I have two BPAV directories that seem to be corrupted. The CLPR and the TAKR directories and intact as are the .mp4's and other files. When I goto clipbrowser however, the clips show up as black with a white X in them. I know why this happened, my associate didn't use the clip browser to copy the files. Lesson learned but I wonder if there is anyone else who has dealt with this problem and could offer any remedies.

Do the mp4's play with VLC media player? in other words is the media itself in tact?

Paul

As a last resort I believe the mp4 files can be converted to quicktimes using VLC or MPEG StreamClip on a Mac. That won't get your metadata files back, but at least the footage isn't 'lost'.

Good Luck

They will not play in VLC player either but the filesizes of the mp4's indicate that there is some semblance of information. I've attached screenshots of the directory tree and files along with the Clip Browser error.

What I have found can work is to copy the whole BPAV folder back to a SxS card using finder or explorer (having deleted everything off the card first). Then put the card back in the camera and switch it on. You may well get 'Media Restore' errors and/or have to do Clip>Update>Media but the camera seems quite good at repairing or recreating corrupted metadata files.

Good luck!

N

Roger,
Can you clarify what yu meant by "not using clip browser to copy files?" Is this a PC issue?

I'm on a Mac, but never use clip browser and just use the finder to copy the files. I have heard of potential problems with this but never run across them personally. Always helpful to know what not to do in the field.

Roger,
Can you clarify what yu meant by "not using clip browser to copy files?" Is this a PC issue?

I'm on a Mac, but never use clip browser and just use the finder to copy the files. I have heard of potential problems with this but never run across them personally. Always helpful to know what not to do in the field.

Leonard,

You have been most fortunate not to have lost data or have clips become corrupt by dragging & dropping. Best to start using clip browser with CRC enabled (in prefs).

This is Sony's instructions for correctly copying files off the SxS cards.

Best wishes

David,
I'm open to changing my practices and am particularely interested in Shotput for this very reason, but would love to hear actual example of people who have had problems. So far with either P2 or SxS I haven't read or known of corruption problems due to dragging. Can you point me anywhere?

Lenny

So long as the foilder structure remains the same you can copy the FILES using ANY windows application that copies files.

KEY WORD HERE IS ** FILES ** - they are not magic from planet zorg!

You do not need Clip Browser to copy files from camera (or card) to PC

If clips are not showing in Clip Browser its usually because the XML file (or possibly other files) are not copied or in the right place

Do not be put off with SCAREMONGERING that using explorer will corrupt files - Get a grip everyone they are simply PC files NOTHING MORE and NOTHING LESS

Leonard, I'm assuming this mess is because of dragging and dropping in Explorer. Googling my problem, that seemed to be the recurring theme.

I still cannot resolve the problem. I've tried to let the EX 3 "rebuild" the media by copying back to the SxS card and restoring it, to no avail. The closest I get are 5 black clips in the media browser on the camera. I'm going to keep working on it more today and will check back intermittently. If I come across a solution I'll be sure to post it here.

In my mind, there has to be a solution because the filesize of the mp4 is legit. *sigh*

So long as the foilder structure remains the same you can copy the FILES using ANY windows application that copies files.

KEY WORD HERE IS ** FILES ** - they are not magic from planet zorg!

You do not need Clip Browser to copy files from camera (or card) to PC

If clips are not showing in Clip Browser its usually because the XML file (or possibly other files) are not copied or in the right place

Do not be put off with SCAREMONGERING that using explorer will corrupt files - Get a grip everyone they are simply PC files NOTHING MORE and NOTHING LESS

Matt I believe the problem lies with Windows more than Explorer. Sometimes when files say they are finished copying, they really aren't. Disk caching, etc. This is why it's rather easy to lose data on an external hard drive if you simply unplug it and don't use the "safely remove hardware". That is just a theory tho, what it boils down to, is I've got corrupted video files, no scaremongering here.

What's the difference between CRC and data protection ?
Ie choosing data protection vs processing speed.
Is there any point in using data protection if crc is checked ?

Paul.

I have two BPAV directories that seem to be corrupted. The CLPR and the TAKR directories and intact as are the .mp4's and other files. When I goto clipbrowser however, the clips show up as black with a white X in them. I know why this happened, my associate didn't use the clip browser to copy the files. Lesson learned but I wonder if there is anyone else who has dealt with this problem and could offer any remedies.

Hi Roger,

So sorry to hear about your problem.

This reminds me of the problem we used to get with MD when the power was removed before it had a chance to write it's Table of Contents (TOC).

There was a trick to getting back the raw data, and that was to put a disk in the deck and then put the deck into service mode, remove the first disk and replace it with the problem one. Then release service mode and make the deck rewrite the TOC. It actually worked very well the few times I had to do it.

So the principle might be the same here. Get a clean card, then record one clip onto it. Then delete the mp4 file and copy over the one you are having problems with, onto the card. Then put it back in the camera, and see if it will try and do a media restore.

If that doesn't work, try recording and then punch the card out, while still recording. That will leave the card with it's TOC unwritten, and again replace the MP4 file, and let the camera try and rebuild the TOC.

The other avenue, is to try Edius, it can open the file directly without the other files, well it did when I was playing around with it.

I'll see if I can have a play tomorrow with it.

Ross thank you for the condolences and the tips, I just tried both methods to no avail. I'm currently testing different programs that might be able to read the video file. I'm not hopeful since VLC can not.

do u stil have the files on the card which can be undeleted?

No I don't, there have been files come and go since the footage in question was shot.

Try using clip browser to import the MP4's. Go "File" and "import" and navigate to the CLPR subfolders to import the MP4's. This should create a new BPAV folder with all the necessary files.

^^^^that sounds promising^^^^ (waiting patiently to see it that's a fix or not)

Try using clip browser to import the MP4's. Go "File" and "import" and navigate to the CLPR subfolders to import the MP4's. This should create a new BPAV folder with all the necessary files.

Seemed like a promising idea but didn't work. Said "failed to import file".

The footage is sitting right in front of me and I cannot view it. I'm at a loss at this point.

Bummer.....sorry Roger. :(

Seemed like a promising idea but didn't work. Said "failed to import file".

The footage is sitting right in front of me and I cannot view it. I'm at a loss at this point.


I guess you can play the footage in VLC and MPEG StreamClip though...

Have you tried an mpeg restore programme? very often the media is in tact but the "headers" or "atoms" as I think they are refered to, are missing. I read something recently about this, and if the latest version of VLC won't play the mp4, then I'd say it's pretty sure they are damaged.

It's quite right about Edius, it has no interest in the file structure, you can lift an mp4 out of a BPAV folder and play it direct.

Do you have a small damaged mp4 file you can upload? I'm game to attempt a recovery.

Paul

Paul thanks for the response. Currently I'm home sick from work, but I can swing ya a small mp4 tomorrow. If you have any luck then I could try to reproduce the fix on my larger files.

try MPEG editor and DVD editor- Womble Multimedia, Inc. (http://www.womble.com)

that has a few mpeg fixing tools - u can d/l a full version for limited trial time

simply drag the mp4 file into the play window

Bonanza. FIXED (for those that maybe have the same problem)

I "moved" (not copied) the folders in question to another hard drive then used NTFS Undelete — free, easy to use undelete software (http://ntfsundelete.com/) on the original hard drive to restore the files. After restoration it completely worked and I'm completely baffled as to why it did.

So if anyone finds this thread in the future, perhaps this unorthodox method might work for you.

Congrats, Roger, on the fix.

Just to clarify: Is is scaremongering or is this warning in the Clip Browser manual accurate:"To archive media from an SxS card to hard disc or other media, the Sony XDCAM EX ClipBrowser application must be used. Copying individual clips via the Macintosh Finder will
result in unusable media on the target drive."

If so, does that mean that I can't use my MBP G4 non-Intel in the field to copy files, as there's no Clip Browser version for it?

(XDCAM EX Browser for Mac Version 2.0, Mac Requirements: OS: OS X 10.4.10*, CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo 1GHz or higher)

Wow Congratulations

That info should be made a sticky on this site that's incredibly valuable.

Thank you Roger

CRC Check. ALWAYS.

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/1023724-post5.html