Bad Random pixel hits on HVX

Leonard Levy · November 8th, 2007, 11:56 PM

I have just discovered an awful problem in my HVX .
I am getting random hits that look like flashing white pixels that appear in a smalll circular area in the upper part of the picture. The hits seem to stay within a small circular area and are random but seem to come in bursts every few seconds.

I only see it in playback off my 16G cards, and it does not appear on footage recorded of color bars, so I suspect it is an imaging system problem not a P2 issue. It does not appear on SD tape footage. I have only looked at 720 24PN fotage.

In looking back , the problem seems like it has been steadily getting worse over a period of a few weeks but only just got discovered and is now very bad.

I will call Panasonic tomorrow, but am wondering if anyone has seen this before, and if anyone knows of a Post fix (analagous to a time base corrector) for random pixel hits that can replace them with adjacent pixels.

In the most important footage it is in interviews often on someones shirt or a background that is not moving a great deal. (After flipping adapter footage it ends up in the lower left on a shirt or background)

- Lenny Levy

Leonard Levy · November 9th, 2007, 03:47 AM

On closer examination they're not just single pixels but groups of them like little flashes of lightening often clumped in horizontal & vertical groups.

Bill Sepaniak · November 10th, 2007, 10:02 AM

Pixel Farm's "Clean" and Autodesk's "Lustre" have dirt and scratch removal tools. They are typically used for film restoration, film-outs and for DI work. Pretty powerful stuff. Either one should fix your problem. Check with a post house that does film work. They'll probably want the footage in a file sequence, such as .dpx, .tiff or .targa.

Leonard Levy · November 10th, 2007, 04:09 PM

Thanks,
Those are expensive programs though. I found an FCP plugin that seems to do the job called "dirt remover" from chv-plugins.com.
Inexpensive and effective. Camera had to go back to Panny though. Odd that I've never heard of anyone else with that problem. Its very weird.

Tony Brennan · November 10th, 2007, 07:20 PM

If you transferring your cards using a Mac, make sure you have the protect tab on the card switched to protect before you let your Mac any where near the card. Sometimes the computer can cause small glitches in the footage that is fine on the card before transfer.

Leonard Levy · November 11th, 2007, 12:59 AM

I always write protect my cards. This is a real problem with the camera.
It's not a P2 problem either as I don't get it from bars. Panny thought it might be a bad codec board or something similar.

It was so subtle at first that I didn't see it for awhile. Very disturbing.
Keep your eyes open and look at playback carefully - that's my lesson.

November 8th, 2007, 11:56 PM	#1
Leonard Levy Trustee Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: USA Posts: 1,684	Bad Random pixel hits on HVX - any Post Fix? I have just discovered an awful problem in my HVX . I am getting random hits that look like flashing white pixels that appear in a smalll circular area in the upper part of the picture. The hits seem to stay within a small circular area and are random but seem to come in bursts every few seconds. I only see it in playback off my 16G cards, and it does not appear on footage recorded of color bars, so I suspect it is an imaging system problem not a P2 issue. It does not appear on SD tape footage. I have only looked at 720 24PN fotage. In looking back , the problem seems like it has been steadily getting worse over a period of a few weeks but only just got discovered and is now very bad. I will call Panasonic tomorrow, but am wondering if anyone has seen this before, and if anyone knows of a Post fix (analagous to a time base corrector) for random pixel hits that can replace them with adjacent pixels. In the most important footage it is in interviews often on someones shirt or a background that is not moving a great deal. (After flipping adapter footage it ends up in the lower left on a shirt or background) - Lenny Levy

November 9th, 2007, 03:47 AM	#2
Leonard Levy Trustee Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: USA Posts: 1,684	On closer examination they're not just single pixels but groups of them like little flashes of lightening often clumped in horizontal & vertical groups.

November 10th, 2007, 10:02 AM	#3
Bill Sepaniak Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2003 Posts: 62	Pixel Farm's "Clean" and Autodesk's "Lustre" have dirt and scratch removal tools. They are typically used for film restoration, film-outs and for DI work. Pretty powerful stuff. Either one should fix your problem. Check with a post house that does film work. They'll probably want the footage in a file sequence, such as .dpx, .tiff or .targa.

November 10th, 2007, 04:09 PM	#4
Leonard Levy Trustee Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: USA Posts: 1,684	Thanks, Those are expensive programs though. I found an FCP plugin that seems to do the job called "dirt remover" from chv-plugins.com. Inexpensive and effective. Camera had to go back to Panny though. Odd that I've never heard of anyone else with that problem. Its very weird.

November 10th, 2007, 07:20 PM	#5
Tony Brennan New Boot Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Melbourne Australia Posts: 15	If you transferring your cards using a Mac, make sure you have the protect tab on the card switched to protect before you let your Mac any where near the card. Sometimes the computer can cause small glitches in the footage that is fine on the card before transfer.

November 11th, 2007, 12:59 AM	#6
Leonard Levy Trustee Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: USA Posts: 1,684	I always write protect my cards. This is a real problem with the camera. It's not a P2 problem either as I don't get it from bars. Panny thought it might be a bad codec board or something similar. It was so subtle at first that I didn't see it for awhile. Very disturbing. Keep your eyes open and look at playback carefully - that's my lesson.