What is the point of the cloud feature?

[deputydog95]

Not sure I get it...

Can someone explain?

 

[deputydog95]

I watched this video...

http://www.blackvue.com/blackvue-over-the-cloud/

And short of having a commercial fleet, I still don't see why you'd want this. And even if you had a fleet, is the fleet manager really going to be sitting there watching his driver's cruise around all day?

Not to mention, it's not realistic to pay $50 a month for a permanent hot spot wired into your car and the associated data fees which I assume would be quite costly with all that video...

As the only person who drives my car, I don't think I could find a reason to use this.

Having a teenager who's a new driver (or is just a problem kid) might be the only reason I could see this being worthwhile.

 

[jokiin]

just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should

 

[Ralph2]

Not sure I get it...

Can someone explain?

I don't think anyone other than Blackvue can explain the need / purpose.. and they are not talking. Creating a "full" WiFi feature would have been much better way to utilize the remarkable programming skills the Blackvue team has.

 

[Sugar Silva]

I see a great value in the cloud feature. When your cam is connected to the internet and on the cloud it would allow you to view a live feed from anywhere in the world assuming the device you are viewing from is on the internet as well. The tricky part is, you either need a hotspot in your car or you would need to be parked at home or near a wifi hotspot so your cam can be on line. I have a secondary cell phone with hotspot capabilities that I plan on leaving in the truck at all times. Problem is, the dash cam won't connect to it though it will connect to my home wifi but in theory, it would be pretty awesome

 

[deputydog95]

Do you plan on streaming video of yourself driving to your laptop in the car? lol.

The data overages to stream that much video would be very costly....

 

[Sugar Silva]

No, I would use the camera as a surveillance system. For example, I travel a lot for work. It would be nice to be in a different state or country and be able to view what is happening around my truck at all times, or at least until the battery drained to 11.8v and the cam shuts off. On days when I'm in the office, I could park the truck outside and view a live feed from my phone at my desk. A more comical application would be to watch a live feed when my wife drives the truck so I could give her a hard time about driving too fast or not parking far away from other vehicles at the mall

 

[BlackboxMyCar]

Sometimes I share the same sentiments about Cloud, I think 95% of users can't really benefit from it or it wouldn't be worth the investment with the data plan

The backup feature is nice but it's easy enough to pull over in the event of an accident and download the files using direct wifi or taking out the card/camera so it doesn't overwrite

I think if I had kids who were of driving age it would be worth considering:
- You know exactly where they are and how fast they're going
- You can eavesdrop on their conversations (and talk to them using the 2-way communication feature but you could easily call them on the car's bluetooth handsfree which would be easier)

 

[Sugar Silva]

Apparently you're limited to 10 minutes a day of live video from the cloud. Does anyone know how to extend this? I'm assuming you can purchase more cloud space, but I can't find where to do so

 

[DrEskimo]

I don't mind having a feature that I won't use because it's not useful to me personally.

What I don't like is that I suspect this cloud feature is one of the reasons for the decrease in bit rate. I value high quality video much more than half baked cloud capabilities....

 

[Sugar Silva]

The decreased bit rate won't be an issue in just a couple weeks. This is from the Blackvue support team:

"Dear Customer,
Yes ,it is true that in the current cloud compatible firmware version v.2.002, the video quality is lower than the previous cloud incompatible version, v1.009.
However you do not need to worry because we will release a cloud compatible firmware update by the end of this month, in which you will be able to set the
video quality as Normal/High/Highest just like in firmware v.1.009.
Regarding the Live view limit, we will release subscription packages in next month for more number of hours of Live view over the cloud."

 

[DrEskimo]

The decreased bit rate won't be an issue in just a couple weeks. This is from the Blackvue support team:

"Dear Customer,
Yes ,it is true that in the current cloud compatible firmware version v.2.002, the video quality is lower than the previous cloud incompatible version, v1.009.
However you do not need to worry because we will release a cloud compatible firmware update by the end of this month, in which you will be able to set the
video quality as Normal/High/Highest just like in firmware v.1.009.
Regarding the Live view limit, we will release subscription packages in next month for more number of hours of Live view over the cloud."

Very good to hear

 

[BastardSheep]

Cloud sells. Everyone wants cloud. This is their attempt to get cloud.

But it's full of flaws. The most fatal one being VERY few cars have permanent wifi. Most of the time the only wifi available is from the owners phone, and if they're the one driving then what use is it having this information available online? It's useless for a car being stolen as it wouldn't connect to anyone's wifi to provide useful information.

I do like that you can use the left-side button/proximity sensor to make the current file non-overwriteable, so once they fix the bitrate issue I may upgrade to the new firmware then disable all the cloud crap. Until then I'm sticking with 1.009.

 

[therealschwartz]

Cloud sells. Everyone wants cloud. This is their attempt to get cloud.

But it's full of flaws. The most fatal one being VERY few cars have permanent wifi. Most of the time the only wifi available is from the owners phone, and if they're the one driving then what use is it having this information available online? It's useless for a car being stolen as it wouldn't connect to anyone's wifi to provide useful information.

I do like that you can use the left-side button/proximity sensor to make the current file non-overwriteable, so once they fix the bitrate issue I may upgrade to the new firmware then disable all the cloud crap. Until then I'm sticking with 1.009.

Where is the left side proximity button making current file read only documented? I never knew that and want to learn more. Is that next to the wifi button?

 

[BastardSheep]

In firmware 1.x the proximity button enables and disables audio recording. In 2.x its function is changed. Instead what it does is what's described as "manual recording". To my understanding of that feature, it's just a type of recording that is manually triggered by the occupants, and the recording is the same as impact & motion detection recordings which don't get automatically overwritten the way standard recordings do (until you format the card anyway).

 

[USDashCamera]

When I tested it, the only real use I personally wanted was the ability to get a notification on my phone that my car had been impacted in a parking lot, which would require a car hot spot. I think its a great idea but I am not willing to pay $20 a month to AT&T or whoever for it for my honda civic hah.

what i find funny tho is so many people seem to suggest the cloud is pointless, but then other people complain that the wifi of blackvues don't let you connect to your home wifi so you can download files when you get home. the cloud does that! you can save your home wifi so if your car is parked in your garage, it will always automatically connect to your home wifi, and then you can access the camera from your phone over your home network or anywhere as long as you're connected to the internet to view a live feed or download files to your android/iOS device. no PC support yet correct me if I am wrong @BlackboxMyCar .

 

[Ralph2]

I suspect.. anyone that has a LAN has a PC. So far.. Blackvue has not released a supporting PC version of the software. Perhaps, when it does, the ability to connect to the camera via true LAN WiFi the cloud can be bypassed. In the mean time, having to go thru the "cloud" seems like a waste of resources.

 

[Mark D]

Apparently you're limited to 10 minutes a day of live video from the cloud. Does anyone know how to extend this? I'm assuming you can purchase more cloud space, but I can't find where to do so

This is the rub - Blackvue - please fix this. -mark

 

[USDashCamera]

This is the rub - Blackvue - please fix this. -mark

last i heard they have not finalized subscriptions yet but yea 10 min is the limit for the free blackvue cloud service.