Dashcam Viewer for Mac and Windows

Would like to see the following, using v2.7.3 on windows 8.1:
1. Export as MP4
2. Export MP4 with embedded GPS data
3. When you click on another program window and the playback is paused, the main screen goes black and unlikely to return unless you press play, or under fairly uncertain circumstances you move the window around the screen, docking/resizing the movie window also works. Looks like a movie window needs to be redrawn perhaps when the window is in focus, but why does it go black when focus is taken away in the first place?
4. When all the small windows are on the right on the movie window, and you move the movie window all the way to the right and partially move off screen, the small windows jump to the left side of the movie window, the opposite is not true. Either make the windows move for both directions, or just don't move the windows at all.
5. Improve the start/stop/duration time to select the export clip. Maybe check VirtualDub on ideas on how to allow the user to select content he/she wants cut, frame cutting would be nice too. My problem with current method is that unless you meticulously write down exactly where you want to cut before hand, you need to open and close the export window to figure out how to export just that period. The window is modal, yet other windows like the map can obscure it, I just found.
6. I feel that the controls should be reworked to make it clearer for export and add frame playback capability, ie moving frame by frame to be able to grab worthy stills.
7. Change the speed buttons to a different type of selection method, they are too small.
8. The next 10 files is unnecessary, also "Next >" is not a standard way of indicating skip to the next file, please follow VirtualDub icon symbols.
9. Changing playback speed has a bug, if you toggle them back and forth fast, the speed indicated in the window does not correspond to the playback speed. I was just seeing 1x and the content was playing back at like 2x or more with thee audio doing the same, not sure.
10. I'm not sure I understand the purpose of delete settings for this movie and why it requires such huge real estate in the bottom left of the controls. 1 click turns the button from blue to green, but does not turn it back, instead asks if I'm sure I want to delete the settings. There must be a better way to accomplish whatever it's trying to do in a more compact manner and be clear about what the settings means.

Thanks John
 
Wow, @kandrey89 , quite a list! Thanks for taking the time to write it. Let me address

Would like to see the following, using v2.7.3 on windows 8.1:
1. Export as MP4

- MP4 export was tried in the past and in some cases the audio was not exported. MOV seems to be more reliable for exporting.

2. Export MP4 with embedded GPS data

- Although you cannot embed GPS data in the exported movie, you CAN export a GPX file for a movie (or set of movies). If these GPX files have the same name as your movie files, they will be loaded with the movie when you select File->Open in Dashcam Viewer.

3. When you click on another program window and the playback is paused, the main screen goes black and unlikely to return unless you press play, or under fairly uncertain circumstances you move the window around the screen, docking/resizing the movie window also works. Looks like a movie window needs to be redrawn perhaps when the window is in focus, but why does it go black when focus is taken away in the first place?

- Yep, this is a known issue that's been plaguing me in the Windows version. I'm still working on it. I've tried manually issuing a redraw when movie is paused, but no luck. I'm currently working on some lower level changes and perhaps this will be fixed in the wash.

4. When all the small windows are on the right on the movie window, and you move the movie window all the way to the right and partially move off screen, the small windows jump to the left side of the movie window, the opposite is not true. Either make the windows move for both directions, or just don't move the windows at all.

- I'll have to look into this. In the meantime, you can disable the "all windows move together" feature in the "Windows" menu.

5. Improve the start/stop/duration time to select the export clip. Maybe check VirtualDub on ideas on how to allow the user to select content he/she wants cut, frame cutting would be nice too. My problem with current method is that unless you meticulously write down exactly where you want to cut before hand, you need to open and close the export window to figure out how to export just that period. The window is modal, yet other windows like the map can obscure it, I just found.

- Yeah, I'm sure there are better ways to specify the end of an export. What I have now is the 2nd re-implementation of this feature based on user feedback. I can revisit this interface as time/priorities allow me.

6. I feel that the controls should be reworked to make it clearer for export and add frame playback capability, ie moving frame by frame to be able to grab worthy stills.

- Although it's not intuitive use the left/right arrow keys to move a frame at a time.

7. Change the speed buttons to a different type of selection method, they are too small.
8. The next 10 files is unnecessary, also "Next >" is not a standard way of indicating skip to the next file, please follow VirtualDub icon symbols.

- These are aesthetic changes. I've found that when I make sudden aesthetic changes I often upset as many people as I appease. That said, I'm open to the idea of removing the Previous10/Next10 buttons.

9. Changing playback speed has a bug, if you toggle them back and forth fast, the speed indicated in the window does not correspond to the playback speed. I was just seeing 1x and the content was playing back at like 2x or more with thee audio doing the same, not sure.

- I'll look into this but in the mean time, stop clicking it so fast! ;-)

10. I'm not sure I understand the purpose of delete settings for this movie and why it requires such huge real estate in the bottom left of the controls. 1 click turns the button from blue to green, but does not turn it back, instead asks if I'm sure I want to delete the settings. There must be a better way to accomplish whatever it's trying to do in a more compact manner and be clear about what the settings means.

- It's an icon whose color represents whether a custom settings file is active or not. As a single icon, I did not think it takes up much space in the GUI.

Thanks again for your feedback. Comments like this make DashcamViewer a better program!

John
 
Once again I am forever amazed and appreciative of the level of care and attention you provide.
 
1. You need to make MP4 work because it's the most common format with highest flexibility, use x264 encoder.

2. You can embed GPS data into MP4, I need to be able to cut up files and join them into a single mp4 files with GPS data so that I could pass it as evidence. Passing 2 files, 2nd one with GPS data is not prefered.
 
If.. only, this viewer had WiFi.. :( So much continuous improvement... on everything.. but that one thing that would make this viewer perfect :) I am sure there is at least some demand for it.. please reconsider the challenge..
 
Dashcam Viewer v2.7.4 Released for Mac and Windows

Hey guys, we’ve just released Dashcam Viewer v2.7.4 on our website. This version adds the following enhancements:

New Features:
  • Added initial support for timelapse mode of Viofo A119. Still have more to do, e.g., fix click-to-go in Map and click-in-Graph
  • The Graph window can now shrink to same height as Dashboard window.
  • SRT Files: Improved time accuracy of imported data
New Camera Supports:
  • Added support for Blackvue DR750S-1CH (thanks, Brian L.)
  • Added support for Apeman C550
  • Added support for SeeZeus GT680W
  • DJI SRT: Added initial support for DJI Matrice SRT file format. Note: the SRT file format has many variants and is a moving target which makes it difficult to fully support.
Bug Fixes:
  • [Mac version] Fixed bug in which directory selections for file import/export would not always stick. This was introduced in v2.7.0.
Download the free version from our website.

- John
Website:
http://dashcamviewer.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dashcamviewer

(sorry, Ralph2, no Wifi support)
 
Thanks! as always.
So, in all your work, toiling and contributions, do you have one or a few FAVORITE cameras, from YOUR viewer's perspective, that is final video/file product?
 
Thanks! as always.
So, in all your work, toiling and contributions, do you have one or a few FAVORITE cameras, from YOUR viewer's perspective, that is final video/file product?

Boilers, you wouldn't believe the size of my dashcam movie sample collection. I'm thinking about opening a museum;)! 3.5 years of contributions. I've received videos from all over the world taken from motorcycles, exotic cars, drones, bicycles, you name it. I've seen the good, the bad, and the ugly.

My favorite dashcam? Difficult to choose. Video quality is only one of many factors to consider. High-temperatures reliability is just as important to me, for example, and I can't test that for dashcams I don't have. That said, I will say that the 1080p 60 fps feature on some of the newer dashcams is really cool. That buttery smooth playback is stunning the first time you see it.
 
Is there a specific technical reason the windows version can't do the picture-in-picture mode?
 
Is there a specific technical reason the windows version can't do the picture-in-picture mode?

@traveler
Did you have a chance to install the new SG9663DC yet? (for DashCamViewer dual channel playback enhancement)
Thanks for the ongoing development enhancements.

For the past few months I've focused my spare development time on reworking the low level video code in Dashcam Viewer to improve video playback performance, unify the Mac/Windows code base, and "future proof" the program in general. One goal is to bring the two versions into feature parity so PiP will work in both Mac and Windows. Currently this version is in the alpha stages, but I'm already seeing major improvements in 4K video playback performance on the Mac due to the updated video library (dashcams don't produce 4K yet, but UAV cams are already there). The refactoring effort stretches beyond just the video library. Other portions of the program are being updated to take advantage of newer APIs. Needless to say this will all take some time, but the result will be better performance and maintainability.

At least with the Mac version playback is definitely an area that needs improvement.

Not sure what's going on here. I use a Viofo A119 recording at 60fps @ 1080p and I don't see dropped frames in DCV running on my MBP. 4K video from my Mavic Pro stutters in DCV, but as I mentioned before I'm working to improve this. Stay tuned!

John
http://dashcamviewer.com
 
Dashcam Viewer v2.7.6 Released for Mac and Windows

Happy New Year, everyone!

Dashcam Viewer v2.7.6 has just been released on our website. Changes in this version include:

New Camera Supports:
  • Added support for Anker ROAV Dash Cam C1 Pro
  • Added support for KDLinks R100 (note: this dashcam produces no GPS data. Thanks Brian M.)
  • Added support for DJI drones in which the GPS data is embedded into movie file (in SRT format). It seems that DJI plays fast and lose with the SRT format. There are many variations of it.
Bug Fixes:
  • Fixed bug in which speedometer and compass could show wrong speed and direction if the Dashboard window was closed and reopened.
  • [Mac version] Fixed bug which would prevent Dashcam Viewer from running on pre-10.11 operating systems.
Download the free version from our website.

- John
Website: http://dashcamviewer.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dashcamviewer
 
How much is the paid version?
Any chance of Blacksys CH-200 being supported?
The trial version looks looks good.
 
can support Picture-in-Picture for dr750s-2ch in PC?
how to reset brightness & contrast in PC?
 
Last edited:
Dashcam Viewer v2.7.7 Released for Mac and Windows

Hi folks, we just released Dashcam Viewer v2.7.7 This version adds the following enhancements:

New Features:
  • Added 'real-time' Line-Of-Sight (LOS) and Route distance computations to the Geotags list items. This LOS distance provides current LOS distance between the geotag point and the current vehicle location (including altitude differences if altitude data is available). The Route computation displays the distance along the route between the geotag position and the current vehicle location. Here's an example:
los_route_distances.jpg

Bug Fixes:
  • Fixed bug that would ignore clicks in the Altitude plot.
Download the free version from our website.

- John
Website: http://dashcamviewer.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dashcamviewer
 
Dashcam Viewer v2.7.8 Released for Mac and Windows

Hi folks, we've got a new version out. Version 2.7.8 has the following enhancements:

New Camera Supports:
  • Added support for Thinkware F800Pro Dual-Channel dash cam
Bug Fixes:
  • [Mac version] The Reset View button (or double-clicking in the movie) will now also reposition and resize the 2nd channel PiP window to the top left corner of the main window.
  • [Mac version] Default map type is now MAPQUEST since Google changed something with their Maps service that prevents Dashcam Viewer from rendering any graphic elements onto the map (no placemarks, routes, etc.).
Download the free version from our website.

- John
Website: http://dashcamviewer.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dashcamviewer
 
Hi John - is there no option to export a video clip without sound?
 
Currently, there is no option to export clips without sound. But this is a good idea so I'll add it to my list of future enhancements. In the mean time there are video editing softwares which can do the task. I use the old QuickTime Player 7 (Mac) to delete sound tracks and perform minor edits.
 
Back
Top