Guide · Recovery
Camera video won't open after the battery died or the card was pulled
You were rolling, the battery died or someone pulled the card, and now the clip will not open anywhere. The picture and sound are usually still on the card. Whether Throughline can get them back depends on the camera, so check the list below first.
macOS 14 or later · Apple silicon · every feature runs twice on your own footage
What people see
The symptoms vary by app. A player says the file is damaged or unsupported. An editor imports it as a clip of zero length, or not at all. A command-line tool prints moov atom not found. The file may be a normal size on disk, or suspiciously small. All of these point to the same situation: the recording was cut off before the camera finished writing it.
Do this first
- Stop recording to that card. Do not format it.
- Copy the card to a drive you trust, and work from the copy.
- Keep the damaged file as it is. Do not rename it or run it through another app.
What Throughline can recover today
- Panasonic .MDT: picture plus four channels of audio.
- Canon Cinema EOS .DAT (XF-HEVC): proven on a real battery-pull card, with everything recovered except the moment the camera lost power.
- Sony XAVC S .MP4: video and audio from an interrupted recording.
- Other .MOV and .MP4 files are attempted only when the video is H.264 or HEVC and the audio is uncompressed, with the confidence shown before you commit.
The recovered file is written beside the original. The damaged file is never touched.
What it does not support
- Phones. Compressed-audio files, which covers most phones and action cameras, are refused with the reason rather than producing a file that half plays.
- GoPro and DJI. Not supported.
- Consumer Canon EOS .MOV. This is a different format from the Cinema EOS .DAT above. Throughline refuses it instead of handing back a broken file.
If your camera is not on the list, send a sample clip to support@throughlinepost.com. We are adding camera platforms, and we will tell you plainly where yours stands.
What you need
You need one clip that plays, shot on the same camera in the same mode as the damaged file. Ten seconds is enough. Without one, there is nothing to recover from.
Honest limits
A battery pull always loses the moment the power went. Recovery gives you everything up to that point. It is not a guarantee of the final moments, and for an unsupported camera it is not a guarantee at all. Throughline runs on a Mac with macOS 14 or later and Apple silicon.
Try it on your own file
The 14-day free trial runs every feature on your own footage, twice, with no card. Trial exports cover the first 60 seconds, and video it writes is a 720p proof with an overlay.
macOS 14 or later · Apple silicon · every feature runs twice on your own footage
Questions
My video says "moov atom not found". Can Throughline open it?
If the recording was cut off on a camera Throughline has been proven on, it can recover it: Panasonic .MDT, .MOV and .MP4, Sony XAVC S and XAVC HS, Canon Cinema EOS .DAT, the consumer Canon EOS 5D Mark IV and 7D, Nikon Z8, Fujifilm X-T30 and X-S20, and DJI drones. The full list is on the homepage. Phones and action cameras are not tested yet.
Do I need anything besides the damaged file?
Yes: one clip that plays, from the same camera in the same mode. Ten seconds is enough.
Does it change the damaged file?
No. The recovered file is written beside the original, never over it.
Will I get the last seconds before the battery died?
No. The moment the camera lost power is always lost. You get everything up to that point.