Cameras · Sony exFAT XAVC HS card
Sony XAVC HS clips missing from M4ROOT
How do I recover missing Sony XAVC HS recordings?
Short answer
First leave M4ROOT exactly as it is, then scan the card read-only for MP4. XAVC HS stores HEVC video inside an MP4 container, so the container must come back intact before playback can prove anything. Check each result for structure, streams and duration, and decode it completely in a player with HEVC support.
The situation
High-efficiency MP4 clips are absent while folders or proxies may remain.
XAVC HS is HEVC video inside an ordinary MP4 container, which makes this a container question before it is a codec question. When the folder structure under M4ROOT survived while the takes disappeared, the media data itself has in all likelihood not been touched.
01 / Diagnose
Work out what actually disappeared
What went missing is the directory entry of a take: playback shows nothing although the MP4 still occupies its clusters. HEVC works in your favour here, because the efficient coding needed less card space per minute, so a given amount of new writing destroys less of the shoot. It changes nothing about the requirement that the container come back whole before any player can decode the stream.
The HEVC-coded payload still sits inside MP4; recovery must preserve the container before codec playback can be tested.
Check the last known path, trash and backups without writing to the original device.
02 / Protect the source
Preserve the best recovery chance
- 1
Leave M4ROOT with its CLIP and SUB subfolders and any surviving proxies exactly as they are; resist tidying up before the scan.
- 2
Move the card to a computer with a reader and confirm the volume mounts as exFAT and stays mounted without dropping out.
- 3
Scan read-only for MP4 across the entire card, not only the paths where finished takes are normally filed.
- 4
Export the results elsewhere and open each one in a player or tool that reports streams, resolution and duration.
Do not format, do not let the camera recreate its folder structure, and do not test the card by recording something new. Leave the proxies in place as well: they are the quickest way to establish which takes are missing and how long each of them should run.
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.
A computer or player without HEVC decoding rejects perfectly good files, so test on something that handles it. File Recovery Hero works read-only on exFAT, NTFS and FAT volumes and on uncompressed IMG, DD, RAW or BIN images; it does not repair an MP4 that returned without its moov box.
04 / Verify
Check the recovered content, not just its name
A recovered take is sound when the file lists both an HEVC video stream and its audio, reports the duration your shoot log expects, and decodes through to the end in software that supports HEVC. A clip that plays for a few seconds and then stalls is a partial extent, not a recovery.
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 Sony exFAT XAVC HS card be recovered in this situation?+
XAVC HS is HEVC video inside an ordinary MP4 container, which makes this a container question before it is a codec question. When the folder structure under M4ROOT survived while the takes disappeared, the media data itself has in all likelihood not been touched. The result still depends on what remains readable on the source.
What should I avoid before scanning?+
Do not format, do not let the camera recreate its folder structure, and do not test the card by recording something new.
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 recovered take is sound when the file lists both an HEVC video stream and its audio, reports the duration your shoot log expects, and decodes through to the end in software that supports HEVC.