Bit rate is about to increase in early June

[Sugar Silva]

For those who are unhappy with the current bit rate affecting video quality, there is help on the way. I received this message from the Blackvue support team last night. I'm excited to see what the difference will be

Dear Customer,
Yes ,it is true that in the current cloud compatible firmware version v.2.002, the video quality is lower than the previous cloud incompatible version, v1.009.
However you do not need to worry because we will release a cloud compatible firmware update by the end of this month, in which you will be able to set the
video quality as Normal/High/Highest just like in firmware v.1.009.
Regarding the Live view limit, we will release subscription packages in next month for more number of hours of Live view over the cloud.

 

[Najeem]

For those who are unhappy with the current bit rate affecting video quality, there is help on the way. I received this message from the Blackvue support team last night. I'm excited to see what the difference will be

Dear Customer,
Yes ,it is true that in the current cloud compatible firmware version v.2.002, the video quality is lower than the previous cloud incompatible version, v1.009.
However you do not need to worry because we will release a cloud compatible firmware update by the end of this month, in which you will be able to set the
video quality as Normal/High/Highest just like in firmware v.1.009.
Regarding the Live view limit, we will release subscription packages in next month for more number of hours of Live view over the cloud.

Thanks for the good news.

v2.002 fixes my audio issues but I don't like the lower bitrate. Now I can finally upgrade.

 

[Ralph2]

Glad to hear that, thanks for sharing.

 

[Sugar Silva]

Bit Rate is now set to increase in Early June. Not later this month as previously stated. I received this from the Blackvue Support Team this morning.

"Dear Customer,
Firstly our sincere apologies for the miscomunication regarding the firmware update.

In the firmware update that will be released within this week, the wifi connectivity issues will be fixed and there will be option to save upto three wifi hotspot which will enable dashcam to connect automatically to one of them. The video quality selection option will be available in the next firmaware update that will be relaeased in the begining of June. The Normal bitrate will be 6Mbps, High bitrate will be 7 Mbps and the Highest bitrate will be 8Mbps."

 

[Ralph2]

I may be tempted to try it then.. after we get some feedback from the early testers.

 

[Razer]

That is not enough. Anything will help but 8 is still not enough.

 

[Jorgeminator]

That is not enough. Anything will help but 8 is still not enough.

Well, anything higher than 8 Mbps is definitely out of question. BlackVue responded to my enquiry with the following:

"Thank you for your email.

We have definately considered to increase the bitrate but higher the bitrate the more unstable the dashcam becomes. We had to choose a trade off between the dashcam's stability and bitrate and we preferred the dashcam's stability more because this ensures that the dashcam works for longer hours without crashing and rebooting frequently.
Also, with higher bitrate, the SD card is overwritten more frequently because of larger size of each recording which reduces the life span of the SD card."

The SD card "thing" is complete bulls**t. Those who buy a $300 dashcam in the first place can certainly afford a new SD card every two years. The stability thing sounds a bit shady too, in my opinion. If the dashcam becomes unstable at higher bitrates, it probably means that there's a flaw in either the software or hardware design, and my guess would be the former.

 

[Andy Moore]

Also, there are SD cards out there designed for more over rights and higher temperatures - I have one !

 

[bobby14]

Had custom 15mbps firmware on the dr650 2ch never had any stability issues.

 

[Andy Moore]

Was the recording noticeably better quality ?

 

[bobby14]

Yes custom 15mbps firmware the video is way smoother and sharper. Vehicles coming towards or being passed you can pause the video and see the plates.

 

[DaHen]

Vehicles coming towards or being passed you can pause the video and see the plates.

Good. Looking forward to this firmware.

 

[Ralph2]

Good. Looking forward to this firmware.

Don't hold your breath... Pittasoft is very unlikely to increase the rate to 15mbps And, third party developers have given up on the BlackVue brand

 

[Sugar Silva]

They've already said the "highest" setting will be 8 Mbps

 

[Anno655321]

Also, there are SD cards out there designed for more over rights and higher temperatures - I have one !

Hi @Andy Moore What SD card do you use?

 

[Andy Moore]

Can't remember, bought it circa 6m ago - Sandisk Endurance ?? from memory - absolutely not had any issues with it (64Gb)

 

[idmonius]

Don't hold your breath... Pittasoft is very unlikely to increase the rate to 15mbps And, third party developers have given up on the BlackVue brand

Do you perhaps know which brand they are interested in right now? I know @alexsoll was always working on it. Did an amazing job on it, but my problem right now is that the rear-camera isn't working with custom fw 1.5 so it is unusable for me. I absolutely love the higher bitrate and those extra settings. Night-quality in parking mode was greatly increased which was the biggest reason I bought this camera.

 

[Sugar Silva]

Looks to have been a slight delay

"Dear Customer
The firmware upgrade with the bit rate options is postponed till the end of june or in the begining of May.

We thank you for your patience."

 

[Ralph2]

If.. that is a quote.. the first May after June will be in 2017. I think that will probably coincide with a new model to take advantage of the bit rate upgrade

 

[Sugar Silva]

If.. that is a quote.. the first May after June will be in 2017. I think that will probably coincide with a new model to take advantage of the bit rate upgrade

It was a quote. I just copied and pasted. I'm sure they meant to say July.