1. meta_kaizen's Avatar
    Hi All- I have the Blackberry 8300, with v4.5.0.81 device software on rogers.

    The new video recording feature is great- but I'm running into a problem- There seems to be a time limit somewhere around 20 minutes for the maximum recordable length before the device runs into trouble on playback mode.

    any video recorded (.3gp) with the device that is longer than 20 minutes ends up with a "The media being played is of an unsupported format" message being displayed.

    I notice on the explore function, that a video that is "too long" (i.e >20 minutes) takes up 4GB of space- this seems odd, as an 18 minute video clocks in at 41MB.

    Am I running into a true limitation here, or is there a workaround or bug? I'm using an 8GB media card.

    Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.
    02-08-09 08:07 PM
  2. mbudden's Avatar
    Hmm. That's really weird, I haven't experienced any problems like this. But then again I only record videos that are about 1-5 mins long. There shouldn't be a limitation, but there could be a problem when it's saving it? Sounds really weird.
    02-09-09 12:41 AM
  3. alb123's Avatar
    Hmmm, I tend to disagree with part of your post. Regarding .3gp format - just last week I converted a copy of Tropic Thunder from divx to .3gp and it clocked in at approximately 350MB with a running length of almost 2 hrs. The resolution was too small for my liking so I re-converted from the original divx copy to .mp4 with a slightly larger resolution and 15fps instead of 12fps with the .3gp converted movie. This .mp4 copy took up approximately 700MB but that was just fine as I currently have a 16GB microSD card installed.

    Now, I know that has nothing to do with recording video yourself, like a camcorder, but I would think that the filesize/running-time of the video shouldnt be limited as severely as you are experiencing. I'll have to turn my video camera on, maybe tomorrow, and just let it sit there and record for as long as it can before it quits. If someone doesn't give you a definitive answer before I do this I will post my results for you...
    02-09-09 01:35 AM
  4. xliderider's Avatar
    I don't know about the video recording part, but I have 10 movies ripped from my DVDs in .3gp on my media card that play with no issues.
    02-09-09 02:18 AM
  5. meta_kaizen's Avatar
    Thanks for the responses so far.

    This morning, I tested downloading videos from other sources. I have been able to download and play converted .3gp files of large size that I have taken from Youtube etc. Although, I've noticed that when they are large (i.e. greater than a half hour), there's no audio. Everything is fine for shorter clips.

    My original problem is with videos recorded with the video camera recorder feature that comes with the v4.5 firmware. Specifically, with clips greater than about 20 minutes in length. It records them, but in the saving process, the file size balloons to a multi-gigabyte level, and I get the error message indicated.

    Once again, thanks for your comments.
    02-09-09 12:42 PM
  6. BrianGriggs's Avatar
    Does anyone know any way to take the files that have been recorded like this ( 45 min video) and get the video to play correctly? Like could i convert it to a different file type? Recorded a wonderful video, and dying to watch it! It saved, but says its 1.7 GB???
    03-06-09 02:50 PM
  7. meta_kaizen's Avatar
    Quick Update- I've figured out that the recording time is limited, as videos are recorded into flash memory first before being put on the MicroSD card. I have not determined if the limit is some consistent fraction or multiple of flash memory.

    I guess I'll have better luck with the 8900 (256 megs of flash). Another reason to upgrade!

    The size of the microSD card is not relevant for recording directly from the Blackberry. Therefore the experience of transferring videos from other sources (i.e from online or your video camera) isn't comparable. These go onto the (presumably) much larger space on the MicroSD directly without using flash memory as a temporary holding spot.

    Thanks
    03-12-09 01:02 PM
  8. theoneuafter's Avatar
    so there must be a way to record directly to the SD card? or no. hmm what is the largest size MicroSD card the 8330 can support?
    I never tried to record video that long and only have a 1gb card installed now.
    This is very interesting =)
    03-12-09 02:46 PM
  9. Mastermind171's Avatar
    I don't believe that you can record directly onto the flash..... it is the way that it is made......
    03-12-09 03:32 PM
  10. justlovejoy's Avatar
    this is really bad news for my gurly! any possible work arounds?
    04-05-09 08:21 PM
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