MX300 PAL firmware 1.6 solves DV OUT Glitches & IMPROVES OIS by 2X!

Steven Khong · December 9th, 2002, 11:04 PM

Hi, all!

Met with Terrence yesterday & tried out his (default firmware, not upgraded) MX300 against mine 1.6 firmware MX300.

Yup, the OIS on my firmware 1.6 MX300 is better. Maybe a bit TOO SLIGHT of an improvement for those with STEADY hands. Perhaps it was the coffee (French coffee at Delifrance) we were drinking?

Also tried the Terrence's Panasonic 2X converter at max zoom - the improvement can be noticed - though there were a few minor shakes at max zoom, the my 1.6 firmware definitely makes a difference.

Waiting for Frank's details on the 1.6 - maybe there's more hidden "goodies"....

Frank Granovski · December 10th, 2002, 01:38 AM

I've recieved some info, but Pana AU is still looking into it. So far the only thing they know is that the revised firmware "improves performance," and overcomes "a problem with capture to PC. The upgrade addresses an issue with Motion DVSTUDIO editing software."

So is Terrence going to get the firmware version 1.6 upgrade? Or does he think it's a minor issue that's not important? Terrence?

Steven Khong · December 11th, 2002, 01:17 AM

Personally, I think that if you absolutely NEED the features in firmware 1.6, then you should go for upgrading.

If you have the 2X teleconverter then I think you would benefit from the improved OIS. Gives more stability to your zoomed out shots.

But if you don't even zoom out further than 5x or have very steady hands, then you may not see the need the 1.6 upgrade.

Some folks don't use their vidcam to play back their DV tape (Terrence is one of them). Some folks use a tripod most of the time so the OIS is a non issue - Frank, that'll be you!

As for me, I don't have any other DV cam or tape deck, so I got to have my MX300 firmware upgraded. My other cam is a Sony Digital8 using Hi-8 tapes. One day I'll get a proper deck or maybe even a cheap DV cam as backup .

I also take a lot of video "on the go" where carrying & setting up tripods multiple times is a hassle - then I have to depend on my cam's OIS. Wedding banquets, sports events, & holiday tours come to mind.

Sure, for a proper controlled shoot with little time limitations, I would lug around my tripod & set it up properly - then I can zoom as much as I want.

For casual & quick, discreet "on the street" shooting I would draw more attention to myself with a tripod..

One word of warning though... when my firmware got upgraded they forgot to recalibrate my LCD & viewfinder colors, so the colors were rather "off". Looks like firmware upgrades can wipe out your default color data! Had to send it back to get it fixed.

I'll pop a note to Terrence to remind him to read this post & comment.

Regards,
Steven Khong

Adams Sin · December 13th, 2002, 07:56 AM

Nice to meet u all here, I come from Hong Kong. I am surprise that in Malaysia, u can upgrade the firmware. Bcos I have asked my local dealer and repair centre, the reply is no such services and not hearing or receiving any news about this. Very disappointing to me. I have also encounter and experience the glitching problem when I capture the movie by Pinnacle DV500Plus. So is there any way to upgrade the firmware? I really want to know.

Frank Granovski · December 13th, 2002, 03:39 PM

You'll have to contact Panasonic for this. They need a special setup/tools for this firmware upgrade. (I had to send my cam to Australia, from Canada, because Panasonic Canada and Panasonic USA didn't have this "setup.") Go figure!

Adams Sin · December 14th, 2002, 09:49 AM

Thank you for your suggestion.

I want to know where I send and is it secure to send to Australia? And is there any document needed?

Zac Stein · December 14th, 2002, 10:02 AM

Adams sin,

Depends what you mean about sending it to australia. Panasonic here are actually very good at responding to needs, when i wanted to region modify my dvd player, the panasonic rep came to my house the very day from ringing and dropped me off a dvd-r of the software for unlocking my dvd player.

But their stuff is so widely excepted and they have many support centers all over the place.

For you needs contact panasonic if your area, and let them do the sending, if they have problems, well they have them not you.

You could always send it to me, I am in Australia, i am not a panasonic rep, but i love new free toys (grins).

kermie

Frank Granovski · December 14th, 2002, 05:44 PM

If you don't know who/where the regional Panasonic is for Hong Kong, I can give you an e-mail of a friend and fellow DV nut who lives in Hong Kong. I'm sure he can help. Let me know.

PS: I sent my cam to Australia because I bought the cam from Australia, via mail order / FEDEX / [IMG]www.cameraaction.com.au[/IMG].

Adams Sin · December 15th, 2002, 10:51 AM

Frank, thank you for help, Please give me your friend's email.
:-)

Frank Granovski · December 15th, 2002, 07:24 PM

yan chan
(Vincent Chan)

vincent_ysc1@hotmail.com

Steven Khong · December 16th, 2002, 08:30 PM

Hi, Adams!

As Frank suggests, you should send it back (to the country) where you bought it from. Just in case they accidentally did something wrong with your vidcam & you need to rectify it quick. You may not want the frustration, waiting around & having your cam flying back & forth around the world...

If you have the international warranty, I think you can even take a trip to Singapore or Australia, send it in to Panasonic & wait... but that's not very practical. They will charge you labour charges & who knows how long you have to wait.

Well, you were right in being surprised about Malaysia being able to do the upgrade...
The very first time I sent my MX300 to Panasonic Malaysia, they had to get back to Japan regarding the firmware upgrade. I had to wait for some time (a few months!) before Panasonic Japan finally sent the latest 1.6 firmware to Panasonic Malaysia. Most likely it's the first time Japan has heard about this glitches thing. Sorry if this sounds racial, but I mean it in the best of light, it's their strength: Japanese are very methodical & want to check & double check & sit in lots of meetings to get a group concencus before taking action...

P. Malaysia had the hardware bits as well as the default program / firmware so they could do color adjustments etc. However, the firmware they had was for version 1.4 - the same that you get in your MX300 when it left the factory in Japan.

I was also in contact with Panasonic Australia via Stuart Cooper (thanks to Frank) who later emailed me a PDF concerning my problem and how to fix it. Things moved faster after I sent P. Malaysia this PDF. I will send it to you too & Frank as well so that we can help other MX300 PAL users.

The case may be that Panasonic Hong Kong has to get back to Panasonic Japan before they can get the firmware upgrade. And P. Hong Kong must have a reason to get this firmware upgrade - to fix your glitches problem. If you don't send it to them, P. Hong Kong will not get the latest firmware. I just hope you don't have to wait too long.

I believe that it's company policy to follow the "proper chain of command" / proper channels. I suggested to P. Malaysia to directly email P. Australia but I was told they had to ask P. Japan directly.

Hope that helps!
Steven Khong

Steven Khong · December 16th, 2002, 08:58 PM

Oops! Looks like Adams doesn't have a listed email. Can you get it from Frank? For Frank's email, go to a post by Frank and click on the email button. I just posted it to him.

Adams Sin · December 16th, 2002, 09:04 PM

Steven,

Thank your for your suggestion

:-)

B.Regards
Adams

Frank Granovski · December 16th, 2002, 10:50 PM

Thanks Steven. I uploaded that pdf file at:

http://www.dvfreak.com/pana_mx5.htm

Perhaps you can check to see if the download works. The file is called, "techbull.pdf."

Adams Sin · December 16th, 2002, 11:05 PM

Thanks again,

But I find the link is only for introduction of MX500

If the pdf file u are in hand, would u mind sending me by my email adamssin@hongkong.com
:-)

Adams

December 13th, 2002, 07:56 AM	#19
Adams Sin New Boot Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Hong Kong Posts: 12	Upgrade to Firmware 1.6 Nice to meet u all here, I come from Hong Kong. I am surprise that in Malaysia, u can upgrade the firmware. Bcos I have asked my local dealer and repair centre, the reply is no such services and not hearing or receiving any news about this. Very disappointing to me. I have also encounter and experience the glitching problem when I capture the movie by Pinnacle DV500Plus. So is there any way to upgrade the firmware? I really want to know.

December 14th, 2002, 09:49 AM	#21
Adams Sin New Boot Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Hong Kong Posts: 12	Secure to send My Cam to Australia for upgrading fireware? Thank you for your suggestion. I want to know where I send and is it secure to send to Australia? And is there any document needed?

December 15th, 2002, 10:51 AM	#24
Adams Sin New Boot Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Hong Kong Posts: 12	Thank you Frank, thank you for help, Please give me your friend's email. :-)

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December 9th, 2002, 11:04 PM	#16
Steven Khong Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia Posts: 112	Hi, all! Met with Terrence yesterday & tried out his (default firmware, not upgraded) MX300 against mine 1.6 firmware MX300. Yup, the OIS on my firmware 1.6 MX300 is better. Maybe a bit TOO SLIGHT of an improvement for those with STEADY hands. Perhaps it was the coffee (French coffee at Delifrance) we were drinking? Also tried the Terrence's Panasonic 2X converter at max zoom - the improvement can be noticed - though there were a few minor shakes at max zoom, the my 1.6 firmware definitely makes a difference. Waiting for Frank's details on the 1.6 - maybe there's more hidden "goodies"....

December 10th, 2002, 01:38 AM	#17
Frank Granovski Outer Circle Join Date: May 2002 Location: Hope, BC Posts: 7,524	I've recieved some info, but Pana AU is still looking into it. So far the only thing they know is that the revised firmware "improves performance," and overcomes "a problem with capture to PC. The upgrade addresses an issue with Motion DVSTUDIO editing software." So is Terrence going to get the firmware version 1.6 upgrade? Or does he think it's a minor issue that's not important? Terrence?

December 11th, 2002, 01:17 AM	#18
Steven Khong Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia Posts: 112	Personally, I think that if you absolutely NEED the features in firmware 1.6, then you should go for upgrading. If you have the 2X teleconverter then I think you would benefit from the improved OIS. Gives more stability to your zoomed out shots. But if you don't even zoom out further than 5x or have very steady hands, then you may not see the need the 1.6 upgrade. Some folks don't use their vidcam to play back their DV tape (Terrence is one of them). Some folks use a tripod most of the time so the OIS is a non issue - Frank, that'll be you! As for me, I don't have any other DV cam or tape deck, so I got to have my MX300 firmware upgraded. My other cam is a Sony Digital8 using Hi-8 tapes. One day I'll get a proper deck or maybe even a cheap DV cam as backup . I also take a lot of video "on the go" where carrying & setting up tripods multiple times is a hassle - then I have to depend on my cam's OIS. Wedding banquets, sports events, & holiday tours come to mind. Sure, for a proper controlled shoot with little time limitations, I would lug around my tripod & set it up properly - then I can zoom as much as I want. For casual & quick, discreet "on the street" shooting I would draw more attention to myself with a tripod.. One word of warning though... when my firmware got upgraded they forgot to recalibrate my LCD & viewfinder colors, so the colors were rather "off". Looks like firmware upgrades can wipe out your default color data! Had to send it back to get it fixed. I'll pop a note to Terrence to remind him to read this post & comment. Regards, Steven Khong

December 13th, 2002, 03:39 PM	#20
Frank Granovski Outer Circle Join Date: May 2002 Location: Hope, BC Posts: 7,524	You'll have to contact Panasonic for this. They need a special setup/tools for this firmware upgrade. (I had to send my cam to Australia, from Canada, because Panasonic Canada and Panasonic USA didn't have this "setup.") Go figure!

December 14th, 2002, 10:02 AM	#22
Zac Stein Major Player Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 730	Adams sin, Depends what you mean about sending it to australia. Panasonic here are actually very good at responding to needs, when i wanted to region modify my dvd player, the panasonic rep came to my house the very day from ringing and dropped me off a dvd-r of the software for unlocking my dvd player. But their stuff is so widely excepted and they have many support centers all over the place. For you needs contact panasonic if your area, and let them do the sending, if they have problems, well they have them not you. You could always send it to me, I am in Australia, i am not a panasonic rep, but i love new free toys (grins). kermie

December 14th, 2002, 05:44 PM	#23
Frank Granovski Outer Circle Join Date: May 2002 Location: Hope, BC Posts: 7,524	If you don't know who/where the regional Panasonic is for Hong Kong, I can give you an e-mail of a friend and fellow DV nut who lives in Hong Kong. I'm sure he can help. Let me know. PS: I sent my cam to Australia because I bought the cam from Australia, via mail order / FEDEX / [IMG]www.cameraaction.com.au[/IMG].

December 15th, 2002, 07:24 PM	#25
Frank Granovski Outer Circle Join Date: May 2002 Location: Hope, BC Posts: 7,524	yan chan (Vincent Chan) vincent_ysc1@hotmail.com

December 16th, 2002, 08:30 PM	#26
Steven Khong Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia Posts: 112	Hi, Adams! As Frank suggests, you should send it back (to the country) where you bought it from. Just in case they accidentally did something wrong with your vidcam & you need to rectify it quick. You may not want the frustration, waiting around & having your cam flying back & forth around the world... If you have the international warranty, I think you can even take a trip to Singapore or Australia, send it in to Panasonic & wait... but that's not very practical. They will charge you labour charges & who knows how long you have to wait. Well, you were right in being surprised about Malaysia being able to do the upgrade... The very first time I sent my MX300 to Panasonic Malaysia, they had to get back to Japan regarding the firmware upgrade. I had to wait for some time (a few months!) before Panasonic Japan finally sent the latest 1.6 firmware to Panasonic Malaysia. Most likely it's the first time Japan has heard about this glitches thing. Sorry if this sounds racial, but I mean it in the best of light, it's their strength: Japanese are very methodical & want to check & double check & sit in lots of meetings to get a group concencus before taking action... P. Malaysia had the hardware bits as well as the default program / firmware so they could do color adjustments etc. However, the firmware they had was for version 1.4 - the same that you get in your MX300 when it left the factory in Japan. I was also in contact with Panasonic Australia via Stuart Cooper (thanks to Frank) who later emailed me a PDF concerning my problem and how to fix it. Things moved faster after I sent P. Malaysia this PDF. I will send it to you too & Frank as well so that we can help other MX300 PAL users. The case may be that Panasonic Hong Kong has to get back to Panasonic Japan before they can get the firmware upgrade. And P. Hong Kong must have a reason to get this firmware upgrade - to fix your glitches problem. If you don't send it to them, P. Hong Kong will not get the latest firmware. I just hope you don't have to wait too long. I believe that it's company policy to follow the "proper chain of command" / proper channels. I suggested to P. Malaysia to directly email P. Australia but I was told they had to ask P. Japan directly. Hope that helps! Steven Khong

December 16th, 2002, 08:58 PM	#27
Steven Khong Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia Posts: 112	Oops! Looks like Adams doesn't have a listed email. Can you get it from Frank? For Frank's email, go to a post by Frank and click on the email button. I just posted it to him.

December 16th, 2002, 09:04 PM	#28
Adams Sin New Boot Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Hong Kong Posts: 12	Steven, Thank your for your suggestion :-) B.Regards Adams

December 16th, 2002, 10:50 PM	#29
Frank Granovski Outer Circle Join Date: May 2002 Location: Hope, BC Posts: 7,524	Thanks Steven. I uploaded that pdf file at: http://www.dvfreak.com/pana_mx5.htm Perhaps you can check to see if the download works. The file is called, "techbull.pdf."

December 16th, 2002, 11:05 PM	#30
Adams Sin New Boot Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Hong Kong Posts: 12	Thanks again, But I find the link is only for introduction of MX500 If the pdf file u are in hand, would u mind sending me by my email adamssin@hongkong.com :-) Adams