Long Video High Compression Plug-in for RICOH THETA

Records 4K video with a maximum length of 1 hour 24 minutes. It overcomes the 25 minute video limitation of the standard THETA V.

Benefits

336% increase in length of video saved to camera
40% reduction in file size - save more videos of shorter length
40% faster uploads to YouTube and Facebook

Installing the Plug-in

Now in the THETA Store.

Technical Features

overcomes 25 minute limit imposed by standard THETA V firmware
Uses close to full internal storage of THETA V. Set to limit at 19GB per video file.
Uses High Efficiency Compression, not the default H.264 for video compression
Reduces bitrate encoding to 32Mbps from 56Mbps, but retains most of the video quality
Strips out spatial audio file to save on storage space (can be easily added back into code)

Limitations

No spatial audio. The code can be modified to save a 4ch spatial audio .wav file with first-order ambisonics B-format. The spatial audio file is not saved by default to avoid people having to delete the file.
Heat. I have not tested this fully, but the camera does seem to get hotter. You may need to blow a fan on the outside of the camera body. Or, use it in the winter only. ;-)
Not all video players support High Efficiency Video Compression. This is a new compression standard and a new frontier.
metadata is stripped out of the file. You may need to inject the metadata using a tool after your shoot. Instructions are below.

To view the video on Windows 10 Movies and TV Player, you must add HEVC support to the player.

Both Premiere Pro and CyberLink PowerDirector 17 can handle HEVC.

This plug-in is in the THETA Store. You do not need to compile from source unless you want to modify the code.

If you are are compiling from source, follow these steps for installation:

install plug-in with adb
set permissions with Vysor
use the THETA Desktop app to set the default plug-in "Long 4K Video"

Usage

put camera into plug-in mode
take video
stop plug-in by pressing lower mode button
turn camera off by pressing the power button for 8 seconds
turn camera back on and plug into your computer with a USB cable
look for the file in /RICOH THETA V/Fixed Storage/DCIM/100RICOH

For Mac

For larger sized THETA files, use the Mac File Transfer app from Ricoh: https://support.theta360.com/en/download/

Alternatively, use the Image Capture app built into Mac OS. The THETA will appear as a device.

Post Production

Spatial Media Metadata Injector

You may need to inject the metadata into the video file with Spatial Media Metadata Injector.

Install the binary file with the link above. Pre-built applications are available for Mac and Windows.

Open the file.

Save the file with metadata injected with a new filename. Use the new video file with injected metadata in your applications and on YouTube/Facebook.

Editing Videos

Both Premiere Pro and PowerDirector support HEVC 360° video editing.

Premiere Pro

CyberLink PowerDirector 17

You do not need to export to H.265 HEVC. You can export with any encoding. However, if you want to keep the encoding the same, CyberLink does support HEVC format output, which will give you a smaller file size than H.264.

Sharing HEVC-encoded 360° Videos on Social Media

After injecting the metadata, you can upload the HEVC file directly to YouTube and YouTube. With the metadata, it will automatically be detected as a 360° video.