Smallest Ambarella Car DVR a.k.a. Mini 0801

[Street Guardian USA]

Re: Smallest Ambarella Car DVR

Wow I might have my new Smallest Ambarella tomorrow! The tracking number shows it's in San Francisco already!
(4 days from via free eBay shipping from China? no way!) I heard the Chinese government subsidizes shipping and that's how all these eBay companies can sell $1 items on eBay with free shipping (or other low priced electronics) Well there might be further delay with customs before it is delivered, but seems as if I could possibly get it delivered right away (hard to say)

First-Class Package International Service
Processed through USPS Sort Facility
August 25, 2013, 5:44 pm
SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94188

International Letter
Processed through USPS Sort Facility
August 25, 2013, 9:14 am
SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94128
Processed Through Sort Facility
August 25, 2013, 4:15 am
ISC SAN FRANCISCO (USPS)

Origin Post is Preparing Shipment
Processed Through Sort Facility
August 22, 2013, 9:20 am
SHENZHEN EMS, CHINA
Acceptance
August 21, 2013, 3:00 pm
CHINA

 

[jokiin]

Re: Smallest Ambarella Car DVR

I heard the Chinese government subsidizes shipping and that's how all these eBay companies can sell $1 items on eBay with free shipping (or other low priced electronics)

wish I knew who started that rumor so they could pay our freight bill

 

[vbx]

Re: Smallest Ambarella Car DVR

I heard the Chinese government subsidizes shipping and that's how all these eBay companies can sell $1 items on eBay with free shipping (or other low priced electronics)

wish I knew who started that rumor so they could pay our freight bill

Well, the US govt subsidizes our shipping too. Only letters though. We can mail letter anywhere for .46 cents.

This is why UPS and FedEx wants to privatize the post office. To get rid of their cheaper competition.

 

[irononreverse]

Re: Smallest Ambarella Car DVR

Yeah, it was very muted. I used about an inch thick at first, it was really compressed against the boards. Cut it down so it's about 2mm and only on the surface of the mic. I'll give it a test today.

 

[Street Guardian USA]

Re: Smallest Ambarella Car DVR

Yeah, it was very muted. I used about an inch thick at first, it was really compressed against the boards. Cut it down so it's about 2mm and only on the surface of the mic. I'll give it a test today.

Ok I'm looking forward to finding the ideal fix for everyone. It looks like my Ambarella won't be delivered today like I hoped since there is no update since the last 5:45 am one (probably customs)

Maybe we can cut a thin piece of grey porous foam (the typical grey square ones usually on the top of the inside of small boxes holding the instruction manual in etc) draped over the mic and find a spring to wedge between the two circuit boards to keep it in place. (foam on both sides to prevent rattle) The spring would have to be wide enough in circumference to fit around the mic. This of course is assuming we don't accidentally short out anything. (probably a bad idea) Something along these lines though!

 

[jokiin]

Re: Smallest Ambarella Car DVR

Ok I'm looking forward to finding the ideal fix for everyone.

I've used a couple of this model for testing and never had a problem with the audio, I'm not sure this is a universal problem, the version I had may have been different but I think I'd wait and try it before ripping it apart if it's not needed

 

[Street Guardian USA]

Re: Smallest Ambarella Car DVR

Ok I'm looking forward to finding the ideal fix for everyone.

I've used a couple of this model for testing and never had a problem with the audio, I'm not sure this is a universal problem, the version I had may have been different but I think I'd wait and try it before ripping it apart if it's not needed

Good to know, hopefully it was a QA issue earlier that was corrected in the latest batches. I'll of course fully test mine as is before trying to fix something that's potentially not even broken. I guess I'm just in the mind set of expecting the worst.

 

[almaz]

Re: Smallest Ambarella Car DVR

Wow I might have my new Smallest Ambarella tomorrow! The tracking number shows it's in San Francisco already!
(4 days from via free eBay shipping from China? no way!) I heard the Chinese government subsidizes shipping and that's how all these eBay companies can sell $1 items on eBay with free shipping (or other low priced electronics) Well there might be further delay with customs before it is delivered, but seems as if I could possibly get it delivered right away (hard to say)

First-Class Package International Service
Processed through USPS Sort Facility
August 25, 2013, 5:44 pm
SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94188

International Letter
Processed through USPS Sort Facility
August 25, 2013, 9:14 am
SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94128
Processed Through Sort Facility
August 25, 2013, 4:15 am
ISC SAN FRANCISCO (USPS)

Origin Post is Preparing Shipment
Processed Through Sort Facility
August 22, 2013, 9:20 am
SHENZHEN EMS, CHINA
Acceptance
August 21, 2013, 3:00 pm
CHINA

Congrats and good for you!

Let us know how it will go!
I might wanna get it too (for my 2nd car).

Desperately waiting for my GT550W...

 

[Street Guardian USA]

Re: Smallest Ambarella Car DVR

Well I'm bored since I have no DashCam to test and play with yet so my mind was wandering and brainstorming up idea's as usual.

I originally was interested in the BlackView camera's since they had WiFi and you could use your iPhone app to view and even post videos directly to youtube while still in the car.

I think I might be on to something to bring uploading Ambarella files to youtube on the go features that I'd like to have. (in a round about way)

As you may or may not know, Apple's "Camera Connection Kit" has a SD card reader that lets you import .mov / .mp4 files to your iPad. It doesnt work on iPhone, but I searched and found someone made a jailbreak app that makes gives your iPhone the import feature!
http://modmyi.com/content/8406-how-use- ... l#comments

There are one's for $3.80 USD (that's with free shipping too!)
http://dx.com/s/lightning%2bcamera%2bco ... t=PriceL2H

I'm going ahead with the $7.30 USD one though since it has the best reviews.
http://dx.com/p/mini-8-pin-lightning-ca ... ite-174637

So it's a good thing the Ambarella ebay description says it records in .mov H264 files, so It might work. (I'll let everyone know) You have to have a jailbreak iPhone though unfortunately, but still good to know for iPad users. (just happen to be jailbroken)

If the DashCam had FULL sized SD would even try adding the EyeFi http://www.eye.fi/ Maybe it would work with a microSD to SD Adapter? (where it hands out)

In the end I'd end up using my Computer to edit anything serious but it's still good to know in case I need to share breaking news! And yes I realized you can probably do this with Android phones with built in microSD slot, but I'm an iPhone jailbreak guy.

 

[ciuvak]

Re: Smallest Ambarella Car DVR

As you may or may not know, Apple's "Camera Connection Kit" has a SD card reader that lets you import .mov / .mp4 files to your iPad. It doesnt work on iPhone, but I searched and found someone made a jailbreak app that makes gives your iPhone the import feature!

I found it really annoying getting the microSD card out. Just did it a couple of times and gave up. It's so much easier taking the camera out of the dock and connecting it directly to the laptop. The camera basically acts as a card reader.

 

[Street Guardian USA]

Re: Smallest Ambarella Car DVR

As you may or may not know, Apple's "Camera Connection Kit" has a SD card reader that lets you import .mov / .mp4 files to your iPad. It doesnt work on iPhone, but I searched and found someone made a jailbreak app that makes gives your iPhone the import feature!

I found it really annoying getting the microSD card out. Just did it a couple of times and gave up. It's so much easier taking the camera out of the dock and connecting it directly to the laptop. The camera basically acts as a card reader.

Good to know but a cable will probably still work actually. The Camera kit I referenced has a USB slot, so I can plug the Camera directly into the Adapter via USB cable. (no need to take out the card then)

 

[Street Guardian USA]

Re: Smallest Ambarella Car DVR

Wow it arrived today! (was small enough to fit in my mailbox, USPS usually rings my doorbell for boxes) I love the size, and it feels good in the hands.

FW VER:20130727

Ok so I inserted my class 10 Sandisk 32GB MicroSD card, and formatted it in the menu.

I recorded a few test clips with music blasting in my room and me yelling. (sounded clear!) That one was too embarrassing to share, so I made another one just saying testing 1 2. (and yes my room is pretty dark, only one bulb right now in a small lamp behind me)

Ok after looking closer I'm noticing some white pixel specs, is this normal? (almost how you would see dead pixels on a monitor) I think I might have a faulty cmos sensor You actually noticed it more on the raw files then after the youtube processing. Even the still shot hides them below.

Here are the specs again cropped so you can see them better.

What do you guys things did I get a lemon?
https://www.google.com/search?q=cmos+sensor+bad+pixels
Bummer if so, but not surprised. I can see maybe 1 or 2, but there are like over 2 dozen!

Any one knows what GPS setting means: Open/Close?

That's a good question! You would think it means Open (as in not connected) Closed (as in contacts closed and connected) as in electronics terms but I think it's just some messed up English translation. The default of Open seems to be recording the GPS data just fine so I'm not going to change it. (will leave it "Open" even though that makes no sense)

I've only been playing with this thing for 15 minutes so give me some time, it's dark outside too but I guess I could do a night recording right away. I just don't want to mount it via 3M sticky yet until I run the wires. I'll probably just hold it up so I can get some good vibration pot holes to see if Audio is steady at least. (drive around my block, no traffic here, bad roads a few streets over)

EDIT: P.S. they lied about them being H264 .MOV files on the ebay description, they are .TS H264 files!

 

[jokiin]

Re: Smallest Ambarella Car DVR

Ok after looking closer I'm noticing some white pixel specs, is this normal?

very common, you'll only see it show up when you get very dark scene with a little bit of light usually

That's a good question! You would think it means Open (as in not connected) Closed (as in contacts closed and connected) as in electronics terms but I think it's just some messed up English translation. The default of Open seems to be recording the GPS data just fine so I'm not going to change it. (will leave it "Open" even though that makes no sense)

yeah open is what you want to use the GPS

EDIT: P.S. they lied about them being H264 .MOV files on the ebay description, they are .TS H264 files!

TS gives you less playback options when you want to view mapping detail with your files (can't use Registrator Viewer), for this model though it's a more reliable format, they have problems recycling correctly when using MOV format, something they still haven't fixed obviously

 

[Street Guardian USA]

Re: Smallest Ambarella Car DVR

Ok after looking closer I'm noticing some white pixel specs, is this normal?

very common, you'll only see it show up when you get very dark scene with a little bit of light usually

That's a good question! You would think it means Open (as in not connected) Closed (as in contacts closed and connected) as in electronics terms but I think it's just some messed up English translation. The default of Open seems to be recording the GPS data just fine so I'm not going to change it. (will leave it "Open" even though that makes no sense)

yeah open is what you want to use the GPS

EDIT: P.S. they lied about them being H264 .MOV files on the ebay description, they are .TS H264 files!

TS gives you less playback options when you want to view mapping detail with your files (can't use Registrator Viewer), for this model though it's a more reliable format, they have problems recycling correctly when using MOV format, something they still haven't fixed obviously

Thanks for the good info! Yeah I guess I'll just use it as is for now. Like I said this is just my "starter" camera, so the dead cmos pixels are just more reasons to upgrade asap. you're right you don't see them while in motion, only when completely still and only if it's on the dark side.

Ok so I just went for a drive around the block at night time here with the music on and driving over pot holes. The audio is acceptable so far! (no fix needed)

Part 1 (5 minutes)
http://youtu.be/6LieJjJvWkc

Part 2 (50 seconds that went over, wanted to show stuck pixals at a stand still)
http://youtu.be/SrmIyPpSfs0

EDIT: I just got "Your video "Test 1 (part 1 of 2) Night", may have content that is owned or licensed by EMI, but it’s still available on YouTube! In some cases, it may be blocked, or ads may appear next to it. This claim is not penalizing your account status. Visit your Copyright Notice page for more details on the policy applied to your video."

So yeah hopefully everyone can view it. I know this forum is very international so it might be blocked in your country from the music whoops. (part 2 has no music though)


I understand based on what you said on why they ended up using .TS as the container instead of .MOV or .MP4

It's a bummer that RegistratorViewer won't let me join .TS files! You can Play them at least, but wen't let me save anything as a new joined file like you can with mov or mp4 files. (sucky)
http://www.registratorviewer.com/index_en.html

I couldn't play .TS videos in registratorviewer at all until I installed a codec pack, so I installed Shark007 (which I used on my HTPC)
http://shark007.net/
They play just fine in VLC Player though of course

I get the following error when trying to join multiple .TS files. :-(

I tried using VideoReDo TV Suite to join the .TS files into one file. That worked, but then I lost all the embedded GPS data! (EDIT not true, Registrator uses the .log files not embedded info for my cam, I just had a typo in the spelling of the renamed .mp4 file, route is shown just fine) I tried combining the text from the gps00x.log files into one file, and naming that file the same as the new joined .TS file. RegistratorViewer plays the new joined file just fine, but doesn't see any GPS data. I guess it does't read the .log files at all, only embedded files. (EDIT, it does read the log files, just combining them doesn't work)

So the question is, how can I joined the .TS files and keep the embedded GPS data? I'd like to export clips via RegistratorViewer and have the complete GPS data kept along with it for .SRT (subtitles) which are nice to have in YouTube uploads. (you can turn them on/off)

.TS files are a pain in the ass, I don't expect to find a solution so I guess I'll make do with what works for now, and look forward to a better REAL DashCam in the near future! (hint hint)

I uploaded the raw TS files to dropbox and emailed RegistratorViewer support to ask if they could possibly add .TS combine/save support.

Here's the download link for anyone that wants to view them. (and maybe help find a solution/work around)
https://www.dropbox.com/s/vj5wx9wr2wlxm ... 0Files.zip

 

[jokiin]

Re: Smallest Ambarella Car DVR

I couldn't play .TS videos in registratorviewer at all until I installed a codec pack, so I installed Shark007 (which I used on my HTPC)
http://shark007.net/
They play just fine in VLC Player though of course

they didn't work at all in older versions so at least they do now, that's good

 

[Street Guardian USA]

Re: Smallest Ambarella Car DVR

I couldn't play .TS videos in registratorviewer at all until I installed a codec pack, so I installed Shark007 (which I used on my HTPC)
http://shark007.net/
They play just fine in VLC Player though of course

they didn't work at all in older versions so at least they do now, that's good

I uploaded the raw TS files to dropbox and emailed RegistratorViewer support to ask if they could possibly add .TS combine/save support.

Here's the download link for anyone that wants to view them. (and maybe help find a solution/work around)
https://www.dropbox.com/s/vj5wx9wr2wlxm ... 0Files.zip

It looks like the bitrate says its 10MBps.

 

[Street Guardian USA]

Re: Smallest Ambarella Car DVR

Great the Registrator Viewer support email (from help/about in the app) bounced, I'll need to figure out how to contact them.

Rejected by the server for the recipient domain datakam.com by mx.yandex.ru. [93.158.134.89].

The error that the other server returned was:
550 5.7.1 No such user!

EDIT: Found the proper contact info:
http://www.registratorviewer.com/author_en.html

EDIT 2: (He responded already!)

".TS is not supported in my program. Ask your manufacter to change format to .mp4 - it is one line of source code."

LOL

EDIT 3: I just emailed e-prance (the ebay seller) the following.

"Hello, this camera records H.264 files in .TS container. Your auction said it records MOV H.264 files. Do you have a firmware that will change the container to .mp4 or .mov? .TS is not supported in RegistratorViewer so I'm unable to export or combine .TS files. I asked the experts and they all said to ask the manufacturer to change format to .mp4 - it is one line of source code. Do any of the Ambarella models output in .mp4 or .mov? Thanks, ~Jon"

 

[jokiin]

Re: Smallest Ambarella Car DVR

".TS is not supported in my program. Ask your manufacter to change format to .mp4 - it is one line of source code."

LOL

not quite that simple unfortunately

 

[Street Guardian USA]

Re: Smallest Ambarella Car DVR

".TS is not supported in my program. Ask your manufacter to change format to .mp4 - it is one line of source code."

LOL

not quite that simple unfortunately

Since my firmware is "FW VER:20130727" That's the end of July. I wonder if the new Rev 2.1 models with internal 8GB has a newer/better Auguest firmwares that outputs in .MP4/.MOV? I'm going to try and contact the AliExpress sellers too

 

[jokiin]

Re: Smallest Ambarella Car DVR

".TS is not supported in my program. Ask your manufacter to change format to .mp4 - it is one line of source code."

LOL

not quite that simple unfortunately

Since my firmware is "FW VER:20130727" That's the end of July. I wonder if the new Rev 2.1 models with internal 8GB has a newer/better Auguest firmwares that outputs in .MP4/.MOV? I'm going to try and contact the AliExpress sellers too

the manufacturer has had a problem with the MOV version, (there is a MOV version of the firmware for this model) unless they keep the bitrate low when the card fills up it won't recycle, they're using TS because they can't get it working properly with MOV, it's a bit beyond a line of code, as I said it's not quite that simple, there is a lot more to these than a lot of people understand, the video result is no different so you're not missing out quality wise, it just limits you in your file handling options, it's a trade off they had to make to offer a reliable result