Dash Cam Sound Issue

[Malachite]

Hi. I have Nextbase 402G and it has developed a sound problem.
It records video perfectly well but the sound is choppy ie. when I play the video back, the sound chops regularly at approximately half second intervals. Video doesn't chop, just the sound. I have Googled the issue and drawn a blank. I've tried updating the firmware and re-formatting the micro SD card and neither has worked.
TIA for any possible solutions.
Mal.

[Malachite]

No ideas?

[bhg481]

I run mine with the sound off just in case I need the video for evidence, as it means we don't have to be careful what we chat about. You could try turning off the sound, record for a bit and then turn it back on again. You don't say what make of SD card you use; I always used to use "good quality" Sandisk until I had a problem with one. I contacted Sandisk (lifetime guarantee) who said that you should use High Endurance cards for dashcams (NOT High Performance) and they would replace my card "this once". I've used Lexar and Samsung cards since and had no problems. They're also faster than Sandisk which means faster copying to my laptop for playback.

[Malachite]

Thanks BHG, it IS a Sandisk. The manufacturer of the dashcam recommends "class 10 30Mb/sec" the Sandisk one I recently bought is class 10 but 98Mb/sec, I mistakenly assumed that a higher speed card would have me covered. I'll try to find a "high endurance" card - not come across this term before. I wonder why they can't just bloody well standardise everything with memory.
I'll try the sound off/on thing though first ;-)
"Best answer" ;-)

[bhg481]

This is the card I use nowadays with my Nextbase:

https://www.mymemory.co.uk/memory/memory-cards/micro-sdhc.html?family=3481

I think Sandisk make a High Endurance card, at least they used to, but the read speed is only about half that of the Samsung, so makes dropping the video onto the laptop slow.

I've been using "MyMemory" for memory cards for many years now, mainly for cameras, good prices and good service.

[bhg481]

Just to extend my answer, here is the reply I received from Sandisk (April 2017) when I had problems with my card:

"We are sorry to hear that you have been facing issues with your MicroSD Ultra card as it keeps displaying errors during the usage with your Dashcam.
We do apologise for the inconvenience caused.

Before we proceed, please allow us to inform you that for Dashcameras we recommend the usage of a specific card model, the High Endurance, since any other card, due to the intense reading and writing of the camera, will be eventually worn out, voiding the warranty.

As one time courtesy, we will replace the card for you this time, however from now on we strongly recommend starting using the High Endurance model. You may find additional information below:
SanDisk High Endurance Video Monitoring microSD"

I also notice that dashcam sellers are still recommending "ordinary" cards for use with dashcams. The problem is that you fit a dashcam hoping that you'll never need to use it and, if you don't check the output regularly, you can find it has let you down just at an important time.

[Malachite]

That's fantastic. Thankyou for that.

[Malachite]

bhg (and anyone curious) After further research and testing, it turned out that the cards I bought were counterfeit!
I've been burned a couple of times on ebay, these pillocks know they're selling phoney gear and usually offer an instant refund and some feeble excuse, presumably to try and discourage me from grassing them to the ebay authorities.
The tests I did were both done using the apps: H2TestW and SD Insight.
Both returned read/write speeds that are way lower than they should be and "Unknown" as the manufacturer of each. On the fake Samsung card, the packaging had "made in Korea" on the outside, yet on the card it said "made in Taiwan".
Ok, off to MyMemory I go now!

[bhg481]

Mystery solved and thanks for letting us know.