I "Upgraded" from 650S to 750S. Here's What I Found...

[Cessna CJ4]

I'l post these findings as I came across them in using my new 750s.

Camera Image Quality Is Better

In Playback Mode using the Cloud Viewer for Windows, overall quality does appear to be better than the cams of the 650s. In Live View Mode using Cloud Viewer for Windows, overall quality does appear to be better than the cams of the 650s. In Wifi Connected Mode directly from the camera to the cell phone, overall image quality seemed significantly better than the 650s thus far.

I'm still waiting for sundown to test "Enhanced Night Vision." I will also be testing "Sports Mode" as well later today both before and after sundown to see if image stability has improved at the 60fps (front)/30fps (rear) settings. These are all image quality observations while the car is sitting parked. I have not yet driven the car with the new 750s installed.

I'll report back on actual image quality while in motion later. That's some of the most important image quality that needs to be improved over the 650S.


Samsung 128GB EVO Plus [3] Micro SDXC Card Does Work

Worked flawlessly the first time after proper formatting and installation into 750s. This micro SDXC card has a max write speed of 90 mb/s and max read speed of 100 mb/s. It houses a Class 10 U3/UHS-I speed bus and comes with its own standard SD insert adapter for insertion into a PC.

Step 1, was to first format the card beyond the Fat32 size limitation. For that task, I used a formatting tool called Macrorit (google it). Macrorit will format a disk/drive for use in Windows that is greater than 32GB as a Fat32 partition.

Step 2, was to then copy the Blackvue folder that comes with the 750s camera firmware update from Blackvue, to the newly formatted 128GB card as per the instructions found on Blackvue's website.

Step 3, was to then insert the SD card into the camera without powering the camera on. So, inserting the newly formatted and firmware loaded SD card into the 750S, which itself was not powered on.

Step 4, was to physically install the 750s into the vehicle and connect both power cable and rear camera cable to the front camera. Then, I allowed the camera to come alive and run through its initial set-up routine to the point where it entered normal recording mode on its own.

Step 5 included: (A) connecting my cell phone to the camera's Wifi, customizing camera configurations including setting up the 750s to connect to my mobile hotspot after initial camera start-up, saving configuration changes and allowing the 750s to restart itself. (B) adjusted camera angles, tested Live View and recorded video playback both over the cloud using cell phone App and desktop cloud viewer for windows.

This arrangement seems to work well with the Samsung 128GB EVO Plus [3] Micro SDXC card. I've read where people were not able to get their 128GB cards to work. Hopefully, this helps a bit.

I'm still running through some final tweaks such as finding the correct Brightness setting for my situation, etc. Motion Detection tweaks and Bump Sensor tweaks (g-sensor) will take more evaluation.


Summary

Overall, no negative issues as of yet. I still don't see true "1080p" resolution and I don't think that any of these higher priced cameras will ever produce true "1080p" resolution given the Bit Rate vs Frame Rate issue they seem to be encumbered by. There are lower cost cameras out there that produce better image quality, but do not allow you to remove view your camera from anywhere. So, there is a trade-off for now until Cloud capable cams become more ubiquitous, forcing real competition among cam makers.

Right now, I do have to say that there is some improvement over the 650s. However, I am reluctant to say just how much until I get more miles under the new 750s to see how it holds up to Heat, Cold, freeway speeds and real-time remote viewing through a 4G Mobile Hotspot in various different locations on the go. That's the real test - will it hold up in real world driving conditions.

Howevver, right now, basic image quality while in Parking Mode does appear to be improved through all viewing modes and that is a good thing for the Blackvue 750s. I hope this continues into the road testing phase.

I still have a HUGE problem with Blackvue's treatment of me as one of its customers. Technical support has been next to nonexistent and the continued ignoring of my outstanding emails asking for answers and help is completely unacceptable behavior from any company selling a product and/or service while hoping to expand its market. That problem needs to be fixed at Blackvue and the company needs to start taking customer service of its Non-Asian Country Customers more seriously. I feel like if you are outside of Asia, then you are not being taken serious as a Customer and that's just not right.

If it were not for BlackBoxMyCar and the great support I have received from those guys up in Canada, I would be driving a Thinkware F-800 by now. I would not have a Cloud enabled camera (though that's what the Thinkware F-800 Pro will be when it is released), but at least my emails would get answered. So, kudos to BlackBoxMyCar - they are probably saving a LOT of business for Blackvue, whether Blackvue knows it or not. Again, if it were not for BlackBoxMyCar, I would no longer be a Blackvue Customer.

More real world details to come as I experience them.

 

[BlackboxMyCar]

In regards to the heat tolerance, we were glad to see the DR750S-2CH had better performance than the DR650S-2CH.
We were out on the racetrack on a very hot day and the DR650S showed some blur from the lens moving slightly (left side much blurrier than right side, and focus seemed to shift very close to the lens)
Yet the DR750S showed consistent focus across the screen with more accurate colours
Ultimately, the new one is still 1080P and the bitrate is not much higher but I feel the quality is definitely better

 

[Deleted member 46308]

Nice job and great customer service.

 

[Cessna CJ4]

In regards to the heat tolerance, we were glad to see the DR750S-2CH had better performance than the DR650S-2CH.
We were out on the racetrack on a very hot day and the DR650S showed some blur from the lens moving slightly (left side much blurrier than right side, and focus seemed to shift very close to the lens)
Yet the DR750S showed consistent focus across the screen with more accurate colours
Ultimately, the new one is still 1080P and the bitrate is not much higher but I feel the quality is definitely better

Very interesting and thanks for posting it. It makes me look forward to my field tests coming up in about an hour. Your color seems to be dialed in a bit better than my old 650s.

Here's what my old 650s looked like with the best (optimal) settings I could muster out of the cameras:

I'll have more coming from the 750s tonight.

 

[SawMaster]

A very well-done review and in depth enough to be useful to everyone- looking forward to the rest of your findings

until Cloud capable cams become more ubiquitous, forcing real competition among cam makers.

The wifi issue may take some time in resolving. Most cam processors in use today can't handle the bigger load of a fast wifi, and most cams don't yet have it But you're right- as more people want it, more will offer it and it will be improved eventually

I still have a HUGE problem with Blackvue's treatment of me as one of its customers. Technical support has been next to nonexistent and the continued ignoring of my outstanding emails asking for answers and help is completely unacceptable behavior

This is indeed a huge problem with these people and IMHO will become their downfall someday They just don't get it and likely never will

Phil

 

[Cessna CJ4]

I must say that the Night Time resolution on the Front Camera is a bit better than that of my old (returned) 650S. The oddity is that when you view both Cams in Enhanced Night Time Mode using the Cloud Viewer, they both look very grainy and almost useless. However, when playing the video file as a .MP4 after copying it to a local drive or after uploading it to a video server (YouTube, Vimeo, etc.), the Night Time resolution is slightly cleaner.

Still, BOTH cameras (Front and Rear) have grainy night time capture that is not indicative of a genuine higher quality 1080p camera.

I've witnessed this before. The Blackvue Cloud Viewer application for Windows in its current version appears to distort the image quality and make videos look worse than they actually appear in native .MP4 format.

Next, I'll go to work on trying to optimize the Rear Camera using Enhanced Night Time Mode before posting videos from that channel.

 

[Cessna CJ4]

More highly frustrating video results from Blackvue DR750s. Both Night and Dusk this time. Apparently, when night time falls you can forget about high quality clear video recording or playback with the 750s. Not happy with this at all. This was supposed to be an improvement over the 650s. This is NOT improved. This is actually worse.

Today's camera configuration:

- Sport Mode "On"
- Enhanced Night Vision "Off"
- Brightness Front "1"
- Brightness Rear "3"

Tomorrow's camera configuration will be:

- Sport Mode "On"
- Enhanced Night Vision "Off"
- Brightness Front "2"
- Brightness Rear "4"

 

[Cessna CJ4]

In addition to the above failed Night Time video capture (IMO), the camera just disconnected from the hotspot again and will not reconnect on its own. This used to be a DR650s problem - alleged to have been fixed in DR750s. Now, if I want the camera in the Cloud, I'll have to physically go down to the vehicle and restart the camera. This is not merely a nuisance. It is highly impractical.

Snapshots of the same settings above when parked.

Front Snapshot:

Rear Snapshot:

I'm getting close to the point of no return ("Bingo Fuel") with Blackvue. The cameras are not just out of focus. They are completely grainy at night using Enhanced Night Vision. There is nothing "enhanced" about the "vision" at "night."

Frustrated Night Vision, yes. Enhanced Night Vision, no.

 

[Cessna CJ4]

Camera just failed to establish connection with Cloud for the second time tonight. That's two failures to reconnect to hotspot in a single night. When I went down to restart the camera the first time tonight, it was still on and recording in parking mode - but never reconnected to hotspot.

This is simply unacceptable for a camera this expensive. Blackvue needs to get its act together or I can't see how anybody will want to continue buying what they sell.

Do Blackvue Customers in Korea, have these same problems?

 

[bpsmicro]

Camera just failed to establish connection with Cloud for the second time tonight. That's two failures to reconnect to hotspot in a single night. When I went down to restart the camera the first time tonight, it was still on and recording in parking mode - but never reconnected to hotspot.

When you have enough time, try leaving it. My 650S never reconnects to my hotspot if I've been away for more than a few minutes. I used to disable/enable WiFi on the camera to reset it. But what I've since found is that if I do nothing, it'll eventually reconnect by itself. We're talking upwards of 12 hours or even a bit more, but eventually, it will. See if maybe yours does the same.

Personally I think it's a logic fault. The camera detects that it's lost the connection, tries a few times to reconnect, and then gives up. What it *should* do is keep retrying every hour'ish. I think if it did that, most people would tolerate that. Bonus points for making the retry interval configurable.

Brad.

 

[evad]

Camera just failed to establish connection with Cloud for the second time tonight. That's two failures to reconnect to hotspot in a single night. When I went down to restart the camera the first time tonight, it was still on and recording in parking mode - but never reconnected to hotspot.

This is simply unacceptable for a camera this expensive. Blackvue needs to get its act together or I can't see how anybody will want to continue buying what they sell.

Do Blackvue Customers in Korea, have these same problems?

Used DR650 earlier for more than a year, now using DR750S and never had such issues with Cloud service here in Poland. My customers using BV cameras also never reported such issues. Perhaps the problem you're experiencing is related to the cellular / WiFi connection rather than BV Cloud service as such?

Sent from my ONEPLUS A5000 using Tapatalk

 

[jokiin]

Used DR650 earlier for more than a year, now using DR750S and never had such issues with Cloud service here in Poland. My customers using BV cameras also never reported such issues. Perhaps the problem you're experiencing is related to the cellular / WiFi connection rather than BV Cloud service as such?

Sent from my ONEPLUS A5000 using Tapatalk

quite possible that it works better with some devices than others

 

[Cessna CJ4]

I have just deleted that last post I made about the DR750s not connecting to the Cloud. The failure was mine.

I failed to reconnect the power cord from the Cell Link Battery B, back to the HotSpot after conducting a duration test on the HotSpot itself. The HotSpot battery was depleted and the camera disconnected as it should have. The error was all mine and I take full responsibility. When I returned to my vehicle and realized what I had done, I reconnected the HotSpot's power cord. The HotSpot booted itself and the DR750s reconnected automatically as it should without error. This was a prime example of why one should never jump to conclusions. This solves the problem I had with intermittent Cloud connectivity using the Blackvue DR750s.

However, this still does not resolve the Video Resolution problem that remains an issue with both the DR650s and the DR750s - especially as compared to other cameras lower down the price ladder. With that said, I will continue to use my Blackvue DR750s as I am seeing a number of Thinkware F800 customers report similar problems with Video Quality. So, I don't want to trade one set of problems for another.

Again, my apologies to Blackvue and the Board for reporting Cloud Connectivity issues that I created through my own negligence. Blame me for that, not the DR750s.

 

[hill]

One of the most utterly ridiculous flaws with the 650s is that the motion detection sensitivity, although numerous settings, really is just on & off. And the "on" detection could be as little as any tiny Leaf fluttering from 200 feet away. In other words, utterly worthless. What about the 750. Is its motion detection at least somewhat better? Realistically, all it needs to do is NOT detect every single thing far away 1% of the time & that would make it arguably better than the 650s.
.

 

[ckhris]

Ring, nest and others have awesome cloud service WiFi capabilities, a shame these dash cams are so far behind. As slow as it is, cloud service is pretty much a useless gimmick unless you have a lot of spare time in ur hands and ur very patient... most people will lose interest after the 1st minute and ur still waiting for the **** to load up. My home WiFi is gaming bandwidth and I have strong signal all around including the garage. Its definitely blackvue that is the problem.

 

[FatStrawPDX]

One of the most utterly ridiculous flaws with the 650s is that the motion detection sensitivity, although numerous settings, really is just on & off. And the "on" detection could be as little as any tiny Leaf fluttering from 200 feet away. In other words, utterly worthless. What about the 750. Is its motion detection at least somewhat better? Realistically, all it needs to do is NOT detect every single thing far away 1% of the time & that would make it arguably better than the 650s.
.

What is it like for people who use the 750 in States that rain a lot? Does the rain drop from windshield trip the motion detection?

 

[jokiin]

What is it like for people who use the 750 in States that rain a lot? Does the rain drop from windshield trip the motion detection?

a change in lighting will trip motion detect

 

[MMM123]

Step 1, was to first format the card beyond the Fat32 size limitation. For that task, I used a formatting tool called Macrorit (google it). Macrorit will format a disk/drive for use in Windows that is greater than 32GB as a Fat32 partition

Great review.

I bought the Samsung EVO plus 128GB to complement my new dr750s-2ch. I have quick queries that I was hoping you'd help me with.

Macrorit is showing me 2 options when I format the card:
File system: FAT32 or NTFS, I should pick FAT32.
Cluster size: 2K, 4K, 8K, 16K, 32K or 64K, which one should I choose ? I assume 64K ?

Step 2, was to then copy the Blackvue folder that comes with the 750s camera firmware update from Blackvue, to the newly formatted 128GB card as per the instructions found on Blackvue's website.

After copying the folder it would be easier to open the BlackVue software and do all the firmware settings on the PC ? Or better do it on the app while the card is inside the camera ? Any difference ?


Thanks in advance.

 

[Hillbilly]

Do it in the PC and it will then transfer when the camera sets itself up I bought a 750 1ch and did it yesterday also using a Samsunge Evo 128gb card The camera formats the card anyway when it initializes Or it did even after I had formatted it in Fat32 in my PC before loading the updated firmware on it

If you use a new card in a new camera Stick it in the camera and let it do its thing

You dont need to format it first in a PC as it has the original firmware is in the camera and transfers it to the card after it initializes it. Then after that you can just delete the contents of the card and copy the new firmware folder onto it do the settings in the viewer and stick it in the camera and sit and wait It will upgrade all on its own.

Did it all yesterday on a new one after my DR500GW died

 

[BlackboxMyCar]

Just a note that we do recommend firmware to be done via microSD cards that are 32GB or less in capacity. This is due to better reliability