Archiving Virb mp4 and gpx files

As my collection of videos and gpx tracks from my Virb Elite grows, I want to be able to archive them to removable media (DVD) in a form that I can retrieve them at any time in the future, extract clips and use them to create new movies.

As the mp4 and gpx files are kept in different folders (with different file names) once uploaded from the camera, I am looking for a way to easily archive the two types of files in a way that they can be easily restored together.
The only method I can think of is this:-

To archive:-
1) import from the camera using Virb edit
2) create a movie of the whole import. This creates a movies with the gpx dashboard (map, speedo etc). This is created in a folder of my choice, and both the movie (mp4) and gpx files are exported together.
3) Archive that folder

To restore :-
1) restore the folder.
2) import the move into Virb edit. The movie has the dashboard (gpx data) on it already, so can in fact be edited in any software.
3) edit the newly imported movie in any way you want, and create another new movie.

While I think this works, does anyone have a quicker method (creating the movie is a lengthy overhead). i just can't think of another way the keep the mp4 and gpx files together.

Thanks!

0 Former Member over 9 years ago

VIRB Edit stores clip and movies in it's database.
If I wanted to save project and clips in a way I could easily get them (and the GPS data) restored I would do the following.
Locate the data base (see elsewhere in the mac section for the location, I'm using Win7).
-Make a tree on a space of your HDD with the sub-dirs "FIT", "MovieProjects", "RawMovies" and "Templates"
-Open the RawMovies directory and find the directory containing thumbs of the clips to save.
-Copy these dirs to the new "RawMovies" dir.
-Do the same for "MovieProjects".
-Now you need to find the correct FIT files. You can open them in BaseCamp.
-If you were using custom templates, you will need to select them too.
As a shortcut, you could copy the whole database.
Than copy the clips that need to be saved to the new directory.
Now you can save the new directory.
When restoring, copy all the files to their original location.
If some old clips are still in the database don't overwrite the files.
When restoring the clips you may have to overwrite other clips with the same name.
You will get some errors when opening VE as it can not find the clips you have not restored.
Better copy the existing database to a new name before restoring the old one.
Also move the existing clips to a new location before restoring your project.

0 pidgeonr over 9 years ago

Thanks PA3FBO, I'll give this a try. The shortcut of coping the whole database sounds like the easiest way!
Building on what you've said, how about this ....

Copy the database on a regular basis and burn to dvd (perhaps monthly)
Delete everything from the "real" database and start a new one after each backup.
When I want to restore, simply copy or rename the "real" database, and restore the relevant saved one.
I can then select the clips I want, create a movie and export it.
Delete the database and rename the "real" one.

If I want to get clips from multiple archives, I can export a movie for each one, and then read them back in as clips to merge them.

Would that work?

0 pidgeonr over 9 years ago

What about the mp4 files?

PA3FBO - one more question.....
I just looked at the database, and the original mp4 file isn't stored there. So I'd have to archive the mp4 files as well..... yes?

0 Former Member over 9 years ago

You will have to copy both the database and the clips.
The database contains:
- RawMovies (directories with info about the clips, like locations, thumbs and GPX-file)
- FIT (FIT-files containing GPS data)
- MovieProjects (recepies for making the movies)
- Templates (Custom Templates if you have made custom templates in older versions of VIRB Edit.)
- Facebook, YouTube (token for accessing Facebook and YouTube)
In the VIRB Edit directory you can also find a directory "Telemetry" containing your custom templates.
If you've downloaded overlays you'll have a directory "DownloadedOverlays" containing downloades teamplates and gauges..
Better copy this one too if there is something in it and you know you've used them in the movies you're saving.

0 Garminty over 9 years ago

pidegonr:
I doubt that the Garmin app database is big enough to cause issues for your hard drive space at the moment. If it is, maybe PA3FBO's advice will be helpful as well, but otherwise, I imagine you'll want to concentrate on the MP4s recorded by your VIRB. Those are generally going to be thousands of times as big as the GPS data and project files we save in that database folder.

I'd recommend using an external hard drive to store your movies on rather than removable media, and then only using VIRB Edit while that drive is connected. A DVD would only be able to hold a few couple full-size VIRB videos, and many rewritable DVDs unfortunately don't last very long in storage, either.
Then all you need to do is go into the Preferences menu: "Garmin VIRB Edit > Preferences..." and change the "Clips library location" to be on that external drive. You could move the contents of /Movies/Garmin to that folder either before or after that operation; just be sure to avoid editing projects while their clips are "missing".

Is that a workable solution for you? I can imagine a more complicated plan that involves you dragging out of /Movies/Garmin directory in a more piecemeal manner, and VIRB Edit would handle that, but it seems quite a bit more complicated. VIRB Edit puts a magnifying glass on top of any "missing" movies, so long as you avoid editing them in that state everything should be fine.

0 Former Member over 9 years ago

Just made a "restore" to another laptop, i have the projects, the movies but missing the small pictures.
I think there are some thumbnails missing.

Windows 7 (X64)
Just copied the complete User\AppData\Roaming\Garmin\Virb Edit maps (database, DownloadedOverlays,Telemetry)
Just copied de movie map to the exact same directory on the laptop

The projects start en the movies wil start too, but no thumbnails
Gps is missing

Anyone have a clue what i am missing

Just Solved the problem.
On my other laptop i used a different account name, by using the same account name as om my Original pc it works!