How to setup SD recording on Axis cameras (Event Recording)

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Let's take a look at how to set up SD card recording on Axis camera.

Micro SD Card on Axis camera

I have some cameras in my lab, and here I show a real example...

The SD card for Axis cameras

You need to buy the correct SD card for your security camera.

Yeah. That's right; there is a list of the best SD card for security cameras.

You can either pick one from such a list or just use the Axis SD card itself.

Axis OEM Sandisk SD card, so you are good to go with this brand as well.

The cards must be fast and reliable to record videos without compromising the quality, so just make sure you pick the correct card to avoid problems.

Format the SD card

Before start recording, it's necessary to format the SD card.

The camera can format the SD card using the ext4 which is a filesystem used by the Linux operating system. So just let the camera do its job 🙂

To format the card, go the Settings >> System >> Storage, click the little arrow on the right side to expand the menu. On tools, Choose "Format (erase all).

This is what you see on Axis cameras with the new web interface.

Format SD card on Axis camera

The following picture shows an Axis camera with an old web interface.

Axis camera with old web interface - format SD card

Either way, it's recommended to format the card with the ext4 filesystem.

How to set up the SD card recording

Now the micro SD card is ready to record the video stream captured by the camera. Still, it depends on profiles and events to start recording.

The concept is the same for old and new cameras, however there are subtle differences in the way the setup is done. Let's take a look on both of them.

New web interface

Here are the steps to get your Axis camera recording on the SD card.

Insert the micro SD camera into the camera;
Format the SD card with the ext4 filesystem;
Make sure the Motion Detection App is running;
Go to Settings >> Events and create a new rule;
Select VMD (Video Motion Detection) as the condition;
Select Record Video as the action and select the SD card.
Save the configuration.

The following pictures show the details on how to set up the SD card recording.

Open the "Events" web interface.

Event menu on the Axis camera new web interface

Add a new rule and create the condition and action.

As you can see, there are other details, such as the stream profile you want to use and pre and post buffer to have the extra recording before and after the event.

Old web interface

The setup is similar for the old web interface.

Just follow the steps below:

Click on Setup >> Events > Action Rules;
Click the "Add..." button;
Enable the rule and give it a name;
Select Detectors >> Motion Alarm as the condition;
Select Record Video and choose the Stream profile;
Choose the SD card for the storage;
Check the boxes pre-trigger and post-trigger;
Click OK to save the configuration.

The following picture shows an example of how to set up the recording.

And that's it.

Now you have your Axis camera recording into the SD card based on events.

==> There's also an option to enable Continuous recording if you don't want to use the event system, but this can quickly fill up the micro SD card.