Review: MATEGO MG288 Capacitor Dashcam - NT96660/AR0330 (Gearbest)

[Sunny]

Thank you @GearBest for providing MATEGO MG288 Capacitor Dashcam for review.
Gearbest product link: *****************************************
Description & Features: 2.0" screen, up to 32GB microSD supported.
It's capacitor based and has Novatek NTK96650 chipset and AR0330 sensor.
Video Resolutions: 1080P (1920 x 1080),720P (1280 x 720); 140 degree FOV.
Loop times: 1min,2min,5min, 10min ; Power supply: 12V.
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Summary: will be updated as I review and test but will note things as I go on.
PROS: Great build qulity, very discrete as it's all black and pretty small.
>Very sturdy mount.
>12v DC in so hard-wiring is easy without down converting adapter.
>Lots of language options.
>Day video is very good
>Night is average quality. It's decent with traffic lights but not great in dark areas.
>Audio quality is very good.
>No heat shift focus as of yet.
CONS:
>No 3 min loop cycle option.
>No manual
>Proprietary 12v plug so can't use battery pack
[Note:
As for the micro USB port, it's interesting.
It's mainly for connecting to a PC and has options like, webcam, mass storage or regular working mode.
It does get power and works with 5v but it doesn't auto start.
I connected power via micro USB and it stayed off.
However, I manually powered it on and it started recording fine as long as the micro USB was getting power so it does work if you only have microUSB as a power source.
It'd be great if the micro USB port also worked the same way as the 12v port to start recording automatically].
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Unboxing and Sample Videos of MATEGO MG288 Dashcam:

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MATEGO MG288 Dashcam Package Contents:
1 x Car DVR, 1 x Suction Mount, 1 x 12v Cigarette Lighter Power Adapter, 1 x USB Cable



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MATEGO MG288 Dashcam Images:









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MATEGO MG288 Folders and VBR:
Files have date time so easy to find a particular video.
Not only that but each driving sesson has it's own sequence number. Nice!
Folder: \CARDV\VIDEO
VBR: Overall VBR is 13.1 mbps with video @ 11.9 mbps and audio @ 512 kbps.



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Additional Images from Gearbest site:

 

[Sunny]

MATEGO MG288 Daytime Videos: Daytime video is very good. Audio also is very good.

Daytime Video Screenshots:

 

[Sunny]

MATEGO MG288 Night Videos: Night videos are decent quality with some light.
It's pretty dark in roads without any light but is clean.

MATEGO MG288 Night Screenshots:

 

[Sunny]

Reserved....

 

[GearBest]

Hi Sunny, thanks for your review. From your review and videos, it's a decent capacitor dashcam too.

 

[Sunny]

Since it doesn't come with a manual, I'll explain buttons.
Pressing up while recording mutes microphone. Press against to unmute.
Pressing down while recording locks/triggers emergency lock. Entire file is moved to EVENT folder.
Pressing play button while recording is not good as it directly goes to play mode.
Usually, most dashcams don't allow this without stopping recording first.

Hi Sunny, thanks for your review. From your review and videos, it's a decent capacitor dashcam too.

Yes, it's pretty good.
Daytime video is very good and night is average with other dashcams based upon same sensor.
If it had Sony imx sensor, night would be much better or higher bit rate firmware like the ones for g1w may also improve overall details. I'm not sure if those work with this dashcam.
Do you know if there is firmware download links from manufacturer?

Build quality is very good and mount is very sturdy. I press buttons on the back and it doesn't move at all.

 

[Sunny]

More daytime videos:

Against the Sun: Very good as the Sun doesn't wash out video quality.

Clouds make videos very dark than in real:

 

[GearBest]

Since it doesn't come with a manual, I'll explain buttons.
Pressing up while recording mutes microphone. Press against to unmute.
Pressing down while recording locks/triggers emergency lock. Entire file is moved to EVENT folder.
Pressing play button while recording is not good as it directly goes to play mode.
Usually, most dashcams don't allow this without stopping recording first.



Yes, it's pretty good.
Daytime video is very good and night is average with other dashcams based upon same sensor.
If it had Sony imx sensor, night would be much better or higher bit rate firmware like the ones for g1w may also improve overall details. I'm not sure if those work with this dashcam.
Do you know if there is firmware download links from manufacturer?

Build quality is very good and mount is very sturdy. I press buttons on the back and it doesn't move at all.

Hi Sunny, the manufacturer said there's no firmware that can be downloaded yet.

 

[Sunny]

As for the micro USB port, it's interesting.
It's mainly for connecting to a PC.

It does get power and works with 5v but it doesn't auto start.
I connected power via micro USB and it stayed off.
However, I manually powered it on and it started recording fine as long as the micro USB was getting power so it does work if you only have microUSB as a power source.
It'd be great if the micro USB port also worked the same way as the 12v port to start recording automatically.

 

[Sunny]

Here's one more from rainy day.
AE is much better in this clip and video is bright.

 

[Module 79L]

Too bad the MG380 doesn't have the same audio quality as this one, but OTOH I sure could live better with the 288's night video quality than with its big sister's. I didn't particularly liked the MG380 at night: the video seemed kind of "fake" and had a tendency to "fog" the image in well lit places. Time will tell, but judging by the "sample", this camera will probably be one of the best among the affordable Novatek-Aptina outfits.

 

[Module 79L]

As for the micro USB port, it's interesting.
It's mainly for connecting to a PC.

It does get power and works with 5v but it doesn't auto start.
I connected power via micro USB and it stayed off.
However, I manually powered it on and it started recording fine as long as the micro USB was getting power so it does work if you only have microUSB as a power source.
It'd be great if the micro USB port also worked the same way as the 12v port to start recording automatically.

That doesn't surprise me because the MG380 and its SG "sisters" also do the same. What surprises me is that I thought it was a characteristic of the Zoran chipset but apparently it's more of a MateGo's unique feature despite what chipset they use.

 

[jokiin]

That doesn't surprise me because the MG380 and its SG "sisters" also do the same. What surprises me is that I thought it was a characteristic of the Zoran chipset but apparently it's more of a MateGo's unique feature despite what chipset they use.

it's a power supply design characteristic, not a chipset characteristic, it has a built in 12v~24v power supply but the USB port in these designs will not charge the capacitors so if it was setup to auto power on from USB the caps wouldn't get charged so the safe shutdown wouldn't work so the obvious choice is not to support this function so people don't try running off USB and then wonder why they get corrupt recordings and other power issues

 

[Module 79L]

it's a power supply design characteristic, not a chipset characteristic, it has a built in 12v~24v power supply but the USB port in these designs will not charge the capacitors so if it was setup to auto power on from USB the caps wouldn't get charged so the safe shutdown wouldn't work so the obvious choice is not to support this function so people don't try running off USB and then wonder why they get corrupt recordings and other power issues

Wouldn't it be better to have an external power supply to avoid generating even more heat inside the camera? Or that extra heat isn't an issue?

 

[jokiin]

Wouldn't it be better to have an external power supply to avoid generating even more heat inside the camera? Or that extra heat isn't an issue?

external power supply is what all the USB powered cams are, there are advantages and disadvantages to each design, heat is not really an issue with the type of power supply design used though

 

[Module 79L]

external power supply is what all the USB powered cams are, there are advantages and disadvantages to each design, heat is not really an issue with the type of power supply design used though

That's what I thought. Internal power supplies have some advantages over the external ones, so if heat isn't an issue they're doing the smart thing.

 

[Module 79L]

Do you know if there is firmware download links from manufacturer?

Hi Sunny, the manufacturer said there's no firmware that can be downloaded yet.

There's a version V1.01.04 from 2015-06-30 available on MateGo's official site. Don't know what version came with the camera.