You hear more and more people talking about it; a dashcam in the car. A dashcam would act as a sort of witness in the car in case of vandalism or an accident and make driving a lot safer. But how does a dashcam actually work? We are happy to explain it to you.

1. How does connecting a dashcam work?

It's actually quite simple. A dashcam is a camera that you attach to the windscreen of your car and which records everything you see while driving. A dashcam comes with a long USB cable that you connect to the car's cigarette lighter (or directly to the car's battery via a separate ‘Continuous power supply’). As soon as you start the car - and thus the dashcam receives power - the dashcam automatically turns on and starts recording.

2. How does saving videos with a dashcam work?

The recorded videos are stored just like any other camera on a Micro SD card that you need to insert into the dashcam. The videos are stored in short clips of usually 5 minutes on this SD card. Once the SD card is full, the oldest video is automatically deleted to make room for a new video. The dashcam can keep recording continuously in this way, this is called Loop recording.

3. How long can you record with a dashcam?

How many hours of video can be stored depends on the capacity of the SD card you use and the size (quality) of the videos. As a rule of thumb, we usually say that with 32gb you can store around 6 hours of FullHD videos. This means that with a 32gb Micro SD card, the last 6 hours of rides are stored on the SD card.

4. How does a dashcam work in an accident?

The main benefit of a dashcam is that it records a collision or vandalism so you can use these videos as evidence later. To do this, every dashcam has a built-in G-sensor that records vibrations. When you are involved in a collision or accident, the dashcam notices this and will securely store the current video. This security means the video cannot be overwritten by the Loop recording and you can later send it to the police or insurance company.

5. How does a dashcam work while parking?

As well as using a dashcam while driving, you can also use it for security while parking. To do this, you need to connect the dashcam not to the cigarette power supply, but directly to the battery using a hardwire kit. This hardwire kit provides both power and a signal to the dashcam as soon as you turn off the car ignition, something that is not possible via the cigarette power supply. The Hardwire kit also has a built-in safety device to ensure you don't end up with a flat battery.

The dashcam then goes into ‘parking mode’ or ‘parking mode’ as soon as you turn off the car ignition.* In this, the dashcam is on tand-by and begins a short recording as soon as a movement or vibration is detected. Some dashcams also have a so-called time lapse parking mode where the dashcam takes a picture every second.

*The automatic switching on of parking mode does not work on dashcams with a manual parking mode. You need to manually switch this on in the dashcam's menu as soon as you park the car.

6. How does video viewing work?

You can view videos from your dashcam by removing the SD card from the camera and inserting it into your PC or laptop. You can view the videos with almost any video playback software or, in some cases, use the software of your dashcam's brand. With Wi-Fi dashcams, it is also possible - within a 10-metre radius - to use your phone to log in to the dashcam and watch the videos. If your dashcam has an LCD screen, you can also view the videos on that.