TeslaCam looks really bad

[cbruner]

I got a software update last night, and then saw the ! which indicated that the USB drive was full. That was okay since it had been in there for a while. So I pulled it out and looked at some videos.
1. Apparently, nothing had been recorded for months. Last was in March! I guess this update addressed that problem, but it seems like it should have been part of the initial spec to notify users when their drive was full.
2. The videos are terrible. I could go to the dollar store and buy a $4 usb camera that would give a better image. The lenses look like they've got astigmatism.

Is this normal?

 

[zacyee]

The cameras were not intended for dash cam use. The cameras are used for autopilot, the dash cam functionality is a "free" bonus.

If you want a standalone Dash Cam with 1080p or 4K and clearer image, buy and install a your own.

USB drive full typically shows up as a grey X on the camera, did you not have that before the 2019.24.4 update?

 

[jeffaajones]

I got a software update last night, and then saw the ! which indicated that the USB drive was full. That was okay since it had been in there for a while. So I pulled it out and looked at some videos.
1. Apparently, nothing had been recorded for months. Last was in March! I guess this update addressed that problem, but it seems like it should have been part of the initial spec to notify users when their drive was full.
2. The videos are terrible. I could go to the dollar store and buy a $4 usb camera that would give a better image. The lenses look like they've got astigmatism.

Is this normal?

I don’t think that picture quality is normal. I get crystal clear video on my 2018 Model S

 

[cbruner]

The cameras were not intended for dash cam use. The cameras are used for autopilot, the dash cam functionality is a "free" bonus.

If you want a standalone Dash Cam with 1080p or 4K and clearer image, buy and install a your own.

USB drive full typically shows up as a grey X on the camera, did you not have that before the 2019.24.4 update?

I don't know if I saw a grey X on the camera. I may have just thought it was the normal camera icon.

After formatting the usbdrive and trying again I'm getting different results.
1. Picture is much better.
2. Picture of me leaving on 1 trip, obtained.
3. Picture of me on second trip not there.
4. sentry mode turned on in second trip. 2 sentry alerts. None saved on usbdrive.

Is there a way of viewing stuff on the usbdrive?
Is there a way of flushing any video before removing the usbdrive?
Is there a reason it doesn't always save videos?

 

[zacyee]

What kind of USB drive do you have? What write speeds does it support? Do you have the USB drive plugged into a multi-port hub? There are many reasons why there might be issues, but without the full picture we cannot provide adequate tech support.

Sounds like you at least have the root TeslaCam folder figured out if you can review the footage from some trips.

You cannot currently view or remove video while it is plugged into the Tesla. Lack of saving is still largely unknown outside Tesla engineering and presumably they are working to make it more reliable with each software update.

 

[swaltner]

To “flush” the data to the drive before ejecting it, many touch and hold the dashcam icon waiting for it to flash under your finger), the wait for several seconds for the red light on the dashcam to switch to grey. Now it’s “safe” to remove.

I say “safe” because it’s just anecdotal evidence that this helps, but it’s a nice sugar pill, so I generally do this.

 

[Knightshade]

What kind of USB drive do you have? What write speeds does it support?

Even the slowest USB drives are much much faster than the car is writing data.

Do you have the USB drive plugged into a multi-port hub?

That on the other hand could potentially be an issue... (and why mine is directly plugged in, while the other port has the hub with my music USB key and the phone charging cables)

Is there a way of viewing stuff on the usbdrive?

Only by removing it and attaching it to another device to view the files

Is there a way of flushing any video before removing the usbdrive?

You can hold the camera icon down till the red light turns off and wait a minute. It shouldn't be recording after that. This still doesn't appear to actually cleanly unmount the drive in the file system but it's better than nothing.

 

[cbruner]

Even the slowest USB drives are much much faster than the car is writing data.

Turns out, another ! alert informed me that the drive was too slow, on my next trip out.

So I've bought a new one. Turns out, Tesla can't make it's own TeslaCam directory, although it can make recents and saved directories. So nothing was recorded on the way back.

That on the other hand could potentially be an issue... (and why mine is directly plugged in, while the other port has the hub with my music USB key and the phone charging cables)

Not it's on it's lonely in it's unique hole.

You can hold the camera icon down till the red light turns off and wait a minute. It shouldn't be recording after that. This still doesn't appear to actually cleanly unmount the drive in the file system but it's better than nothing.

Good to know. I think it didn't record the second trip because I had turned it off by accident. (lesson learned).

 

[lolder]

You hold the cam icon for a few seconds until it flashes white under your finger. Wait several seconds more until the red dot turns to grey and then remove the drive to view on your phone or PC. See page 63 of Model 3 Owners Manual.