Micro SD Card Capacity And Loop Recording Explained

Maximum Card Size Is A Firmware Limit

It is not about the slot. The controller and firmware decide what the unit can address. In this range that means 32GB on the DVR-1080TIC and the DVR-1080WWB, 64GB on most of the WiFi clocks, and 128GB on the WF-1080ULC, the WF-1080HKC, the DVR-1080AC and the DVR-1080PWC. Fitting a larger card than the model supports does not work.

Encoding Changes How Much Fits

A 64GB card holds far more H.264 footage than AVI. The WF-720TLC and the WF-720MDC baby monitors both use H.264, as does the WF-1080OKC clock. The DVR-1080PDC and the DVR-1080DIC write AVI. Two models with the same card limit can hold very different amounts of footage.

What Loop Recording Does

When the card is full, a unit with loop recording overwrites the oldest file and keeps going. Without it, the unit stops. The DVR-1080PDC supports cycle recording and the DVR-1080TIC has a selectable overwrite function. If a camera is going to be left unattended for weeks, loop recording is not optional.

Loop Recording Has A Cost

It means the oldest footage is gone. If an incident is discovered three weeks after it happened and the card loops every ten days, there is nothing to retrieve. Match card size and resolution to how often somebody will actually check.

Cards Are Not Supplied

With two exceptions the catalogue ships without a card. The DVR-2KPNC has 16GB built in and the DVR-1080GTC has a 16GB DVR on board. Everything else needs a card bought separately, which is worth saying clearly in a retail listing to avoid a return.