Does A Dashcam Delete Old Footage Automatically?
A dashcam is a camera that records the view of the front of your car. A normal (non-dash) camera typically deals with old footage by deleting the oldest clips and saving only recent ones. Dash cameras, however, generally have much more storage space and will store all footage until it’s manually deleted.
Why Is There an Option to Delete Old Footage Automatically?
This option is to ensure that your dash cam’s memory card doesn’t exceed its maximum capacity and you don’t lose data due to insufficient storage space — as well as for added convenience and security.
Dashcams Video Saving Mechanism
The dashcam saves some data to its internal memory through a process called “buffering.” This data is then uploaded back to the cloud, stored for later retrieval or viewing.
Process
1. The dashcam is turned on.
2. The dashcam’s internal memory is initialized, and the camera is set to record.
3. The dashcam records whatever video it sees in front of it, then waits while that video uploads back through the Cloud (or other means).
4. This video is stored on the Cloud.
5. The dashcam then continuously records video (in a loop) and uploads it in the form of “buffered” footage.
Time Setting for Deleting Older Footage Automatically
If you don’t want your camera to automatically delete older footage because there are some essential videos, then follow these steps:
Step 1: Connect your dashcam with a PC or Mac computer via USB cable.
Step 2: Go to My Dash Cam on your dashcam.
Step 3: Click the “Settings” icon, then go to “Time Settings.”
Step 4: Select your required option from the drop-down menu.
Step 5: Settings that you set under the drop-down menus here will automatically be applied when you reboot your dashcam after placing it. However, if you have an SD card in the camera that is not formatted yet, the settings will not be applied at all. You must format and clear all of your SD card’s content before it can use the new settings to work correctly.
How To Check If The Stream Is Deleted?
To check if the stream has been deleted:
1. Go to My Dash Cam on your dashcam. (Click the Settings icon.)
2. Click the “View Footage” icon.
3. Click the “Memory Card” tab to view all of your dashcam footage.
4. If the video you want to view is shown as “Deleted,” then your dashcam has deleted that footage automatically, and the new, un-recorded footage has overwritten the associated file.
Conclusion
So, as you can see, a dashcam can automatically delete old footage. However, If you don’t want your dashcam to delete old footage automatically, it’s possible to opt-out. You have to change the video storage settings on your dashcam, provided that you have an SD card in it. You can do this by having no SD card in the dashcam, formatting the SD card on your computer, or using the “Restore Default Settings” option on your dashcam.