topic Re: Max microSD Card Size - VMB5000 in Arlo Ultra

What is the max microSD Card Size for VMB5000? Wanting to use 512 GB or 1024 GB.

HDKorp — Wed, 14 Oct 2020 14:19:04 GMT

I have 2-VMB500 SmartHubs since my house has some dead spots. I need to know what the max size microSD card I can use for Direct Access Storage. I've seen several comments saying that a 256gb works fine, but I would like to use 512gb or 1024gb since I have 8-Ultra 2 cameras. I have not found a single mention anywhere (Arlo, Google, YouTube, etc) with the size limitation other than the manual, which is outdated. All I can find for sure is it must be at least 16gb and it must be formatted FAT32.

Re: Max microSD Card Size - VMB5000

jguerdat — Wed, 14 Oct 2020 13:26:03 GMT

I haven't seen any info as to max size. FAT32 limits at 2TB so there's that but that's it. All I can say is try it and let us know.

BTW, unless you're recording a lot and have to keep the videos for extended periods of time, the huge drive sizes really aren't needed.

Re: Max microSD Card Size - VMB5000

HDKorp — Fri, 16 Oct 2020 02:56:06 GMT

256gb (only 238gb after formatting) only gives you ~19.75 hours of 4K recording time. 8 cameras recording at 4K will take up space fast. I'm on a corner and 4 cameras face the street (record avg 8+ mins/hour or 2.25 hours/day which gives ~9 days of recordings), being it records everything going by.

I went with using 2 hubs each with 256gb with a Amazon Prime Day deal. This option should double the number of days of recordings backed up.

Re: Max microSD Card Size - VMB5000

jguerdat — Fri, 16 Oct 2020 13:47:40 GMT

I'd strongly suggest positioning your cameras to NOT record street activity unless that's what you really need. The cameras will only record people out to ~25 feet which is their main purpose. Use a different mount if necessary.

Otherwise, I guess your option is to try a larger card to see what happens. Let us know the results.

Re: Max microSD Card Size - VMB5000

HDKorp — Fri, 16 Oct 2020 17:57:51 GMT

I actually do want to catch the vehicle traffic. We had some idiot shoot of a gun last year right in front of the house. Plus, our fence has been hit twice over the years from knuckleheads showing off then losing control of their vehicle.

By splitting the cameras amongst the two hubs, I'll expand days of storage for all.

Re: Max microSD Card Size - VMB5000

StephenB — Sat, 17 Oct 2020 13:00:08 GMT

@HDKorp wrote:
256gb (only 238gb after formatting) only gives you ~19.75 hours of 4K recording time.

There is a problem with your math.

The ultra bandwidth requirement is 3 megabits per second. The correct formula is 238*8000/(3*3600), which gives about 176 hours of recording time. In practice, it will be more, since the upload requirement is conservative.