The GoPro Hero 8 Black did away with a dedicated HDMI port in favour of a “multipurpose” USB-C port, which required the GoPro Media Mod to access the HDMI out function of the camera. This has been a sore point for many users, as it required spending another ~$130 to use a function which has previously always been available (note, the Media Mod is included in the price of our Pro Squid camera system). Furthermore, this accessory has an odd glitch; when the camera is switched on, the Media Mod is recognised and the camera goes into “Gallery” mode, where the only way to access the recording functions of the camera is to physically press buttons on the GoPro.
This is inconvenient, as many users have their cameras in remote locations (eg in housings like ours, or mounted up high for aerial perspectives). Suprisngly, GoPro still has not remedied this issue, despite it being one of the most cited issues on the GoPro help forum, with 9 pages of discussion.
Thankfully there is a workaround, and we found it! Follow the steps below, or watch the video, to see how you can get instant HDMI footage out of the GoPro Hero 8 Black:
Ensure your HDMI cable is connected to the Media Mod, and ideally (for reasons below) also have power connected to the camera
Open the GoPro app and find you camera (note, if the wireless connections have been put to sleep, you can normally reactivate them by supplying power to the camera). If you can’t supply power, and your wireless connections are dormant, you will need to power the camera on using the side button. This should activate your wireless connections for a few hours, allowing you to use this hack
Select your camera and watch the app screen carefully
As soon as the control screen for the camera pops up, choose the “Photo” mode button. Doing this bypasses the “Gallery” mode, and you should now have live HDMI out.
You should now be able to select whichever camera mode you require (eg “Video”) and start recording etc