Custom firmware BlackVue DR550GW-2CH

[RacingSnake]

You are absolutely correct - which actually makes the issue even worse! lol
It means my 33MB/s card can 'take' a bitrate of 264Mb/s

So then... at basic levels whereby I'm running 12+6 (and 2 for GPS/logging) = 20 Mb/s, therefore needing a card with a rate of 2.5MB/s... Is that correct? - in which case... WTF?!!

 

[reverend]

At a guess it might be an issue with random write I/O - the headline figures on the cards are for sequential reads usually.

If these cameras support media reader mode try running CrystalDiskMark with the card in the camera and the camera connected to a PC via USB and see what figures you get.

Odds are the random I/O write figures will be around about what you're trying to push with the two video streams and the GPS / log data.

 

[RacingSnake]

Interesting....
I ran the speed tests out of the camera here:
http://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threads/sd-card-speeds.5484/
But even my Samsung Pro couldn't catch the footage correctly, and that has a random write of 10MB/s. :|

I don't think the camera supports media reader mode, it's not something I've come across.

 

[reverend]

That's only if the camera is writing 512KB chunks though - look what happens when it writes 4KB chunks in your stats - it all depends on what write strategy the firmware is using. That Sandisk Extreme is nippy though!

 

[RacingSnake]

OK, interesting, thanks - I had made the incorrect assumption that when writing, it was continuous for 100MB chunks as defined by the bitrate settings.

Can I force it to write in bigger chunks by setting the file allocation on the formatting side much higher? currently it's 32kb allocation, but if I set it way up to 1MB allocation should that produce better results? (yes I know I'll waste a lot of space on the logging files).

 

[reverend]

It would all depend on the strategy in the firmware - if it was just one video stream it's easy, but if these are writing four file streams (two video streams plus GPS and log) at once it makes it harder. Have you tried turning off logging and GPS to see how it copes with just two video streams?

If the card has latency for every random write then you can see how quickly things could fall down if it is doing something crazy.

 

[RacingSnake]

I will have a play with the settings.

But thanks for taking the time to reply, as I understand far more about the behaviour now than I did an hour ago! lol

 

[Rebel]

Something is causing issues. That much I do know.

Does Alex still read this thread?

 

[Rebel]

So is it running smooth now ??

I have installed my 550 and the Power Magic Pro, I have connected it to a permanent live but I am struggling to find an ignition live on the passenger side fuse box of my A4 ....

So far yes.
I bought a 15amp fuse with a wire attached. Think it's called a fuse spur?
Attach that wire to a switch and wired my cam to the switch and an earth and my cam runs that way. So much easier that way.

 

[RacingSnake]

Got out of the car tonight and the camera was lit up like a Christmas tree... every single light was on.
Clearly it had crashed...
So I restarted it, and it immediately just lit up again.

So that's it, until the buggy firmware is sorted, I'm going to have to return back to original.

I'm really disappointed as there was so much 'promise' in this - but there are just too many bugs.
It clearly doesn't handle the fastest cards out there, no-one will address the issues, the picture jams, the sound disappears, and the units crash.
It's just too unreliable for what I need to be a 'safety net'.

God forbid I need to access the footage and find the blasted thing has skipped the important frames, or worse still find the camera has locked up and it's recorded nothing.

 

[RacingSnake]

Edit to add... wow, just checking the card, it's not recorded ANYTHING for the past 11 days.

Awesome.

 

[jokiin]

Edit to add... wow, just checking the card, it's not recorded ANYTHING for the past 11 days.

Awesome.

Have you asked on the Russian forum yet to find out what YOU did wrong?

 

[RacingSnake]

Its ok, I know the answer to that.... my car is ****ing ****. lol

 

[Rebel]

Its ok, I know the answer to that.... my car is ******* ****. lol

Lol

 

[rickyaswell]

I would be happy if the original firmware would keep the wifi on until the cam gets turned off by the power magic pro. If I tick wifi box on original firmware to come on when started up the wifi switches off after a short while.
Just give me the option to keep it on.

 

[alexsoll]

 

[Rebel]

Alex have you come across the problems we have been having with the video feed jumping at high bit rates?

 

[alexsoll]

Alex have you come across the problems we have been having with the video feed jumping at high bit rates?

I have long sold 550. A lot of nerves I spent with blackvue 550.
Now i enjoy: Powerucc Panorama S
http://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threads/powerucc-panorama-s.4286/

 

[therippa]

How do you load back the official firmware? I just tried loading the latest custom version, and it's not recording, giving me the extra options, and my live view is white screens (alternatively, does someone know how to fix this?)

 

[RacingSnake]

To load the original, just download it from the pittasoft site and load it onto the card as normal - there is actually a 'readme' file with the latest official firmware which tell you how to load it on.

re: your other issue - can't help, it sounds like the custom firmware has not loaded correctly. I might only suggest freshly formatting the card and starting again from the beginning following the installation instructions carefully (they are different from the standard firmware instructions).