Why can't I open my drone video files?

Product Support Forum
1

I recently bought a Mini 3 drone with RC-N1 to get started and make practice, but I sometimes have trouble with the pictures/videos I take.

The first time I flew, I recorded a video (16mins) and a few photos while running the DJI Fly app. When I got home and wanted to transfer them to my computer I couldn’t open the video, while the photos didn’t have any problem. The file was there and I’m sure it wasn’t empty 'cause it was like 4GB, but I just couldn’t open it with any media player.

I looked online and some people said you need to format the SD card on the drone, so I did it. Tried to record a video and take some pics while the drone was on my desk and It seemed to be okay.

A few days after I ran a mission using Drone Harmony taking only photos, and none of them I could open on my computer. They were just .JPG files, but it said that “the format is not supported”.

After formatting again, I flew for a few minutes using DJI Fly, took some pictures and again it seemed like everything was working properly. When I launched the same mission I previously had trouble with on Drone Harmony it saved like 100 photos out of 150, while I couldn’t open the other ones.
I then changed the SD card, proceeded to format it and resumed the same mission, which I completed without any problem. All the photos it took while using the new SD card were okay.

The last two days I tried recording some videos with the DJI Fly app and it kept interrupting them automatically after a few seconds (between 23 and 42). I can see them perfectly, but I just can’t take one single long video.

Today I wanted to take some photos of a building, so I used the DJI Fly app. It took a few seconds to shoot every time, it wasn’t running smoothly. When I finally tried to open the pictures on my PC, I had the same problem again.

I’m quite desperate at this point, does anyone have any idea on what may be causing this malfunctioning?

The SD cards I used are a Sony 512GB (first) and a Sony 256GB A1

2

Are you using a SanDisk Extreme card? Try formatting the SD card first.

3

Zaren said:
Are you using a SanDisk Extreme card? Try formatting the SD card first.

It’s a Sony card. I already formatted it, but that didn’t help. I’m thinking of buying one of the cards DJI recommends.

4

You said it’s an A1 card, but does it have a speed class 3 rating?

From DJI’s site:
It needs to be UHS-I Speed Class 3 or better.

5

Nori said:
You said it’s an A1 card, but does it have a speed class 3 rating?

From DJI’s site:
It needs to be UHS-I Speed Class 3 or better.

I’m not sure to be honest. I’ve just been using cards I had around the house. I’ll get a new one that’s actually meant for this.

6

Have you tried playing the files with VLC Media Player?

7

Talon said:
Have you tried playing the files with VLC Media Player?

Yeah, tried that. Still won’t play.

8

You need a card that says A2, U3, or V30 at least. V60 or V70 is even better if you can find it. The cards you’re using probably can’t handle the data speed.

Also, don’t go over 128GB. Just get a few of those instead of a big 512GB one.

9

@Nico
Appreciate it. I guess these old cards just aren’t made for this stuff. I’ll pick up a proper one for my drone.

10

Dalen said:
@Nico
Appreciate it. I guess these old cards just aren’t made for this stuff. I’ll pick up a proper one for my drone.

Yep, a slow card can’t keep up with how fast the drone writes the video, so you end up with broken or unreadable files.

Same thing when you try to watch the videos—the slow speed messes things up.

Also, don’t forget to keep a card in your controller. It can store screen recordings and maps offline, and it’s handy to keep a backup there too.