Video · exFAT camera card
H.265/HEVC MP4: recover after an interrupted recording
What can I do with HEVC clips in an MP4 container after a recording interruption?
Short answer
Usually the HEVC data up to the failure is on the card, but the MP4 lacks its closing index and will not open. A repair needs parameter sets and an index that match the clip, so keep the original untouched and work on a copy with a reference clip of the same bit depth, resolution and frame rate.
The situation
HEVC clips in an MP4 container is missing, too short or unreadable after power loss, a card error or an unsafe stop.
The take ended when the power did, before the camera could write the closing structures. What sits on the card is a long run of HEVC frames with no table of contents, which is why the file opens as nothing at all.
01 / Diagnose
Work out what actually disappeared
In an unfinished MP4 the mdat payload is present but moov is absent or incomplete, so offsets, duration and track descriptions never reached the card. For HEVC there is a second requirement: the VPS, SPS and PPS parameter sets must match the stream, which is why a rebuild needs a reference clip shot in the same mode.
The payload may have been written before duration fields, indexes, directory entries or closing structures were committed. For H.265/HEVC MP4, this matters because the container, HEVC parameters and timeline all need to remain consistent
Check the last known path, trash and backups without writing to the original device.
02 / Protect the source
Preserve the best recovery chance
- 1
Power the camera down cleanly, pull the card and set it aside; do not accept any offer to recover the recording in-camera.
- 2
Shoot the reference clip on a different card with identical bit depth, resolution, frame rate and codec profile, then keep it handy.
- 3
Duplicate the broken file, or image the whole card, and point every repair attempt at the duplicate rather than the original.
- 4
Once a rebuilt copy plays, store it on another drive and keep the untouched original until the edit is finished.
Do not overwrite the truncated file with a repaired version, and do not let the camera or an editing app write a corrected version back to the card. If one repair attempt fails, start again from a fresh copy rather than from the already modified file.
03 / Choose the method
Match the tool to the source
For stable, readable exFAT, NTFS and FAT16/FAT32 or uncompressed IMG, DD, RAW and BIN images.
Unconfirmed exports are marked .UNVERIFIED.
Repairing a container is a different job from recovering a file. File Recovery Hero gets lost files back off exFAT, NTFS and FAT media read-only; it does not rebuild moov boxes, so an interrupted take needs a dedicated repair tool run on a copy.
04 / Verify
Check the recovered content, not just its name
A successful rebuild reports a plausible duration instead of zero, plays all the way through and keeps audio locked to the picture. Compare the picture quality against your reference clip: if the bit depth or colour looks wrong, the parameter sets used for the repair did not match.
Keep the source until two verified copies exist. One working preview is not enough.
Sources and technical references
FAQ
Questions about this recovery case
Can exFAT camera card be recovered in this situation?+
The take ended when the power did, before the camera could write the closing structures. What sits on the card is a long run of HEVC frames with no table of contents, which is why the file opens as nothing at all. The result still depends on what remains readable on the source.
What should I avoid before scanning?+
Do not overwrite the truncated file with a repaired version, and do not let the camera or an editing app write a corrected version back to the card.
Does scanning write to my memory card?+
Your memory card is only read. Nothing is saved to it.
How do I know whether the result is complete?+
A successful rebuild reports a plausible duration instead of zero, plays all the way through and keeps audio locked to the picture.