Assistance Needed - Corrupt Video Files

[15PSI]

Hello, I am having an issue with my new MA2. No matter if I format the SD card on the drone through DJI Fly or with my PC, I am having numerous corrupt video issues. I am an FAA Part 107 pilot. I have been flying drones for over 10 years. I have numerous drones, but have never had this issue before except with the MA2. This happens if I format in FAT 32 or exFAT, either with my PC or using DJI Fly's format. As I normally do, this SD card was formatted before the mission with DJI Fly. Yesterday I recorded a 25 minute video for a very important client. After returning home, I removed the SD card from the drone and attempted to read it from my PC as I normally do. The OS said the card was corrupt and needed formatting. My first thought is that the format between the DJI Fly format differed somewhat between what the PC was expecting. Of course I did not format it hoping to find a solution. I have tried different cards, all high speed quality V30 cards and the issue remains (Sometimes it works perfectly, sometimes it does not). I decided to see if I could read the video files from the drone. By utilizing the DJI FLy app, the videos do appear on the SD card when installed in the drone. Since they were recorded in 4K/30, I could not download them to my camera (downloads limited to 1080). I then tried to download the videos from the MA2 to my PC. The PC responded by announcing the SD card in the MA2 needed formatting. The files are recorded using the H.265 protocol. I need to have access to these files in 4K format and as well, I need to understand why this MA2 is intermittently corrupting my files and refusing to communicate with my PC (a powerful Alienware). I have H.265 Codecs installed on the PC and as well they are native to Windows 10 so that is not the issue. I have tried a variety of SD repair software packages that I have used successfully in the past, but each app indicates that there is zero data on the SD card and needs formatting (again, the video files are present on the SD card when installed in the MA2 and viewed with DJI Fly). Frustrating to say the least. Is this a bug in the DJI Fly app? A bug in the firmware for the drone? (it has the latest firmware...) Could it be that the H.265 Codec is the issue? I need these video files and I cannot find anyway to download them. Anyone have some solid suggestions? Thanks in advance!

 

[Ice_2k]

I’ve heard of this issue before. While i didn’t encounter it myself, what i can tell you from what other people reported is that Macs have no issues reading these SD cards reported as needing formatting by Windows

 

[THE CYBORG]

This is probably no so helpful but the only thing I can think of is try a different card reader or clean the contacts on the card, both have worked for me in the past.
I would also try a different card in your MA2 to see if the problem persists.

 

[SkyeHigh]

Hello, I am having an issue with my new MA2. No matter if I format the SD card on the drone through DJI Fly or with my PC, I am having numerous corrupt video issues. I am an FAA Part 107 pilot. I have been flying drones for over 10 years. I have numerous drones, but have never had this issue before except with the MA2. This happens if I format in FAT 32 or exFAT, either with my PC or using DJI Fly's format. As I normally do, this SD card was formatted before the mission with DJI Fly. Yesterday I recorded a 25 minute video for a very important client. After returning home, I removed the SD card from the drone and attempted to read it from my PC as I normally do. The OS said the card was corrupt and needed formatting. My first thought is that the format between the DJI Fly format differed somewhat between what the PC was expecting. Of course I did not format it hoping to find a solution. I have tried different cards, all high speed quality V30 cards and the issue remains (Sometimes it works perfectly, sometimes it does not). I decided to see if I could read the video files from the drone. By utilizing the DJI FLy app, the videos do appear on the SD card when installed in the drone. Since they were recorded in 4K/30, I could not download them to my camera (downloads limited to 1080). I then tried to download the videos from the MA2 to my PC. The PC responded by announcing the SD card in the MA2 needed formatting. The files are recorded using the H.265 protocol. I need to have access to these files in 4K format and as well, I need to understand why this MA2 is intermittently corrupting my files and refusing to communicate with my PC (a powerful Alienware). I have H.265 Codecs installed on the PC and as well they are native to Windows 10 so that is not the issue. I have tried a variety of SD repair software packages that I have used successfully in the past, but each app indicates that there is zero data on the SD card and needs formatting (again, the video files are present on the SD card when installed in the MA2 and viewed with DJI Fly). Frustrating to say the least. Is this a bug in the DJI Fly app? A bug in the firmware for the drone? (it has the latest firmware...) Could it be that the H.265 Codec is the issue? I need these video files and I cannot find anyway to download them. Anyone have some solid suggestions? Thanks in advance!

I’ve seen this several times before both from a Mavic 2 Pro and a DJI Osmo Pocket and Windows 7 and 10. In every case the files were readable on my MacBook (no H.265 codecs installed). Just make sure the Write Protect is enabled as Macs like to write resource forks onto any card/drive connected.

 

[Sheppie]

Also, make sure that you stop video recording before you shut down MA2.

 

[fGene]

When the file appears to be corrupt, put the card back into the drone and record another short video clip. It doesn't have to be more than a second long. Make sure you stop recording in Fly app, then power off the drone. There is a chance that the previous video will be automatically restored.

 

[15PSI]

Thanks to all of your for suggestions. Other than recording a short video as fGene mentioned, I eliminated each of the other suggestions already. I cleaned the contacts, I tried different cards, I have 6 different styles and manufacturers of card readers - none made a difference. It does frustrate me to hear that others have had issues with the PC, but not the Mac. I would suggest that DJI needs to look into this. And maybe they will. I sent them a breakdown of the issues this morning. I also posted on the DJI Forum as well. I will provide an update when I either figure a way to do this, or if DJI or a member has a suggestion that works. But right now, I am not holding my breath. Thanks to everyone.

 

[GadgetGuy]

Thanks to all of your for suggestions. Other than recording a short video as fGene mentioned, I eliminated each of the other suggestions already. I cleaned the contacts, I tried different cards, I have 6 different styles and manufacturers of card readers - none made a difference. It does frustrate me to hear that others have had issues with the PC, but not the Mac. I would suggest that DJI needs to look into this. And maybe they will. I sent them a breakdown of the issues this morning. I also posted on the DJI Forum as well. I will provide an update when I either figure a way to do this, or if DJI or a member has a suggestion that works. But right now, I am not holding my breath. Thanks to everyone.

Try fGene's suggestion. If the video ended because power was interrupted before it could be closed properly, it can only be recovered by powering up the drone with the card inserted.

 

[Dave Maine]

The shutting the drone off before the video is properly closed is the usual problem. It easily happens when you land with the camera still running, and shut the drone off as the next act. The power goes off before the file is closed, and to the PC is unreadable. It is not a DJI problem, but a user problem. It is clearly noted in he manual.

All digital cameras have this weakness. If they are shooting a sequence and aren’t finished saving it, one or more pictures are corrupt.

 

[Ice_2k]

The shutting the drone off before the video is properly closed is the usual problem. It easily happens when you land with the camera still running, and shut the drone off as the next act. The power goes off before the file is closed, and to the PC is unreadable. It is not a DJI problem, but a user problem. It is clearly noted in he manual.

All digital cameras have this weakness. If they are shooting a sequence and aren’t finished saving it, one or more pictures are corrupt.

To be fair, the “intelligent” battery should be able to communicate with the drone the fact that it’s going to cut power and to have it shut everything down

 

[15PSI]

I always go through the proper procedures to end the video before powering off the MA2, as well as my other drones. Thanks to everyone who have provided a suggestion as to how to repair this issue. Even shooting another small video per fGene's suggestion did not cure the problem. I then tried a variety of things; I took some photos, shot videos with both codecs (H.264 and H.265) and still, the problem remains. As some have suggested, Macs can sometimes read the SD card when IBM based computers will not. I have sent a message to all of my neighbors who might own any iteration of Mac computers to request access for this possible workaround. I will provide a status once I have attempted to read the SD card with a neighborhood Macintosh computer. Thanks to everyone.

 

[Dave Maine]

It doesn't on DJI or Nikon.

 

[SkyeHigh]

It’s sounding more like the file system is corrupt.

If you still can’t access the files on the Mac you could try using Windows to run a Check Disk. There are then options to fix the file system if it is corrupt. I’ve had to do this a few times on high-end server drives that have had a failed RAID array where one bad drive resulted in the good one getting corrupted.

The manual process is on this link (ignore the software option):

How to Recover Data from a Corrupted SD Card

How to recover a corrupted SD card or fix the corrupted SD card by yourself? EaseUS corrupted SD card recovery software can help you recover data from a corrupted SD card, and fix corrupted files that cannot open on the SD card after recovery. Free download this software and get lost data back.

www.easeus.com

 

[15PSI]

I have finally found a solution. As I said before, the PC said the SD card needed formatting - therefore the PC OS saw the SD card as corrupt. A few pilots mentioned that often a ‘supposedly’ corrupt SD card could be read by Macs. And please keep in mind that this has happened a few times in my MA2, independently of the formatting device, PC or MA2. I don’t have access to a Mac but own many Apple devices. I purchased a memory card reader from Amazon that connects to the lightning port. I inserted the ‘corrupt’ micro SD card and my iPad Mini displayed the videos, but would not import them for whatever reason. I then used a freeware app called Photo Transfer that allows videos and photos to be transferred from an IOS device to the PC over a wireless network (beside the app on the IOS device, you are required to load the receiving software on the PC). I then executed the transfer function and the app transferred the ‘corrupt’ video files to the PC without errors. I now have my clients video files on my PC and they work perfectly. I hope this helps anyone who has experienced this issue. Thanks to everyone who suggested a workaround.

 

[SkyeHigh]

I have finally found a solution. As I said before, the PC said the SD card needed formatting - therefore the PC OS saw the SD card as corrupt. A few pilots mentioned that often a ‘supposedly’ corrupt SD card could be read by Macs. And please keep in mind that this has happened a few times in my MA2, independently of the formatting device, PC or MA2. I don’t have access to a Mac but own many Apple devices. I purchased a memory card reader from Amazon that connects to the lightning port. I inserted the ‘corrupt’ micro SD card and my iPad Mini displayed the videos, but would not import them for whatever reason. I then used a freeware app called Photo Transfer that allows videos and photos to be transferred from an IOS device to the PC over a wireless network (beside the app on the IOS device, you are required to load the receiving software on the PC). I then executed the transfer function and the app transferred the ‘corrupt’ video files to the PC without errors. I now have my clients video files on my PC and they work perfectly. I hope this helps anyone who has experienced this issue. Thanks to everyone who suggested a workaround.

That’s great to hear and glad we were able to help.

IOS and Macs use a different file format to Windows but have long had the ability to Read/Write Fat16/Fat32 and extended Fat formats and Read NTFS. The code can make sense of all of these formats even if there is mild corruption. Windows can repair its own file system but if it sees broken block links on external files it often gives up and suggests your format the device.

I should add, the data is written to the SD card in small blocks. The location of the first and last block in a video clip is stored in the devices index. This is where the file name is also stored along with the file size. Each subsequent block being recorded notes the block location before it in the sequence and the location of the next.

What often happens in a ‘corrupt’ device is either the index is not pointing to the correct block at the start of the recording, the number of blocks is wrong, the location of the next block is wrong or the last block number is not written to the index. How does this happen? Rarely a hardware fault, more commonly power is removed or the card is removed before the file has been completely written to the device.

I used to have to manually search for block link errors on damaged proprietary Linux database systems for major TV broadcasters and repair them by hand. It was a scary process that had the potential to lose years of data.