Other video recovery software for GoPros
There are many other software products to be found on Google and elsewhere. Many suggest that one click (or so) will recover your GoPro files. CnW decided to test this, and also listen to customers who have purchased such programs and not revovered their data.
If GoPro files are moved to a PC, then most programs will detect and recover the data using a method called Data Carving. Here, the start of the file is found and the data is assumed to be continuous. Many such PC files are continuous and so the statement that GoPro (and others) can be recovered is correct.
The problem is that most GoPros record low (LRV) and high res (MP4) files in an interleaved way on the camera SD card. Thus neither low or high resolution file is continuous and data carving does not work. You may see a file name, and a correct length, but the original file will not work.
CnW Recovery have done a few tests with demo software and the following results were found
AnyRecover Data Recovery
- Files were seen, but the recovered files were unplayable
We have heard the same story from customers about Stellar, iBeesoft data recovery, Recuva and several other companies
GPR does not use data carving but a complex process where every byte on the memory chip is read, and low level data blocks are analysed. With this information, the fragments can be reconstructed. The process can be slow.
GPR
demo
does not allow the saved files to be played, but it will display frames from the video. It also saves a log which analyses the video files that would be recovered. Only perfect files are marked as 'OK'. In practice, many files that are marked as 'Fail' will play, but may have sections missing.
The only software to work correctly with GoPro videos on the original SD card, is GoPro Recovery (GPR) from CnW Recovery Developments Ltd.