Cell Phone Video Recording Length Issues

[JJ91284]

I just purchased a Moto X Pure (32GB model with U1 PNY 128 GB microsd) and need to use it to record long videos. I tried the 4k option and I only get about 10 minutes and the video size is 3.79 GB roughly before it ends recording and states "video recording size reached, stopped recording." I then tried 1080p on the phone and I get around 32 minutes which is roughly 3.79 GB and it reports the same message.

This leads me to believe its either a software issue with the default camera app or something about the 4 GB limit on FAT files. Anyone have any ideas on how to increase video recording lengths? I'm hoping there's some type of app when the video file max is reached, it creates a new file and continues recording. I plan to record video of my backpacking trip and will be bringing ten 128 gb microSD cards with me.

 

[Deleted member 245375]

That is most likely the cause for the limitations, yes, but I'm not 100% certain of that. I had a G4 earlier this year, used a 64GB microSD card for the video recording purposes, formatted as exFAT so there was no file size limitation like there is with FAT32 (4GB max) and even so it still would not record more than 5 minutes of 4K footage, but it didn't have any issues with recording potentially hours of 1080p footage even when I used the 60 fps option - I never encountered any problems in that respect and the longest recording I did was about 2 hours and 27 minutes during a concert: I put the G4 on a tripod, pointed it and made sure it was focused then hit Record and didn't think about it again till the event was over, file was just fine during post production.

I'm sure as time passes and more phones have larger capacities (even those without any expandable storage options at all) things with respect to video recording will improve including the seemingly arbitrary limits some manufacturers are putting on their own more than capable devices.

 

[entropism]

Another issue with 4K recording is overheating of the phone. Most phones limit recording size for this reason, with the newer Sony devices (Z4 and newer) for being notoriously bad.

From PocketNow's review of the Pure:

While the Moto X Pure camera is capable of shooting in 4K resolution, it would really prefer you stuck to 1080p. When first switching to the UHD recording mode, the Moto X warns you that 4K video generates “much larger file sizes” than standard HD. While recording 4K video, the phone heats up rapidly and the viewfinder gets quite choppy – enough to be distracting if you’re shooting a fast-moving scene. And when you close the camera after you’re finished filming, the phone resets the camcorder so it defaults to 1080p the next time you take a video.