Hello,
I have a Mac pro (2013) 6 core with 32gb ram... Im curious if im the only one having issues playing back I2 footage? playing back the footage in my timeline its stutters like the computer cant keep up... I dont understand. I dont even need to be in the timeline either, just trying to play back the file in the OS, does the same thing. I can play 4k RAW footage back with no dropped frames... but the H264 footage drops like a rock to almost no FPS after a few seconds of playback. All software is up to date... decent hardware... WTF?
I can play back C4K footage from my Olympus EM1MII with no issues, and that is over 200 mbps (h264)
Am I the only one having issues? I was thinking of doing a wipe on the system and install OSX again.... but, dont want to if I dont need to.

Any ideas? Thank you,
-Andre

same here. No Playback in QT Player on PC (doesn´t open at all)

No fast playback but slow rendering in AE

Hello Andre, could you please clarify what player were you using and what's the version of computer OS? To clarify, did you check the original video from SD card?

joejoe Posted at 2017-1-16 00:03
same here. No Playback in QT Player on PC (doesn´t open at all)

No fast playback but slow rendering in AE

QT player doesn't support H264 video on windows system but support on Mac system.
You could try with MilkPlayer or PotPlayer.

There are no dropped frames in the recording but there is something wrong with the decoding stream. If you play back the video again and again, the 'drop out' occurs at different frames so this tells me that the buffering is inadequate. Also after transcoding to ProRes and then down back to h.264, things are fine. VLC does better for playback. The stuttering is worse with 4K 60fps on a MacPro like yours. I think there is an issue with the options on the codec. Someone from DJI should chime in on this.
Edited: all said and done, the issue is not severe and one can live with it.

Edited Jan 22nd: I have tested further and it seems that some card carriers have less high quality contacts. You can tell this when you transfer video to the hard drive and achieve slower transfer rates than normal. Such a pairing gives stuttering videos while the hard disc playback (which is where the ProRes and FCPX created h.264s come from) don't give problems.

I'm getting the same issue... Using an ASUS Laptop with 32 GB of ram,  Fairly new system and still VERY laggy when playing back the video!!

DJI Mindy Posted at 2017-1-16 00:56
Hello Andre, could you please clarify what player were you using and what's the version of computer OS? To clarify, did you check the original video from SD card?

I am using the Quick time (default player) when playing in the OS. But has the same playback issues when in final cut prox. OS and all software is up to date. (OSX, whatever is the newest version) It does it when im trying to play the original video, no matter where it is located... (SD card, Internall SSD, Haid hard drive, and NVME SSD as well) so from SD card speeds, all the way to 1300 MBps. still has issues playing back.

Mike-the-cat Posted at 2017-1-16 01:38
There are no dropped frames in the recording but there is something wrong with the decoding stream. If you play back the video again and again, the 'drop out' occurs at different frames so this tells me that the buffering is inadequate. Also after transcoding to ProRes and then down back to h.264, things are fine. VLC does better for playback. The stuttering is worse with 4K 60fps on a MacPro like yours. I think there is an issue with the options on the codec. Someone from DJI should chime in on this.
Edited: all said and done, the issue is not severe and one can live with it.

What is odd... is how not all the videos will have this issue... but most do. The crappy part is this problem almost makes certain areas of the clip un-accessible during playback, so it becomes a big issue during editing in FCPX.

Does not matter MOV vs PM4... ( I know it should not matter, but figured I would mention) Im going to do some more testing, because I have sent my X5s in for repair (not my fault) and just got my X4s.

MadFrenchie Posted at 2017-1-16 06:31
I'm getting the same issue... Using an ASUS Laptop with 32 GB of ram,  Fairly new system and still VERY laggy when playing back the video!!

yea, I dont understand... RAW, PRORes, H265 converted to PRORes.. no issue.. H264 4k@100mbps... cant play smoothly.

Gybo102 Posted at 2017-1-16 09:54
I am using the Quick time (default player) when playing in the OS. But has the same playback issues when in final cut prox. OS and all software is up to date. (OSX, whatever is the newest version) It does it when im trying to play the original video, no matter where it is located... (SD card, Internall SSD, Haid hard drive, and NVME SSD as well) so from SD card speeds, all the way to 1300 MBps. still has issues playing back.

QT player doesn't support H264 video on windows system.
Could you please change another player to test again? Such as MilkPlayer or PotPlayer.

DJI Mindy Posted at 2017-1-17 02:20
QT player doesn't support H264 video on windows system.
Could you please change another player to test again? Such as MilkPlayer or PotPlayer.

Im on OSX, never said I was on windows. please look at the first post. It does not matter what software I am using, I have this issues during viewing and editing in FCPX as well.

DJI Mindy Posted at 2017-1-16 01:29
QT player doesn't support H264 video on windows system but support on Mac system.
You could try with MilkPlayer or PotPlayer.

nope.

Quicktime player DOES support h264 movs on windows. should open & run perfectly

DJI Mindy Posted at 2017-1-17 02:20
QT player doesn't support H264 video on windows system.
Could you please change another player to test again? Such as MilkPlayer or PotPlayer.

Hello Mindy, is there any word from DJI on this matter, or is this how it is? as I expected, I get the same result with the X4s. would be nice If I could watch my footage.

Gybo102 Posted at 2017-1-18 12:46
Hello Mindy, is there any word from DJI on this matter, or is this how it is? as I expected, I get the same result with the X4s. would be nice If I could watch my footage.

Sorry for the late reply.
Could you please upload the original video file to dropbox and send me the link?
I'll help to check it.

Here is a link to Google Drive: (MAKE SURE TO DOWNLOAD) do not play in browser.
https://drive.google.com/drive/f ... d0d0UjA?usp=sharing


Not sure if Goodle does anything to the files once uploaded... , here is a link to the same files on my server, they are untouched here:
http://gofile.me/2yvMh/5iuuVc8nI

There are 4 files, 2 with the X5s, and 2 with the X4s. I also included the files that play good as well. not sure what the difference is, but some will play ok while most will not. can others verify the same issue I am having based off of my files?
Thank you.

DJI Mindy Posted at 2017-1-19 01:25
Sorry for the late reply.
Could you please upload the original video file to dropbox and send me the link?
I'll help to check it.

I do not have dropbox, but check the above post...
I verified the issue is still present with the files in google drive.

Gybo102 Posted at 2017-1-19 10:47
I do not have dropbox, but check the above post...
I verified the issue is still present with the files in google drive.

Sorry, our engineers will need the original video files without any edition.
If you rename the video files, we cannot make sure it's the original files.
Could you please upload it again?

DJI Mindy Posted at 2017-1-20 02:13
Sorry, our engineers will need the original video files without any edition.
If you rename the video files, we cannot make sure it's the original files.
Could you please upload it again?

Even if I tell you they are the original? I named them so you know what one runs good and what runs bad...
Give me a few min...

DJI Mindy Posted at 2017-1-20 02:13
Sorry, our engineers will need the original video files without any edition.
If you rename the video files, we cannot make sure it's the original files.
Could you please upload it again?

ok, same files uploaded, look for "for DJI" folder... did not change the file names. so 100% original files.

Gybo102 Posted at 2017-1-20 06:06
ok, same files uploaded, look for "for DJI" folder... did not change the file names. so 100% original files.

x5s bad.MOV plays smooth for me.
IMac 5K 3,3 GHZ i5, 32GB Ram, Radeon 4GB.

What kind of Graphic Card is in your Mac?

Skyclip Posted at 2017-1-20 07:35
x5s bad.MOV plays smooth for me.
IMac 5K 3,3 GHZ i5, 32GB Ram, Radeon 4GB.

My specs are 3.5ghz 6 core, 32gb ram (adding another 32gb soon), dual D500 (3gb each) pcie ssd for main storage...
Maybe I should do a clean install, dont understand why I have this issue. Thank you for running the clip. I really appreciate it!

Gybo102 Posted at 2017-1-20 08:19
My specs are 3.5ghz 6 core, 32gb ram (adding another 32gb soon), dual D500 (3gb each) pcie ssd for main storage...
Maybe I should do a clean install, dont understand why I have this issue. Thank you for running the clip. I really appreciate it!

No Problem. :-) That Dual GPU should be way more then needed.
Maybe you could try VLC Player first, before reinstalling.
If it plays back smoothly then there should be something wrong with Qucktime.

I have tired VLC.... I have come to a conclusion.. But will need other users help to verify..
I believe its the way the videos are recorded on the I2. Ill explain..
I have re-installed MacOS, tried to play the videos right away, still have the same issue.
There are 2 ways this can be looked at:
1. Yes, the processors in the 2013 mac pros are "dated" compared to most computers, especially the 5k iMacs. So DJI can try and say its an issue with my computer...
2 But... the fact that I can play some videos from the I2 with no issues makes me feel like there is inconsistencies with the file creation / coding when written.

The reason why "newer" computers / CPUs might play the files with no issues is because of special features being put in to make it no so taxing on the cpus. Now my MacPro is no slouch, able to playback 4k RAW footage with no frame drops, and is able to render quite quickly.

So the question is if DJI can do something with the way the videos are being coded, written... and if so.. will they.

Anyone out there with Mac Pros (2013) please check my videos and let me know if you are having the same issue with it messing up during playback.
Thank you.

Skyclip Posted at 2017-1-20 23:35
No Problem. :-) That Dual GPU should be way more then needed.
Maybe you could try VLC Player first, before reinstalling.
If it plays back smoothly then there should be something wrong with Qucktime.

sorry, replied above lol

Gybo102 Posted at 2017-1-21 06:58
sorry, replied above lol

Hehe. :-)
Yes, maybe thats how you can figure it out.
Meanwhile you can Transcode the Files to ProRes422 with Compressor.
I do that with all of my h.264 Files.

Skyclip Posted at 2017-1-21 08:57
Hehe. :-)
Yes, maybe thats how you can figure it out.
Meanwhile you can Transcode the Files to ProRes422 with Compressor.

Yea, that is an option. But, should not need to tho. I hope DJI is looking into this. I doubt im the only one with this issue on Mac Pros.

DJI Mindy Posted at 2017-1-20 02:13
Sorry, our engineers will need the original video files without any edition.
If you rename the video files, we cannot make sure it's the original files.
Could you please upload it again?

Please see post 23 please

DJI Mindy Posted at 2017-1-20 02:13
Sorry, our engineers will need the original video files without any edition.
If you rename the video files, we cannot make sure it's the original files.
Could you please upload it again?

Just checking to see if there is any update? Thank you.

Gybo102 Posted at 2017-1-23 12:55
Just checking to see if there is any update? Thank you.

I have forward your video files to our engineers for review.
If I get any update, I'll let you know. Thanks.

DJI Mindy Posted at 2017-1-23 23:00
I have forward your video files to our engineers for review.
If I get any update, I'll let you know. Thanks.

Thank you

Gybo102 Posted at 2017-1-21 06:58
I have tired VLC.... I have come to a conclusion.. But will need other users help to verify..
I believe its the way the videos are recorded on the I2. Ill explain..
I have re-installed MacOS, tried to play the videos right away, still have the same issue.

Tested extensively. You are correct. There is an issue with playback of h.264s from any DJI bird on 2013 MacPros.

Not on the newer machines. SkyLake processors vs. Xeon. There is probably some new hardware decoder built into the newer chips. Nothing to do with GPUs as the Pro has awesome dual GPUs.

The problems go away on ProRes conversion but that's a very storage space expensive solution.

DJI Mindy Posted at 2017-1-23 23:00
I have forward your video files to our engineers for review.
If I get any update, I'll let you know. Thanks.

Mindy, Please refer to my post on this matter. Nothing wrong with the original files

Mike-the-cat Posted at 2017-1-31 17:18
Tested extensively. You are correct. There is an issue with playback of h.264s from any DJI bird on 2013 MacPros.

Not on the newer machines. SkyLake processors vs. Xeon. There is probably some new hardware decoder built into the newer chips. Nothing to do with GPUs as the Pro has awesome dual GPUs.

ok, so.... How am I supposed to take this?
I get the difference in the cpus and what not.. my issue is how some will play fine and not miss a frame, while others / most will be unplayable. to me that seems like an inconsistency in the way the videos are created from the I2.

Again, I can play back h264 footage from my Olympus em1MII with even higher bitrates (100 - 238mbps) in various resolutions(1080,4k,C4k)... so... is it still the CPU to blame or the inspire 2 does something to some files differently when creating them?

I hope I explained that properly
I do not feel I should have to resort to converting to pro-res because the I2 does something to some of the files and makes them unplayable, while makes the other play just fine.

Mike-the-cat Posted at 2017-1-31 17:18
Tested extensively. You are correct. There is an issue with playback of h.264s from any DJI bird on 2013 MacPros.

Not on the newer machines. SkyLake processors vs. Xeon. There is probably some new hardware decoder built into the newer chips. Nothing to do with GPUs as the Pro has awesome dual GPUs.

Also, I never had an issue with ANY h264 files from my I1 (x3/x5/x5r) only the I2

Gybo102 Posted at 2017-1-31 17:54
ok, so.... How am I supposed to take this?
I get the difference in the cpus and what not.. my issue is how some will play fine and not miss a frame, while others / most will be unplayable. to me that seems like an inconsistency in the way the videos are created from the I2.

It may have something to do with the particular implementation of h.264. That apparently isn't uniform across cameras. To be honest, I don't know the guts of how this is done but I remember meeting an engineer from Amberella who told me that there are many options for implementing image processing from the same chip.

Anyway, take a look at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H.264/MPEG-4_AVC

Again, its not frame missing - there's just a hiccup in the frame buffer. Do the ProRes conversion and see for yourself. Its got nothing to do with bitrate of the video. If that were so, the ProRes 422 version whose bitrate is >900mbps would hiccup worse.

Mike-the-cat Posted at 2017-1-31 20:17
It may have something to do with the particular implementation of h.264. That apparently isn't uniform across cameras. To be honest, I don't know the guts of how this is done but I remember meeting an engineer from Amberella who told me that there are many options for implementing image processing from the same chip.

Anyway, take a look at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H.264/MPEG-4_AVC

Im not sure if I explained the symptom correctly, to me it does not come up as a hiccup in the frame buffer... because the video becomes unplayable. I could possibly deal with loosing frames here and there... but it stops after a few moments of playing, cant even scrubb over the clips either... its like the content is "gone" in the way that I can not access the footage.
Im sorry if I am repeating myself, im just frustrated maybe.
If its not a bitrate issue, would you agree its something with the I2 and DJI should be able to iron this out. This is the only h.264 device I have issues playing.

The part that I just cant seem to get out of my head is how some clips will play 100% fine with not a single frame dropped... can that be explained? why can the I2 not do that with every clip it generates? That is something I would like DJI to answer to. I dont feel that is an unreasonable request. Am I wrong in that?

Thank you for putting up with me

Gybo102 Posted at 2017-1-31 22:08
Im not sure if I explained the symptom correctly, to me it does not come up as a hiccup in the frame buffer... because the video becomes unplayable. I could possibly deal with loosing frames here and there... but it stops after a few moments of playing, cant even scrubb over the clips either... its like the content is "gone" in the way that I can not access the footage.
Im sorry if I am repeating myself, im just frustrated maybe.
If its not a bitrate issue, would you agree its something with the I2 and DJI should be able to iron this out. This is the only h.264 device I have issues playing.

Oh - this is indeed weird. It definitely happens with h.265 but not with h.264. I have not encountered the problem you described with I2 footage.

The only thing I can think of is a faulty micro-SD card caddy - where contact is intermittent. It happened to me once. I deleted the source files after transferring them over to a HD but little did I know that the files in the latter were affected by the buggy transfer. Lost about half and hour of good material there.

Usually when that happens though, there is a break up of the video, not failure to play through a section.

The I2 is in the hands of lots of professionals presently and something like what you describe would have been picked up by now if indeed it was an issue. DJI's engineering is pretty solid, people moan and complain a lot but in truth, there really isn't much that you can stick them for.

Have you tried going through frame by frame to see if there is a block. If so, then it is a write problem.
Do you have the same problem using VLC and QT player? (VLC seems a little more tolerant for reasons unclear to me)

Mike-the-cat Posted at 2017-2-1 00:00
Oh - this is indeed weird. It definitely happens with h.265 but not with h.264. I have not encountered the problem you described with I2 footage.

The only thing I can think of is a faulty micro-SD card caddy - where contact is intermittent. It happened to me once. I deleted the source files after transferring them over to a HD but little did I know that the files in the latter were affected by the buggy transfer. Lost about half and hour of good material there.

I cant agree with the potential of faulty SD caddy, because It can be converted to ProRes and have no issues playing back fine.
It does not matter how the file is played or accessed...its the same every time. Im going to have to record what I see... Ill work on that.

Gybo102 Posted at 2017-2-1 17:23
I cant agree with the potential of faulty SD caddy, because It can be converted to ProRes and have no issues playing back fine.
It does not matter how the file is played or accessed...its the same every time. Im going to have to record what I see... Ill work on that.

Hi Gybo,

I downloaded your x5sbad file and it plays back just fine on my MacBook Pro 2012.

Two things I can offer. First, your natural surprise that your machine can handle ProRes and Raw, but can't handle a measly 100Mb H264 is unfortunately backwards. 4k footage in a highly compressed codec like H264 is one of the hardest things a computer can do, due to a number of factors with the compression.

Second, In my many years doing this I have many personal stories of a perfectly good machine refusing to play back perfectly good footage smoothly, only to start playing it back just fine for no reason the next day. It's one of the deep mysteries of life. Try repairing permissions and opening up some space on your system drive, but you've probably already tried that. Make sure the footage is on a fast 7200 rpm drive with a USB3 or thunderbolt connection.

For what it's worth, this same MBP 2012 has a devil of a time with DJI's 60Mb codec from the Phantom 4, and it regularly would just sort of crash QT player (the computer would just freeze for a few minutes). It also would look horrible in FCP until optimized files were written by the program.  The new codec seems much more friendly at least to my machine.  

Short of wishing for a miracle, or buying a newer machine, your best bet is to convert to ProRes. These will play back just fine, and will work better in every editing program.  I know you think this is a DJI issue, but it's really not. Hardware over the past 1-2 years has taken into account 4k footage as a daily reality. Take a clip down to the apple store and I'll bet it will play back perfectly on the lowliest machine there.

Barry Goyette Posted at 2017-2-1 19:22
Hi Gybo,

I downloaded your x5sbad file and it plays back just fine on my MacBook Pro 2012.

Nice reply and points I think Gybo is too emotionally entangled to see clearly but lets hope he finds a solution because its not DJI's problem here....