GoPro Corrupt File

I have GoPro footage from a rented camera I used at a rope coarse for a commercial. One of my .mp4 clips is on the card, but seems corrupted. It does not show up in FCPX when importing, but is on the card. It does note show a thumbnail like the others and freezes when trying to copy to my computer. I also have been unsuccessful trying to open it in Quicktime. Anyone have any suggestions to remedy this? Thanks

Does the file of the clip have a normal size?
Is this the last clip on your card?

- Ronny

Rbelfi wrote: …  One of my .mp4 clips is on the card, but seems corrupted.… 

I had the same symptoms with one of my cards from a cheap 'action cam'.
In SDcard-reader, no playback, no opening (even with 'can opener' VLC), no copying possible. Card was mounted, other files worked.

But in cam, I was able to playback the file!

Solved my problem, by connecting the cam via usb to Mac; I then was able to import the whole video.
Some how, some way, the cam's electronic was able to read it.
My assumption: due to end-of-battery, the file wasn't standard-conform 'closed'. My cheap cams electronics ignore those standards - me happy

… just give it a try… 

Also see if the GoPro Studio app can get it off your camera.

The file is a normal size, though it is the 2nd of 6 clips. I should also add that I don't have access to the camera anymore. It was rented from the facility and I only have the card now. This clip was the result of the camera battery dying on my mid shot... long story there. So it sounds like that may be the cause of the problem as the other files import and omptimize fine.

Is the GoPro Studio app free or something that can be downloaded online?

If you have copied the entire folder structure of your GoPro to your computer GoPro Studio will be able to open your files. It's free and you can download it here:

gopro.com/software-app/gopro-studio

Also check the video on their site to see how it works.

- Ronny

I've tried copying the entire thing over to my computer, but the currupted file freezes the proccess each time. I can try to the app with the card mounted and see if that works. Thanks.

Unfortunately GoPro Studio did not recognize the file. Do you have any other ideas?

Sorry to hear that.

If you still have the card and you can get your hands on a GoPro for a couple of minutes this would probably be the easiest solution. When you insert the card the GopPro should see the corrupt clip and present you with an SOS icon. By pushing any button it will then attempt to restore the file header, fixing the corrupt clip.

If this does not work or you cannot get your hands on a GoPro there are dozens of tips on the internet, but I'm really not sure if any of these work or not. Just google "corrupt GoPro clip" and you will see that you're not alone

ronny courtens wrote: …  present you with an SOS icon. By pushing any button it will then attempt to restore the file header, fixing the corrupt clip. … 

Does GoPro offer such a feature? Awesome!
Never heard of… good to know.

… that is the 'professional' version of my tip above, "read from camera" … 

Post deleted. Reason: spam.

- Ronny

BellyBlack wrote: ...Here a program that you can try when you're dealing with the corrupted files...

There is no indication this program can repair internal corruption on video files. "File corruption" happens on two different conceptual layers: filesystem or inter-file, and intra-file. Most so-called recovery programs work on a filesystem level, and try to recover files that are accidentally deleted, overwritten or truncated. They have no knowledge of intra-file structures or how to fix those.

A good example is a Lightroom catalog file, which is actually a database. If due to a system crash that file was truncated, damaged or lost, a filesystem recovery utility could only recover the file itself. It could not repair internal damage because it knows nothing about the specific data structures such as B-trees, linked lists, indexes, etc.

Repairing internal file damage requires *specific* application-layer knowledge about the internal composition of those files. It is always best to first try specialized utilities (such as the GoPro camera's SOS procedure).

Then if that doesn't work, the OP could try a utility specifically designed for repairing damaged video files. Unfortunately this area is full of scams and misleading claims.