GoPro 3+ B 3D issue

3d87c4 wrote on 10/4/2014, 11:17 PM

I posted this on a GoPro forum, but thought I'd cross post it here too, because of the Sony Vegas clip synchronization issue:

I shot some test clips with my new 3+ black 3D setup today.

The filenames are wrong. They begin with L and R but have different numbers. GoPro studio doesn't seem to mind, but I would prefer to skip studio and use the files directly in Sony Vegas.

When I renamed the files Vegas recognized them and created the appropriate subclips, but a few of them had major time shifts between the left and right sequences! When I combined the original files---with the wrong filenames---the clips had no synchronization problems.

I have tried reformatting the SD cards---both in my computer and using the file delete feature of the cameras---to no avail.

It appears the cameras themselves remember the file numbering and continue the number sequence even when the files have been deleted.

I have started a support ticket with GoPro, but welcome any suggestions here.

Comments

GeeBax wrote on 10/5/2014, 12:01 AM

I have a pair of GoPro Hero 2s hooked up in 3D mode, and they also produce files with different names:
3D_L0002.MP4
3D_R0001.MP4

So maybe that is normal for the GoPro cameras. It never caused me any problems and Vegas dealt with the files just fine.

Geoff

3d87c4 wrote on 10/5/2014, 2:11 AM

I've been using the H2 based system for several years & have had the file numbers get out of sync a few times. Usually it was when one camera ran and the other didn't. When the SD cards were emptied, and the cameras worked right, the file numbers were the same.

With the 3+ the numbers are way different---L0008 and R1157, in my latest test clip---and do not reset when the SD card is cleared.

But that's a GoPro problem...

The Vegas problem is the apparently random time sync problem after renaming the files and Vegas combining them into a 3D subclip.

NormanPCN wrote on 10/5/2014, 9:58 AM

One possible way to reset the number to what you want.

Clear card.
Record one thing.
Take card out and rename/number the file to a value one lower than you want.
Put the card back in and turn the GP on.

Hopefully the camera will start numbering after your renumbered file. This has worked on other digital cameras, and it is worth a shot on the GP.

3d87c4 wrote on 10/5/2014, 10:47 AM

I just tried it & it didn't work. I renamed the right camera files from R1157 to R0008 and shot a second 3D clip. The new file in the right camera is R1158.

3d87c4 wrote on 11/14/2014, 5:18 PM

GoPro support suggested using new SD cards might reset the file naming, but this did not help either.

Cineform Studio uses metadata within the files to identify corresponding left and right clips regardless of the file name, so GoPro has no motivation to change/fix the file naming.

I can use Studio to combine the 3D clips then feed the resulting clips into Vegas but this is an extra step in my workflow, creates another set of clips/AVI files to fill my hard disk, and the left/right image alignment varies from clip-to-clip.

This last issue is a problem. Vegas would combine the Hero 2 files consistently so I could work out the left/right alignment once then copy & paste attributes for the rest of the clips. With Studio in my workflow I now have to manually correct each clip.

My last message from GoPro support asks whether Sony can update Vegas to recognize and combine the clips without having to rename them & I'd like to know the answer to that as well.

3d87c4 wrote on 12/4/2014, 1:14 PM

Does Vegas alter the source MP4 file in ANY way?

Here's the text of an email I just sent to GoPro support to explain why I ask:

"I had to give up on Studio entirely last night. I tried to convert my latest set of 3D clips and, when imported, Studio did not match the left and right clips correctly. I saw duplicate matches---the same clips paired together multiple times with numbers appended to the file names---as well unrelated left/right clip pairings. Renaming the clip file names so the left and right clips had corresponding names had no effect.

I believe there was a recent Studio update & this may be related.

Alternatively, I previously created a video mixing some of the right camera GoPro clips with clips from another camera (Kodak PIXPRO SP360---weird fisheye camera). Vegas should not have altered the MP4 files, but it's conceivable this edit affected the Studio clip pairing?

When I attempted to read the renamed files into Vegas it is still introducing a time shift between the left and right clips---is there some meta data within the MP4 files that could be causing this?

I am now reduced to explicitly pairing the left and right clips on the Vegas timeline.

I really wish GoPro and Sony would put their heads together on this---Vegas is the only good 3D compatible editor I'm aware of."

Clifs:

GoPro studio couldn't combine 3D pairs properly after I'd used the right clips in a separate Vegas project.

Vegas introduces time shifts when combining GoPro 3+ black 3D clips---both when renaming the files so the pairing occurs automatically, and when selecting the files in the project file section and clicking the create 3D subclip option.

I would appreciate if one of the Sony folks here would respond to this.

Thanks