About Parking Mode

Dashcams are designed to record your drive, but did you know BlackVue dashboard cameras can also monitor your car when you are away? It is a very useful feature to have if you are worried about hit-and-runs or vandalism on your parked vehicle. All BlackVue dashcams feature Parking Mode monitoring. Here we share a few things to know about Parking Mode.

When does the dashcam switch to Parking Mode?

Since the X Series models, you can hardwire the dashcam directly to the fuse box of your vehicle. In this case, the dashcam will switch to Parking Mode as soon as ignition is turned off and monitor the voltage to shut down at the set cutoff value.

X Series models also activate Parking Mode based on the accelerometer’s status, in case you cannot hardwire the dashcam but still want to use Parking Mode.

Various Parking Mode “modes”?

The “regular” Parking Mode detects both:

• motions recorded by the image sensor (Parking Mode files marked “P” in the file list)
• impacts detected by the accelerometer/G-sensor (Event files marked “E” in the file list).

Since August 2018, BlackVue introduced Time Lapse + Buffered Events dashcams in addition to the regular Motion and Impact Detection mode:

• The default Motion & Impact Detection mode, with the addition of selectable detection regions.
• Time lapse (with buffered Events videos in case of impact).

List of models supporting Time Lapse + Buffered Event:

• DR970X, DR970X LTE, DR770X, DR770X LTE, DR770X Box
• DR750-2CH LTE / DR750X-2CH LTE Plus
• DR900X (and X Plus) and DR750X (and X Plus) Series
• DR900S and DR750S Series.

With the latest firmware and software releases, the BlackVue DR900S Series and DR750S Series receive two major Parking Mode upgrades: 

• Brand new Time-Lapse mode (with buffered Events) > Select “Timelapse”.
• Improved Motion & Impact Detection mode (with region-based motion detection) > Select “Motion & Impact detection”.

Access Parking Mode settings under Firmware settings > Basic > Recording > Parking mode recording.

These two parking mode were applied to the camera models released after the S models (except for DR590X).

New Time Lapse with Buffered Events

30 times longer recording time on your microSD card

Time Lapse Parking Mode allows your dashcam to continuously record at 1FPS (one frame per second). Videos are played back at 30FPS. 
Each one-minute video recorded covers a 30-minute period. 

No more worrying over files getting overwritten in Parking Mode.
Put simply, each hour of Time Lapse video covers a real-time period of 30 hours.
In other words, a DR900S-2CH with a 16GB microSD card–55 minutes recording front and rear in Extreme mode–could run for over 27 hours in Time Lapse Parking Mode before starting to loop.
Pretty cool, right?

Time Lapse files are categorized as Parking Mode (marked “P” in the file list).

Buffered Event videos in case of impact detected

Now, there are still going to be situations where you want to have an actual video because 1FPS might not be sufficient.

That is why BlackVue’s Time Lapse mode also includes buffered Event recording.
It means in case of a hit-and-run, your BlackVue switches to regular Event recording, including the 5-6 seconds before the impact. 

Improved Motion & Impact Detection

An upgrade to the existing Parking Mode

The “regular” Parking Mode detects both:

• motions recorded by the image sensor (Parking Mode files marked “P” in the file list)
• impacts detected by the accelerometer/G-sensor (Event files marked “E” in the file list).

In both cases, the files recorded include the 5-6 seconds leading to the trigger (motion or impact).

Motion detection is useful to detect and record everything happening around your parked car, even when nobody actually bumps into it. 

Someone keying your vehicle, for example, might not create a sufficiently strong vibration to trigger the impact sensor, but as long as the vandal gets into the dashcam’s frame, it will be recorded by the camera.

A drawback is that in areas with a lot of traffic, motion detection triggers often. This means you can end up with potentially irrelevant videos of passing cars or far-away moving objects, for example.

Ignore unnecessary areas to reduce false-positives

Now, with the new Region-based Motion Detection, you are given a 4×4 grid of 16 selectable “regions” (Go to Firmware settings > Sensitivity > Motion detection (Parking Mode)).

By default, all regions are active and trigger motion detection. If you want to ignore the trees swaying in the wind, for example, you can do so by deselecting the regions making up the upper row. If your hood reflects the sky, you could deselect the regions covering it, and so on. 

Time Lapse Parking Mode

In Time Lapse mode:

• Your dash cam continuously records at 1FPS (one frame per second). Videos are played back at 30FPS. Note: Time lapse Parking Mode files are marked “P” in the file list. They do not include audio.
• When an impact is detected, the dashcam creates a regular Event video (with audio and pre-impact buffer).

Each 1-minute Time lapse Parking Mode video covers a real-time period of 30 minutes.

This mode allows to cover a period of more than 27 hours on a 16GB microSD card for a dual-channel model at the highest (Extreme) quality setting.

How to set it up?

1. Access Firmware settings through Cloud, Direct Wifi, or Web Viewer.

2. Go to Basic Settings.

3. Click on Recording.

4. Select Parking mode Recording

5. Choose Time Lapse.

[IMPORTANT NOTE] It takes about 30 minutes after the camera goes into parking mode for the first time-lapse file to show. Please wait for about 30 minutes to observe time-lapse recordings.

Region-based motion detection Parking Mode

Motion & Impact Detection Parking Mode detects both:

• Motions recorded by the image sensor (Parking Mode files marked “P” in the file list).
• Impacts detected by the accelerometer/G-sensor (Event files marked “E” in the file list).

Thanks to buffered recording, the videos include a few seconds of the action occurring before the motion or impact.

With all models released since 2017, users can select detection regions to reduce the risk of triggering too many motion recordings due to trees swaying in the wind, far away moving objects, etc.
Simply select via the BlackVue Viewer or App the areas of the screen that you want to be sensitive to motion. Motion happening in the unselected areas will be ignored.

How to set it up?

1. Access Firmware settings through Cloud, Direct Wifi, or Web Viewer.

2. Go to Basic Settings.

3. Click on Recording.

4. Select Parking mode Recording

5. Choose Motion Detection.

6. Get back to the main Firmware Settings Screen

7. Go to sensitivity.

8. Click on Motion Detection (Parking Mode)

9. Choose the sensitivity and unclick the part on the grid that you want to ignore.

Which mode should you choose?

It is up to you of course, but here are a few things to consider:

• Small-capacity microSD card? Time-lapse is your best choice, especially if you use a dual-channel dashcam.
• Large-capacity microSD card? You can choose either mode.
• Want audio in all circumstances? Choose Motion & Impact detection (Time-lapse videos do not include audio, although the Event videos do).
• Parked in a quiet area with little action? Motion & Impact detection is best. 
• Parked in a busy area with lots of vehicle and foot traffic? Time-lapse can help.
• Want to have a quick overview of everything that happens around your parked car? Time-lapse is your friend.
• Want to record only impact Event videos? Choose Motion & Impact detection, then turn off motion detection under Firmware settings > Sensitivity > Motion detection (Parking Mode).

BlackVue Parking Mode FAQs

How does the dashcam record in Parking Mode?

In Parking Mode, your BlackVue is active all the time but does not write to the memory card, unless:

• Movement is detected by the front or rear camera (sensitivity can be adjusted or turned off). In this case, it creates a one-minute Parking video recording that starts a few seconds before the trigger*.
• An impact or vibration is picked up by the dashcam’s accelerometer (sensitivity can be adjusted). In this case, it creates a one-minute Event video recording that starts a few seconds before the trigger*.

*The BlackVue constantly keeps the last few seconds of video in its buffer memory so as to catch the actions that led to the trigger.

What are the advantages of Parking Mode over Normal Mode?

I have a dual-channel dashcam. Does Parking Mode work for both cameras?

The Parking videos can be triggered by motion detected by either the front or the rear (or interior) camera.
The Event videos are triggered by vibrations detected by the accelerometer located in the front camera.
In Time Lapse mode, all cameras record continuously.
In either case, the dashcam will save videos recorded by both the front and rear cameras.

Can I deactivate Parking Mode?

Yes, Parking Mode can be deactivated in your camera’s settings.
In this case, the dashcam will continue recording in Normal Mode as long as it is powered, even if the vehicle is stationary for more than five minutes.

What do I need to use Parking Mode?

On the majority of vehicles, the cigarette lighter / 12V auxiliary power outlet is not powered unless ignition is on. That means the dashcam must be hardwired to the vehicle’s battery or powered by a dedicated Parking Mode battery. 
For this reason, Parking Mode usually requires to use a Parking Mode kit to connect to the vehicle’s battery or to use a dedicated Parking Mode battery.

All current BlackVue dashcams models (except DR750-2CH LTE) feature built-in voltage monitoring. These models come with both a cigarette lighter power adapter and a hardwiring cable. 

• Hardwiring Cable (models with built-in voltage monitoring only)
• Power Magic Pro (Hardwiring Kit) Discontinued as of January 2023

Parking Mode Batteries:

• Power Magic Battery Pack (B-112)
• Power Magic Ultra Battery (B-130X)