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    Corrupted files from Sony A7S iii

    Hi there,

    Long story short, I have a handful of .mp4 files from a Sony A7Siii shoot that are unplayable anywhere. MediaInfo doesn't even show information for them. A few before and after clips work, but the lot of them are all unplayable. I found RepairIt by Wondershare but it has so far been unable to repair any of the files. Are there any other solutions out there that can "fix" .mp4 files? They all have data (some are 3+GB) but none are playable. The files are on the PC. I don't need to recover deleted clips but rather somehow "fix" these...

    More information:
    I have a card that had over 100 clips shot on it in various formats (10bit, 8bit, 23.976, 60, etc.). I always shoot dual card recordings in case one card fails but in this case I saw no failure, copied the card to the server using TeraCopy (using PC), TeraCopy did the verification (not sure what method is used), no errors. I always save the cards until needed again at which point I format and reuse. Of course this project was on the back burner so I didn't get to it until this weekend. This weekend I loaded the footage into Premiere Pro and found at least 10% of the clips are unrecognizable in any program (Windows Media Player, VLC, Media Encoder, MediaInfo, etc.). They all have varying amounts of data.

    I DO have one SD card with the footage on it but I don't know for sure if it is the footage that was copied to the computer or if it was the 2nd card. That doesn't mean anything except that both cards had bad files created by the Sony camera, OR the one GOOD card had the data that I cleared off when this card appeared to copy fine and I can no longer compare files.

    Any advice?

    #2
    Firstly, sorry to hear that...secondly, we've all been through it at some point and it's the same story, same advice; try different programs until something can recover something, even part of something.

    Most of the time some of the footage is gone forever. Sometimes most of it if you're not having any success with multiple applications (especially highly-rated ones).

    Final troubleshooting would be to send the card to a place to see what they could do (especially if you haven't formatted anything).

    Final, final...if you can by any chance get the files to play in ANYTHING, record them. Like via an external recorder if they can playback on the camera, any camera...or screen recording on a computer.

    Comment


      #3
      Originally posted by MrP View Post
      Any advice?
      Buy better cards and use a better workflow so problems are immediately identified and you know where each clip originated from.
      Doug Jensen, Sony camcorder instructor
      HOW TO MAKE MONEY SHOOTING STOCK
      http://www.dougjensen.com/

      Comment


        #4
        Thanks for your replies. I appreciate them. NorBro, I think you're right that it's just trial and error. But I was hoping someone had come across something like this before. There are a lot of posts about recovering data but very few about files (especially a block of files) simply not being accessible. So far I haven't found anything that works It's just strange that it's a block of them.

        Doug, can you give insight into a good workflow? I'm using Sony TOUGH cards from BH and have been using them for some time (and they are the 2nd revision cards), so I'm not sure what better cards you suggest. For the workflow, I always spot-check files and always, always do the file check to be sure they are identical from the card to the server. The spot check looked fine, but I must not have tried one of this group. Honestly, if dropping them into Premiere every single time I offload footage would be the workflow, I'll do it, I just never had this happen before. What's your workflow?

        Thank you again,
        -Stephen

        Comment


          #5
          Not sure I'm following completely... do you have both the media cards (not reformatted yet) used and the A7sIII they were shot on? Have you tried putting a card into camera to see if the files play? Or if they camera tells you they need to be "restored" - or other similar message??

          Comment


            #6
            In general, this should rarely happen if you use any decent cards. A fluke occurrence, if you will. But sometimes cameras might also break for a second - even with the best media - because they are tools, computers that aren't perfect.

            It's hit or miss with which recovery software may work or may not, every situation is different.

            And you can use software to check files but at the end of the day the software is just software and not a God or a super spirit who can always make sure every single pixel in your footage is perfect, you know?

            The best thing you can do is record in as many ways as possible - when possible - and then check the footage as quickly as you can. And if you can't dual or triple record then when you transfer the footage, archive the card (physically) or archive the entire file structure into a folder and keep that copy of that folder in 2-3 places.

            There is not much else...record in multiple ways, have a human review and check the footage as soon as possible, and keep what you recorded backed-up in its original state.

            Comment


              #7
              Originally posted by markfpv View Post
              Not sure I'm following completely... do you have both the media cards (not reformatted yet) used and the A7sIII they were shot on? Have you tried putting a card into camera to see if the files play? Or if they camera tells you they need to be "restored" - or other similar message??
              To be honest I didn't even think about putting the card back into the camera... I have 1 of the 2 cards unformatted. A selection of files on my server is bad and the same selection of files on the card are bad, but since I don't have both original cards I don't know if these files were originally from this card or from the other formatted card. In other words, I don't know if the files were corrupt on BOTH cards or if I just happened to copy the footage from the bad card, think all was well, then clear the good card only to find the files are bad and copying again from the presumably bad card does no good. Now I'm making myself confused....

              I'll put the card back in the camera and see what happens! Not sure why I didn't think of it except that I was trying to troubleshoot over the busy weekend.

              Comment


                #8
                Originally posted by MrP View Post
                Doug, can you give insight into a good workflow? I'm using Sony TOUGH cards from BH and have been using them for some time (and they are the 2nd revision cards), so I'm not sure what better cards you suggest.
                Stephen, you're already using excellent cards (I also use Sony TOUGH cards), and you purchased them from a reputable reseller, so let's assume the media itself is not the culprit.

                You're probably doing most of things anyway, but here's my workflow:

                I reformat all cards before I leave home and never reformat anything in the field.
                I always format the cards onboard the camera that I will actually use for recording.
                If the camera gives me the option of Quick Format or Full Format, I always choose Full.
                I never eject/insert a card unless the camera is powered down.
                I never power down the camera unless I'm sure the last file has finished writing.
                I never let the battery run all the way down.
                I never let the memory card reach full capacity.
                I never use relay recording.
                I never use the dual-record capability of a camera.
                I never use an external recorder for backup.

                I use a high-quality stand-alone card reader and never use the camera for ingest.
                I ingest 100% of the contents of the memory card (all sub-folders and files), from the root folder on down.
                I never extract just the video files alone.
                I ingest by dragging and dropping the root folder on the memory card to a custom-named folder on an external HDD for archiving. This is archive A.
                I then drag and drop from the card to a second external HDD. This is archive B.
                I never make the B copy from the A copy.
                If this is a current project that I need to edit right away, I then drag and drop from the card to one of my fast external SSDs that I use for editing.
                If I have a lot of footage to ingest I will use ShotPut Pro to ingest to all three of those destinations at once. But usually I am not in a rush.
                I launch Catalyst Browse and spot-check the ingested footage, making sure all thumbnails appear and that the clip numbering is continuous.
                After ingest, I will set the memory card(s) aside and only reformat them when I am actually ready to use them again and know which camera they will be used with.

                I've been shooting tapeless with Sony cameras since 2006. That's coming up on 17 years, and I have never had a corrupted card, a missing file, or even so much as a lost frame. 100% perfect track record with more than a dozen different cameras.
                Doug Jensen, Sony camcorder instructor
                HOW TO MAKE MONEY SHOOTING STOCK
                http://www.dougjensen.com/

                Comment


                  #9
                  Workflow additional: For a long time I’ve been using free software called Parashoot that does a simple (for me, final) file name / file size check and then, if the footage appears to be there at the destination, it will offer to do a “fake format” - it reverses all the ones and zeroes of the file header on the card. This is instantly reversible by Parashoot at any time. If you put the card in any camera, the camera will require you to format the card. I use it in conjunction with Hedge (it’s integrated, although you can also use it standalone).

                  https://ottomatic.io/o/parashoot/

                  It’s just one last line of defence - when I’ve ‘formatted’ the card, I haven’t actually formatted it.

                  Doug, why don’t you dual record? Surely probability loves a dual recorder.
                  Last edited by Andy9; 11-28-2022, 04:13 PM.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Doug does a little dual-recording but in the form of proxies...a few months ago he said he had one card in the camera with tons of clips from different shoots and loves how he can have access to the footage if he ever has to hand over the main media and doesn't have to rely on anyone sending the footage to him (I remember that because I thought it was a good idea).

                    Comment


                      #11
                      FWIW, Sony SD cards are the only cards that ever failed on me. They had at least one bad batch of cards a few years ago (the problem was widespread enough that they were forced to admit the problem and replace cards that were sent in).

                      I'm sure it's very uncommon, but the experience was bad enough that I've stopped trusting Sony cards since then.

                      In the instance of the corrupted Sony card, I was able to recover some footage via a recovery program. I don't recall exactly which one, but if you get desperate I could do some digging to find it.

                      Coincidentally, my experience was the same as yours (just with a GH5s): I copied my files to backup drives, erased one SD card to put it back in rotation and kept one SD card as a third backup. But the backup SD card (I almost always shoot dual card) was the corrupted one. It had all the files, and the file sizes were appropriate for video, but they were unplayable.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Disk Drill worked for me and was cheap.

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Originally posted by Andy9 View Post
                          Doug, why don’t you dual record? Surely probability loves a dual recorder.
                          Don't need it. I have complete confidence in my cameras, my choice of media, and my workflow.
                          BTW, I don't wear a helmet when I ride in a car, and I only use a belt (no suspenders) to keep my pants up. :-)

                          Doug Jensen, Sony camcorder instructor
                          HOW TO MAKE MONEY SHOOTING STOCK
                          http://www.dougjensen.com/

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Originally posted by NorBro View Post
                            Doug does a little dual-recording but in the form of proxies...a few months ago he said he had one card in the camera with tons of clips from different shoots and loves how he can have access to the footage if he ever has to hand over the main media and doesn't have to rely on anyone sending the footage to him (I remember that because I thought it was a good idea).
                            Hey, you're paying attention better than I thought. :-)
                            But I only record proxies on my Z750. Everything else I shoot is one copy only. And I have never had to use the proxies because the SxS cards are infallible.

                            You realize I've just jinxed myself, right?
                            Doug Jensen, Sony camcorder instructor
                            HOW TO MAKE MONEY SHOOTING STOCK
                            http://www.dougjensen.com/

                            Comment


                              #15
                              One time in middle school I won an award for best notes because I was so sickly neurotic about paying attention and writing down everything perfectly, even random lines which I thought had a purpose but were just chalk marks not completely erased from the previous day.

                              Comment

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