Check your SD card before flight

[Bigbells]

Agreed. However, just like the 100Mbs 4K video on the P4P produces a better 4K video than the 60Mbs of the P4, P3 and Mavic, and a DNG holds more data than a camera jpg, when the YouTube compression happens, it preserves more data if you give it more data to begin with. I am told that YouTube preserves more quality on an uploaded 100Mbs file than a lower value, because it assumes that the 100Mbs is true 4K, which will look like crap on a big 4K TV, if they compress it the same as a 1080p upload. I notice a clear difference after making the output rendering change to 100Mbs CBR for upload to YouTube. It is more likely to freeze up, too, on playback, if the YouTube buffering stream can't keep up, at busy viewing times! Also, YouTube outputs multiple quality versions of 360p, 480p, 720p, 1080p, 1440p, and 2160p from a 2160p 4K upload. Only by selecting the 2160p Quality setting will you get the best stream. The YouTube default Auto quality setting is often only playing the crappy 720p feed, even though 2160p is available, if you select it manually first!

I'm quite aware of the multiple versions and the increased buffering times as resolution is increased. As proof of the better quality of a 4K upload vs a 1080p upload, I uploaded the same video in both formats back in March. At 5:23 in length, this is a lot longer than my typical videos and will be too slow-moving for many. But, the video is definitely my style. The section from 2:15 to 2:45 will give a very good indication of the difference in viewing quality between 1080p and 2160p (4K).

1080p version. Size of my uploaded file: 620 MB. Size of file on YouTube: 136 MB

2160p version. Size of my uploaded file: 1889 MB (3x the size of the 1080p video). Size of file on YouTube: 143 MB (not a typo... only 7 MB larger than the 1080p version of the same video).

 

[GadgetGuy]

I'm quite aware of the multiple versions and the increased buffering times as resolution is increased. As proof of the better quality of a 4K upload vs a 1080p upload, I uploaded the same video in both formats back in March. At 5:23 in length, this is a lot longer than my typical videos and will be too slow-moving for many. But, the video is definitely my style. The section from 2:15 to 2:45 will give a very good indication of the difference in viewing quality between 1080p and 2160p (4K).

1080p version. Size of my uploaded file: 620 MB. Size of file on YouTube: 136 MB

2160p version. Size of my uploaded file: 1889 MB (3x the size of the 1080p video). Size of file on YouTube: 143 MB (not a typo... only 7 MB larger than the 1080p version of the same video).

What is your method for determining the file size on YouTube? How are you going about downloading them? In my case, the uploaded 4K videos are 15GB at 100Mbs for 23 minutes of flight video. I doubt they are only 1GB on YouTube, but I could be wrong. I'll see, after you tell me how.

 

[gwilson001]

The 64GB Samsung Pro+ cards are only $25 now at Best Buy, and supposedly, you can get 25% more off, by ordering three, but I couldn't get that part to work.
Samsung - PRO+ 64GB microSDXC Class 10 UHS-1 Memory Card - Black/White

They are back up to $54.99 now.

 

[Bigbells]

What is your method for determining the file size on YouTube? How are you going about downloading them? In my case, the uploaded 4K videos are 15GB at 100Mbs for 23 minutes of flight video. I doubt they are only 1GB on YouTube, but I could be wrong. I'll see, after you tell me how.

Click the 3 horizontal bars at the top left of any YouTube page.
In the menu which appears, select "My channel".
Near the top middle of the page, select "Video Manager".
Click the arrow to the right of the word "Edit" for the video that you'd like to download.
In the drop-down menu, select "Download MP4".

 

[Bigbells]

What is your method for determining the file size on YouTube? How are you going about downloading them? In my case, the uploaded 4K videos are 15GB at 100Mbs for 23 minutes of flight video. I doubt they are only 1GB on YouTube, but I could be wrong. I'll see, after you tell me how.

After looking at one of my own videos that I downloaded from YouTube, I realize I've been mistaken. The video that's downloaded is 720p, regardless of how much higher the resolution actually is when viewed on YouTube.

My apologies!

The good news for me is that this means the files retained on the YouTube site are much bigger than I thought, and I can be less hesitant to delete the original files on my computer... as long as I blindly trust YouTube to be the gatekeeper, of course.

Took a while for me to get there, but thanks for helping me see the light!

 

[macoman]

After looking at one of my own videos that I downloaded from YouTube, I realize I've been mistaken. The video that's downloaded is 720p, regardless of how much higher the resolution actually is when viewed on YouTube.

My apologies!

The good news for me is that this means the files retained on the YouTube site are much bigger than I thought, and I can be less hesitant to delete the original files on my computer... as long as I blindly trust YouTube to be the gatekeeper, of course.

Took a while for me to get there, but thanks for helping me see the light!

I always deleted everything from my computer to SD card after I uploaded it to YouTube. I am not going to kill valuable space when YouTube is a great storage option for all the videos you need.

 

[GadgetGuy]

I always deleted everything from my computer to SD card after I uploaded it to YouTube. I am not going to kill valuable space when YouTube is a great storage option for all the videos you need.

Indeed. However, should you ever wish to edit or modify any of your uploaded videos, or create a 4K highlight reel, you may wish you had kept your originals. Last time I looked into this, any YouTube edit to an uploaded 4K video, including just adding a sound track, dumbs the highest resolution available on the edited version back to 1080p. That's what forced me to look elsewhere for a video editor, like PP CC 2017, that still preserves the full 4K quality, after adding a sound track, and editing out the take-off, landing, and any glitches along the way. What you are doing is the equivalent of throwing away the negative, after making a print. Yes, you can make a new internegative from the print, but you are losing quality every time you do so. If all your uploaded YouTube videos are only 1080p anyway, probably not much is lost. I like to preserve my options! If you want a 4K copy offline, and YouTube only allows a 720p version to be downloaded, you are stuck, especially if TMZ offers you $10,000 for a 4K version of the original! Yeah, right!

 

[GadgetGuy]

After looking at one of my own videos that I downloaded from YouTube, I realize I've been mistaken. The video that's downloaded is 720p, regardless of how much higher the resolution actually is when viewed on YouTube.

My apologies!

The good news for me is that this means the files retained on the YouTube site are much bigger than I thought, and I can be less hesitant to delete the original files on my computer... as long as I blindly trust YouTube to be the gatekeeper, of course.

Took a while for me to get there, but thanks for helping me see the light!

Thanks for the tip. I'm still learning, too! However, I would still hang onto those originals! See my post #67 above.

 

[GadgetGuy]

Click the 3 horizontal bars at the top left of any YouTube page.
In the menu which appears, select "My channel".
Near the top middle of the page, select "Video Manager".
Click the arrow to the right of the word "Edit" for the video that you'd like to download.
In the drop-down menu, select "Download MP4".

Thanks for that! Could be useful to have 720p versions offlne on my iPad to share, when there is no wifi and the cell service won't support proper streaming! Happened just the other evening at a family dinner, and I was SOL to share any YouTube content, because cell service was only 3G, and no Wifi!

Just checked the YouTube downloaded file size and properties. Original 4K 60fps upload was 15GB in size at 100mbs on a 21 minute video. Only available YouTube download of the same uploaded file was 245MB and 30fps, and 1.4mbs and 1280x676 . My PP CC 2017 proxies of my 4K 60fps P4P originals are 1024x540 and 60fps and 100mbs and roughly 400MB for every 5.5 minute clip. Looks like the proxies are a better choice, although they are unedited and silent.

 

[BigAl07]

I have this one and bought two so I could make both sides microSD. Holds a dozen microSD, after my mod, and I now also have a spare case for 12 SDcards for my DSLR.
Pelican 0915 Memory Card Case for 12 SD, 6 009150-0100-110 B&H
View attachment 81410

I ordered a very similar "Card Wallet" to the one GadgetGuy shared with us.

JJC Water-Resistant Anti-shock Memory Card Case 12 x SD & 12 x Micro SD cards | eBay


For those of you doing this "Commercially" you may want to consider having enough cards to change out after every flight. We do this and it's saved us some very expensive footage a couple of times now. If the bird is lost so is the HighRes imagery on the card.

 

[GadgetGuy]

I ordered a very similar "Card Wallet" to the one GadgetGuy shared with us.

JJC Water-Resistant Anti-shock Memory Card Case 12 x SD & 12 x Micro SD cards | eBay


For those of you doing this "Commercially" you may want to consider having enough cards to change out after every flight. We do this and it's saved us some very expensive footage a couple of times now. If the bird is lost so is the HighRes imagery on the card.

I have that one, too! The slots are a bit stiff, which discouraged me from using it, but it holds them well! Every time the battery gets changed, or the bird is landed, the card is swapped out. You never know when the bird might not return or be recoverable. Minimizing your loss to only that last flight is just good insurance, and wise!

 

[BigAl07]

I have that one, too! The slots are a bit stiff, which discouraged me from using it, but it holds them well! Every time the battery gets changed, or the bird is landed, the card is swapped out. You never know when the bird might not return or be recoverable. Minimizing your loss to only that last flight is just good insurance, and wise!

Yes sir. It only takes one DAY of lost media (hours of travel and flying time) to change your SOP to include swapping the card out after EVER flight.

We were between jobs and stopped for a quick bite to eat. I wanted to fly our local lake as the FALL Colors were at peak. Through a fault within the battery we lost the aircraft somewhere IN the lake and we had flown I "think" 6 Real Estate jobs that morning and lost all of the data. Had to reschedule everything and everyone.

 

[GadgetGuy]

Yes sir. It only takes one DAY of lost media (hours of travel and flying time) to change your SOP to include swapping the card out after EVERY flight.

We were between jobs and stopped for a quick bite to eat. I wanted to fly our local lake as the FALL Colors were at peak. Through a fault within the battery we lost the aircraft somewhere IN the lake and we had flown I "think" 6 Real Estate jobs that morning and lost all of the data. Had to reschedule everything and everyone.

Ouch! Once burned, twice shy! Hopefully, others will learn vicariously from our experiences!