What is loop recording?
Loop recording is the term used when the oldest recording gets overwritten and replaced by the newest ones as the SD card begins to run out of storage space. All Dash Cams and most CCTV cameras work using this type of system.
Example:
A 32GB Nextbase SD card can store approximately 4 hours of footage recorded in Full HD, this means that if you get in your car and drive for 5 hours, the SD card will run out of space and delete the oldest files from the journey, by the time that you arrive at your destination you will have only the 4 most recent hours of driving stored on the SD card. The first 1 hour of your 5 hour journey has been overwritten because the SD card ran out of space.
If my camera loop records, why do I have old files on it?
In the event of an incident, files can be protected by activation of the G-Sensor, or by manually pressing the File Protect button, this protects a file from being deleted immediately and will be held on the SD card for a prolonged period. Files protected by the G sensor can be created by a jolt, like a pothole. They can also be created if Parking Mode is triggered.
Why does my camera record lots of short videos, rather than just one long one?
Segmented videos are essential for a Dash Cam to perform correctly, if a Dash Cam were to record in one extremely long video file it would be unable to loop record, it would also make it extremely difficult to share video files as each individual file would be very large.
Why do you need loop recording?
Loop recording is required for a Dash cam as it provides an endless amount of storage for new video files, As a dash cam always has to be recording for security purposes in case any accident may happen, loop recording is perfect since it can always make room for the new video files and the last recording before the accident happens can be safely stored. When a file is protected either manually or automatically it will be taken out of the loop process so will not be overwritten as it will be marked as read-only.