Dash cam observation
    17 years
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For the sleuths out there, we are used to our Vantrue. No complaints, true 4K, older Starvis sensor, have a front/rear setup in my daily driver that is off the road right now.
Flash forward when our vehicle was destroyed in May 2025, another Vantrue was destroyed.
When we got a replacement vehicle, got the ROVE which is super popular, newer 4k sensor, and nice price $99 with front and rear 1080, never installed rear.
Everything was happening similar to the Vantrue.
One day I go to pull video, and nothing is there. Nice. Improbable. Windows says card is full.
I did trick #1 look for a protected folder, empty. Look for hidden files, none.
Baffled and seeming to read complaints, I broke down and spent 2X on their proprietary micro SD card. But in doing all of this, I decided to install the smartphone app and read the dash cam.
ALL OF THE VIDEOS ARE SEEN BY THE APP!
What's going on? lol
I mean seriously, in my mind the idea is there is usually 256 gb of useless 3 min videos. But if something is noteworthy, I want to pop the micro SD, and upload to my laptop. In this scenario, my laptop can't see anything. But it's there, since the Rove app sees all, and Windows did recognize the micro sd is full (constant rewrite).
Again, with the Vanture, everything works as I expect it to. The Rove, no. I don't want to download videos onto the smartphone. I haven't the space.
Whaddya all think? thx!
p.s. let me add this info....mid year yes, my laptop did see all the ROVE videos on the micro SD. So this is a newer development, but it is confirmed to repeat, even upon reformatting of the micro sd card. my hunch is people out there did report similar and the answer was to buy their own proprietary card
Dash Cam Observation
I have the Vantrue Element 1 Pro dash cam. Very happy with it.
Was there a firmware update
Was there a firmware update in that timeframe? I'm personally looking to hardwire a VIOFO A119 Mini V2, which seems to be the cheapest (brand name) dashcam with the Starvis 2, going on sale to $129CAD and sometimes even $119. Also tempted to just strap a GoPro on the windshield and forget about most reliability issues and especially video quality issues lol.
GoPro
I have used a GoPro Hero 13 as a dash cam in my Subaru. Problem is that the GoPro models later than the GoPro Hero 8 overheat and shutoff. They run "cooler" and longer if you remove the battery but eventually they will overheat and shutoff even without the battery. I also had to "dumb" down the resolution and frame rate, etc in order make the camera run cooler. In the summer my GoPro would overheat and shutdown around an hour of use. In the winter it would last 3-4 hours. So okay to use a GoPro for short strips. Also the GoPro Hero 13 has a larger battery and the camera requires more power. In order to run it without the battery I had to use a Fast Charging USB C to USB C cable plugged into a high voltage cigarette lighter plug (100 watt). Otherwise on power up the camera would display a message "NOT ENOUGH POWER" and then shutoff.
Now I used to use a GoPro Hero 8 in my canoe attached to a power bank. It would run all day at 4k and the highest frame rate without ever overheating even in the heat of summer here in North Carolina.
checked
Was there a firmware update in that timeframe? I'm personally looking to hardwire a VIOFO A119 Mini V2, which seems to be the cheapest (brand name) dashcam with the Starvis 2, going on sale to $129CAD and sometimes even $119. Also tempted to just strap a GoPro on the windshield and forget about most reliability issues and especially video quality issues lol.
And seems the latest firmware update was July 2025, and ours has it.
Oddly, or, predictably, with the $40 256 gb micro SD with ROVE branding, all videos are there from yesterday and today.
Does anybody know or think there is something truly proprietary that makes a branded SD card work with products? Again with the Vantrue no issues with San Disk and Samsung endurance micro SDs.
They all have quirks that I think tie to the firmware. With Vantrue, one cannot properly set the time offset other than on the device. With ROVE, the gps handles it. The Vantrue rear cam failed after 2 years, so I took another unused one out (only my sedan has front/rear--I could do this to my coupe--SUV to me is hard as the cam would be going up and down with the rear hatch).
I do believe a dash cam is necessary in 2025, esp in Phila metro
See this link
Was there a firmware update in that timeframe? I'm personally looking to hardwire a VIOFO A119 Mini V2, which seems to be the cheapest (brand name) dashcam with the Starvis 2, going on sale to $129CAD and sometimes even $119. Also tempted to just strap a GoPro on the windshield and forget about most reliability issues and especially video quality issues lol.
And seems the latest firmware update was July 2025, and ours has it.
Oddly, or, predictably, with the $40 256 gb micro SD with ROVE branding, all videos are there from yesterday and today.
Does anybody know or think there is something truly proprietary that makes a branded SD card work with products? Again with the Vantrue no issues with San Disk and Samsung endurance micro SDs.
They all have quirks that I think tie to the firmware. With Vantrue, one cannot properly set the time offset other than on the device. With ROVE, the gps handles it. The Vantrue rear cam failed after 2 years, so I took another unused one out (only my sedan has front/rear--I could do this to my coupe--SUV to me is hard as the cam would be going up and down with the rear hatch).
I do believe a dash cam is necessary in 2025, esp in Phila metro
There is interesting and related content at https://www.reddit.com/r/Dashcam/comments/13j4uk9/rove_r24k_.... Once there I suggest you scroll down to the content from 10 months ago. Earlier in that thread there is some content relative to looping and the constant overwriting takings its toll on the card. There is related content on that at https://www.easeus.com/computer-instruction/fix-dash-cam-say...
John from PA