Recommend me a dash cam?

[BenR]

Just as an update the seller was very quick to respond. Apparently the DVR only records in a loop (I quote) "This function ensures that the memory card will never be full and will not cause the recording to fail. Loop recording is also used to protect the performance of the camera".
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Current bikes: suzuki RG125UN wolf. Yamaha MT-07

[TravisBickle]

One of us would have pointed this out to you sooner, but you said you got a 256GB SD card?

Yes dash cams are, unlike action cams, designed to record continually in a loop, once the card is full it will constantly overwrite the oldest file as you go along to ensure recording is never interrupted. The idea is that 99% of the footage you capture is going to be binned, so you only save/lock the relevant file(s) after an incident or pull the card.

But you also said your rides weren't being captured in full. A 256GB SD card should be enough for in excess of 24 hours of recording. Are you sure you haven't got a duff/fake SD card?

I done a lot of research into this and without question, this is currently hands down the best SD card for dash cams and it's not expensive:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0B1J75QW2?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

They do smaller capacities - you need to check with your device what the maximum capacity card it will support.

Bear in mind that SD cards gradually wear out over time with constant rewriting to the card. It's wise to use a high endurance model specifically designed for CCTV / dashcam use.
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2024 BMW M1000XR
2021 Honda CMX500 Rebel S
2016 Triumph Tiger 1050 Sport

[BenR]

[TravisBickle]

The heavy duty / endurance Samsung I've got in mine is guaranteed for 140,000 hours of continuous recording. So that's 16 years. So the answer to your question is - probably never!

They tend to only quote that figure on endurance cards and it's impossible to get that data on standard duty cards however even if it was only one 10th you'd expect it to last at least a year and a half!

Have you got the correct speed class for the resolution you're recording at?
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2024 BMW M1000XR
2021 Honda CMX500 Rebel S
2016 Triumph Tiger 1050 Sport

[Hong Kong Phooey]

I suspect the loop recording limit is 10 min. So a 2GB card would be plenty.

Some support loop until full card, but the generic Chinese ones tend to loop the same file.
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'81 CG125, '97 FZS600 : '99 CBR600F4, '09 KTM RC8

[TravisBickle]

I've never seen a dashcam that just does a loop recording over the same file. In my experience they've always filled the card up and then continually record over the oldest file.

I've looked up the make and model website and it says it does loop recording and supports up to 256GB cards:
https://blueskysea-inc.com/dv988-p00102p1.html

However it doesn't go into details about what write speed is required of the SD card.

Like I said before - if you're not getting a complete ride saved on a 256GB card, there's definitely something wrong somewhere!

Assuming the hardware isn't faulty my guess would be (as we've established it's not a fake card) that maybe the card does not meet the required record speed for the device, or is maybe on the cusp of what the card can handle and is tripping out occasionally and powering the unit down if it's trying to write to the card and the card cannot keep up intermittently once the cache is saturated (if, indeed, SD cards even have a cache, I'm not sure they do)?

Your model has front and rear 1080P @ 30fps. Anyone in here know what write speed is required for dual 1080P/30?

Does your SD card have any of the following markings on it?
C2
C4
C6
C10
U1
U3
V6
V10
V30
V60
V90
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2024 BMW M1000XR
2021 Honda CMX500 Rebel S
2016 Triumph Tiger 1050 Sport

[Hong Kong Phooey]

If it can save one file, the card should be fine. I think it's a setting, or purchased the wrong cam. Unless the card is a 1GB faked up to be 256GB.

There's a free tool to check SD card true capacity vs the reported/labelled capacity, fakes are prolific on ebay.

E.g. H2TESTW

https://www.maketecheasier.com/check-sd-card-speed-capacity/
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'81 CG125, '97 FZS600 : '99 CBR600F4, '09 KTM RC8

[BenR]