MUCH better!!!

Highlights:

Low Noise Filter
Picture Cache & Interval Recording in DVCAM mode
Continuous Clip Recording
Electronic Shutter can be seen in "Angle of Degrees"

it's version 1.93

Not sure when Sony are putting it up. The fact I have it must mean it has been fully approved after extensive testing. I understand it had been doing some funny stuff, hence the delay.

This really gives the camera a new lease of life. So much more sensitive in low light. You can use 6db of gain and hardly see anything. In fact it's like the f355 now apart from the dual layer discs and sd sdi out

That's great news Phil, however, when I looked at the Sony site at the V1.5 download it does not mention a noise filter? or am I missing something?

Regards: Stu
www.studioscotland.com

i have been bugging Sony for a while and they emailed me it today. Let me contact them tomorrow and ask if I am free to distribute it

Great stuff... could do with a bit less noise on this camera...

Regards: Stu
www.studioscotland.com

i have been bugging Sony for a while and they emailed me it today. Let me contact them tomorrow and ask if I am free to distribute it

Either that or we could ALL start calling and bugging Sony for awhile...

Great - look forward to it - just on the phone to prime support now to see if I can wangle it out of them! :)

Got a shoot soon that would really benefit from it :)

Paul

Great - they're willing to send it - will see how it goes...

Just to check, I got AT 1.60 and package 1.93

To achieve this upgrade, do you need the MS-69A board or is it all done in the external stick slot?

I am currently on V1.62 AT V1.54.

It's done by memory stick (if you're at the latest version previous to this) - otherwise, one of the earlier updates needed the hardware method of upgrade I was told by Sony support.

I posted some screen grabs (of a messy desk!!) here, comparing the noise reduction in a simple and quick comparison. Capture settings were HD 50i 35Mbit. The room was fairly dark too with a number of dark spots (like the stack of discs near the camera). Gain at 0db, auto iris on:

Without NR:
http://www.siliconpixel.com/xdcam/none.bmp

With NR set at 1:
http://www.siliconpixel.com/xdcam/one.bmp

With NR set at 2:
http://www.siliconpixel.com/xdcam/two.bmp

Makes a big difference! :)

Paul.

Thanks Paul, I'll call now and bug Sony!

Noise reduction impressive, maybe slight loss of resolution, but you don't get something for nothing.

Thanks for the e-mail, just arrived.

sounds cool! just called the sony support, but no one knows about anything here in austria :( i hope that they put it online quite soon! or could somebody of you help me, guys?

Just upgraded, noise reduction good but does affect the sensitivity. Looks like setting 1 is the best compromise.

Here's my test.

Pretty difficult to see the difference with those images as they're JPG's and pretty heavily compressed - BMP's would be better :)

At the moment I am on tour (Sony Roadshow 2008 in Germany) presenting Vegas Pro + XDCAM EX1

There are also XDCAM HDs (f355) and XDCAM HD422 (pdw-700) to play around with.

Though I know the sony staff quite well, nobody told me about the fw update yet...

Tomorrow I´ll see them again, gonna ask...

ULI

Sony UK is often the first out of the gate with firmware and software updates.

-gb-

Are the software updates suitable for ALL European models? Are they ever different for US models too?

Are the software updates suitable for ALL European models? Are they ever different for US models too?

No difference, it's just that our folks at Sony US are more conservative about releasing updated firmware. They want it thoroughly shook down before releasing it to the wild. Since they pretty much have the majority of broadcasters here in the states, a firmware problem could be a potentially large problem to have on their hands. Just speculation on my part over the reasoning.

-gb-

Not to be pedantic, but if anything it has been the opposite in the past.

I have permission to give it to anyone who wants it...but i have been told you must have already upgraded their camera to v1.54 AT & v1.62 Package. email me and i will forward it to you.

Am I correct that with this firmware update, a PDW-F330 and PDW-F350 now are equal to the PDW-F335 and PDW-F355? Except the use of dual layer discs of course.

yep and the lack of sd sdi

great!

just some wishes for the next update:
over/undercranking also in sd-mode,
genlock-in as return-video-in (like the sd-version of xdcam, cool for live-setups),

and, wtf is that "ana v out safe"?? analog video out safe. like a "broadcast colors only"??

www.philipbloom.co.uk/f350.zip

right clip and save

of course works for f330 too

Thanks for sharing Phil!

You're a heroe!

Are the install notes/Read Me file the same as prior update? If not, does someone have the step-by-step?

I used the instructions on the Sony biz web site for the previous update:


Placed the two files in \\mssony\pro\camera\pdwf350 dir on a memory stick.

Went to D04 screen, held down rotary encoder for a while – then updated AT – took a minute or so. When completed and red warning led flashing, reset power. Then did package update in same way – took 5-6 mins or so. Then rebooted again.

So when complete I should have:

AT 1.60
Package 1.93

Correct?

seems to be up on Sony's FTP site now ... thanks for posting Phil, you da man!

full text of the new firmware below:

Function Changed
.
(1) [F330/F350] Addition of Picture Cache and Interval Rec for DVCAM mode.
These become available at DVCAM format while they were available at only MPEG HD
format before.
They can be set by "SPECIAL EFFECT" page on the "OPERATION" menu as well as for
MPEG HD format.

(2) [F330/F350] Addition of Clip Continuous Rec Function
Normally, a clip is generated as an independent file every time recording starts and
stops.
The Clip Continuous Rec function allows you to continue recording in the same clip until
the function is turned off, regardless of how many times recording starts and stops.
This can be set by "CLIP CONT REC" on the "SPECIAL EFFECTS" page in the
"OPERATION" menu.
ON: （One continuous clip is made after repetition of recording and pausing until the
function is disabled or terminated）
OFF: （Factory setting, New clip is made every time to start recording and pausing)

(3) [F330/F350] Addition of Operation Warning for the case that clips on the disc reaches
nearly maximum number 300 which can be recorded on a disc.
Status display on the LCD monitor/ Viewfinder screen: Near MAX #
Problem: Nine or fewer clips remain until the upper limit of 300 recorded clips is reached.
Action: Be prepared to change the disc
Status display on the LCD monitor/ Viewfinder screen: MAX # Clips
Problem: The upper limit of 300 recorded clips has been reached.
Action: Change the disc

(4) [F330/F350] Electric shutter can be set in angle of degrees
Shutter speed can be set by the degree of angle.
This can be set on the "SHUTTER SELECT" page in the "MAINTENANCE" menu.
SECOND: Shutter is set by the second.（Factory setting. Shutter is set in a similar way
like
before）
DEGREE: Shutter is set by the degree of angle.
Being set to "DEGREE" the item can be selected from one to six of setting of degrees.
The six settings of degrees can be changed on the same "SHUTTER SELECT" page as
we
have mentioned above.

(5) [F330/F350] Low Noise mode can be selected
Low-noise mode allows you to obtain clear video with little noise under low light
conditions.
Select "LOW NOISE MODE" on the "CAM CONFIG" page of the "MAINTENANCE"
menu.
OFF: Standard setting (factory default setting)
1: Reduce noise by using the noise reduction circuits, without lowering the sensitivity.
Resolution and gradations under low light are slightly lower.
2: Reduce noise more than the 1 setting by lowering the sensitivity. Compared to the
OFF
setting, sensitivity is about 20% lower, and the dynamic range is about 20% lower.
(Sensitivity declines to about F8, compared to the standard F9.)

(6) [F330/F350] Addition of a menu in order to output Analog Video Signal when the
terminal is not terminated.
Selecting whether shutting output off or not when analog output (composite: F350 and
F330 / component: F330 only) is not terminated.
It can be set by "ANA V OUT SAVE" on the "CAM CONFIG" page in the
"MAINTENANCE MENU".
ON : Factory setting. Shut off the Analog Output in order to reduce the power
consumption when output terminal is not terminated.
OFF: Analog output is outputted in any case.
There may be no output with termination when using very long cable（approximately
5C2V
or 8281 of more than 500 meters as a rough guide), but the Video Signal will be
outputted
by setting this menu to "OFF". In such case this menu is set to "OFF" to output the
VIDEO
signal.
(NOTE: This is not to say that using long cable is recommended.)

(7) [F330/F350] Addition of Function to "MANUAL RPN" and "MANUAL RPN(SLS)" in
the SERVICE MENU
"RPN WIDTH" and "CURSOR JUMP" are added.
RPN WIDTH: Horizontal width of compensation can be set for every point where RPN is
compensated.
1: One pixel is compensated horizontally
2: Two pixels are compensated horizontally
3: Three pixels is are compensated horizontally
Set to 1 under normal condition.
Set to 2 or 3 only for big blemish where compensation can be improved by setting to 2 or
3.
CURSOR JUMP:
Move [→] to the left of characters of "CURSOR JUMP".
Click and turn the MENU knob then the cursor jumps to next point to be compensated
The cursor jumps in descending order, but left to right on the horizontal line.

(8) [F330/F350] Check and change the model name and serial number stored on the
EEPROM using the SERVICE menu.
"EEPROM" page is added to the end of the SERVICE menu.
Model name and serial number stored in the EEPROMs on the PA-330 board and on the
DCP-37 board is displayed.
Rewrite it as described below only in the case that incorrect serial number is displayed
after
replacing CCD Block or DCP-37 board.
In case of discrepancy between serial number of PA and DCP " SERIAL DCP－＞PA :
EXEC " will be displayed. Then move [→] to the left of it and execute rewriting.
In the result the indication becomes correct turn the POWER OFF.
If the indication remains incorrect turn the POWER OFF and ON and display this menu
again.
Pressing MENU knob for a while the page to change serial number is displayed.
Change to the correct serial number of PA and DCP and select "END".
"SERIAL NUM WRITE: EXEC" is displayed and execute it.
After rewriting the serial number it is recommended to check if the correct serial number
has been stored turning the POWER OFF and ON.

(9) [F330/F350] Addition of Other Warning Display
Status display on the LCD monitor/viewfinder screen: Drive Busy!
Problem: A clip has been saved to the unit’s internal temporary memory but not written
to
the disc, because of vibrations or some other problem.
Action: Reduce vibrations as far as possible, and wait until the ACCESS indicator goes
out.

Bugs Fixed

(1) [F330/F350]
An indication in percent figures displayed when upgrading Package Firmware with a
Memory Stick is deleted because the indication of "VERSION UP : 100%" doesn’t mean
completion of upgrade.

(2) [F330/F350]
While only four-channel audio mode is used when the format is set to DVCAM, "Audio:
2ch" might be shown on the STATUS display.
The problem is fixed.

(3) [F330/F350]
The Value changes faster by turning MENU knob for some MENU when RM-B750 is
connected.
The problem is fixed.

(4) [F330/F350]
The picture is likely to lose color when shooting very high-intensity subjects because of
the
settings. That has been improved.

(5) [F350]
The indication for the shutter speed may not correspond to the actual performance of the
shutter when shutter is set to "ON" under setting Slow&Quick to "ON" and the Frame
Rate
to between 31 and 59 in NTSC mode, (between 26 and 49 in PAL mode) .
The problem has been fixed.
Incorrect sensitivity in that case also has been corrected. Selectivity for any ECS
Frequency
that should not be set has been corrected.

(6) [F350]
The frame rate is kept same as SLOW MOTION is set to Expand even if SLOW
MOTION
is set to Normal after the frame late is set to between 31 and 59 in NTSC mode,
(between
26 and 49 in PAL mode) under setting as Slow&Quick is set to ON and SLOW MOTION
is
set to Expand.
The problem has been fixed.

(7) [F330/F350]
Upgrading of the Package software becomes impossible after shutting off supply of the
POWER when upgrading. That problem has been fixed. Once this software has been
loaded.

Are the install notes/Read Me file the same as prior update? If not, does someone have the step-by-step?


Install notes are as below:

How to Upgrade Software from version PKG-1.62/AT1.54 to
PKG-1.93/AT-1.60

Be sure that the Camcorder has been previously upgraded to PKG-1.62/AT1.54. If not
please contact either the Sales Support Engineer or Product Management to arrange to get
the special Jig that is required or have them upgrade the system to this level prior to
doing this software upgrade.

The following steps will guide you through upgrading the software without having to get
into the Service menus. Be sure that you are operating the camcorder on a DC power
source and not batteries to ensure that the battery does not cause a failure of the software
upgrade. Remove the any disc from the camcorder before doing the software upgrade.

Download the software from the site onto your hard drive and then later it will be
transferred to the memory stick; otherwise the camcorder will not recognize the PKG
software.

1. Format a Memory Stick (minimum size is 8M) in the camcorder. This is found
under File menus F07 Memory Stick.

2. Now place the formatted Memory Stick into your PC and Place the following files
into the folder MSSONY/PRO/CAMERA/PDWF350.
f350at.rom
F350PK.ROM

3. Place the Memory Stick with the above files into the camcorder.

4. Power On the camcorder. Depress the Rotary Encoder select button while turning
on the Menus. This will now display the top Page of the menu tree. Go to Menu
Diagnosis D04 ROM VERSION. The screen will be displaying the following:
AT: 1.54
PACKAGE: 1.62

5. Now press and hold depressed for 10 second the rotary Encoder button.
The menu display should change as follows:
AT: 1.54 1.60
PACKAGE: 1.62 1.93
The first number displays what is currently loaded in the camcorder and the
second number (further right hand side) is the memory stick version.
Use the rotary encoder and move the arrow to point to the software that you wish
to upgrade (this should now be pointing to the AT. To move the arrow rotate the
rotary encoder selection button.
Press the rotary encoder button and answer the question with yes to begin the
software AT upgrade.

6. Now press and hold depressed for 10 second the rotary Encoder button.
The menu display should change as follows:
AT: 1.60 1.60
PACKAGE: 1.62 1.93
The first number displays what is currently loaded in the camcorder and the
second number (further right hand side) is the memory stick version.
Use the rotary encoder and move the arrow to point to the software that you wish
to upgrade (this should now be pointing to the Package. To move the arrow rotate
the rotary encoder selection button.
Press the rotary encoder button and answer the question with yes to begin the
software Package upgrade.

7. During this upgrade process do not remove either the memory stick or the power
from the camcorder. At the bottom of the VF display you will see either “DATA
READING” or “FLASH WRITING”. Wait for the display to Flash
“COMPLETE”. This process will take about 10 minutes to complete.

8. Turn the camcorder Power “OFF”. Remove the memory stick from the camcorder.

Power the camcorder “ON”. Now go the menus and look at DIAGNOSIS menu
D00. While pressing the menu knob (Rotary Encoder) and press the Zebra Button
so the light is lit, and then turn the menu switch ON and OFF and back ON and a
new menu will appear “Service”. Select the service menu and go to menu S01
Menu Set. Select the Factory Preset and execute. Now power the Camcorder OFF
and then back ON. Select the country by pressing the rotary encoder and then
rotating through the selections. You will was NTSC AREA and not NTSC (J)
Area as the one with the “J” is for Japan and does not have 7.5 IRE of setup on
the composite output.

9. The next several steps will change the drive hours to be configured to be similar
to those of the new XDCAM drives.

10. Turn the Camcorder Power OFF and then back ON.

11. Go to menu D00 “Diagnostics”.
Press the rotary encoder button while depressing the Zebra button to have the
Zebra light lit and then turn the menu OFF and back ON (maybe several times)
until the Service menu appears.

12. Go to menu Service and select “S31” VDR MAINTENANCE. Then enter this
menu and select “DRIVE MAINTE EXE”.

13. Then answer the question MAINTENANCE START? YES.

14. Select the “OTHERS” menu.

15. Use the rotary encoder to scroll to the bottom of this menu (the asterisk should be
next to Memory Support). Then continue to scroll down and a new menu will
appear “Maintenance Hours” Select this menu. Now scroll to “Convert Hours”
and follow the instructions on the screen. Note: Once this has been executed this
menu selection will not be display again.

16. Power the camcorder OFF and back ON. Now go to the Diagnostic Menu D04
ROM VERSION and verify that the AT and PKG are the current versions:
AT: 1.60
PACKAGE: 1.93

17. This completes the software upgrade. Refer to the Technical memo for feature
improvement and bug fixes and well as the readme first document.

NOTE: With this version of software you should also upgrade the FAM Driver (File
Access Mode driver) for your NLE and PC use, The new version is 2.02. If you use
PDZ-1 (Proxy Browsing Software) this should also be upgraded to version 2.23.
If you are using a Mac OS and Final Cut Pro or Avid software operating on a Mac
platform there is a new version of the File transfer version 2.1. This will also need to
be upgraded.

Is it really necessary to reset to factory preset after the update? Everything seems to be fine without doing so but if there is a good reason I will do it.

I was wondering that too - I did it though and have just been spending the last hour resetting all my settings! Good to do though as it reinforces knowledge about the more obscure settings (and reading the manual!)

I couldn't see anything that obviously changed either - all the new settings were in place and seemed to be working OK without the reset.

Doin the counter update might be useful though.

When I try to update the firmware on my 330 it reads AT = 1.50 Package 1.56 not (1.54 PACKAGE: 1.62) as in Andy Mees Instructions and a message no files found on memory stick do I have a problem ( the last update I had to send my camera back to Sony UK)
Thomas

>When I try to update the firmware on my 330 it reads AT = 1.50 Package 1.56

Seems that the 330 firmware and 350 firmware update are one and the same thing, however, as per the instructions, you need to update to the 1.62 firmware before you install this one ... you can download the 1.62 update from the Sony ftp site or from their website here:
http://bssc.sel.sony.com/BroadcastandBusiness/markets/10014/xdcamDownload.shtml

http://bssc.sel.sony.com/BroadcastandBusiness/markets/10014/xdcamDownload.shtml[/url]

I would appericate if someone could provide me with version 1.62 update so I can try to install the 1.93 update as I cannot register to Sony servicePlUS site as it seems to be for the US only and I keep been redirected ther from Sony Europe this requires STATE ans ZIP CODE and cannot get past this stage when trying to register
Thomas

Hi Thomas,

I have been sending you a PM.

Greetings,

Ivan

Ivan thanks for your reply for the firmware I have sent you my email hope this sorts my problem
Thomas

Hi Thomas,

Looks like the administrator disabled the PM's!

Send an e-mail to: removed
Greetings!

Hi Thomas,

Looks like the administrator disabled the PM's!

Nope, that's up to the user to set in their profile. Ivan, go to your user options page and make sure you have the correct email address stored and that you have the box checked to allow email from other members.

-gb-

EDIT: I see that you have a different email address stored than the one you posted above. Might want to change your profile to match it and edit your email out of public view, lest the harvest bots latch on to it.

Thanks Greg,

But everything is setup fine.

I got Thomas his e-mail now. It was coming in a little bit slow ;-)

Thanks again.

Greetings!

Ivan I got your file thanks a lot worked well I am now updating to versIon 1.93/AT-1.60 following Andy Mees Instruction I am having a problem no 14 -15

Select the “OTHERS” menu.15. Use the rotary encoder to scroll to the bottom of this menu (the asterisk should be
next to Memory Support).


When I get to Memory support the asterisk is at UPLOAD TO EEPROM not Maintenance Hours as in the instructions can anyone advise me as I am no expert on this
Thomas

Ivan I got your file thanks a lot worked well I am now updating to versIon 1.93/AT-1.60 following Andy Mees Instruction I am having a problem no 14 -15

Select the “OTHERS” menu.15. Use the rotary encoder to scroll to the bottom of this menu (the asterisk should be
next to Memory Support).


When I get to Memory support the asterisk is at UPLOAD TO EEPROM not Maintenance Hours as in the instructions can anyone advise me as I am no expert on this
Thomas

Did you do a reset first?

Paul If you mean a Country reset PAL or NTSC yes or is there something else that needs reset please let me know I have followed the instructions to a tee as they were given
Thomas

Yes that's what I meant - the instructions do mention one of the menus only being available one time (until the procedure is completed) but I think that was the next level down. Probably best to talk to Sony Support next.

Is the new firmware showing correctly at the new versions?

Yes that's what I meant - the instructions do mention one of the menus only being available one time (until the procedure is completed) but I think that was the next level down. Probably best to talk to Sony Support next.

Is the new firmware showing correctly at the new versions?

yes 1.60 and 1.93 showing in rom version

I just performed two upgrades on my 350 (I was one behind) and everything went well. I did decide to skip the Fresh 1.06 upgrade that was bundled with the AT1.54 and Package 1.62 upgrade, because I was hesitant to open up the camera. Can someone shed light on what the "Fresh" upgrade is and if I might run into problems because I didn't install it?

Thanks.

My firmware on my 350 reads AT.1.51 & Pkg.1.62 - can I download the latest 1.60 & 1.93 with out any intermediate steps? Many thanks for advice.....

I just performed two upgrades on my 350 (I was one behind) and everything went well. I did decide to skip the Fresh 1.06 upgrade that was bundled with the AT1.54 and Package 1.62 upgrade, because I was hesitant to open up the camera. Can someone shed light on what the "Fresh" upgrade is and if I might run into problems because I didn't install it?

Thanks.

You can access the service mode using the method shown in the install instructions for this firmware release.

Go to menu D00 “Diagnostics”.
Press the rotary encoder button while depressing the Zebra button to have the
Zebra light lit and then turn the menu OFF and back ON (maybe several times)
until the Service menu appears.

-gb-

I am trying to upgrade my firmware, and my camera seems stuck while updating the AT portion.
The screen just says:

<FIRMWARE UPDATE>
COMPLETTED
ERASING 100%
PROGRAMING !00%

And the red warning light is flashing. It has been an hour since I began the process.

Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks, Peter

its done. turn it in and off

I am trying to upgrade my firmware, and my camera seems stuck while updating the AT portion.
The screen just says:

<FIRMWARE UPDATE>
COMPLETTED
ERASING 100%
PROGRAMING !00%

And the red warning light is flashing. It has been an hour since I began the process.

Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks, Peter

You were done when the 'completed' message appeared. The key word in these firmware updates is to wait for the completed word to appear.

-gb-