Changelog#

Release notes for Cinemate. For downloads, see the releases page.

Version 3.3.2#

Dual sensors improved#

  • Improved automatic dual-camera — two connected sensors are each detected and driven by their own cinepi-raw process. Frame capture is synchronized by libcamera (cam0 server, cam1 client).
  • HDMI preview switching — new command set preview cycles side-by-side preview → cam0 → cam1 → picture-in-picture.
  • Per-sensor recording — record both sensors or just the previewed one (lock_dual_recording can be set in settings.json), or target sensors with rec cam0 / rec cam1 / rec both. Each sensor writes its own ..._cam0 / ..._cam1 clip folder.
  • HDMI preview switching — new command set preview cycles side-by-side preview → cam0 → cam1 → picture-in-picture.
  • Per-sensor recording — record both sensors or just the previewed one (lock_dual_recording can be set in settings.json), or target sensors with rec cam0 / rec cam1 / rec both. Each sensor writes its own ..._cam0 / ..._cam1 clip folder.

libcamera#

  • Cinemate now uses its own fork of libcamera.

imx283 driver#

  • Cinemate now uses its own fork of imx283 driver.
  • 2 additional modes: 3840 x 2160 (4K UHD, native crop) and 2736 x 1538 (2.7K 16:9, binned)

imx585 driver#

  • Cinemate now uses its own fork of imx283 driver.

CinePi-RAW recorder#

  • Frame-rate phase lock — DNG timecode and frame capture is locked to the Pi's wall clock, making audio sync more accurate.
  • More reliable audio sync on 4K / exFAT — the capture path was reworked (protected helper, dedicated writer thread, wall-clock reconciliation, real-time scheduling) for more reliable WAV sync on demanding modes.
  • Correct Pi 4 RAW — CSI2-packed frames decode correctly on Pi 4-family boards; raw packing (P/U) is chosen per Pi model automatically.
  • Camera model — set the camera model manually for each attached sensor.

Cinemate#

  • Storage / media — multi-drive RAW hot-swap with a standby drive and automatic promotion. Default format is exFAT.

Raspberry Pi / Bookworm**#

  • Boot / install — faster boot-to-preview on Pi 4/5 (about 10-15 seconds)

Version 3.3.1#

CinePi-RAW recorder#

  • New Cinemate fork, reducing CPU load and temperature dramatically and reducing dropped frames.
  • Resolution can now be changed without restarting the recorder process, enabling faster mode changes and dynamic resolution switching.
  • Better USB microphone sync.

Cinemate workflow#

  • exFAT support and filesystem-aware storage profiles for efficient media writes, including IMX585 25 fps at 4K to SSD without frame drops.
  • Dynamic resolution switching to match the observed sustainable frame rate for the attached sensor and storage media — for example, IMX585 automatically switches to HD above 25 fps when an SSD is used.
  • Hot-swapping between 16-bit and 24-bit USB microphones.
  • 4K-class recording modes are visible by default.
  • Automatic storage pre-roll can be disabled in settings.json.