Reviewing and Testing the new Vantrue N4S Dashcam

[Hack_man]

With the Viofo A139 Pro and A229 Pro, turning HDR off during daylight is definitely better for reading plates unless you have unusually bright lighting conditions, Dr McCoy is correct.

On the Vantrue E1 Pro, I struggle to show that turning turning HDR off during daylight is better, sometimes it will be, but on average, I think it is better On all day. HDR on the E1 Pro is terrible without PlatePix also On though. With PlatePix On, it can be a bit too dark, which is good for reading plates, but if you find it too dark then increasing the EV setting by one or two steps will correct that.

I don't know about the N4S.

So with the A139 Pro and A229 Pro it's actually better to have HDR ON in extreme brightness and at night, but better turned OFF in between? That kind of makes sense since HDR is trying to negate extreme lighting conditions.

I think PlatePix is muddying the water a little, since you now have both HDR and PlatePix settings both trying to correct for lighting contrast. It's good to have so many settings for us dashcam nerds but to the average user it can be confusing.

 

[Nigel]

It's good to have so many settings for us dashcam nerds but to the average user it can be confusing.

Seems to me that the HDR only option, without PlatePix is not helping anyone when set up as it is on the E1 Pro!

They could however change it to half way between its current setup and the PlatePix setup. Then people who don't like too dark or don't like too much sharpening, would have a useful option. The extra darkness and sharpening do help to read plates, but being able to read plates is not the only consideration for many people. I also like to be able to see the dark person wearing black cloths and riding a black bicycle with the legally required reflectors removed and no lighting in dark conditions... we seem to have a lot of them on UK roads, and an HDR that only extends the brightness range in the brilliant direction is not helping! HDR should help in both directions.

 

[Jeff_Vantrue]

If PlatePix only works when HDR is enabled it should be mentioned in the app, or the on-screen display, or the manual.

I wonder if this is true for the N4S, or all Vantrue dashcams with PlatePix? @Jeff_Vantrue ?

I recall @Nigel did some testing of the E1 Pro with HDR on/off and PlatePix on/off and came to a similar conclusion.

I’m sorry to let you know that the ability to enable PlatePix while HDR is turned off is actually a bug. This will be corrected in a future update on all dash cam.

 

[Hack_man]

I’m sorry to let you know that the ability to enable PlatePix while HDR is turned off is actually a bug. This will be corrected in a future update on all dash cam.

Is this saying that when PlatePix is turned on in the menus while HDR is turned OFF (and the "PlatePix" stamp appears in the video) that PlatePix is not actually functioning?
I've seen some testing that indicates this is true.

 

[haiou_f]

最后，从昨晚，一个来自客舱摄像头。HDR关闭，IR LED设置为"自动".后座似乎消失了，但我想如果车里有更多的人会更好看。此外，后排座椅为黑色真皮，顶部LED可能被后视镜底部挡住.基于这个结果，我很想看看HDR ON看起来像从内部摄像头.昨晚开车时错过了那个场景...太暗了，可以看看T800内部摄像头在全黑环境下的

And finally from last night, one from the cabin camera. HDR is off and IR LEDs are set to "Auto." The back seat kind of disappears, but I suspect it would look better if there were more people in the car. Also, the back seats are black leather and the top LEDs are probably somewhat blocked by the bottom of the rear view mirror. Based on this result, I'm curious to see what HDR ON looks like from the interior camera. Missed that setting while driving around last night...

View attachment 81642

It's too dark, you can take a look at the performance of T800's internal camera in a completely black environment.

 

[Hack_man]

@EricSan have you tested the N4S with its short USB cable connected to the DC IN port of the camera ? I used a 5V 2.1A phone charger as a source.
I'm seeing some odd behavior where the camera power cycles for 70 seconds ON and then shuts down for 10 seconds and repeats this 70/10 second cycle endlessly.
But if I enable WIFI using my iPhone, the camera behaves fine while recording with no observed power cycling.
If I power OFF the N4S with a long press, it strangely reboots itself in about 10 seconds and the power ON/OFF cycling continues.

Odd that it behaves fine with WIFI turned on.The ON/OFF cycle times are not random but have a perfectly repeatable duty cycle.
Its behaving like a standard USB source is insufficient to power the unit, but why does it function fine when WIFI is enabled?

EDIT:
I reformatted the 64 GB Vantrue SD card and the cycling reboot problem STOPPED.

The strange thing is before I reformatted the SD card, I could make the reboot problem stop by doing either of the following:

1. Power camera from the REAR camera port
-----or-----
2. Enable WIFI

Also I did not experience this problem until I powered the camera with a phone USB charger, it was working in my car with the Vantrue Cig adapter.

I'll leave this post here just for historical documentation purposes in case someone else encounters it.

 

[Jeff_Vantrue]

Is this saying that when PlatePix is turned on in the menus while HDR is turned OFF (and the "PlatePix" stamp appears in the video) that PlatePix is not actually functioning?
I've seen some testing that indicates this is true.

Yes, that’s correct! when HDR is turned off, PlatePix is not actually functioning, even if the “PlatePix” stamp appears in the video. This is part of the bug we mentioned earlier, and we plan to fix it in next firmware update.

 

[jsmith]

Yes, that’s correct! when HDR is turned off, PlatePix is not actually functioning, even if the “PlatePix” stamp appears in the video. This is part of the bug we mentioned earlier, and we plan to fix it in next firmware update.

Wendy confirmed there is a firmware bug. PlatePix requires HDR Enabled. However, the bug lets you turn on PlatePix when HDR is in fact toggled off. As this is a bug, it will get corrected at some point in a later firmware.

I'd email asking about the issue and got that response.

 

[TonyM]

Yes, that’s correct! when HDR is turned off, PlatePix is not actually functioning, even if the “PlatePix” stamp appears in the video. This is part of the bug we mentioned earlier, and we plan to fix it in next firmware update.

That probably explains why a number of testers, myself included, have been struggling to figure out when to use HDR and PlatePix, either on/off or timed.

 

[Nigel]

That probably explains why a number of testers, myself included, have been struggling to figure out when to use HDR and PlatePix, either on/off or timed.

So what is the conclusion on the PlatePix timer? Why does it exist when there is also an HDR timer, which logically would do exactly the same thing if PlatePix is tied to HDR, so it appears pointless!

 

[Hack_man]

TonyM said:
That probably explains why a number of testers, myself included, have been struggling to figure out when to use HDR and PlatePix, either on/off or timed.

So what is the conclusion on the PlatePix timer? Why does it exist when there is also an HDR timer, which logically would do exactly the same thing if PlatePix is tied to HDR, so it appears pointless!

I asked Wendy at Vantrue that question and it confirms what @TonyM posted

"The ability to enable PlatePix while HDR is turned off is actually a bug. This will be corrected in a future update.
In fact, PlatePix is designed to work only when HDR is enabled, which is why the PlatePix timer always mirrors the HDR timer."

This strange PlatePix timer behavior is what initiated Post #73

 

[TonyM]

So what is the conclusion on the PlatePix timer? Why does it exist when there is also an HDR timer, which logically would do exactly the same thing if PlatePix is tied to HDR, so it appears pointless!

I hope the timers will make more sense after they fix the bug, although we may need more testing again to compare HDR vs PlatePix during the day and at night.

 

[Hack_man]

I hope the timers will make more sense after they fix the bug, although we may need more testing again to compare HDR vs PlatePix during the day and at night.

If PlatePix depends on HDR being enabled, its timer cannot operate outside of the bounds of HDR.
PlatePix seems like a souped up version of HDR.
I find it confusing there is a separate menu for selecting Image Quality "Standard" or "PlatePix" in addition to enabling the PlatePix timer
I suspect eventually HDR will no longer be an option and PlatePix will replace it.

There should be two separate menu screens to select:

HDR OFF/ON/Auto HDR Timer
PlatePix OFF/ON/Auto PlatePix Timer (with a note that says HDR will be enabled automatically with PlatePix)

This menu seems redundant:

 

[jsmith]

That probably explains why a number of testers, myself included, have been struggling to figure out when to use HDR and PlatePix, either on/off or timed.

Exactly. I had contacted Vantrue on that issue earlier and I was awaiting their response. So @Nigel is right that HDR and Platepix work together in tandem. However, due to the firmware bug, it's deceiving that you can turn PlatePix on when HDR is off.

So the proper setting for the N4S if using PlatePix:

HDR On:
PlatePix On

PlatePix uses the HDR Timer

 

[jsmith]

If PlatePix depends on HDR being enabled, its timer cannot operate outside of the bounds of HDR.
PlatePix seems like a souped up version of HDR.
I find it confusing there is a separate menu for selecting Image Quality "Standard" or "PlatePix" in addition to enabling the PlatePix timer
I suspect eventually HDR will no longer be an option and PlatePix will replace it.

There should be two separate menu screens to select:

HDR OFF/ON/Auto HDR Timer
PlatePix OFF/ON/Auto PlatePix Timer (with a note that says HDR will be enabled automatically with PlatePix)

This menu seems redundant:

View attachment 81804

So the proper setting for the N4S if using PlatePix:

HDR On:
PlatePix On

PlatePix uses the HDR Timer

PlatePix changes the image brightness to permit plates to be more easily read. It works alongside HDR. It is a tradeoff because you sacrifice some surrounding detail quality to get better plate clarity. It all depends upon what's important to you personally.

 

[jsmith]

I hope the timers will make more sense after they fix the bug, although we may need more testing again to compare HDR vs PlatePix during the day and at night.

Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe HDR is intended for use at night. I would surmise that holds true for PlatePix. During the day and early evening, there is plenty of light to capture plates and surrounding detail.

As an aside note, I received the S1 Pro Max and plan to place it side by side to the N4S to do some comparisons. S1 Pro Max is 4K. I wonder how it will do with HDR, HDR + Plate Pix, compared to the N4S.

Just haven't yet had time to get installed yet.

 

[Nigel]

Exactly. I had contacted Vantrue on that issue earlier and I was awaiting their response. So @Nigel is right that HDR and Platepix work together in tandem. However, due to the firmware bug, it's deceiving that you can turn PlatePix on when HDR is off.

So the proper setting for the N4S if using PlatePix:

HDR On:
PlatePix On

PlatePix uses the HDR Timer

The sensible menu would be:

HDR:

Off​

Standard​

PlatePix​

Remove the Image Quality Menu, since its function is now covered by the HDR menu.
Remove the PlatePix Timer Menu, since it appears to have the same function as the HDR Timer Menu.

 

[Hack_man]

The sensible menu would be:

HDR:

Off​

Standard​

PlatePix​

Remove the Image Quality Menu, since its function is now covered by the HDR menu.
Remove the PlatePix Timer Menu, since it appears to have the same function as the HDR Timer Menu.

I like this suggestion the best.
Vantrue make it so!

 

[EricSan]

@EricSan have you tested the N4S with its short USB cable connected to the DC IN port of the camera ?

No, though I have powered the camera from the Utility Outlet adapter and from the hardwire kit. I did experience some strange behavior with gaps in the recordings, but that went away after reformatting the card with the camera itself. Not sure what the issue was, as the it's a new Vantrue card that was not used that much yet. Must have been some random thing that went wrong during a previous formatting, but it's all good now. Glad you solved the problem.

It's too dark, you can take a look at the performance of T800's internal camera in a completely black environment.

Comparing your image from the T800 to my N4S image isn't really a direct comparison. My N4S is mounted so the cabin camera is somewhat obscured by the rear view mirror, so the IR LEDs are being blocked by the back of my mirror - note how brightly lit the back of the mirror is. This does two things: 1) it blocks the light source and 2) because the back of the mirror is so brightly lit, the exposure is likely being turned down, making the rest of the image much more dark.

-------------------

将 T800 拍摄的图像与我的 N4S 拍摄的图像进行比较，实际上并非直接对比。我的 N4S 安装方式使得车内摄像头被后视镜遮挡了一部分，因此红外 LED 被后视镜背面挡住了——请注意后视镜背面的光线有多亮。这会产生两个影响：1) 遮挡了光源；2) 由于后视镜背面光线太亮，曝光度可能会降低，导致图像的其余部分变得更暗。

I hope the timers will make more sense after they fix the bug, although we may need more testing again to compare HDR vs PlatePix during the day and at night.

I'll wait until there is a firmware update and then try to do a more systematic comparison of HDR and PlatePix in a parking lot with other cars so it reduced the number of variables involved.

Without knowing more about the intended functionality, I like the idea that @Nigel has for the a menu option with 3 settings. It seems that HDR and PlatePix are variants on a theme of image processing and tweaks where one setting would be a "stronger" tweak than the other. It will be interesting to see if the bug fix involves having two settings that are truly independent, or if it is just a choice between the two.

 

[TonyM]

I'll wait until there is a firmware update and then try to do a more systematic comparison of HDR and PlatePix in a parking lot with other cars so it reduced the number of variables involved.

I'm waiting on a firmware update before commenting on what PlatePix does with or without HDR.