Viofo A129 Plus Duo froze...

[goddi1]

Greetings,
I had to go on a trip, about two hours, round trip. After I returned, I noticed the Rec light was not still, not flashing. But the time showed 4 seconds (upper right hand corner) and was not increasing. I took a look at the SDcard on the PC. The first video clip of the trip, as I left the house was there...but a blank black one followed and nothing after that. Looks like the taping stopped as I left the house and it froze. So I had no other recorded video clips for the entire trip. Nor were there any Parking Mode clips taken.
Any idea what happened?
Gary

 

[jokiin]

what memory card are you using?

 

[goddi1]

It has the 32Gb card that came with it.
Gary

 

[jokiin]

And what card came with it?

 

[goddi1]

It says 'Thinkware Dash Cam, Micro HC 1, Classs 10, 32 Gb'...little hard to read.

 

[jokiin]

is the card used?

Have you formatted the card?

 

[goddi1]

Yes, it has been formatted, in the camera, a few times already. The card was brand new, came with the Viofo dash cam, BlackBoxMyCar.

 

[jokiin]

Got any other memory card you can try?

 

[goddi1]

I've got the same dash cam and SDcard in my two cars. I will reformat this one and see what happens. Might just be a fluke but was wondering if this has happened to others.
If it happens again, I'll try a new card. The dash cams are only a couple weeks old.

 

[shockwave199]

Probably a bad card. For a duo setup you should go with a 128gb card. A 32 is really too little for two camera video. A single camera yeah, but not a duo, imo.

 

[sn809]

With just 32GB, have you had a look at the locked files. I think those files must have taken over the whole memory card and files are not being deleted. Has been known to happen. I would recommend getting at least a 256Gb card, sandisk endurance or samsung Pro. I know it seems expensive but can be had for around 64 USD if you look on Amazon or get a notification on price drop on camel camel camel.

I have a 128GB which is fine in one of my cars that has limited driving but for the other one that is regularly used on long trips it is very small capacity.

 

[goddi1]

Greetings, I took another look at the SDcard. There are no locked files. There were only one set of clips (PR) already on the SDcard from the previous day (had formatted it just before). After the first videos were taken that morning, front and rear, as I left my house, I see the next video stopped at a 6208 KB sized clip. So it seemed to have started taking the video but stopped. I have not been able to format and retest it yet but that is my next step. I have been looking at larger sized SDcards. So many, it is hard to decipher what is what. BestBuy has a reasonable 128GB card for $36. Looks like it should work (?).
Gary

 

[sn809]

No you need to get high endurance cards, made to withstand heat and multiple read/write. Yhe above example is likely to fail you sooner rather than later.

 

[goddi1]

Hmmm.... Not sure what to look for that indicates 'high endurance'. What symbol indicates that? I see 'Extreme Plus' and '3', 'XC', 'A2' and 'V30' and it is a class 10.
Gary

 

[goddi1]

I see a Samsung 'Pro Endurance' but its Max Write Speed is only 30 mb/sec, while the other one is 90 Mb/sec. Don't see any other real differences between them. Seem the Write Speed would be the more important spec. Not sure what 'Pro Endurance' is all about...except for marketing.
Gary

 

[goddi1]

Ok...found the High Endurance SDcard at BestBuy. But this one's Write Speed is only 40 Mb/sec. So you get 'High Endurance' but low Write Speed.
Which is more important???

 

[DT MI]

So you get 'High Endurance' but low Write Speed.
Which is more important???

As long as the write speed is no less than required by the camera you'll be fine. If the camera can write at 40MBs that's all the card needs to be able to handle. Having a card able to write at 80 or 90 MBs will not make the camera faster.

Edit: To answer the question, if the card speed is adequate then endurance is more important (assuming cards of the same capacity) as the card is less likely to fail. All flash memory has a limited life span measured in write cycles - 'high endurance' cards are engineered to tolerate more writes before reaching 'end of life'.

 

[goddi1]

Greetings,
Yes, I see now. I did not know there were 'High Endurance' type cards. After reading the BlackBoxMyCar info, I found this. Another word for 'High Endurance' is 'MLC'.

"When buying a dash cam system for your vehicle, many people tend to forget one hugely important item: the microSD card. MicroSD card usage in a dash cam is so vital because some cards fail very quickly and you may lose crucial footage in case of an accident. In our experience, the best micro SD card for dash cams are high capacity cards that are Class 10 with MLC technology, which basically translate to fast download and upload cards with added durability. "

And " Remember that dash cams don’t require the highest speed rating - rather, they require durability."
So, it seems a 40Mb/sec is good enough for the speed factor of an SDcard.

This talks about 'High Endurance' cards, as you discussed"

The Best MicroSD Cards for Dash Cams in 2020

We found the best microSD cards that have better durability and improve the reliabiity of your dash camera.

carcamcentral.com

Thanks...
Gary

 

[shockwave199]

I use a Samsung pro endurance 128gb. 20 bucks, done.

 

[goddi1]

Yes...I already ordered it.
Gary