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tylermx138

GoPro Hero3 Playback on Macbook Question

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I recently have been through hell getting my Hero3 to even work and now that it is, it is not wanting to play on my computer very well.

I was shooting in the 1080p 30fps mode yesterday and did multiple jumps with everything working fine. I get home and try to watch them on my Macbook and the picture did not look near as clear or sharp as my GoPro Hero 2 does (shooting in 720p 30fps) and the video file was skipping in 4 or 5 second intervals. Is this because my Macbook (a 2007 model) with the following specs isn't up to current standards with the processor to handle this quality of file?

Mac OS X 10.6.8
2.4 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo
2 GB 667Mhz DDR2 SDRAM


Thanks for your help

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The skipping symptom sounds like a problem I had with a high speed "still" camera shooting slow motion video. The data could not be stored on the memory card fast enough and some seconds were skipped. I switched to a faster memory card and the problem went away.

The Hero 3 (black) recommends a class 10 card when shooting in the high res end of it's feature range.

Just a guess.
Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

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I did read where the black needed the class 10 or to be able to shoot photos every .5 seconds in photo mode for time lapse projects you needed a class 10 card for that as well. I have a class 4 that very well could be the problem.

I just tried to play the files through the VLC player, never does change from the frame of the initial turning on of the camera but I can hear the live audio fine. Then it will try to "catch up" to itself but never has a live video footage to match the audio (always skipping or grainy picture).

I assume I now have two problems on my hand? The old class 4 memory card and the 2007 model Macbook. Looks like I will be getting to spend some money soon.

Thanks for the help

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I've had similar issues. I found that if I played HDMI out to a HDMI tv, no problem. If I used VLC to slow it down just less than realtime speed, no problem. If I try to play it at normal speed however, I get skipping and shittiness. This happened whether I was playing from the card, from the hard drive or from the camera (mounted as a usb device)

My conclusion is that something in the chain of getting the data from storage to turning it into a video on my screen is not able to keep up.

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missed the part about the card, try a 10 first and VLC



I don't know anything about the playback methods or the VLC. But if it is the card, the correct data is not recorded onto the card. I mean video data is missing from what was happening. So the playback, no matter what the method will be flawed. But if one playback method works, that shows you have good data and would pretty well dismiss the card as the problem.
Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

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You are correct about the missing data, but the Go pro records a different format then most, I forget what DSE told me... but for example, my new desktop with windows media player will not handle the video clips, all you get is audio. The solution was go download VLC.... I did problem solved. I now can play go pro footage in VLC for editing I use vegas also no problems.

So if it was me, the first thing I would do is try to record on a class 10 card and then play it in VLC right off to see if that made the issue resolved or not.
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The GP uses a codec based on mpeg. Not all systems have the proper software to read/decode the stream, but it is very easy to d/l from the GP website.
Missing the codec won't give the user choppy video; it will give them audio w/out video. If the video is displaying and is choppy, it could be due to a wide variety of reasons, ranging from anti-virus to background app operations to slow CPU to slow/chunky drive.

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I tried it both ways, directly from the camera and also importing the video first and then playing it... All no luck! I believe it is the card though but we'll see.

I just went and bought my class 10 card today, so as soon as I get the opportunity to test it I will let everyone know if it fixed the problem.

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I tried it both ways, directly from the camera and also importing the video first and then playing it... All no luck! I believe it is the card though but we'll see.

I just went and bought my class 10 card today, so as soon as I get the opportunity to test it I will let everyone know if it fixed the problem.



I'd suggest you'll have better success not playing files off the camera. Hope the new card fixes it!

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In addition to what DSE was saying and copying the footage over on your computer, make sure its plugged in! On most computers they run slower if its physically plugged into the wall. Also make sure your time machine is not backing up, adobe and the system are not updating, no one is sharing your itunes library, and its not searching for a network. Typically when I play back especially when doing presentations I turn off my wifi. Also back to basics of just plan rebooting.
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