SD card video length

Community Support
#15

Hello
I used the AtHome system before buying the YI cameras. It uses a mobile phone instead of a dedicated camera. It would record 24/7, but it would record in 10 minute chunks, Which makes searching for a certain date and time easier, then you would only have to look through a 10 minute segment. Which was fine. But using the phone was not ideal, It would get hot and shut down, too cold and it would shut down, and because you had to have it plugged in all the time played havoc with the battery in the end. Hence why I stopped using it.

Anyhow, what I would like to see is that for each and every motion detected, no matter the length of time, be recorded to the SD card (not talking about the 6 sec alerts, they are good) Which is why I decided to buy these in the first place. But I do like them, so if we could get the time stamp or all motion detected videos to record, they would be perfect…
T

#16

Yeah appreciate what you want. I guess the guidance required is what the Yi camera sees as continues motion alert and the fire keeps recording past of course the six seconds.

How I use mine - and I get a lot of alerts from one of my Yi cams - I use either the other supporting camera or if I check the alert and something is out of the ordinary I will use the alert then look at the wider recording on the SD card.

I have only once had to use the footage for law enforcement purposes. The police were impressed with the footage given that the camera was looking outside through a window. Of course if I hadn’t have had the six second alerts then it would have been more difficult.

#17

I’ve just found find more information:

Once the MicroSD card is installed and formatted in the camera, in the app Settings under Storage, there is a feature called Activity Detection Recording. If enabled, the videos will only be saved when activity is detected. If disabled, the camera will record continuously to the SD card no matter if there is motion or not.

The only way to delete footage on the SD card is to reformat the card. This will delete all the videos on the SD card. In the app, click on the camera on the home screen. Then click on Settings (Apple) or gear symbol (Android). In Settings, scroll down to the bottom and click on MicroSD Card. Click on Format Storage Card. When asked, “All video in the MicroSD card will be deleted after formatting, continue?”, click OK. Now all the contents of the card are erased.

When using CVR (continuous video recording), even though in “Playback” the recording will show as one continuous file, if you remove the SD card from the camera and insert it into a computer, you will see the recording is actually saved as separate files. <<<

Later today, Saturday, what I will do if take one of the SD cards out and check it again in my Mac. I will see how they show and report back. It could be that they have improved how they are saved. In regards to the above I’m not sure at this point in what time span they are saved. If 5min, 10min etc.

I will take a look but it will be later as it’s 00:39 where I am right now.

#18

Hi :slight_smile:
oh, now this sounds promising… Thanks for the update… Am looking forward to seeing what you come up with!

T

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#19

I will report back. Out of interest what model camera are you using? Some have tome lapse function and some have a 4x and 8x speed playback.

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#20

It’s the YI Home Camera… I don’t think it has time lapse though.
T

#21

Which version of the internal Home camera? Internally I have Home 3 and they have it.

#22

Sorry… It’s this one:

YI Smart Security Camera, 1080p Wifi Home Indoor Camera with AI Human detection, Night vision, Activity alerts for home, pet, nanny monitor, Cloud and micro SD card storage, Works with Alexa

#23

That one doesn’t have it sadly :frowning: not sure if it could be added to it. I do find it useful but I also find the playback controls a little clunky I’d prefer to see Netflix / YouTube style playback tools - play, pause, fast forward 10/15 secs etc.

It is something I have asked for before but I guess at the price point it is not going to happen.

I will get back to you how the camera saves files to the SD when viewed on a computer.

I Would assume the Home 1080p would be the same as home 3 and a windows pc should show the same as a Mac.

#24

I’m sure they are the same… time will tell.
Appreciate your help. Are you in Yorkshire?

#25

For my sins yes :). Of course only joking. Yorkshire is a beautiful English county.

#26

I have been there a couple of times… Tis lovely.
North Wales here :slightly_smiling_face:

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#27

Ah right a fellow Brit. I’m not sure why I thought you was American.

North wales is a place I’ve visited and driven through many times. Indeed the number of times I have driven the A55 Expressway I’ve lost count.

#28

Ahhh the A55… travelled it many times… maaany times lol.
I lived in America for 17 years… if that counts?
Perhaps I type with an accent :slight_smile:

#29

Ha no I guess I just made an assumption. It is always nice to see other UK based people here especially if British as well. Always nice to help fellow Brits get the best out of Yi products.

I also wrongly assumed you was me too. I’ve see what The stands for :slight_smile:

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#30

I wish more people would get into home security, it’s not expensive anymore… And I’m sure it would cut down the amount of illegal activities… maybe that’s just wishful thinking… Anyway Have a great night, what’s left of it, and we’ll chat tomorrow…
Appreciate your help!

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#31

Agreed. But I’ve dabbled in it for many many years. Including having a smart home where I can track movement in every part of it. Every external door is monitored and almost every inch is monitored. Plus now with smart assistants I can talk to the house and let it do things for me.

I have forgotten the last time I switched on a light with a light switch !!!

And yes I will return to you with what I find from the SD card recordings.

#32

Sadly, I have just tried multiple SD Cards from my Yi internal cameras and they they are unrecognised by my Mac when trying to view them. So sadly I can not confirm how the SD recordings look on a computer.

@Steven_Kami - any chance we can get an understanding of how files are saved to an SD card please? Is it a single file or are they spilt into time spans? If they are spilt can you have technical support confirm what they recording file length is and what the naming convention is like please?

Cheers.

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#33

Morning Yorkshire from Wales.
Thanks for trying with the SD card. I think I can check the card as I have a card reader. I will get back to you. I did record a 10 or more hour video, so it will be interesting to see…

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#34

Afternoon.
A couple of days ago I set my cam to continuously record. I could see that it was recording on the timeline view. (solid orange bar, as opposed to the broken orange bars of motion detection.
I transferred the contents of the SD card to my computer.
Thee were 92 folders containing over 2,000 video files.
Each of these files were between 1 second and 1 minute. Never more than that.
So now I’m wondering where the 10+hr video that was continuously recorded is?
I’m going to try again with the continuous video, but remember when I started it…
Will keep you informed.
T

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