Unusably choppy 4k30 video from Mavic Air :(

[EpicDraws]

I took out my new Mavic Air today with the Goggles and recorded around 45 minutes of 4k30 footage on a SanDisk Ultra XC-1 (UHS1) 64GB SD card. Sadly when I got home I realized the video was extremely choppy on all my devices and it seems the issue is with the video itself. I'd say the footage is missing as much as 10% of the frames. Could this be me needing a better SD card or something else? I used this exact same SD card in my P3P for 4k footage without issues.

I've tried both VLC and QuickTime on my retina iMac 27" i7, as well as directly on my TV from a USB drive. Same issue on both.

Here is some sample footage: Dropbox - ChoppyMavicAir4KFootage.mp4

Thank you!

 

[42Cacher]

This Card is too slow, especially for recording 4k, because of the higher bitrate.

 

[EpicDraws]

D'oh! Just looked deeper in the app and now see the Slow SD Card warning. I'll pick up a UHS3 card tomorrow and give it another shot.

Thank you!

 

[Ian in London]

I got that same "SD Card too Slow" warning yesterday too. On a class 10 card... 4K video is pretty chunky....

Ian

 

[Lake_Flyer]

I only use class10 16GB cards because bigger cards can slow down things. Never a problem with them on Inspire1 and Mavic cameras.
Sandisk, and Lexar 16GB are both excellent. As long as they are class10.

 

[Lake_Flyer]

I only use class10 16GB cards because bigger cards can slow down things. Never a problem with them on Inspire1 and Mavic cameras.
Sandisk, and Lexar 16GB are both excellent. As long as they are class10.

Besides, they are very cheap now. And having multiple cards is another form of redundancy at the fly site.

 

[JGF21]

I only use class10 16GB cards because bigger cards can slow down things. Never a problem with them on Inspire1 and Mavic cameras.
Sandisk, and Lexar 16GB are both excellent. As long as they are class10.

You mean something like this?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073K14CVB/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_gAhGAbA9N4JYS

Says it's only good up to full HD (1080p)

 

[griffinhart]

The Sandisk Ultra may not be fast enough. The speeds it lists are the read speeds. Write speeds are lower. The Air's product page lists a bunch of suggested cards to use. I am using:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XFHQGB9/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NUB3530/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
This one works with no issues too.

 

[paul1664]

I use this: 128GB and can confirm no issues whatsoever (apart from the price!!!):

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B06XYSVX64/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Somewhere on the DJI site they list what cards are officially compatible. Unfortunately I cant remember where but have a hunt around.

 

[42Cacher]

DJI specs:

Recommended microSD Cards

16G
Sandisk Extreme
Kingston 16GB SDHC-I SDCAC/16GB
32G
Sandisk Extreme V30
Sandisk Extreme V30 A1
Sandisk Extreme V30 Pro A1
64G
Sandisk Extreme V30 A1
Sandisk Extreme Pro V30 A1
128G
Sandisk Extreme V30 A1
Sandisk Extreme Plus V30 A1

 

[dwallersv]

You mean something like this?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073K14CVB/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_gAhGAbA9N4JYS

Says it's only good up to full HD (1080p)

No, Like this:

Lexar Professional 1000x microSDXC 64GB UHS-II/U3 (Up to 150MB/s Read) W/USB 3.0 Reader Flash Memory Card LSDMI64GCBNL1000R

$59 on amazon right now. Seems expensive, but you will thank the day you splurged and spent on one (or a few) of these. Mainly because of the read speed. If you're going to mess with 4K video much, you will never go back after using one of these cards.

I lucked out last year and grabbed one 64GB 1800x when they were on sale for $60. I use that exclusively as a media transfer device, it stays in the adapter and goes everywhere with me in my pocket.

 

[fwacone]

Went back to the stock card 16gb Sandisk UHS3 and it seems to have solved a the choppy video problem I was having. However, while recording this card randomly stops recording so I may need to try a new card (thanks for the list) and see if that fixes the premature recording stops.

 

[Ian in London]

Remember the Air is recording at 100 Mbps; that's over a third more data per second than the Pro.... That's why this is suddenly becoming a problem....

 

[synaesthesia]

I have one of these and have experienced no issues. I did initially use the SD card I had in my Surface Pro 4 and got the "slow card" errors so... just got a faster card. I have had no premature recording stops with this card either.

 

[mijac]

I am using a Transcend Ultimate 64GB and it works perfect with 4K 30fps.

 

[Mike4884]

U need something class 10 but also A30 or u3. I have a samsung evo plus class 10 u3 64gb card works great

 

[rflindall]

Grrrr. Just purchased a Samsung Evo Plus 64GB Class 10 U3 card thinking it would be fine for my new Mavic Air. Just came in after my first flight outdoors and my 4k 30fps video as choppy as heck. Had a look at package again and it shows a write speed of 60MB/s. Mavic Air runs at 100MB/s. Dammit. Apparently I have to go shopping again....

 

[Mike4884]

Grrrr. Just purchased a Samsung Evo Plus 64GB Class 10 U3 card thinking it would be fine for my new Mavic Air. Just came in after my first flight outdoors and my 4k 30fps video as choppy as heck. Had a look at package again and it shows a write speed of 60MB/s. Mavic Air runs at 100MB/s. Dammit. Apparently I have to go shopping again....

Dude card should be fine i have same one and get silky smooth video its probably your laptop bro or computer that cant render it. Not being a funny guy most setups these days have to be more high end.. u have plenty of speed on card its only actually writing 100mb/s =12.5mb/s ... of write speed so u are good as long as it is a u3 card ......lol u dont need the actual card to write @ 100mb/s the 100 translates to 12.5mb/s for instance mav pro is 60mb/s which translates to 7.5mb/s..like i said guarantee its your work flow setup.. did u try vlc? What specs do u have on computer? I can actually take my samsung evo plus and put it in my galaxy s8+ and render 4k video with vlc very smoothly....also if the card was slow the go 4 app would tell u right away.....its your comp!
.
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Edit ....to other people who are interested samsung evo plus (not "+" thats the older one ...u need "plus" written out works great i have the u3 64gb card it works just as well as my sandisk extreme pro u3

 

[nuclearheli]

Dude card should be fine i have same one and get silky smooth video its probably your laptop bro or computer that cant render it. Not being a funny guy most setups these days have to be more high end.. u have plenty of speed on card its only actually writing 100mb/s =12.5mb/s ... of write speed so u are good as long as it is a u3 card ......lol u dont need the actual card to write @ 100mb/s the 100 translates to 12.5mb/s for instance mav pro is 60mb/s which translates to 7.5mb/s..like i said guarantee its your work flow setup.. did u try vlc? What specs do u have on computer? I can actually take my samsung evo plus and put it in my galaxy s8+ and render 4k video with vlc very smoothly....also if the card was slow the go 4 app would tell u right away.....its your comp!
.
.

Edit ....to other people who are interested samsung evo plus (not "+" thats the older one ...u need "plus" written out works great i have the u3 64gb card it works just as well as my sandisk extreme pro u3

Not fine I used a SanDisc Ultra and my video was choppy, looked like crap. Replaced it with the SanDisc Ultra Extreme, 100mbs, video looks great. Definitely the card.

 

[Mike4884]

Not fine I used a SanDisc Ultra and my video was choppy, looked like crap. Replaced it with the SanDisc Ultra Extreme, 100mbs, video looks great. Definitely the card.

Yea sandisk ultra is u1!!!!! Not a u3 pal!!! No wonder why ...seriously .dude nvmd its useless like talking to a wall....