I understand the high-rez videos are stored on the aircraft, not on the Smart Controller.  That being said, when I insert the SD card into my Mac and browse the card for the low-rez video files there aren't any.  I would assume they'd be stored in the DCIM folder but there's nothing there.  The screenshots and screen recordings that I took are present on the SD card and viewable from the computer however the videos shot from the drone are not.  This is my first drone so maybe I'm missing something here but shouldn't the video files be viewable from the SD card using a computer?  Just to demonstrate that I do have videos stored on the SD card and not the internal memory of the Smart Controller I took a screenshot showing the location of the stored videos:

In settings, check if the file name is set up to use a .MOV suffix, and not a .MP4 suffix, then try again.

Geebax Posted at 4-29 17:42
In settings, check if the file name is set up to use a .MOV suffix, and not a .MP4 suffix, then try again.

Hello Geebax, thank you for the suggestion.  However, I prefer not to shoot the .MOV format as it is proprietary.  .MP4 is an internationally recognized standard and unless I'm not understanding how these low-res video files are saved to an SD card in the Smart Controller there's no reason why they should not be viewable when I insert the card into my computer.

I can view the low-res videos using the Smart Controller, I just can't see them on the computer.  And I know it's not an SD card issue because I can view the screenshots and screen recordings taken with the Smart Controller on my computer with no issues.  Again, I appreciate your suggestion but even if it did work for .MOV files, that doesn't resolve my issue as I only shoot in .MP4 format.

Can someone please help me figure out how I can view the low-res files saved to the SD card (in the Smart Controller) on my computer.  Thanks in advance for any advice.

Chuck Campfield Posted at 4-30 08:51
Hello Geebax, thank you for the suggestion.  However, I prefer not to shoot the .MOV format as it is proprietary.  .MP4 is an internationally recognized standard and unless I'm not understanding how these low-res video files are saved to an SD card in the Smart Controller there's no reason why they should not be viewable when I insert the card into my computer.

I can view the low-res videos using the Smart Controller, I just can't see them on the computer.  And I know it's not an SD card issue because I can view the screenshots and screen recordings taken with the Smart Controller on my computer with no issues.  Again, I appreciate your suggestion but even if it did work for .MOV files, that doesn't resolve my issue as I only shoot in .MP4 format.

The reason I suggested that you change the file extension is because Apple devices use .MOV files for movies, and may not recognize .MP4 files. The .MOV file extension and format is intended for use in Macs, and I do not think it is proprietary at all, just an old Mac convention. Macs are known for hiding files that have file extensions that the Mac does not recognise.

As for shooting only in MP4 format, the file is almost exactly the same if you shoot in .MOV format, the option is simply provided to suit Mac people. Think of the file as like a can of beans, the beans are the same, it is only the labelling on the outside of the can that is different.

Geebax Posted at 4-30 14:20
The reason I suggested that you change the file extension is because Apple devices use .MOV files for movies, and may not recognize .MP4 files. The .MOV file extension and format is intended for use in Macs, and I do not think it is proprietary at all, just an old Mac convention. Macs are known for hiding files that have file extensions that the Mac does not recognise.

As for shooting only in MP4 format, the file is almost exactly the same if you shoot in .MOV format, the option is simply provided to suit Mac people. Think of the file as like a can of beans, the beans are the same, it is only the labelling on the outside of the can that is different.

I understand that, and thank you for the explanation however my Mac has no problem recognizing the .MP4 files on the SD card from the drone so there would be no reason it wouldn’t recognize the .MP4 files on the SD card from the Smart Controller (assuming they were there).

Do you have a Smart Controller and is so what folder is used to store your videos on the controller’s SD card?  In the meantime I will try shooting in .MOV just to see if that does resolve the issue but I’m doubtful it will. Thank you again for taking the time to help.

Geebax Posted at 4-30 14:20
The reason I suggested that you change the file extension is because Apple devices use .MOV files for movies, and may not recognize .MP4 files. The .MOV file extension and format is intended for use in Macs, and I do not think it is proprietary at all, just an old Mac convention. Macs are known for hiding files that have file extensions that the Mac does not recognise.

As for shooting only in MP4 format, the file is almost exactly the same if you shoot in .MOV format, the option is simply provided to suit Mac people. Think of the file as like a can of beans, the beans are the same, it is only the labelling on the outside of the can that is different.

So I tried recording in .MOV format and still had no luck finding the low-res files where you would expect them to be.   After further digging, I managed to answer my own question.  I found the following:

1. The low-res video files are found in the following location: DJI>dpi.go.v5>DJI FLY>Video
2. The low-res photo files are found in the following location: DJI>dpi.go.v5>CACHE_IMAGE_ImageCaches

What threw me off was the fact that there are so many folders and a crazy number of sub-folders.  As I was browsing them searching for the low-res video and photo files when I drilled down to the folder named "dpi.go.v5" I didn't go any deeper into the directory structure since I'm using the DJI FLY app and I thought the "go" in the folder name referred to the GO app.

So there you have it if you're looking for the low-res video and photo files on the SD card of the Smart Controller you'll find them in the above-noted directories.

Just to clear, .MOV  and .MP4 are just containers using same codecs and all that so there is no quality difference, it was really just about choosing container preferable for your editing system Mac/Windows for better handling some years ago.
Even that does not matter any more because win and Mac are playing both equally nowadays.

Chuck Campfield Posted at 2021-5-1 13:39
So I tried recording in .MOV format and still had no luck finding the low-res files where you would expect them to be.   After further digging, I managed to answer my own question.  I found the following:

1. The low-res video files are found in the following location: DJI>dpi.go.v5>DJI FLY>Video

I wish I was as successful. I have my phone hooked up to my computer and have tried using a file manager within the phone, yet, I cannot find the video files.

I took the SD card out of my phone and I can still go to the DJI App and create a video on my phone using the DJI Create function. All my lo-res recording are there to choose from yet, I cannot locate them using the computer interface.

JoiCam Posted at 2021-5-2 04:27
Just to clear, .MOV  and .MP4 are just containers using same codecs and all that so there is no quality difference, it was really just about choosing container preferable for your editing system Mac/Windows for better handling some years ago.
Even that does not matter any more because win and Mac are playing both equally nowadays.

where the MOV container (besides the MXF) is the most stable container and can also contain more information.

Chuck Campfield Posted at 2021-4-30 08:51
Hello Geebax, thank you for the suggestion.  However, I prefer not to shoot the .MOV format as it is proprietary.  .MP4 is an internationally recognized standard and unless I'm not understanding how these low-res video files are saved to an SD card in the Smart Controller there's no reason why they should not be viewable when I insert the card into my computer.

I can view the low-res videos using the Smart Controller, I just can't see them on the computer.  And I know it's not an SD card issue because I can view the screenshots and screen recordings taken with the Smart Controller on my computer with no issues.  Again, I appreciate your suggestion but even if it did work for .MOV files, that doesn't resolve my issue as I only shoot in .MP4 format.

Go into your Smart Controller and DOWNLOAD the videos from the drone, I use the "Phone Album"
to save mine in, note that you can tap the Album button more than once.  Hope you get it.

DJI has updated the location on the SD card while viewing low-res videos on Mac again so I figured this thread could use an update:



The smarter/easier way? just search for ".mov" pr ".mp4" depending on what format you prefer to use

Hope this helps