A sewer camera inspection ends with a file on a memory card, and the value of the inspection depends on what happens to that file next. A plumber quoting a repair wants to see the defect at its distance. A buyer’s agent wants a clip they can forward. An insurer wants the whole recording with the date on it. A seller wants proof the line is sound. Each needs the footage in a form they can open, with the parts that matter easy to find and the distance reading visible, and the steps between the card and that result are simple but often skipped.
Quick answer: copy the whole recording off the card to a computer and keep that original untouched. Make a trimmed copy for sharing: the entry, the pass, and a slow section at each finding, with the on-screen distance left visible and not cropped out. Export in a common format such as MP4; most sewer cameras record in one or in AVI, which converts easily. Share by a link to a cloud folder or a video service set to private rather than as an attachment, because the files are large. Send with it a one-page summary: entry point, pipe material, each finding with its distance and a still, and the surface marks. Keep the original for as long as the matter might be revisited.
Getting it off the card
Most sewer cameras record to an SD or TF card, some to a USB drive and a few to internal storage with USB export. Remove the card with the camera off, put it in a reader, and copy the files to a dated folder on a computer before doing anything else. Do not edit on the card and do not delete from the card until the copy is confirmed. Some cameras split long recordings into several files; copy them all and keep them in order. Exporting footage to a computer covers the formats and the cameras that do it differently, and file formats and how to open them the playback side.
Trimming to what matters
Nobody watches forty minutes of pipe. A shared clip should show the entry point, enough of the pass to establish the pipe material and general condition, and a slow section at each finding with the head held still. Use a simple video editor to cut and join; every operating system has one. Do not crop the frame, because the distance counter is usually in a corner and it is the most important thing on screen. Label the clip with the address, the date and the entry point. Trimming and labelling clips covers the editing.
Stills
A still from each finding, with the distance visible, is often more useful than the video for a quote or a report, because it can be printed, pasted and compared. Take it from a frame where the head is still and the lighting shows texture. Name each still by distance and finding. Stills vs video discusses when each is the better evidence.
Sharing it
Video files are large and email rejects them. A link to a cloud folder, shared with the recipient only, works for most people; a private upload to a video service works for those who prefer to stream it. Send the trimmed clip and the stills, and offer the full recording on request. Confirm the recipient can open it before relying on it; a plumber who cannot play the file will quote from the description instead. For a buyer or a seller, the agent usually handles the forwarding, and a link is easier to forward than an attachment.
What to send with it
A one-page summary: the address, the date, the entry point and direction, the pipe material, each finding with its distance, severity and still, the surface marks with a photograph, and what was not inspected. The summary is what gets read; the video is what gets checked. Inspection report documentation covers what the summary should contain, and how to read a report how a recipient will use it.
Keeping the original
The untrimmed recording, dated, in a folder named by address, on a drive and ideally a backup. A purchase can be revisited; a claim can take a year; a repair warranty runs for years. The trimmed clip is for sharing; the original is for the day someone asks what was really there. Footage retention covers how long.
Privacy
A recording of a sewer line is a record of someone’s property, and a contractor who shares it beyond the customer without asking has overstepped. Share with the customer and with whoever the customer directs; keep it off public platforms unless the customer agrees. Customer privacy and inspection footage covers the point.
File sizes and formats
Most reels record MP4 or AVI at 720p or 1080p, and a ten-minute clip runs from a few hundred megabytes to over a gigabyte. Email will not carry that, and a text message will compress it until the pipe wall is a smear. A cloud link is the right vehicle for the full clip, and a trimmed excerpt of under a minute is the right vehicle for a message. If the recorder produced AVI, convert it to MP4 before sharing; a phone will not play AVI without a separate app, and a plumber reading quotes on a phone will not install one.
Common questions
What format should I send sewer camera video in?
MP4 opens everywhere. If the camera records in AVI, convert it. Do not crop out the distance counter.
Can I email it?
Rarely; the files are too large. A private cloud link is the usual way.
Should I send the whole recording?
Send a trimmed clip and stills, and keep the whole recording available on request.
Related guides
See file naming and backups, sharing inspection video with customers, and the best sewer cameras with DVR recording.