I just confirmed with a DJI rep that the Mini 4 Pro can only record in MP4 (unlike the Mini 3 Pro which could also output to MOV). I wanted to make a post because it seriously slows down my video editing workflow when working with MP4s on my Macbook Pro (a mid-2014 15-inch w/ an improved SSD). I usually have to re-encode the MP4s in Handbrake before I can get them to successfully import into Premiere. And then obviously I have to render proxies, which I'd do anyway with MOV files, but they render much faster when the source files are MOV. Does DJI's decision to only allow for MP4 recording similarly complicate things for anyone else? Does anyone have an effective workflow for handling MP4 footage on a similar system? Thanks.

Hi there. Thank you for reaching out. The DJI Mini 4 Pro only supports MP4 format. We will coordinate this feedback of yours to our relevant team as a suggestion for future considerations. Thank you for your understanding and support.

Are you recording H265 and MP4?    You shouldn't need to re-encode the MP4s otherwise to use them.  MP4 & H265 is very badly supported.

DAFlys Posted at 10-5 00:21
Are you recording H265 and MP4?    You shouldn't need to re-encode the MP4s otherwise to use them.  MP4 & H265 is very badly supported.

Hi,

Do you mean that for now with MP4 being the only format available it is better to shoot with H264 rather than H265 ?

From what I've read about these codecs, H265 does reduce file size but it more processor demanding when editing footage. I use an 2020 M1 MacBook Pro and I'd like to have your insights on the best settings to edit 4k 30fps footage in post on the Mini 4 Pro.

Thanks in advance.

I'm glad I didn't get caught up in the Mini 4 Pro hype right away, because more and more details are coming to light that make me wonder if DJI didn't develop a successor to the Mini 3 Pro too quickly. I do not know how the initial launch of the Mini 3 Pro has gone but about the Mini 4 pro I have now already read some dissatisfied comments.

Space Dream Posted at 10-8 11:04
I'm glad I didn't get caught up in the Mini 4 Pro hype right away, because more and more details are coming to light that make me wonder if DJI didn't develop a successor to the Mini 3 Pro too quickly. I do not know how the initial launch of the Mini 3 Pro has gone but about the Mini 4 pro I have now already read some dissatisfied comments.

What exact details have come to light ? I would be interested to know.

About unsupported MOV, I'm pretty sure this kind of option can easily be reworked in a future firmware update. I think this drone is still a better option compare to the Mini 3 Pro with just the DLog and Omnidirectional obstacle avoidance (if you don't own any of these drones I mean).

Space Dream Posted at 10-8 11:04
I'm glad I didn't get caught up in the Mini 4 Pro hype right away, because more and more details are coming to light that make me wonder if DJI didn't develop a successor to the Mini 3 Pro too quickly. I do not know how the initial launch of the Mini 3 Pro has gone but about the Mini 4 pro I have now already read some dissatisfied comments.

but about the Mini 4 pro I have now already read some dissatisfied comments.
There are always comments from dissatisfied customers, but not all of them are valid.
A forum tends to attract negative comments but most of the folks with no problems don't post about it.

paul.thb Posted at 10-8 08:15
Hi,

Do you mean that for now with MP4 being the only format available it is better to shoot with H264 rather than H265 ?

Your M1 Mac can hardware decode H265 so that would be the better option,  but not in a MP4 container as that has terrible support.  

DAFlys Posted at 10-9 00:33
Your M1 Mac can hardware decode H265 so that would be the better option,  but not in a MP4 container as that has terrible support.

Thanks for responding but your answer it still confusing to me... My M1 Mac is fine at decoding H265 but since the DJI Mini 4 only supports MP4, I yet don't have any other option than MP4 videos so should I still record with H265 or H264 ?

paul.thb Posted at 10-9 05:29
Thanks for responding but your answer it still confusing to me... My M1 Mac is fine at decoding H265 but since the DJI Mini 4 only supports MP4, I yet don't have any other option than MP4 videos so should I still record with H265 or H264 ?

Record in whatever works well for you and your equipment, not what someone else tells you.

btw, there's no real difference between .mov and .mp4 video files.
The actual video file is the same, but they just come in a different "wrapper".

Labroides Posted at 10-9 13:57
Record in whatever works well for you and your equipment, not what someone else tells you.

btw, there's no real difference between .mov and .mp4 video files.

My question had more to do with using H264 or H265 since @DAFlys seemed to say that H265 "is badly supported with MP4" which I don't really understand what he means by that.

I know that .MOV and .MP4 are the pretty much the same quality (even though I've read that .MOV are less compressed which results in slightly better quality but bigger size). I also know my equipment : I use a Mac and .MOV files are better optimized for editing on MacBooks that's all. The question I'm asking is if I had to use .MP4 format, should I use the H264 or H265 option when I scroll through my recording settings on my Mini 4 Pro.

I don't know if this makes a big difference at all but I'd just like a clear answer Thanks.

paul.thb Posted at 10-9 15:21
My question had more to do with using H264 or H265 since @DAFlys seemed to say that H265 "is badly supported with MP4" which I don't really understand what he means by that.

I know that .MOV and .MP4 are the pretty much the same quality (even though I've read that .MOV are less compressed which results in slightly better quality but bigger size). I also know my equipment : I use a Mac and .MOV files are better optimized for editing on MacBooks that's all. The question I'm asking is if I had to use .MP4 format, should I use the H264 or H265 option when I scroll through my recording settings on my Mini 4 Pro.

My question had more to do with using H264 or H265 since @DAFlys seemed to say that H265 "is badly supported with MP4" which I don't really understand what he means by that.I don't know if this makes a big difference at all but I'd just like a clear answer

Half the stuff that gets posted here is confused misinformation.
Asking for answers won't always get you factual information.
The best thing to do would be to do some simple testing.

is it still not recording with mov. A friend of mine told me, that before the update for controller 02.00.0500 he was able to record in mov. After the update the mov. format is not threre.

Working with  MP4 instead of MOV cannot be considered an issue at all, with both h264 and h255 codecs. All the post-processing software can decode both format in the same way. MP4 is the market standard and MOV is originally belonging to the Apple ecosystem, but Apple devices can work with MP4 in the same way as the MOV, without any limitation or issues.
I'm working on Mac, processing h265 HLG MOV files from the Air2S and h265 HLG MP4 file from the Mini 4 Pro exactly in the same way. Frankly speaking, I cannot understand all that complaints about the MOV format missing.

If somebody wants a MOV file instead of a MP4, he just need to install ffmpeg (a free, multi platform video encoding tool) and run the command:
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -c copy output.mov  In that way it is possible to change the video container without re-encoding, keeping the original video quality. On a M1 Mac it takes 0,5 seconds for a 586 MB HLG file.If you need to convert a batch of many files, a simple shell script can do the job.

FabioV Posted at 2-9 05:52
Working with  MP4 instead of MOV cannot be considered an issue at all, with both h264 and h255 codecs. All the post-processing software can decode both format in the same way. MP4 is the market standard and MOV is originally belonging to the Apple ecosystem, but Apple devices can work with MP4 in the same way as the MOV, without any limitation or issues.
I'm working on Mac, processing h265 HLG MOV files from the Air2S and h265 HLG MP4 file from the Mini 4 Pro exactly in the same way. Frankly speaking, I cannot understand all that complaints about the MOV format missing.

thank you for the reply . i don't really think about this is as a problem.  I was wondering for technical matter as a friend of mine noticed that it was available  and after the latest update it was gone, again I guess

Merczedes Posted at 2-9 06:05
thank you for the reply . i don't really think about this is as a problem.  I was wondering for technical matter as a friend of mine noticed that it was available  and after the latest update it was gone, again I guess

I purchased the Mini 4 at the beginning of December and I've never seen a MOV option. I did at least one firmware update.

FabioV Posted at 2-9 09:12
I purchased the Mini 4 at the beginning of December and I've never seen a MOV option. I did at least one firmware update.

so it's kind of interesting  he had it. especially that this post is from October and the mov. was already not available . i have M4P since January and updated it right after taking it out of the box so no knowledge about it having mov. format. And previously I had mini2 and it was  recording also in mp4 so no real difference for me here.

Merczedes Posted at 2-9 04:25
is it still not recording with mov. A friend of mine told me, that before the update for controller 02.00.0500 he was able to record in mov. After the update the mov. format is not threre.

Hi there. Thank you for reaching out. Can you please confirm what specific drone your friend using? Please note that the DJI Mini 4 Pro only supports MP4 (MPEG-4 AVC/H.264, HEVC/H.265) video format. You may use a 3rd party software to convert the video to your desired video format. Should you have other inquiries, feel free to contact us.

DJI Paladin Posted at 2-10 01:45
Hi there. Thank you for reaching out. Can you please confirm what specific drone your friend using? Please note that the DJI Mini 4 Pro only supports MP4 (MPEG-4 AVC/H.264, HEVC/H.265) video format. You may use a 3rd party software to convert the video to your desired video format. Should you have other inquiries, feel free to contact us.

hi, thank you for stepping in   my friend told me that when he updated the  RC 2 to  02.00.0500, the mov format disappeared and only mp4 left. he told me mov was there when he bought the Mini 4 Pro . I was just wondering and since this topic is open I would ask

Merczedes Posted at 2-10 02:07
hi, thank you for stepping in   my friend told me that when he updated the  RC 2 to  02.00.0500, the mov format disappeared and only mp4 left. he told me mov was there when he bought the Mini 4 Pro . I was just wondering and since this topic is open I would ask

You are most welcome. To confirm, MOV is not supported also it is not included on the release notes of the DJI Mini 4 Pro. Should you have other inquiries, feel free to contact us.

DJI Paladin Posted at 2023-10-5 00:20
Hi there. Thank you for reaching out. The DJI Mini 4 Pro only supports MP4 format. We will coordinate this feedback of yours to our relevant team as a suggestion for future considerations. Thank you for your understanding and support.

The format issue is going to force me to return this drone. It is time consuming and inconvenient to be force to record in MP4.

djiuser_oDyhj5a1ywNR Posted at 9-3 11:10
The format issue is going to force me to return this drone. It is time consuming and inconvenient to be force to record in MP4.

What's the inconvenience? The formats are no different in recording quality because they use the same codecs. What's your problem?

Serg SSA Posted at 9-3 11:24
What's the inconvenience? The formats are no different in recording quality because they use the same codecs. What's your problem?

Try just renaming your file from xxx.mp4 to xxx.mov. I bet that will solve your issue

Tim Floyd Posted at 9-17 02:40
Try just renaming your file from xxx.mp4 to xxx.mov. I bet that will solve your issue

What are you talking about? I have no problems.