In short: copy the original files off the card before anything else. For insurers and police, keep edits minimal and hand over the untouched originals as well. For YouTube, trim tightly, blur faces and plates, and add context with text.
First, protect the original
Dash cams overwrite old footage in a loop. After an incident:
- Lock the clip (most cams have an emergency button or save automatically on impact).
- Remove the memory card or connect to the camera's app as soon as it's safe, and copy the whole folder — including the segments before and after — to your computer.
- Keep those copies unedited. Edited versions are for viewing; originals are the evidence.
Finding the moment
Segment file names usually encode the date and time, for example 20251202_010803F.ts: 2 December 2025, 01:08:03, front camera (F; R for rear). Compare that with when the incident happened. The dash cam's clock can drift — check it against a clock visible in the footage or the time on your phone's call log.
Opening TS and MP4 segments
Browsers can't play MPEG transport streams directly. When you add a .ts, .mts or .m2ts file, VDOAPP repackages it into MP4 form in a background worker — no re-compression, so no quality loss. H.264 and HEVC are both supported (HEVC depends on your device's decoder; you'll get a clear message if it's unsupported).
- Add the segment containing the incident, plus the ones either side if it happens near a boundary.
- They appear on the timeline in the order you add them; use ◀ Move / Move ▶ to fix the order.
- Press M to drop a marker at key moments while you watch.
Edit for the purpose
| For | Do | Don't |
|---|---|---|
| Insurance or police | Trim to ~30 s before and after; add a text card with date, time and location; include rear-camera view if relevant | Speed changes, filters, cuts within the incident, music |
| YouTube / social | Start just before the action; slow-motion replay; zoom keyframes on the key detail; captions explaining what happened | Showing identifiable people or plates without blurring |
| Scenic drive | Speed ramps, Stabilise for bumpy roads, music, AI highlights to find the best stretches | Keeping every minute — 3 minutes is plenty |
A useful structure for an incident video: the event at normal speed, then a replay at 0.5× with a Zoom in keyframe on the critical moment, then a still (❄ Freeze frame at playhead) with an arrow sticker.
Privacy before posting
Posting a video that shows another driver's plate or a pedestrian's face can invite complaints — and in some countries, legal trouble. Before publishing:
- Turn on Blur faces (AI tab) for clips with pedestrians or people in other cars.
- Cover number plates with a sticker or shape overlay, animated with keyframes to follow the car.
- Remove or mute your own cabin audio if it contains conversations.
- Don't publish footage of an incident that's under investigation without checking with your insurer.
Exporting
Export MP4 at 1080p and the footage's own frame rate (often 30 fps) — it plays on every phone and computer. Name the file descriptively, e.g. 2025-12-02_0108_junction-incident.mp4. When you send it to an insurer, attach the original segment files too.
Frequently asked questions
My .ts file shows an error. Why?
Most likely it's HEVC and your browser can't decode HEVC on this device. Try Safari on a Mac, or Chrome or Edge on a recent Windows PC, or set the dash cam to record H.264.
Can I show front and rear cameras together?
Yes. Put the front video on the timeline and the rear one as a PiP overlay in a corner; use Starts at to line them up.
Is the speed and GPS overlay kept?
If the camera burns it into the picture, yes. Data stored as a separate stream isn't read.