A810-2 4K 25fps Dual Camera Unbox and Deep Dive LN

[LateralNW]

Recently I was approached by a representative from 70mai who asked if I would be interested in doing a review on A810-2 dashcam.
Obviously I said yes, partly because of my curiosity about the brand and video quality.

The Kit supplied has the following items
A810 4K Dashcam
Rear 1080 Dashcam
4G LTE MODEM with built-in Hardwire kit suitable for Australia.
128GB Micro SD card
CPL Filter

Some of the Pros and Cons
3 Min loop record maximum
4K Resolution Front camera at 25fps max
HDR Capable
HDR has no other feature other than On or Off
Terminology is different for example the rear camera is called the Extended Cam
Terminology UOM means Speed type mph kph
Menu would benefit users by showing 1 of n i.e. 1/5
Wi-Fi option can be set to Always On or Off. Requires entering dashcam menu to turn on
Displays how many Satellites it has detect with a active picture




Setting to start recording After Collision! I don't understand why you would want that.

A message advising that if the Motion Detection is selected it will shut down this function when the unit is too hot. I like that it tells you.

When the 4G MODEM is connected you get the option to control the voltage shut off level. It can be altered by increments of .1 Volt from 11.8 to 12.6 Volts
Hardwire kit is pre-set to 11.8 Volts. No option to alter this.

ADAS - I have been suprised at the things it can see. It warned me of a push bike rider at night while raining on a dark night. Impressive.

4K Video playback during the day stutters or drop frames. I checked two seconds of video and found that it was more like 22 - 23 fps with the missing frames a copy of the previous frame. This makes for poor replay.

4K Video quality is very good. Compared to another 4K dashcam there is little difference in image. However the stuttering is obvious.

4 button menu control on the A810-2 has a very good tactile feel. The buttons are firm with quality finish.

CPL filter is all Metal. Easy to install and remove. It is a good firm fit.

Packaging


Metal CPL Filter


First thing was to update the firmware of the A810 and the 4G LTE modem.

The update was done Over the Air. Very straight forward process.



To be cont.

 

[LateralNW]

Emergency record:
There is two ways to trigger an emergency recording.
When the second from the left button is pressed when the screen on
Or when the A810-2 detects an impact.

Driving on a dirt road at speed occasional triggered the emergency recording so minimum false triggering.

If the screen is off the emergency button has to be pressed twice in quick succession to get it to trigger.

Once triggered it records 2 seconds (not always exactly) before the button is pressed and 28 seconds after.

A810-2 crash record only 2.8secs before impact Demonstration
I would like it to record about ~15 seconds before impact or the button being pressed.
I raised this with 70mai who said it was difficult to change but they are considering it.

Unlike Viofo and Vantrue there is no option to use a seperate Bluetooth button to trigger emergency record. Something I believe would be appreciated by some users.

 

[LateralNW]

Playback quality:
The A810 uses the Sony Starvis 2 imx678 which is a 4K sensor.

The video image is very good with an increase in colour definition which some won't mind but purist might not like the embellished colour.

A problem I raised with 70mai about the A810 is the stuttering playback.
It is obvious in daylight in most situations but not noticeable in night recording.

Their tech support is looking into this and will update once they find what is causing it.

Here is an example of the stuttering video and the colour level.
Note the video has not been altered.

 

[LateralNW]

Tech support from 70mai came back about the stuttering during the day saying it's a hardware limit.
In later correspondence they suggested I change the resolution to 1080 60fps!
"We appreciate your understanding."

The A810-2 records video at a maximum of 25fps (Frames Per Second) (Tech support suggests it can record at 30fps but I haven't found that) which is 1 frame above the lowest recording level considered to be still 4K quality. (24 fps)

Reviewers on Youtube seem to not have noticed it in their video or their dashcam doesn't do it. IDK

I'll do a test removing the rear camera and disabling permanently on Wi-Fi to see if that removes the replay stuttering.

 

[CodeEvo]

So I just got the A810 and I have the same stuttering issue on 4K+HDR. It is very evident during the day time and not so much during the night. Issue does not occur when I switch to 1080p (60fps) so looks like a firmware issue? I am surprised none of the reviews talk about this. its so disappointing

 

[LateralNW]

@CodeEvo
Thanks for your input.

I believe this dashcam has been on the market for a year. That surprises me that no one seems to have flagged the stuttering.

A work around is to disconnect the rear camera. In some preliminary testing I found that resolves the stuttering.
Not really a solution if you intended to use 2x cameras.
I haven't got around to checking if the Wi-Fi has any impact yet. Actually I forgot to do it. My tomorrow I give it a go.

I will be contacting them to suggest a solution.

Their tech support don't have any solutions other than tell you to run your 4K camera at 1080! I don't think that is acceptable and I suggested as much.
They had no come back.

I've posted footage of the stuttering above.

I like the video quality I think it is good with a few caveats.

 

[CodeEvo]

@CodeEvo

I haven't got around to checking if the Wi-Fi has any impact yet. Actually I forgot to do it. My tomorrow I give it a go.

I will be contacting them to suggest a solution.

My Wi-Fi is always off, so it has nothing to do with that, I will not be disconnecting the rear cam as its really important. I am just hoping it to be a firmware issue that can be resolved.

 

[LateralNW]

70mai dashcam app update with some nice improvements.

Version 3.7.1

 

[LateralNW]

The stuttering seems to be more prominent when the flicker rate is set to 50Hz.

When the flicker rate is set to 60Hz the stuttering goes and only the duplicate/dropped frames remain.

This alteration to the mains frequency has a huge impact on video playback.

This is the results i get with only the front camera connected.

I have some footage with the rear camera connected which I'll check the playback in the next day or two.

 

[LateralNW]

Here is the footage of the A810 when it has the mains set to 60Hz and the frame rate goes to 30fps
Much better but as I mention above still duplicating frames which causes the stuttering effect.

 

[LateralNW]

And to balance things out here is Raw footage of the rear camera with the sun "in it's eye' so to speak.