I installed the new Z1 firmware and did several tests. I’m confirming that it works for me. I do not have new information to add.
I tested recording video. I did not test the new, longer recording time.
I upgraded my Z1 firmware using my mobile phone, an iPhone 14. It was a smooth process, took about 5 minutes.
Here’s output in the THETA Bitrate Tester app that I was using:
I set the mode to video, set the video format to 3.6K at 2fps.
I took several test videos. This is a screenshot from RICOH THETA File Transfer for Mac app. The file sizes of the two halves of the video appear to be roughly the same size. (I only took a 5 sec video, so the file size is small.)
This is a screenshot from Quicktime, showing both halves of the video.
I don’t see a way to stitch the two halves using the RICOH THETA desktop app. I am guessing you could use PTGui or your own stitching algorithm.