Hands on the Livue LB100. $100 korean 720p dashcam

[PKNY]

After some quick research, I found out:

1. The battery is made by OceanSun. Although I could not find the exact model# from their website. I found out all of their Li-Po batteries have a max operation temperature at 60C.
http://www.oceansun.cn/eng/details.asp?ArticleID=44
2. The battery has three wires. The white wire should be the thermistor.
3. The system power management/battery charger (ACT3780) has a thermal protection (thermistor pin).
http://www.active-semi.com/Data/Product ... 3e620ef76a
4. The DC-DC step down converter (ACT4070) has a shut down temperature of 150C.
http://www.active-semi.com/Data/Datashe ... 3e620ef76a

So, it seems like Winycam set up the cam so that it cuts off the battery when the battery temperature is at 60C, and the cam will shut down all together at 150C (very unlikely).

Now, I’m going to keep my IR thermometer in my car to verify my theory.

 

[jokiin]

I think the primary purpose of that protection circuitry is to stop it catching fire in the event of a charge problem, the level seems quite low at 60c which is not too good in an automotive environment where these temps can easily be exceeded

 

[Mtz]

I already mounted it at the most top position.

The battery is on the back side of the camera so it is not exposed to direct sun. But the chipset is.
Waiting for more tests.

enjoy,
Mtz

 

[S2000CR]

So I just got my cameras today and I'm trying to figure out how to turn off the front blinking lights. Help?

 

[Mtz]

Look at the first post, under the Software: is a screenshot. You will find there a option called "LED lightning setting".

enjoy,
Mtz

 

[PKNY]

The battery is on the back side of the camera so it is not exposed to direct sun. But the chipset is.

That’s why it was strange. I would expect the chipset got overheated, too. When I got the battery overheated problem, I could still power up the camera and it recorded fine. Only problem was I did not get the shut down announcement when shutting down. After half an hour cool down in an underground parking garage, I turned on the camera for one minutes and immediately shut it down. That time I got the shut down announcement.

Following is the full detail of what I did that day:
1. Car parked under the sun for more than six hours. 90 degrees F. No shade. No wind.
2. Drove with all windows down for an hour.
3. Parked in an underground garage. Shut down the camera. No shut down announcement. ~Battery not ok
4. Took the SD card out. Powered up the camera and shut it down in a minutes. No shut down announcement. ~Battery not ok
5. Half an hour later. Powered up the camera without the SD card and shut it down in a minutes. Got shut down announcement. ~Battery ok
6. Put the SD card in. Powered up the camera and shut it down in a minutes. Got shut down announcement. ~Battery ok
7. Drove for half an hour with AC on, and then shut down. Got shut down announcement. ~Battery ok
8. Immediately drove for another half an hour with AC on, and then shut down. No shut down announcement. ~Battery not ok
9. Car was parked in an underground garage for an hour, and drove for half an hour. Parked the car at home. Got shut down announcement. ~Battery ok

Waiting for more tests.

It won’t be soon. Weather forecast said it will be in 70s F for the next 10 days.

I think the primary purpose of that protection circuitry is to stop it catching fire in the event of a charge problem, the level seems quite low at 60c which is not too good in an automotive environment where these temps can easily be exceeded

I think the System Power Management (ACT3780) sees the battery has reached the max operation temperature (60C), and then disconnects the battery no matter what stage the battery is in (charge or discharge).

I agree with you. The max temp for the battery is too low.

 

[Mtz]

Or maybe you just have a bad battery, not related with heat.

 

[Eric SS]

Does anyone have any info on using the New Viewer with the 3/6 firmware? I've heard you can view the files in sequence which would be VERY nice considering how sensitive the G sensor is on this thing and you're forced to go back and forth between folders in the original viewer. Any compatibility issues or functionality loss? Thanks!

 

[Mtz]

If you will not setup the camera with this New Viewer you will not have any problems just for watching purposes.

enjoy,
Mtz

 

[Eric SS]

If you will not setup the camera with this New Viewer you will not have any problems just for watching purposes.

enjoy,
Mtz

That's good to know. so I can set up everything in the original viewer including the time and sensitivity. and use the NEW viewer just for watching the videos. And I assume if I ever want to change settings I can just open the original viewer again.

Do you know if both viewers can be on a computer at the same time or do I need to uninstall one to install the other? Thanks!

 

[Mtz]

I think you can use only one viewer but if you have and Android device you can set the camera there.
But I think you will modify the settings in rare situations.

enjoy,
Mtz

 

[msdfw]

Yes, you can only setup 1 viewer at a time on your computer. It will not install one if it finds the other one. The best work around as Mtz says is to use an Android phone for configuration and use the new_viewer for viewing the files.

 

[Eric SS]

I use an iPhone so the android is out. The viewer is easy enough to install if I ever need to swap them. Thanks

 

[PKNY]

Or maybe you just have a bad battery, not related with heat.

I really hope that's the case. It is easier to replace a battery than to change the design contstraint.

Anyway, I have not have any problem since Sunday. For four days, the max surface temp of the carmera only gets to 50C (front) and 40C (rear), and the ambient temperture is <20C. I need to wait for the hot summer.

 

[PKNY]

I use an iPhone so the android is out. The viewer is easy enough to install if I ever need to swap them. Thanks

Or, you can use the Korean firmware with the new viewer and forget about the original view. With Korean firmware, you can use the new viewer to set up the cam, and you also gain a shut down timer. The only problem is the cam announces in Korean. For me it isn't a problem. What good is the Korean-English announcement, anyway? This is like don't understand vs. totally don't understand.

 

[Eric SS]

I use an iPhone so the android is out. The viewer is easy enough to install if I ever need to swap them. Thanks

Or, you can use the Korean firmware with the new viewer and forget about the original view. With Korean firmware, you can use the new viewer to set up the cam, and you also gain a shut down timer. The only problem is the cam announces in Korean. For me it isn't a problem. What good is the Korean-English announcement, anyway? This is like don't understand vs. totally don't understand.

LOL good point. I could care less about what they are saying as long as I can see the blinking orange light. Where can I get the Korean firmware? Is it as good as the EN firmware? Thanks!

 

[PKNY]

Steps to install Korean firmware:
1. Download the firmware (FW01_130306.zip) here: http://www.livue.co.kr/bbs/board.php?bo ... 3&wr_id=17
2. Unzip it and change the file name FW01_130306.bin to WINYCAM_V300_130306.bin.
3. Rename the file V300HD.dir on your SD card to FW01.dir.
4. Follow the Firmware Update Instruction from the FAQ: http://dashcamtalk.com/livue-lb100/
5. Cam will reset. Use the New Viewer to setup the cam again.

A side note:
I listed some of the differences between Original Viewer and the New Viewer in my earlier post.

-The original viewer has a better zoom feature than the new viewer. In the original viewer, it has full zoom and block zoom, but the new viewer only has block zoom. Also, the video can apply forward step while in block zoom in the original viewer but not the new viewer.
-The new viewer has reverse skip but not the original viewer.
-The new viewer has the G-sensor setting reversed, which means high setting is low sensitive and low setting is high sensitive. The setting is correct in the original viewer.

 

[sofaspud]

Livue AV out & gps pin outs

Finally got the correct (GPS) bracket from lightnspace.
Works fine & seems to acquire a fix quickly. I notice the power LED doesn't blink until it has a fix.

When the files are viewed in the correct viewer (I use the old viewer, or the Android app) program the GPS info is available, i.e. lat/lon & speed
No sign of any additional files on the SD card, & viewing the files with VLC I still only see the G-sensor & date, but no GPS info. Presumably the GPS info is embedded in the mp4 file somehow as it is not saved to a seperate file(s) as Autoguard does for example(& which VLC can read & display location & speed from). I also found that the AV out shows the g-sensor readings & date/time which suggests these are overlayed onto the video & then saved?, can't (yet) try it on the move so don't know if AV out will show GPS.

gps: 3.5mm 4 pole jack
looking at the photo of the gps module, connections from top to jack plug are;
tip +3.3v
ring1 9600 bps NRZ line code
ring2 common to sleeve (in Livue jack socket)
sleeve 0v

While they were sorting out sending the correct GPS bracket, I also bought the AV out cable. Didn't get what was shown on the accessories page though, simply a common or garden 3 pole jack with a single yellow RCA on the end & wired as;
tip NC
ring Video
sleeve Gnd

Luckily I had an old Nokia (N95) AV out cable which proved the correct connections required as follows:
tip NC
ring 1 common to sleeve (in Livue jack socket)
ring 2 composite out (75ohms to sleeve)
sleeve 0v

Now to wire in permanently into the car...

 

[J4JAV]

Hello Guys,

After all the great information you have put on this forum and a special thanks to MTZ for this spectacular review, I took the plunge and bought this Dashcam! I have it all fitted in the car and just need help with some aspects of how it works, I will be very grateful if you could help me out with the following: -

1. The date is always showing as incorrect, no matter how many times I change it from the config menu it never updates to the camera video files. The year is always being shown as 2014 and the day is always one day behind and also the time is wrong! I think I have the new software, and my voice for the camera is in English! I also tick the 'Set Time" box in the config menu, but still no joy! Also in the UK we have our dates in this format, DD/MM/YYYY, is there any chance this can be changed? Also I would like to add that I am unable to set the date manually from the config menu, instead it always shows the same time as my PC, I see some people have set theirs to a few minutes behind to give them time to get in the car and insert the card etc... I am unable to do this!

2. What is the best way to get rid of or make the "Event" mode less sensitive? I am not happy about half of my videos being in the "Events" folder! :-(

I look forward to your replies, and once again thank you so much for your advice in advance!

 

[PKNY]

1. The date is always showing as incorrect, no matter how many times I change it from the config menu it never updates to the camera video files. The year is always being shown as 2014 and the day is always one day behind and also the time is wrong! I think I have the new software, and my voice for the camera is in English! I also tick the 'Set Time" box in the config menu, but still no joy! Also in the UK we have our dates in this format, DD/MM/YYYY, is there any chance this can be changed? Also I would like to add that I am unable to set the date manually from the config menu, instead it always shows the same time as my PC, I see some people have set theirs to a few minutes behind to give them time to get in the car and insert the card etc... I am unable to do this!

2. What is the best way to get rid of or make the "Event" mode less sensitive? I am not happy about half of my videos being in the "Events" folder! :-(

1. Use the Current Viewer not the New Viewer if you're using English firmware/voice to setup the date, and use the arrows next to the time to adjust it. And there is no way to change the date format.

2. Set the G-sensor to low in the Current Viewer. That's the least sensitive you can get.