A119 Firmware

[The Deacon]

The entire reason why I purchased the GPS was to update the date and time.

Well, FWIW, took I my A119 out of my one car over last Saturday to download its videos to my computer. Haven't used that car so this week, so the camera has been sitting on my desk since then. Just plugged it into a USB charger and the date and time are accurate, so I'm not entirely sure what the GPS does in that regard, beyond eliminating the need to manually set date and time when you update firmware.

 

[Gibson99]

It corrects drift. Most little clocks like this will be off by a minute or two over the course of a week or two, and the GPS corrects that.

 

[ChannelZ]

The entire reason why I purchased the GPS was to update the date and time. I don't want any embedded data stored, just whatever I choose to be displayed in the video, which is just the date and time. In my state, if you are even only 1% at fault, your insurance will pay nothing. There are times when you may need to exceed the speed limit to try to avoid an accident.

Newsflash : it's trivial to calculate speed just by using video. Measure two fixed points on the ground, then time how long it takes to pass those points on the video, quick math and you've got speed. So, really, if you're worried about your speed being on the video, you should be worrying about the video itself. In other words, to avoid liability, throw the dashcam out the window.

 

[ember1205]

Newsflash : it's trivial to calculate speed just by using video. Measure two fixed points on the ground, then time how long it takes to pass those points on the video, quick math and you've got speed. So, really, if you're worried about your speed being on the video, you should be worrying about the video itself. In other words, to avoid liability, throw the dashcam out the window.

While you're correct, step 1 in your process is actually locating objects in the video that are a known distance apart. You can't calculate anything from a video until you have known references for distances that are -IN- the video. Sometimes that's easy, sometimes it isn't.

 

[ChannelZ]

While you're correct, step 1 in your process is actually locating objects in the video that are a known distance apart. You can't calculate anything from a video until you have known references for distances that are -IN- the video. Sometimes that's easy, sometimes it isn't.

Which is exactly what I said: "Two fixed points on the ground". But thanks for your input.

 

[ember1205]

Which is exactly what I said: "Two fixed points on the ground". But thanks for your input.

"Fixed points on the ground" are useless without knowing the distance between them. You could use a crosswalk as a reference, but A) I don't know if all crosswalks adhere to a very specific standard size and B) it's only useful for calculating speed while it's in the frame. So, again, while you are correct in what you are saying, in practice it isn't as simple as you make it out to be.

 

[ChannelZ]

"Fixed points on the ground" are useless without knowing the distance between them. You could use a crosswalk as a reference, but A) I don't know if all crosswalks adhere to a very specific standard size and B) it's only useful for calculating speed while it's in the frame. So, again, while you are correct in what you are saying, in practice it isn't as simple as you make it out to be.

That's why I said to measure them..."Measure two fixed points on the ground".

Did you even read my post, or are you just trolling?

Edit: The method I describe (which you seem to be having difficulty with) is normal practice for Police in the UK, they use dashcam footage from the Police cars or from CCTV footage to calculate speed. It's trivial maths, and is good enough to be court evidence.

 

[ember1205]

That's why I said to measure them..."Measure two fixed points on the ground".

Did you even read my post, or are you just trolling?

How does one measure them in a video? YOU aren't reading what -I- am writing. You can calculate speed from a video. But you need to KNOW (not MEASURE) the distance between objects in the video. In SOME circumstances, you could go back and measure objects in the video and then use that to calculate speed, but it isn't always that simple. One of the things that you're not taking into account is that these cameras have a fish-eye effect to them. All of that has to be accounted for when calculating speed along with the distance between the objects -AND- the distance of those objects from the lens of the camera. It's nowhere near as simply as you make it out to be, and you're not accounting for the tons of variables that are involved. If the objects are directly in frame where the vehicle is located, this becomes much simpler.

Go ahead and reply here with another not-well-thought-out comment and we'll be done. That way you have the last word.

 

[ChannelZ]

How does one measure them in a video?

OK, for the hard of thinking:

Speed is the amount of time taken to cover a fixed distance. Got that?

So...if you crash, and Police get your video they will:

1. Review footage, and identify the location.
2. They will look at footage and identify two fixed points (lets say lamp posts, but could be anything like road markings, drain covers, trees, whatever).
3. They go and get in their car and drive to the location.
4. They get out of their car, use their tape measure to measure the distance between the two fixed positions. They write that down.
5. They get back in their car and drive back to their office.
6. They play back the video again, noting the time taken to go between the two fixed positions.
7. They use the distance written on their piece of paper, and the time recorded from the video to calculate the speed.


Simple.

The method is also used for manually verifying speed using footage taken by GATSO type speed cameras, where the time taken for a vehicle to pass a known distance (this time it's marked on the road surface) is used to verify the speed. Same maths.

For more reading, check out https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VASCAR which uses the same maths, and was fitted to almost every Police car in the 80s.

I could go on...

 

[ChrisWB]

Nobody is going to measure distances between fixed items for hours of footage just to find you exceeding the speed limit by 1MPH. But this information being embedded in the video makes it super easy. All they need is any information to use against you, even a rounding error in the GPS calculation showing you momentarily exceeding the speed limit and you can be liable.

 

[The Deacon]

Nobody is going to measure distances between fixed items for hours of footage just to find you exceeding the speed limit by 1MPH. But this information being embedded in the video makes it super easy. All they need is any information to use against you, even a rounding error in the GPS calculation showing you momentarily exceeding the speed limit and you can be liable.

The point being made is that just being able have your camera not collect speed data at all is no guarantee that your speed in the seconds before an accident could not be accurately determined just from the video itself. Frankly, I doubt that what I was doing an hour before, or even five minutes before an accident would have any bearing on my liability for it. If I ever reach that level of paranoia, I'll just stop using a dashcam, since there's no law saying I have to have one. Of course, if you're driving anything made in the last few years, it probably has a black box somewhere recording all kinds of data anyway.

 

[SawMaster]

The Deacon is correct- In the USA the engine management computer in your car is already keeping a record of the last several seconds if it's operation, as was mandated several years ago. Some of this includes vehicle speed, throttle position, which gear the car was in, when the brakes are applied, and whether anti-lock was activated. Possibly even more

It's pretty easy to determine speed from video after-the-fact, but it takes 'boots on the ground' by the road so unless it is a critical factor it is unlikely to happen. Should it be a possible factor in a case I'm involved in I plan to do this measurement myself in the presence of a couple highly credible witnesses as a response to any questio0ns I might be asked about my speed One simply finds two fixed objects very near the road, makes the measurement, then reviews the video noting the exact moment when those objects leave the viewing screen which gives you a solid and consistent reference point that will not be affected bu focus or the cam's FOV or involve any guesswork

Any dashcam is like a double-edged sword in that it will show your wrongs too, so remember that and use it to become a better driver

Phil

 

[ember1205]

Have run into something odd with my cam recently.

I'm running firmware 2.02 and have had my camera go into a non-recording mode while driving and it just starts beeping. The first couple of times that it happened, I hit the button to put it back into recording mode and moved on.

Today, it did it again and I just let it continue beeping until I got home. I pulled the SD card and popped it into my computer to see if I could determine anything about what was going on. It's a 64G card and showed over 1G free. Recording on the card go back about five days.

Has anyone else run into anything like this and were you able to track it down to anything in particular from a settings perspective? Is it a firmware bug?

 

[CaptureYourAction]

Have run into something odd with my cam recently.

I'm running firmware 2.02 and have had my camera go into a non-recording mode while driving and it just starts beeping. The first couple of times that it happened, I hit the button to put it back into recording mode and moved on.

Today, it did it again and I just let it continue beeping until I got home. I pulled the SD card and popped it into my computer to see if I could determine anything about what was going on. It's a 64G card and showed over 1G free. Recording on the card go back about five days.

Has anyone else run into anything like this and were you able to track it down to anything in particular from a settings perspective? Is it a firmware bug?

When was the last time you formatted the card in the camera? What brand card is it.

V3.1 is the latest firmware version. Viofo has fixed some bugs along the way. I would update.

 

[ember1205]

Thanks, @CaptureYourAction

These are Lexar 633X 64G cards and have been rock solid. I do not regularly format them because there should be no need. Additionally, formatting Solid State media of any kind "consumes" one P/E cycle which is completely unnecessary. Overwriting files is all that's necessary with these type of devices.

I will look into upgrading to the latest firmware and see how that tracks for me.

 

[Leopold]

Any dashcam is like a double-edged sword in that it will show your wrongs too, so remember that and use it to become a better driver

Phil

I love your comment and also the preceding clarification of what data is possible to dig out from reasonably modern cars.

As a matter of fact, despite only having used a dash cam for less than a month I already see significant changes in my driving behavior. I review my driving from time to time and notice that I don't pay enough attention to speed limits. Never thought of that before.

But it is not only that, I find myself driving much more relaxed and forgiving, I'm far less prone to take risks for minimal gains in ETA.

So if it makes me an even safer driver than before in the overall picture I consider it worth the risk of having eventual video evidence from my own dash cam turned against me at some unfortunate point. That said, I find no reason to have the largely inaccurate speed figure on display in the video file, it is sufficient that the more accurate data is embedded in the video file for later analysis via applications such as dashcam viewer. If needed, I know that also these data can be questioned if on the margin.

 

[Josh Lyman]

On the advice of this site and forum, I bought my first dashcam! It came with the 2.06 firmware. Any reason I should updated to the current 3.1 release?

I have WDR, lane departure, and forward collision turned off. Are those the recommended settings?

A stupid question: should I mount it as close to the rearview mirror stalk (I have a Prius) as possible? That blocks access to the SD card slot, but I imagine I won't be removing the card that often anyway, and I can just remove the camera from the mount if I need to connect it to my computer, right?

And do I mount it as far back on the windshield as possible (toward the roof) or farther forward in the half circle of black dots around the rearview mirror?

 

[DT MI]

...
And do I mount it as far back on the windshield as possible (toward the roof) or farther forward in the half circle of black dots around the rearview mirror?

My preference (and everyone has a preference) is mounted as high as possible and centered. My cam is mounted center of windshield as high as I can get it which fortunately allowed me to mount it on the sensor housing behind the RVM.

 

[adisan]

New version: V3.3
1. New: Added Parking Mode (at user request)
2. New: protection against erasure and previous video if you press the Emergency button in the first 15 seconds of the current video
3. Enhanced: another sound when pressing the snapshot button (snapshot)
4. Enhanced: when the screen is off the REC and Audio buttons act directly, it does not take two button presses
5. Enhanced: Complete removal of GPS data from the video connector when the GPS function is deactivated
6. Remove: unwanted screen ignition in Motion Detection mode
7. Remove: Appearance XXXX at the bottom of the screen in very rare cases
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5w3cg7r2yeeSTYxY2JWcE1wOGc/view

 

[fvdheide]

New version: V3.3
1. New: Added Parking Mode (at user request)
2. New: protection against erasure and previous video if you press the Emergency button in the first 15 seconds of the current video
3. Enhanced: another sound when pressing the snapshot button (snapshot)
4. Enhanced: when the screen is off the REC and Audio buttons act directly, it does not take two button presses
5. Enhanced: Complete removal of GPS data from the video connector when the GPS function is deactivated
6. Remove: unwanted screen ignition in Motion Detection mode
7. Remove: Appearance XXXX at the bottom of the screen in very rare cases
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5w3cg7r2yeeSTYxY2JWcE1wOGc/view

Why is this not yet on the Viofo site? Is this an official release?