Database Users

[Q] HD Video Recording Jerky, Because Of Class Of SD Card?

Howdy, I tried to film the aftermath of the bizarre weather we've been having here in Scotland yesterday, but I noticed that when I played it back, even converted it to an HD Avi and ran it through VirtualDub that at certain points the video lags and freezes, the sounds remains the same but the picture will pause for a second. I'm assuming (based on some research on Google and here) that it's because the memory card I'm using was the basic Class 2 that was shipped with the phone. Assuming I buy a Class 6 or that, the card will be fast enough to write HD video to it? I'm just wondering if any of you have had these problems, and/or does a higher class SD card fix it? (before I buy one!). Or, is it for a separate reason on the Desire Z that the video is jerky? Thanks! Below is my video should you want to see an example!
http://youtu.be/XX0zKKDRtUI?hd=1

Yes the class can have a massive impact on HD recording on this phone (and others), get a class 6 and you should soon see the differences.

Lennyuk said:
Yes the class can have a massive impact on HD recording on this phone (and others), get a class 6 and you should soon see the differences.
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Thank you, I shall, I just wanted to make sure! On a side note, if I change my memory card does Android get confused because of how it "deals" with the SD Card? (I'm coming from five years of Windows Mobile & I know they had no issues with SD Cards being swapped) but I noticed Android "Prepares The SD Card" whenever you unmount it or that.. Is it a straight forward swap and everything's working or is it a hassle of reinstalling certain things? Thanks!

salemfox said:
Thank you, I shall, I just wanted to make sure! On a side note, if I change my memory card does Android get confused because of how it "deals" with the SD Card? (I'm coming from five years of Windows Mobile & I know they had no issues with SD Cards being swapped) but I noticed Android "Prepares The SD Card" whenever you unmount it or that.. Is it a straight forward swap and everything's working or is it a hassle of reinstalling certain things? Thanks!
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Click to collapse
I only ever copy files over, never had any issues doing that.

Lennyuk said:
I only ever copy files over, never had any issues doing that.
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Perfect thanks! I'm away to buy one, I assume that a higher class will improve the frame rate too! Thanks for your help!

Mine even stops recording after 13 seconds or so. Also have an older 16GB Class 2 card. I'm also getting a good Class 6 one.
Regarding files on the sdcard: Just copy everything from your old card to the new one. If you are using linux, be sure to also copy the hidden directories

dicer42 said:
Mine even stops recording after 13 seconds or so. Also have an older 16GB Class 2 card. I'm also getting a good Class 6 one.
Regarding files on the sdcard: Just copy everything from your old card to the new one. If you are using linux, be sure to also copy the hidden directories
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you, shall do! I'm just waiting on it now!

I have a 16Gb Class 6 card and have noticed the same thing with my HD video recordings being choppy.
I attributed it to other things going on such as data downloading or the system splitting resources to keep other balls in the air at the same time.
I can live with it, but would like it to be better as well.
I don't think the Class 6 card will make a difference for you, but it can't hurt either.
As to switching microSD cards, there's no issue with that. I don't know what happens behind the scenes when it's 'preparing the SD card' but the only issue I had was on the G1 when I was using apps2sd and have all of my apps on the ext3 partition.
I use a couple of different microSD cards regularly, no issues with swapping.
Good luck!

B73C said:
I have a 16Gb Class 6 card and have noticed the same thing with my HD video recordings being choppy.
I attributed it to other things going on such as data downloading or the system splitting resources to keep other balls in the air at the same time.
I can live with it, but would like it to be better as well.
I don't think the Class 6 card will make a difference for you, but it can't hurt either.
As to switching microSD cards, there's no issue with that. I don't know what happens behind the scenes when it's 'preparing the SD card' but the only issue I had was on the G1 when I was using apps2sd and have all of my apps on the ext3 partition.
I use a couple of different microSD cards regularly, no issues with swapping.
Good luck!
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I'm using a 8GB Class4 card, same situation.
I tried to disable Live Wallpaper, put the phone in Flight Mode, close all user background program, overclocked to 1.4GHz. still lags.

If you change to the resolution just below the HD level then the videos record smoothly even on my 8gb class 2 card.
Does formatting the SD card with a different allocation unit size increase performance? Can anybody with a spare mini SD card test this -- the higher the size the better the performance (but more space gets eaten up by small files). The general idea with this is if the aus is small it conserves file space but you get slower read/writes -- if the aus is higher you get faster read/write but files take up more space.
I wonder if there is a good alternative video recording app that would handle the recording better...?

ayewhy said:
If you change to the resolution just below the HD level then the videos record smoothly even on my 8gb class 2 card.
Does formatting the SD card with a different allocation unit size increase performance? Can anybody with a spare mini SD card test this -- the higher the size the better the performance (but more space gets eaten up by small files). The general idea with this is if the aus is small it conserves file space but you get slower read/writes -- if the aus is higher you get faster read/write but files take up more space.
I wonder if there is a good alternative video recording app that would handle the recording better...?
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Click to collapse
Ah that's a good point if anyone has one spare!
Yeah, the 480 works fine on my standard SD too!

B73C said:
IAs to switching microSD cards, there's no issue with that. I don't know what happens behind the scenes when it's 'preparing the SD card' but the only issue I had was on the G1 when I was using apps2sd and have all of my apps on the ext3 partition.
I use a couple of different microSD cards regularly, no issues with swapping.
Good luck!
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Perfect, thank you!

For info i had bought a Kingmax class10 8gb, to swap with the supplied one but
after a 10 hours use of my desireZ, i had a message "sd card is read only"(corrupted files on it, in fact), at that time i used only googlenavigation/Layar/whatsApp as software "using Sdcard" and took 2 or 3 pictures with the camera for testing.
perhaps it's a single defective unit, but for feedback and history purposes, i post that

Choppy hd video w stock micro sd

I'm waiting for my 16gb to arrive but I'm wondering if the chippy video is due to the included memory card.
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA App

just got my new 16gb class 4 card and the video steal seems to be a problem. when moving the camera, the video will be smooth, then pause for a split second and continue w/smooth recording again, then the video will pause for a second again and so on. anyone having this issue while recording in hd?

markjnj said:
just got my new 16gb class 4 card and the video steal seems to be a problem. when moving the camera, the video will be smooth, then pause for a split second and continue w/smooth recording again, then the video will pause for a second again and so on. anyone having this issue while recording in hd?
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Bumping this thread because both my wife and I have the same problem with hesitations in video. She's stock; I have a 16gb class 4, stock rom, and faux's latest kernel.
Anyone else have or solve this problem?

I also have this problem. I was wondering if it was the sd card. I have this isssue with all sense ROMs. I even unrooted and flashed PD15IMG to get back to "as new" and reformatted sd card. The hesitation was still there. I haven't always had this problem with HD videos... I have a few videos recorded a while ago that are perfect or have one spot where it skips. I have contacted Tmobile about the issue because I have the insurance. The technician wanted to do some research on the issue and get back to me within 72 hours... which should be tomorrow (3-15-11). He said he wanted to see if there was a solution he didn't know of before they replace the phone. I'll let you know what happens.

T-mobile told me it was my sd card. I bought a class 10 and still had the problem. I called them back and asked for a replacement phone. My replacement should be here tomorrow.
Sent from my HTC Glacier using Tapatalk

roush97 said:
T-mobile told me it was my SIM card. I bought a class 10 and still had the problem. I called them back and asked for a replacement. My replacement should be here tomorrow.
Sent from my HTC Glacier using Tapatalk
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Seems unlikely, but keep us posted...
I read that rebooting right before creating a video helps, and I've also played around a little with overclocking the cpu before making a vid. Seems like these have helped on mine, but haven't had a chance to really test it out thoroughly.

I did get good 720p recording a day or two ago. It was a 40 second video with no choppiness. It's the first good video I had in a long time. I was running the RoyalGlacier 1.2 ROM. Team Royal makes great ROMs, especially coupled with faux123's kernels.

Here's some info that might be helpful to someone. I'd been having problems with choppy video, and was using a 16gb Patriot class 4 card. It turns out that this card was at least part of the problem. It's not a 'counterfeit' and was bought through a reputable retailer, and it passed the the 'h2testw' program in terms of overall capacity. BUT, the test showed that the write speed was actually a bit slower than the 8gb card that came with the phone (the read speed on the 16gb was a bit higher than the 8gb card, but I imagine this doesn't matter in recording vids much).
So I'm back to using the 8gb card that came with the phone. This fixes 90% of the choppiness issue that I've been experiencing the past couple months (got the new card in January). Btw, I did try reformatting the card, etc. I'm now going to look at buying another 16gb or 32gb card, but will be staying away from the Patriot brand and also trying to get one that is class 6 or higher.

I have class 2, 4, 6, and 10 cards. Only my class 10 patriot 8gb micro sd card seemed to work. Honestly a class 4 card should be fine for 720p recordings...but something's up with the software.

nodrogkam said:
I have class 2, 4, 6, and 10 cards. Only my class 10 patriot 8gb micro sd card seemed to work. Honestly a class 4 card should be fine for 720p recordings...but something's up with the software.
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It may be that something in the software keeps it from writing efficiently, but definitely weird that the 16gb class 4 patriot tested out with a lower write speed than the 8gb one that came with the phone...and that's the only thing that seemed different with that card that would explain why I was getting so much more stuttering on my vids.

netter123 said:
It may be that something in the software keeps it from writing efficiently, but definitely weird that the 16gb class 4 patriot tested out with a lower write speed than the 8gb one that came with the phone...and that's the only thing that seemed different with that card that would explain why I was getting so much more stuttering on my vids.
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Click to collapse
what class is the 8gb card that came with your phone? some came with class 2 and some with class 4.
it's commonly known in the storage/memory world that the larger the card size the slower the write (and often read) speeds will be. Granted when an SD card is certified to be a certain class it should meet the standards of that class. That being said, how a card is formatted, handled, and ejected or not ejected properly affects the performance of the card.
in my years of experience buy the size of the card that you need to use...getting a card 2x than your storage needs maybe thinking ahead but if speed is what you want, smaller is better and of course the higher class the better.
I got my 8gb class10 patriot from amazon for $25 flat and have no complaints. SD card tester programs tell me the card is writing data at about 10mb/sec which is what it should be doing.
good luck with your video issues, and hopefully a future update will rectify the situation so that even class 2 can handle the recording and playback of recorded videos on the device.

nodrogkam said:
what class is the 8gb card that came with your phone? some came with class 2 and some with class 4.
it's commonly known in the storage/memory world that the larger the card size the slower the write (and often read) speeds will be. Granted when an SD card is certified to be a certain class it should meet the standards of that class. That being said, how a card is formatted, handled, and ejected or not ejected properly affects the performance of the card.
in my years of experience buy the size of the card that you need to use...getting a card 2x than your storage needs maybe thinking ahead but if speed is what you want, smaller is better and of course the higher class the better.
I got my 8gb class10 patriot from amazon for $25 flat and have no complaints. SD card tester programs tell me the card is writing data at about 10mb/sec which is what it should be doing.
good luck with your video issues, and hopefully a future update will rectify the situation so that even class 2 can handle the recording and playback of recorded videos on the device.
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Click to collapse
The card that came with the phone is a class 2, and the test showed it was writing at above 5MBps, while the 16gb Patriot class 4 was just above 4MBps.
In terms of creating videos on each card, I tested them each immediately after a full format and with a somewhat controlled view of the same scene. Thus, the only variable that would seem to be able to account for the poor performance using the 16gb card seems to be the card itself, and, my guess is more specifically, the write speed.
Perhaps slightly over 4MBps is just below the threshold for what is required for a stutter-free video, and perhaps some variability in the cards that shipped with the phones accounts for why some people are reporting hesitations in their videos while others are not.

netter123 said:
The card that came with the phone is a class 2, and the test showed it was writing at above 5MBps, while the 16gb Patriot class 4 was just above 4MBps.
In terms of creating videos on each card, I tested them each immediately after a full format and with a somewhat controlled view of the same scene. Thus, the only variable that would seem to be able to account for the poor performance using the 16gb card seems to be the card itself, and, my guess is more specifically, the write speed.
Perhaps slightly over 4MBps is just below the threshold for what is required for a stutter-free video, and perhaps some variability in the cards that shipped with the phones accounts for why some people are reporting hesitations in their videos while others are not.
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Click to collapse
that's probably a good evaluation of the situation. i never did test my 4gb class 6 card, but i do know it transfered the contents of my music folder significantly faster than the 8gb class2 card that came with the device. Yet that card was still not enough for stutter free 720p recording. I can only assume its speeds were <10mb/sec. So the sweet spot is probably 6mb/sec.+
thinking bigger picture, there's a serious QC issue if some people with the same cards have issues while others don't. though i question if some people think that they're recording 720 by default and never bothered to check the video settings to begin with (default is 480p). therefore some people think they have no problems, but it's only because they're recording in 480p (which is still clear, especially on screen).

i had a few minutes. ran a test on 3 cards
1. 8gb class2 - stock card - ~4mb write
2. 4gb class6 - ~6mb write
3. 8gb class10 - ~10mb write
So as i stated before, for my phone, i need more than 6mb/sec + card for stable 720p video recording.

I haven't checked this thread in a while, but I just got a replacement mt4g w/the good screen and thought maybe it'd improve, but hd video recording is still freezing up every so often. so I've just resorted to taking video in widescreen. hopefully someone figures something out. I'm running faux kernel, stock rom.

So I was reading this thread and remembered a thread I read yesterday in the android apps and development forum. Apparently we are governed by how fast our SD Cards are read, but you can change it. Anyway, if someone wants to try the fix out (seems simple) I think it would be a good place to start. If it ends up working out make sure to let us know which method you used.
Link to the thread..
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1010807

just flashed 2048 on my mt4g. tested a few short clips which seemed to have improved. The 2nd clip there were only a few very slight pauses on video recording. This was off of a fresh reboot though, so I will continue to test through out the day as I use my phone more.
Update: The flash didn't seem to stick. as suggested by some others on the thread I'm now using/testing sd speed boost. Settings seem to stick, and so far there hasn't been any choppiness in recording hd. will continue testing and let you know.
Update: Doesn't help...still happens.

im on cmrc4, using the same sd card that came with the phone it is recording fine

could you try this out
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1025512

just made the changes. video -15000000 and audio -96000. Let me do a few tests.

[Q] Which drains more battery faster? Streaming music or sdcard?

Ok not trying to start a huge debate here but I am looking for facts....
Which drains battery faster Streaming music (ie Pandora, Google Music, etc) or playing music off the SDcard directly. I am thinking maybe the sdcard would be better battery wise because not using data as well as the music app, but I am not a fan of having to suck up sdcard space with music so I can listen to music when I am out.

You already know the answer. Data transfer will hog much more power up than just playing the music. Easiest fix is to just buy a new memory card. I bought a 16GB micro-SD class 6 card for $27 just recently and works great.

kalel33 said:
You already know the answer. Data transfer will hog much more power up than just playing the music. Easiest fix is to just buy a new memory card. I bought a 16GB micro-SD class 6 card for $27 just recently and works great.
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+1...just buy a bigger memory card

I was wondering, lets say, would a 32GB SD Card drain more power than a 2GB one?

Tozzy2 said:
I was wondering, lets say, would a 32GB SD Card drain more power than a 2GB one?
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I don't think so

Tozzy2 said:
I was wondering, lets say, would a 32GB SD Card drain more power than a 2GB one?
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Click to collapse
nope, SD cards have nothing to do with battery life. only memory, along with read and write speeds depending on class

Video recording stutters when using Class 10 microsd

I recently noticed stutters during video recording, and it seems to happen whether I record to microSD or the internal storage. Then I found that it doesn't happen if I remove the microSD. Could my Transcend class 10 16GB card be somehow interfering with the camera video recording?

Your card might be fake or damaged. Download 'sd tools' and check the stats.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

What 666fff said.
And what Rom are you using? There are camera hacks that might help you if the stock one isn't working correctly for you.

I noticed the same problem with mine. Stock ROM, Lexar Class 10 32GB card. Stuttering i 1080p recording. 720p seems fine though.

Flowbax said:
What 666fff said.
And what Rom are you using? There are camera hacks that might help you if the stock one isn't working correctly for you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm on the stock rom and its not even rooted. The card is probably not fake as it is purchased at a big box store. I'll check the card using the tool and report back.

i just got my phone today, has a Adata 8GB class 10 in it, works fine with 1080P recording, i get about 20+ read and 12 write speed on the card.

I'm getting 12MB writes and 6MB reads and no data corruption using the sd card testing tool on android market so I don't think it's a speed problem. The stutters happen mostly when it's trying to focus either in a dark environment with a lot of lights or when taking video of things swimming in water.

'GPS' Micro-SD Card Slot - Any actual point on 32GB models?

Just loaded my 32GB model with an extra 8GB SD card, but I just realised, is there any actual point ? The NAND storage is 32GB which I'm never going to fill because I won't be synchronising photos and stuff.
Google Maps won't use it. Waze won't either. iGo and CoPilot are dying a death anyway. What's the point? Any actual valid uses?

Music and movies. Thats what I use it for.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

yes, flac music to be precise

Kazliux said:
yes, flac music to be precise
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Click to collapse
My unit has an SD Card slot for Music as well.
So basically there's no legitimate use for the GPS slot. Ok.

skezza said:
Just loaded my 32GB model with an extra 8GB SD card, but I just realised, is there any actual point ? The NAND storage is 32GB which I'm never going to fill because I won't be synchronising photos and stuff.
Google Maps won't use it. Waze won't either. iGo and CoPilot are dying a death anyway. What's the point? Any actual valid uses?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have music and movies on my 128gb micro... I have enough music, I never have to use data, and don't have to listen to the sucky radio.
Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

So you can't program them for internal or external storage like some sites teach?