Extracting the GPS path from each video + video length

ddavidd99021

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Hi all,

I just received my first Blackvue dash cam (dr900s-2ch). This dash cam should replace a viofo 119s v2. However, my first impressions are not that great if I'm honest.
However, maybe I'm overlooking some stuff and everything is not that bad, so far I have two questions:
1) Is there a way to extract the gps paths from a video file (e.g. get a GPX or KML file out of it)?
2) Is it possible to increase the video length to be >1 minute (ideally 10-30 minutes)?

I've downloaded the Blackvue SD card Viewer and looked in the settings, Although I do see a line which states the length of the video, it's grayed out and I can't seem to change it.
I also looked in the config.ini file on the sd card itself. Found "recordTime" and changed the value to 5. However, this did not increase the length of the video.

Other things I came across so far:
- Wifi SSID not broadcasted (properly?), there is another thread on it, I'll try to see if I can get it to work, but it wasn't a great start so to speak.
- The microsd to USB adapter that came in the package is rather low quality.. Why would you put such a thing in there at all? It's a USB 2.0 (max ~20Mb/sec) for a card than is supposed to handle way higher file transfers. Assume someone would get a 128gb sd card with the camera, it would take him/her almost 2 hours to copy over the sd card contents. Why not add in a microsd to sdcard adapter, or both (microsd to usb3 adapter) if you really want to do it right? For a dash cam that costs ~500 EUR (or more depending on the memory card that comes with it) you would expect a bit more quality imho.

Anyway, I'm not giving up on this dash cam just yet, I still hope to get everything working in a way that I'm comfortable with it.
 
Not sure about extracting the GPS info from the file, but you can change the length of recording.
Though I believe it's capped between 1-5 minute options, it's in the firmware settings.
Perhaps you'll need to download a 3rd party viewer to get the GPS data? Maybe Registerviewer - a quick search showed a similar question.
Hope someone can chime in for you with a solution.


Personally, I enjoy the SD reader, have it on my keychain for when I want to take the SD out of my car and but not have to run to my computer right away.
Little storage for my storage.
It helps that black + red color schemes are a fav of mine, haha - also I only use a 16GB card right now, so I haven't noticed speed issues.
The writing has completely rubbed off (making it look better lol)

I hear what you're saying about the speed, I can understand where you're coming from too.
I'm not worried about it since it's highly unlikely that I need to transfer ALL the files onto my computer.
Only the files that actually have something to prove or I could get some laughs from.

If I had a bigger card, I'd probably just review and delete the unimportant ones and lock the files I want to keep until I can transfer the batch I'd want.
In my case though, my sd card gets overwritten well before I figure I need to clear it for my monthly formatting lol.
 
Last edited:
Not sure about extracting the GPS info from the file, but you can change the length of recording.
Though I believe it's capped between 1-5 minute options, it's in the firmware settings.
Perhaps you'll need to download a 3rd party viewer to get the GPS data? Maybe Registerviewer - a quick search showed a similar question.
Hope someone can chime in for you with a solution.


Personally, I enjoy the SD reader, have it on my keychain for when I want to take the SD out of my car and but not have to run to my computer right away.
Little storage for my storage.
It helps that black + red color schemes are a fav of mine, haha - also I only use a 16GB card right now, so I haven't noticed speed issues.
The writing has completely rubbed off (making it look better lol)

I hear what you're saying about the speed, I can understand where you're coming from too.
I'm not worried about it since it's highly unlikely that I need to transfer ALL the files onto my computer.
Only the files that actually have something to prove or I could get some laughs from.

If I had a bigger card, I'd probably just review and delete the unimportant ones and lock the files I want to keep until I can transfer the batch I'd want.
In my case though, my sd card gets overwritten well before I figure I need to clear it for my monthly formatting lol.

Quick update on the GPS file extraction: It turns out that Dashcam Viewer does support it! You can use that program to export to csv/kml/gpx etc. So that issue has been resolved.
As for the sdcard adapter, if you are "only" using a 16gb card I can absolutely agree with you, it doesn't matter that much. But as soon as you go to 32/64/128 it becomes a bit of a "let down". Solution is simple though, just use a microsd -> sd adapter and plug in in your card reader. Works like a charm. It's just that for a dash cam that's on the high end of the market, it was slightly disappointing that they went for the "el cheapo" solution here.
 
Not sure about extracting the GPS info from the file, but you can change the length of recording.
Though I believe it's capped between 1-5 minute options, it's in the firmware settings.
Perhaps you'll need to download a 3rd party viewer to get the GPS data? Maybe Registerviewer - a quick search showed a similar question.
Hope someone can chime in for you with a solution.

Are you sure about the changing of the recording length? I have the DR900S as well and I have only the 1 minute (Extreme) option for recording length in my Firmware settings option. I am recording at 4K.
 
@ddavidd99021 Thanks for the update on the GPS, just to clarify... which Dashcam Viewer?
BlackVue Viewer or Registerviewer? "Dashcam Viewer" is what Thinkware calls their software, haha.
So I just want to confirm which you used.

You know @SteveFL - I'm not 100% sure actually.
I have a DR750S and that seemed to slip my mind, but when I said that I was looking at the DR900S manual.
Seems to be 1-3 minutes though, not 1-5 like I previously mentioned (I thought it was 1,3,5 but I guess it's 1,2,3)
– Video segment length
Choose between 1, 2 or 3 minute video segment lengths.

Here's a pic from the manual
DR900 Settings.png

Though it sorta looks like it can't be changed from that pic.
Maybe it has to do with the image quality or the video codec, perhaps if lowered maybe it'll let you change it?
Let us know if you're able to change it!
 
The DR900S manual is available online, here is the 1CH version: https://www.blackvue.com/download/dr900s-1ch-manual-english/. On page 57 it explains that for Recording options you can set the video segment length to be 1, 2, or 3 minutes. I'm using the iPhone app connected via Wi-Fi and it lets me set various config settings for my DR900S-1CH.

As for why this top-end dashcam comes with only a cheapo card reader -- Not everyone uses or needs a card reader, or they already have a high-speed USB 3.0 card reader. IMO it's better for them to provide something cheap/basic in case people need it, probably USB 2.0 for compatibility, keep the price down, and let customers choose for themselves from the many higher-speed card readers available. I didn't even know my DR900S came with a reader, maybe it's still in the box - LOL.
 
On page 57 it explains that for Recording options you can set the video segment length to be 1, 2, or 3 minutes. I'm using the iPhone app connected via Wi-Fi and it lets me set various config settings for my DR900S-1CH.

Oh, I tried it just now but in Extreme mode you cannot change the recording length to anything but 1 minute. But if I switch to the next lower bitrate then I can choose 1, 2, or 3 minutes.


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