Issue With Gopro Recording

[MotoDynsty]

Anyone else have issues when recording for extrended periods of time, the camera takes a 30 minute video and breaks it into two seperate clips. Example: I shot for 42 minutes the other day. When i go into my sd card I have three seperate clips of 14:59, 14:59 and 12 minutes roughly. Why does the camera always create another clip past 14:59????

 

[F4celess]

With the FAT32 file system, which the GoPro uses. The technical max file size is 2GB, when the camera records and hits that limit, its forced to start a new file.
Another detail, if you view these files on a computer, it will say the file is 1.85GB, this is because the technical detail operates in megabytes(MB), gigabytes(GB) and so on, while the computer uses mibibytes(MiB) and gibibytes(GiB). The difference is that one uses 1000 bytes and the other 1024 bytes to form a kilobyte.
This is also why memory cards appear smaller in the computer than on the packaging.

You can see a handy converter here.

 

[MotoDynsty]

Thanks man. So im guessing there is no way around this then.

 

[F4celess]

Thanks man. So im guessing there is no way around this then.

No practical way anyway. there is some tricks to making FAT32 accept up to 4GB but its too much to ask from the camera.

 

[MotoDynsty]

gotcha. thanks for the info!

 

[ChunksLife]

i think of it as a safety feature as u don't lose all your footage if 1 file corrupts

 

[Pigs]

i think of it as a safety feature as u don't lose all your footage if 1 file corrupts

I thought the same. The drift does the same thing. You would think that something as fancy as a go pro would use a filesystem that can handle more than a 2gb file instead of a deprecated filesystem.

 

[MotoDynsty]

ya it makes sense now that i think of it. chunks never thought of that.

 

[F4celess]

You would think that something as fancy as a go pro would use a filesystem that can handle more than a 2gb file instead of a deprecated filesystem.

File systems are pretty complicated things, and a lot of the time, its limited by the intended use. What good is a fancy file system if your computer can't read it and you need a special peripheral to make it work? Fat32 is a standard which nearly all devices support. This is getting rather technical, and I would have to read up on it if I need to take it further.
I mean, they could take NTFS, which does support those big files, but then, NTFS was made for use with Windows and can't be easily implemented in the relatively simple camera software.

Bottomline: There is some heavy industry standards that makes your editing and storing so much easier, and you would miss them if they changed or diversified too much. The cons of developing a proprietary system for each camera line far outweighs the cons of Fat32.

Another thing that could limit this is the camera itself, there is a lot of computing power in there, but not a lot of space. I bet there is limitations in the processor and RAM of the GoPro that also limits the storage capabilities.

 

[SalvageSV]

Yeah, even the DSLR cameras have the FAT32 limit. When I shoot with the 5D I plan cuts around 8 min to give myself some buffer as it doesn't automatically start a new file. There are workarounds.

The C300 cinema camera doesn't have this limit. I'm not sure which file system Canon moved to for those. I know I had single 12gb files when shooting 4k.

 

[BurntRuber]

My gopro hero 2 breaks longer clips up also.

 

[F4celess]

Some reading up on the subject reveals the reason behind some of the limitations. This is what I think is the case.

Microsoft patented some of the variants of the FAT system, such as FAT32 and FAT64. FAT16 on the other hand, was left alone, and its more economical for manufacturers to go for this as they get away with quite a lot of money by avoiding the patent licensing. Again, the downside isn't that big of a deal compared to the cost of alternatives.

I also have to correct myself, I was wrong in using FAT32 in my posts, its rather FAT16 which has the limitations I spoke of. FAT32 and FAT64, also known as ExFAT is what allows bigger files while also being flexible enough for wider use. This is where the licensing costs come in.

The C300 cinema camera doesn't have this limit. I'm not sure which file system Canon moved to for those. I know I had single 12gb files when shooting 4k.

Chances are they are using ExFat on this camera and with a high-end camera like the C300, the licensing for the file system would be much more reasonable. Unfortunately, my red belt in GoogleFu failed at finding out what system the camera really uses, all leads say "just format in the camera yo!".

Basically, you can pay a lot for the minor convenience of not having files split up with known intervalls. or deal with it.

 

[SalvageSV]

I also have to correct myself, I was wrong in using FAT32 in my posts, its rather FAT16 which has the limitations I spoke of. FAT32 and FAT64, also known as ExFAT is what allows bigger files while also being flexible enough for wider use. This is where the licensing costs come in.

No, FAT32 is correct. Partition size limitations in FAT16 would be 2gb or 4gb where FAT32 allows up to 32gb. FAT32 has a 4gb file size limit and GoPro breaks the files at 3.66gb.

And, most importantly, drive properties for the card show FAT32. =)

 

[SwissMotard]

With the FAT32 file system, which the GoPro uses. The technical max file size is 2GB, when the camera records and hits that limit, its forced to start a new file.
Another detail, if you view these files on a computer, it will say the file is 1.85GB, this is because the technical detail operates in megabytes(MB), gigabytes(GB) and so on, while the computer uses mibibytes(MiB) and gibibytes(GiB). The difference is that one uses 1000 bytes and the other 1024 bytes to form a kilobyte.
This is also why memory cards appear smaller in the computer than on the packaging.

You can see a handy converter here.

The limit is not 2GB, my files get cut at 3.8GB with all my GoPro cameras.

 

[jthomas]

Better for copying across to your computer that way too. Easier to handle the smaller size file. Imagine how long you could wait for a file to open if it just kept racking up in size in one file. My Go Pro 4 does approx 12 minute clips of 3.8 GB each.

 

[F4celess]

The limit is not 2GB, my files get cut at 3.8GB with all my GoPro cameras.

Hmm, what model of GoPro do you have? My Hero 3 white won't do 4GB (3.8 GiB), but maybe a higher spec one will. like the 4k cameras. As those would hit the limit easily.
There is some enhancements they could do to FAT16 to make it do 4GB files.

I realize its a lot of back and forth now, without official documentation its a guessing game for me.

 

[SwissMotard]

Hero3+ Black and Hero4 Session both behave in the way I described.

Documentation can be found here (first hit on a google search): https://gopro.com/support/articles/gopro-camera-file-chaptering-information

 

[F4celess]

alright, I guess its merely a development that was made possible with upgraded processors and whatnot. Which is good.
From what I read there is other limitations as I mentioned. Like it having to work with other systems like the Wifi bit.

Even with the newest updates to firmware my H3W won't gain ExFat like the newer models. So updates won't solve the filesplitting.

 

[SighBored]

Some files are 30 minutes long per file.. True that you won't lose everything should something f-ck-up. No big deal anyway, if I wanted to gripe I would gripe that the file names aren't in order, you have to scroll to the bottom for part two and then up again for the next non-sequence file.

i.e.-
GOPRO0001
GOPRO0002
GOPRO0003
GOPRO0004
GOPR0001
GOPR0003

this is more annoying than having multiple files, to me, anyway.

 

[MotoDynsty]

^^^^^^ yes. holy shit yes. I guess thats a bigger gripe then anything lol