SD cards - conflicting info

[CityPorcupine]

When it comes to recommended SD cards/brands, I'm seeing conflicting information...

Dash Cams Australia says:

SanDisk branded cards are not recommended for use in Dash Cams due to compatibility issues and other problems eg. freezing, restarting etc. SanDisk branded cards are known to cause both functional and physical damage to Dash Cams. They struggle to keep up with the stresses of the constant loop recording and rapidly degrade and fail. Manufacturer warranties can be void if any SanDisk Micro SD card is used.

They then go on to say:

We supply genuine, high quality Samsung EVO PLUS Micro SD cards for use in most of our Dash Cams.

On the other hand, The Dash Cam Guys quote VIOFO saying:

VIOFO officially recommends two things and two things only — their own Industrial microSD cards, or SanDisk Max Endurance. Everything else is a gamble, and they name Samsung EVO specifically as a card they don't recommend.

The quoted test by VIOFO is here: https://www.viofo.com.au/pages/high...e-the-problematic-cards-returned-by-customers

Is this just a matter of different brands/retailers recommending their own products or brands they partner with?
Or are DCA right in saying SanDisk should be avoided and that Samsung EVO is a good choice?
Or are TDCG/VIOFO right in saying SanDisk is a good choice and Samsung should be avoided?

 

[Chuck McCoy]

If you have a VIOFO dash cam, currently there are only 2 recommended SD Cards.
1.) VIOFO Brand
2.) SanDisk MAX Endurance.
Do not confuse SanDisk HIGH Endurance with SanDisk MAX Endurance, (see attached screenshots).
SanDisk High Endurance is NOT recommended.

How to Choose a Right Micro SD Card for Your Dash Cam?

We have received numerous feedback from dashcam users who reported encountering issues like memory errors, card slow, and recording failure. Through rigorous testing and professional analysis, we’ve found that these issues are largely caused by the use of faulty or incompatible memory cards...

www.viofo.com

 

[lufa6977]

When it comes to recommended SD cards/brands, I'm seeing conflicting information...

Dash Cams Australia says:

They then go on to say:


On the other hand, The Dash Cam Guys quote VIOFO saying:

The quoted test by VIOFO is here: https://www.viofo.com.au/pages/high...e-the-problematic-cards-returned-by-customers

Is this just a matter of different brands/retailers recommending their own products or brands they partner with?
Or are DCA right in saying SanDisk should be avoided and that Samsung EVO is a good choice?
Or are TDCG/VIOFO right in saying SanDisk is a good choice and Samsung should be avoided?

That depends on the dashcam brand you own and its requirements. Overall, it is wise to use the microSDXC brand recommended by the dashcam company. That would be their brand or a brand they recommend.

The only Samsung brand I use is the Max Endurance. I also use Kingston Canvas Plus, as well as the branded microSDXC card.

As to the different recommendations, there is truth in both sides. Some dashcams are more demanding on a card, so you need a better one. A four-channel system is more stressful than a one-channel system, so it requires a better card. Some microSDXC card brands simply aren't designed to handle the required performance. Then there is always the business aspect. Some companies will state a position based on their experience, which in part is driven by the brands they sell.

 

[DAP]

It would be really nice if someone could do an analysis of why certain cards fail in certain cameras. The cards supposedly meet the specifications for SD cards of a specific speed, and the cameras also supposedly follow those same specifications. It would be nice to know for sure how these cards are failing so the problems could be fixed. Right now, I have no idea if it is the cameras fault, or the fault of the SD card.

 

[kamkar]

I have always tested systems with a range of cards, and some times i get weird results, so fast U3 / V30 / A2 cards will not work but some old crap card will.
or mediocre brand card with otherwise high specs so U3 / V30 and A2 branded, but will still fail, but another "brand " card with same or slightly lesser specs will work just fine.

TBH i have never really figured this out in any profound way, i just do it to get a feel, and these days most systems generally accept most of my cards, meaning like only 2-3 cards out of 15 will fail, which i feel give the not observant buyer a decent chance of actually buying a card for his system that will work.

For the most i do not talk about dashcam brands own cards, though i do test them, so the one 512 GB card i have ( 70mai branded ) it work just fine in my vantrue S1ProMax system for instance.
Also these memory cards are often small ones, i really do not want to buy or recommend anything under 256GB these days.

But last viofo i sampled was the original A139 and A229 systems, and thats a while ago, but as i recall not at all memory card fuzzy.
Still i will recommend checking their recommended memory cards.

The bulk of my current memory card suite.

 

[DAP]

I have three Viofo A129 pro cameras in my car. Each camera had a Sandisk High Endurance 512 GB card in it. I recently drove 300 miles on the 101 freeway in California. Two of the three cameras silently failed to record any of it. One had video before and after the drive, the other corrupted the memory card. I was able to "fix" the corruption with a linux tool, but there was no video of this drive recorded.
Doing a bit of testing, I found that when a camera had a 512GB card in it, it would draw 900 mA peak, with a Sandisk High Endurance 256 GB card in it, it would draw 800 mA The 256 GB cards where what I was using previously, and they worked fine.
My biggest complaint here is that the cameras were powered on, they were failing to write to the card, AND THEY WERE SILENT. This is a bug. Viofo needs to fix it. I suspect there is a power issue since one of the cameras has a long cable, and the cable resistance is on the order of 500 mOhms, but if you are able to turn on the display you are able to have an alarm for when the camera can not record. Even so, the SD card operates a 3.3V, so it is operating from a voltage regulator. Fluctuations in the USB power supply should not affect its operations unless the voltage drops below 4.5V. When measuring the voltage near the camera while the camera was operating, it was around 4.8V minimum, varying with the current draw and wiggling the connectors.
For now, I put the 256 GB cards back in the cameras.

 

[mentadent]

It's very rare they publish endurance figures (the data that can be written before failure).

 

[Chuck McCoy]

Sandisk High Endurance 512 GB

900 mA

failing to write to the card, AND THEY WERE SILENT.

I agree with everything you said.
The camera failing to alert you of a recording malfunction is the most important thing right?
However, don’t you think “fruit of the poisonous tree” is your choice of incompatible SD Card.
SanDisk HIGH Endurance was never an Official VIOFO Recommended SD Card?
In fact it’s on the Official “DO NOT USE” list right?
For those just joining us do not get these two SD Cards confused;
a.) SanDisk MAX Endurance
b.) SanDisk HIGH Endurance

1.)
By the way are your running (3) A129 Pro’s in 1CH configuration, or do you also have rear cameras connected?

2.)
When you say 900mA, is that @ 12V, or 5V?
900mA x 12V = 10.8 Watts
900mA x 5V = 4.5 Watts

3.)
I just remembered something else.
When A129 Pro Duo was released October 2019 max capacity SD Card was 256GB.
It wasn’t until 2022 VIOFO released their own branded 512GB SD Card, and updated SD Card capacity of all models.
Is it possible you have “early batch” A129 Pro units (2019-2022) that have different hardware that make them incompatible with 512GB SD Cards?
This would not be the first time VIOFO performed a hardware change during a production run of the same model.

 

[DAP]

SanDisk HIGH Endurance was never an Official VIOFO Recommended SD Card?
In fact it’s on the Official “DO NOT USE” list right?

SanDisk is a major manufacturer of SD cards. Their cards work fine on other products. Perhaps VIOFO should look into why they have trouble with the Sandisk High Endurance cards and fix the problem with their cameras.
I have been using the High Endurance 256G cards for years without trouble. As long as the card is meeting the specification for an SD card, it should work.

1.)
By the way are your running (3) A129 Pro’s in 1CH configuration, or do you also have rear cameras connected?

Two of the cameras are in 1 channel configuration. The one that did not fail is in the 2 camera configuration.

2.)
When you say 900mA, is that @ 12V, or 5V?
900mA x 12V = 10.8 Watts
900mA x 5V = 4.5 Watts

This was measured in line with the USB cable, so 5V.

The difference between a 256GB SD card, and a 512GB SD card is the card pays attention to one more address bit. The SD card standard supports at least up to 2 TB cards. The physical hardware is identical on the camera side regardless of the size of the SD card. The only reason they would not support a 512GB card is if they have a software bug. The 512GB card seems to draw 100 mA more power. There might be a problem if Viofo under sized the voltage regulator in their camera. I hope they did not cut corners there.

 

[Chuck McCoy]

SanDisk is a major manufacturer of SD cards.

Correct.

Their cards work fine on other products.

Correct.

Perhaps VIOFO should look into why they have trouble with the Sandisk High Endurance cards and fix the problem with their cameras.

Correct.

I have been using the High Endurance 256G cards for years without trouble.

Correct.

As long as the card is meeting the specification for an SD card, it should work.

Correct.

However, just like my my third ex-wife used to say;
“You can be right, or you can be happy, but not both”.
I’m with you brother.
As long as it meets specifications it should work.
But that ain’t reality.
I have a thread somewhere dedicated to ranting about VIOFO’s "recommended / approved” SD Card list.
One of my points was; “if we only had an organization that implemented international standards for SD Cards”.
Oh wait, we do, and how come the only dash cam manufacturers that are MEMBERS of the SD Association sdcard.org are;
CARMATE
JVC Kenwood
Novatech
Philips
Panasonic
Pioneer
Uniden
SigmaStar
Rexing

The difference between a 256GB SD card, and a 512GB SD card is the card pays attention to one more address bit.

The 512GB card seems to draw 100 mA more power.

Back when I got my fancy Variable Power Supply, and Thermal Camera I tested the power consumption, and heat signature of VIOFO SD Cards 64GB, 128GB, 256GB, 512GB in the same VIOFO dashcam, (A139 Pro).
After looking at preliminary measurements I decided not to post the results because I thought it might open a can of worms.
Maybe I should get out the can opener.

 

[lufa6977]

.

The difference between a 256GB SD card, and a 512GB SD card is the card pays attention to one more address bit. The SD card standard supports at least up to 2 TB cards. The physical hardware is identical on the camera side regardless of the size of the SD card. The only reason they would not support a 512GB card is if they have a software bug. The 512GB card seems to draw 100 mA more power. There might be a problem if Viofo under sized the voltage regulator in their camera. I hope they did not cut corners there.

That and buffer management. I'll guess, though, that the High Endurance and Max Endurance use different controllers, and that may be a factor.

 

[lufa6977]

.
.

Back when I got my fancy Variable Power Supply, and Thermal Camera I tested the power consumption, and heat signature of VIOFO SD Cards 64GB, 128GB, 256GB, 512GB in the same VIOFO dashcam, (A139 Pro).
After looking at preliminary measurements I decided not to post the results because I thought it might open a can of worms.
Maybe I should get out the can opener.

I did the same with the A229 Pro and decided not to publish any results; they were too damning, but the testing did show how well these Viofo cards can hold up to high heat. With the A229 Pro disassembled, a component at the end of the microSDXC housing gets hotter than the hinges of hell. That heat also makes its way into the microSDXC card. I used two different surface probes, a thermal camera, and a thermal gun.

 

[DAP]

With the A229 Pro disassembled, a component at the end of the microSDXC housing gets hotter than the hinges of hell.

What type of component? Something getting very hot is wasting a lot of power. Are they dropping too much voltage through a linear voltage regulator?

 

[lufa6977]

What type of component? Something getting very hot is wasting a lot of power. Are they dropping too much voltage through a linear voltage regulator?

I couldn't read the markings on the component, but since its traces appeared to connect directly to the SDXC housing, I assumed it was the controller. As I recall, there was about 4 mm of distance between the component and the SDXC housing. It has been about 2 years since I looked at it. The original A229 Pro is a 'hot box', but I am not familiar with any of the new series designs. I see several issues with the original A229 Pro cooling configuration, but that is my opinion.

Still, I was quite impressed with how well the Viofo branded microSDXC cards held up; there were zero failures with the cards.

 

[DavidUK]

I was just about to order a Sandisk High Endurance 128gb card for my A119 V3 but spotted this thread.

I'd Googled "best micro sd for viofo a119 v3" and spotted this older thread recommending that card: https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threads/which-64-gb-or-128-gb-micro-sd-card-for-viofo-a119-v3.41223/

Think I'll keep the Viofo 32gb card in it currently!

Incidentally, I have two A119 V2's running Samsung Evo Plus 128gb cards, not an issue, but when I put one of these into the A119 V3 it kept beeping at me. Reported to Viofo 2yrs ago they sent me their 32gb card to try and it was fine, still is.

 

[Mavgi]

I never use a Viofo SD card.

I have used the following: a 139A Samsung 128GB, a 256GB Samsung, and a 512GB Gigastone on a 329S, along with another 256GB Samsung on a different A329S. Based on my experience, I encountered issues with "slow card" messages and constant beeping. I believe these problems stemmed from performing a fast format in either FAT32 or exFAT.

I also downloaded different SD card formatting tools, and when I performed a slow format in FAT32, which took significantly longer, I did not experience these issues. I think the formatting tool and method may also play a role in these problems.