How to retrieve Sentry Mode recordings?

[srs5694]

I've been trying to figure out how to get Sentry Mode to work on my new Model 3. I have no problem activating it from either the app on my phone or the car's screen, and when I test it, the HAL screen pops up and it claims that it's recording. (I've only tested putting it into its alert state, not its alarm state.) When I later try to recover recordings from the USB drive, though, there's nothing. I have been able to recover TeslaCam dash-cam recordings, but not sentry mode recordings. (I've had some problems with corruption on some dash-cam recordings, but the files at least appear, and those from the front and right-side cameras are OK; it's only the left-side camera that's sometimes flaky.)

Is there some extra trick to setting this up, like a folder on the USB drive in addition to the TeslaCam folder or some special trick to use at the screen? Or am I mistaken in my belief that Sentry Mode saves video from its alert state? (The screen does clearly state that video is being recorded.)

 

[srs5694]

Oh, BTW, my software version number is 2019.5.15, which I realize isn't the absolute latest.

 

[Leemort]

I just pulled my USB and plugged it in to my computer and your have to click down several folder to get to the pictures, but I have done this a couple of times with no problems. I used it once to get out of a minor parking ticket at the train station.

Are you trying to view it on the screen in the car? I have no idea if you can do that. But, it pulls up fine on my laptop (Mac)

 

[srs5694]

I've finally met with success. I think I wasn't waiting long enough before terminating my tests and pulling the USB drive. When I walked away from the car after a test, waited a few minutes, and returned to pull the USB drive, I found the recordings.

 

[jat255]

I would try tapping and holding on the dashcam icon before removing the USB, as that seems to make it finish up whatever it was doing. I try to make sure to do this before I remove it, and I haven't (knock on wood) had any corruption issues.

For viewing the footage, there are a couple programs/scripts that are in development to merge the videos together into something nice:

jat255/teslacam-merge - my personal script I'm using to review and then archive the videos (requires Linux or the windows subsystem for linux, currently). It automatically detects the TeslaCam USB (assuming you named it TeslaCam), and then goes from there assuming the files are in the SavedClips folder, and loops through any folders of saved clips, building each one into a 10-minute montage clip

ehendrix23/tesla_dashcam - a somewhat more advanced option, with a lot more options. Requires Python (or the standalone binaries) and does not do the autodetection of the USB drive. You instead give it the path to the folder you want to join.