Spend ten minutes on practice websites and you’ll notice two completely different styles of hazard perception clip: grainy, filmed dashcam-style footage that looks like it was recorded decades ago, and clean computer-generated (CGI) clips that look like a driving game. Naturally, learners ask: which one will I actually see at Service NSW? Should I spend my prep time on the new ones?

The short answer

As of September 2026, the real NSW HPT still uses the original filmed video clips, not CGI. Learners sitting the test continue to report the same low-resolution, real-footage scenarios that the test has used for years. If a practice resource shows you crisp computer-generated clips, it’s not showing you the NSW test format, and practicing only on CGI clips can leave you unprepared for what the real screen looks like.

We re-check this against recent test-taker reports regularly, and we’ll update this page if Transport for NSW changes the format.

Where the CGI confusion comes from

There’s a persistent claim online that “no state uses the old videos anymore, they’ve all moved to CGI”. It’s wrong for NSW, and it spreads because a few things get mixed together:

• Other states and newer materials. Some Australian jurisdictions and newer training products use computer-generated hazard clips. Seeing those, people assume NSW followed.
• UK practice content. The UK’s hazard perception test moved to CGI clips years ago, and UK practice material floods search results. The UK test also scores completely differently (multiple clicks, graded 0 to 5 per hazard), so it’s doubly wrong as NSW prep.
• Practice apps covering multiple states. Apps that serve several states sometimes mix clip styles, so NSW learners see CGI clips inside an app they downloaded for NSW practice and reasonably assume they’re test-accurate.

If you’ve been thrown off by CGI clips in an app, that’s a format mismatch, not a sign you’re unprepared.

Why the old footage is actually the hard part

The age of the clips isn’t trivia, it changes how you should prepare. The real test’s footage is low resolution on a screen that’s bigger but not sharper than your phone. Learners consistently describe squinting at distant vehicles, struggling with depth perception, and only recognising a hazard because they already knew the clip. A few practical consequences:

• Practice with the same visual style. Your eyes need reps at picking a dark car out of grainy footage, judging gaps without crisp detail, and spotting brake lights that are a few blurry pixels. Clean CGI practice doesn’t build that.
• Learn where to look. In low-detail footage, scanning patterns matter more: intersections ahead, the edges where pedestrians enter, the mirrors of parked cars.
• Expect the real screen to feel worse, not better. Walk in expecting sharp modern video and the first clip will rattle you. Walk in expecting exactly what you practiced and it’s routine.

Our practice library uses the real filmed-footage style for all 32 scenarios, so the visual experience on test day matches what you’ve already seen. The first 5 scenarios are free.

The bottom line

Don’t spend your prep time on CGI clips for a filmed-footage test. Confirm your practice resource matches the NSW format (real footage, one touch per clip, timing-scored), do a proper run-through, and the dated video quality becomes a familiar quirk instead of a surprise. For what else to expect at the terminal, see what happens on HPT test day.

Last checked against recent test-taker reports: September 2026.