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SD Cards and Dash Cam Storage

Everything you need to know about how dash cams handle storage

Dash Cam Storage

While dash cams differ in design, features, video resolution, and pricing, there’s one thing that makes them similar to each other – the need for storage through a micro SD card. In this article, we’ll go over the factors to consider when choosing a micro SD card, while providing you a projection of the estimated recording hours for our best-selling dash cams.

First of all, what is an SD card?

An SD (Secure Digital) card is a compact, portable storage device that is commonly used to store data such as images, movies, and music in devices such as cameras, dash cams, smartphones, and tablets.

SD cards are useful because they allow for the easy transmission of data between devices as well as the storage of data when the device's internal storage is full. They can also be removed and replaced with a larger card, or stored separately as a backup.

With dash cams, we usually use a microSD card which is used in smaller electronic devices, though it may be used in any SD card slot with an adapter.

The best MicroSD cards to use for your dash cam should be at least a class 10 rank for speed and durability

What to consider when choosing an SD card for a dash cam?

Resolution

The storage space requirement increases as the resolution gets higher. 4K images occupy much more space than 2K QHD, as it consumes more than full HD or 1080p images. This is also the reason why 4K dash cams like the VIOFO A139 Pro have maximized its storage space up to 512GB. Higher resolutions will also be more taxing on your SD card, so make sure you select an SD card that can handle that resolution with high-speed data writing.

Usage Time

Typically, recording one hour of 1080p video consumes around 6GB of storage. If you drive for two hours per day, five days a week, you would need approximately 60GB of storage, which can be accommodated by a 64GB memory card.

If you’ve wired for parking mode, consider how often it is recording, for example impact and motion detection only records in either instance, and time-lapse mode will record at a lower frame-rate, both methods to conserve space on the SD card.

Capacity

Consider the storage capacity of your dash cam. New 2K dash cams, particularly those from VIOFO such as the A229 Plus and the A119 Mini 2 have maximized their capacity to 512 GB. For 4K dash cams, the Thinkware U3000 remains to have a 256 GB capacity, while the VIOFO A229 Pro and the new  BlackVue DR970X Plus series including the DR970X Plus Box, and DR970X Plus 2-CH LTE have doubled theirs to 512 GB.

Moreover, dash cam memory cards undergo multiple overwrites. A larger memory capacity reduces the frequency of write cycles and prolongs the card's lifespan.

Compression

It's important to understand that the compression type of the video files, such as H.264 and H.265, plays a key role. H.264 and H.265 are types of video compression, often referred to as codecs. They reduce the amount of data used to represent video, effectively shrinking file sizes. H.265, also known as High-Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), is newer and more efficient than H.264, leading to smaller file sizes for the same video quality.

The type of video compression used by your dash cam affects the size of the video files it produces, affecting the capacity of the SD card you'll need. However, H.265 does have the potential to encounter playback issues on low-end systems. New BlackVue dash cams have developed a new compression technology, allowing users to choose between H.264 and H.265 options.

What is the speed rating on an SD card?

When we talk about Class 10 and MLC rating, we’re referring to the speed rating of the SD card. Class 10 is a class of rank on the write speed of the SD card; the number 10 stands for 10 megabytes per second.

Generally, what we see with the more affordable cards are slower read (download) and write (upload) speeds. This leads to recording issues or literal skips in the recording. On average, 2-channel dash cams write 16GB/hour and 1-channel dash cams write 8GB/hour. Having a reliable, fast, and durable SD card can help ensure that you’re always protected.

That being said, “faster SD cards” won’t necessarily improve video quality, nor durability. Remember that dash cams don’t require the highest speed rating - rather, they require something reliable.


What are the recommended SD card sizes?

Of course, the size of the SD card will still vary depending on how you use your dash cam. Here’s a list of our recommended sizes:

Best for Driving Recording

A 32GB card is great value for those who use their dash cams for driving recording. Typically, this translates to about 3-4 hours of 1080P recording, which is more than enough for most drivers.

When a dash cam records continuous driving, it also divides the footage into smaller increments or segments to make it easier to manage files in storage (Normally 1-2 minute clips, depending on the unit). The loop recording feature is also helpful in maximizing your storage space. So, if the primary purpose of your dash cam is to record your daily commute essentially, you can go for a full HD dash cam like the BlackVue DR770X, the Thinkware F70 Pro, or the Thinkware F200 Pro.

Best for Parking Mode Recording

If you’re using a parking mode dash cam, a 64GB card and higher improves durability and gives you extended parking recording. It’s important that your SD card has sufficient storage so no overwriting will need to take place before you make it back to the vehicle. Most parking modes also have multiple recording modes to conserve space on the SD card, such as time-lapse mode which generally condenses 30 minutes of recording into 5-minute clips, or impact/motion detection which only records when one of the two is detected. Still, a larger SD card will prove helpful as the camera stays active through the night.

Now, our most popular cards are the 128GB option, most people prefer the peace of mind that footage won’t be overwritten so quickly. In addition, the memory partition feature, which can be found in Thinkware dash cams, allows you to prioritize specific file types to be saved on the SD card, such as parking mode files being kept on the SD card longer than standard driving footage.

Best for Rideshare Recording

Rideshare drivers may want to use the larger 256GB card so as to keep the most amount of video storage in case of any issues with previous customers. These cards are significantly more expensive per gigabyte but most find them to be of value. This is especially true if running a 3-channel setup, as recording on 3 devices at once will take up more space.

As some rideshare drivers or fleets may want multiple days worth of backlogged footage, the fact that dash cams generally overwrite footage naturally can be a detriment. If this is the case, then using this larger card, and swapping it out for another after a shift is recommended, while offloading footage to a local storage device or PC.

The higher the resolution, the greater the storage space requirement. 4K images take up way more space than 2K QHD images which use quite a bit more space than full HD.If your dash cam is recording 4K UHD resolution, uses multiple channels, and activates parking mode recording, a 512 GB micro SD card is also the safest option.

Such a fleet may want to consider remote storage as well with a Cloud plan, where you get instant storage space available on your app. Check out the BlackVue Cloud here.

 


Recording Capacity of SD Cards Per Dash Cam Model

How much video can an SD card hold? This is a question we get all the time and the answer depends on two factors: the SD card size and the dash cam's bit rate. Based on our testing, here’s a table of the estimated recording hours of dash cams based on the SD card size. Please note these numbers are just estimates, and other factors can cause them to vary.

Thinkware

Thinkware U3000

Front Only | Dual-Channel

64 GB

4 hours

128 GB

7 hours

256 GB

14 hours


Thinkware U1000

Front Only

Front + Rear

32 GB

2 hours 25 mins

50 mins

64 GB

5 hours 10 mins

5 hours 10 mins

128 GB

10 hours 25 mins

6 hours 5 mins


Thinkware F70 Pro

Front Only

32 GB

4 hours

64 GB

8 hours

128 GB

16 hours


BlackVue

BlackVue DR770X

Front Only

Dual-Channel

64 GB

5 hours

3 hours 40 mins

128 GB

10 hours

7 hours 20 mins

256 GB

20 hours

14 hours 40 mins


BlackVue DR770X Box

Triple-Channel

64 GB

3 hours 40 mins

128 GB

7 hours 20 mins

256 GB

14 hours 40 mins


BlackVue DR970X Plus 4K UHD

Front Only

Dual-Channel

64 GB

2 hours 15 mins

3 hours 40 mins

128 GB

4 hours 40 mins

7 hours 20 mins

256 GB

9 hours 5 mins

14 hours 40 mins


VIOFO

Note: For the VIOFO A139 Pro 3-CH, running a front-only camera can possibly reach a bitrate of 58 to 60 Mbps. Although, when used along the rear camera, the maximum bitrate lowers down to 44 Mbps for the front, and 16 Mbps for the rear. When you use the additional IR camera, the bitrate goes down to 26 Mbps for the front and approximately 14 Mbps for the secondary cameras.

VIOFO A119 Mini 2

Single-Channel

32 GB

2 hours 25 mins

64 GB

4 hours 40 mins

128 GB

8 hours 30 mins

256 GB

16 hours 20 mins

512 GB

24 hours 10 mins


VIOFO A229 Plus

1-Channel

2-Channel

32 GB

2 hours 25 mins

1.6 hours

64 GB

4 hours 40 mins

3.2 hours

128 GB

8 hours 30 mins

6.4 hours

256 GB

16 hours 20 mins

12.8 hours

512 GB

32 hours 10 mins

25.6 hours


VIOFO
A229 Pro

1-Channel

2-Channel

3-Channel

32 GB

2 hours

1.6 hours

1.4 hours

64 GB

4 hours

3.2 hours

4.8 hours

128 GB

8 hours

6.4 hours

5.6 hours

256 GB

16 hours

12.8 hours

11.2 hours

512 GB

32 hours

25.6 hours

23.4 hours

SD cards are consumable

Dash cams perform drastically more recording when compared to a standard camera. This combined with the constant video looping and high image quality of many units, will result in eventually consuming a standard-issue SD card.

Of course, cheap SD card brands will be consumed quicker, this is why we recommend reliable brands such as SanDisk or Samsung brand SD cards. An SD card will last, on average 1-2 years in a dash cam. This is perfectly normal, and one reason a backup SD card is recommended, leading us to our next point.

To ensure the health of your card, we recommend formatting your SD card once every 2-3 months. This will ensure there are no corrupted files or manual recordings stuck on the SD card, causing errors or shortening the loop cycle.

Our Recommendation: Backup SD Card

In addition, we recommend all of our customers purchase a smaller 16GB or 32GB card to be kept in your vehicle at all times. The reason is because they can be used in case your SD card in the unit fails or you’re away on a trip and won’t be able to save or review the footage in time before it gets overwritten. You’ll be able to swap your cards out instantly and keep recording without worrying that important footage will be deleted.


Why buy your SD card from BlackboxMyCar?

BlackboxMyCar is proud to say that all the microSD cards we offer have been rigorously tested to ensure compatibility and to offer the longest lifespan as well. 

Our third-party microSD cards go through the same quality testing and are a more affordable option for SD card options. No matter what card you buy from us, all of these are covered under a 1-year in-house warranty so you can be rest assured that we’ll resolve any issues that you may come across.

Due to Dash Cam's naturally aggressive read/write cycles, use of an SD card inside will very frequently invalidate the manufacturer's warranty. But not ours! Rest assured you'll still be covered when shopping with BlackboxMyCar

If you have any further questions, comments or suggestions, then don't hesitate to reach out to our product experts today!