Hey gang well I have a question that I am sure has been asked before. I am new to the video world and 4K. I just picked up the Phantom 4 pro when I shot in cini 4 K  and Ultra 4 K " please excuse my terminolgy". I cannot play back the videos on my computer. My computer is no slouch I have 32gb Ram and a 4.2 ghz AMD 8 core prosessor. and a high end graphics card. the video is choppy green lines flashing sometimes the video plays but there is no motion you would think I was looking at a still image. This happens on both 4K modes. the 2.7 K plays ok kind of. Is there an issue with the camera on the drone? is it the Micro SD card not being fast enough. or is it that 4 raw will never play correctly untill it has been processed. I still have a window of a couple of days to return this uinit if it is defective. can somebody please give me some professional input as to what is happening.
Thanks All.

I fear it IS your PC that is the culprit. If 2.7 an HD play OK  and you can not play 4K with VLC-player AND after transferring the video to you hard drive or SSD (better) then it might well be that your 'Super'-PC is just not up to the task. And you will not be the first one to experience this...

try a different video player like GOMplayer

also make sure you have copied the files to your internal hard drive before playback.
the sd card and usb speeds wont play smoothly if playing direct from card.

good luck and have fun flying!

The problem is not the SD card, after all it was fast enough to record the video in the first place. When playing the video on your PC, don't play back from the SD card, copy it to an SSD or hard drive first, then play it. You also might try downloading a copy of VLC Player (free) and see if it handles it better.

You maybe want to try a film in 4K 30p instead of 60p. Sometimes the result is better. DJI has not been honest about this as there is no full 4K 60p quality when using it, it has only full resolution either liniar but not horizontel or the other way around, as 4K is 4000x3800 something but this is 4000x2600 something. These numbers are not right but just to explain this without having to google it before wring about it..

jac38 Posted at 2017-3-26 14:37
You maybe want to try a film in 4K 30p instead of 60p. Sometimes the result is better. DJI has not been honest about this as there is no full 4K 60p quality when using it, it has only full resolution either liniar but not horizontel or the other way around, as 4K is 4000x3800 something but this is 4000x2600 something. These numbers are not right but just to explain this without having to google it before wring about it..

4K UHD is 4096 x 2160 pixels, that is the standard, and the P4P shoots in this mode at 60 fps. 4K is not 4000 x 3800 'something'.

i suspect it is the processor on your computer.

Geebax Posted at 2017-3-26 20:31
4K UHD is 4096 x 2160 pixels, that is the standard, and the P4P shoots in this mode at 60 fps. 4K is not 4000 x 3800 'something'.

Alright but the point in this is that you are not getting a full 4K 60p recording, because DJI have not been honest about this. You have to seach for this or ask on the forum, so someone else who have the complete data about this and can verify what Im telling you here.

jac38 Posted at 2017-3-27 10:02
Alright but the point in this is that you are not getting a full 4K 60p recording, because DJI have not been honest about this. You have to seach for this or ask on the forum, so someone else who have the complete data about this and can verify what Im telling you here.

It's 100% full 4K.  No pixels missing.  Nothing being misled.  Verified multiple times in multiple pieces of software, by multiple people.  Worldwide.  

Switch to H264, not H265.  This will likely resolve your issue.  H265 is a new codec and just gaining wide suppot.  If you must film in H265 (for some reason), I recommend using MCE for playback.

method007 Posted at 2017-3-27 10:22
Switch to H264, not H265.  This will likely resolve your issue.  H265 is a new codec and just gaining wide suppot.  If you must film in H265 (for some reason), I recommend using MCE for playback.

I found one of the threads about this and I have taken out some parts about this and explained. So please do not say I dont know what Im talking about, even though I did not have numbers or facts, but as you already made up your mind about this I helped you out here and give you info about this.
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There is a global bottleneck of 100mbps so it seems the encoder has to strech information at 4k 60. If you film 4k 30 or 4k 60 you only have 100 so when you film in 4k 30 you have more information per frame, when you film in 4k 60 you have to stretch that 100 megabits to 60 frames from 30.

All of it is 4K video. The problem is all in the encoder technology and recording bitrate. There is definitively not sensor scan speed problem since it allows a 1/8000s shutter speed. The amount of data to encode at 60fps is nearly 3 times as much as at 24fps. Since the encoding technology and bitrate is the same for all three settings in somewhat simplistic view: At 60fps (as compared to 24fps), the encoder must arbitrate away 2 out of 3 bits of information. The targets for this arbitration are pixels that have very little change in the YUV values - or in this case, they must have a 3 times more significant change in value. The result: loss of detail of course which makes the image "softer", kind-of "out-of-focus"..

I did some tests with ISO charts and the result is as assumed. 4K/50&60p uses lineskipping/pixelbinning as FHD/120p does, so the vertical resolution is about half the expected in UHD/60p. I think it´s a little better than half the resolution since we have a oversamplingsensor here giving even good results in blue an red resolution as in blue/red situations that surpass native resolving bayer sensors
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There are more movies on youtube and images illustrating this, but I cant put in all that in just an answer in this thread, but here you have reason and enough data about this....

jac38 Posted at 2017-3-27 11:20
I found one of the threads about this and I have taken out some parts about this and explained. So please do not say I dont know what Im talking about, even though I did not have numbers or facts, but as you already made up your mind about this I helped you out here and give you info about this.
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There is a global bottleneck of 100mbps so it seems the encoder has to strech information at 4k 60. If you film 4k 30 or 4k 60 you only have 100 so when you film in 4k 30 you have more information per frame, when you film in 4k 60 you have to stretch that 100 megabits to 60 frames from 30.

You are correct, DJI does use a compression algorithm.   It's a requirement unless you're shooting RAW.  You are just describing steps their encoder may use.  

Still, 100% true 4K video.  Nothing "not honest" about it.

jac38 Posted at 2017-3-27 11:20
I found one of the threads about this and I have taken out some parts about this and explained. So please do not say I dont know what Im talking about, even though I did not have numbers or facts, but as you already made up your mind about this I helped you out here and give you info about this.
-------------------------------------------------
There is a global bottleneck of 100mbps so it seems the encoder has to strech information at 4k 60. If you film 4k 30 or 4k 60 you only have 100 so when you film in 4k 30 you have more information per frame, when you film in 4k 60 you have to stretch that 100 megabits to 60 frames from 30.

You are correct in saying the encoding process is tougher for higher frame rates, but it is not at the penalty of resolution, you still get 4K resolution, but detail will be lost in high detail areas, only if the image is moving. If you shot a high detail scene in which nothing moved, you would get a perfectly clear image.

That's the nature of MPEG encoding, and the only way to get around it is to raise trhe bitrate, which DJI do in the newest Inspire camera package, but then they have to resort to using special SSDs to record the file because normal SD cards cannot handle it. I would think DJI do not want to make it even more difficult for inexperienced users to shoot good material, so they push the encoding to its technical limits with the Phantom series.

Geebax Posted at 2017-3-27 13:43
You are correct in saying the encoding process is tougher for higher frame rates, but it is not at the penalty of resolution, you still get 4K resolution, but detail will be lost in high detail areas, only if the image is moving. If you shot a high detail scene in which nothing moved, you would get a perfectly clear image.

That's the nature of MPEG encoding, and the only way to get around it is to raise trhe bitrate, which DJI do in the newest Inspire camera package, but then they have to resort to using special SSDs to record the file because normal SD cards cannot handle it. I would think DJI do not want to make it even more difficult for inexperienced users to shoot good material, so they push the encoding to its technical limits with the Phantom series.

This thread is about video, and that is why I write about video. And if you instead use 4K 30p you sometimes or always will get a better quality sharpness result.

method007 Posted at 2017-3-27 11:31
You are correct, DJI does use a compression algorithm.   It's a requirement unless you're shooting RAW.  You are just describing steps their encoder may use.  

Still, 100% true 4K video.  Nothing "not honest" about it.

Its okey if you neec to be right for feeling good. And yes its still 4 K but you will get a better result using 30p when its exactly the resolution it say. Of course its not honest when the max speed of 100mbps makes som parts been removed. But in that case the GoPro will have the same and this is about getting better on paper. Just like those 7 km that not is possible without boosting the signal. I bought this drone because of those 7 km and got rather angry when its worse the my Phantom 3 Advance...

Geebax Posted at 2017-3-26 12:45
The problem is not the SD card, after all it was fast enough to record the video in the first place. When playing the video on your PC, don't play back from the SD card, copy it to an SSD or hard drive first, then play it. You also might try downloading a copy of VLC Player (free) and see if it handles it better.

Will you please explain why it it preferable to view the footage after uploading it to a SSD or hard drive rather than viewing it from the micro SD card.  Also, is it better to draw your videos from the SSD when uploading to a editing software?  This information is all new to me.  I'm just learning.  

Thank you.

Chuck

Goldchucker Posted at 2017-3-27 22:30
Will you please explain why it it preferable to view the footage after uploading it to a SSD or hard drive rather than viewing it from the micro SD card.  Also, is it better to draw your videos from the SSD when uploading to a editing software?  This information is all new to me.  I'm just learning.  

Thank you.

Sure, the SD card might have a fast enough read speed, but that does not mean that the card reader has, or the USB port connection. If you copy the video to a hard drive or SSD, then it has a faster read speed for playback.  Similarly, having the video on an SSD when editing also improves the ability to play back the clip.

jac38 Posted at 2017-3-27 15:10
Its okey if you neec to be right for feeling good. And yes its still 4 K but you will get a better result using 30p when its exactly the resolution it say. Of course its not honest when the max speed of 100mbps makes som parts been removed. But in that case the GoPro will have the same and this is about getting better on paper. Just like those 7 km that not is possible without boosting the signal. I bought this drone because of those 7 km and got rather angry when its worse the my Phantom 3 Advance...

I have no idea what you're talking about.  You said DJI was dishonest about their 4K.  I clearly explained why that is not the case.  You then described some features of the encoder.  

This has nothing to do with me being right.  It has everything to do with you being wrong regarding your original statement that DJI has not been honest.  

Goldchucker Posted at 2017-3-27 22:30
Will you please explain why it it preferable to view the footage after uploading it to a SSD or hard drive rather than viewing it from the micro SD card.  Also, is it better to draw your videos from the SSD when uploading to a editing software?  This information is all new to me.  I'm just learning.  

Thank you.

Geebax is correct.  Beyond what he said, editing on an SD card can also shorten it's life.  It's best just to dump everything onto a hard drive and edit it from there.

Geebax Posted at 2017-3-27 23:40
Sure, the SD card might have a fast enough read speed, but that does not mean that the card reader has, or the USB port connection. If you copy the video to a hard drive or SSD, then it has a faster read speed for playback.  Similarly, having the video on an SSD when editing also improves the ability to play back the clip.

Thank you both for your prompt reply.  I had no idea it made any difference.  Another lesson learned.  
Chuck

Thank everybody I appreciate the responces