128GB SD Card issues

[Aussie]

This is the card I posted as using SanDisk 128gb SDXC UHS-1 in March this year, it has performed impeccably throughout to date, bought it from Argos.

Max.

Awesome. Thanks Argos.
This gives me a confidence to buy Sandisk 128G UHC-1 card. Any specific serial number i need to be careful about?

 

[Gil]

Here's the Thinkware 64GB branded SD card:

Spoiler: Image 1

Spoiler: Image 2

Notice Image 2 prints "Speeds up to 90MB/s*"

 

[Aussie]

This is the card I posted as using SanDisk 128gb SDXC UHS-1 in March this year, it has performed impeccably throughout to date, bought it from Argos.

Max.

Thanks Max.
I am planning to buy the following card. Is it same as yours? Can you please confirm?

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/172058687782

 

[Gil]

Thanks Max.
I am planning to buy the following card. Is it same as yours? Can you please confirm?

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/172058687782

That's the card, but I wouldn't be in a hurry to buy it.
The fact the the F770 may accept this card without issues, doesn't suggest that it actually uses the entire 128GB. It may actually use only part of it, or you may have gaps in recordings or files not properly recorded. I would be careful before spending money on this.

I think from all of those who claim that they have 128GB working "perfectly" on their f770, didn't report thoroughly about their findings:

1. Duration of test
2. SD card record capacity - does it use all 128GB space?
3. Corrupted files
4. Gaps in recording
5. Ability to format and reformat inside the f770
6. Ability to play files with no issues
7. F770 random reboots
8. Random "memory card error" issues

Once someone can provide at least that amount of details in relation to the duration they have the SD card, you can then make an informed decision to buy one, while being 99% sure you won't have issues. Otherwise, just stick to the Thinkware 64GB card.

 

[Aussie]

That's the card, but I wouldn't be in a hurry to buy it.
The fact the the F770 may accept this card without issues, doesn't suggest that it actually uses the entire 128GB. It may actually use only part of it, or you may have gaps in recordings or files not properly recorded. I would be careful before spending money on this.

I think from all of those who claim that they have 128GB working "perfectly" on their f770, didn't report thoroughly about their findings:

1. Duration of test
2. SD card record capacity - does it use all 128GB space?
3. Corrupted files
4. Gaps in recording
5. Ability to format and reformat inside the f770
6. Ability to play files with no issues
7. F770 random reboots
8. Random "memory card error" issues

Once someone can provide at least that amount of details in relation to the duration they have the SD card, you can then make an informed decision to buy one, while being 99% sure you won't have issues. Otherwise, just stick to the Thinkware 64GB card.

Thanks Gil.

Indeed, these are the key questions you have raised. I'll wait for Max to share the information. Hope he has spare time to clarify these questions.

My problem is i have 32Gb card and its toooo less. I need to upgrade and the only option i have is to upgrade to 128GB. I don't want to spend on 64GB now and then 128GB later (assuming the official support will come for 128GB cards).

 

[Maxspeed]

Briefly, I need a second card the reason I 'll share later after a little experimenting, Argos price for the same card is well over the £49.99 I paid, with that in mind a search revealed Amazon had it for £56.99 but if you scroll down the Amazon page it will tell you there is a newer version of this card and it it a 100 write speed for the same money, so hopefully that is on it's way.
Just to reiterate I have had no issues whatsoever from the original Argos one.

Max.

 

[Aussie]

Briefly, I need a second card the reason I 'll share later after a little experimenting, Argos price for the same card is well over the £49.99 I paid, with that in mind a search revealed Amazon had it for £56.99 but if you scroll down the Amazon page it will tell you there is a newer version of this card and it it a 100 write speed for the same money, so hopefully that is on it's way.
Just to reiterate I have had no issues whatsoever from the original Argos one.

Max.

Thanks Max. I have ordered Sandisk UHS-1. Fingers Crossed

 

[Gil]

Thanks Max. I have ordered Sandisk UHS-1. Fingers Crossed

Good luck!
Please, it would be great if you could share your findings after... let's say a month of usage and also see if it records all over the 128GB capacity.

 

[gpb]

One thing to note, on the packaging of the Thinkware SD card, it is stated that the card is equipped with power loss fault tolerance / ability to recover from sudden loss of power... something along these lines. I'll dig up the package and upload an image.
I do not know if it's unique to Thinkware, or if it's a standard across all SD cards.

I think SPOR is a feature found in some industrial grade SD cards but I doubt it's include in all SD cards. I'm unsure that it does much in this application given that the dashcam has it's own internal capacitor to effect a clean shutdown in a power-off condition.

More info at:
http://tcndkr.wixsite.com/tcnd/spor-solution

 

[Gil]

I think SPOR is a feature found in some industrial grade SD cards but I doubt it's include in all SD cards. I'm unsure that it does much in this application given that the dashcam has it's own internal capacitor to effect a clean shutdown in a power-off condition.

More info at:
http://tcndkr.wixsite.com/tcnd/spor-solution

Thinkware has several dashcams, right? So, could that SD card be useful for the other Thinkware dashcams that may not have that capacitor? I don't know... just making an assumption here.

 

[gpb]

More likely it's just a feature of the industrial MLC card Thinkware is rebadging and since it sounds cool they conveyed the feature into their package marketing. *shrug* doesn't really matter.

 

[Maxspeed]

That's the card, but I wouldn't be in a hurry to buy it.
The fact the the F770 may accept this card without issues, doesn't suggest that it actually uses the entire 128GB. It may actually use only part of it, or you may have gaps in recordings or files not properly recorded. I would be careful before spending money on this.

I think from all of those who claim that they have 128GB working "perfectly" on their f770, didn't report thoroughly about their findings:

1. Duration of test
2. SD card record capacity - does it use all 128GB space?
3. Corrupted files
4. Gaps in recording
5. Ability to format and reformat inside the f770
6. Ability to play files with no issues
7. F770 random reboots
8. Random "memory card error" issues

Once someone can provide at least that amount of details in relation to the duration they have the SD card, you can then make an informed decision to buy one, while being 99% sure you won't have issues. Otherwise, just stick to the Thinkware 64GB card.

Hello Gil.
Sorry just noted this comment, I may have mentioned earlier that the reason I wanted a long duration of recording is I do a lengthy drive in the UK about 4 or 6 hours, traffic and M25 permitting, then via ferries through to France travelling about 6 + hours in France and a return at the end of the vacation.
I have had little opportunity to completely dissect the recording other than note were it had started to overwrite which I found was about mid distance from Bordeaux to Dieppe and until we landed at our UK home from Newhaven a distance of 250 miles, that not being the criteria as it's time based we are looking for and UK travelling by road is horrendous in comparison to France.
So I need to make an explanation regard my set up, the car is a BMW and I do not have the dash cam set up for any parking misdemeanours owing to the fragility of battery drain on BMW's, however I do have it wired into the ciggy socket which after vacating the vehicle takes I think about 10/20 mins to shut down, so there is some vehicle static time involved.
I will stick my neck out and very roughly gauge that I am getting four possibly six hours recording on 2 channels, very roughly I know, apologies for not being precise but many other things take priority over checking the longevity of the recording on a 128gb card.
I have kept that 128gb card to one side with it's recording and currently chucked a 64gb in to cover local driving, the reason is while we travelled the M1 motorway and typically encountering roadworks observing the 50mph limit, passing through the de-restriction back 70mph, we very quickly encountered a right fiasco of workmen on the motorway, patching up using a motor roller and what appeared to be ad-hoc placed cones back to a single file, no warnings or speed retsrictions, all this in the dark after mid night, I wanted proof should I have needed it as evidence, just in case!!
People can baffle me with Fat and whatever, I formatted the card in the camera and at the risk of repeating myself it worked fine for me, I will again say that I have acquired (Shortly) a second 128gb card for reasons I will let you good people know rather than speculate.
I do without doubt respect Gil for all the effort AND ability to be able to do open heart surgery on these SD cards and it will make common sense to many people, but chips with everything came to late in life for me to get to grips with.

Merry Xmas Max.

 

[7rank]

I have been using the Samsung 128 EVO Plus for a week now without issues. So far I've completely filled the card and its overwriting it. I'll keep you posted if It has problems.
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/B0118LR9Z8I also purchased the 64GB MicroSDXC Class 10 UHS-1, I only used it for 1 day to test it, and it seemed to be ok. I'll have to use it longer for more results...
1 thing I do have a problem with it is... it jams while pushing it in and I have to use a small tweezers to get it out... its very stiff going in and coming out... not sure if its a design issue with the card or not... but this card was recommended by Blackboxmycar.
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/B016B6AMFYboth cards worked right out of the box and both format in the camera without issues.

Frank

 

[Maxspeed]

Hello Frank

I have been using the Samsung 128 EVO Plus for a week now without issues. So far I've completely filled the card and its overwriting it. I'll keep you posted if It has problems.
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/B0118LR9Z8I also purchased the 64GB MicroSDXC Class 10 UHS-1, I only used it for 1 day to test it, and it seemed to be ok. I'll have to use it longer for more results...
1 thing I do have a problem with it is... it jams while pushing it in and I have to use a small tweezers to get it out... its very stiff going in and coming out... not sure if its a design issue with the card or not... but this card was recommended by Blackboxmycar.
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/B016B6AMFYboth cards worked right out of the box and both format in the camera without issues.

Frank

Hello Frank.
These mini SD cards are awkward to handle, best just to check the edges for any roughness that adds to the difficulty of inserting and removal, another problem that you come across is as the card itself is small so is the slot along with the symbol indicating the correct position to insert it.
Bearing the above in mind, it's about time there was perhaps a small red dot on the slot and on the mini SD card, something that we could do with a small dab of nail varnish.
Max.

 

[e1.]

Is it still working? I am planning to order this card. Anything specific i need to be careful about?

The SanDisk memory card what I mentioned earlier is working without any problems.

 

[Maxspeed]

This is my original 128gb card from Argos...

 

[tabetha]

I have noticed that if you put it in the slot then wiggle gently side to side it goes in easy it does make it a LOT easier if you file two shalllow grooves along the edge, I have big fingers no nails not exactly dexterous and find it no issue at all now though defo would have been easier if stuck out a bit more, so simple solution file some grooves/roughness result is VERY EASY to grip then

 

[Samba in the rain]

Micro SD card "school" for Thinkware owners:

I have been doing about a full day's research on these. I'm not an engineer and never knew anything about these cards before this, but just bought a Thinkware F800 with rear camera and decided to order it with the 16GB Thinkware card so that I could order a higher capacity card myself, from a different manufacturer (or at least distributor, since we don't really know who makes the Thinkware cards). Initially, I intended to get a 128GB card as I had seen many were successful using these.

It has been a trip down the rabbit hole for sure. I've emailed back and forth with Lexar, Thinkware, Transcend and spoken at length with blackboxmycar.com twice. I've read every post I can find anywhere (here, Amazon, B&M Camera, etc, etc) as well as articles (if you want to understand these well, the article linked below is very good and comprehensive and from July 30, 2017 review of 12 micro SD cards with very thorough explanations of all the different parameters):
https://www.custompcreview.com/reviews/best-microsd-memory-card-review-roundup-2015-update/
https://www.custompcreview.com/reviews/best-microsd-memory-card-review-roundup-2015-update/

 

[Samba in the rain]

part 2>
I've learned a lot more than I ever wanted to about these cards, but have saved a lot of grief and headache by doing so and thus want to share.
So here are a series of issues and questions which I am trying to put into one place for those who want to know "Which card should I buy". A lot of "common sense" answers turn out to be wrong, in this case, such as "a faster speed card is better" (eg UHS-3 cards are faster, but not compatible with the Thinkware firmware/hardware, while UHS-1 cards are compatible. Samsung Evo+ works, while the higher-rated Samsung Pro+ does not)

1) 64GB or 128GB? Many people have noted that certain 128GB cards work (such as the Samsung 128 Evo+ U-1--but make sure you get the UHS-1 ***since posting this yesterday a member is reporting today that this card caused errors*** see post that follow all of mine). There is, however, no good evidence I've seen yet that this card is recording for a longer duration of time than a 64GB card. Blackboxmycar.com tech Jason has observed that "the 128GB cards get eaten up a lot faster". This seems counter intuitive, but Thinkware claims that even though there is a higher capacity of memory medium in the card, the camera is only writing and rewriting on a smaller sector/section/part of the card and thus, the 128GB card is not going to give you more recording time. Seems from our community posts that some feel they may be getting longer recording times (Please comment and let us know if you truly have a comparison with objective comparison data from a 64GB to a 128GB card!). If they are getting longer recording times with 128GB, this could mean that the higher capacity card is, indeed, being used over more of the memory medium. This would provide two benefits: 1) longer recording times 2)less rewriting, thus improving the life of the card. (for those who are newbies, like I was a day ago, these cards go bad after being rewritten many times...which dash cams do...and companies will even void warranties on many types of cards if you put them in a surveilance or "dash" camera because of the extreme use cycle of these cameras). All these micro SD cards are only going to tolerate a limited amount of rewriting, and thus cards, such as the "Transcend High Endurance" are often a better value in the long-run (except that that particular card may not work...someone commented that theirs wouldn't work with their Thinkware F770)

 

[Samba in the rain]

part 3>
It is important to understand that as cards go higher in memory capacity, they are more likely to use TLC NAND memory matrix (less reliable and with much less longevity) than MLC NAND memory matrix. (Triple Level Cell NAND vs Multi Level Cell NAND) If you really want to go down the rabbit hole, just wiki "NAND" and find out it stands for "Negative-AND"...but I recommend just staying with me here.

So if you get a 128GB card, make sure it is MLC NAND memory and not TLC. The TLC card will absolutely not last as long and will be less reliable even when it is working. (It's cheaper and easier for companies to make higher-capacity with TLC than with MLC)

Answer: Not clear. Very possibly wasting money on more expensive card to have less reliability and no improvement of total recording time. (Need direct comparison input from people using them) The observation by BlackBoxMyCar.com techs that "128GB cards get eaten up faster" may be solely due to those cards being TLC NAND instead of MLC. Either way you choose, make sure you get MLC NAND memory cards only.