic is a linux interface and acts as its own operating system of sorts.

Then I thought why not use my laptop since mouse and keyboard functionality is built in obviously. After booting from the Parted Magic CD by holding down C on the keyboard while booting up, I was able to access my 480 GB Sandisk Extreme SSD and secure erase it while in Parted Magic.

I then used the Partition tool to partition the drive as recommended (365 GB) but I couldn't figure out the disk allocation so I skipped that step. Maybe someone has a lead on how to do this on Parted Magic?

After all that, I put the drive in the camera and started shooting 4K RAW only to get the blinking REC (dropped frames) after about 10 seconds and sometimes 1 minute at the most.

Then I tried using TRIM enabler as Robert suggested and had a minor success! After enabling the TRIM on my SSD, I was able to record over 2 minutes without dropping a frame. It was my longest RAW shot to date but alas did not fix the problem entirely. After that 2 minute shot, I tried recording RAW again and I got the blinking REC after about 10 seconds again.

In either case, I just wanted to let everyone know that my endeavors in trying to eliminate the Blinking REC of Death have not yet brought success.

I will continue to to try but I have a feeling my particular drives are just not fast enough to record 4k RAW.






I think so as well..no matter what we do, we just need faster drives..did trim enabler automatically give you a success on enabling trim on your ssd, because for me its giving me my ssd may not be able to do trim..as in my screenshot above
GODS CREATE
Offline
User avatar

Donnell Henry

  • Posts: 1110
  • Joined: Wed Dec 25, 2013 9:04 pm
  • Location: Brooklyn ny

Re: BMPC 4k Raw Playback

PostTue Jul 01, 2014 1:47 am

i figured out that my ssd drive needs to be connected via sata for the software to read the drive properly
GODS CREATE
Offline

Kevin Stewart

  • Posts: 46
  • Joined: Fri Jun 27, 2014 10:55 pm

Re: BMPC 4k Raw Playback

PostTue Jul 01, 2014 3:50 am

Happy to report that I was able to shoot a full card of 4K RAW at 23.98 and 30 FPS on a brand new 256 GB Samsung 840 Pro SSD without a single dropped frame. I just bought it today knowing that having a faster card would probably resolve the issue.

I guess it just depends wether or not your SSD is fast enough to handle 4K RAW for long periods of time. I suspect that all SSDs will eventually get slow enough not to allow for 4K RAW after a decent amount of usage.

Haven't had luck with playback yet however. If I try to play the shot back it will play after a few seconds and then freeze while the audio continues. After I go back to live view and hit playback again it just goes to a black frame with audio over it. I need to power the camera off and back on again before I'm able to get playback for a few seconds again.

I brought the shots into Resolve and sure enough they were full clips with no dropped frames. At least that answers some questions but may pose others.

Also getting massive amounts of FPN issues at RAW but that seemed to already be a problem before 1.8 and at Pro Res.
Offline
User avatar

Robert Niessner

  • Posts: 4948
  • Joined: Thu Feb 21, 2013 9:51 am
  • Location: Graz, Austria

Re: BMPC 4k Raw Playback

PostTue Jul 01, 2014 8:19 am

Seal of the gods wrote:Hey Robert it did not work..what am i doing wrong with this software..i keep getting a message saying trim is enabled but my ssd may not support it. Or maybe do a reboot . I did that, and i'm still getting the message. Their site says this works with 3rd party ssds. I have a 480 g kingston hyper x 3k. From what the software is telling me about my kingston ssd the write speed is 299 mbs/ and read speed is 347mbs. is this to slow for 4k raw. My dng's fluctuate between 8.6 mbs and 8.7mb.. without moving the camera, and shooting in a poorly lit room. Rec is still flashing after a couple second of recording


Sorry to hear that. Maybe these steps can help with trim enabler?
http://www.cindori.org/forums/topic/faq ... ling-trim/
Saying "Thx for help!" is not a crime.
--------------------------------
Robert Niessner
LAUFBILDkommission
Graz / Austria
--------------------------------
Blackmagic Camera Blog (German):
http://laufbildkommission.wordpress.com

Read the blog in English via Google Translate:
http://tinyurl.com/pjf6a3m
Offline
User avatar

Donnell Henry

  • Posts: 1110
  • Joined: Wed Dec 25, 2013 9:04 pm
  • Location: Brooklyn ny

Re: BMPC 4k Raw Playback

PostTue Jul 01, 2014 9:59 pm

Thanks checking that link now
GODS CREATE
Offline
User avatar

Donnell Henry

  • Posts: 1110
  • Joined: Wed Dec 25, 2013 9:04 pm
  • Location: Brooklyn ny

Re: BMPC 4k Raw Playback

PostTue Jul 01, 2014 11:06 pm

Thx Robert i got trim to work..And i followed your instructions .. i'm still dropping frames, when i pull the clip into davinci i see my 1 recorded clip split into a bunch of clips, but i'm guessing my disk is maybe to slow for 4k raw..I did a benchmark test on the software and it said my read speed was 288 mbs and my write speed was 247 mbs is that to slow for for 4k raw ?
Last edited by Donnell Henry on Tue Jul 01, 2014 11:30 pm, edited 2 times in total.
GODS CREATE
Offline
User avatar

Dustin Boswell

  • Posts: 358
  • Joined: Tue Jan 21, 2014 11:16 pm
  • Location: Los Angeles

Re: BMPC 4k Raw Playback

PostTue Jul 01, 2014 11:17 pm

Seal of the gods wrote:Thx Robert i got trim to work..And i followed your instructions .. i'm still dropping frames, when i pull the clip into davinci i see my 1 recorded clip split into a bunch of clips, but i'm guessing my disk is maybe to slow for 4k raw..I did a benchmark test on the software and it said my read speed was 299 mbs and my write speed was 347 mbs is that to slow for for 4k raw ?


It sounds like you may be bottle necking somewhere else in your system (Graphics Card or CPU) - have you tried changing the decode settings to a lower resolution for playback?
"Fix it in Prep"- 1st A.D.'s Motto
Dustin Boswell
Director/Writer and periodically Camera Department.
Offline
User avatar

Donnell Henry

  • Posts: 1110
  • Joined: Wed Dec 25, 2013 9:04 pm
  • Location: Brooklyn ny

Re: BMPC 4k Raw Playback

PostTue Jul 01, 2014 11:30 pm

zombies8mypi wrote:
Seal of the gods wrote:Thx Robert i got trim to work..And i followed your instructions .. i'm still dropping frames, when i pull the clip into davinci i see my 1 recorded clip split into a bunch of clips, but i'm guessing my disk is maybe to slow for 4k raw..I did a benchmark test on the software and it said my read speed was 288 mbs and my write speed was 247 mbs is that to slow for for 4k raw ?


It sounds like you may be bottle necking somewhere else in your system (Graphics Card or CPU) - have you tried changing the decode settings to a lower resolution for playback?

yea i have the timeline in davinci set at 1080p.. i was wondering what would be the ssd write speed needed for 4k raw from this camera since my ssd is 247 mbs
GODS CREATE
Offline
User avatar

Robert Niessner

  • Posts: 4948
  • Joined: Thu Feb 21, 2013 9:51 am
  • Location: Graz, Austria

Re: BMPC 4k Raw Playback

PostWed Jul 02, 2014 5:27 am

Well, to me it looks like the problem is somehow connected to the controller chip used in the SSD.
I did some research which SSDs do have what type of controller and it seems the Sandforce SF-2281 controller built in to your Kingston Hyper X might be not capable for 4k raw.
The Samsung 840 pro for example is using a Samsung controller, the Sandisk Extreme is using the Marvell controller, the Intel 730 an Intel controller. All those where reported as successful writing 4k.

Don't take this as a gospel because ATM this might be just a coincidence.
Saying "Thx for help!" is not a crime.
--------------------------------
Robert Niessner
LAUFBILDkommission
Graz / Austria
--------------------------------
Blackmagic Camera Blog (German):
http://laufbildkommission.wordpress.com

Read the blog in English via Google Translate:
http://tinyurl.com/pjf6a3m
Offline
User avatar

adamroberts

  • Posts: 4538
  • Joined: Wed Aug 22, 2012 5:27 am
  • Location: England, UK

BMPC 4k Raw Playback

PostWed Jul 02, 2014 5:37 am

Seal of the gods wrote:
zombies8mypi wrote:
Seal of the gods wrote:Thx Robert i got trim to work..And i followed your instructions .. i'm still dropping frames, when i pull the clip into davinci i see my 1 recorded clip split into a bunch of clips, but i'm guessing my disk is maybe to slow for 4k raw..I did a benchmark test on the software and it said my read speed was 288 mbs and my write speed was 247 mbs is that to slow for for 4k raw ?


It sounds like you may be bottle necking somewhere else in your system (Graphics Card or CPU) - have you tried changing the decode settings to a lower resolution for playback?

yea i have the timeline in davinci set at 1080p.. i was wondering what would be the ssd write speed needed for 4k raw from this camera since my ssd is 247 mbs


If your clip is split up when added to your Media Pool in Resolve, the dropped frames happened during the recording. It has nothing to do with your Resolve setup.

A single SSD for your footage in Resolve is really not gonna be fast enough. You really need a RAID setup.
Offline
User avatar

Robert Niessner

  • Posts: 4948
  • Joined: Thu Feb 21, 2013 9:51 am
  • Location: Graz, Austria

Re: BMPC 4k Raw Playback

PostWed Jul 02, 2014 5:46 am

Adam, why are we talking about Resolve? ;)
The user was talking about playback and recording in camera...
Saying "Thx for help!" is not a crime.
--------------------------------
Robert Niessner
LAUFBILDkommission
Graz / Austria
--------------------------------
Blackmagic Camera Blog (German):
http://laufbildkommission.wordpress.com

Read the blog in English via Google Translate:
http://tinyurl.com/pjf6a3m
Offline
User avatar

adamroberts

  • Posts: 4538
  • Joined: Wed Aug 22, 2012 5:27 am
  • Location: England, UK

Re: BMPC 4k Raw Playback

PostWed Jul 02, 2014 12:35 pm

Robert Niessner wrote:Adam, why are we talking about Resolve? ;)
The user was talking about playback and recording in camera...


Because this is what he wrote:
Seal of the gods wrote:i'm still dropping frames, when i pull the clip into davinci i see my 1 recorded clip split into a bunch of clips, but i'm guessing my disk is maybe to slow for 4k raw..I did a benchmark test on the software and it said my read speed was 288 mbs and my write speed was 247 mbs is that to slow for for 4k raw ?


:-)
Offline
User avatar

Robert Niessner

  • Posts: 4948
  • Joined: Thu Feb 21, 2013 9:51 am
  • Location: Graz, Austria

Re: BMPC 4k Raw Playback

PostWed Jul 02, 2014 12:55 pm

Adam, it is because of this:

did some shooting with the new 4k raw firmware (1.8) the other day and when I went to playback the footage, at first it played a few frames and the image froze (audio continued to play). I then stopped the playback and started it again and the screen went black.
The camera was still functional (menu button brought up the menu, etc.).
So, I powered off the unit and powered it back on and it started playing and then the image froze again farther into the clip.
Saying "Thx for help!" is not a crime.
--------------------------------
Robert Niessner
LAUFBILDkommission
Graz / Austria
--------------------------------
Blackmagic Camera Blog (German):
http://laufbildkommission.wordpress.com

Read the blog in English via Google Translate:
http://tinyurl.com/pjf6a3m
Offline
User avatar

adamroberts

  • Posts: 4538
  • Joined: Wed Aug 22, 2012 5:27 am
  • Location: England, UK

Re: BMPC 4k Raw Playback

PostWed Jul 02, 2014 1:04 pm

So here are my results from testing this morning.

I've been unable to update the SanDisk SSD firmware as I don't own a CD/DVD burner not do I have any blank CDs. The option to create a bootable USB stick from the SanDisk utility on the PC does not work.... so it still running it's original firmware.

I'm on a Mac. I installed Trim Enabler and enabled it. Connected my SanDisk 480GB SSD via a Seagate Thunderbolt adaptor and rebooted. Trim Enabler says is enabled and all working. Opened DiskUtility and reformatted the SSD with 2 partitions. Partition 1 set to 380GB ExFAT, partition 2 set to Free space.

Popped the SSD into the BMPC4K. Camera set to 4K RAW 25p. Hit record. REC blinks instantly. Stop recording. Hit record again and it records. It record for 22min without a problem the then the SSD Full warning starts flashing. At which point I hit stop.

Checked the SSD contents back on the Mac.

Take 1 - the one that flashed the REC at me has 62 frames plus and audio file. First frame is 000001 and the last frame is 000062. So it was the very first frame, 000000, that was dropped.

Take 2 - 35,975 frames and an audio file. First frame 000000, last frame 035974. So all present and accounted for.

So I then tried the same with the DigiStor 240GB SSD drive. Connected and rebooted the machine to make sure Trim Enabler was running on the SSD. Reformatted the SSD with 2 partitions. Partition 1 set to 200GB ExFAT, partition 2 set to Free space.

Popped the SSD into the BMPC4K. Camera set to 4K RAW 25p. Hit record. REC blinks instantly. Stop recording. Hit record again and it records. It record for 10min without a problem the then the SSD Full warning starts flashing. At which point I hit stop.

Again I check the files back on the Mac and this is what I had:
Take 1 - 40 frames and 1 audio file. First frame 000001, last frame 000040. So again it was the first frame that was dropped.
Take 2 - 16,005 frames and 1 audio file. First frame 000000, last frame 16,004. So all present and accounted for.

More tests to be done.
Offline
User avatar

adamroberts

  • Posts: 4538
  • Joined: Wed Aug 22, 2012 5:27 am
  • Location: England, UK

Re: BMPC 4k Raw Playback

PostWed Jul 02, 2014 1:06 pm

Robert Niessner wrote:Adam, it is because of this:

did some shooting with the new 4k raw firmware (1.8) the other day and when I went to playback the footage, at first it played a few frames and the image froze (audio continued to play). I then stopped the playback and started it again and the screen went black.
The camera was still functional (menu button brought up the menu, etc.).
So, I powered off the unit and powered it back on and it started playing and then the image froze again farther into the clip.


I'm aware of that. I've been participating in this thread from the beginning. He was questioning the split clips and making out that the SSD was too slow for Resolve.
Offline
User avatar

Robert Niessner

  • Posts: 4948
  • Joined: Thu Feb 21, 2013 9:51 am
  • Location: Graz, Austria

Re: BMPC 4k Raw Playback

PostWed Jul 02, 2014 1:12 pm

Great tests Adam!
Yeah updating SSD firmware can be a pain. I needed 3 different PCs to finally get the Boot-CD to recognize the attached SSD and flash it. It worked with my HP laptop where I put out the internal harddrive and attached each SSD for the update. Then booted from the Boot-CD and finally got the SSDs flashed.

It is ridiculous that it takes such procedures yet.
Saying "Thx for help!" is not a crime.
--------------------------------
Robert Niessner
LAUFBILDkommission
Graz / Austria
--------------------------------
Blackmagic Camera Blog (German):
http://laufbildkommission.wordpress.com

Read the blog in English via Google Translate:
http://tinyurl.com/pjf6a3m
Offline
User avatar

adamroberts

  • Posts: 4538
  • Joined: Wed Aug 22, 2012 5:27 am
  • Location: England, UK

Re: BMPC 4k Raw Playback

PostWed Jul 02, 2014 1:51 pm

OK a follow up on those tests.

With the DigiStor drive I deleted the clips, not format, and emptied the trash. I then popped the drive back in the camera. 4K RAW 25p. Hit record. Instantly the REC flashes. So I hit stop and then hit record again. Recorded for 5min with no issues. Hit stop and record again. Recorded for a further 5min without issue.

Checked the files back on the Mac and the following was what I has on the SSD:
Take 1 - first frame dropped as before
Take 2 - all frames present
Take 3 - all frames present

Same test with SanDisk. Also deleting the clips and not formatting the SSD. Same result. Dropped the first frame of the first take. All other takes were fine.
Offline
User avatar

Robert Niessner

  • Posts: 4948
  • Joined: Thu Feb 21, 2013 9:51 am
  • Location: Graz, Austria

Re: BMPC 4k Raw Playback

PostWed Jul 02, 2014 2:12 pm

That would support the theory that if your system utilizes TRIM on the drive there is no need to re-format after copying and deleting the files as TRIM will handle to refresh the cells. That should be the case on all modern SSDs now.
Saying "Thx for help!" is not a crime.
--------------------------------
Robert Niessner
LAUFBILDkommission
Graz / Austria
--------------------------------
Blackmagic Camera Blog (German):
http://laufbildkommission.wordpress.com

Read the blog in English via Google Translate:
http://tinyurl.com/pjf6a3m
Offline
User avatar

adamroberts

  • Posts: 4538
  • Joined: Wed Aug 22, 2012 5:27 am
  • Location: England, UK

Re: BMPC 4k Raw Playback

PostWed Jul 02, 2014 2:36 pm

Robert Niessner wrote:That would support the theory that if your system utilizes TRIM on the drive there is no need to re-format after copying and deleting the files as TRIM will handle to refresh the cells. That should be the case on all modern SSDs now.


Yeah. Seems to support that idea. :-)

What interesting is that on all 4 occasions the first take dropped the first frame. Yet on all subsequent takes there were no dropped frames even when recording in excess of 10min.
Offline

astern

  • Posts: 2
  • Joined: Tue Jun 24, 2014 6:03 pm

Re: BMPC 4k Raw Playback

PostWed Jul 02, 2014 3:29 pm

I have been reading the forums for a while without chiming in. But... this is all just absurd. I have given BMD the benefit of the doubt with the BMPC for months now, as it sat on my desk waiting for this firmware upgrade. Upgraded right away, and as many have experienced my kingston Hyperx 480GB won't work - dropped frames immediately.

I'll attribute this to my poor judgement, but it sounded like the Digistor drives worked for most people, so I put yet more money into the BMPC and ordered a Digistor 480GB.

While the digistor seems to be able to keep up with recording, playback drops frames after a few seconds. I know this isn't everyone's experience, but the seemingly random nature of this from drive to drive is just as scary - if not more so. The BMPC is a bleeding edge experiment, and it's simply not ready for sale.

How could anyone possibly trust this camera in a production setting? And the fact that there has been zero official word on this RAW recording issue from BMD? Astonishing.
Offline
User avatar

Donnell Henry

  • Posts: 1110
  • Joined: Wed Dec 25, 2013 9:04 pm
  • Location: Brooklyn ny

Re: BMPC 4k Raw Playback

PostWed Jul 02, 2014 3:39 pm

THANK YOU. Both Robert and Adam..for the tests and advice. Yes I was concerned about the dropped frames when recording on the camera ..I was trying to figure out if my ssd was fast enough for 4k. I also tried recording and stopping then starting again. Still dropped frames ..but I did not have trim enabled so I'll try that this afternoon. I also contacted digistor like Adam did ..they informed me that they're working with blackmagic currently to address the situation. Also when I pull clips in davinci resolve ...the 1 take I recorded are now split into 3 or 4 clips so from Adam's test I now realize that means dropped frames. Regardless trim enabler is a great solution for my ssd's in the future..thank you for that info Robert.
GODS CREATE
Offline
User avatar

rick.lang

  • Posts: 17175
  • Joined: Wed Aug 22, 2012 5:41 pm
  • Location: Victoria BC Canada

Re: BMPC 4k Raw Playback

PostTue Jul 15, 2014 10:28 pm

adamroberts wrote:
Seal of the gods wrote:
adamroberts wrote:This usually occurs if you SSD is not fast enough and you drop frames.

Playback will then freeze at the point where the frames were dropped.


Hey adam can you tell us if when using your digistor for 4k raw, does the REC button flash on the camera? Are you also able to get playback as well?


In all of my tests I was shooting 4K 24p. Had no issues. Recording long takes >10min. Playback was also fine.

Shooting 25p and 30p recently I've been getting dropped frames at various lengths. Much better than the SanDisk but still dropping frames. I'm currently discussing the issue with DigiStor.


Adam: any updated information from Digistor yet? I didn't see anything on their website that addresses all BMD frame rates for 4K raw recording and playback. Maybe they are working with BMD and awaiting the results of BMD's certification test for raw on BMPC4K.

Rick Lang
Sent using Tapatalk HD
Rick Lang
Offline
User avatar

adamroberts

  • Posts: 4538
  • Joined: Wed Aug 22, 2012 5:27 am
  • Location: England, UK

Re: BMPC 4k Raw Playback

PostWed Jul 16, 2014 8:07 am

rick.lang wrote:Adam: any updated information from Digistor yet? I didn't see anything on their website that addresses all BMD frame rates for 4K raw recording and playback. Maybe they are working with BMD and awaiting the results of BMD's certification test for raw on BMPC4K.


Hi Rick

I have been in continuous contact with DigiStor and they have all the data from my tests. They said they are working with BM to get a resolution on the issue. I don't have any more info than that at the moment. If I get any more info I'll be sure to share it here.

The TRIM enabler and reformatting the drive with more free space does the trick tho. This is how I have my SSD's currently set-up and I'm shooting RAW without issue (other than the first frame of the first take being dropped as detailed above).
Offline
User avatar

rick.lang

  • Posts: 17175
  • Joined: Wed Aug 22, 2012 5:41 pm
  • Location: Victoria BC Canada

Re: BMPC 4k Raw Playback

PostThu Jul 17, 2014 5:27 am

Thanks, Adam.


Rick Lang
Sent using Tapatalk HD
Rick Lang
Offline
User avatar

sean mclennan

  • Posts: 1435
  • Joined: Wed Aug 22, 2012 8:28 pm
  • Location: Toronto, ON

Re: BMPC 4k Raw Playback

PostThu Jul 17, 2014 3:57 pm

This thread...is why BM is moving to CFast2 cards.

Return to Cinematography

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Andrew Lucas, danielpanev, Jim Simon and 109 guests