Blog2 min read

How to view BlackVue dashcam footage without BlackVue Viewer

Watch BlackVue DR970X, DR770X and DR900X recordings on any computer, with normal, event and parking clips sorted and front and rear in sync. No install needed.

BlackVue cameras are known for their clean design, strong parking mode and cloud features. To watch the footage on a computer, BlackVue offers its own desktop program, BlackVue Viewer, for Windows and macOS. It works, but it is another program to install and keep up to date, and many people just want to look through last week's drives.

How BlackVue names its files

20240315_143022_NF.mp4

  • 20240315 is the date
  • 143022 is the time
  • The first letter after the time is the recording type: N normal, E event, P parking, M manual, plus a few more for impact and motion in parking mode
  • The second letter is the camera: F front, R rear, I interior

The clips live in a single Record folder, so a full card is one long list of near-identical names.

Watching BlackVue footage in your browser

Tripframe understands BlackVue names out of the box.

  1. Put the microSD card in your computer.
  2. Open the app in Chrome or Edge.
  3. Choose the card or its Record folder.

Clips are grouped by day. Normal, event and parking recordings each get a label, so you can filter on events only and see straight away what triggered the G-sensor. Front and rear files from the same moment play side by side or picture in picture. Double-click the small view, or press W, to swap them.

GPS

BlackVue writes its GPS log as NMEA data inside the file. Tripframe reads it and shows the route and speed on a map next to the video.

When BlackVue Viewer is still the right tool

BlackVue Viewer can change camera settings, and the BlackVue app handles cloud features such as remote live view. Tripframe does neither: it is a player. For looking back at what happened, it is quicker, and it runs on any computer without installing anything.

Keep your clips private

BlackVue owners often use the cloud. If you would rather keep certain clips off any server, Tripframe is a good fit: the files are read on your own computer and never uploaded.

Comparing models? See the best high-end dashcams and best multi-channel dashcams.