A139 Pro recording in h.265

[mikey94025]

I read about this in another forum:

@thebravo: Hidden feature alert! Something I had missed before is the option to adjust the codec the camera uses to build the files. By default the camera uses h.264, but if you stop recording and then hold the mic button for 2 seconds until it beeps it switches the camera to using h.265. The main benefit you will see with h.265 are smaller files sizes for the same quality video.

This also worked on my A139 Pro - I switched to h.265 (hevc) tonight and my 4K 2160P 30fps bitrate=max 1-minute video files went from 437MB to 389MB (11% smaller). Nice! What are the downsides, if any, with h.265? I can still play them on my iPhone and Windows laptop but might there be some platforms or people who don't have access to the codec?

 

[FrankMCN]

Downsides are heat - the camera will run around 5C hotter & passing video to insurance company or law enforcement could be an issue if they can't playback HEVC (never underestimate the inability or unwillingness to try a little bit harder then usual for someone).

 

[mikey94025]

Downsides are heat - the camera will run around 5C hotter & passing video to insurance company or law enforcement could be an issue if they can't playback HEVC (never underestimate the inability or unwillingness to try a little bit harder then usual for someone).

Thanks for calling these out these downsides. We can always transcode the HEVC video down to plain old h.264, if necessary. I'm going to stay with h.265 and will report back if my dashcam incurs any heat-related problems.

 

[FrankMCN]

Yeah if you can do that, in a serious issue they may demand unaltered raw files though. Everyones going to have a different take on it, I find it doesn't really save enough storage space for it to be worth while (for me).

 

[munengr]

Thanks for posting about how to turn on H.265. I do have a question, though as I followed the instruction to hold in on the mic button for two seconds. At that point, I heard the 2 beeps and the A139Pro "started" the recording. How do I know that it is actually using H265 versus H264? Is there any type of visual notification in the app? I was not sure if it worked and then re-did the 2 second press a few times just see if there was some type of "visual" on the actual video screen using the app or somewhere else.

Any help anyone can share on how to validate if I am recording using H265 versus H264 would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Müller]

Hello munengr.

munengr: "[...] how to validate if I am recording using H265 versus H264 [...]"

1.) Open file in VLC-player
2.) > `Tools`
3.) > `Codec Information`

4.) Look here:

 

[munengr]

Thanks for the prompt reply. Based on your post above, it sounds like the only way to validate if the A139 Pro is recording in H265 or H264 is to download the video file to a PC and open in VLC per your instruction above. Is that correct? I kind of hoped there would be some type of visual reference of H264 or H265 on the actual A139 Pro Dashcam itself via the Viofo app but I guess that is not the case.

Appreciate the info

 

[Müller]

Hello munengr.

munengr: "Is that correct?"

This is my best knowledge. Others might be ahead.

If your phone is Android: there´s VLC (player) for Android. The file properties also show the codec used. Might be one step less than having to transfer the file in question to a Windows-machine:

 

[mikey94025]

I am not aware of any h.265/hevc indicator in the app. The easiest way to confirm in the app is probably to notice that your recently-recorded 1-minute video files are smaller in size than before. For me they went from 437MB to 389MB.

After transferring the video from your A139 Pro to an iPhone, you can confirm see if the video is HEVC by pressing the "i" button at the bottom. It will show "HEVC" if recorded as h.265 and otherwise show "H.264".

 

[mikey94025]

I was curious if there were a way in Windows File Explorer to tell if a video is H.265 vs. H.264 (and not require installing and using VLC). There is (reference) though it's not user-friendly. If you add the "Video Compression" column to the Explorer window then you can see the difference.



My recommendation is to skip trying to use Explorer to identify HEVC. Just install and use VLC - It's anyway a better way to view videos on Windows.

 

[Dashmellow]

What are the downsides, if any, with h.265?

@FrankMCN already pointed this out but allow me to elaborate a bit further.

As I've mentioned many times before on these pages I do not recommend the use of H.265. The reason is that even after all this time has passed since its release, H.265 has still not become the ubiquitous, widely available compression format that H.264 is.

For most people this is not much of a concern but for dash cam users it important because it is vital that anyone you may need to hand off a video to will be able to easily view your video without any problems. Unfortunately, there are still many insurance companies, law enforcement agencies, courts of law, attorney's offices, prosecutors offices and other bureaucracies that are running older computers, software and operating systems that will not play H.265 video. All you need is one key person within the chain of custody of your video in a legal or insurance matter who can't view your footage and your case or claim could be compromised or dead in the water. In all likelihood, the person or persons who can't get your video to play will not even know what the term "H.265" even means, much less what to do to get the video to play on whatever software they may be using. They will probably just move on the their next case during a busy day rather that waste a lot of time trying to troubleshoot your unwatchable video.

With dash cam video, where, depending on the circumstances, you may be compelled to provide an original, unedited copy of your footage it is imperative that you make sure to submit videos that are as easy and idiot proof for anyone to open. Therefore, the extra footage you can shoehorn onto a memory card with H.265 is not worth the risk until such time as it becomes the universal compression scheme that H.264 is. That's the reason H.265 is still a hidden feature on dash cams.

 

[mikey94025]

> All you need is one key person within the chain of custody of your video in a legal or insurance matter who can't view your footage and your case or claim could be compromised or dead in the water.

Is this hypothetical worry or do we have actual reports of consumers having trouble getting their HEVC video used for insurance/legal purposes? You all make your own decision but sorry I don't agree with this. It's like saying all you need is one key person who doesn't have a computer and the evidence is worthless. You have the original video file for proof of unaltered data and whoever is having trouble can get technical help to view it. BTW these incompetent people will have no problem accepting a transcoded video to H.264 (and wouldn't object because if they can't play HEVC then they're probably not technical enough to tell it's not the original dashcam video - If they do, just give them the original HEVC video source and metadata to correlate against). iPhone and Android phones can all view these H.265 files - The world moves on folks. It would also be like saying we can't send video screenshots around as evidence because they are "altered" from the original medium.

I believe that H.265 is not the default more because some poor dashcam owner can't figure out how to play their new dashcam video. Sort of like why 5Ghz is not the default, because some dashcam OWNERS don't have 5Ghz phones, not because 5Ghz isn't a well-accepted wireless standard.

 

[Dashmellow]

All you need is one key person within the chain of custody of your video in a legal or insurance matter who can't view your footage and your case or claim could be compromised or dead in the water.

Is this hypothetical worry or do we have actual reports of consumers having trouble getting their HEVC video used for insurance/legal purposes?

I personally had an experience where I had to submit various CCTV and dash cam videos to law enforcement, state prosecutors and attorneys due to a criminal harassment matter. In fact, it was the reason I became interested in dash cams in the first place. I learned first hand that if you don't provide videos in formats and on media that are as easy and idiot proof for literally ANYONE within the chain of custody of your evidence to view it can cause all kinds of unexpected problems with adjudicating the viability of your case. Even the possibility that you are submitting a video that may be difficult for someone to view is best avoided, especially if your case is going to end up in court where a judge can rule it inadmissible or reject it due to any delays viewing it may be causing. Many courtrooms have out of date computers and AV systems as do some police department offices and other offices. And you don't get to pass an iPhone or Android phone around a jury in a courtroom to watch an original video admitted into evidence. Insurance companies don't do that either. Not only are things like formats, compression, media and up to date equipment and software at issue, but a good number of people who will need to view your video are relatively clueless as to how to troubleshoot problematic videos. As I've said, many people outside of forums like this wouldn't even know what the term "H.265" even mean, so they wouldn't have a clue about what the problem is that is preventing video playback, much less how to troubleshoot it.

Of course, you should do whatever you wish if you want to save a small percentage of extra space on your memory card, but do so at your own peril.

 

[mikey94025]

I personally had an experience where I had to submit various CCTV and dash cam videos to law enforcement, state prosecutors and attorneys due to a criminal harassment matter.

Thank you for sharing. Just curious - When was this experience?

I'll also point out that as of the release of iOS 11 (September 19, 2017), iPhone 8 and later take videos in HEVC format by default (a standard released in 2013). I guess that most public offices these days can play HEVC or else know how to transcode, or accept transcoded, videos down to formats like H.264. Otherwise all those nifty iPhone-recorded videos also become inadmissible these days. Google said in 2021 that more Android phone OEMs will adopt HEVC as the default video recording format in Android 12 (Android 13 is the latest and was released in the summer of 2022).

I personally am using HEVC not to save space on my way-larger-than-I-need SD card, but because I would like to use modern formats. HEVC also produces higher-quality video at a lower bitrate (smaller file size), so it's possible our A139-saved videos can be higher quality when recorded in HEVC vs. H.264. Others should clearly make their own choices.

EDIT: Another datapoint - I don't own a Tesla, but it seems their dashcam video clips also use HEVC. It's very prevalent these days so it's not difficult to believe that there is mainstream support for it.

 

[kamkar]

Well in the H.264 / 265 matter i firmly feel that if the police / courts / lawyers and what not can not handle H.265, well it is their problem, i can not see it should make a case irrelevant or for that matter take longer.
I am lookinf forward to upgrading to AV1 encoding ASAP. though right now, well my computer do not support it in hardware en / de code.

 

[munengr]

Hello munengr.



This is my best knowledge. Others might be ahead.

If your phone is Android: there´s VLC (player) for Android. The file properties also show the codec used. Might be one step less than having to transfer the file in question to a Windows-machine:

View attachment 64601

Thanks for all your help as I appreciated the quick help and the provided information .. cheers

 

[munengr]

I am not aware of any h.265/hevc indicator in the app. The easiest way to confirm in the app is probably to notice that your recently-recorded 1-minute video files are smaller in size than before. For me they went from 437MB to 389MB.

After transferring the video from your A139 Pro to an iPhone, you can confirm see if the video is HEVC by pressing the "i" button at the bottom. It will show "HEVC" if recorded as h.265 and otherwise show "H.264".

View attachment 64606 View attachment 64607

Thanks for all your help as I appreciated the quick help and the provided information .. cheers

 

[munengr]

I was curious if there were a way in Windows File Explorer to tell if a video is H.265 vs. H.264 (and not require installing and using VLC). There is (reference) though it's not user-friendly. If you add the "Video Compression" column to the Explorer window then you can see the difference.

View attachment 64609

My recommendation is to skip trying to use Explorer to identify HEVC. Just install and use VLC - It's anyway a better way to view videos on Windows.

Thanks for all your help as I appreciated the quick help and the provided information .. cheers

 

[gamesfrager]

Is this hypothetical worry or do we have actual reports of consumers having trouble getting their HEVC video used for insurance/legal purposes?

I had someone rear-end my car and I had the dash cam footage of it, not saved in h.265 or anything fancy, the insurance adjuster said she couldn't play the video file. So I uploaded to my Google drive and made sure it's publicly available, yet she replied after weeks and said she couldn't view it. Then I made the file size smaller, like 5MB total and she still said she couldn't view it.

Mind you, between each reply it's 2 ~ 3 weeks. This dragged on until I said to hell with this and I uploaded it to Youtube and sent here the link. I even made it a short URL to make it even more convenient for her to view!

She could have easily copied or even typed the shared Google drive link to her personal phone and watched the footage, but she didn't bother.

Yes, people are not willing to spend 5 seconds extra of effort for your sake. You need to meet their requirements they are not going to "go out of their way".

And if you have watched any of the Johnny Depp vs. Amber. They were talking about images altered with software after being pulled form Amber's phone. So yes, in a court of law and when the other side needs any excuse to dismiss your evidence; they will come after a video that has been converted on a computer not straight out of the camera.

So in summary, the less variables you put and the easier you make it, the better for you when the time comes. Storage cost these days is almost as cheap as dirt -though, if you go to Home Depot, Dirt is not that cheap!

 

[mikey94025]

I had someone rear-end my car and I had the dash cam footage of it, not saved in h.265 or anything fancy, the insurance adjuster said she couldn't play the video file. So I uploaded to my Google drive and made sure it's publicly available, yet she replied after weeks and said she couldn't view it. Then I made the file size smaller, like 5MB total and she still said she couldn't view it.

Mind you, between each reply it's 2 ~ 3 weeks. This dragged on until I said to hell with this and I uploaded it to Youtube and sent here the link. I even made it a short URL to make it even more convenient for her to view!

Also in my case back in 2013, the easiest thing for the responsible party's insurance adjuster was a Youtube link to view my dashcam footage. They just needed something easy to watch. It didn't matter what file type it was nor that they weren't watching the original dashcam video file. I could still provide all of those things had the required it for validation.