2 Frames Per Second

[M A R K]

My Pro has suddenly started recording at just 2 frames per second.
I have opened up a brand new SD card (Samsung Pro Endurance) to replace the previous SanDisk but this makes no difference. I have updated to the latest firmware and again, no change.
The camera is set to record front only at 4k 30fps and I have tried at both high and maximum bitrates with WDR on and off. I don't use parking mode at all and have tested the camera in the car and on my desk
I have linked to a sample clip so you can see the issue.
Anybody else seen this and found a solution?

 

[Nath]

Since you set 4k/30fps, what is the output file resolution? 1080p/2fps or 4k/2fps? What exactly do you use for powering the dashcam? (included plug or something else?)

Could you take a picture of the screen of the dashcam while its recording.

EDIT: I would think that your camera is permanently switched to parking mode but then i realised that "Time-lapse" shouldn't record sound, if i recall correctly.

 

[M A R K]

Since you set 4k/30fps, what is the output file resolution? 1080p/2fps or 4k/2fps? What exactly do you use for powering the dashcam? (included plug or something else?)

Could you take a picture of the screen of the dashcam while its recording.

EDIT: I would have tought that your camera is permanently switched to parking mode but then i realised that "Time-lapse" shouldn't record sound, if i recall correctly.

Hi

The output is 4k/2fps. The dash cam is powered using the supplied plug and supplied cable when in the car and the supplied cable and 3A Anker USB mains plug when on my desk.

Parking mode is OFF

I wasn't paying attention to the sound but when I listen, that appears to be playing back at full frame rate so the output file is 30fps it's just that the camera doesn't appear to be capturing the video frames (just audio) at that rate

 

[Nath]

I wasn't paying attention to the sound but when I listen, that appears to be playing back at full frame rate so the output file is 30fps it's just that the camera doesn't appear to be capturing the video frames (just audio) at that rate

Yeah, i noticed that too and it seems like it's also out of sync. Or at least i assume you honked a sh*t out that cycle guy and used at least a little braking, which also means that some things would move due to deceleration - none of that can be heard. Sure, A129Pro doesn't have the best microphone but it's not that bad either.

What about file size? Is the file noticeably smaller? (4k/30fps at max should be about 383MB/min) Could you post a "native" sample?

 

[M A R K]

Yeah, i noticed that too and it seems like it's also out of sync. Or at least i assume you honked a sh*t out that cycle guy and used at least a little braking, which also means that some things would move due to deceleration - none of that can be heard. Sure, A129Pro doesn't have the best microphone but it's not that bad either.

What about file size? Is the file noticeably smaller? (4k/30fps at max should be about 383MB/min) Could you post a "native" sample?

Actually I didn't honk the horn or even have to brake harshly as I could see exactly what was going in. The cyclist however was oblivious that there was a great big Volvo behind him

Anyway, I have set up a quick session here on my desktop. The camera is set up to record at 4k at 30fps at a high bit rate. I have linked the native file below.

The file size looks about right. 121MB for a 23 second clip and a quick inspection of the file suggests it is indeed a 30fps movie at 41.48Mbit/s

So this is looking to be more like a write issue that a record or playback one.

I have swapped the SD card, formatted it, updated the firmware on the camera and get the same results regardless of power source or location. As before, parking mode is OFF

Apart from it being "broken" I am out of ideas here

20210425_163142_00680F.MP4

drive.google.com

 

[Nath]

Actually I didn't honk the horn or even have to brake harshly as I could see exactly what was going in. The cyclist however was oblivious that there was a great big Volvo behind him

Oh, ok, that explains it. As i said above, i just assumed - in the "slideshow" it looked almost like the guy jumped out of the way.

20210425_163142_00680F.MP4

drive.google.com

Interesting, the uploaded file is suppose to play in "2fps" as well? Because i see perfectly fluent video (played via VLC for Windows).

If you hadn't uploaded and got processed the previous video via Youtube with the "2fps" result, I would claim that it's about performance of your desktop. It looks like a codec "corruption" of some sort. Have you tried to switch the codec to h265 (hold the MIC button for few seconds)?

 

[M A R K]

Oh, ok, that explains it. As i said above, i just assumed - in the "slideshow" it looked almost like the guy jumped out of the way.


Interesting, the uploaded file is suppose to be in "2fps" as well? Because i see perfectly fluent video (played via VLC for Windows).

If you hadn't uploaded and got processed the previous video via Youtube with the "2fps" result, I would claim that it's about performance of your desktop. It looks like a codec "corruption" of some sort. Have you tried to switch the codec to h265 (hold the MIC button for few seconds)?

Damnit you're right.

I am working with this file on my usual editing rig. An i7 Mac with all the options that I use for editing all my 4k video.

Oddly I did do a conversion to H265 (you can do this within MacOS with a simple right click) and that output file was also stuck at 2fps

BUT

If I try and play in VLC, sure enough, yes it's OK

If I try and play the H265 file in VLC, still 2fps!!!

If I try and move it into iCloud Photos to play on my iPad, I get an unsupported codec error.

But if I move it to my iPad via a network share, the original file works fine. How really bizzar

But the really odd thing is that it's clearly more than just an playback problem because when I simply uploaded said file to YouTube, that also was at 2fps. This has to be a dodgy codec at play.

Thanks for your help

 

[DashCam1964]

Damnit you're right.

I am working with this file on my usual editing rig. An i7 Mac with all the options that I use for editing all my 4k video.

Oddly I did do a conversion to H265 (you can do this within MacOS with a simple right click) and that output file was also stuck at 2fps

BUT

If I try and play in VLC, sure enough, yes it's OK

If I try and play the H265 file in VLC, still 2fps!!!

If I try and move it into iCloud Photos to play on my iPad, I get an unsupported codec error.

But if I move it to my iPad via a network share, the original file works fine. How really bizzar

But the really odd thing is that it's clearly more than just an playback problem because when I simply uploaded said file to YouTube, that also was at 2fps. This has to be a dodgy codec at play.

Thanks for your help

How about trying Dashcam Viewer.

Dashcam Viewer | Unleash Your Dashcam’s Full Potential

Dashcam Viewer is powerful, state-of-the-art software with unique and functional features that will unleash your dashcam’s full potential.

dashcamviewer.com

 

[Nath]

@M A R K And what about older firmware? As you mentioned above, the dashcam started producing these files recently, couldn't it be the problem with the firmware version itself? (I did not update my unit to the latest version 2.2)

I tried to convert the uploaded file via HandBrake to 1080p (h264 as well as h265) and still 30fps without issues.

 

[M A R K]

@M A R K And what about older firmware? As you mentioned above, the dashcam started producing these files recently, couldn't it be the problem with the firmware version itself? (I did not update my unit to the latest version 2.2)

I tried to convert the uploaded file via HandBrake to 1080p (h264 as well as h265) and still 30fps without issues.

It could be something to do with recent firmware.
I have taken files off this device with this Mac previously with no issues at all so a change to the codec is totally possible somewhere down the line.
Yes using other software is a workaround for the moment so I can work with that for now. I have been meaning to try dash cam viewer so will give that a go
Out of interest, I know you can set the camera to H265 but I find after time, it seems to go back to H264. My camera is mounted out of sight in my car so it's not something I can check each journey. Do you know if this is normal behaviour?
Thanks

 

[Nath]

Out of interest, I know you can set the camera to H265 but I find after time, it seems to go back to H264. My camera is mounted out of sight in my car so it's not something I can check each journey. Do you know if this is normal behaviour?

This is quite interesting information. I never saw such behaviour with my A129Pro BUT i saw a similar thing in A139 (it changes from 1440p/30fps/h265 to 1440p/60fps/h264 over time - don't know what's the trigger).

Do you use HK3 with Parking mode enabled?

 

[M A R K]

This is quite interesting information. I never saw such behaviour with my A129Pro BUT i saw a similar thing in A139 (it changes from 1440p/30fps/h265 to 1440p/60fps/h264 over time - don't know what's the trigger).

Do you use HK3 with Parking mode enabled?

I don't use parking mode on my cars so it's not something I have ever tried

 

[Nath]

Yeah, i'm sorry, i completely forgot you mentioned that in the first post . The gist of my question was HK3 because i was testing two A139 units and the one which was connected to HK3 and used Low-bitrate parking mode was switching to h264 all by itself and the second unit without HK3+parking was able to stick to h265.