MA Playback extremely choppy.

[shaunmichaelj]

Good day folks!

I hope all is well with you fellow pilots.

[edit] Skip to the issue two paragraphs below as i have droned on.... a bit too much.

Yes I am a newbie, but loving the experience. I have been quite a droniac recently, even forgetting my other hobbies and aspirations! I began being quite conscious of all the bad things that could happen whilst flying, like losing the drone.. I hadn't collaborated IMU and it shot off, or i panicked.. either way, first evening flying i lost control of the drone. Since then, i've read the manuals and collaborated everything that i need to collaborate as it should be. I have just come back from a country side field adventure to which I fully experience sport mode in an open field without any obstacles this was intense, especially when i forgot sports mode turns off all sensors.... and nearly flew the drone into my face... but it was quite a fun experience.

Now, i bought this drone as I make music and often get to perform in other countries.. through my trial and error... i've learned flying inside is not yet something i should be attempting, however i hope to better control the MA indoors at a later date. (Thank god for the prop guards, which have coherently taken quite a beating). So making an indoor film of a performance is not going to happen. However I also bought this drone for the fact i could shoot music videos either by myself or with a co-pilot using its features. Sounds a bit farfetched maybe, but i learn quite quickly when i am interested in a subject, so lets see how this pans out.

Too MUCH to read? The issue is below.

I have seen many posts reporting he MP having an issue with video footage being quite choppy.

I have adjusted my settings to.

• 4k 3840x2160
• 30fps opposed to 24 fps.

Yet the video is still extremely choppy. Final cut pro is reporting it is dropping frames and i am getting a little worried if i should be sending this device back.

I have not tried to shoot in 2.7k, however... i kind of thought, the point of shooting in 4k.. is so that one could use it.

• I am using a Samsung 64GB 100MB/s Memory Evo Plus Micro SD
• Also the internal storage footage was very choppy also

Furthermore I have collaborated the camera using the assistant to no avail.
If anyone could help me out, i would truly appreciate it.

Many thanks,

Shaun Michael

 

[Janjelmer1]

What is your setup? You need a computer with pretty decent hardware to be able to playback and edit 4K video's. Have you already tried exporting it in Final cut pro to Full HD? If playback of the Full HD file is smooth, then this proves that the source is fine and it is just your computer just can't handle decoding the (highly compressed) 4K footage in real-time. I have the same issue with my 7 years old i7 workstation. (The 4K footage plays very choppy and I often get green parts in the picture. Reducing the playback speed in VLC to a lower rate (0.8x) helps. The CPU just cannot keep up at real-time)

 

[shaunmichaelj]

Thank you so much for your response, so quick also!

Well, I just converted the footage to 1080p and it is playing okay.

Man, I have a MacBook Pro 2011, 16gb and a new TB hD

Sounds like it's the computer itself.

 

[Janjelmer1]

Yeah indeed, that's about the same age as my laptop. If you don't wan't to buy a new laptop, you might want to take a look at `proxies'. The video editor will convert the source files to a lower resolution for quick playback and easy editing. The final version will rendered using the original source files. Final cut pro also seems to support it: Final Cut Pro X: Manage optimized and proxy media files

 

[abridge]

it is your video card. laptops should not be used for 4k editing.

 

[Kilrah]

laptops should not be used for 4k editing.

That's complete BS.

But yeah, OP's 2011 machine is definitely too slow. Dates from before built in 4K hardware decoders, around 2014 or so.

 

[abridge]

That's complete BS.

But yeah, OP's 2011 machine is definitely too slow. Dates from before built in 4K hardware decoders, around 2014 or so.

Not BS at all. Unless his laptop is fully capable and has a video card that is not integrated, chances are its integrated meaning no go for 4k video editing. Its a 2011 mac book pro dude. I had one.

 

[shaunmichaelj]

Thanks for the responses guys, will give proxy-ing a go.. If anything might be a 1080 or 27k we shall see. Will update.

 

[Kilrah]

Not BS at all. Unless his laptop is fully capable and has a video card that is not integrated, chances are its integrated meaning no go for 4k video editing. Its a 2011 mac book pro dude. I had one.

You're saying no laptops should be used for editing, and that's complete BS indeed.

Even my 1kg ultra low power 2016 retina macbook can edit 4K with no issue, and it has no dedicated video card. No his 2011 dinosaur sure can't as I said, but things have evolved a lot since then.

 

[shaunmichaelj]

Yeah indeed, that's about the same age as my laptop. If you don't wan't to buy a new laptop, you might want to take a look at `proxies'. The video editor will convert the source files to a lower resolution for quick playback and easy editing. The final version will rendered using the original source files. Final cut pro also seems to support it: Final Cut Pro X: Manage optimized and proxy media files

Jan Jelmer! You sir are a genius.
My videos are playing as they were shot, it does take a minute to render... But I cannot complain. I've invested so much on music equipment and this drone recently. This MBP11 is going to have to see me through.. Even though it has travelled to Germany, Poland, Spain, Jamaica and China... Sat breathing in smoke from the club, drowned in liquid and having a keyboard change, several hard drives.. She still runs. Thank you ever so much for the helpful advice.

 

[Joymaker]

Yes, I also have a 2011 MacBook Pro, and almost all the video I try to play back from the drone (even if shot in the low 1920×1080 resolution) shows quite choppy. I don't have the money to buy a brand-new laptop right now. So please advise me – what qualities do I need in a laptop to assure that it will playback video correctly?

I wonder if I should be looking for a dedicated device: is there some little box that you can plug an SD card into, that plugs into a TV, that can playback 1920 and 4K video without difficulty? And would that little box do the right thing even if the TV is not 4K compatible?

I'm a little surprised, processor speeds really haven't changed that much since 2011.

 

[Janjelmer1]

Yes, I also have a 2011 MacBook Pro, and almost all the video I try to play back from the drone (even if shot in the low 1920×1080 resolution) shows quite choppy. I don't have the money to buy a brand-new laptop right now. So please advise me – what qualities do I need in a laptop to assure that it will playback video correctly?

I wonder if I should be looking for a dedicated device: is there some little box that you can plug an SD card into, that plugs into a TV, that can playback 1920 and 4K video without difficulty? And would that little box do the right thing even if the TV is not 4K compatible?

I'm a little surprised, processor speeds really haven't changed that much since 2011.

A dedicated device is possible. A media center with h264 (codec used by the air) support has the decoding implemented in hardware so can decode much more efficiently than a regular CPU (processor).

 

[Kilrah]

I'm a little surprised, processor speeds really haven't changed that much since 2011.

It's GPUs that have, which is where video encoding/decoding hardware is usually located.

 

[lazling]

Get a more powerful computer or downsconvert 4k to 1080p or 720p for better playback and editing.

 

[Slowcaptain]

Editing 4K video on my Lenovo with 2GB GFX card and 5th Gen i7 is a MAJOR pain or rather next to impossible. Davincci resolve crashes within 1 minute of 4k edit (GFX memory full error). Granted, Davincci is a monster. I was only able to edit a 4k video off of my MA with a program called Shortcut - but that program is severely crippled compared to Resolve. Also, after I somehow managed to load a LUT in it, exporting the edited video took 3.5 hours (It was 9 minute clip).
So yeah, I am in the market for a laptop/ machine that can humanely edit the 4k video without destroying my life. Preferably around 1k range? or is it too much to ask, thanks!

 

[lazling]

Here is the DJI Mavic 4K to Davinci Resolve workflow that someone shared online.

 

[Daniel Richards]

Buy an iPad? My 12.9 plays anything and edits are super quick with LumaFusion. Not to mention all day battery and never gets warm. It’s the way forward!

 

[Slowcaptain]

Buy an iPad? My 12.9 plays anything and edits are super quick with LumaFusion. Not to mention all day battery and never gets warm. It’s the way forward!

iPad Pro is the keyword here. 10.5 and 12.9-2017 updated model absolutely fly.

 

[Daniel Richards]

iPad Pro is the keyword here. 10.5 and 12.9-2017 updated model absolutely fly.

Mines 2017 and I love it. It’s now my main computer.