Playing GoPro video in Linux

Question

I have 1080p 60fps video that I took with my GoPro Hero4 and want to play on my linux desktop.

When I try to use Totem to watch the videos, it always plays them in slow motion and the sound cuts out after watching for 3 seconds. If I move haead to another point in the video, the sound starts again but then cuts out.

When I use VLC player, the sound works properly, but the video is so choppy and pixelated it is unwatchable.

These issues occur whether I watch the videos from my PC hard drive or portable hard drive.

Do I need to install new video drivers? I have an old Dell Vostro 1710, so it is possible that something is out of date.

Edit: I dual boot with Windows 7, and the videos play great with WMP.

Solution

This turns out to be a hassle in some cases using an old LTS Ubuntu. You may find the following command line useful

ffmpeg -i MyVideoIn.mp4 -c:v libx264 -crf 18 -r 25 -s xga -c:a copy OutputVideo.mkv

This will considerably downgrade the video and take some time. It sets the frame rate to 25; 30 might be better but in my case I needed 25. In the end though, the output video works and solves my problem.

Comments

[thomasrutter]

His Dell Vostro does not have an Intel HD GPU, it has a much older Intel GMA X3100 - I'd be surprised if it did hardware video decode.

[Brian]

I have a dual boot with Windows 7. Windows Media Player works perfectly, so I find it hard to believe that my CPU is incapable of playing the video.

[thomasrutter]

That rules out your CPU being too slow then. You may want to add that information to your question.