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How to Quickly Join GoPro Video Files That Have Been Split into Chapters

GoPros split up large video files into chapters. Here's a quick method for joining them back together.

MP4Joiner GoPro Video Chapters 1068x400 - How to Quickly Join GoPro Video Files That Have Been Split into Chapters

By David Coleman | @havecamerawilltraveldc
Last updated about 13 hours ago // Categories: Apps, Video

NB. For now, at least, the method outlined here only works with video using the H.264 (AVC) codec. Recent generations of GoPro cameras also use a newer, more efficient video codec for some high-end video modes. It’s known as HEVC or H.265. I have a separate post on working with HEVC / H.265 files and joining H.265 files with Wondershare UniConverter.

GoPro HERO9 Black for $349.98

GoPro is running a deal on the HERO9 Black, their newest and best camera. You can get the camera and a 1-year subscription to GoPro for $349.98. It comes with a 32GB SD card and a case. You can get the deal here.

If you’re shooting video on your GoPro in any of the high frame rate and resolution settings, you have probably noticed that GoPros split the resulting video files into segments. At the highest 4K or high-fps settings from something like the GoPro HERO8 Black, those segments might be only 6 to 8 minutes long.

It’s called chaptering, and there are good reasons they do it. But what if you want to join the segments back together.

There are two ways to do that. The “proper” way is to import the individual clips into a video editor like GoPro Studio (which is no longer available), Final Cut Pro X, or Adobe Premiere, make your edits on the timeline, and export a new file. But that’s slow, somewhat labor intensive, and involves re-encoding the video and applying a new round of video compression. And even if it’s not immediately obvious to the naked eye, that new round of compression inevitably involves some quality loss.

Sometimes you might just want a quick method to join MP4 clips back together without the hassle of going through a video editing app and re-encoding the file.

Joining GoPro Video Segments with MP4Joiner

There are apps that can do that. They simply join the clips back together without re-encoding the video and applying another round of compression. So you don’t lose any quality, and it’s usually much quicker.

The one I’m focusing on here is MP4Joiner. It’s free, it does what it says it will do, and it’s open source, and cross-platform, with versions for Windows, Mac, and Linux. There’s nothing specific to GoPro about it–it works with any MP4 file. You can download it here.

There’s also not much to it, so this is a pretty brief guide.

Once you’ve opened MP4Joiner, you simply drag and drop the MP4 file segments created by the GoPro directly onto the app. One thing to watch, though, is that you only add the MP4 files and not any of the associated preview or metadata files. So don’t include any THM or LRV files, for instance.

MP4Joiner 1

It’s pretty basic. If you want to reorder them you simply add them in the order you want–there’s no drag-and-reorder option. You don’t need to select only some of the displayed clips–nor can you, for that matter–it will join all the clips that are imported into the app.

The stats down the bottom will tell you the total duration of the combined clips as well as the total size of the file that will be generated.

You can specify where you want the joined MP4 saved, but that’s about it.

MP4Joiner 3

And the options are pretty basic. You can force it to re-encode the video, but most of the time that’s probably not what you want, and if it is what you want you probably don’t want to do it in this app.

MP4Joiner 2

Once you’ve saved the new file, you can use it just like any other very large MP4 file. And because it has been joined, not re-encoded, there’s no quality loss.

Some Reasons Not to Join GoPro MP4 Videos

Joining segmented video files to make one very large file isn’t always a good idea. Sometimes bigger isn’t better, and multi-gigabyte data files can fall into that category. So there are times you might want to think twice before doing it.

The main reason GoPro camera split up the videos in segments just under 4GB is that some common filesystems have a 4GB limit as the maximum size they support for a single file. That’s true of anything using the old FAT32 filesystem, like old versions of Windows, for instance.

There are some obvious places you might run into that. It shouldn’t be an issue with most computers newer than a few years old—most new operating systems use newer filesystems like exFAT or variations that support much larger individual files.

But it might be an issue with the storage systems that the computer interacts with. For example, even new microSHDC memory cards (and the larger SDHC cards) use FAT32. If you’re backing up to an external hard drive, it might be formatted as FAT32, especially if it was formatted to be broadly compatible with several different operating systems such as Mac and Windows. And online cloud backup services often have a maximum file size limit that’s within range of the kind of filesize you’d get from joining GoPro video segments. Trying to upload a 20GB video file to a service that has a 10GB maximum file size isn’t going to work.

If you are backing up your videos to the cloud, here are some file size limits for common cloud backup services:

  • Microsoft One Drive: 10GB
  • Dropbox: 50GB
  • Google Drive: 5TB
  • Backblaze: Unlimited
  • Carbonite Personal: 4GB by default; larger manually
  • Crashplan Pro: Unlimited
  • Box: 250MB – 5TB, depending on plan
  • Amazon S3: 5GB to 5TB (larger than 5GB requires multi-part uploading)
  • Amazon Glacier: 4GB+ (larger than 4GB requires multi-part uploading)
  • Jungle Disk: Unlimited

Another reason not to join segments is that working with very large files can be very slow and can bring some computers to a grinding halt.

And joining video segments with third-party tools will likely remove any GoPro-specific metadata such as GPS and on-board sensors.

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By David Coleman
Instagram: @havecamerawilltraveldc

Last updated on February 26, 2021

Categories: Apps, Video

I may earn a commission for purchases using links on this page. Learn more.

GoPro News & Deals

New Smart Remote GoPro will be announcing the new Smart Remote for the HERO9 Black on December 17, 2020. The HERO9 Black isn’t compatible with the previous version of the Smart Remote.

HERO8 Black firmware v2.0 now available. Enables webcam mode; enables Display Mod compatibility; expands HyperSmooth 2.0 High and Boost availability to more video settings; general bug fixes. Update through the mobile app or manually.

GoPro Launches New Live Streaming Service for GoPro PLUS. GoPro has launched their own live-streaming platform for PLUS subscribers. It’s a pretty bare-bones offering for now, with livestreams shared with a dedicated URL. This is alongside their efforts to make the HERO8 Black useful as a webcam when connected to a computer (via USB plug-in-play, not requiring the Media Mod accessory with HDMI out). New firmware adds that functionality for Mac users, and the Windows version is in Beta.

New GoPro Zeus Mini Video Light. GoPro has released released a new video LED light designed to complement their GoPro cameras. It’s tiny, waterproof, and has a built-in magnetic swiveling clip. It’s waterproof down to 33 feet (10 meters), has four levels of brightness, and includes a diffuser to cool the color temperature to 5000K. GoPro claims that the built-in battery lasts up to 6 hours (presumably at the lowest brightness setting, although they don’t specify). It’s available now and priced at $69.99.

DJI Osmo Action firmware update adds live streaming. DJI has released a firmware update for the Osmo Action (v. 01.08.00.10) that adds live streaming support, so you can upload directly to platforms like Facebook and YouTube (it goes through the DJI Mimo mobile app). They’ve also improved the in-camera video stabilization. You can find the new firmware here.

New Underwater Housing for GoPro HERO8 Black from Isotta. Isotta, an Italian brand specializing in underwater housings, has announced a new high-quality underwater housing for the HERO8 Black. It’s an aluminum housing depth-rated to 650 feet (200 meters), has a one-handed open/close switch, double o-rings, and can be used with filters. There’s also a dual-handled tray to go along with it. And like all their housings, it’s in their distinctive red. Priced at $450, it’s only for those who need a highly specialized piece of underwater kit. It’s available for preorder from underwater specialists Backscatter.

Light Mod Now Shipping The Light Mod, one of the three new GoPro accessories, is now shipping. It’s a standalone light that is waterproof, rechargeable and compatible with all GoPro mounts. It was originally announced along with the HERO8 Black, but it hasn’t been available until now. It’s priced at $49.99, and you can find them at GoPro.com.

GoPro MAX Now Shipping. The new 360° camera, the MAX, is now shipping.

GoPro HERO8 Black and Max Unveiled. The new GoPro cameras and accessories have been unveiled. I have a rundown of the highlights of the HERO8 Black here.

DJI Osmo Action vs GoPro HERO7 Black. I’ve posted my detailed hands-on comparison of the Osmo Action and the HERO7 Black. There’s a lot similar between the models, but once you start digging down into the details there are differences that can help in choosing between them. And each has strengths the other doesn’t have. You can find my review here.

GoPro HyperSmooth vs DJI RockSteady. The new DJI Osmo Action also has built-in electronic stabilization to smooth out video. They’re calling it RockSteady (GoPro has HyperSmooth). I’ve been out testing them side-by-side. You can see the results here.

GoPro Deals page. I’ve put together a dedicated page on GoPro deals. So if you’re looking for cheap GoPro deals, check it out.

DJI Osmo action 4K Camera. Best known for their camera drones, DJI has released a new 4K action cam that’s taking direct aim at the GoPro HERO7 Black. It shoots up to 4K60 video and 12MP stills, includes electronic stabilization, has high-dynamic range video at 4K30, voice commands, a touchscreen on the back and another smaller live view screen on the front, and is waterproof down to 36 feet (11 meters). It’s priced at $349, and they’re now available at B&H Photo.

Comments

  1. Lorraine Burrows says

    January 4, 2021 at 1:24 am

    For the beginner, how do I get Gopro 7 black to join successfully and be able to play back on smart TV
    Thanks

    Reply
  2. Steve says

    January 3, 2021 at 4:46 pm

    I do not necessarily want to merge the files into one big file. I want to know how to put the files in the correct order. Last week I took several movies with my GoPro Hero 7 Black over the course of 4 days. The camera lost its time setting and all files have the same date and time stamp. Since the camera breaks up the movies into several smaller files, I have no way of putting them in the right order, or even knowing which segments belong to which videos. Any ideal?

    Reply
  3. Coco Peanutbutter says

    December 12, 2020 at 8:34 pm

    You should really pull down this article, it is just clickbait so you get more eyeballs. I’ve tried using this app repeatedly over the past year (downloading the latest version every time), its never worked.

    Reply
    • David says

      December 15, 2020 at 9:20 am

      It’s working for me. I just downloaded the latest version and am running it on Mac 11.0.1 Big Sur. I ran some HERO9 Black mp4s through it, and it’s joining them as expected. It won’t work with HEVC files, as the note at the top of the post says. But on GoPro H.264 files, it’s still working for me.

      Reply
  4. Roy Cole says

    April 30, 2019 at 9:51 am

    Hi David, perhaps you can help me. I have a GoPro 4 Black shooting at 1080p60fps. I have a 10 min video that GoPro chapterized in a 8.52 clip and the rest in a 1.08 clip.
    I used the MP4Joiner app to splice them together again and it worked great. The the joined 10min video showed up in Quick app and could be viewed just fine. Wonderful I speculated, something that finally works.
    I then tried to upload the 10min video to my YouTube channel and 1:18 min of the video ONLY showed up on YouTube. I tried it 3 times hoping to get all 10 mins but alas it was not to be.
    Any help or suggestions……..I am in a quandry as to what to do.
    Thanks and if you wish , you might respond to me directly at my email.
    Roy

    Reply
  5. alexk0 says

    April 21, 2019 at 10:16 pm

    Made a powershell script to quickly merge and convert videos using open source tools MKVTools and Handbrake
    https://github.com/alexandrosk0/GorpoMergeAndEncode

    Reply
  6. mihai says

    July 4, 2018 at 5:55 pm

    this works merging gps videos telemetry into one clip : https://hellomihai.wordpress.com/2018/07/04/gopro-video-gps-telemetry-merging/

    Reply
  7. Concerned User says

    May 4, 2018 at 3:18 pm

    Just for the record, Windows Defender identified a Trojan virus in the file downloaded from the link you provided.

    Reply
    • David says

      May 4, 2018 at 3:39 pm

      Thanks for the heads up. I use the Mac version, and I’ve just downloaded and run it through multiple scanners and it’s coming up completely clean. But I also did the same for the Windows version, and some, but not all, scanners seem to be flagging it–Windows Defender among them. I have no way to say whether it’s a false positive or not, but I’ll add a warning above.

      Reply
    • David says

      May 4, 2018 at 3:55 pm

      After more research, it seems that the exe version at that link contains a browser add-on that’s triggering the warning. There seems to be an alternate version at Sourceforge that doesn’t have that add-on. You can find the developer’s explanation here and the Sourceforge version here. I’ll switch the link above to the Sourceforge page.

      Reply
  8. Steve says

    April 25, 2018 at 11:51 pm

    I have one question about join and convert h.265 to h.264. Which one I should do it first, convert to h.264 then join the clip or join the clip first then convert to h.264. since join is no data loss.

    Reply
    • David says

      April 26, 2018 at 9:45 am

      There is some quality loss when you convert from H.265 to H.264 because it’s applying another round of compression. The app in this post can join H.264 files but not H.265. I’ve yet to find an app that does a simple join of H.265 files to create another H.265 file without quality loss.

      Reply
      • Jim says

        June 9, 2020 at 4:34 pm

        Open source video program Avidemux works like a charm on either H.264 and H.265 videos, and allows you to cut/trim/join and then re-save using the same codec without recompression – hence no loss of quality.

        Reply
  9. Manny says

    February 7, 2018 at 5:47 pm

    Hey, Nice post btw. I have issues with it trying to concatenate files shot at 2.7k @60fps from a 7 gopro6 360 video rig The issue I have is that the time code of the new joined files reflects hours rather than minutes (the real total video should be 6 minutes but it says 6 hours) so the software i’m using (kolor autopano video) has issues importing it because of that. Have you had this issue or know of a better way to join files? I’d hate to have to use ffmpeg for it. Thanks!

    Reply
    • David says

      February 8, 2018 at 9:51 am

      No, that’s an odd one that I haven’t run into, so don’t have any good ideas. Sorry!

      Reply
      • Dave says

        May 17, 2018 at 1:57 pm

        Its doing the same thing for me – GoPro Hero 6. Youtube will not let me upload a 30 minute video because it thinks its 30 hours.

        Reply
  10. Thom says

    February 4, 2018 at 1:48 pm

    Will the MP4Joiner app work with video from a GoPro Hero3? Will the app be available in the app store anytime soon?

    Reply
    • David says

      February 6, 2018 at 1:56 pm

      Yes, it does work with HERO3 footage. I don’t know about plans to app store.

      Reply
  11. Stefania says

    January 14, 2018 at 3:42 am

    does’t work for me… Always “failed” message appearing after about 20 seconds. I have a Hero5 Black

    Reply
    • Stefania says

      January 14, 2018 at 3:46 am

      the actual message is this: IsoMedia File is truncated

      Reply
  12. Mike says

    November 28, 2017 at 9:03 am

    absolute rubbish! Useless app….i just get a “Failed” message every time i try to join two clips together :(

    Reply
    • David says

      November 28, 2017 at 12:53 pm

      Do you happen to be using a HERO6 Black and using some of the high-end video modes? If so, they’ll be encoded using the new HEVC / H.265 codec (but they’re still saved as mp4 files). I’ve just now tested some of those in MP4 Joiner (v3.5) and it fails for me, so I’ve added a note to the top of this post. I have a separate, more recent, post on working with HEVC H.265 files here. If you’re not using a HERO6 Black, I’m not sure what’s causing the error, I’m afraid.

      Reply
  13. Heath says

    February 28, 2017 at 1:10 am

    I like the idea of not having to add compression to the file again. Do you have a trick to join the clips and bring up the GoPro GPS overlay suff? The MPH, Distance and course info?

    Reply
    • David says

      March 2, 2017 at 12:22 pm

      Good question, but no, I don’t. Will look into it.

      Reply
  14. TJ015 says

    February 24, 2017 at 12:01 pm

    That Mp4 Joiner and the splitter it comes with saved my sanity. There was a corrupt few seconds of video ruining my entire long movie and I was able to narrow down where it was.

    Reply

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About Me

I’m a professional travel & location photographer based in Washington DC and traveling all over. Seven continents. Dozens of countries. Up mountains. Under water. And a bunch of places in between.

I’ve owned and used every GoPro since the HD HERO and particularly like finding new and different ways to use them to capture photos, video, and time-lapse.

You can find my main site at havecamerawilltravel.com.

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