360º, triple camera dash cam - cool or too good to be true?

Re: 360º, triple camera dash cam - cool or too good to be tr

Dedicated parking panorama view 360 degree dash cam systems would not be much help for side "action" proof, especially for something like "flash-for-cash", because those camera view angle is horizontal wide, but not vertically, so you will not be able to prove that 5 metre away car was flashing you. Best cheapest DIY would be as "sludgeguts" said 4 Mobius, or even better: front / rear proper dash cams and sides use Mobius, mounted inside car, top part of the door frame.
My iCaro B4 system has very discrete solution, but as we all know, these days most 4ch systems produces VGA or or better ones D1. iCaro B4 is almost 3 years back system, back them for 4ch was state of the art. By firmware and functionality it is still one of the best from all retail available car 4ch dvr / cctv systems.

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Re: 360º, triple camera dash cam - cool or too good to be tr

jokiin said:
sludgeguts said:
I'm struggling to imagine a scenario where you need to show all 4 cams at once.

One for the wishlist Jokiin ?

there is a 4 channel solution now that uses software to stitch all 4 images together and the result is quite good, within its limitations, only D1 res, turning this into a full HD version might be a bit of a challenge, although the result of the current technology is quite good the installation is very labour intensive which I think stands against it as it seems to have trouble finding a market

there are certainly technologies coming that will improve what we see, how long before we could have a 360 degree view or very close to, I'm not sure, still wishlist at this stage

Sorry, meant - 4 remote lenses connected to central DVR & possibly all at 1080p (or whatever 'best' happens to be) - at least front to have 'best' with remaining 3 at slightly lower quality. - 1080p plus 3 @720p? (720 is still quite respectable).
 
Re: 360º, triple camera dash cam - cool or too good to be tr

Ok, so... good news bad news... and some more bad news.

I got my "360º panoramic view camera". it works. it was not a brick in a box, it did not explode when i connected it. it's menus were not in Chinese or Russian. but it is not, repeat NOT, a 360º camera. not even close.

i'll post a real review when i've had it longer and have figured out all the ins and outs, but for now, let me answer some of the concerns i had before i bought it and now have seen for myself:

-feel... it feels cheap. it's good enough, but it's just a cheap plastic body.
-the two front lenses con't converge perfectly. there's some overlap and weird blurriness that happens in the center. not that bad actually, but quite noticeable when panning it back and forth by hand. considering work needed to merge two wide-angle lenses into one image, i'm actually rather impressed that it works at all, but it's just not perfect.
-view angle out the front is pretty much exactly 180º. i placed it on a desk and observed objects directly to the left and right of the camera. when driving, it sees both sideview mirrors of my car. i do like that, but it is NOT what the description or the box says - 270º for the front - no. it's 180º.
-rear camera is pretty much useless. it's not that wide, maybe 120º. i have not installed it yet... here's why...
-resolution. when camera makers are having their product packaging designed, is there only one logo available for which to stick on every box... "1080P HD"? I mean, that logo is supposed to mean something. you can't just say "1080P HD" to describe a toaster that looks nice, can you? is my dog 1080P HD because her coat is nice and shiny? are these shoes 1080P? i mean, they do look sharp. no, 1080P HD means something, and it is not this camera. I'll post the actual resolution of each of the camera modes shortly. in the mean time, know this:
-you can record front only, back only, or front+back in one super-wide video file. In all 3 modes, you only get one file, you don't get separate video files for front and rear.
-front only is... reasonable. maybe a blotchy version of 720p
-rear only is 640x480 i think, but don't quote me until i've confirmed.
-front+rear is a real compromise. it chops the vertical down to 480 to match the rear camera. so the whole video, though wide, is only 480 tall. everything is noticeable blocky and pixelated.

I wanted to believe that i could record almost a 360 view of the road around me, to capture incidents occurring from either side or behind. that's just not possible with this camera. i wish i had just planned to buy 2x or 3x regular, single-lens cameras.

i'm going to keep this one, but likely will not install the rear camera. i don't see ever plugging it in, as it reduced the whole video to almost unbearably low quality.

oh, and the "night vision lights"?? please don't get me started. 4 little white LED's. with my headlights on full high beam, the camera can see about 50% of the road ahead compared to what my eyes can see while driving. now turn on 4 tiny, little, itty bitty LED's. how much brighter do you think the road ahead gets? now shine those off of the windshield.. who was it who thought this would be beneficial?

finally, it has a "TV OUT" plug. for those of us who have installed OLD SCHOOL, ANALOG TELEVISIONS SETS IN OUR CARS..... again, who thinks up these products?

The manual is useful when on the phone and you have to jot down a phone number but don't want to write it on anything important. Plenty of blank, white space. otherwise, it's really just a token "see, here's the manual!" It is quite useless. though ridiculously poorly translated, i'm sure the original Chinese is no more useful. it just sort of lists the buttons and the various menus. it doesn't bother trying to explain them, it just lists them. click around in the menus and you'll find "auto power off - 3 minutes, 5 minutes, disable". Oh, i thought, i can get it to remain on (on battery) for a while when i park. i set it to 5 minutes but it shuts down when i shut off the car. screen says "goodbye!", and it gracefully shuts down (i mean, it appears that it's supposed to - it does not just crash). so i looked it up in the manual for a better explanation. it says Auto Power Off - 3 minutes, 5 minutes, Disable. that's it. no further explanation, in any language.

I'll post the actual resolution of each camera, and some sample videos.

Though this mini-review may sound pretty negative, it's probably par for the course for non-brand name dash cams. Don't not get it because of my bitching. the 180º front view is nice and wide. any wider and the quality would probably be so long, and distant objects appear so far away, that it would become completely unusable. so it's not all bad.

the bottom line is that i'm keeping it. i'll make do. i wished i had stumbled on a real gem, how i was soooo much smarter than the rest of you chumps with your expensive multi-camera systems and such. but i'm not. i'm just a different kind of chump. a chump with a no-name dashcam with video that i can't read license plates, see in the dark or record what's going on beside me.
 
Re: 360º, triple camera dash cam - cool or too good to be tr

dalenorman2005 said:
how i was soooo much smarter than the rest of you chumps with your expensive multi-camera systems and such. but i'm not. i'm just a different kind of chump. a chump with a no-name dashcam with video that i can't read license plates, see in the dark or record what's going on beside me.

nice 'review' and nicely put, very recognizable, join the club;) dashcamscam
If it sounds too good to be true..... it usually is!

I just sent mine back, hoping to get a refund.

Thewalven 1080p HD ;)
 
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Re: 360º, triple camera dash cam - cool or too good to be tr



there is a 4 channel solution now that uses software to stitch all 4 images together and the result is quite good, within its limitations, only D1 res, turning this into a full HD version might be a bit of a challenge, although the result of the current technology is quite good the installation is very labour intensive which I think stands against it as it seems to have trouble finding a market

there are certainly technologies coming that will improve what we see, how long before we could have a 360 degree view or very close to, I'm not sure, still wishlist at this stage
Sorry, not very clear.
My wishlist would be 4ch DVR with remote lenses. The front lens, at least, should be highest possible quality, remaining 3 can be lower (so 1080p + 3@ 720 (or whatever the latest stuff coming out will be)). Not really bothered about having the unit stitch vids together - although I suppose it would be nice if it could come with some vid software which allowed this?
 
I'm getting closer to 360! (added my first rear)

My Mini 0801 was relocated to the back. (it's 135 Degree)
My new Vicovation WF1 up in front is 160 Degree

135 + 160 = 295! :)
 
I'm getting closer to 360! (added my first rear)

My Mini 0801 was relocated to the back. (it's 135 Degree)
My new Vicovation WF1 up in front is 160 Degree

135 + 160 = 295! :)

Is the 0801 135deg diagonal? Isn't that about 120deg horizontal?


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Is the 0801 135deg diagonal? Isn't that about 120deg horizontal?


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hmm I was going off the mini 0801 FAQ page. I never thought the degree was calculated in different ways. (Like a diagonal TV length eh?)
There was/is debate over the exact number. I picked the bigger number to get closer to that magic 360. :)
 
@JazJon thats not a car its a rabbit hutch on wheels ( sorry I seem to have got my silly hat on today) the 360 degree concept seems a good idea hopefully it might make an appearance in full HD some time in the not too distant future.......technology appears to be progressing ever faster these days ....Ipol
 
Ambarella has a 4 x 1080p30 chipset in the works so I'm sure processing power will be there, its really the advances in sensor and lenses that we need to see I think, we'll get there I'm sure, when exactly I'm not sure but the technology evolves rapidly
 
@JazJon thats not a car its a rabbit hutch on wheels ( sorry I seem to have got my silly hat on today) the 360 degree concept seems a good idea hopefully it might make an appearance in full HD some time in the not too distant future.......technology appears to be progressing ever faster these days ....Ipol
That is funny, but you should take a look at the crash safety specs on that car. It is amazing, if it were just had enough room behind the front seats to hold a dog, I would seriously consider it. :)
 
@ old goat it was a tongue in cheek remark if I didnt have to ferry 5 people around at times I would most likely have brought one myself@jokiin yes its nice to know things are in the pipeline I am sure that the sensor and lens issues are quite high up in the priority list.......regards Ipol
 


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You can smell the bullplop from here. There is NO WAY that was a proper washing machine.
He sets it down on the pavement, he stands in the road - it gives the impression that the thing is taller.
He then picks it up like it weighs nothing - washing machines have a dirty great big lump of concrete in the bottom of them - to stop them dancing round the floor during the spin cycle.
 
You can smell the bullplop from here. There is NO WAY that was a proper washing machine.
He sets it down on the pavement, he stands in the road - it gives the impression that the thing is taller.
He then picks it up like it weighs nothing - washing machines have a dirty great big lump of concrete in the bottom of them - to stop them dancing round the floor during the spin cycle.

This TV Ad was investigated by the UK Press when broadcast in 2008. They found that a standard European market-sized washing machine would fit in a Smart.

The machine in the Ad was gutted to make it light enough to be manhandled by a normal bloke, without suffering a hernia or back injury. The Ad was very successful in showing that a Smart can accommodate much more than the Public assumed.


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I've driven home large screen TV's in my smart before. You can easily have stuff sticking up with the convertible down. The vertical truck space is more versatile than a standard trunk of a car too.
 
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