Dashcam Storage

[vmendez1993]

Hey quick question. I don’t know if anyone knows or if it even exist but I have a thjnjware u1000 dashcam and currently have a 256gb micro sd card in the dashcam, I want to see and know if it’s possible to use like a external SSD or HDD to automatically save all your videos. Maybe a Micro SD to External SSD/HDD.

Please let me know.

 

[kamkar]

Welcome to the forum vmendez.

I dont think that is possible.
IMO we are however at a place where dashcam makers really need to think about storage, CUZ the silly little cards are almost at an end if you ask me, i would for sure prefer a system with a 2 TB M2 drive in it than a dashcam that support a 1 TB memory card.
Of course then i would need a smart & fast way to transfer footage, but here i am thinking a place where you could plug in a thumb drive, and of course get a smart offload, for instance of all files created since last offload, or maybe just event files.
There will have to be some kind of smarts in place i feel

I have seen a single camera that actually offload to a external harddrive, from a Korean brand, but it is not something i can recommend.

 

[vmendez1993]

Yes thank you. It be a better idea to have a 2 tb drive for all your videos from like from the month. Instead of a 256 micro SD card just for a couple days. Recording. Someone needs to creat and invent something like this.

 

[kamkar]

Yeah with 4K + 1440p cameras now or even more channels with a range of resolutions, and i would hope for the Americans in 1 plate in the back states we also soon see 4K rear cameras.
We will soon need something better / faster to store footage on, also i would like to see better image quality / higher bitrate, that mean bigger files.

I am constantly arguing for systems with a remote main unit that the different cameras are then connected to with wire, this have a range of benefits i feel, one being size to house bigger memory devices and better cooling to maybe do parking guard in hot environments.
I personally have footage going back a long time on a 256 GB card, but i also only average 15 - 20 minutes of driving a day, which are far from the norm for the working folks, even in little old Denmark where you being caught in gridlocked traffic are fairly rare.
Well maybe aside if you live in / around the Danish capitol, but here in the sane western part of Denmark even the #2 largest town here. traffic during rush hour are not that bad, for sure people used to LA traffic would laugh if they saw a Dane whine over that.

I live in the #6 largest town here with a little over 30,000 people, in the afternoon getting into town from the south can be a bit slow, due to the fact the town sit on the largest river here, and there are just 1 bridge across it.
And the highways entering town from the south all feed into that one bridge.
West - north or east out of town, at least north of the river and there are absolutely no problems.

Mind you some have tried to make a remote system like i mention, and they did not sell well, and i dont think it is the little harder install that was to blame

 

[Deleted member 85644]

Hey quick question. I don’t know if anyone knows or if it even exist but I have a thjnjware u1000 dashcam and currently have a 256gb micro sd card in the dashcam, I want to see and know if it’s possible to use like a external SSD or HDD to automatically save all your videos. Maybe a Micro SD to External SSD/HDD.

Please let me know.

I have pondered this as well and I suspect the answer is no, what being the micro code in the SSD controller will be different that what is coded into the dashcam. It is feasible to use an extender cable to moved the SD card from the dashcam for better cooling of both the card and cam. You would need a cable with an SD connector on each end.

 

[Deleted member 85644]

.
.
I am constantly arguing for systems with a remote main unit that the different cameras are then connected to with wire, this have a range of benefits i feel, one being size to house bigger memory devices and better cooling to maybe do parking guard in hot environments.
.
.
Mind you some have tried to make a remote system like i mention, and they did not sell well, and i dont think it is the little harder install that was to blame

It would be nice to have that, the largest problem I see is the average person has trouble installing one of the current dashcams, most people it seems just lack mechanical skills or the ability to think through a project.

It seems to me the market has come to the point where dashcam manufacturers will need to ignore the 'size' complaint people have and go for a larger case with better cooling, a SSD M.2 memory card and standarise on the connectors. No more of this BS 3,5mm audio jack nonsense. Use one connector for all ports.

 

[laknox]

Welcome to the forum vmendez.

I dont think that is possible.
IMO we are however at a place where dashcam makers really need to think about storage, CUZ the silly little cards are almost at an end if you ask me, i would for sure prefer a system with a 2 TB M2 drive in it than a dashcam that support a 1 TB memory card.
Of course then i would need a smart & fast way to transfer footage, but here i am thinking a place where you could plug in a thumb drive, and of course get a smart offload, for instance of all files created since last offload, or maybe just event files.
There will have to be some kind of smarts in place i feel

I have seen a single camera that actually offload to a external harddrive, from a Korean brand, but it is not something i can recommend.

My old LG phones would support a 2TB microSD card. My current S20e will support up to a 1TB card. All they need to do is tweak the firmware to support > 256GB. No external drive needed, at all.

Lyle

 

[laknox]

FWIW, there are commercial fleet dashcam systems that have a central unit with several remote cams tied in. I think that's how many cams in semi trucks are set up. 4 channels, at least (front, rear, side view from the mirrors, maybe interior). I've seen them advertised.

Lyle

 

[kamkar]

Size are just a small part of the equation, i think the problem might more be if the media can handle the load of several streams, maybe dual 4K soon but anything really.
And for sure if you want to maybe push the envelope a little with a higher bitrate, that will not make it more easy on a small memory card.
It is probably still doable with a little memory card, but they are just so annoying after +10 years. also already now big systems like the new Vofo A229 pro, have a heat sink about as large as it can be for a traditional camera, so there is also a thermal issue on the horizon.
With that being hampered by being inside a small plastic box, that even if it have some holes cant have much in the way of convection going, so that kind of cooling are probably also maxed out.
Leaving you with coolers like frore airjet for active cooling, but they have miserable passive performance, so in parking guard you will have to run the 1 watt fan too.

Fleet systems can be almost any number of cameras, they are pretty much more like CCTV systems, for a long time at least these was also plagued by pretty mediocre image quality and FPS, and seemed more geared for capturing the inside of the vehicle.
Way back in the day i ran a 4 channel system, of course just SD resolution, though my front camera was a box camera and had 27 X optical zoom.

Semi side cameras are indeed often seen mounted on the mirror tree of the truck, and that's not bad at all.

 

[laknox]

Hmmm... I'm no engineer, but, if you used an external battery / capacitor, what about adding a small Peltier cooler that would be controlled by a thermostat?

Lyle