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4k 60fps at H.265 not playing back on MacBook Pro 2015

scotty4157

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MA2 - My first drone. Test flight went smooth, came back to play the footage but it stuttered on my MacBook Pro. After testing various video settings I've realised that the codec h.265 won't play back on my Macbook. I really want to be able to record in 4k 60fps and to be able to view/edit videos on my current MacBook. Does anyone have any solutions? Cheers guys!
 
Your processor isn’t fast enough, buy a faster Mac or iPad. Also you can use something called proxy to allow editing I believe, do t know much about this, though someone will shed light for you I’m sure.
 
It’s the h.256 that’s causing the problem being unsupported.
 
Your processor isn’t fast enough, buy a faster Mac or iPad. Also you can use something called proxy to allow editing I believe, do t know much about this, though someone will shed light for you I’m sure.


(Deleted by moderator) I don't fancy spending another 1k for a MacBook. I managed to covert the original video on Quicktime player and it now plays without stuttering. I'm not sure at what loss of quality but it seems fine tbh.
 
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I think it’s the age of your computer, I had same problem with iPad, got iPad Pro .. I problem solved. Search h.265 on here and there is plenty info for you. Hope that helps.
 
I'm wondering if 4k 60fps h.264 can be supported through a future firmware update?

H.264 (not H.265) will have some huge files so the processor won't have much trouble as the hard drive will.

H.265 really needs hardware encoding and decoding and it's too new for a 5 year old laptop.

I'm on a 2016 MacBookPro and even it's not tough enough for 4k H.265 files.

It's not firmware on the Mac, it's the hardware.
 
it's less about the age, more about whether you have a laptop with dedicated gpu. Only the latest Intel CPUs can handle that video bandwidth without a discreet GPU and you can cook eggs on them while they play :)
 
it's less about the age, more about whether you have a laptop with dedicated gpu. Only the latest Intel CPUs can handle that video bandwidth without a discreet GPU and you can cook eggs on them while they play :)

macOS High Sierra computers supporting HEVC
  • Macbook® – 2016 or newer
  • Macbook Pro – 2016 or newer
  • iMac – 2017 and newer
  • iMac Pro – 2017 or newer
  • 27-inch 5K iMac (2015-2017)

I unfortunately have an Early 2016 MacBook Pro so it's not supported for encoding.

Yes, if you have a graphics card that supports HEVC (H.265) then you can play and encode.

Apparently if you have a Kaby Lake or newer Intel chip (I assume with integrated GPU) it will also work.

 
macOS High Sierra computers supporting HEVC
  • Macbook® – 2016 or newer
  • Macbook Pro – 2016 or newer
  • iMac – 2017 and newer
  • iMac Pro – 2017 or newer
  • 27-inch 5K iMac (2015-2017)

I unfortunately have an Early 2016 MacBook Pro so it's not supported for encoding.

Yes, if you have a graphics card that supports HEVC (H.265) then you can play and encode.

Apparently if you have a Kaby Lake or newer Intel chip (I assume with integrated GPU) it will also work.

and i'll bet at the bottom end of those you won't get 4k 60fps smooth playback.
 
The problem is with all DJI versions of its video codec. DJI haven’t implemented all parameters of the codec correctly. I have 4k, 50fps video files, from Nikon, Sony and Panasonic cameras that play perfectly on my late model computer. However DJI 4k files, even the 25 FPS ones cause stuttering. A faster computer does not necessarily fix this problem.
This problem is also affected by the editing software. If you just play the DJI video files with a software player there doesn’t seem to be a problem unless your hardware is too slow.
 
Can you be more specific, what you are seeing in the encoding parameters that are non standard or incorrect? If your computer decodes it then I'm guessing it's within the specs of the codec. If you CPU is pegged while watching then your PC simply can't handle. If your PC is running <50% cpu and it's stuttering then you may be right and it could be the framerate metadata is incorrect(especially if it affects editing). Usually this can be easily corrected.
 
I don’t have the ability to interrogate the codec parameters, my observations are simply the comparison between DJI 4K files and 4K files from other manufacturers. What other explanation can there be?
 
so if your cpu is maxed out while playing then it's probably bitrate. Not a lot of cameras recourd h.265 much lest 120mbps. Are you sure you other camera is 4k h.265 instead of h.264? H.264 is supported on just about anything and uses far less resources to decode.
 
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Did you try using VLC or a media player that has the latest codecs built in? A 2015 Mac Book is not that old .. ..
 
I think it’s the age of your computer, I had same problem with iPad, got iPad Pro .. I problem solved. Search h.265 on here and there is plenty info for you. Hope that helps.

I have a 2017 iPad Pro and I’m having the same problem.
 
if someone would upload a sample clip of the 60fps 4k I'd run it through it's paces, but since I don't have my drone yet and I can't find that anyone as uploaded any samples anywhere....
 
try this on your computer

this is a ~40mbit 60fps 4k h.265, much lower bitrate than MA2, if your pc can't play that it's gonna choke on MA2 big time.

My 8th gen with just intel graphics handles it with hardware decoding, no issue. going to grab my old macbook pro.
 
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