AZDOME GS63H won't always record what it's supposed to

[KarisTheWolf]

Hello,

I have recently bought my very first dashcam as it was recommended to me by various different sources. It's the GS63H from AZDOME but I either have stumbled across one major issue with this dashcam or I have a wrong understanding of how dashcams are supposed to work.

When setting my cam to loop recording of 3 minutes, a little counter in the upper right corner starts counting from 00:00 to 03:00 and depending on where that counter is, the outcome of what material the camera locks is very different. I'll give you an example:
Hitting emergency recording at 2:45 will result in the camera recording everything from 00:00 to 03:00 in this loop so 2:45 of what happened before I hit the button and 15s afterwards.
Hitting it at 00:03 will result in it recording 3s before I hit it and 2:57 min afterwards.

You probably see already what my problem is: It is totally based on luck whether the cam records enough of what happened before I hit the emergency button manually or if only everything afterwards is being locked. I have to stress that either way the missing parts would still be there but will be replaced when the cam records long enough without me retrieving the data from the SD-card.

I have checked the manual and it seems that there is absolutely no way that the cam ALWAYS saves like the last 3 minutes which now brings me to my question: Is this a problem with the camera I bought or did I misunderstand the concept of a dashcam ? I'm just afraid that with my current setting I might me able to miss videso I DO want to save.
When thinking about recording game videos on my pc I can simply hit a combination of keys to record the past few minutes without it being related to the numbers a counter just happens to be at so why should a dashcam behave like that, right ?

I hope that someone either has experience with my dashcam, can explain if thats normal for every dashcam OR if none of the first options fit: can recommend me another dashcam in the price sector of around 60 to 100€ (1080p @ 60fps should be given, only front camera needed)

Thank you very much in advance,
Karis

 

[kamkar]

Herzlich willkommen KarisTheWolf

Cameras that make use of a memory buffer will always be problematic for any event, either manual by pressing event button or say G - sensor while in parking mode.
But if you dont have a small memory card and dont wait too long to look your actual event will still be there in among the regular files, and the manual event recording just act like sort of a beacon.

I much prefer the way Street guardian handle events, they deal in segments ( 1 - 2 - 3 - 5 or what ever you have set )
So when i press the event button the current segment get saved + the next one, or the current segment get saved + the previous, and so as i have my camera set to 3 minutes i get 2 X 3 minutes saved from each camera, and as my systems are dual channel i get that from both the front and rear cameras so in total 4 X 3 minutes saved.
And with that approach you do not have to rush to press the event button, you can pull over, stop your car, light a cigarette and only then press your event button, and the actual event will still be saved in the RO event folder.

The memory buffer cameras they only have a few seconds in the buffer, and normally also just save XX seconds after the button push,, so you have to be quick to push the button.
You should at least have 64GB memory card space for each camera in the system, 128 GB if money are not a big problem.

I only use 128 and 256 GB memory cards now in my permanent cameras, only for the test cameras do i use 64GB as that is cheaper when you need a suite of many different brand and model cards to be able to test memory card compatibility.
And i am working on going up to 128 GB for my test cards as many cameras i get to test today are 2 channel systems, and so you really should use a 128 GB card at least.

 

[kamkar]

Also you should not use your locked event files as long time storage, many cameras will also overwrite what are in the Read Only folder eventually, so if you press the event button often or if you use parking mode and automatic events are generated, then you risk loosing stuff.
Even with my SG cameras saving XX 3 minute files every time i press the button, you can do that many times in a month and still have the first files safe and secure in the RO folder, but say you have G - sensor on while driving then it can trigger often and generate many events that way,,,,, i do not use G sensor when driving.

60 FPS in dashcams do not really matter aside for you can slow down events 50%, in relation to plate capture at speed my testing with 2 similar cameras the 30 FPS one also captured the plate if the 60 FPS one did.
HDR might be better in this way, but no dashcam really made HDR work well.

As i recall from my memory a 1080 / 30 camera will have around 8 hours of video on a 64GB memory card, with my driving where 40 minutes are a long drive and i only do that once a week, there are room for several of days with my driving.

 

[KarisTheWolf]

Thank you kindly for your quick reply !

So you're basically saying that your/ a good camera should not only save the current loop in the RO folder but also a previous or a next loop according to the settings being made, right ? Unfortunately the GS63H seems to only be equipped with a mode that specifically saves the current loop but not any adjoining one. A so called "street guardian" mode doesn't seem to exist. Like stated above I searched for every possible setting but somehow the camera does not support such feature leaving me thinking that my camera s*cks -.-

Also you should not use your locked event files as long time storage, many cameras will also overwrite what are in the Read Only folder eventually

I was not intending to do that anyway. It's just a major inconveniance to have to look through all files to find the right one before it eventually gets overwritten in case it's not saved at the exact moment or before it even happens ^^

Do you have an alternative for my dashcam that you could recommend supporting the street guardian thing?

 

[jokiin]

Unfortunately the GS63H seems to only be equipped with a mode that specifically saves the current loop but not any adjoining one.

most cameras work like this, particularly the no name ones, it's the default setting in the SDK