sandro

I posted about the work Im doing on the firmware side of the nx1 a few pages back, but it was/still is hidden for some reason. 
**no longer hidden on page 11 at the bottom. Much more detail about what I have found on the camera.**
To sum it up, I have been working on this the better part of 6 months, didnt know anyone else was interested until I found this thread a bit over a week ago and posted my findings. Im at a point of comparing the changes in the firmware versions to see how the code is written. I have uncovered the bootloader, the file format and language used for their custom control files for tizen, info on lut, rgb 888, sd card bus speed(its quite low should be ush1 u3 but its not set close to the speed stated in the sd association docs) and a few more things. 
My goal is similar to what the guy said on the gh2 hack. I had a hacked 144mbs gh2 I used for 5 years until moisture killed it a few months ago. The tech inside the nx1 should be capeable of pushing the hevc and the sensor to the limit, even if it shortens the life by 4-5 years its still cheaper than a red by a magnitude.

Ideal goals for me are raw/compressed raw output, see if cdng or another compressed raw format would work. As red raw is just their version of jpeg2000 modded for cine work.
There is not a deadline I have set to finish this, as this is just one of many projects I have on the go but comparing it to other cameras its quite promising.

I joined EOSHD to let you guys know that I've been watching this thread, and will support ($100 on faith) a functional firmware improvement that includes some mix of RAW video and higher frame rates. I'd love to see low light video boost (and would donate more to that end) but won't hold my breath. 

We need to disable the noise reduction in video, its killing me inside literally. You know its sad when the Panasonic FZ-1000 has better noise grain in 4k video than the NX1 which is just muffled mosquito noise, I had a look but could not find anything. Does anyone have any idea? 
I know the HEVC codec deals with fine grain texture poorly specially in my personal tests from converting Blu-Ray films to HEVC. 
But the NX1 has a nasty noise reduction in video which you cannot turn off and quite frankly its destroying details very badly. 

Very interesting. I would like to test this, could you please upload telnetd since the samsung site takes forever to download?
 

Very interesting. I would like to test this, could you please upload telnetd since the samsung site takes forever to download?
 

OK, an update:
If you want to experiment with your device but don't want to be constantly reinserting the SD card - here's the solution.
First, unfortunately, NX500/NX1 do not use busybox but toybox that does not contain telnetd. However, there is nothing stopping you from extracting it from NX300 open source packages (available at Samsung Open Source repo) and copying it to SD card (and naming it "telnetd") and runnig it from there. Just remember that you need to give yourself some time to turn the wifi on after powering the camera. Login is "root" and there is no password. So, after the camera boots and telnetd starts, you do
telnet 192.168.1.44
Trying 192.168.1.44...
Connected to 192.168.1.44.
Escape character is '^]'.

************************************************************
*                 SAMSUNG LINUX PLATFORM                   *
************************************************************

drime5 login: root
[root@drime5 ~]# ps aux
USER      PID %CPU %MEM    VSZ   RSS TTY      STAT START   TIME COMMAND
root        1  0.4  0.2   4684  1452 ?        Ss   23:15   0:01 /sbin/init
root        2  0.0  0.0      0     0 ?        S    23:15   0:00 [kthreadd]
root        3  0.0  0.0      0     0 ?        S    23:15   0:00 [ksoftirqd/0]
...
root      363  0.1  0.0      0     0 ?        S    23:15   0:00 [ksdioirqd/mmc1]
root      399  0.0  0.0   4696   380 ?        S<s  23:16   0:00 /mnt/mmc/telnetd
root      402  0.0  0.2   2704  1352 pts/0    S<s  23:16   0:00 -sh
root      469  3.0  0.1   2664   904 pts/0    R<+  23:20   0:00 ps aux
Yippie - we have remote root!
The fun stuff is the command st. It's swiss army knife - it contains everything. For example, you want to take a "smart" shot?
st cap capt smart
Work with aperture?
st cap capt iris drive 7.1
Shoot in RAW?
st cap capt quality raw
Help works in most things, just add help (e.g. st cap capt help).
You want to push an OK button?
st key click ok
You can also push/release it in two steps.
How about jog dials?
st key jog jog1_cw or jog1_ccw
You want to touch the screen in exact coordinates?
st key touch push/release/click 400 300
There is so many things available, just explore st app nx capture (for stills) or st app nx record (for video)...

I don't think I currently have the experience or time to successfully modify the NX1/NX500 firmware. I don't even have one of those cameras. However it would be a shame to let the interest in this die, so I guess I'll post some of my notes/thoughts about the firmware in hopes that it might help keep the ball rolling.
Note: if you aren't into technical minutiae, the only interesting part of this wall of text is the bulleted list at the end detailing what is and is not possible in my opinion.
Here are the files listed in the header of nx1.bin (version 1.4.0):
version.info:    offset=0x0          size=0x3F   (same as found in /etc/version.info)
linux image:    offset=0x0130       size=0x00624748
idk:                   offset=0x624878     size=0xD8E9
linux image:    offset=0x632161     size=0x3192E8
linux image:    offset=0x94B449     size=0x638518
idk:            offset=0xF83961     size=0x01FF10
idk:            offset=0xFA3871     size=0xB35140
rootfs:         offset=0x1AD89B1    size=0x117A89FF     (lzo compressed ext4 filesystem image)
opt:            offset=0x132813B0   size=0x58E91C   (lzo compressed ext4 filesystem image)
pcachelist:     offset=0x1380FCCC   size=0x7000 (PAGECACHELIST, preceded by a header, I think)
idk:            offset=0x13816CCC   size=0x35BCC44  (lzo compressed. header indicates swap image?)
Anyone with the skills to reverse engineer a camera could figure this out pretty easily, but it was fairly tedious so maybe this will save someone 20 minutes of poking around in a hex editor. If anyone knows what's up with the files I've labeled "idk," I would love to hear about it.
The checksum algorithm is fortunately unchanged from the NX300 as far as I can tell.
As documented at sites.google.com/site/nxcryptophotography/diy-firmware
"width=32 poly=0x04c11db7 init=0xffffffff refin=true refout=true xorout=0x00000000 check=0x340bc6d9 name="JAMCRC""
"jacksum -x -a crc:32,04c11db7,ffffffff,true,true,00000000 [file]"
The main camera app binary is (I'm pretty sure) located at /usr/apps/com.samsung.di-camera-app/bin/di-camera-app in the rootfs. It seems to access the hardware through a relatively high-level API with the /usr/lib/libmm* libraries. libmmf-camcorder.so is particularly interesting. The function I've focused my attention on is mmf_camcorder_set_attributes(), which comes from libffm-camcorder and is used repeatedly in di-camera-app. It conveniently (and strangely IMO) takes strings as identifiers for the attributes that are apparently being set (why not just an enum? I suppose I shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth...). Some of those attributes include "target-time-limit," "audio-encoder-bitrate," and "video-encoder-bitrate." The guy who successfully removed the recording time limit on the NX300 did it by modifying the instructions that set the variable being passed along with "targe-time-limit." I found the control flow instructions he mentioned in that thread, so it should't be hard to get rid of the time limit on the NX1, provided the camera accepts the modified firmware. The NX500 is probably similar. The "video-encoder-bitrate" attribute also looks promising, though it would take some more advanced reverse engineering to figure out where the values are being set.
So from what I've seen and read, here is what I think is and is not possible to modify on the NX1 and NX500:
Remove time limit: Highly likely. Seems to be the same as the NX300. Pretty easy too, if there aren't any new security measures in place. Increased bitrate: Possible. Needs some real reverse engineering to find where the rates are set for each resolution and quality. Noise reduction and sharpening: Possible. Haven't seen anything that looks like it's controlling these, but if setting the bitrate works, this should be possible too. FWIW I think that increasing the bitrate would help with the noise reduction issues. H.265 tends to smooth things out a lot to achieve low bitrates. Re-enable 2.5k on NX500: Plausible but difficult. It depends on whether they just removed it from di-camera-app, or if they removed it from the underlying libraries as well. Either way it would likely require actually adding control flow to the binary, which opens a whole new can of worms. Beyond my current ability, for sure. Focus peaking for NX500 4k: Maybe? I have no idea, really. There might be a good reason they didn't include it, there might not. 4k crop on NX1: Plausible but even more difficult. We know the hardware can do it, but it was probably never implemented on the NX1, even in pre-production. Gamma profile on NX500: Plausible. Similar to porting the NX500's 4k crop to the NX1, I think. 6k 24fps H.265: Highly unlikely. The H.265 encoder would have to support frame sizes larger than DCI 4k and be able to handle twice the pixel rate (clock speed) of 4k. Furthermore it would require implementing a brand-new video mode at a very low level. I can't say for sure it's categorically impossible, but don't get your hopes up. 10bit H.265: Nope. The H.265 standard does indeed allow for 10bit encoding, but I highly doubt Samsung would include the significantly larger (wider busses, more complex encoding) hardware necessary to do it. It would be a miracle if Samsung had really decided to go to all that effort and not use it. 6k or full sensor 4k at more than 30fps or 1080p at (significantly) more than 120fps: Impossible. The image sensor simply isn't fast enough. If you hope for this you will just be disappointed! RAW Video: Not really. It might be theoretically possible to dump the live-view feed as in Magic Lantern. Who knows how fast the SD card interface is, though. Certainly no more than 1080p. I can imagine tricking the GPU into packing 12bit 4k RAW into 1080p 444 HDMI like Apertus, but consider that a pipe dream. Don't get your hopes up. Anyway, that was longer than I expected, but I enjoyed poking around in the firmware, so I don't regret it even if it comes to nothing. It's a shame Samsung appears to be dropping the NX line; they are cool little cameras.
p.s. If you know anything I've said is wrong, please correct me; I'm learning this as I go along.

I just talked with a computer scientist. He states that reverse engineering would be possible, but very time consuming, especially not knowing exactly the hardware. But he thinks there must be some visible numerical parameters, since those are variables for the main software. Unfortunately he hasn't got time for delving into this and he's not a camera enthusiast, so no personal interest into this :-( 

Are they the SMC Pentax-M? If so, then yes I have used the 28mm and the 50mm. They are both excellent lenses and probably some of the cheapest, high quality vintage lenses you will find. The focus rings on those lenses are just buttery smooth. You can literally adjust focus with one finger. I have not used the zoom, in fact I've never seen one. Go to Pentax Forums, they have a lens database with User Reviews, and often times, photo samples. 
Just remember they are a dime a dozen, so be sure you are paying next to nothing because mint copies are regularly available for ridiculously cheap prices. 

If I'm being realistic, I think a few reasonable updates would keep Panasonic in the game. 
Some sort of IS (even dual IS) that works well in video mode. I think the dual IS is an specially shrewd move because it forces you to use Panasonic lenses. Which, let's be honest will always be part of their plan.
A version of the Dual Native ISO that's in the new Varicam. Even a dumbed down version (second ISO starting at 3200?) would address low light shooting.
At least one more stop of dynamic range with VLOG.
The general improvements that come with a new sensor/processor w/more MP, maybe 60p 4K, 120FPS slo mo.
For me, these changes alone seem doable (most are things Panasonic has already implemented somewhere), would keep the price reasonable and would get me to upgrade. With the general size benefits and price advantage of M43 I think they'd sell tons.  
The only competition (in the current price range) would be the new Sony 6300. But keep in mind Panasonic has things like better codecs, flip/touch screen, more video features etc. Sony also only really focuses on their full frame stuff, so the 6300 doesn't have the great, small, fast lenses in the M43 line. 
So I think a few improvements would still separate it from the pack. 
 
 

5D has option for lower resolution "RAW" (it is not exactly the RAW becuase of resolution, but bit depth is same as original RAW). That is someting that NX1 does not have. Moreover - NX1 would need also electronic shutter to achieve "video RAW in photo mode". It would be complicated even for Samsung engineers...
Let's focus on bitrate first... (...crop mode, lower sharpness or noise reduction)

could be because the processor has been developed to downscale in hardware?

If I were you, I would go with the FD or the Olympus. With either, you can grab a cheap, excellent 50mm for $50 or less. With FD you can get a 24mm f2 and a 35mm f2 for around $200 each. With those 3 lenses  you will have a nice little set. Then you can look for the 17mm f4 later on for around 300 and then a zoom or two. For less than a thousand you can have an excellent set of lenses eventually. Stay with a lens maker though. 

i guess it's 80mbit

I was just looking for a constant aperture zoom. I looked on eBay and saw the 35-105mm and then found this. For 30 bucks I thought what the hell. I had a small set of FD lenses. I sold all of them... Some of which I paid 3 or 4 times more, but won't sell this. The only issue I have with the lens is that the filter ring is recessed, so it is hard to mount and nd filter. But even at 5.6 you get good bokeh. In fact, I don't think any of the shallow focus shots in that video were shot wide open. 

hi, i bought NX1 couple of weeks ago, so this i'm also following this 'hack' initiative..  
found some header files in the NX1.zip. Unzip packages and go to  standard-armv7l\usr\include\video\drime5.
I'm no C++ programmer, but i guess there are definitions for the video settings there .. so maybe that would be helpful to someone who 'knows'...
 

Yes its the canon FD hidden gem lens  , very good and sooooo cheap
 

Get the Tokina 24-40mm f2.8 and 35-70mm f2.8. All manual. Beautiful lenses.
This is the Tokina 24-40mm on the NX500. 

He didn't say it 'has', he said 'appears to have', meaning: he's uncertain. And things Ken Rockwell says have to be taken with a grain of salt to begin with.

just go for the version 1 and 2 avoid the rest - simple! and make sure you by Nikon mont as it has apperture control , dont buy a conon mount !! no apperture

I got that Nikon is better... I wanted to see a side by side comparison.

there are lenses from Nikon in my opinion they are the best as they have apperture rings and amazing glass

Just an idea, but ihkim, a guy on dpr, reverse engineered the nx mount. Another cool thing would be a crowdsourced intelligent adapter to canikon lenses.

So the phone hacking guys at xda often have "bounties" for various things, like rooting or unlocking a boot loader. That method I think could be very successful for us. We find an arbiter that we trust, maybe kidzrevil since he started the thread, and pool our money into something like venmo, so that people are actually committed. The bounty would be for something specific like "installable firmware that can increase bitrate to 150 Mbps and increase frame rate to 60fps at highest stable bitrate at 4k". People that want that feature pool their money into that. Once real money can be seen, we might see bigger interest from developers. Of course if everyone wanted we could make the bounty for more or less features... My vote would be to keep it pretty realistic at first.

Yes. Nikon can be adapted to nearly anything because it's the SLR system with the longest flange distance.