GS900 (VF960S)

[jokiin]

OK, then they did it wrong, now I understand why they took it back off

 

[mariomart]

Okay, I updated to the latest firmware just to see if there were any other improvements (I don't consider the loss of GPS synced time as an improvement, it was a backward step )

What did I find? The latest update totally screws with the accuracy of the GPS. The initial lock (which was repeatable) would place me several hundred meters from my actual location and would take a good 10 seconds to settle down. Whilst driving I found that my Speed reading was also totally screwed up, about 10 minutes into one of my trips, on a clear sunny afternoon in an open area showed me doing 240 kph in an 80 zone. In a different 60 zone the speed indicated that I was doing over 80 for a prolonged period. I thought it may have been a bad update, so I re-downloaded and reinstalled but it was still the same.

I have reverted back to the last version which has GPS synced time and was reliable for me.

Cheers

 

[Astra]

I've just received my new VF960S and cannot find any information in the (very scant) user manual about 'Motion Detection' and 'Parking Mode'.

Could someone please explain what these modes do, and whether they are worth running?

Many thanks.

 

[jokiin]

to be honest you're better off not using it on this camera, requires the camera to be powered permanently and with the type of battery they use that's not a good proposition

 

[Eurotramp]

I've just received my new VF960S and cannot find any information in the (very scant) user manual about 'Motion Detection' and 'Parking Mode'.

Could someone please explain what these modes do, and whether they are worth running?

Many thanks.

Hi Astra,

Yes the manual is pretty poor.

When the motion detection is switched on it records for about 2 seconds when it sees motion and then goes back to sleep until the next motion is detected.
It does this even when the camera is recording a journey.

It's worth using this mode if you want to detect motion when the car is parked for a long time without looping the SD card, and you can bypass the ignition switch for power. The battery only lasts about 20 minutes.

I suspect that the parking mode records at fewer frames per second. I haven't managed to prove this or to get a response from Viofo yet. I can't differentiate the parking mode from the normal mode by eye.

I can't see any advantage running in this mode.

 

[flag97]

Hi GS900 and VF960S owners.
I bought one from foxoffer and tested it but I think my dvr is defective as I have shutdown issues.
When I turn on the ignition, the camera starts recording and everything looks OK, but as soon as I turn OFF the key, the camera shuts down immediately, without writing the last file.
I tried to charge the battery for 10 hours and managed to get a proper shutdown after that, I saw the bye bye screen.
Although the battery was charged (I let the device ON for 10-15 minutes without power cable) the battery logo remained red and empty, no green blocks Inside.
This means the camera is totally useless, as it would not record the last seconds before an accident.
I asked Foxoffer for help but it's chinese new year now.
Has any of you experienced the same issue and how did you handle with it?
Thanks.

 

[Eurotramp]

Hi Flag97,

Presumably you have the auto power off setting set to one minute or more?

Is your firmware version 20130718 ?

If the answer is yes to both questions, and you still have the problem, you may have a faulty camera.

If proven faulty Foxoffer will exchange the camera, but you will need to pay the return postage.

A bit tough when they sold you a faulty unit in the first place. Can cost £15 sending from the UK with realistic insurance.

To answer your question, no I have not had your problem. Something is defiantly not correct with yours.

 

[flag97]

Hi eurotramp and thanks for your reply.The auto power off si set to OFF.
I thought this was just to shut off the device when not connected to power cable. What is your setting for this option?
Firmware version is 20130912, I think it's the newest available.
Could you tell me when you turn on the camera manually if the battery indicator has green blocks in it, because on my device, I just have the battery logo red and empty.
When I start the engine, I have a power plug logo instead.
I would rather replace the battery myself if I were certain the problem comes from it, rather than paying €20 to send it back and pray for the replacement one to work correctly...

 

[flag97]

I took a look at the prices for sending it back from France and I think we're the world champions again...
€26,40 for a standard 1 kilogram parcel to China, this is 36% of the device's price, so I think I will keep it.

Concerning the firmware, do you think it is possible I downgrade to 20130718 to see if it improves anything?

 

[Eurotramp]

Hi Flag97.

My VF960S has the auto power off set to 1 minute.

This means that when the 12 volt supply from the car is disconnected the VF960S is kept running for 1 minute powered by the internal battery and then does a logical shut down. If I had set it to zero or off it would have switched off as soon as the power was disconnected.

The firmware versions prior to version 20130718 had issues with low volume sound and showing the wrong map locations so I should keep to version 20130718.

This firmware version still has low sound volume issues which Foxoffer say is satisfactory but I think they run the sound through an amplifier. The tell every one who complains that they are the only one complaining.

I found that some settings clash with other settings. I didn't bother to record which they were, I just set all the settings to those below.

Make sure that your settings are the same as mine and then come back if your FV960s is still not working correctly.

My settings are below:-

GS900 VF960S settings. MD 20 Dec 13

Video:

quality: super fine
resolution: 1080P30
motion detect: off *

video duration: 1 min

loop video: on
crash sensitivity: 8G
parking mode: off *
upside down: off

Setup:

LCD off: 1 min
auto power off: 1 min
time setup: I've set this to UTC time to match the GPS log time
volume : 04
reset system settings: ....
format: ....
language: English
stamp: date/time
beep sound: on
firmware version: FW VER:20130718

AAA:

flicker: 50 HZ
contrast: standard
sharpness: Hard
ae iso: auto
white balance: auto
ae bias: 0
ae meter mode: centre

 

[Eurotramp]

Hi Again,

The difference between version 20130912 and version 20130718 appears to be the way that GPS time is handled.

Version 20130718 got the time and date from the GPS satellites. This gets the UTC time which ever country you are in. It is effectively GMT in the winter. The Registrator reader allows you to enter your local time offset from the UTC time.

Two reasons to use the 20130718 version. One, it is stable and bug free, other than low sound volume, and two, you can prove beyond doubt that the time and date on the video are correct because you have no means to change it.

There have been some moans that it didn't show their local time which appears to have caused version 20130912. The argument got pretty lively with using the UTC time being judged to favour the orible Brits at the expense of the rest of the world and that a reviewer who didn't test the GPS model being responsible for causing a person to but a GPS model.

The idea that using your own manually local time is not an improvement. The police aren't that thick.

I see that Mariomart in Australia had some fun with version 20130912 and reverted to 20130718.

Golden rule in IT, never use the latest code unless it has been in use by someone else for at least a year.

This is due to the practise that a set number of weeks is set aside for testing and if the time is not enough the users will pay them good money to find their bugs.

Lets see if using my settings resolve the problem before I go out in the wind rain and darkness with my magnifying glass to see the colour of the little icons.

Regards.

 

[flag97]

Hi Eurotramp and thanks for your help.
So I set my device just like yours, except for the time setup for which I don't have the option for UTC time to match the GPS log time, so I let the date and time I had set up before.
With your setting I get some improvement, I could get 5 graceful shut down over the 10 attempts I did.
So I'm afraid my device doesn't work as it should and maybe the firmware is faulty, and sometimes doesn't give the order to save the file before shutting down.
I'll wait for the next firmware to come out and se if it improves things.
In the final option I will replace the batttery.

Good evening.

 

[Eurotramp]

Hi Flag97,

OK, the wrong settings are now eliminated.

Have you reverted to firmware version 20130718 ?

If you don't you wont know if the problems are in the firmware or hardware or battery.

Mariomart, about 12 postings up, reported issues with the version 20130912, and nobody else has reviewed that version.

Still want me to check the little icons in the morning ?

 

[flag97]

I haven't tried this firmware yet but will do it and then I'll let you know if this fixed the problem.
You can check the battery icons and tell me what you see.

 

[flag97]

I installed the new (old) firmware and now everything seems to work fine, it tried 10 times and had the device to shut down properly at every try.
This seems to have fixed the problem for me.
I'll tell you in the next few days if the problem doesn't appear again.
A big thank for your help and hope this camera will last a long time.

 

[Eurotramp]

Hi flag97,

That's good news, glad to be able to help. It should be fine now, if not give me a message on the forum.

I think that it is pretty awful that Foxoffer are selling the VF960S with faulty firmware.

Do you want me to email a complaint to Foxoffer and Viofo, or do you want to do it ?

It's a great camera with keys big enough for human fingers and excellent video resolution.

The only thing I have tried to get Viofo to modify (other than low volume) is to show the number of acquired GPS satellites on the video.

Less than five means that the speed and location is not accurate. Five and greater is accurate.

Viofo just do the calculations with whatever number of satellites it has acquired which can get silly results when the camera is switched on or is in a GPD bad reception zone.

The speed can show over 300 KPH when in first gear and one satellite acquired!

One thing I have learned is not to try to take the micro SD out of the camera when the camera is still on the screen. The mico SD goes straight down the windscreen heater vents.

Bonsoir.

Regards.

 

[flag97]

I already contacted foxoffer for that problem and I think they will answer my question at the end of their Holiday. I didn't contact viofo yet, but I will.
One strange thing I noticed is that although I have the 20130718 firmware version displayed in the setup menu, I still don't have the the option for UTC time to match the GPS log time, and even stranger, the correct date and time were saved from my previous setup...
Anyway, that works.

About GPS, I found it was very accurate and acquired satellites quickly, almost instantly on my device.
The only strange behaviours appear when my speed is very low or when I park, in these conditions the speed can vary from 0 to 60 km/h or more and then go back to 0 in a second. The compass gets crazy too for 1-2 seconds.

Thanks for the advice with the sd card, I could let it fall into the vents too, they're pretty large on my car.

 

[flag97]

Hi Eurotramp.
So I tested my camera for a few days and it works OK now with this firmware.
I just got 1 unsuccessful shutdown over

 

[Eurotramp]

Hi Eurotramp.
So I tested my camera for a few days and it works OK now with this firmware.
I just got 1 unsuccessful shutdown over

 

[Eurotramp]

Hi Flag97,

Glad you are making friends with your camera.

About the date and time. Mine automatically uses the UTC time from the GPS satellites and stamps that in the video, yet it allows me to manually enter a time and date. I think it ignores the manually input date and time. Are you saying that your VF960s is using CET not GMT ?

Are you referring to the compass in the video player software ?

The erratic speeds. I bet that where you park or where you experienced erratic speeds being shown you have a poor GPS reception. Either under trees or between tall buildings or even in a road tunnel. When you start the camera up it can give false speeds

The fault is with the VF960S firmware. It does the speed calculation on less than five acquired satellites and gets a silly answer, but it doesn't tell anybody that it's got a silly answer, it just sends it to the screen.

If you want to get really technical try reading the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dilution_of_precision_(GPS) article, but try to imagine triangulating a position only using two satellites.

When my SatNav has less than five acquired satellites the location arrow bounces around wildly, and less than three it shows a question mark, but it does show the number of acquired satellites on the screen to enable the user to see if the speed can be trusted.

I've tried to get Viofo to consider displaying the number if acquired satellites next to the stamped time and date without success. If they trap the number of acquired satellites, it's only one line of code to put it on the video.

Communication can be a problem with Chinese companies.

Regards,