Clean HDMI out for a5000

[H4ppyDr4gon]

With whole videa over 30min it is now possible to stream with the a5000. But atm you cannot get a clean image without info on screen. Would be great to get rid of that if possible :)

[MrCodeWeaver]

I installed the demo app on my Sony a5000 and ran the camera view and that gave a clean HDMI out except for the header bar at the top that says camera. Modifying that would possible be a potential solution.

[ma1co]

@rdweaver Removing the top bar would not be a problem. However, the android screen is only 640x360, but I don't know if this applies to the live view image as well. How is the resolution and framerate of the image on the external screen?

[MrCodeWeaver]

I did not actually check what resolution and framerate it was outputting to the external screen. It would work as it was for my purposes. I will post an update if I do more testing and check that.

[MrCodeWeaver]

I modified the PMCADemo app and removed the title bar on the camera view. This gives clean HDMI output. There are still two potential issues.

1. I don't think the resolution is 1080. (for myself, this is not a huge deal)
2. When HDMI output is plugged in, the display on the camera screen goes black. It would be nice to be able to see the image on there as well.

[H4ppyDr4gon]

Would it be possible to just get the function from the 5100 to not show info on the screen?

[Slavpool]

I'm curious if anyone has made some progress on this. The a5100 has "Clear HDMI" setting built in, the a5000 has not. If anyone has managed to get a clean camera view through external HDMI on a a5000 please share, it would certainly make many a5000 users happy!

[judgemento]

I downloaded the PMCADemo App, but the camera title bar was still there, @rdweaver how do I get that to go away? Thanks man!

[MrCodeWeaver]

@judgemento sorry, I don't have my a5000 anymore, and I wasn't able to find the code I had changed. Here are the steps I took from my memory.

1. Download the source code
2. Edit code to remove title bar
3. Build your own APK
4. Install APK on a5000

[ma1co]

In this file, try replacing

<activity android:name=".CameraActivity" android:label="@string/title_activity_camera">

with

<activity android:name=".CameraActivity" android:label="@string/title_activity_camera" android:theme="@android:style/Theme.Black.NoTitleBar">

[judgemento]

<activity android:name=".CameraActivity" android:label="@string/title_activity_camera" android:theme="@android:style/Theme.Black.NoTitleBar">

Ok I edited, the text with this, but I tried to install with the PMCA-GUI but I can't select it since its not an apk. How do I format it to APK

[Slavpool]

Hi, I just managed to make it work. I am no programmer and this is the first time I've done something like this so I will try to explain the steps. I've Win 10 so this steps will work for you if you have Win 10. It took me some hours to complete because I had to install everything and I learned by solving 1 problem at a time...
1- Download Android Studio
2- Download Git for windows (during install make sure that you choose option to set Path)
3- In Android Studio, get the PCMADemo though "Check out project from Version Control" -> "Git"
4- Enter "https://github.com/ma1co/PMCADemo.git" to and then Choose a place where to save a local copy on your PC
5- Open Android Studio then choose "Open an existing Android Studio Project"
6- Change the Project structure to match SDK and other settings as described in "https://github.com/ma1co/PMCADemo/blob/master/build.gradle", meaning Android Plugin Version should be 2.3.3 and in SDK Manager you need to install SDK Platform 2.3.3 (Gingerbread).
7- Any existing errors? Use google and you will find the solution. Once your changes are made you want to Build APK
8- Remove the existing PCMADemo App from your camera before uploading the new one.

My new APK is called PMCADemo-debug-0.7-6-g12f34e4-dirty.apk, as I mentioned I don't fully understand what I've been doing but atleast I solved the issue with having the title, thanks to to @ma1co comment above.

The resolution is sadly the same as you have on the LCD screen, even if you run with HDMI cable. However if running the Option "Display" the resolution of the connected HDMI device is shown, in my case my monitor 1920x1080.

I don't know if it would be possible to edit the PCMADemo app further to switch to 1920x1080 when connected to HDMI, or simply forcing it to 1920x1080..

Hope this helps

EDIT: Maybe we can change something here?
https://github.com/ma1co/PMCADemo/blob/master/app/src/main/java/com/github/ma1co/pmcademo/app/CameraActivity.java
or here
https://github.com/ma1co/PMCADemo/blob/master/app/src/main/java/com/github/ma1co/pmcademo/app/DisplayActivity.java

[mcrichards]

I'm looking to get a clean HDMI signal out of my a5000 and to a video capture card for use in an OBS stream. I have installed the app and I see it in my applications list, but I'm uncertain as to how OpenMemories-Tweak can be used for this purpose.

It seems like you all made some progress on this front. Are you able to provide any guidance?

Much appreciated!

[mrboost]

Gain any ground on this? ive been editing all kinds of lines trying to figure out how to have a clean display. (ive got the bar gone, but the quality is trash).

[cris-cos]

Gain any ground on this? ive been editing all kinds of lines trying to figure out how to have a clean display. (ive got the bar gone, but the quality is trash).

I myself have not managed to get rid of the bar yet, but for the quality i noticed something when using the camera on hdmi-out without any changes:

• If you switch to video mode on the camera it brings the output on HDMIout to a decent quality.
• Photo preview on HDMI out is trash also without any app, curiously a million times better for video

[kalenjohnson]

I haven't looked deeply into either solution, the PCMADemo app or the standard HDMI out. I just picked up a used A5000 today.

I'm not sure if the PCMADemo will be able to switch to a higher resolution, it is pretty low resolution so I decided that wasn't going to work for me as a webcam.

HDMI out works pretty well into a capture card, but as we all know it's not a clean HDMI output. After idling for a second though, the only issue is the aperture, iso, and some other data on the bottom of the image.

I haven't tried it in a meeting yet, but it seems to work, is using OBS. Use the capture card/camera HDMI as a source, then oversize it a bit to essentially crop the bottom portion. Then I use OBS-VirtualCam to create another webcam that can be used in Skype and Zoom, probably recording software as well.

https://obsproject.com/forum/resources/obs-virtualcam.539/

[TetraSkies]

@ma1co I was wondering if it was possible to change to movie mode in the camera mode within the PMCA Demo app, I notice a significant increase in display quality in movie mode but when I switch into camera mode it reverts the quality.

[lucasl0st]

I forked the demo app and removed everything except the camera: https://github.com/lucaspape/PMCA-CleanHDMI (with title bar removed).
The resolution is not great, I am trying to find a way to activate movie mode

[NilsConnlaAbbott]

Does anyone know how to even connect the camera to your computer? i saw a video on how to use it as a web cam for streaming, and it makes sense but the guy was vague on how to connect it to a software like OBS. Heres the link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPIk-NG-l1E . I asked him and he said to hook it to the monitor, so i did and got it to display Via HDMI but i have no idea how he got it into a software for recording or streaming. Anyone know how?

[sanmai]

You'll need an HDMI capture card. Like this one, or cheaper variants. Basically these work like another webcam in the system.

[NilsConnlaAbbott]

Alright, thanks for the reply i appreciate it

[alissonpaganini]

Any progress?

[alissonpaganini]

I forked the demo app and removed everything except the camera: https://github.com/lucaspape/PMCA-CleanHDMI (with title bar removed).
The resolution is not great, I am trying to find a way to activate movie mode

Very good, can you give more updates on how to apply this to the camera? the quality is in full hd at least? Thank you

[kalenjohnson]

No the resolution is probably under 540p... you can see it yourself using the app as is to see the quality.

[alissonpaganini]

No the resolution is probably under 540p... you can see it yourself using the app as is to see the quality.

this is bad man :/

[NilsConnlaAbbott]

Any progress?

Basically, get a capture card, there’s a cheap one for $60 that’s just as good at the cam link, plug the camera into it then into the computer. You can disable the icons in the camera settings, except for the iso and F.4 stuff. I’m OBS or whatever you’re using, just crop it out. I think cropping it is a better option, normal camera quality.

[kalenjohnson]

No the resolution is probably under 540p... you can see it yourself using the app as is to see the quality.

this is bad man :/

lol, this is a hack though. USB 2 camera quality is never going to be HD

Any progress?

Basically, get a capture card, there’s a cheap one for $60 that’s just as good at the cam link, plug the camera into it then into the computer. You can disable the icons in the camera settings, except for the iso and F.4 stuff. I’m OBS or whatever you’re using, just crop it out. I think cropping it is a better option, normal camera quality.

I agree with this, I basically explained the process 2 months ago in this thread

[alissonpaganini]

No the resolution is probably under 540p... you can see it yourself using the app as is to see the quality.

this is bad man :/

lol, this is a hack though. USB 2 camera quality is never going to be HD

Any progress?

Basically, get a capture card, there’s a cheap one for $60 that’s just as good at the cam link, plug the camera into it then into the computer. You can disable the icons in the camera settings, except for the iso and F.4 stuff. I’m OBS or whatever you’re using, just crop it out. I think cropping it is a better option, normal camera quality.

I agree with this, I basically explained the process 2 months ago in this thread

This is the best option. :)

[jkh13]

I have a nex-6 and outputting over HDMI shows a 1080p resolution but with the OSD permanently on the screen. I wonder if there is a setting that can be tweaked to disable the OSD when using the camera normally via HDMI.

[maxfridbe]

I have a power brick in the camera itself, not the battery. So i guess if the brick looses power I have to reapply the settings, I can turn it on and off too. but if i unplug the brick I have to reapply.

There doesn't need to be a permanent power supply for this change to 'stick'. It's a hard switch, evidently.

I know, because the change stays in place between battery swaps. I also have a dummy battery I sometimes plug in.
So you can use this tweak with confidence in that you only need to do it once.

-Cheers!

I will double-check my findings, thanks for calling me out on this, maybe I was seeing something that wasn't there. May have been that i was in a different mode ie, not in movie, when power resumed and i saw all the osd and flipped 👍

[Treinkapitein]

I have a power brick in the camera itself, not the battery. So i guess if the brick looses power I have to reapply the settings, I can turn it on and off too. but if i unplug the brick I have to reapply.

I can also confirm the above.
However, the osd reverts to being visible again, while the hdmi output remains clean.
Use it on daily basis with dummy-battery, full power drain does not affect the values.

[mungewell]

Did a quick test on my a5000. Setting keys using $ sudo python3 pmca-console.py updatershell -m ILCE-5000.

The '0x01070a47' key remained set to 0 after a battery out, and after a 'Tools/Setting Reset/Camera Settings Reset'. It was reset to 1 after a 'Tools/Setting Reset/Initialize'.

@maxfridbe Which camera do you have, how are you setting the key, and does you clock/calendar remain set after a battery out?

[julijane]

I also use a dummy battery and the setting persists. However there is one little detail which is pointed out here: ma1co/fwtool.py#6 (comment)

Since the values are only modified in memory, the Backup.bin file becomes outdated. You can write the data in memory back to the file by calling Backup_sync_all (through bk.elf s for example). Since this writes data to disk, it takes a moment to complete.
Backup_sync_all is called automatically when the camera is switched off, so you don't have to worry (as long as you don't crash the camera or remove the battery).

So the settings you change with "bk.elf w" are at first only in memory and need to be persisted by either using "bk.elf s" command or by properly turning off the camera before removing the power.

I suspect this might be the issue some are encountering. Just write it once and then turn off the camera using its switch, then you shall be fine. After that you can remove power as you like without turning it first off, it shall still be fine. For me it works.

If it still does not work for some then there must be some as of yet unknown factor. If in doubt try the "bk.elf s" command and see if it changes things.

[jkh13]

Has anyone tried this on a NEX-6/5 camera?

[bobxbob]

Has anyone tried this on a NEX-6/5 camera?

I tried on a NEX-6, key is there and can be changed, but does not change anything with the output.
/ # bk.elf r 0x01070a47 id:01070a47 size:1 data: 01, / # bk.elf w 0x01070a47 00 id:01070a47 size:1 data:00, / # bk.elf r 0x01070a47 id:01070a47 size:1 data: 00,

I assume that its bcs of the lack of "movie mode" of the NEX-6 since it was commented that you need to switch the a5000 to movie mode. I tried all available shooting modes but no success.

I'm unsure what is refered to as "reboot", I tried switching it off and on again and remove the battery, both preserved that changes, however no clean HDMI. Once I reset the camera, settings have been gone. [](url)

[wey-gu]

Thank you all! I just purchased an a5000 now, thanks to your work and sharing!

[ghost]

I can confirm that setting bk w 0x01070a47 0 on a Sony NEX-6 has no effect (even after restarting, taking out battery, etc).
The value stays 00 but HDMI output still shows everything.

---

I don't know how someone found out about 0x01070a47 working for the other cameras, but maybe we can use the same method they used, but instead on a NEX-6 to find out what value (and where) turns off the OSD.

If anyone gets this to work on an NEX-6 it would be very beneficial to people. NEX-6 are way cheaper to get than Sony ax000 series, and in some aspects has superior qualities over the a5000

[mungewell]

@horusra The NEX-7 (with Mic input) is appealing too.

I have been trying (un-successful so far) to match the symbols in CautionConfig to numerical backup keys, some writeup here:
#25 (comment)

Unfortunately I don't have sufficient software skills.... ;-(

You may also be able to infer keys, by comparing their location wrt known keys... maybe.

[leonardcoutinho]

For Nex 5n I found an way to clean hdmi, please check my post here ma1co/Sony-PMCA-RE#448 and my video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUqMf6FcSF8 maybe it work in Nex 3, 5, 6 and 7 too

[leonardcoutinho]

Has anyone tried this on a NEX-6/5 camera?

check this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUqMf6FcSF8

[dsol1980]

I believe it works, but perhaps not at full HD and it won't record any video to your card.   On Saturday, October 14, 2023 at 07:19:05 PM EDT, Leonardo Coutinho ***@***.***> wrote: Has anyone tried this on a NEX-6/5 camera? check this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUqMf6FcSF8 — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub, or unsubscribe. You are receiving this because you commented.Message ID: ***@***.***>

[GreyAsteroid]

Has anyone tried this on a NEX-6/5 camera?

check this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUqMf6FcSF8

Tested this on my NEX-5R, output is fullscreen 16:9 60fps. Doesn't matter which video setting it used before the console command, shows up as 1440x1080 in the menu after the command though that setting doesn't do 60fps so this likely isn't accurate.

I'm going to pick up a mini HDMI cable so that I can plug my camera into my capture card to test what the actual resolution of the output is. Though, compared to what we could previously achieve with HDMICam, this is significantly better quality regardless.

[DrctrB]

For Nex 5n I found an way to clean hdmi, please check my post here ma1co/Sony-PMCA-RE#448 and my video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUqMf6FcSF8 maybe it work in Nex 3, 5, 6 and 7 too

Great progress!! But in your video you have to start recording to able to have a clean HDMI output, won't that be wasting memories of SD card for just streaming with caputure card on OBS? or is it because the camera doesnt have the XAVC codec, so it wont write the video to my SD CARD? I want to know before i try your solution!

[leonardcoutinho]

For Nex 5n I found an way to clean hdmi, please check my post here ma1co/Sony-PMCA-RE#448 and my video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUqMf6FcSF8 maybe it work in Nex 3, 5, 6 and 7 too

Great progress!! But in your video you have to start recording to able to have a clean HDMI output, won't that be wasting memories of SD card for just streaming with caputure card on OBS? or is it because the camera doesnt have the XAVC codec, so it wont write the video to my SD CARD? I want to know before i try your solution!

I check Sd card, and camera don't write any file, I think is because It don't have xavc codec

[DrctrB]

For Nex 5n I found an way to clean hdmi, please check my post here ma1co/Sony-PMCA-RE#448 and my video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUqMf6FcSF8 maybe it work in Nex 3, 5, 6 and 7 too

Great progress!! But in your video you have to start recording to able to have a clean HDMI output, won't that be wasting memories of SD card for just streaming with caputure card on OBS? or is it because the camera doesnt have the XAVC codec, so it wont write the video to my SD CARD? I want to know before i try your solution!

I check Sd card, and camera don't write any file, I think is because It don't have xavc codec

thank you! good job for you.

[GreyAsteroid]

Has anyone tried this on a NEX-6/5 camera?

check this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUqMf6FcSF8

Tested this on my NEX-5R, output is fullscreen 16:9 60fps. Doesn't matter which video setting it used before the console command, shows up as 1440x1080 in the menu after the command though that setting doesn't do 60fps so this likely isn't accurate.

I'm going to pick up a mini HDMI cable so that I can plug my camera into my capture card to test what the actual resolution of the output is. Though, compared to what we could previously achieve with HDMICam, this is significantly better quality regardless.

I picked up a mini HDMI cable and I can confirm that it's outputting full 1080p60. It seems that after all these years we now have a proper way to output clean HDMI for the NEX-5R/N. Now I wonder how many cameras this trick works on.

[leonardcoutinho]

Has anyone tried this on a NEX-6/5 camera?

check this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUqMf6FcSF8

Tested this on my NEX-5R, output is fullscreen 16:9 60fps. Doesn't matter which video setting it used before the console command, shows up as 1440x1080 in the menu after the command though that setting doesn't do 60fps so this likely isn't accurate.
I'm going to pick up a mini HDMI cable so that I can plug my camera into my capture card to test what the actual resolution of the output is. Though, compared to what we could previously achieve with HDMICam, this is significantly better quality regardless.

I picked up a mini HDMI cable and I can confirm that it's outputting full 1080p60. It seems that after all these years we now have a proper way to output clean HDMI for the NEX-5R/N. Now I wonder how many cameras this trick works on.

Thanks for testing 😁 I hope someone can implement an easy way to do this hack on PMCA gui interface.

[GordianZ]

Has anyone tried this on a NEX-6/5 camera?

check this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUqMf6FcSF8

Tested this on my NEX-5R, output is fullscreen 16:9 60fps. Doesn't matter which video setting it used before the console command, shows up as 1440x1080 in the menu after the command though that setting doesn't do 60fps so this likely isn't accurate.
I'm going to pick up a mini HDMI cable so that I can plug my camera into my capture card to test what the actual resolution of the output is. Though, compared to what we could previously achieve with HDMICam, this is significantly better quality regardless.

I picked up a mini HDMI cable and I can confirm that it's outputting full 1080p60. It seems that after all these years we now have a proper way to output clean HDMI for the NEX-5R/N. Now I wonder how many cameras this trick works on.

Thanks for testing 😁 I hope someone can implement an easy way to do this hack on PMCA gui interface.

I can confirm it's working on NEX6, great job.
Minor problem is that once it's in recording, you can only get out of it by turning the mode dial, but the image quality sure makes up for that.

[leonardcoutinho]

In mine too, I only get out turno camera off. But for now its only way to have clean hdmi

[GordianZ]

In mine too, I only get out turno camera off. But for now its only way to have clean hdmi

Hi, I've build a version with the command integrated. You can download the apk at my fork.

[sanmai]

Lovely!

@GordianZ, would you say it is a bad to make a PR to the original project?

[GordianZ]

Lovely!

@GordianZ, would you say it is a bad to make a PR to the original project?

Just did that. Also now I've got github action working, so it's easy for everyone to just change some codes and build their own apk without have a correct dev environment (which i spend almost a full day to figure out).

[leonardcoutinho]

In mine too, I only get out turno camera off. But for now its only way to have clean hdmi

Hi, I've build a version with the command integrated. You can download the apk at my fork.

I hope someone put this tweak on Windows app, My 5n don't have apk support

[leonardcoutinho]

I bought an 5R and this app works nice.