Help me design the perfect system please

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jumeriah64

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Hi there, been reading about dash cams for what feels like an age & still not sure what to do. Found this site & hoping I can learn more & hopefully at last invest in & try something.

Just to mention, I don't mind spending time researching, installing, modifying or revisiting any solution arrived at. Not necessarily expecting get it right first time. I'd also like to aim high & so there will be no budget restrictions on this one.

The Long term Goal - Next year aiming to buy a new XC90 to use for lengthy Euro & Scandi road tours. Want to do the lot....Iceland down to Greece, Russia, (the whole nine yards over a few years on and off). Would like a high spec front & rear cam fitted to record the whole thing. Ideally this would be hard wired in, in a solid way that a. records all when in motion (for future editing & entertainment) and b. motion activated when stationary (security). Ideally HD, high quality & also working well in night-time mode as well. Also ideally professionally fitted eventually eventually. Also ideally to have wifi/bluetooth to shift raw data to a suitable smart phone or Windows Laptop. And with large storage possibilities if that can be done e.g 128GB...maybe enough to do 2 days HD?

The Short Term Testbed - we have a 95 106 Peugeot that is the worker day vehicle & will be the test bed for to try/amend/re-try any dash cam systems we build up. As say, don't mind a bit of trial & error on this vehicle so we can do a pro install when it comes to the XC90.

Would love to get input / ideas to develop a best of breed installation suitable for this type of long haul video log.

Would also appreciate any pointers / links to any other articles or designs if this has been done before & I'm treading old ground.

Many thanks to anyone kind enough to lend their skills & knowledge.

All the best
 
Welcome to forum !

As I understood, for Peugeot you are OK with 1 channel dashcam and next year to go with more high-end 2 channel system, right ?
 
Pier28 said:
Welcome
If you're ready to aim high for quality/performance, @niko handle's EU/UK sales and provides top shelf white glove support.
Click to expand...

Hi Pier28 and many thanks for the quick reply. Yes I'm absolutely happy to go top line within sensible limits of course.

To date, the only area I've really focused on is the Mobius units and accessories....no real science as to why, I just stumbled across then and sort of appealed as a concept. But that aside I'm absolutely open minded to make/model with the resultant system specification more in mind.

Will take a look now at the Niko link you kindly sent and if ok come back to after some reading. Thanks for the pointer
 
niko said:
Welcome to forum !

As I understood, for Peugeot you are OK with 1 channel dashcam and next year to go with more high-end 2 channel system, right ?
Click to expand...

Hi Niko....yes the current car, I'm considering that a testbed. The system we develop on that (which if proven as a 1 channel solution) then I'd want to expand that to it's full potential on the new car. That said, if I can develop the full fat solution in the Peugeot (1 channel / 2 channel) then great.....and then replicate it again in the new car for the real need.

A bit OTT for the Peugeot for sure but I'm ok with that simply to prove the reliability, develop the skills, and arrive at a perfect solution even with changes and mods over the next year. I'd rather over engineer the 106 solution (absolutely worth more than the car itself) and get it 100% spot on, than botch something badly considered and not meeting objectives into the XC90. Appreciate any advice you have. Cheers
 
jumeriah64 said:
...I'd rather over engineer the 106 solution (absolutely worth more than the car itself) and get it 100% spot on, than botch something badly considered and not meeting objectives into the XC90...
Click to expand...
So refreshing to see someone who wants to 'get it right' vs. 'get it cheap'. ๐Ÿ™‚
 
DT MI said:
So refreshing to see someone who wants to 'get it right' vs. 'get it cheap'. ๐Ÿ™‚
Click to expand...

Yeah it might not apply to every aspect of my life but on this occasion.... ๐Ÿ™‚

The main driver for this is retirement. I've been lucky (unlucky sometimes) enough to travel far flung climbs with my work for many many years but never really done much in detail in Europe bar work flights. So me and the wife are going to roll the dice and buy a good spec new model XC90 and do all the classic Euro drives.

My thinking being, if you going to do it (most likely only once) it would be a shame to not have footage of it. I doubt we'll ever watch 'x' weeks of it but I had an idea to record each classic route and then run it through some form of software that could speed through it in 'mid-time'....bit like that ending part of the Madonna video for Ray of Light. Think it's been done before I'm sure but thought it would be good to have all those classic routes down in full and 10 minute format.

Also of course there is the practical and security and accident side of things as well.....and driving through some parts of Eastern Europe we might need it.

There seems a huge amount of gear and cables out there but less integrated designs....that I can see that is but in fairness is early doors knowledge wise for me. Mind you I'm already pleased by responses I've got even in the hour since posting.

If we can arrive at a really rock solid 'traveler video' solution as well as the more traditional dash cam tick points that would be great. And I gotta say over a good few years, cheap often (not every time) but often leads to frustration.

What would be really cool is if the video stream from the cameras could also be streamed live.....ok getting carried away a bit too early but I really do want to aim top line and have a bit of fun with this as well. Cheers
 
DT MI said:
So refreshing to see someone who wants to 'get it right' vs. 'get it cheap'. ๐Ÿ™‚
Click to expand...

Like your tag line by the way DT MI ..... going to remember that one ๐Ÿ™‚
 
I guess, because XC90 is your next year purchase and by that time for sure many new models will come out, I belive now you want to sort out Paeugeot 106 dashcam solution.
Few more questions before going into suggestions in which direction to go:
- How important is the parking mode with pre-buffer ( 5 sec ) recording for your 106 ?
- what from-factory dashcam do you prefer ?
 
jumeriah64 said:
Like your tag line by the way DT MI ..... going to remember that one ๐Ÿ™‚
Click to expand...
Don't remember it, live it. ๐Ÿ˜€

What's sad is the number of people who can't differentiate between the two. ๐Ÿ™
 
niko said:
I guess, because XC90 is your next year purchase and by that time for sure many new models will come out, I belive now you want to sort out Paeugeot 106 dashcam solution.
Few more questions before going into suggestions in which direction to go:
- How important is the parking mode with pre-buffer ( 5 sec ) recording for your 106 ?
- what from-factory dashcam do you prefer ?
Click to expand...

Apologies niko, I'm not understanding the question meanings sorry.....not sure what a pre-buffer is. Also sorry not understanding the meaning of the second question either. Probably my lack of dash cam terminology showing here.
 
jumeriah64 said:
Apologies niko, I'm not understanding the question meanings sorry.....not sure what a pre-buffer is. Also sorry not understanding the meaning of the second question either. Probably my lack of dash cam terminology showing here.
Click to expand...

No problem. I will help you out:

- How important is the parking mode with pre-buffer ( 5 sec ) recording for your 106 ?

pre-buffer is when video constantly 24/7 recorded into dashcam RAM memory ( not to flash memory card ) and after certain period ( usually 5 - 10 sec ) if there is no "action" it deletes video from RAM memory. If there is an action in front of camera , let's say someone drives or walks in front of camera, then it takes those 5-10 sec from RAM memory which was before motion triggered moment and adds to the video what was after motion detection. So in total you will get recording where you able to see 5-10 seconds before motion activated plus rest of the motion scene. Some dashcams dont have pre-buffer and can record only 2-3 sec after motion is detected. This way you will lose important moment of whole "action".

- what from-factory dashcam do you prefer ?

I mean the size, shape etc. Do you want to have more discrete form-factor, or you are OK to have common style with long mount ?
 
You're more concerned with recording the drive, than safety of the car when parked, and unattended?

(Not that you can't do both.)

The mobius or something else of that type is always handy to have. It may be useful to get something like the mobius now, learn a bit about dashcams, and maybe get something newer with more features before the trip. The mobius will always work as a rear cam.

This video is a from spare wide angle mobius I took on a trip to Thailand and used in a rental car.




This is video from a standard lens mobius in my tractor trailer.



I did about 3500 km in ten days in Thailand, and intended to save most of the 'road' video, but with a 32gb card, that meant copying the card roughly twice a day. (forgot to do it sometimes)
I still ended up with too much video to look through. ๐Ÿ™‚
 
The Mobius is a good cam (especially for the price) but there are other cams which may be better suited for your purposes. I'd be looking at the better (or best) Korean-made cams and the Street Guardian as potential candidates. You'll want pre-buffering for parking security. You'll also want large-card compatibility and great video quality. No point in starting with a different type than you want to use for this trip- as long as it will install to suit you in the X90 you can use it in the Peugeot now to become familiar with it.

If the Mobius appeals as a rear-facing cam it does have the advantage of being a tiny portable DVR you can take with you when you're out of the car for action shots, but it lacks pre-buffering and the motion detect and shock-sensor modes are cheesy compared to the better high-end cams. The about-to-be-released JooVuu "X cam" is something of a 'super-Mobius' in many ways. So far it looks like a good alternative for a similar cam.

And I agree- it sure is nice to see someone sensible enough to understand that "best" doesn't equal "cheap".

Phil
 
niko said:
No problem. I will help you out:

- How important is the parking mode with pre-buffer ( 5 sec ) recording for your 106 ?

pre-buffer is when video constantly 24/7 recorded into dashcam RAM memory ( not to flash memory card ) and after certain period ( usually 5 - 10 sec ) if there is no "action" it deletes video from RAM memory. If there is an action in front of camera , let's say someone drives or walks in front of camera, then it takes those 5-10 sec from RAM memory which was before motion triggered moment and adds to the video what was after motion detection. So in total you will get recording where you able to see 5-10 seconds before motion activated plus rest of the motion scene. Some dashcams dont have pre-buffer and can record only 2-3 sec after motion is detected. This way you will lose important moment of whole "action".

- what from-factory dashcam do you prefer ?

I mean the size, shape etc. Do you want to have more discrete form-factor, or you are OK to have common style with long mount ?
Click to expand...

Ahh ok, many thanks for explaining. Get it now.

I guess ideally the pre buffer would be useful but not entirely essentially. Certainly wherever possible I'd like to scale 'up' functionality (even not 100% used right now) so long as ease of use and reliability are not compromised.

As for the camera format. Definitely discrete format ideally. I don't instinctively like the big 'block in the window' thing. Again that said, if it mean we would loose functionality that would be required then we would comprise and go for the more visible option. For the 106 testbed it is an insecure vehicle and so we would remove it (whilst developing the important solution for the XC90. For the longer term second solution, the security is excellent so a larger form factor would be less of a problem. But in an ideal world, a discrete form factor with exactly the same functionality as the larger brick types. Paying for professional installation for the discrete one in the XC90 would not be a problem....for the testbed, we can most likely do that as it's a lego car. Many thanks again
 
jumeriah64 said:
Ahh ok, many thanks for explaining. Get it now.

I guess ideally the pre buffer would be useful but not entirely essentially. Certainly wherever possible I'd like to scale 'up' functionality (even not 100% used right now) so long as ease of use and reliability are not compromised.

As for the camera format. Definitely discrete format ideally. I don't instinctively like the big 'block in the window' thing. Again that said, if it mean we would loose functionality that would be required then we would comprise and go for the more visible option. For the 106 testbed it is an insecure vehicle and so we would remove it (whilst developing the important solution for the XC90. For the longer term second solution, the security is excellent so a larger form factor would be less of a problem. But in an ideal world, a discrete form factor with exactly the same functionality as the larger brick types. Paying for professional installation for the discrete one in the XC90 would not be a problem....for the testbed, we can most likely do that as it's a lego car. Many thanks again
Click to expand...
There are not many choices out there with pre-buffer recording, small form-factor, reliable and good performance.

Check out SGZC12RC to see if it meets your reguirements

https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/forums/sgzc12rc.162/
Please take your time

Photos of how it looks like when installed:

https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threa...c12rc-remote-lens-sony-exmor-imx322-wdr.8500/

The only thing, need to wait for new camera lens update. You can read here:

https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threads/sgzc12rc-blurry-and-out-of-focus.11899/
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Last edited by a moderator:
dash riposki said:
You're more concerned with recording the drive, than safety of the car when parked, and unattended?

(Not that you can't do both.)

The mobius or something else of that type is always handy to have. It may be useful to get something like the mobius now, learn a bit about dashcams, and maybe get something newer with more features before the trip. The mobius will always work as a rear cam.

This video is a from spare wide angle mobius I took on a trip to Thailand and used in a rental car.




This is video from a standard lens mobius in my tractor trailer.



I did about 3500 km in ten days in Thailand, and intended to save most of the 'road' video, but with a 32gb card, that meant copying the card roughly twice a day. (forgot to do it sometimes)
I still ended up with too much video to look through. ๐Ÿ™‚
Click to expand...

Thanks for the information dask riposki. Yes I guess that's right....it's a log history of each day of the trip but certainly with security & accident functionality as well.

I read that Mobius is certified for 32gb but also read data elsewhere that some folks had it working at 64GB and one guy with 128GB configurations. I think for the sort of motoring (the long term plan) that I have in mind I would need SXDC's in the order of 128GB. But I have not done a precise calculation.

I had in mind to have 7 x 128GB SDXC's for the front cam and the same for the rear. Then to transfer footage each day from each SDXC to a. a large spec high capacity laptop or b. to a high spec high capacity smartphone or tablet.....in a perfect world without cables i.e wireless / bluetooth or NFC. Less important but ideally to be able to stream the video to internet for viewing and backup to a home NAS box. The XC90 will have internet connection and the devices will be LTE/4G equiped. Again I say equiped but in reality that aspect is aspiration not design as such yet. Again anyone who has done that or who has pointers as to how that might be achieved then I'd be grateful.

It sounds lavish but at that time I intend to buy the best quality and most powerful Win 10 laptop available with large dual SSD's and the best of breed Smartphones at that time as well. Not so lavish when you consider I'm currently using a 2003 Nokia E60 and a Toshiba Portege M100 Win XP laptop currently. ๐Ÿ˜‰

Yes I agree that we will most likely have a total excess of footage once the raw product is harvested. In reality there will be key segments and maybe key events that are worth to publish or watch. Driving between Amsterdam to Dusseldorf is not going to set anything alight. Whilst Driving mid summer along the fijord roads in Norway is quite something. And I had in mind to source software that could allow fast time processing that looks a little like this:


I do not know the software or processes necessary to achieve this but again hopefully one of the Dashcam hero's on this site will do. And indeed even a mix of both would work. Like your video samples by the way....is definitely in tune with what I'm looking to do.
 
SawMaster said:
The Mobius is a good cam (especially for the price) but there are other cams which may be better suited for your purposes. I'd be looking at the better (or best) Korean-made cams and the Street Guardian as potential candidates. You'll want pre-buffering for parking security. You'll also want large-card compatibility and great video quality. No point in starting with a different type than you want to use for this trip- as long as it will install to suit you in the X90 you can use it in the Peugeot now to become familiar with it.

If the Mobius appeals as a rear-facing cam it does have the advantage of being a tiny portable DVR you can take with you when you're out of the car for action shots, but it lacks pre-buffering and the motion detect and shock-sensor modes are cheesy compared to the better high-end cams. The about-to-be-released JooVuu "X cam" is something of a 'super-Mobius' in many ways. So far it looks like a good alternative for a similar cam.

And I agree- it sure is nice to see someone sensible enough to understand that "best" doesn't equal "cheap".

Phil
Click to expand...

Hi Phil and thanks for the pointers. No I'm not wed to the idea of Mobius although that is were I've spent most of my reading time. The concept sounded good but also I read a few reliability stories as well. No I'm totally brand agnostic and the feedback I've got so far confirms I still have a lot of homework to do.

Agree it's better to stick with one form from test-bed to XC90 but I've left the door open to change as time will see evolution and maybe new models I guess. I'm more focused on achieving core functions and indeed that's were I'm weak knowledge wise e.g:

- hard wiring to car options & effect on battery drain - i.e ideally to avoid cig lighter USB plug in's & do something more polished, even utilizing a 2nd battery if needed
- creating a professional install as far as possible...something that looks good BUT not at risk of compromising functionality - rather a box in window than poor function
- having large storage on each device & being able transfer large data daily/semi real-time to laptop/smartphone type devices carried ideally without wires & faff
- ideally producing files that are easy to stitch together, process & publish without spending days & days tapping at a keyboard.

I guess the process spans from the camera itself but also then to wiring logic, storage logic, distribution and publishing logic. My slight fear is in charging off one direction and getting a good cam and them finding I've neglected other important touch points. So I'm really happy to get data on all and any aspects from the camera on-wards.
 
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