Which dashcam works like this?

[nepa]

I'm looking for a dashcam that constantly records video, just like your home TV DVR. When an event happens (such as an impact or someone pressing a "capture" button), the dashcam dumps the last 30 seconds of video to a file and starts recording. The result is that when something happens, you have video beginning from 30 seconds before the event -- not just the event itself.

Most of the commercial dashcams / MVRs I've seen work this way. Are there any consumer models that operate like this?

 

[kamkar]

The panoramas i think are the ones with the best prebuffer for events / motion detect, but how many seconds it prebuffer i dont know.

All dashcams have a g-sensor that will create a event file if a set level of movent is detected, the issue as you mention is how many seconds before the event is saved.

If you have g-sensor enabled you will have to tweak the settings or potholes and the like will create false event files and if left alone will choke your memory card as they are locked so the camera cant owerwrite them when its full and start to delete old files to make room for new ones.

Some like my lukas have seperate driving and parked values, driving ones need tweaking for the reason i mentioned, and i assume the parking ones allso need a little care, cuz if set too sensetive a passing bus or semi might trigger a event.

Personally i dont use any form of event recording as my camera record all the time, but not while i am parked offcourse.
At home i have a 1080 p IP camera on my car recording all the time, and my car is a "cheap" little box car so i dont mind that much if it get a small dent while parked at the mall or somthing.

"cheap" cuz all cars in Denmark are slammed with a 2-300% tax, so here you pay for 3 and get 1 car ??? i suppose thats how we Danes want it.

Allso remember if you plan to use while parked, you will need to wire it in permanent and use a battery discharge protector so camera dont run your battery too low.
And depending on your local climate rain - snow - dew and so on might block your windows some of the time ( the last beeing the reason i am in no hurry to use it here in Denmark )

All dashcams allso have a manual even button, again the issue is how much is saved from before you press it, and there allso seem to be some variation on how much is saved after you press the button.

I think my lukas only have a 10 second prebuffer on the manual button ( assume its the same for G-sensor triggered events )
Anyway you will want to press it right avay when somthing happen, or just record all the time like i do.

 

[niko]

I dont remember any dashcam with 30 sec pre-buffer. Most high-end capacitor based dashcams they do pre-buffer around 5 sec before and 15-55 sec after event. Panorama series does 5 sec before and 15 sec after event ( g-sensor triggered, or emergency button pressed ). If using motion detection recording while driving or parked then Panorama 2, S, G series records 4-5 sec before and 50-55 sec after motion detected.

 

[kamkar]

nope 30 seconds might be a lot to ask.

The 10 seconds i mentioned in relation to my lukas is allso a guess on my part, as i said i never really used it.

I think my lukas save 20 seconds or so after manuell event button is pressed and again i assume its the same with g-sensor triggered events.

If you like to i can try to press the manuel button on both cams in my windscreen, just to make sure what they do then.

niko allso forgot to mention in regard to motion detect, if there is still motion then the camera will carry on recording, and then when motion stop it will go back into "sleep" mode.

 

[niko]

As I remember, some other Korean brands also had 10 sec pre-buffer ( probably it was one of earliest Blackvue if I remember correctly, maybe I am wrong ? ), but later they went to 5 sec. Maybe 10 sec is the limit to what RAM used in dashcams can safely operate. Of course if to use much higher class RAM with advanced CPU and proper firmware, I do believe 30 sec is achievable. Nothing is impossible, impossible cost more and take longer time to make.

 

[DashCamMan]

While driving around, dash cams will record all the time and if an event happens will "lock" the file so that it doesn't get deleted. However you will still have hours of video recorded before the event (not just 30 seconds).

When parked, there are some cameras that buffer video (mostly Korean cameras). Most do 5 seconds before motion / shock is detected and some do 10 seconds. The most I have ever seen is Livue LB100 that does 15 seconds. I haven't seen anything more than 15 seconds.

In practice I don't think 30 seconds vs 15 seconds will make that much of a difference in parking mode since there would be no changes in video in those extra 15 seconds.

 

[russ331]

...bugger around 5 sec before and 15-55 sec after...

I don't like the sound of this at all

 

[niko]

I don't like the sound of this at all

Oops, my typo ( G and F on keyboard are close, so with my thick fingers I did mistake ). Fixed, so now its pre-buFFer

 

[jokiin]

5 second pre buffer is a practical limit, managing 30 seconds of pre buffered video constantly is a lot of work for the processor and uses more system resources

 

[abarth]

in my experience, both lukas and panorama X1 have very, very sensitive and reliable motion detect and pre-buffer. i think i actually like lukas' implementation of switching from parking (motion detect) mode and (always) driving mode much better, but their image quality has much to be desired.

 

[nepa]

Wow! Lots of great info - thanks! I wasn't expecting so many replies!

I think my lukas only have a 10 second prebuffer on the manual button ( assume its the same for G-sensor triggered events ) Anyway you will want to press it right avay when somthing happen, or just record all the time like i do.

I dont remember any dashcam with 30 sec pre-buffer. Most high-end capacitor based dashcams they do pre-buffer around 5 sec before and 15-55 sec after event. Panorama series does 5 sec before and 15 sec after event ( g-sensor triggered, or emergency button pressed ). If using motion detection recording while driving or parked then Panorama 2, S, G series records 4-5 sec before and 50-55 sec after motion detected.

Thanks. I forgot about the g-sensor. My concern was that in a collision, I might be stunned for a few seconds, resulting in a 5-10 second delay before I can hit the "event" button. With a g-sensor to automatically trigger recording, that's not really an issue. Are the g-sensors pretty reliable?

While driving around, dash cams will record all the time and if an event happens will "lock" the file so that it doesn't get deleted. However you will still have hours of video recorded before the event (not just 30 seconds).

I want to avoid recording all the time, because I'd like to have events automatically uploaded over WiFi to my home NAS. I have 12 TB of storage and could easily script something to purge video after xx days, so capacity really isn't a problem. I'm just lazy and would prefer not to sift through a 30-minute video of my commute to find the 90 seconds that I actually need.

I see a few cams that support WiFi, but it looks like they're mostly for interacting with a smartphone. Are there any that would automatically connect to a wireless network and attempt to FTP the video?

5 second pre buffer is a practical limit, managing 30 seconds of pre buffered video constantly is a lot of work for the processor and uses more system resources

True. The systems I work with are at the far opposite end of the scale and cost several thousand a pop. For this you get an onboard shock-rated hard drive or SSD, an intelligent back-end transfer and retention system, video tagging from the vehicle, powerful processor and generous memory, etc. Naturally I don't expect this level of sophistication from a typical consumer dashcam, but if I can find something in the $100 - $250 range that has decent quality and auto-WiFi-upload capability, I'll be happy!

 

[Sunny]

Depends.
usually medium or 3 is good enough.
If you get hit enough to be stunned, I'm pretty sure medium is enough to protect the current clip.
Some just protect the entire clip while some take a 30 sec clip and save as new file.
Regardless, if you are in an accident, you'll stop and so will the dashcam and it'll have footage from several hours anyways assuming you are using at least 8gb card so it's non issue to worry.

If g-sensor is too sensitive, it'll protect going over bumps and fill the card eventually.

 

[DashCamMan]

Thanks. I forgot about the g-sensor. My concern was that in a collision, I might be stunned for a few seconds, resulting in a 5-10 second delay before I can hit the "event" button. With a g-sensor to automatically trigger recording, that's not really an issue. Are the g-sensors pretty reliable?

Recording only when an impact is detected via G-sensor seems like a bad idea. What happens if you need video of the driver showing bad driving a few minutes earlier? What happens if an event happens that does not involve impact (perhaps another accident in front of you, pedestrian claims you hit them as part of an insurance scam, accused of a traffic violation you didn't commit - run stop sign, red light, etc) and you forget to press the event button.

I would think a standard dash cam that records all the time and has the ability to lock events is your best option. When something happens, it is not that difficult to find the file. Recording only when an event is triggered (button or G-sensor) really has no benefit while driving considering hours of footage can be stored on an SD card.

I want to avoid recording all the time, because I'd like to have events automatically uploaded over WiFi to my home NAS. I have 12 TB of storage and could easily script something to purge video after xx days, so capacity really isn't a problem. I'm just lazy and would prefer not to sift through a 30-minute video of my commute to find the 90 seconds that I actually need.

I'm not sure if you have a dash cam today but the reality is most commutes are uneventful and unless something significant happens you probably won't be sifting through your videos on a daily basis. It seems you are looking for a complicated solution to a problem that is very minimal (sifting through 30 minutes of date / time stamped video on an occasional basis).

 

[Dashmellow]

I want to avoid recording all the time, because I'd like to have events automatically uploaded over WiFi to my home NAS. I have 12 TB of storage and could easily script something to purge video after xx days, so capacity really isn't a problem. I'm just lazy and would prefer not to sift through a 30-minute video of my commute to find the 90 seconds that I actually need.

You really don't need to do much sifting. If an event occurs that you wish to view later simply select the file(s) with a date stamp close to the time of the event and you'll find what you are looking for pretty quickly.

Like DashCamMan is saying, it is often the course of events that leads up to a collision that are most crucial to record. The collision is only the unfortunate result and aftermath of the preceding events that are legally actionable and need to be documented.

 

[kamkar]

I would not rely on g-sensor for saving anything while driving, do like most and just record all the time.
Then if somthing major happen you will have it all on tape, dashcams have a battery or best a capasitor to power the camera if it get dislodged in a crash, that way it have onbord power to finish the current most important file.

Really hard crashes will destroy your windscreen and maybe send it and the camera flying off the wire power, but the build in power will make sure last file is saved correct and not corrupted by a inproper shutdown.

Its allso often seen in the Russian dashcam videos that if that camera and windscreen dont go flying often the dashcam change angle a little and just film the sky after the crash ( this i am not sure is a problem with all dashcams, but the ones with cheaper mounts might suffer from this issue )

Personally i would only rely on g-sensor for when i am parked, there it should be fine detecting ppl hitting your car with the door or maybe reversing into your car, smaller things like a fine scratch with a shopping trolly might not be picked up, offcourse depending on setting.
Like car alarms you can set it too sensetive, and you will get lot of false event recordings in stead of a car making a lot of noice like a inproper installed car alarm.

I dont use the manual event button, i just make a mental note of when and where, and with 3 minute files its pretty easy to find the event at home.
But offcourse if you dont take the footage off the camera at once and like me have a poor memory it might be gone or at least mean you will have to look thru the entire drive from yesterday to find the event.

Dumping the data via WIFI is not a bad idea but it dont exist yet, i am hoping for cams with a hidden main unitand cameras on wire, and in the main unit have a SSD and then have it dump all data or maybe just the footage recorded within the last xx hour onto a USB drive when inserted in a USB plug.

 

[Mtz]

Livue LB100 have 15 seconds before and after event.
And have a simple idea to switch to parking mode: if the G-Sensor is not detecting any shock for 8 minutes.
And have battery protection included in software. No need to spend another money on some gadget and complicate your life with more wires. All can be done in software when camera is powered by 12V.
Unfortunately this cam is just 720p.

enjoy,
Mtz

 

[niko]

Livue LB100 have 15 seconds before and after event.
And have a simple idea to switch to parking mode: if the G-Sensor is not detecting any shock for 8 minutes.
And have battery protection included in software. No need to spend another money on some gadget and complicate your life with more wires. All can be done in software when camera is powered by 12V.
Unfortunately this cam is just 720p.

enjoy,
Mtz

As they say: " all new inventions are forgotten good old ones".
Some time I think there is no need to invent a bicycle

 

[Mtz]

Some time I think there is no need to invent a bicycle

I had the same idea when I wrote the same word "And" again. And I can continue with other And words.

enjoy,
Mtz