Hi, so I just noticed that the Osmo Pocket splits videos into 5 minutes if recording longer videos. Was shooting at 4k 60 and when I look at the files it was split, is this normal?

4Gig file limit of the memory card file structure. Should be able to join files seemlessly in post if necessary.

If you use exfat file format there will be no splitting.

Ttrilles Posted at 1-26 00:14
If you use exfat file format there will be no splitting.

If you format your Micro SD as Exfat, is there any problem with the Osmo Pocket reading it?

No, I have bought a 256 GB Sandisk SD Card which was preformated with exfat.

Ttrilles Posted at 1-26 00:14
If you use exfat file format there will be no splitting.

No. The files are split even using exFAT. They can be joined seamlessly in post. It is not a big deal.

Hi, thanks for the inquiry. For Osmo Pocket, the video splitting mechanism is the same as other aircraft. The maximum capacity of a single file will not exceed 4GB. If exceeded, the recording will be stopped, and a new recording will be started. You may refer to the explanations below for further clarification. Please let us know if you have other concerns.

Reasons:
1. For SD cards with a memory less than 64GB, only FAT32 file system can be used (SD Association stipulates that files can be formatted into exFAT in Windows system for non-standard usage). Files larger than 4GB cannot be stored on a FAT32 volume.
2. For SD cards with a memory greater than or equal to 64GB, only exFAT file system can be used (which is specified by SD Association). Theoretically, a single file can exceed 4GB. However, in order to avoid errors resulted from files being too large, we still split files when the capacity exceeds 4GB.

Hmmm.  The only problem when OSMO Pocket splits files is that Premiere Pro won't sychronize the clips with the other clips. I shoot with three  Panasonic 4K cameras, which don't split the files... An hour-long show is on one file, and the three Panasonic 4K clips all synchronize perfectly.

So DJI Tony, I'm getting errors at the split of the Osmo Pocket. If Panasonic can make longer clips work, why can't DJI?

Any explanation?

Pat

With a properly formatted card, the Pocket should not split files. This causes extra work in post production if you need to sync audio to other sources. Please ask engineering to fix this.

DJI Tony Posted at 1-27 10:44
Hi, thanks for the inquiry. For Osmo Pocket, the video splitting mechanism is the same as other aircraft. The maximum capacity of a single file will not exceed 4GB. If exceeded, the recording will be stopped, and a new recording will be started. You may refer to the explanations below for further clarification. Please let us know if you have other concerns.

Reasons:

Hi, I don't understand why it's good enough for MAJOR camera manufacturers to adopt it, but it's not good enough for DJI! Maybe a bit of an excuse! Regards

It causes problems with the sound when recording music performances.  A tiny bit gets lost.  If they could fix that at least, I personally don't mind about multiple files.

Yeah DJI
Yi technology had the same issues until the Yi4k+ came out and provided a "4GB" or "Max" (was about 30 min of recording per file) choice.
So you can do it! Provide an option at least, let customer CHOOSE what they prefer. I know you care about making this camera even greater: all the updates are here to prove it!

Come on, DJI... Please remove the video splits... It really hinders the post-production and so unlike 2019...
This is already a great device with breakthroughs.. So sad that it can't implement a simple thing such as a non-splitting video files.

Ttrilles Posted at 1-26 00:14
If you use exfat file format there will be no splitting.

it still splits ones the file size reaches  about 3.8Gb or so .

The Pocket is a superb and unobtrusive unit for auto-tracking people giving talks who walk about as they speak, and for manually panning along soloists via the wifi connection. At least it would be, if it were not for this problem. Unlike some previous posters I have NOT been able to join them seamlessly in post, finding gaps of 140 mS in audio even when the 4GB lumps are put following one another on the timeline. Sorting out, or having a simple workaround for this issue would open up a whole new range of uses for this great little camera. Synchronising  a long concert against other cameras is not fun at present, indeed it's barely possible. Incidentally the pocket worked quite happily for a two and a half hour concert without overheating (assisted by an external MAVIC battery).

I presume the underlying problem is that the Pocket's file format is MP4 to reduce the data rate, whereas my conventional prosumer camcorders (that don't exhibit this problem) output a transport stream?

I used ffmpeg (on windows 10 ) to join 9 files of a jazz band performance, with no audible problems at the “seams”.
I have a fast sd card - i can imagine a slower or higher-latency card could fail at the boundaries.

Thanks Lummox - I'm using a Class 10 card but only U1, not U3, so yes that might be a factor. I'll do some experiments. I'll also experiment with file joining software. Thanks again.

I did today a test with my new Osmo+

The test was on the follow settings:
Settings:  1080p 60FPS
SD-Card:  hama 64GB   45 MB/s   SDXC UHS-I
Firmware: OSMO+ Firmware v1.6.1.00 (2017-08-31)

And the results:
Video Length for 4GB: ~ 9:22
Missing Time: ~1517ms

For the last and first frame I used a small python script.

DJI Tony Posted at 1-27 10:44
Hi, thanks for the inquiry. For Osmo Pocket, the video splitting mechanism is the same as other aircraft. The maximum capacity of a single file will not exceed 4GB. If exceeded, the recording will be stopped, and a new recording will be started. You may refer to the explanations below for further clarification. Please let us know if you have other concerns.

Reasons:

Will DJI change this? Release a firmware to allow us to record onto files bigger than 4gb?
As I to record long performances and prefer it all in one file. I notice a loss in frame and audio when I join them. It is really noticeable in a musical performance type setting. Please let us record onto files bigger than 4gb

djiuser_5rtLt95j9fJy Posted at 5-17 06:03
Will DJI change this? Release a firmware to allow us to record onto files bigger than 4gb?
As I to record long performances and prefer it all in one file. I notice a loss in frame and audio when I join them. It is really noticeable in a musical performance type setting. Please let us record onto files bigger than 4gb

I really hope so.

djiuser_5rtLt95j9fJy Posted at 5-17 06:03
Will DJI change this? Release a firmware to allow us to record onto files bigger than 4gb?
As I to record long performances and prefer it all in one file. I notice a loss in frame and audio when I join them. It is really noticeable in a musical performance type setting. Please let us record onto files bigger than 4gb

Hi, thanks for the prompt reply. As of the time being, we haven't received any information regarding this function. No worries, we will forward this suggestion to our designated department. Thank you for your support.

MikeBrett Posted at 4-11 23:59
Thanks Lummox - I'm using a Class 10 card but only U1, not U3, so yes that might be a factor. I'll do some experiments. I'll also experiment with file joining software. Thanks again.

If you are using Windows, then MKVMerge using Append can join the files without losing audio.

I think MKVMerge supports Mac too but not sure if it has the Append method

Chi-Ho Lam Posted at 5-24 06:38
If you are using Windows, then MKVMerge using Append can join the files without losing audio.

I think MKVMerge supports Mac too but not sure if it has the Append method

Here, using that tool is just the same as joining the files in an editor.  There's a small gap in the audio at the join.  This may be to do with the audio being 5 frames out of sync with the video, see another discussion about this problem elsewhere on the forum.  So at the join, I'm guessing that 5 frames of audio are missing.

Eidted to add that I've just been looking through some live music footage on a couple of occasions from my Pocket, and there seems to be different problems at different joins, and the problems are different with different video frame rates and resolutions.  Sometimes a gap, sometimes something missing, sometimes sync is slightly out, and so on.

Please, dear Osmo people, this whole area needs a whole lot of work.  Audio / video sync is not consistently accurate, and files cannot be joined without potential problems at the join.  This is a shame as it really does complicate long recordings or recordings involving live music.  I notice similar problems are being reported with the Action.  Let's hope for some fixes in the near future for both these otherwise remarkably good devices!

I can endorse what fansfe82067d writes - when making a long continuous recording one problem is missing audio chunks, the other is the inconsistency of the files. In a set of ten contiguous files, in some the audio and video ended at the same time, in others different amounts of audio were missing. No automated joining program will sort this out because the source files are messy to start with.  It would make a massive difference if this could be sorted out. In terms of picture quality the OP makes a fantastic, unobtrusive remote-controlled spot fill-in camera for all sorts of live performances and yet at present it's really not usable for long duration takes.

Is it possible to at least have the same naming convention for file splitting on Osmo Pocket than on Osmo Action: fileXXX_1 fileXXX_2 etc?

Someone earlier in the thread mentioned they are using a UHC3 card and not seeing any issues when joining, due to the higher write speed. That on the surface appears to make sense: a faster write speed allows the file to complete writing and a new one started without gapping.

So I would like to ask those who are reporting the gapping issues (ie missing audio) are you using a UHC1 or UHC3 SD card? Simply upgrading to a faster (albeit more expensive) card might solve the issues for you until DJI comes up with a firmware solution. Although I would wager such a solution would probably require a UHC3 card regardless...

Note that I have not tried this, so I am seriously wondering if that fixes the issue prior to our upcoming international trip.

Mine has a "3" on it inside a letter "U" - dunno whether that's a UHC3 or not - and I experience problems as described above.

The Pocket split my recording into 4. 2 I could download to my IPhone and Pad, the other 2 would not download. They all played but no download. So +- 40 min down the ...ter.

DJI. What the f*ck??? I will return your camera and buy sony x3000, if your camera will split videos. Do something! Fast!!!

So I tested recording a long clip, then joined them together using Openshot. No gapping issues in the audio or anything else. I shot in 4K/30fps, writing to a Samsung 256GB 100MB/s (U3) MicroSDXC EVO Select card. It obviously splits the files (I agree this is annoying and should be fixed, especially if the card has enough space AND is fast enough to handle the write speed.)

DJI - is this a buffering limitation on the Pocket's part, or an assumption of slow cards, or something else? Can this be corrected - single continuous file for recording up to 4k/60fps if space allows (a query by the Pocket to the memory card immediately prior to recording at whatever resolution is chosen should show max record time; many cameras do this as a basic function, and I believe the card's header reports back write speed or card type, so that should be taken into consideration as well.)

Just some thoughts. Hopefully DJI can address via firmware update and it's not actually a hardware limitation....

The issue is 60fps.  It happens on 4k60 and 1080p60.  It is a real issue and I brought it up a very long time ago at the OSMO pocket launch.  Just search my name.  DJI hasn't addressed the issue yet, it could be tied to hardware.  

There's audio drift.  It's not a set constant loss at the beginning, making post production impossible.  It's probably not too noticeable when filming concerts, but if you film people, it is extremely annoying.
The fix would be to not record 4k60 for more than 3mins and 1080p for more than around 5mins.

I also would like not having split files. Please DJI

Well, I noticed this in my Mavic Air, Mavic 2 Pro and my GoPro 6.  All usually recorded in 4K, either 30fps or 60fps.  I see that after it gets to a certain length or size (usually at around 3.8 GB).  I really don't mind it in post.  I figure one portion of footage potentially getting corrupt, is always better than the whole thing going bad.

Ttrilles Posted at 1-26 00:14
If you use exfat file format there will be no splitting.

This doesn't work. It will still split files. Like someone said, you can easily stitch clips together in post without any loss.

griffdude13 Posted at 8-15 05:10
This doesn't work. It will still split files. Like someone said, you can easily stitch clips together in post without any loss.

Yes, you are right. Not like on PC. I have maken a 1080 p footage for about 2 hours and noticed it. But playback in Luma Fusion there are no problems.

T.

fansfe82067d Posted at 5-26 00:29
Here, using that tool is just the same as joining the files in an editor.  There's a small gap in the audio at the join.  This may be to do with the audio being 5 frames out of sync with the video, see another discussion about this problem elsewhere on the forum.  So at the join, I'm guessing that 5 frames of audio are missing.

Eidted to add that I've just been looking through some live music footage on a couple of occasions from my Pocket, and there seems to be different problems at different joins, and the problems are different with different video frame rates and resolutions.  Sometimes a gap, sometimes something missing, sometimes sync is slightly out, and so on.

Agree with what you say. It is a real and big issue. We hope no split. We can accept spilt provided that the splits can be joined seamlessly and with ease. But we can't.

I am trying to make a formal complaint to the DJI as I don't see they see it as a problem seriously and the feedback is not respected by such an "innovative" company.

They do not care.
They produce products with unacceptable limitations, inferior to those of competitors, and they omit these limitations to consumers at the time of purchase.

MikeBrett Posted at 2019-4-11 12:36
The Pocket is a superb and unobtrusive unit for auto-tracking people giving talks who walk about as they speak, and for manually panning along soloists via the wifi connection. At least it would be, if it were not for this problem. Unlike some previous posters I have NOT been able to join them seamlessly in post, finding gaps of 140 mS in audio even when the 4GB lumps are put following one another on the timeline. Sorting out, or having a simple workaround for this issue would open up a whole new range of uses for this great little camera. Synchronising  a long concert against other cameras is not fun at present, indeed it's barely possible. Incidentally the pocket worked quite happily for a two and a half hour concert without overheating (assisted by an external MAVIC battery).

I found the exact same issue with the Osmo Action on BOTH mp4 and mov codecs (at around 4 gb or every 6 minutes of continuous footage). This does not occur with my other cameras that split files when a certain capacity is reached (using the same codecs). There is an audible clicking noise when I try to seamlessly put them togther in post. I agree that this is a MAJOR issue when recording long sessions. This makes it impossible to cover the gaps, especially for multicam setups.

Few "scenes" will require 6 minutes. If they do, they will probably bore the heck out of anyone watching.