Can you turn off protecting videos made in Parking Mode?

[poshphil]

We have had the Front/Back cams installed for a few months now, hardwired in by Halfords. I had been meaning to check for a while if the thing was actually recording properly but the app never seems to want to connect when I had a couple of minutes. Had a bit more time to actually investigate today and discovered we'd not recorded a single video since March as every time we shut the door it recorded a protected video, until the memory card was full (If it says it's full somewhere it's not very obvious about it).

Given that I've deleted all the videos earlier today and just doing the school run and dropping a child off at a club has generated over 1.5gb of protected videos (front and rear cameras, high and low definition), is there a sensible way to do parking mode? Or is it a choice between not having it at all, or having to remember regularly to reformat the memory card?

Alternatively, if there is a way to not protect videos generated by Parking Mode - I am struggling to conceive of how a parked car is going to have a sufficiently high number of events that you'd be overwriting it before you got back to it and realised an issue so don't really see the need for it (or at least have the option to not)

Or is there something else I'm missing that would help?

 

[Nextbase Support]

Hello,

It sounds like a couple of issues are going on here.
1. A lack of regular formatting
2. Protected footage triggering
3. Dual Files


1. A lack of regular formatting
Regarding the recording lengths, the camera will record continuously in small segments (1,2, or 3 minutes). It will record these segments consecutively until the SD card is full. Then the oldest piece of footage will be deleted and the newest will be saved in it's place. This will continue looping and is called Continuous Overwriting. The Dash Cam does this automatically to allow for more footage to be recorded and the old, unnecessary footage to be deleted without manual intervention.

However Protected Files are not overwritten in the same way as normal files. If you do not format regularly, these files can build up and reduce the capacity of storage available for normal footage. It is essential to format every two weeks to delete any protected files and clear the card ready for continued usage.

SD cards only have limited lifespans. In our manuals we recommend formatting every 2-3 weeks to prolong the life of the card. Without this regular formatting, or if the card is non-compatible or damaged, the card could corrupt which would cause a failure of data writing.
Symptoms of SD card failure are: an audible 'alarm' tone, non-functional buttons, freezing, corrupted files on playback, image missing from files, lack of file recording etc.

You'll need to format the card every two weeks to delete all the built up footage and allow the card to record fully.


2. Protected footage triggering
When the 'Protect' function is activated a file containing 10 seconds prior to the incident and 20 seconds after is written to the Protected folder. The Protected Files are recorded for three different reasons:

1. The G-Sensor on the camera automatically protects the footage when unusual G-force is detected. You can adjust how sensitive the G-Sensor is within the camera's settings:

A) Turn the Dash Cam on
B) Ensure it is not recording (by pressing the red circle if required)
C) Go into Settings (the button in the top left)
D) Go into Video settings
E) Scroll across to ‘G-Sensor’
F) Change this to Medium, or Low.

2. The Protect Button is pressed (the Nextbase button under the screen).

3. Parking Mode footage.

All Protected footage will be saved as protected files. This cannot be disabled to record as normal files.

3. Dual Files
You have 'Dual Files' turned on in the Camera's settings. This means that for every recorded time period, two files will be produced; one HF and one LF- High Resolution Front and Low Resolution Front. If you also have a Rear Camera attached, then four recordings will be made; HF, LF, HR, and LR: High Resolution Rear and Low Resolution Rear. The smaller file size of the low quality video means it is quicker to transfer and edit within the app. Please note: Recording both high and low resolution versions will take up more space on the memory card. If you turn off Dual Files, then only the High Resolution footage will record.

You can disable Dual Files by:

1) Turn the Dash Cam on
2) Stop it recording (by pressing the red circle)
3) Go into Settings (the button in the top left)
4) Go into Video settings
5) Scroll across to ‘Dual Files'
6) Enable or Disable Dual files here.

In summary, I'd recommend:
1. Formatting every two weeks.
2. Ensuring your G-sensor is set to low.
3. Turning off Dual Files.


If there's anything else that I can do to help, please don't hesitate to get in contact.

Kind regards,
Millie

Nextbase Technical Support

 

[Leigh272]

My 522GW is doing exactly the same even though th G-sensor is switched off.

 

[Decking]

There have been many debates in the forum about the effectiveness of park mode. Here is my own personal take on the subject.

My front and back cameras are set at 3 min record cycles, so that is in fact 6 minutes of recording per cycle. I only us high definition.
If I where to use both high and low, that would be 12 min of recording for every realistic 3 minutes worth of content.

If I had parking mode activated, Every time I open my car door it will record 12 mins of content. Every time my car wobbles by a passing lorry and the sensor activates, there’s another 12 minutes of recorded content locked in. I could easily lose an hour of context over a couple of days.

I use a 128 size sd card which allows me to record approx 8 hours of content before I start over writing (in hi def only). In one week my card could be full with protected content.

Now I’m assuming that a protected file written whilst in park mode, will write for the time as set ie, 1, 2 or 3 mins. just as normal driving, I’ve seen nothing to the contrary. But I can see that an active family , shopping, school run, work, children's taxi, can very quickly clog an sd card with protected content.