Kisaha

@ Mattias - Very much looking forward to your review of 120 fps.

Stiils from 180 mbps video of that gig

(1) and (2): Some explanations.
Scripts are stored on the SD card. SD cards are optimized for sustained writes and generally slower than internal emmc flash, especially for mixed read/writes. When you start to mix script reads and video writes you are confusing the sdcard (internal) flash memory controller and since the card is optimized for large writes it will behave badly for short reads like those of scripts. Especially when these are comparatively rare in between long sustained writes. The ARM core running Tizen and the user interface is single threaded and not very fast (the fast ones are running the non-Tizen T-Kernel operating the camera hardware). You WILL see slowness because the UI has to wait for the keyscan to finish which in turn waits for the scripts to finish which in turn get read from a (comparatively) slow card the SD before it (the UI) can continue with whatever it was doing. the scripts heavily use the Linux shell, launching it every single time a script is launched (and remember for us scripts are launching other scripts - nested scripts). Bottom line, there are several things someone will need to do before you will get better performance:
RUN, don't walk, from storing any script/mod/hack on SD card. This is the single greatest reason for slowness, and to make things worse, it is highly dependent on card model (and more expensive cards will not necessarily make things better because it may happen that high end cards will work less well for small reads than cheaper "non-optimized for writes" cards. Otto is doing something about this but AFAIK it is still experimental although not rocket science. But you will also have to overcome your fear of storing mods internally. After all, once you did the BT mod, you basically did 95% of what is required anyway and successfully passed the "dangerous" phase of changing camera rootfs. I do think that we need to improve that mod to enable mod bypass during boot just in case something goes wrong with any of the internal mods, and that we need to have a "mod witness" permanently on the screen to show that mods are enabled, but this is minor. Eliminate multiple scripts from "production" mods. Scripts are fantastic for getting functionality in your hands and to allow fast test turnaround and mod interface evolution but ultimately there needs to be a consolidated mod that sits in ONE binary. This is, by the way, I think, one of the reasons for the fat di-camera-app that runs the entire camera UI. Script support needs to stay (both card and internal) but over time, all mods should aspire to be part of a main mod binary. Ideally, a mod should go through multiple stages: SD card based while it is evaluated and goes through fast changes and updates and while we are NOT CERTAIN that it will not damage the camera internal when determined as safe for camera and changes are not so frequent once stable and generally accepted, optimize and integrate as binary (non-shell script) in a main executable mod for fastest speed. There you go.
Also, from what I can see in the firmware, it seems that the data flow in the camera goes: Sensor => DRIME (that is operated by T-Kernel) => Tizen kernel => write on card. The reason Tizen and not T-Kernel writes on card is that you cannot have multiple operating systems write on the card at the same time. This means that if we bloat memory use on Tizen, its capacity to maintain sustained writes is lowered compared to what it might achieve with more free RAM. In turn, this means: avoid shell scripts or heavy programs (like my gdb bitrate mod version).
This, IMO, is also the reason the "poker" method allows faster performance than the "gdb" method. It is also the reason I am working towards an even better method than "poker" which will consolidate the "memory change" mods in one binary without the need to stop the di-camera-app multiple times (which is very time consuming for the CPU).
Finally: Would anyone mind starting something like a gofundme campaign for a NX500. Mine needs a replacement power button (I kind of abused mine I guess) and I am reluctant to keep working on it after I get it repaired.
It is too bad because with time, based on what I see in the camera, and if there was a developer community built around it, the hardware could achieve wonders. And to be clear, Otto, Kino Seed, Chant, and me do not "community" make IMO, like for example Magic Lantern. If you guys want anything close to ML you will need to do a lot more about spreading the word and competing for developers time/recruiting new ones.
Regards
Vasile

120fps firmware is out. Will hopefully have a chance later this weekend to test it out.

How hard would it be to remove the block on the NX1 so that the Samsung Camera Manager app functions while using manual lenses? Would be great to have wireless live view while using non Samsung Glass. Thanks everyone! 

BTW, for anyone interested in developing, I am posting the link for accessing all NX1 firmware files again for ease of access. I usually grant access pretty quickly when a request comes in. Access the files here: https://drive.google.com/a/cmcfirm.com/folderview?id=0Bwt0uzFgEoRkQ2ZLOUJOM295UGM&usp=sharing

The entire firmware history (v1.01, v1.10, v1.20, v1.21, v1.22, v1.30, v1.31, v1.32, and v1.40) for the NX1 is now archived in that link:

Happy to help and really am impressed by what you all have accomplished thus far!

Bought a stills camera today that came with the Olympus 17mm f1.8 (the nice one with hard stops).
Turns out it covers the full s35 on the LS300.

I was playing around with this last night and it looks like you can get the Saturation, Sharpness and contract to values that are not shown in the menu including negative numbers. 
ex:  if you set sharpness to -10 in the menu and do "prefman get 0 0x87c l" comes back showing the value is set to 0 and like wise if you set sharpness to +10 in the menu and prefman get again reads the value as 20 therfore -10=0 and +10=20. now if you do "prefman set 0 0x87c l -10" witch would be an equivalent to -20 sharpness in the menu then do a "prefman get 0 0x87c l" it read the value is still being set to -10.
I will do some more testing to see if the value is actually sticking during or after recording and if it makes a difference to the quality then report back.
 
I also wrote a script last night that uses nested while commands to consecutively record 5 sec clips testing all the gammaDR setting in a given range. this could in theory test every possible combination for saturation, sharpness, contrast setting automatically(1000 tests total). Let me know if any one is interested in this script for themselves.
This script could also very easily be altered to do or include MBL, RGB setting or HUE settings if that is your kinds of thing.

For everything over 50mm I would use IS for handheld. 50mm and under is ok.
EF autofocus works nice. Watch my test video.
Never used an fs5 so I cant tell you.

OK, some advancements - namely a way to speed up applying mods as soon as the camera wakes up from sleep. See more here https://github.com/ottokiksmaler/nx500_nx1_modding/blob/master/doc/Boot_Process_and_Speeding_up_Mods.md
Also, a small poll and explanation:
If you don't want to do it from telnet, wait a few days, there will be a nicer, more automated way to do it.
If you are starting other things (bitrate hacks, whatever) - please do check if they are running already. You can use keyscan as test as it will return 0 only if it's not already running, like this /opt/usr/devel/bin/keyscan /dev/event0 /dev/event1 /opt/usr/devel/bin/ && my_program
Just to make things clear - it's not modifying the firmware.I have no intention to mess with firmware as I have no easy way to repair my camera.
We slightly tweak the "read only" rootfs (like we already do for BT hack - we just change a single line in script) and move our scripts from SD card to internal filesystem - the one mounted under /opt as "read write" by default. It's not going to brick a camera, I have even put a swap file to extend RAM on that filesystem and everything worked.
NB, I have been using and testing this for two days now - no side effects.
The main difference is that right now, when you pop out the SD card with mods and put in a clean one - your camera acts as if it was neved modded. With this it would be modded even without a SD card (ie, it would be modded with every SD card).
All modifications are fully reversible and would be reversible from aforementioned utility.
So, a small poll - do you want me to make an installer that will install mods to the camera internally in order to work faster?

I really don't want to start a debate about Samsung so I am going to just say that that is your opinion and my opinion is that samsung makes many fantastic products with leading edge technology.
I also believe your statement about "Most of what they do is pretty shite or a sneaky copy of X" could be said about almost every company that has ever existed including apple, Cannon, Panasonic, Black Magic, etc. They all copy each other and they all make alot of shity products that is what competition is all about.

Yeah I was wondering about that myself.
I am also curious about the following commands as well
startfisheye stopfisheye setpath 0 - 2(0:OTF/1:IPCout/2:RawOut/3:Ldc Out/4:120FPS OTF/5:120FPS IPC out stremmode [0 – 14] sensorframerate 240 outputframerate 240 dataframerate 240 Hopefully I will have some time to play around with it this sunday.

Sure will be doing!

I've pledged.
The modders are fantastic people. lets help them. Remember they are putting their own time into this.
Perhaps those who were enthusiastic about giving donations, at the top and throughout this thread, would like to help .

I was packing up the loaner thats shipping back to JVC when I thought I would do one last thing. Some experimenting with the Cine Gamma. The J-Log is really great. It has a nice roll of and I love using it specially on bright days with a high dynamic range. 
But in dim light, specially low contrast, it doesn’t withstand grading very well.
The noise can turn very ugly and FPN if not careful. So far my fix for it has been to expose down. If its dark, let it be dark. This isn’t a night for day camera.
Today I tested something else. Anybody that uses Sony and S-Log knows that in many low contrast situations its better to switch to "Cine Gamma”. Specially to preserve skin tones. And it seems JVC is no different.
I shot some clips of myself in a mirror. There is no direct light hitting me, its pretty dim. 

If you look at my sweater, on the right arm, you can see how the J-Log has a nicer roll of, while the Cine Gamma has a harsher clip. But you can probably also see how much nicer the skin gets, specially on the shadow side. There where less banding on the wall as well. And the J-Log is just about to fall apart after the grade and a WB correction. The Cine Gamma had correct WB in camera but still feels like there is some more leverage there.
J-Log Ungraded

J-Log Graded

Cine Gamma Ungraded

Cine Gamma Light grade

Cine Gamma Graded to my liking

 
So a quick unscientific conclusion is, J-Log in bright and HDR light. Cine Gamma when uncertain.
Now I can’t wait until my own LS300 gets here, because I need to give the Gamma settings and Picture Profiles a thorough run through. 
There is for example a WDR setting that I want to fool around with.
Cine Gamma WDR Ungraded

Cine Gamma WDR Light Grade

 

I have mentioned this previously on other forums, the H.265 codec profile used within the NX1 is limited to 160,000 kbps, it's MAIN - Level 5.1, to go higher you need to change the codec profile. To get to 10bit the NX1/NX500 needs the newer version of the codec without which it is impossible.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Efficiency_Video_Coding

Reported.

Dude, Tommix. Could you maybe not?
How about no to you acting like bully to all of us? Just stop. Either start contributing and stop being a dick to us, or just watch what is happening or lets ask Andrew to get you banned? 


PS: This is not an invitation for you to flame spam this topic so be that kind to us, fellow cinematographers, and get better, friendlier.

Some things related to hacking and video modes. Based on examining /sys/devices/platform/drime5-pmu.1/ during operation. This is a power management unit (it shuts down blocks that are not currently used - a very definite source for what's being used when):
During MJPEG block called mp is used (also in video preview)
During HEVC block called hevc is used, but mp as well (also in video preview)
Block called srp is used only during SAS mode, not during video
Block called pp is always used and I have a hunch (just a hunch) that noise removal is included in it (same name in various places during any image processing, memory allocatin, etc, even just for displaying)
This strongly suggests that both hevc and jpeg are done in dedicated hardware, not something that can be easily changed (but migh accept various parameters, etc).

I to was after some sort of Cinema/Camcorder hybrid.
The C100ii of course came to mind or the now sub $3K c100i. But the JVC always intrigued me, it seemed to fit the bill perfectly but still people wasn't buying it.
I kept my eyes on it and when the first Lowlight footage from J-Log came out I just had to try it. 
Now when I have been shooting with it for a week, and love it btw, a few thoughts and questions about the market surfaced in my mind.
I thought that the lessons from the initial bad reviews of the BMCC and C100 would have taught people to not let specs blind them. But maybe more importantly, don't let their feelings about brands get in the way of the results people are getting. Its like when people say "Nikon is bad for video" based on what reviews said 5 years ago.
Same with the BMCC, "Philip Bloom says you can only shoot for 30min with a huge rig and no SDOF". But we all know thats not the general truth.
A guy on this board just said, "JVC footage looks like news" when he has only ever used a t2i. My suspicion is that the reason we aren't seeing more reviewers giving the camera an actual chance is because its a JVC. They might have been big back in the days, and thats why the reviewers so far has been traditional "Camera Men". But a s35 is mostly interesting for the cinematic shooter, and they/we aren't used to JVC. Just look how long it took before Sony and Panasonic was widely considered an option over DSLRs.
Or the faith of the NX1. And speaking of Panasonic. Does a day even go past without people shouting for a AF200? Well, why wait, its already here. It has the 4K, 4:2:2: LOG, Improved form factor and soon HFR that the AF100 users wanted.
Plus a cheaper initial price. Plus a s35 sensor.. with the m4/3 mount. And Panasonic owns JVC..
What are they still waiting for? Lastly, I could buy it just for the satisfaction of owning a camera from a brand named "Japan Victor Company" I know NAB is close but Im pretty set on getting a LS300 anyway. I simply don't want to give it back. If you know me Im a vintage lens junkie, and there isn't a better camera to satisfy that need on the market.
NAB for me will more be about a B-cam or 4K recorder.
Speaking of B-Cam. Given that a B-Cam imo should use the same lenses and do stuff that the A-Cam doesn't, I currently have two great options.
BMPCC, Brings a small form factor so that it can always travel in a pocket of the bag. Ads a second angle, Raw and the super stealth, given that the LS300 might raise eyebrows in certain situations. It can use both the MFT, all the vintage and EF lenses I have. 5DMark3, Can only use the EF lenses and some of the vintage. But it brings Raw, FF, Stills, even better lowlight and semi stealth. So if NAB doesn't bring another Raw option to use as B-Cam, my 5D3 might get to stick around or be replaced my a BMPCC.
(PS. For the love of god BMD... A BMPC4K with an active MFT.. I can crop the sensor in post for you.. instant buy.)

A few feature hopes and dreams from someone willing to test, but not savvy enough to explore on my own. Thanks in advance for any work.
The "SAS" (Samsung Auto Shot) functions on the  NX500 have the potential of being very useful for various applications, but they are crippled by a few limitations that are most likely software-based. If you're struggling to see how the SAS functions would be useful skip to the Hypothetical Shoot Scenarios at the end. 
In order of priority, these are some changes that would make the SAS functions more useful:
The ability to capture in RAW. Currently, as far as I know, all Auto settings are limited to JPG on the NX500. Manual settings. Just because it is called "Samsung Auto Shot" doesn't mean that you shouldn't be able to manually set aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. Continuous AF. Currently it is limited to Single AF, which means it sets AF at the beginning of the capture and doesn't change depending on the subject. Ideally the AF would be smart enough to detect movement, focus on the moving subject, and then trigger the shutter (I know this is a lot to ask for, but it could be bloody useful, and doesn't seem outside of the realm of possibility).  The ability to set "Trap Shot" to be triggered by movement in any direction. Currently you can only set it to be triggered by movement from one direction at a time. The ability to have video recording triggered by movement. Currently the SAS modes are only available for stills. Hypothetical Shoot Scenario: You're trying to catch birds in flight and you've found their nest. With the camera on a tripod you frame up a shot to capture the bird as it is just taking off or just coming in for a landing. Ideally, you would be able to set your shutter speed to one fast enough to stop the bird in mid-air without motion blur, set your AF to continuous, and leave the camera to do its thing.
Less likely Shoot Scenario: You're trying to capture footage of polar bears leaving their den in the spring. You set up your camera a few hundred meters from the den opening and run your camera off of a large external battery. With a long lens you frame up a shot of the den opening, you lock your shutter at 1/50th and set your aperture to f/5.6, you set ISO to Auto, and you turn AF off. Ideally, the camera is able to be left alone for hours, and when movement is detected in the frame a video is captured for a set period of time.
These scenarios are just meant to spark people's imagination with the potential utility of this already powerful, but crippled, capture tool.
 

After the price drop and the latest firmware update, it seems like the best "workhorse" option in the market.
I own the NX500/NX1 and usually rent the C100ii or C300 for paid jobs, so I will need to buy a dedicated video camera soon (September) and I would like it to be 4K but modestly priced, and I am not convinced with the Sony options so far.. 
I will wait, and closely follow the market until then, but this JVC, considering the cost and some innovative implementations, seems more and more appealing by the day.

Are you a shill for them? Because your post is nothing but dismissing and downplaying issues other people have with the camera. The overheating issue is a huge one, I'm not telling the talent "sorry we have to wait a couple minutes while the camera cools down to do the next take/ask the next question/start your song"  or "sorry can you do that take again the camera shut off in the middle of it". The NX1 (which came out two years ago) has the same size sensor, never overheats, has better RS, a better 1080p mode, and a headphone out for monitoring audio, and can be had for about the same price. Operationally it is a far superior camera. 
Don't make excuses, the only reason this is a 4K camera is because someone in marketing demanded it. 

I kind of hope you're trolling, but I feel compelled to respond anyway.
tl;dr: Nobody has been making any implied promises, and your suggestion had already been tried and failed before you posted it.
First of all, nobody is claiming to be working on super-duper secret projects. Everyone has been very clear that they are doing this for fun in their spare time. From what I have read, nobody is releasing much since there isn't much interesting to release. For what it's worth, there have already been results, in particular from Otto and Vasile. Both of them made no promises yet delivered exactly what they said they expected to do. Vasile claimed to have found how to increase the bitrate, and provided a video as proof. Yea he could theoretically have faked it, but I see know reason to think that at this point. Otto stated his intentions very clearly and his results have already proven useful to people who want to take videos of events longer than 30 minutes (as well as anyone who wants to investigate their camera further).
You got radio silence on your suggestions because people were already working on that and ran into problems that you did not address at all. In case it's too much trouble for you to actually read what people have already written, the issue was that if the camera app is killed it freezes the camera. It's hard to replace an app if you cannot even remove it. If you think you know how to prevent that, I would love to hear it. If you want "traction" in this discussion, try actually being helpful.
Regarding the DRIMeV SoC itself, I mostly agree with your educated guess. It is almost certainly the same die, and the ARM cores are 100% identical. Unfortunately that's not saying much at all since most modern ARMv7 cores are identical as far as the software is concerned. It's the details of other blocks that would determine whether or not the important components of the camera application run or not. I can't tell just from skimming the kernel source code.
It takes under 5 minutes to find and download the firmware update from Samsung's site. If you really don't have 5 free minutes in your life, I don't understand why you are wasting time criticizing people who have actually accomplished things and posted them here. If you are 1/2 as smart as you make yourself sound, it should take you less than an hour to unpack all the components of the firmware. I had never unpacked a firmware before, but it only took me two evenings to get all the major pieces out. The offsets, sizes, compression, and filesystems are almost all documented right here in this forum, so there is no excuse not to take a look if you really want to test an idea.
I totally agree that the ratio of people waiting with high expectations to the people working on it is rather high. The Magic Lantern forums are just like that on a larger scale, but that doesn't change what they have or have not done. You need to keep in mind that this forum is a community of filmmakers, not hackers (or even "photographers"). The point of this thread in the first place was to show interest in modifying a camera, at which I'd say it has admirably succeeded!
Finally, nobody cares that you're a busy person. So you like your HoloLens and want to play with it. Cool story. We're all busy people too, so suck it up and either contribute or go back to lurking. Sorry for the tone, but that's because I can never stand people who drop into discussions and claim that they could do it all better if they didn't have so many more important things to do, yet don't contribute anything useful.
/rant

We will be expecting eagerly your hacking/moding advances, until then just keep it humble, so to keep this thread useful and without any grey noise.

Tommix, as far as I can tell, the process is all but simple. As pavel wrote, patience is a keyword here. Otto created some nice scripts. Vasile seems to have upped the bitrate. Chant is delving into the main code.
Three must be the conditions joined by a logical AND:
- Interested in nx system
- higly knowledgeable in sw development and Linux system
- have time
 
Not that easy to return a TRUE value ;-)