Preventing the Split of P3S Video Footage into Two Files on SD Card ?

[Billie Nelson]

I just replaced my now deceased Phantom 3 Standard with another identical drone, and found that this new-to-me P3S doesn't allow me to save all the footage filmed on my typically long Litchi missions, in a single file of 4GB on average, as was normally possible with my previous Phantom3 S. With this replacement P3S, my filmed footage is always saved in two files, with one typically about 3.9 GB in size, and the second file much smaller.

I am now using a different brand memory card, so it occurred to me that the SD card change might be the cause of this splitting of my footage into two separate files, but I thought I'd better ask here, just in case there is an obscure setting that I can access in DJI Go, that will ensure each mission's footage is stored in a single file, as was the case with all my flights on the previous P3S that I flew for over 1,200 miles of Litchi missions. Any pointers about how to ensure all my footage on each flight is saved as one file would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Oso]

I just replaced my now deceased Phantom 3 Standard with another identical drone, and found that this new-to-me P3S doesn't allow me to save all the footage filmed on my typically long Litchi missions, in a single file of 4GB on average, as was normally possible with my previous Phantom3 S. With this replacement P3S, my filmed footage is always saved in two files, with one typically about 3.9 GB in size, and the second file much smaller.

I am now using a different brand memory card, so it occurred to me that the SD card change might be the cause of this splitting of my footage into two separate files, but I thought I'd better ask here, just in case there is an obscure setting that I can access in DJI Go, that will ensure each mission's footage is stored in a single file, as was the case with all my flights on the previous P3S that I flew for over 1,200 miles of Litchi missions. Any pointers about how to ensure all my footage on each flight is saved as one file would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

The P3 models have always split video files at ~4GB. There are no workarounds regardless of formatting as either FAT32 or exFAT. The P3 will still split video files at ~4GB even though the exFat format itself allows larger files.

 

[Meta4]

All DJI drones do the same thing.
If you aren't already, reducing the video resolution from 2.7K to 1920 x 1080 will alow you to video for longer before the file size reaches 3.7 GB.

 

[Pygar70]

My P4 files always have a maximum size of 3.996 GB. In the 4K setting I use, this gives me 5 min 27 sec of video per file.
Is it possible your resolution or frame-rate settings have changed? This might be why you're getting less time per file - if that's what's happening. And apologies if I'm stating the obvious, but you can use video editing software to combine multiple clips into a single file - if that's what you require.

 

[Billie Nelson]

All DJI drones do the same thing.
If you aren't already, reducing the video resolution from 2.7K to 1920 x 1080 will alow you to video for longer before the file size reaches 3.7 GB.

It just occurred to me that the video resolution of my old P3S must have been set to 1920x1080 all along, entirely by accident, since I bought it brand new back in 2017. That would explain why its video files were never split up even when they exceeded 4GB by the time my drone landed after Litchi missions that typically ran 20 minutes and 6 miles round trip.

Of course there is no way to check that now since the camera shattered on impact during the crash that ended that drone's illustrious career. Come to think of it, I did notice that the resolution of footage taken by my newer Phantom3S does seem sharper to my untrained eye. Comparing 2,7K to 4K footage, on the other hand, has been a different story. Even with the corrected vision of my glasses, I simply cannot discern any improvement in resolution looking at 4K footage, as compared with 2.7K, so I went ahead and set the resolution to 2.7K on my newly acquired Mavic Pro, and Phantom 3 Pro.

Pygar 70 I really do need to overcome my fear of video editing, so I can stitch back pieces of the 2.7K footage that gets split into two since I do prefer the sharpness of 2.7K over 1920x1080. I've had a copy of the excellent Shot Cut video editing software for quite a while, and I did make a half-hearted attempt to master its use, before giving up. Now that I can see the advantage of 2.7K over 1920x1080, there is more incentive to engage these old brain cells for at least long enough to master the basics of video editing.

I thank you sirs, for clearing up this mystery. I was so sure that the SD card was to blame, that I ordered a few pricier SD cards rated for higher speeds, in a bid to solve the "problem" of split video footage ha ha.

 

[Meta4]

Comparing 2,7K to 4K footage, on the other hand, has been a different story. Even with the corrected vision of my glasses, I simply cannot discern any improvement in resolution looking at 4K footage, as compared with 2.7K

Unless you have a 4K monitor, you won't be able to see video in 4K.
The computer would have to downsize to fit the monitor's resolution.

 

[Billie Nelson]

Unless you have a 4K monitor, you won't be able to see video in 4K.
The computer would have to downsize to fit the monitor's resolution.

Ah I see. More to the point, I don't see 4K because my monitor cannot display it. This is even more reason to stay with tried and tested 2.7K, especially for footage that I intend to post on Youtube. Much thanks for this explanation sir.

My layman's understanding of video resolution is now improved enough to realize 2.7K is the way to go for the foreseeable future. On a related note, I now realize that for my long-range Litchi mission purposes, there simply is no better drone in existence, than the lowly Phantom 3 Standard.

If I'd been aware of these basic facts about video resolution, I wouldn't have splurged on a Phantom 3 Pro, whose flight time is significantly lower than the P3S, or on the Mavic Pro, whose smaller size makes it a more tempting target for birds of prey. This is one rare instance where a cheaper product is clearly superior in all respects to more expensive alternatives.

 

[Deleted member 62848]

It just occurred to me that the video resolution of my old P3S must have been set to 1920x1080 all along, entirely by accident, since I bought it brand new back in 2017. That would explain why its video files were never split up even when they exceeded 4GB by the time my drone landed after Litchi missions that typically ran 20 minutes and 6 miles round trip.

Of course there is no way to check that now since the camera shattered on impact during the crash that ended that drone's illustrious career. Come to think of it, I did notice that the resolution of footage taken by my newer Phantom3S does seem sharper to my untrained eye. Comparing 2,7K to 4K footage, on the other hand, has been a different story. Even with the corrected vision of my glasses, I simply cannot discern any improvement in resolution looking at 4K footage, as compared with 2.7K, so I went ahead and set the resolution to 2.7K on my newly acquired Mavic Pro, and Phantom 3 Pro.

Pygar 70 I really do need to overcome my fear of video editing, so I can stitch back pieces of the 2.7K footage that gets split into two since I do prefer the sharpness of 2.7K over 1920x1080. I've had a copy of the excellent Shot Cut video editing software for quite a while, and I did make a half-hearted attempt to master its use, before giving up. Now that I can see the advantage of 2.7K over 1920x1080, there is more incentive to engage these old brain cells for at least long enough to master the basics of video editing.

I thank you sirs, for clearing up this mystery. I was so sure that the SD card was to blame, that I ordered a few pricier SD cards rated for higher speeds, in a bid to solve the "problem" of split video footage ha ha.

Ha I find this old post of mine and how much I paided for for sd card,,it still gives me a fright but still works to this day,,,this was 2017 I get this,,top $$$ or what

 

[Billie Nelson]

Wow, that was quite a king's ransom that you shelled out back then, especially considering that the speed of currently available SD cards has tripled since those days. Good to hear that the cards are still in use despite the passage of time since they were new.

 

[Pygar70]

Comparing 2,7K to 4K footage, on the other hand, has been a different story. Even with the corrected vision of my glasses, I simply cannot discern any improvement in resolution looking at 4K footage, as compared with 2.7K, so I went ahead and set the resolution to 2.7K on my newly acquired Mavic Pro, and Phantom 3 Pro.

This may be a little esoteric, but if you're concerned about how your video looks on Youtube, it's worth noting that streamed 2.7K & 4K video looks superior to 1080p video - irrespective of your monitor's resolution. This is because Youtube compresses your video to a shadow of the original (by removing detail), but varies its compression rates (i.e. bitrate) by resolution category; in the process favouring 2.7K & 4K streams. So even if you were to view these higher resolution streams down-scaled on a 1080p monitor, they would still look better than the 1080p stream of the same video.

 

[Pygar70]

Pygar 70 I really do need to overcome my fear of video editing, so I can stitch back pieces of the 2.7K footage that gets split into two since I do prefer the sharpness of 2.7K over 1920x1080. I've had a copy of the excellent Shot Cut video editing software for quite a while, and I did make a half-hearted attempt to master its use, before giving up. Now that I can see the advantage of 2.7K over 1920x1080, there is more incentive to engage these old brain cells for at least long enough to master the basics of video editing.

Rest assured, you'll find stitching two segments of video to be one of the easiest video-editing tasks.

 

[Billie Nelson]

Rest assured, you'll find stitching two segments of video to be one of the easiest video-editing tasks.

This video clip was by far the easiest to follow. At first, I tried to play the "exported" video clip and found it didn't work, but it turned out I'd forgotten that the export process from Shot Cut to the computer folder can take up to a half-hour, for 15-minute long clip.

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[bsartist]

Wow. Reading your posts are quite a commitment. Glad I don’t pay by the word.

Anyhow, something important to keep in mind about shooting in 4K: you have the ability to zoom in and crop when post processing the video. This is especially important for straightening the horizon.

 

[Billie Nelson]

Apologies for the length of my posts, Bill. Using voice-to-text software, I find that my paragraphs do tend towards being lengthier than originally intended. I'll put a bit more effort into being more concise going forward.

This mention of the ability to zoom in with 4K video is important, and in those instances where I need to produce still pictures, I'll remember to switch over to 4K, while using 2.7K for the flights during which video footage alone will suffice. Note the brevity of this post. I'm turning a new leaf ha ha.

 

[bsartist]

Getting better. . You’re a good sport.

when you start editing your videos you’ll come to appreciate the extra pixels 4K gives you when you want to crop/zoom/straighten. Then you output at 1080p and all is right with the world.

 

[bsartist]

Getting better. . You’re a good sport.

when you start editing your videos you’ll come to appreciate the extra pixels 4K gives you when you want to crop/zoom/straighten. Then you output at 1080p and all is right with the world.

One more thing. When you get into video editing you may want to go back to old footage. You may be frustrated to find it’s low res. So capture in 4K for “future proofing.” You can’t go back.

 

[Billie Nelson]

These pointers are appreciated, Bill. The more I learn about image processing, the more I realize I've yet to learn, to fully exploit the full potential of these versatile eyes in the sky. It has been a wonderful journey of discovery thus far, that has been helped considerably by the enlightening advice offered in this forum by the pros.

 

[bsartist]

These pointers are appreciated, Bill. The more I learn about image processing, the more I realize I've yet to learn, to fully exploit the full potential of these versatile eyes in the sky. It has been a wonderful journey of discovery thus far, that has been helped considerably by the enlightening advice offered in this forum by the pros.

The first step in learning is to know what we don’t know.