Is there a way to make continuous mode use up all the disk space?

[erotavlas]

I wanted to set up my Thinkware F800Pro to a 12V battery to continuously record over night from like 8 or 9pm until the morning 7am.
I purchased a 128GB microSD card that should be plenty of room for this. However I find my footage ends around 3:30 AM.

I found that in the cont_rec folder there is only around 40GB used up

But if you look at properties of the whole disk almost all the disk space is used up.

There is a hidden folder .TWSYS that has all these temp files that appear to have used up all the space. Looks like files related to all the video modes. But why is it doing this? I only set it to continuous recording.

Any help is appreciated.

 

[VSGCowboy]

Recording front & rear in continuous mode uses 9.6GB per hour, so assuming your memory card is 100% empty at the start of each recording session, then you should be able to record at least 13 hours before looping with a 128GB card.

However, I do not know how much space the system reserves, but I would assume not a huge amount.

Is there a chance that the battery is being drained to the point that the recording stops? You can check the voltage on the last video that is recorded when your footage ends.

 

[DT MI]

I don't own one but if the Thinkware card is formatted as FAT32 there is a maximum individual file size limit of 4GB regardless of the total capacity of the card.

 

[VSGCowboy]

I don't own one but if the Thinkware card is formatted as FAT32 there is a maximum individual file size limit of 4GB regardless of the total capacity of the card.

That is completely irrelevant.

FYI: The individual file sizes are 80MB each for front and rear so 160MB per minute total. Additionally, the card should be formatted exFat, so while the individual file size is irrelevant to the OPs issue, it would not be a problem regardless.

 

[DT MI]

That is completely irrelevant.

Since the OP indicated he wants to do continuous recording (which I assume means he does not want to do loop recording) it certainly can be relevant.

 

[VSGCowboy]

Since the OP indicated he wants to do continuous recording (which I assume means he does not want to do loop recording) it certainly can be relevant.

FYI: The individual file sizes are 80MB each for front and rear so 160MB per minute total. Additionally, the card should be formatted exFat, so while the individual file size is irrelevant to the OPs issue, it would not be a problem regardless.

 

[DT MI]

So why do you find it necessary to quote your own post that you edited after I responded to your original one?

 

[erotavlas]

So should it continue writing 80MB files until it fills up all the space? Maybe there is something wrong with my dashcam because it doesn't do that.
I'm only using the front camera.

 

[VSGCowboy]

So should it continue writing 80MB files until it fills up all the space?

Yes, that is correct.

Maybe there is something wrong with my dashcam because it doesn't do that.
I'm only using the front camera.

Since you are only using the front camera, you should be able to record over 24 hours with a 128GB card. Did you check the voltage?

 

[Nik]

The F800 sorts of "partitions" the sd card for continuous, parking and impact etc, so you can't actually use the full card for continuous recording. However, you can format and set the card with the app such that it uses more space for continuous.

See https://www.blackboxmycar.com/pages/thinkware-f800-memory-card-partitioning

 

[VSGCowboy]

The F800 sorts of "partitions" the sd card for continuous, parking and impact etc, so you can't actually use the full card for continuous recording. However, you can format and set the card with the app such that it uses more space for continuous.

See https://www.blackboxmycar.com/pages/thinkware-f800-memory-card-partitioning

Thanks for the link! This information is very useful to have. Unfortunately, it was not included in the manual.

 

[Nik]

Thanks for the link! This information is very useful to have. Unfortunately, it was not included in the manual.

No problem. I like to research as much as possible on the internet before getting the product so I've read many articles and seen many videos on the product. Sadly I bought it partly cause of cloud features that never came.

My hardcopy manual looks more like a quick start guide. In the updated online manual I believe they mention the partitioning in one or two vague lines, something like to 'select desired partition type' when formatting. Not surprising if people don't understand or overlook it.

 

[VSGCowboy]

No problem. I like to research as much as possible on the internet before getting the product so I've read many articles and seen many videos on the product. Sadly I bought it partly cause of cloud features that never came.

My hardcopy manual looks more like a quick start guide. In the updated online manual I believe they mention the partitioning in one or two vague lines, something like to 'select desired partition type' when formatting. Not surprising if people don't understand or overlook it.

Yeah, there really isn't much there at all.

Thinkware F800Pro Manual
6.1.1 Partitioning the memory card You can partition the memory card to adjust the storage space for different types of video recordings. Refer to the following instructions to partition the memory card. 1 From the mobile viewer, tap Dash Cam Settings > Memory Card Settings. 2 From Memory Partition, select the desired memory partition type. The new setting is applied automatically.

That is all the information available to the consumer via the latest manual downloaded from the Thinkware Official Website. I think it's great that BlackBoxMyCar has obtained the partition information from Thinkware, or calculated it themselves, but I find it a bit irritating that this information is not available on Thinkwares Official Website/Manual.

That being said, OP should check/change their recording priority, and perhaps that will solve the problem.

 

[uRock]

I wanted to set up my Thinkware F800Pro to a 12V battery to continuously record over night from like 8 or 9pm until the morning 7am.
I purchased a 128GB microSD card that should be plenty of room for this. However I find my footage ends around 3:30 AM.

I found that in the cont_rec folder there is only around 40GB used up

But if you look at properties of the whole disk almost all the disk space is used up.

There is a hidden folder .TWSYS that has all these temp files that appear to have used up all the space. Looks like files related to all the video modes. But why is it doing this? I only set it to continuous recording.

Any help is appreciated.

I am seeing this same issue. Files in the hidden folder that are mirroring the MP4s, but are *.TMP files that are the same 80MB size. Went for a 20 minute drive and it ate up all but 2.6 GB of the 16 GB card.

I can do a screen record after my next trip of me going through and showing those folders.

 

[Thinkware Dash Cam]

Hello All,

Please note that the .TWSYS Files are the necessary system files for the camera's basic functions as well to insure Anti-Corruption and that all footage is saved in the case of lost power. These files (even with a freshly formatted SD) will be automatically loaded back on as soon as the SD has been inserted in to the device. There is no way to permanently delete these files.

These .TWSYS files appear to take up substantial space but will be overwritten as the Dash Cam is recording so you will have the full capacity of the SD to save footage.

If you are finding the device is not recording to full capacity in Parking Mode this is due to the Voltage Cut Off shutting down the device before the SD is full.

A 128GB SD will provide you with 992 mins of footage (Approximately 16 hours). If you are running a Rear Cam; you will have a max of 8 Hours Front and 8 Hours Rear before overwriting.

 

[uRock]

Thank you very much for this information.

 

[AlexanderJoseph]

is this an example of the .twsys working properly? I feel like it is impossible that it is
that is 41GB out of 128GB, for a total of 4hr55m49s from 300 files
running front and back cams

I formatted the sd card from the windows app, and set the priority to continuous mode, I might report back after my shift ends