How to fix a Sony .RSV file

If a Sony camera stops recording unexpectedly, it doesn't produce a normal MP4. It leaves a file ending in .RSV in the card's PRIVATE/M4ROOT/CLIP folder. That file holds your video and audio; what's missing is the index a player needs to open it. This happens on the FX3, FX30, FX6, A7 IV, A7S III, ZV-E1 and other models that record XAVC.

1. Let the camera try first

1. Put a fully charged battery in the camera.
2. Insert the card in the same slot it was in when the recording stopped.
3. Turn the camera on and wait. If it shows a message like Recovering data, don't touch anything until it finishes.
4. Copy the card to your computer and check whether the .RSV has become an MP4.

If nothing happens, the camera couldn't repair it. Move on.

2. Copy the .RSV to your computer

Copy the whole CLIP folder to a drive with free space at least as large as the .RSV. Work on the copy, never on the card.

3. Record a short reference clip

With the same camera, record 5 to 10 seconds using exactly the same settings as the broken clip: file format (XAVC S, S-I or HS), resolution, frame rate, bit rate, picture profile and audio input. Repair tools compare the broken file with a healthy one to rebuild the index. Mismatched settings are the most common cause of glitchy results.

4. Repair it

Open FootageRescue's Sony .RSV repair: drop the .RSV and the reference clip, watch a free preview of up to 20 seconds, and pay $29 only if you want the full repaired file. Nothing is uploaded.

If the result has glitches

• Double-check the reference clip settings, especially XAVC S versus XAVC HS (H.264 versus H.265) and 4:2:0 versus 4:2:2.
• Make sure the reference clip has sound if the broken one did.
• Keep the original .RSV: you can always try again.