Unable to Playback Video in the Camera Connect App

[Shortybiscuit]

How do I playback video from my R7 - on a different device without having to walk up to the camera to play it or download it first?

I've tried using the Camera Connect app and I can see video thumbnails and see photos, but I cannot play the videos on the app. I am using the app to remote shoot and each time I want to review footage I have to walk back to the camera or download it to my phone which is painstakingly inefficient. Please tell me there is another way.

The point of it being remote is well, remote…

[stevet1]

Shortybiscuit,

I'm not sure you can. You can use the device to remotely shoot the video, but it's not stored on your device yet until you download it. The app has "shoot" features, but I'm not sure that the app has "playback" features.

Steve Thomas

[Shortybiscuit]

That’s been my experience. So if not the app, then how? The only way can’t be pressing the button on the camera. 

[stevet1]

Shorty ,

If you want to play it on your device, I think you'll have to save it or download it first.

I've found that VLC is a good movie viewer and editor app which supports many video formats.

Steve Thomas

[Shortybiscuit]

The downloads take way too long, unfortunately. I even tried USB hoping for faster transfers but it’s only available via WiFi. Ah well.

Makes no sense that you can’t playback without downloading. 

[stevet1]

Shortybiscuit,

You can play it back on your camera because it's stored there. You can't play it back on your device because it's not stored or downloaded there yet.

If you wanted to, you could take the card out of your camera, and using a card reader, copy the video from your card to your computer. or upload it from your camera to some kind of cloud storage.

Steve Thomas

[Shortybiscuit]

Here is the use case I am trying to solve and have been for a long time (years).

I am IN FRONT of the camera. I am the subject. I am using Camera Connect on my phone or tablet (iOS) to frame, adjusst settings, press record, etc.

Let's say I'm behind a desk or 10 feet away. I record myself for 3 minutes. Now, I want to play back that video to ensure the sound is right, I said what I needed to say, etc.

Now, I have to get from behind the desk, losing the framing- walk to the camera to press play. OR download the video to my phone/table to watch it. The download is SLOW and takes up space on the device (yes, I can delete it).

There has to be another way. If it's another piece of hardware or a different software, that's fine. But - how do I make it that I don't have to wait for the file to download to my device or walk back to the camera to view the footage I JUST recorded.

[stevet1]

Shortybiscuit,

Maybe others who have done this can better advise you, but I believe that you can send your video to a device (like a computer) over HDMI using an HDMI capture card. (That capture card connects the HDMI port on your camera to a USB port on your computer. You would need an HDMI cable.

Using this method, I believe that you can see the video on your computer as it is being shot, but it doesn't save it. These run around $10.00. You can do a Google search for HDMI capture card to find a brand that appeals to you. 

I believe that there are capture devices that save as well as capture. If you don't want to go that route, you can save the video signals that are flickering across your screen using a second piece of software. There is a free screen recorder software called VSDC that can capture and save things that are coming across your screen.

Steve Thomas

[Shortybiscuit]

Thanks! Yup - I’ve tried HDMI and I can see real time. What I cannot do is playback. 

Adding - also cannot use HDMI and WiFi/Bluetooth at the same time - so when I connected the HDMI, I could no longer connect to the app to control the camera. 

[stevet1]

Shorty biscuit,

You can download videos to your computer via USB either by connecting your camera and computer via USB and going through your File Explorer, do a copy and paste, or by using the Canon software called EOS Utility, which handles the download for you.

Steve Thomas