Fix GoPro Max 2 GPS Export For Google Street View

The Mystery of the South Atlantic GPS Start Point

So, you've just captured some amazing footage with your GoPro Max 2, trimmed it up in the GoPro Player, and exported it, ready to contribute to Google Street View. You're excited about how quick and easy the whole process was, especially with the new tools available. You upload your video and the accompanying GPX file, and then you see it: a warning message from Google Street View saying "item still contains errors." The thumbnail is just a blank blue screen, and the GPS path? It seems to have vanished, or worse, it's landed somewhere in the vast South Atlantic Ocean, thousands of miles from where you actually were! Before you know it, your next GPS point is in the North Pacific, and only then does it decide to show up on your intended route in Portland, Oregon. Sound familiar? This is a puzzling issue many users have encountered, and it often leaves them scratching their heads, wondering if the problem lies with the GoPro Max 2's GPS, the trimming process, or the GPX export itself. Let's dive deep into what might be causing this bizarre GPS displacement and how we can fix it to get your incredible Max 2 footage accurately mapped on Google Street View and other platforms like Mapillary.

Potential Culprits: Initial GPS Lock and Trimming Woes

One of the primary suspects when dealing with GPS discrepancies is the initial GPS lock. If your GoPro Max 2 didn't achieve a strong, stable GPS signal before you started recording, the very first data points can be inaccurate. Imagine trying to navigate with a map that starts off with a significant error – everything that follows will be skewed. This is particularly true if you're recording immediately after turning on the camera or if you're in an area with poor satellite reception, like dense urban canyons or under heavy tree cover. The Max 2's GPS module needs a clear view of the sky to triangulate its position effectively. Therefore, it's crucial to let your camera acquire a solid GPS lock for a minute or two before you begin your drive or recording session. This seemingly small step can make a world of difference in the accuracy of your exported GPX data. Another area of concern is the trimming process itself. When you use the GoPro Player to trim the start and end points of your footage, you're essentially creating a new clip from a segment of the original. While this is fantastic for removing unnecessary downtime, there's a potential risk that this process might inadvertently corrupt or misinterpret the initial GPS data associated with that trimmed segment. The software might not be correctly handling the metadata at the very beginning of the new clip, leading to the GPS 'jumping' to an arbitrary or default location – hence the mysterious appearance in the South Atlantic. This is especially relevant if the software isn't specifically designed to handle the intricacies of GPS data during the trimming and exporting phases. Thorough testing with various trimming durations and methods could help isolate whether this is a consistent issue across different scenarios.

The Export Process: A Closer Look at GPX Creation

Beyond initial lock and trimming, the export process and the subsequent GPX creation are also under scrutiny. You've followed the app's instructions, exporting as an MP4 with full resolution, max bit rate, and HEVC, which are generally excellent choices for quality. However, the magic happens when the GPX file is generated. This file is essentially a log of your camera's geographical coordinates over time, synchronized with your video. If there's a glitch or an incompatibility between the GoPro software, the export encoder, and the GPX generation module, this can lead to severe inaccuracies. It’s possible that the software struggles to correctly map the sequence of GPS points from the camera’s raw data into the standard GPX format, especially when dealing with the specific way the Max 2 logs its location. Think of it like translating a language – if the translator makes a mistake at the beginning, the entire message can be garbled. The fact that Google Street View flags the upload with