Jerky videos with Anafi completely ruined

[sennheiser]

Hello everybody,

I have just purchased a Parrot Anafi drone and brought it with me to my latest trip to Georgia.
However, all the videos are jerky and completely ruined. Some of them cannot even be read, same for some pictures.
I have been transferring both through app and MC reader but it always gives me the same issue. I have also tried reproducing on different devices and everything has been filmed in 1080p. Here is an example of what most of the videos look like:

We initially didn't pay too much attention to it because we thought it could be related to import through the app and went on to just discover at home that even when opening videos directly from the MC we encountered the same issues.
I'm desperate because this means basically all of the footage from my trip is completely ruined.
Does anybody have any suggestions on alternative methods to try and recover at least some of the footage?

Thank you in advance for your kind help.
Best,
Silvia

 

[Jagerbomb52]

Not sure what a MC reader is. What kind of SDcard are you using? Take the Anafi and power it up. Plug in the USB-C cable to it and the other end to you computer. It should show up as a drive where you can transfer you videos and photos. This might help. Looks to me like you are getting slow read speeds from your card which is causing the corrupted videos.

 

[Bobthinks]

I have been transferring both through app and MC reader but it always gives me the same issue.

Does anybody have any suggestions on alternative methods to try and recover at least some of the footage?

I'm guessing MC reader is a (m)emory (c)ard reader

This might help. Looks to me like you are getting slow read speeds from your card which is causing the corrupted videos.

Agustine has offered the best advice I can think of. The thing about card readers is the many many of the ones on the market are in theory USB 2.0 but due to the build quality and layout they are often sub USB 2.0 capable in terms of bandwidth capabilities. This is especially true of card readers that are built in many budget PC's and PC cases. This can contribute to issue when you try to transfer large files. I make a point of finding highly rated USB3.0 card readers or use a good quality USB-C cable and import the way Agustine advised, preferably using a USB 3.0 port on your pc.

Another thing to consider going forward is the quality and speed of the card you are trying to use. I've had issues with the card supplied with the Anafi when my videos are over 3-4 minutes. We have a modest list of cards here that have been user tested in the Anafi tips and tricks section.

As far as transfering via the APP to your phone goes... the app is just about ok to transfer images, provided there isn't any sunspot activity, radio interference, noisy electrical signals, strong winds or butterflies in the area. Or put another way, it's not very good in my opinion.

One final thought is that 1080p should not be an issue however, are you using a resource limited PC/Device to import and edit this footage? I found I had to upgrade the ram and video card on my PC to get good output videos. My original intent had been to do some editing on a decent spec Android device. I gave up on that some time ago.

Beyond that I would give the following general advice, not just about the Anafi but all things photography and video based. I've been an amature photographer for about 35 years. I encounter people that spend a whole lot of money on new kit for the dream trip of a lifetime and get horrible results and the reason is always the same. They might have taken one photography class years ago, and they've hardly picked up a camera since then. They bought a new camera and if they opened the box at all before they left on the dream trip was to charge a battery and load a bag... Spend some time learning your new tool before your next trip/shoot, you'll get better results and be less stressed doing it. A co-worker of mine just came back from a trip of a lifetime to Tanzania. I have no doubt that it was incredible, but their images, which are of wildlife and scenery that should be amazing are all frankly flat and boring. Assuming you are only having transfer/read speed issues you appear to have lucked into some really gorgeous footage that you might be able to recover. But imagine how much more relaxed you'd be now and how much more relaxed you'd have been on your trip if you had spend a few flights before your trip learning your device. I don't mean to scold or lecture (too much anyhow) and I say all this with the best of intentions. I hope you get your footage. The Anafi can produce pretty decent quality 4K video.

 

[sennheiser]

Hello to both of you and thank you very much for your help.

I have tried connecting the Anafi directly to my USB 2.0 port (I'm using a late 2015 Macbook Pro) but the problems persist with the exact same files. We are going to try and buy a USB-C to USB-C cable to connect it to my boyfriend's brand new Macbook to see if that improves. I confirm both our laptops have no storage or ram issues whatsoever and we had been trying it at home in the previous couple of days (although only for short videos) and we had no problems.

Interestingly, some files are corrupted and cannot be opened at all. We have been using the SD card provided by Anafi and the damaged files seem to come in batches. Could there be a writing problem in the drone?

Thank you again for your very precious help.

Best,
Silvia

P.S.: Two things for sure: we will return this drone and we will be using the SD cards suggested by this forum with the next one!

Not sure what a MC reader is. What kind of SDcard are you using? Take the Anafi and power it up. Plug in the USB-C cable to it and the other end to you computer. It should show up as a drive where you can transfer you videos and photos. This might help. Looks to me like you are getting slow read speeds from your card which is causing the corrupted videos.

I'm guessing MC reader is a (m)emory (c)ard reader



Agustine has offered the best advice I can think of. The thing about card readers is the many many of the ones on the market are in theory USB 2.0 but due to the build quality and layout they are often sub USB 2.0 capable in terms of bandwidth capabilities. This is especially true of card readers that are built in many budget PC's and PC cases. This can contribute to issue when you try to transfer large files. I make a point of finding highly rated USB3.0 card readers or use a good quality USB-C cable and import the way Agustine advised, preferably using a USB 3.0 port on your pc.

Another thing to consider going forward is the quality and speed of the card you are trying to use. I've had issues with the card supplied with the Anafi when my videos are over 3-4 minutes. We have a modest list of cards here that have been user tested in the Anafi tips and tricks section.

As far as transfering via the APP to your phone goes... the app is just about ok to transfer images, provided there isn't any sunspot activity, radio interference, noisy electrical signals, strong winds or butterflies in the area. Or put another way, it's not very good in my opinion.

One final thought is that 1080p should not be an issue however, are you using a resource limited PC/Device to import and edit this footage? I found I had to upgrade the ram and video card on my PC to get good output videos. My original intent had been to do some editing on a decent spec Android device. I gave up on that some time ago.

Beyond that I would give the following general advice, not just about the Anafi but all things photography and video based. I've been an amature photographer for about 35 years. I encounter people that spend a whole lot of money on new kit for the dream trip of a lifetime and get horrible results and the reason is always the same. They might have taken one photography class years ago, and they've hardly picked up a camera since then. They bought a new camera and if they opened the box at all before they left on the dream trip was to charge a battery and load a bag... Spend some time learning your new tool before your next trip/shoot, you'll get better results and be less stressed doing it. A co-worker of mine just came back from a trip of a lifetime to Tanzania. I have no doubt that it was incredible, but their images, which are of wildlife and scenery that should be amazing are all frankly flat and boring. Assuming you are only having transfer/read speed issues you appear to have lucked into some really gorgeous footage that you might be able to recover. But imagine how much more relaxed you'd be now and how much more relaxed you'd have been on your trip if you had spend a few flights before your trip learning your device. I don't mean to scold or lecture (too much anyhow) and I say all this with the best of intentions. I hope you get your footage. The Anafi can produce pretty decent quality 4K video.

 

[jmbsmt63]

You have some serious pixelation in there also.
Have you tried formatting the SD card (any of them) from within the app?
If so, This appears to be a problem with the drone itself. There have been others that have had that same pixelation/stuttering and they returned/exchanged the drone.

 

[speagles2]

It looks like the anafi has been struggling to write to the card. This could mean that the card is too slow, or defective. Was it the card that came with the drone, or another one?

Before returning the anafi I would suggest doing some testing with another microSD card from the recommended list. If you can reproduce this problem with the original card but not with another card then there's probably nothing wrong with the anafi itself, just the microSD card. If you get the same results with different cards then it'd have to be the anafi.

 

[Sidd Finch]

I agree with the comments, double check that the card is seated correctly in the slot then try using a different SD card from the approved list.

1. Check card seating,
2. Reformat card.
3. replace card with another approved card

Sidd

 

[AnafiPilot1]

Yes to add - it does look like data corruption, so either the Anafi has got problems writing to the SD, or (most likely) the SD card faulty!

 

[tmgrood]

Yeah. Who knows if Parrot checks the SD cards before sending with the Anafi.
I would check using a different card.
Good luck!