What happens if full of saved video?

[NotAnInterestingName]

I've just installed one of these, looking for a fit and forget solution and thought this looked like a good simple camera.

I've set it to its most sensitive setting so that parking guard works well. This does mean that it triggers on road bumps, I'll put up with that.

But my concern is - what happens when the card is full of saved videos? Would it just stop recording? Would it let me know if this happened?

 

[Dashmellow]

If you allow the memory card to become full it will start recording over your oldest recordings. It's called "looping".

Many people allow their memory cards to become overwritten unless there is a particular event they wish to preserve.

If you use a card with a decent capacity you can capture many hours of video but sooner or later any memory card will reach its full capacity.

If you want to preserve your videos you need to transfer them to your computer periodically.

 

[NotAnInterestingName]

Hello. I think you missed my point - I do understand how the looping works.

But if it detects a bump then it flags them as saved, meaning that they supposedly don't get deleted.

My question is what happens when it gets full of files that are flagged? Will it delete some, make a noise or just quietly stop recording and not tell me?

 

[Kremmen]

Depending on manufacturer there is either a saved folder size limit or they get looped as well.

The normal advice is to move any required files to a PC or similar and regularly format the card.

 

[Dashmellow]

Hello. I think you missed my point - I do understand how the looping works.

But if it detects a bump then it flags them as saved, meaning that they supposedly don't get deleted.

My question is what happens when it gets full of files that are flagged? Will it delete some, make a noise or just quietly stop recording and not tell me?

OK, I see. It wasn't entirely clear that you were talking about protected (locked) videos. You used the term "saved videos". All videos are "saved" until they are overwritten.

But my concern is - what happens when the card is full of saved videos?

Anyway, depending on the brand of camera, protected videos are usually stored in a separate folder called the RO folder. RO stands for "Read Only" meaning they can't be written over. The RO folder does have a limit to how much data it can store in order so that your camera can otherwise keep functioning. I don't know what that limit is and personally only experience them occasionally, like yesterday on the way home when I hit a pot-hole. If I had a more serious event I would take the memory card from the dash cam and review the video on my computer at the earliest opportunity.

As I said previously, you need to transfer videos you wish to keep to your computer periodically.

I understand that you want a "a fit and forget solution" but that is not a practical approach beyond a certain point. It is vital to check the content of your memory card periodically, if only to ensure that your camera is working properly. You should check the contents of your video card every few weeks, at a minimum!

Many times here on DCT, a member will post an anguished plea for help because they've been in a mishap only to discover that their camera failed to capture any video because they hadn't bothered to check their memory card for many months when they would have otherwise learned there was a problem.

You've also said:

I've set it to its most sensitive setting so that parking guard works well.

Just how many "parking guard" incidents do you expect to experience and why would you let so many of them accumulate to the degree that you fill up your memory card without reviewing them to see what happened?

 

[SawMaster]

IIRC the protected file folder of Garmin dashcams has a size limit, beyond which it begins looping those files. They are also automatically 'saved to vault' if you have that function enabled in the cam and have an internet connection.

Normally it would be a good approach, but a problem comes into play when settings for g-sensor or impact detection can only be adjusted universally, and not split into driving settings and parking settings like Viofo does. If you choose high sensitivity with a Garmin cam you risk losing the recording you needed while parked, and that is why most of us here prefer and use a "low bitrate" scheme for parking protection since that assures you will not miss anything. My communications with Garmin on this point were not acted on, so if that matters to you then you need a more suitable cam.

Phil

 

[kamkar]

Always take things you really do want to save off the camera as fast as possible, and never assume the memory card ( or camera ) will just work forever after installed.
So spending 10 - 15 minutes now and then looking over footage is a very good idea.

You of course dont have to view all the footage, that would take as long as it took to record the footage, what i do is i focus on the first and last videos in drive sessions, play just a few seconds to see where it is.
As long as your drives start and stop in normal places, most often well known places, then everything is good. If drive sessions suddenly start or end some ways down a street it would be a cause for worry and further investigation.
After i have checked those files i sample some random files, and when thats done i consider my 256GB memory card ready to go for a new period.

With the little i drive ( 15 - 30 minutes daily on average ) and the number of events that get created ( i only use manual event creation by pressing the event button, i do not use G-sensor while driving ) well then in that case and me using the event button to lock little things in traffic i want to save, well in my RO folder i will have footage going back many months or at least to the last time i formatted the memory card in the dashcam.
And i am OK with just going to get those files every month or so, even if something have happened it is just idiots in traffic, and they never go away so can just make new recordings.
Anything serious and i would of course secure the footage on my computer as soon as possible.

Modern cameras should sound a alarm if the memory card are broken or encounter errors, so that is very nice VS in the old days where a camera would just sit there and look to be doing its thing, when it actually stopped doing that weeks ago.

With a ample sized memory card the memory space set aside to lock events in will also be ample, so only if your system generate many unnecessary events will this be a problem.
Personally i see no need to rely on G-sensor to automatic lock events, i dont think i will get hit so thats that i would be unconscious, but even if i do, my camera can record for many - many hours before it would overwrite the accident files.
And ! i have also instructed my little sister and my 1 friend ( next of kind ), that in case of something like that, they should go to where ever the wreck of my car is stored and secure all my cameras.

 

[NotAnInterestingName]

IIRC the protected file folder of Garmin dashcams has a size limit, beyond which it begins looping those files. They are also automatically 'saved to vault' if you have that function enabled in the cam and have an internet connection.

Normally it would be a good approach, but a problem comes into play when settings for g-sensor or impact detection can only be adjusted universally, and not split into driving settings and parking settings like Viofo does. If you choose high sensitivity with a Garmin cam you risk losing the recording you needed while parked, and that is why most of us here prefer and use a "low bitrate" scheme for parking protection since that assures you will not miss anything. My communications with Garmin on this point were not acted on, so if that matters to you then you need a more suitable cam.

Phil

Thanks, the single parking/driving sensitivity setting is the reason I was asking. I want it to go off if anything happens while parked so have increased its sensitivity to maximum. But the flip side of this is that it does trigger on bumps in the road. Hence this thread.

I've bought and fitted it now, so hopefully it will be adequate. I only wanted a basic camera, but I do need to know that it's not just going to stop recording one day. I don't have any plans to check it anything like weekly, hopefully if I can glance and see a red LED then that means it's doing its thing. I'll keep an eye on it every now and then, perhaps check it's uploading into the 24-hour cloud space as a check.

I suppose I could test it by taking out its memory card and stuffing its read-only folder with copies of the files that are already there, then put it back in and see what it does about it. I don't know how valid a test this would be, I'll try my best to replicate whatever naming scheme it uses to hopefully make it think that it created the files. I'll report back with my findings!

 

[Dashmellow]

I don't have any plans to check it anything like weekly

You don't necessarily need to check your recordings weekly, but if you expect to have a "fit and forget solution" as you've put it, you may be in for a nasty surprise somewhere along the way .

I don't understand your logic. What is the point of setting the G-sensor to its highest sensitivity if you are not going to bother to see if you've recorded any events? It's like a fisherman who doesn't want to be bothered with checking his net.

All dash cams require periodic maintenance and attention.

 

[NotAnInterestingName]

I'm not going to be checking to see if the car's been crashed into, I'll know because there will be bits of car smashed and bent!

I just need to know that it's hopefully captured something around the time that it happened.

Dash cams are consumer goods now - it should be just a security feature, not a hobby. Companies such as Garmin should be approaching things in this way. Hopefully they are, and it will manage things if it does fill up. I'll try it out for myself, as it sounds like there isn't a certain answer as to what actually happens.

 

[Dashmellow]

NotAnInterestingName said:​

I just need to know that it's hopefully captured something around the time that it happened.

How do you do that if you don't bother to check your memory card for long periods of time?

Not every incident causes "smashed bits and bends". There can be many types of incidents one captures on a dash cam while parked. I've captured people looking into my windows to check out what's on my seats. I've captured car accidents near my vehicle.

One time, I was visiting a plant nursery and discovered that someone was using the hood of my vehicle to place his gritty plant purchases while he and his wife loaded their car. I was able to identify who it was, their car make, model and license plate number. If I hadn't checked my footage I would never have known how my truck hood got scratched or even thought to check that spot. Yes, dash cams are a "security feature" except that they require some vigilance and checking footage now and again.

And to repeat, yet once again, there have been countless posts to this forum over the last ten years from members who "thought" their cameras were functioning properly only to discover they didn't record vital footage when they needed it. They hadn't bothered to check their footage for lengthy periods of time because they wanted a "fit and forget solution", which in the current state of the art of dash cam technology is merely a "keep your fingers crossed" fantasy.

 

[Kremmen]

I can only second the above advice.

If you do decide on a maintenance free solution then don't be surprised to find missing footage.

 

[SawMaster]

Dashcams do require maintenance, though checking and formatting the card every month or two is usually adequate. Cards do wear out, which is normal and not any fault of the dashcam. You only get out of anything the effort you put into it, and if you're not willing to put any effort into it then you'll get the results you deserve and not the results you want.

Phil

 

[lacibaci]

This would be a good question for Garmin as they don't really explain this scenario in their manual. Also, I'd like to know what happens with the cloud upload.
If the card is full (of saved videos) I don't think the cloud upload will work either. If I had to guess, the camera will sound an alarm to let you know that something is wrong.
This should be easy enough to test. Get a small card and fill it with saved videos and see what happens.
As for my workflow, I just got a few 256GB cards and rotate them...

 

[NotAnInterestingName]

Obviously I'm not expecting to never need to look at it. In theory it has a red light that says it's recording, and this peeps out from behind the rear view mirror. So if I check this then, in theory, all will be well.

I've previously had a no-name Chinesium Ambarella thing on my other car for lots of years. This is utter junk, it frequently needs formatting, it sometimes loses power and needs a wiggle of its power contacts to switch on. So, having told my insurers I have one on the new car, I wanted to ensure it actually works reliably. This is why I paid the premium for a recognised brand, I was hoping that they'd have actually thought about what happens in various failure scenarios. If this Garmin one turns out to have been designed properly then I'll also replace the other one.

I also bought a SanDisk 128GB Max Endurance card, so hopefully it won't wear out before the car does.

I'll play some games with it in a few days, try to break it and see what happens. Hopefully it deals with these situations in some kind of intelligent way, but I'll reserve judgement until I've actually tried it.

I've only just fitted it, I still don't know how it does its uploads as wifi is at home only, not via my mobile. It has a Parking Guard power supply, so I'm hoping that it remains powered after the car is switched off while doing its uploads. Again, I suppose I'll find out over time.

I'm also hoping that the Parking Guard supply means that it won't get shut down without warning, so hopefully this means that the card won't get stuffed up with incomplete files and other nonsense that could result from the plug being pulled otherwise.

It's a shame that Garmin don't actually seem to state how these things are dealt with, it would be reassuring to know they've at least thought about it.

 

[Dashmellow]

In theory it has a red light that says it's recording, and this peeps out from behind the rear view mirror. So if I check this then, in theory, all will be well.

In "theory"?

Just because the "record" indicator seems to be functioning doesn't mean you are actually saving the recordings. I've experienced this personally. There was a problem with an aging memory card that the camera didn't detect. When I checked the footage the last recorded files were from weeks earlier. On another occasion the red recording indicator LED was functioning just fine but the super-capacitor had failed and it didn't save the last recording which was the one I really needed when an incident occurred just as I was returning home. If I had checked my footage sooner I would have known the super-capacitor had failed perhaps weeks before I found out the hard way.

The whole point here is that the nature of dash cams is that things tend to go wrong and usually when you are least expecting it.

 

[NotAnInterestingName]

I'd hope that the situation you describe would be another that the parking guard power supply takes care of. It has power from the car battery all the time, the switched power feed is basically just a signal to tell it whether it needs to record or not. So it never gets the plug pulled, it always has as long as it needs to close files, shut itself down etc.

But the other side of the coin is that it possibly never gets restarted either, which is often a problem for some software that doesn't manage itself properly.

Obviously I'm not expecting that things can never go wrong. If the car explodes in a fireball then there won't be any footage! I do accept that sometimes things can go wrong. I just want to be able to have a good degree of confidence that it will always be recording, perhaps with an occasional glance every few months to ensure the most recent journeys have been recorded. It will undoubtedly be an improvement on the old junk one I have, I'm just trying to work out just how much better it is.

If the inner workings of the software are as well crafted as the user interface then hopefully they've made a good job of it. But I've seen software before that's all glitter on the surface but a tangled rat's nest beneath - a bit like MS Windows!

 

[Dashmellow]

How does a parking guard power supply take care of a failing memory card?

Fact is that whether it is footage recorded while parked or footage recorded while driving, you still need to check your memory card periodically.

Obviously, you should do what makes you happy but rationalizing will only get you so far. One day, when you find that you've lost vital footage on a memory card you didn't bother to check I hope you will remember this conversation.

You're equating the likelihood of your car exploding in a fireball to the chances you might experience a problem with your dash cam? Really?

 

[NotAnInterestingName]

I was referring to your account of the (not very) super capacitor failing, the thing that has to supply the power to close files after you've pulled the plug by switching off the ignition.

I think you're misinterpreting my approach to this, this thread's got a bit keyboard-warriorish a few times. I'm looking to find out what issues have and haven't been addressed by Garmin's software. I'm not looking for absolute assurance that all will be well in the world for ever!

But it sounds like nobody here actually knows and can only speculate, so I'll find out for myself and/or ask someone at Garmin who might be able to give a sensible answer.

 

[Kremmen]

I think, in a nutshell, your first statement of a fit and forget solution .......... it doesn't exist.

In my experience you must either format or empty (cut/paste) the card contents before the card becomes full because from many posts here, looping causes problems.