Samsara dash cams are HD cameras designed to improve fleet safety, exonerate drivers, and lower accident-related costs. The Samsara dashboard supports the remote retrieval of video clips from all generations of dash cams and multi-cams. To track and coach an undetected crash as a safety event, you can also use video retrieval to Manually Generate a Crash Event to surface the event for coaching in the Safety Inbox.
Note
To view in-cab previews before you request video retrieval, enable Driver-Facing Trip Images.
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The Video Library (Safety ( 
) > Video Library) displays video requests in order of most recent requests. Each new video request displays information about the status of the request, either that the video is in process or that the vehicle is offline and must connect to cellular or Wi-Fi before the request can complete.
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After you Request a Video, Samsara displays it in the Saved Video Library as a card with a trip photo still, the vehicle ID, driver name (if known), the name of the person who requested the video, and the location where the segment begins. If you star a video for later review, it displays under the Starred Video Library.
To determine if video is available, see the video format available for the time range will have one of the following resolution types:
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High Resolution Video (HRV): Highest video resolution available (1 minute max duration for each retrieval).
Note
For Third-Party Camera installations, you can request HRV up to 1 minute in length; however, Secondary Extended Video (SEV) is not available for this installation type.
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Hyperlapse video: High resolution video that can help you to quickly review the footage to identify important events. For more information about hyperlapse video format availability, see Hyperlapse Videos.
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Secondary Extended Video (SEV): Lower resolution video with the most efficient processing time.
Longer segments require more time to process and download. Default resolution settings are dependent on the length of your video retrieval. Alternatively, use the following table to choose the resolution options available for your video retrieval:
|
Video Duration |
Video Type (Default) |
Audio Available |
Video Type (Alternative) |
|---|---|---|---|
|
<1m |
High Resolution |
Yes |
Secondary Stream |
|
1m-10m |
Secondary Stream (Secondary Extended) |
No |
Hyperlapse |
|
> 10m |
Hyperlapse |
No |
N/A |
All trip videos are stored locally on the cameras and must be retrieved using cellular service or Wi-Fi.
Observe the following considerations and limitations when requesting a video:
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Video retrieval is available for completed trips. Video retrieval is not available for in-progress trips.
A trip is defined as traveling from a starting point to a stop or destination. By default, a trip begins when your vehicle achieves a speed of at least 5 mph and ends when the vehicle speed remains below 5 mph / 8 kph for 5 minutes or when your vehicle crosses a state or national border.
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By default, Samsara AI dash cams continue to record for an additional 10 minutes after a trip ends. To configure your dash cam settings or to enable Parking Mode to record a longer duration, see Dash Cam Settings.
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Samsara does not support the ability to extract license plate information from dash cam video retrievals and does not have any tools to enhance images.
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The dash cam and the Vehicle Gateway (VG) must both be online and connected for video retrieval to complete.
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When video storage capacity is reached, older videos are purged to make room for newer videos. The older videos will not be available for retrieval after being purged.
Note
Camera model and selected optional settings can impact video storage capacity. To view or modify your settings, see Dash Camera Settings).
In certain situations—such as a vehicle accident or Vehicle Gateway (VG) theft—the VG is damaged or otherwise unrecoverable. As a result, you may not be able to retrieve video footage through the dashboard. However, if you are able to recover the dash cam, you may still be able to recover the footage. The process to recover the footage involves pairing a new VG to the old vehicle in the dashboard and then connecting the dash cam to that VG.
Warning
You must complete the steps in order. Plugging the dash cam into a new VG before that gateway is paired to the vehicle that was in the accident will result in deletion of any existing video footage on the camera.
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Locate the dash cam from the original vehicle.
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Procure a separate vehicle that has a VG already installed.
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Record the serial number of the VG in the new vehicle from the Devices > Gateways page.
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Deactivate the VG in the new vehicle.
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Reactivate the VG in the new vehicle.
Click Activate Devices in the top right of the Devices page. Then follow the prompts to activate the VG.
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Search for the serial number of the new VG and then pair it to the original vehicle.
Note
After you retrieve the video footage, you will later repeat the process to deactivate, reactivate, and pair the new VG back to the new vehicle.
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Plug the dash cam from the original vehicle into the new VG.
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After the dash cam is connected, you can retrieve the video footage from the original vehicle through the Video Library.
For more information, see Video Retrieval.
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After you obtain the footage, deactivate the VG from the old vehicle and unplug the dash cam. Then activate the VG and pair it back with the new vehicle.
To remotely retrieve footage from a specific vehicle:
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Verify video is available for retrieval (see Video Retrieval Considerations and Limitations).
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Select Request Video to access your camera footage from any of the following dashboard locations:
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Video Library: In your Samsara dashboard, navigate to Safety > Video Library
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Proximity Search: In your Samsara dashboard, navigate to Overview > Proximity
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To request videos by trip, see Review Trip Images and Video.
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Select the vehicle from the menu and the date of the retrieval.
Video Types and Retrieval Duration are dependent on the camera configuration and Camera Storage Capacity. If the video is available, the date displays as white and the calendar displays the
Earliest Footageretrieval date.
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Click and drag the sliders to highlight the time range for the video request.
A solid bar indicates that high resolution, hyperlapse, and SEV format videos are all available.
A striped bar indicates that only SEV format footage is available.
No bar indicates that the footage is not available. This can either mean that the footage is no longer available or was not recorded at that time.
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To allow for longer video retrievals, select a hyperlapse (sped-up) video format or request the video from the secondary video stream.
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To switch between formats, select from the format from the menu (High Resolution, Secondary Extended, or Hyperlapse).
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Select Retrieve Video.
Select a 1 minute segment to display more information about that segment, including a map of where the vehicle was traveling, the location, and the assigned driver (if available).
Samsara sends the request to the camera, which returns the video when it is next online. The time it takes for a video retrieval can vary. For example, if both the camera and the vehicle gateway are connected, you may be able to retrieve video immediately.
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To view the status of your video retrieval request, navigate to Video Library Requests and select the date range for the video. Review the Progress for the video retrieval request:
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Connecting: The request is in the retrieval queue on the device -
Uploading: The dash cam has created the video and is uploading the file to the cloud
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Processing: Samsara has received the video and is processing the file
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Video Ready: Retrieval is complete and the video is ready for review -
Vehicle Offline: The device is offline. Samsara will retry the request when the device is next online -
Upload Failed: Processing has failed due to corrupt files
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After the video request displays Video Ready, select Play Video.
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To manually create a crash event from a video retrieval to coach from the Safety Inbox, see Manually Generate a Crash Event.
Comments
1 comment
my retrieval only goes back 10 days and on others longer
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