GoPro – when hero4 won’t turn on!
Diving gear: check. Diving card: check. Insurance card: check. Spoke with the girls: check. Great! Everything is ready for my first time organizing Women’s Dive Day. I am SO looking forward to it! Hold your horses… my GoPro! It’s not working – what is going on? It was not long ago that this problem popped-up last minute and my GoPro was not willing to accompany me on this beautiful day that I was so excited about. It was unbelievable (I like to say «almost magical») that with a little bit of patience -and dependance on others to take and share the pictures I wanted-, following a few steps, GoPro started to work again! 🙂 These are the steps I took: 1.- I removed the mini-SD card and inserted it in my computer. That way, I could secure my images, and also be sure that it was not the SD card which was messing with the camera. 2.- I removed and re-inserted the battery. 3.- Pressed the shutter button (the one to take pictures, as per the image above) for 10 seconds. 4.- Letting go the shutter button, I didn’t touch the camera for about 5 seconds. 5.- Pressed the «mode» button for about 10 seconds. As I did not obtain any response whatsoever from my camera, I moved on to the following step… 6.- I connected my GoPro to a wall socket (NOT to the computer) and put it to charge. I used an USB cable and a charger (in this case an iPhone charger, output 5V and 1A). *It is recommended to charge the camera plugged into the wall, rather than the computer. In my case, immediately and almost magically, the red LED light appeared when I put my camera to charge after the steps above. So… 7.- I left my camera to charge for a few hours until it was fully charged. When the GoPro is fully charged, the LED light will automatically turn off. 8.- When disconnecting the camera, I pushed «mode» button for a few seconds, and the camera turned on. Then, I turned it back off. 9.- Lastly, I waited about 10 seconds, and then introduced my mini-SD card. After 5 seconds, I turned the camera back on, waited another 5 seconds, and tried to take a picture. The camera worked. I tested videoing, and it worked. I checked the camera functionalities and settings, and everything worked as expected. I was so happy! This is how I reseted my GoPro and made it work. I think it is also important to mention that I also emptied my SD card and reseted it. *Disclaimer: The fact that it worked for me does not guarantee that it will work for you. If your camera is showing difficulties or failing, please, do not hesitate to contact GoPro.
GoPro – .lrv & .thm files
Has the following ever happened to you? You download your GoPro pictures and videos to your computer or external hard-drive, and you get some .thm and .lrv files just like these! Isn’t it a bit annoying having no idea of what all of this is about? Actually, it is pretty simple – let me help you with it! These files are just auxiliary files which can help when using the GoPro App. Using which GoPro will I see this? Hero5 Black Hero4 Black and Silver Hero3+ Hero3 HD Hero2 What are .thm? .thm is used as an abbreviation of the word thumbnail (miniatures). .thm files are basically a miniature of a video (.mp4), as image format. It is a frame of said video, a random capture of a specific moment of that video. When you want to select a video with the GoPro App (both on Android and IOS), the App shows a mosaic of mini-images which are captures that belong to each video you have recorded with your GoPro – that way, the clip you are looking for will be identified easier, and the App rendering will also be optimized. To check this, you can pick any .thm file and change it to .jpg (example: GOPR0623.thm becoming GOPR0623.jpg). You will see the image reduced to 14’577 bytes, and at the following dimensions: 160 x 120. When you download the original file into your computer, the .thm file can be erased no worries, as it only occupies some space in your drive. UNLESS you will use the App. Then, it will be convenient to keep them. What are .lrv? .lrv are the low resolution videos. .lrv files are video files, just the same as the original .mp4 but lower resolution. They are used like that, mainly, to optimize previsualization, again with the GoPro App. Therefore, the clip will be the same duration, just its size will be smaller, as it can be seen in the image above. To check this, you can switch .lrv for .mp4 (eg. GOPR0623.lrv becoming GOPR0623.mp4) – the file will be lighter and its dimensions will be reduced to 432 x 240. These files can be automatically generated, like with the previously mentioned cameras, or depending on resolution (in 5 Black or 4 Black or Silver). This file can be erased, as long as the original is being saved – Remember! You cannot expand the size of these reduced files. I hope this helps!! 🙂
GoPro – mi hero4 no se enciende
Tengo el equipo, la tarjeta del seguro, mi certificación de buceo, avisé a las chicas… genial, todo listo para esta primera celebración del Día de la Mujer en el Buceo. ¡Qué ganas! Ah, sí, me falta la GoPro… Ay, ¿qué pasa? ¡No enciende! Hace poco me llevé un buen susto cuando mi GoPro decidió no querer encender durante un par de días. Casi que mágicamente, después de aplicar un poco más de paciencia y de depender de otros para que saquen las fotos que me gustan, siguiendo un par de pasos, mi GoPro volvió a funcionar 🙂 Esto es lo que hice: 1.- Extraje la tarjeta mini-SD y la inserté en mi ordenador, con lo que me aseguré de que no era la tarjeta lo que hacía fallar a la cámara, y de que no perdía algo si tenía material en la tarjeta. 2.- Extraje y volví a insertar la batería. 3.- Mantuve presionado el botón del obturador (con el que se sacan las fotos) durante unos 10 segundos. 4.- Al soltar el botón del obturador, no toqué la cámara durante unos 5 segundos. 5.- Luego presioné el botón del modo (el de delante que pone «mode») durante unos 10 segundos también. Al no obtener respuesta alguna, continué con el siguiente paso… 6.- Conecté mi GoPro a la pared – NO al ordenador – y la puse a cargar, usando el cable USB y un cargador (en ese caso concreto fue un cargador iPhone con salida «output» de 5V y 1A). *Es recomendable cargar la cámara enchufada a la pared, mejor que al ordenador. En mi caso, ahí, casi mágicamente, me apareció la luz LED roja que suele aparecer cuando pongo a cargar mi cámara. Así que: 7.- Dejé cargar mi cámara unas horas, hasta que se cargó completamente. Señal de ello es que cuando la GoPro se carga completamente, la luz LED se apaga. 8.- Al desconectarla, pulsé el botón de encendido («mode»), dejándolo fijo unos segundos, y la cámara encendió. 9.- Para finalizar, volví a apagar la cámara, esperé unos diez segundos, e introduje una tarjeta mini-SD. Tras esperar cinco segundos, volví a encender la cámara, esperé otros cinco segundos y probé a sacar una foto. La cámara reaccionó. Probé a hacer vídeo y también grabó. Curioseé las funcionalidades de la cámara, y ya todo funcionaba bien. ¡Qué alegría! Así es como reseteé la GoPro y logré hacerla funcionar. Cabe destacar que también vacié la tarjeta y la reseteé. *Disclaimer: Que me haya funcionado a mí no da garantía de que te funcione. Si tienes graves problemas, por favor, no dudes en contactar con GoPro.