Video length limited to 31:49 or 3.8GB?

[ydooby]

I set the 6P on a tripod and used it as a camcorder to record an hour-long live performance at 1080p, only to find out after the performance that it stopped at 31:49, or 3.8GB. Is it a limit on the length of time or file size, or both? Is there a workaround? Quite disappointing that I can't use my 6P like a real camcorder.

 

[bjrosen]

It's not the file system, Android uses EXT4 which has a 16TB file size limit. That number is just shy of 4G which suggests that the camera app used a 32 bit pointer. It's also possible that it got hot after an hour of recording and stopped because of the heat. You might want to try some experiments with different camera apps to see if they all have this limitation.

 

[B. Diddy]

I was just talking with one of my Ambassador colleagues, LeoRex, who suggested it might also be related to the use of legacy code for SD cards (which are typically FAT32, and have a 4 GB file size limit). But we're speculating here--I can't find anything that explicitly states that Marshmallow on the 6P uses legacy code.

 

[anon(847090)]

I was just talking with one of my Ambassador colleagues, LeoRex, who suggested it might also be related to the use of legacy code for SD cards (which are typically FAT32, and have a 4 GB file size limit). But we're speculating here--I can't find anything that explicitly states that Marshmallow on the 6P uses legacy code.

I think you nailed it.

 

[LeoRex]

4G always raises red flags, as that is the mythical 32bit limit. And while the 6P is a 64 bit system, Google can't just tell 32 to buzz off. Sometimes, backwards compatibility limits forward progress, and there might be a 32 bit component somewhere in there that is causing the limit.

 

[bjrosen]

The 6P doesn't have an SD card, only internal memory which is using EXT4 not FAT32. I think it's the app which is probably a 32 bit app not a 64 bit app. The CPU in the 6P supports 64 bits and I think they are using a 64 bit kernel on the 6P but the apps, including the camera app, all have to support the majority of Android devices which are still 32 bit. Google could maintain two sets of apps just as all Linux distributions do, but they might consider it more trouble than it's worth.

 

[LeoRex]

The camera app on the 6P and 5X are 64bit apps.

The number is more than coincidental... There must be something 32bit somewhere in the mix. But it's not the app.

 

[Cant Miss]

There may be one other explanation. Even my DSLR's are not capable of recording a clip over 30 minutes. The explanation I have seen for this (more often than not) is that it is an artificial limit imposed by DSLR OEMs to avoid higher tariffs imposed on hardware classified as a dedicated video camera. Evidently, a 30 min limit on clip length avoids it being assigned that classification.

 

[Adam Ziarnik]

There may be one other explanation. Even my DSLR's are not capable of recording a clip over 30 minutes. The explanation I have seen for this (more often than not) is that it is an artificial limit imposed by DSLR OEMs to avoid higher tariffs imposed on hardware classified as a dedicated video camera. Evidently, a 30 min limit on clip length avoids it being assigned that classification.

Ugh... This is *not* why we have government...

 

[cane prevost1]

This is true in Europe but not the US. This is the wrong tool for the job. You need a dedicated video camera for this type of video.

 

[bjrosen]

I'd try another app, preferably one with a responsive author. The problem with Google apps is that they don't seem to have a bug reporting mechanism. If you look in the camera threads their is a mention of an app that people like and one of the comments was that the developer mentioned that he was getting a new Nexus (don't remember if it was 5X or 6P, doesn't really matter). The important thing is that there is a forum for his app somewhere and that he reads it and responds.