Sentry Sucks USB Space

[skrtskrt]

I personally use a M.2. with USB adapter

https://www.amazon.com/External-Con...r&qid=1554319912&s=gateway&sr=8-2-spons&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07P22RK1G/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Of course you can get any size, just be sure to convert it to FAT32 using a program like Rufus. This solution is excellent for high read and write, you can also partition the drive for music.

What's the difference between this and what @japhule recommended? Which choice is better? I have a Mac.

I would continue to not recommend any flash based USB drives. I think it'll be a matter of short time before the drive goes bad with the amount of constant writing that's going on. My Samsung FIT 32GB usb flash drive worked for a bit before sentry mode. As soon as sentry mode upgrade came, the drive died quickly afterwards. Use a dashcam friendly microsd cards with a usb adapter.

Samsung PRO Endurance
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07B9KTLJZ/ref=oh_aui_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Micro SD USB adapter
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01FRR86QU/ref=oh_aui_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[japhule]

What's the difference between this and what @japhule recommended? Which choice is better? I have a Mac.

Both options will work. The M2 is a larger SSD drive used in laptops and desktops and should work well and better. I'm currently switching between both an SSD drive and micro sd card as I mess around with my car. I didn't realize SSDs prices are low enough now to easily compete over micro sd cards.

 

[whatthe2]

Hey Ski,

Sure thing, will do.

@Skione65
Here are the results from leaving Sentry Mode on and a 2CH BlackVue on at DEN airport for 6 days (127 hours).
Starting range - 271
Ending range - 136
Range lost - 135
Avg. 1.06 MPH lost
Storage space used - 68.31GB

Not bad at all IMO.

 

[skrtskrt]

Both options will work. The M2 is a larger SSD drive used in laptops and desktops and should work well and better. I'm currently switching between both an SSD drive and micro sd card as I mess around with my car. I didn't realize SSDs prices are low enough now to easily compete over micro sd cards.

Ah gotcha. I was going to go with your option but I guess I’ll go with the M2 SSD?

 

[Limit X]

What's the difference between this and what @japhule recommended? Which choice is better? I have a Mac.

My option is five times faster, it is also has a higher read/write cycle. The speed matters if you plan on transfering a lot of video files at a time to your laptop/desktop. If you want even crazier endurance search for m.2 with MLC or SLC nand, but it will be more expensive.

 

[skrtskrt]

My option is five times faster, it is also has a higher read/write cycle. The speed matters if you plan on transfering a lot of video files at a time to your laptop/desktop. If you want even crazier endurance search for m.2 with MLC or SLC nand, but it will be more expensive.

Gotcha, and this works with Mac right?

 

[Eno Deb]

Gotcha, and this works with Mac right?

Yes, no problem.

Personally I prefer MicroSD cards because (a) you can use a tiny adapter like this one and not clutter up your front compartment and (b) there are adapters like this one that allow you to access and delete the videos on the card from an iPhone on the go. But apart from that, the M.2 SSD solution is perfectly fine.

 

[skrtskrt]

Yes, no problem.

Personally I prefer MicroSD cards because (a) you can use a tiny adapter like this one and not clutter up your front compartment and (b) there are adapters like this one that allow you to access and delete the videos on the card from an iPhone on the go. But apart from that, the M.2 SSD solution is perfectly fine.

Thanks for the insight.

What's the difference between SATA3 vs M.2?

 

[Eno Deb]

What's the difference between SATA3 vs M.2?

It's just a different host interface. Would work in the car too with an appropriate USB adapter/enclosure, but SATA SSDs are bulkier than M.2 cards.

 

[skrtskrt]

It's just a different host interface. Would work in the car too with an appropriate USB adapter/enclosure, but SATA SSDs are bulkier than M.2 cards.

So which one would you chose? When in an actual computer, an M.2 drive is faster than a SATA SSD. That is irrelevant to a Tesla, though.

 

[CrazyCoconut]

How big can you go?

I'm using a Samsung T5 500GB portable SSD. I picked it because:

1. Durability - Shock resistant (important in a car IMHO).
2. Write Endurance - Very important for this type of application and the main reason I picked this drive. The flash is constantly being written to in a video recording setting. Lower endurance microSD cards and flash drives can wear out prematurely. Samsung doesn't give a TBW rating for the T5, but it uses the same 64-layer V-NAND that their 860 EVO series SSD uses, which is rated for 300TBW for the 500GB version. This means even if Sentry Mode is writing to it non-stop at 43.2 GB/day (30MB/min * 60 min * 24 hrs), it would take over 19 years to start wearing this drive out.
3. Cost - Yes the unit itself is more expensive than a 128GB high endurance microSD card (the largest size high endurance card I could find), but on a per GB basis, it's much cheaper.
4. Storage Size - I don't want to have to clear it out all of the time, hence the larger size.
5. Warranty - A minor consideration, but having a 3 year warranty is nice.

 

[Eno Deb]

So which one would you chose?

As I wrote above, I'd choose neither and go with MicroSD cards.

When in an actual computer, an M.2 drive is faster than a SATA SSD. That is irrelevant to a Tesla, though.

Not always. Many cheap M.2 SSDs (including the Kingston mentioned above) support only SATA over M.2, in which case the maximum transfer speed is no higher than that of traditional SATA drives. High performance M.2 cards support PCIe, which has significantly higher transfer speeds. But for one this isn't used when you connect them through a USB adapter, and second - as you say - it is entirely irrelevant when using it for TeslaCam. SSDs in general are vast overkill for this application. It's also highly likely that Tesla will at some point implement a mechanism to delete older Sentry files automatically so you won't need very high capacity.

 

[Knightshade]

I'm using a Samsung T5 500GB portable SSD. I picked it because:

1. Durability - Shock resistant (important in a car IMHO).
2. Write Endurance - Very important for this type of application and the main reason I picked this drive. The flash is constantly being written to in a video recording setting. Lower endurance microSD cards and flash drives can wear out prematurely. Samsung doesn't give a TBW rating for the T5, but it uses the same 64-layer V-NAND that their 860 EVO series SSD uses, which is rated for 300TBW for the 500GB version. This means even if Sentry Mode is writing to it non-stop at 43.2 GB/day (30MB/min * 60 min * 24 hrs), it would take over 19 years to start wearing this drive out.
3. Cost - Yes the unit itself is more expensive than a 128GB high endurance microSD card (the largest size high endurance card I could find), but on a per GB basis, it's much cheaper.
4. Storage Size - I don't want to have to clear it out all of the time, hence the larger size.
5. Warranty - A minor consideration, but having a 3 year warranty is nice.

Quick correction on the math- you only counted 1 camera- it's using 3 now. So all your data #s are times 3- so a little over 6 years rather than 19.

FWIW Samsungs USB sticks (and pro SD cards) actually have 5 year warranties (though not technically for cam use), but more significantly a MUCH better range of operating temps

Use the product in appropriate environment: temperature between 5°C - 35°C and humidity between 10 - 80%.

That's between 41 and 95 degrees F.... a pretty narrow operating range for something that will sit in a car console 24/7/365.

 

[Eno Deb]

4. Storage Size - I don't want to have to clear it out all of the time, hence the larger size.

Remember that, as things currently stand, you'll still have to reformat the drive from time to time due to the filesystem corruption bugs.

 

[CrazyCoconut]

Quick correction on the math- you only counted 1 camera- it's using 3 now. So all your data #s are times 3- so a little over 6 years rather than 19.

Good point on the recording time. My math is assuming recording 24x7 though. So realistically speaking, it will never hit the endurance limit within the life of the car.

FWIW Samsungs USB sticks (and pro SD cards) actually have 5 year warranties (though not technically for cam use), but more significantly a MUCH better range of operating temps

That's between 41 and 95 degrees F.... a pretty narrow operating range for something that will sit in a car console 24/7/365.

Weird that most advertised specs I saw say "Operating 0°C to 60°C, Non-Operating -40°C to 85°C". Not sure why the manual is more conservative.

http://downloadcenter.samsung.com/c...04801721/Samsung_Portable_SSD_T5_Brochure.pdf

In any case, operating temperature is not a major concern for me, the car is garaged both at work and at home with overheat protection on. I care more about the drive size and shock resistance.

Remember that, as things currently stand, you'll still have to reformat the drive from time to time due to the filesystem corruption bugs.

I know that initially dashcam had some corruption issue. Wasn't aware there is still issues with that. Hopefully that will get addressed soon in a firmware update.

 

[Eno Deb]

I know that initially dashcam had some corruption issue. Wasn't aware there is still issues with that. Hopefully that will get addressed soon in a firmware update.

Still happens unfortunately (as of firmware 2019.8.5). Every single time I run fsck on my drive it finds at least orphaned clusters, and often also other filesystem inconsistencies.

And yes, I do turn off the dashcam before removing the drive. Doesn't help. I suspect this happens when the car powers off the USB port.

 

[CrazyCoconut]

Still happens unfortunately (as of firmware 2019.8.5). Every single time I run fsck on my drive it finds at least orphaned clusters, and often also other filesystem inconsistencies.

And yes, I do turn off the dashcam before removing the drive. Doesn't help. I suspect this happens when the car powers off the USB port.

Interesting... This is the first I've heard of it since complaints died out a few firmware updates ago.

 

[skrtskrt]

My option is five times faster, it is also has a higher read/write cycle. The speed matters if you plan on transfering a lot of video files at a time to your laptop/desktop. If you want even crazier endurance search for m.2 with MLC or SLC nand, but it will be more expensive.

Can you clarify what you mean by transfering a lot of video files at a time to my laptop/desktop?

Previously, I would only put in my USB flash drive to my laptop to delete old files so I have more room to record in the car. So I’m not sure if it being faster has any relevance to my situation.

 

[skrtskrt]

Yes, no problem.

Personally I prefer MicroSD cards because (a) you can use a tiny adapter like this one and not clutter up your front compartment and (b) there are adapters like this one that allow you to access and delete the videos on the card from an iPhone on the go. But apart from that, the M.2 SSD solution is perfectly fine.

I really like (b), didn’t know that exist. Might go with the micro SD option now

 

[whatthe2]

Can you clarify what you mean by transfering a lot of video files at a time to my laptop/desktop?

Previously, I would only put in my USB flash drive to my laptop to delete old files so I have more room to record in the car. So I’m not sure if it being faster has any relevance to my situation.

When transferring files from the USB/SSD to your computer, speeds will vary depending on the medium you are using. For instance, I transferred about 68GB worth of video from my 128GB USB drive and it took about six minutes. Other mediums will be faster. But really doesn't matter much if you aren't concerned about how fast files transfer. Also, most people may not be transferring a huge amount of data from storage to a computer.