Unable To Access All Movie Files

[jamboy]

Hi All,

My wife got back in from a brief journey and promptly asked me to watch the dashcam footage of a BMW X5 nearly T-boning her.
I thought, quick 5 minute job, remove the memory card, insert into card reader, copy/view the files I wish to watch, simples.
2 hours later, having (I believe, and please correct me if I am wrong) looked through all similar posts on the forum, I still cannot see why I can view some .mp4 files and not others, even though the ones, I cannot view have an associated size allocated to them.

Ignoring Date and Time (as when the truck went in for a service, Nissan disabled the cam just pulled the power cord out so I think settings also were reset) you can see the list of files on the card. The top image shows thumbnails, which are the videos I am able to view, and the bottom image, just show VLC Media thumbnails and when I click on these, the video has a length of 0:0

This is slightly worrying as had she been in the accident, I'm not sure I would have any chance of recovering the footage that I would need.

Has anyone had anything like this, or perhaps can point me in the right direction?

Thanks all.

 

[jamboy]

Once last point which I failed to mention.
I did try and copy a few files across from the camera over WIFI to see if I could at least do it that way, but the files either failed to save to my iPhone Photos application, or of the 2 that did save correctly into the Viofo App, when trying to play them I got the following message;
"warning video processing please retry later"

 

[CaptureYourAction]

Pulling the power from the camera should not reset any settings. Date and time are stored on the small rtc battery inside the camera and the settings are stored in memory on the board itself.

What memory card are you using? How have you been powering the camera?

 

[DMW]

It's more than likely a card problem..... When was the last time you checked and took files of the card before this attempt as its always best to format the card every month just to clear any problems plus how old is the card and last time it was formatted

 

[jamboy]

Pulling the power from the camera should not reset any settings. Date and time are stored on the small rtc battery inside the camera and the settings are stored in memory on the board itself.

What memory card are you using? How have you been powering the camera?

Maybe the date/time issue is our fault as my wife had said it was beeping, so possibly she reset the camera (formatted and reset to factory defaults). I would have said this was done approximately a month ago.
Card being used is a Sandisk Ultra, 128gb A1. Powered using GPS base.

It's more than likely a card problem..... When was the last time you checked and took files of the card before this attempt as its always best to format the card every month just to clear any problems plus how old is the card and last time it was formatted

Admittedly, I may have checked the files a couple of months before the factory reset, but haven't checked it since. Card is as old as the camera, so approximately 6-8months old.

 

[DMW]

Maybe the date/time issue is our fault as my wife had said it was beeping, so possibly she reset the camera (formatted and reset to factory defaults). I would have said this was done approximately a month ago.
Card being used is a Sandisk Ultra, 128gb A1. Powered using GPS base.



Admittedly, I may have checked the files a couple of months before the factory reset, but haven't checked it since. Card is as old as the camera, so approximately 6-8months old.

I'm guessing the card is showing the correct size?
You will probably need to format the card and use it for a day or 2 to check its working and format the card every month if it is, but to give an answer on why its done what its done is probably something you won't get as we could give opinions like pulling the cable out while switched on could well corrupt parts of the card

 

[SawMaster]

Best to run power to the cam, which will also power the GPS. It's a known issue with A119/A119s cams which the A129 is based on so it might happen here too.

Also test your card on your PC with the "h2testw" freeware doing a full write test. It will take some time but it will verify whether the card is genuine and whether it is functioning properly. When that's done, format the card in your cam, power the cam down, then restart it and you should be OK. Best to check cards monthly and reformat them in-cam after putting the card in any other device.

Phil

 

[jokiin]

put the card back in the camera and play the non playable files there, it should restore them

in future anytime you have the card in your computer make sure to format it when you put it back in the camera, Mac can leave some hidden files behind that the camera can't deal with

 

[jamboy]

Best to run power to the cam, which will also power the GPS. It's a known issue with A119/A119s cams which the A129 is based on so it might happen here too.

Also test your card on your PC with the "h2testw" freeware doing a full write test. It will take some time but it will verify whether the card is genuine and whether it is functioning properly. When that's done, format the card in your cam, power the cam down, then restart it and you should be OK. Best to check cards monthly and reformat them in-cam after putting the card in any other device.

Phil

Thank you for the advice, going forwards I will ensure the camera is powered.
I shall give the Write Test a go as soon as possible.

put the card back in the camera and play the non playable files there, it should restore them

in future anytime you have the card in your computer make sure to format it when you put it back in the camera, Mac can leave some hidden files behind that the camera can't deal with

With regards to putting the card back in the camera and trying to play the files, I have unfortunately enabled wifi, so I can only access the files now via the App. When I try to watch anything, I get the original message of "warning video processing please retry later".
Any other work arounds you can think of?
Ideally, hoping to get the original videos off the card before I format/test the card.

 

[jokiin]

With regards to putting the card back in the camera and trying to play the files, I have unfortunately enabled wifi, so I can only access the files now via the App. When I try to watch anything, I get the original message of "warning video processing please retry later".
Any other work arounds you can think of?
Ideally, hoping to get the original videos off the card before I format/test the card.

turn wifi off

 

[jamboy]

put the card back in the camera and play the non playable files there, it should restore them

in future anytime you have the card in your computer make sure to format it when you put it back in the camera, Mac can leave some hidden files behind that the camera can't deal with

Tried this on several video clips but all I got was a blue screen stating play back error. Still fairly worrying that you have to be wary of the files possibly not being useful.

 

[Nigel]

my wife had said it was beeping

Beeping indicates a problem, but unfortunately not what is causing the problem. If you hear it beeping again then you need to sort the problem.

Possibilities are memory card issues - try a different card, and rear camera communication problems - check the rear camera cable is plugged in properly, but this can also be caused by the power supply voltage being too low - you should be using the original thick cables and power supply.

 

[jamboy]

Beeping indicates a problem, but unfortunately not what is causing the problem. If you hear it beeping again then you need to sort the problem.

Possibilities are memory card issues - try a different card, and rear camera communication problems - check the rear camera cable is plugged in properly, but this can also be caused by the power supply voltage being too low - you should be using the original thick cables and power supply.

I believe the beeping had been caused by the memory card being full and not re-writing over itself. So having adjusted that setting it seems to have sorted it.
I use all the original supplied bits, including the power cables and link cables.

 

[Nigel]

I believe the beeping had been caused by the memory card being full and not re-writing over itself. So having adjusted that setting it seems to have sorted it.
I use all the original supplied bits, including the power cables and link cables.

If the beeping happens again, don't ignore it.

Sometimes memory cards are a bit too slow, and that can cause beeping, formatting them can speed them up again until they are full again, if this keeps happening then try a different card. I've not heard of that happening on a Sandisk card though.

 

[HonestReview]

Hi All,

My wife got back in from a brief journey and promptly asked me to watch the dashcam footage of a BMW X5 nearly T-boning her.
I thought, quick 5 minute job, remove the memory card, insert into card reader, copy/view the files I wish to watch, simples.
2 hours later, having (I believe, and please correct me if I am wrong) looked through all similar posts on the forum, I still cannot see why I can view some .mp4 files and not others, even though the ones, I cannot view have an associated size allocated to them.

Ignoring Date and Time (as when the truck went in for a service, Nissan disabled the cam just pulled the power cord out so I think settings also were reset) you can see the list of files on the card. The top image shows thumbnails, which are the videos I am able to view, and the bottom image, just show VLC Media thumbnails and when I click on these, the video has a length of 0:0

This is slightly worrying as had she been in the accident, I'm not sure I would have any chance of recovering the footage that I would need.

Has anyone had anything like this, or perhaps can point me in the right direction?

Thanks all.

1. Did you watch the videos on your card? When was the last time a video recorded? Seems since time/date stamp are incorrect, it might be easy to overlook the needed file.

2. Date / Time are usually stored in the cmos with a battery. So yanking power shouldn't change anything. Only a reset of default settings / firmware update will wipe to default. Of course, if there is a problem with the camera / battery, then a failure to store settings can happen, too.

3. Turning on Wifi lowers bitrate and should ONLY be used to retrieve videos. Hold down the button at the far right to disable wifi or go into menu settings.

4. Are you running the newest firmware? 1.5 from Viofo.com? If not try flashing. Could be bugs in the old 1.3 firmware.

5. Upload a video or two here. Let us see if we can make them work? Could be the file stream is corrupt and might be repaired through VLC. Or could be the card simply has a problem. Formatting card is then the first step. Observe if recording works or if it fails again. If it fails, try another SD card...If that doesn't help camera might have an issue.

6. You can try a program like Handy Recovery or any data recovery app to see if it can restore bits and pieces of lost video.

 

[jokiin]

Tried this on several video clips but all I got was a blue screen stating play back error. Still fairly worrying that you have to be wary of the files possibly not being useful.

what card are you using, have you tested the card for errors at all?

use h2testw to test the card

 

[jamboy]

1. Did you watch the videos on your card? When was the last time a video recorded? Seems since time/date stamp are incorrect, it might be easy to overlook the needed file.

2. Date / Time are usually stored in the cmos with a battery. So yanking power shouldn't change anything. Only a reset of default settings / firmware update will wipe to default. Of course, if there is a problem with the camera / battery, then a failure to store settings can happen, too.

3. Turning on Wifi lowers bitrate and should ONLY be used to retrieve videos. Hold down the button at the far right to disable wifi or go into menu settings.

4. Are you running the newest firmware? 1.5 from Viofo.com? If not try flashing. Could be bugs in the old 1.3 firmware.

5. Upload a video or two here. Let us see if we can make them work? Could be the file stream is corrupt and might be repaired through VLC. Or could be the card simply has a problem. Formatting card is then the first step. Observe if recording works or if it fails again. If it fails, try another SD card...If that doesn't help camera might have an issue.

6. You can try a program like Handy Recovery or any data recovery app to see if it can restore bits and pieces of lost video.

1. Yes, watched the videos that I was able to. All work perfectly fine, clarity is good as are all other aspects of the video.
2. As mentioned previously, it was most likely my mistake formatting the camera.
3. Thank you for this info.
4. Yes, I am currently running the most up to date firmware.
5. I shall endeavour to do this shortly.
6. I am yet to try a recovery program.

what card are you using, have you tested the card for errors at all?

use h2testw to test the card

I am using a Sandisk Ultra A1. No I haven't tested the card. I must admit having purchased the card from a reputable seller, I have assumed it was okay.
I shall test the card, however, I was hoping to reclaim the required videos before testing as I imagine I shall be required to format the card during the test.

 

[jokiin]

yes you would need to format the card before testing

 

[jamboy]

Hi all,
thank you for all the info so far.
Formatted the card, put it back in the camera, recorded for a couple of days.
Checked the card today and more than half the videos were accessible, so starting to think it is a card issue.

Next question is, anyone on here using a Macbook and has a good program for testing the card. Currently come accross a program called F3, but its proving to be a pain to get to working as requires the program to be compiled.

 

[Harsh]

Hi all,
thank you for all the info so far.
Formatted the card, put it back in the camera, recorded for a couple of days.
Checked the card today and more than half the videos were accessible, so starting to think it is a card issue.

Next question is, anyone on here using a Macbook and has a good program for testing the card. Currently come accross a program called F3, but its proving to be a pain to get to working as requires the program to be compiled.

Release Initial release · insidegui/F3X

First release

github.com

Download the zip file.