Chipset Question

[Vortex Radar]

No good explanations or publicity info available, you need to be a customer to get much information out of them, and then it can't be disclosed to the public. It is not very exciting anyway!

The main difference between processors seems to be the number of processing cores, so as you suggest, the amount of horsepower. Some can only manage 1 video channel, others are happy with 3 channels just because they have more processing cores, some only manage FHD, some 4K, some 30fps some 60fps. Then some have extra processing blocks for image processing and AI type functions. Sometimes they do add significant things, such as better audio and video interfaces, but we haven't seen significant improvements for a while. More interesting is what they add to the SDKs, but like Apple adding things to the IPhone OS, new things often work on models going back many years. If they could manage to add a good HDR then that would be significant, but so far the results have not been very impressive.

So currently, the processor numbers are not very exciting, maybe someday they will be again, but not at the moment, the interesting bit is what Viofo manage to do with them. Someday they will add a new codec and hardware for AV1, and then we will be looking at the processor numbers again!

That's a great explanation, thank you!

If you wait for the perfect firmware, it may be a very long wait!

Might make sense to wait for the next one though, they haven't been releasing very regular firmware updates this time, so there is probably going to be quite a bit in the next update. Most of it already works quite well though, no reason why you shouldn't collect some video.

Yeah generally upon launch, I like to test retail hardware and public firmware. Preproduction stuff can be useful too though, especially to have tests and videos available at or around the public launch time. Looks like they're continuing to work on new firmware to fix bugs and add features which is great.

Ideally I'd like any videos and reviews to be as up to date as possible. It's kind of a bummer to spend a lot of time working on a video only to have it quickly get invalidated when a new firmware comes out that changes things, lol. Like you said though, you can't wait forever!

Remember the golden era of Japanese consumer electronics from the 80’s when all the R&D, and Quality Control was done “in house” before the products ever hit the market, and they lasted for YEARS.
Nowadays every product is “rush to market” and paying consumers are the R&D and Quality Control Inspectors.
I feel like I should get a badge that says “Inspector #7”. Lol

And then manufacturers make the decision to improve their product by how many are returned / refunded, or worse.
Sorry for the rant, I just miss the old days. Lol
-Chuck

Oh man tell me about it. This seems to be true with radar detectors and laser jammers too. I think a big part of this started to happen when downloadable firmware updates became a thing. Now that companies can fix stuff later, go ahead and ship to make money and then address bugs later. I get that it may not be reasonable to expect a perfect product prior to launch, but quality definitely seems to have slid compared to how things were years ago. They've become much more complex too and perhaps that's also part of it.

On a related note, from a reviewer's perspective, it's also weird to recommend something or say something is good or is the "best" when there's also a whole host of issues that people may experience. Man it'd be so nice to have something that worked great, was reliable, had no major bugs or issues, didn't overheat, had a nice featureset, had great customer service, and so on. Of course everything has pros and cons, but regardless, just because something is well rated or deemed to be the best doesn't imply that it's perfect and without any issues...

 

[Panzer Platform]

On a related note, from a reviewer's perspective, it's also weird to recommend something or say something is good or is the "best" when there's also a whole host of issues that people may experience. Man it'd be so nice to have something that worked great, was reliable, had no major bugs or issues, didn't overheat, had a nice featureset, had great customer service, and so on. Of course everything has pros and cons, but regardless, just because something is well rated or deemed to be the best doesn't imply that it's perfect and without any issues...

Geez Ari,
When you're right, you're right. lol
I agree.
I realize I jumped the gun.
I revised my review video title.
I dropped the "Best Budget Dash Cam 2023"
-Chuck

 

[Dashmellow]

Remember the golden era of Japanese consumer electronics from the 80’s when all the R&D, and Quality Control was done “in house” before the products ever hit the market, and they lasted for YEARS.
Nowadays every product is “rush to market” and paying consumers are the R&D and Quality Control Inspectors.
I feel like I should get a badge that says “Inspector #7”. Lol

Oh man tell me about it. This seems to be true with radar detectors and laser jammers too. I think a big part of this started to happen when downloadable firmware updates became a thing. Now that companies can fix stuff later, go ahead and ship to make money and then address bugs later. I get that it may not be reasonable to expect a perfect product prior to launch, but quality definitely seems to have slid compared to how things were years ago. They've become much more complex too and perhaps that's also part of it.

While it's true that many enthusiasts like us are often all too willing to become what amounts to becoming unpaid employees in exchange for a few free products like dash cams, there is another aspect to all this that goes beyond the practical value of beta-testing, product review and evaluation by a select group of knowledgeable users.

And that other aspect of which I speak is product promotion. So handing out pre-production and early production samples for evaluation on a web forum is really all about creating buzz, product awareness and generating anticipation without having to spend a nickel on advertising. I believe this is one of the reasons products are brought to market before they are fully polished, unlike the old days when products would hit the market fully realized. Of course, the immediacy of the internet is what has enabled this practice.

Just look at how many DCT members were pounding the table for pre-orders when the first test samples of The A229 and A119 Mini started to get discussed around here even before they were actually on the market yet. Of course, not surprisingly, even now, after a fair amount of time has passed there are still many kinks that remain to be sorted out. It's the nature of the dash cam industry at this point. (other products too)

 

[LateralNW]

It's kind of a bummer to spend a lot of time working on a video only to have it quickly get invalidated when a new firmware comes out that changes things, lol.

..... multiple times - even harder!

 

[Vortex Radar]

While it's true that many enthusiasts like us are often all too willing to become what amounts to becoming unpaid employees in exchange for a few free products like dash cams, there is another aspect to all this that goes beyond the practical value of beta-testing, product review and evaluation by a select group of knowledgeable users.

haha yeah getting free stuff sounds awesome at first, but then you realize it's a LOT of work to go in and test and review stuff in detail. You give a lot back in return for your free doodad and so for most people, it may make more sense just to buy the thing and enjoy it, lol.

And that other aspect of which I speak is product promotion. So handing out pre-production and early production samples for evaluation on a web forum is really all about creating buzz, product awareness and generating anticipation without having to spend a nickel on advertising. I believe this is one of the reasons products are brought to market before they are fully polished, unlike the old days when products would hit the market fully realized. Of course, the immediacy of the internet is what has enabled this practice.

Just look at how many DCT members were pounding the table for pre-orders when the first test samples of The A229 and A119 Mini started to get discussed around here even before they were actually on the market yet. Of course, not surprisingly, even now, after a fair amount of time has passed there are still many kinks that remain to be sorted out. It's the nature of the dash cam industry at this point. (other products too)

Oh for sure. A big part of it is about the buzz and the hype and that's totally understandable. I appreciate it when companies are open to feedback and make product improvements accordingly. When it comes to testing, personally I'd much rather help be a part of making things better for everyone, not just being a marketing mouthpiece for different companies, you know? To each their own of course.

 

[Nigel]

Oh for sure. A big part of it is about the buzz and the hype and that's totally understandable.

You would still get the buzz and hype for new products even if products were not released until 100% perfect and locked out from further improvements.

However many issues don't get identified until real customers use them as customers, and what is perfect for one person can be far from perfect for another, so we will never have perfect products being released.

 

[Dashmellow]

haha yeah getting free stuff sounds awesome at first, but then you realize it's a LOT of work to go in and test and review stuff in detail. You give a lot back in return for your free doodad and so for most people, it may make more sense just to buy the thing and enjoy it, lol.

Yeah, that's why I said that doing reviews can be like becoming an unpaid employee for the manufacturer or retailer that provided you with a free camera. For those who do thorough, comprehensive reviews it really is a lot of work!

Oh for sure. A big part of it is about the buzz and the hype and that's totally understandable. I appreciate it when companies are open to feedback and make product improvements accordingly. When it comes to testing, personally I'd much rather help be a part of making things better for everyone, not just being a marketing mouthpiece for different companies, you know? To each their own of course.

I'm not saying that creating buzz & hype about a new camera by handing out free products for review is necessarily a bad thing, I'm just saying that this is an entirely new form of marketing which has been enabled by the internet and social media in venues such as web forums. I do believe it can be a double edged sword however, especially based upon the quality of the product and the nature of the reviewer.

 

[rcg530]

I don't mind helping a dash camera company with testing of a preproduction product. I would like to see the dash camera company's engineering and Q/A departments at least make an initial pass at getting the basic functionality in place. As @Vortex Radar has mentioned, the testing of preproduction product can take a lot of time (days or even weeks). I prefer to focus that time in fine tuning the dash camera's features rather than trying to get what feels like the engineering group's first code check-in working.

 

[Dashmellow]

You would still get the buzz and hype for new products even if products were not released until 100% perfect and locked out from further improvements.

However many issues don't get identified until real customers use them as customers, and what is perfect for one person can be far from perfect for another, so we will never have perfect products being released.

The real problem here is that there is no consumer electronics product category that is more prone to problems, glitches and failures than dash cams. It seems baked into the cake. One only needs to scan the vast array of problems, complaints and pleas for help seen daily on this forum to get a sense of it. One could argue that people come to web forums for help or to complain but anyone who has been around dash cams long enough has experienced it first hand.

When manufacturers knowingly release products with issues only to let the consumer sort things out doesn't help matters, especially when some reported issues may get attention but often times many don't.

Over my 12 years of owning and testing dash cams, there has been a marked improvement in quality, reliability and performance but we still have a long way to go.

 

[kamkar]

it's also weird to recommend something or say something is good or is the "best" when there's also a whole host of issues that people may experience

That is why i prefer to just say i have been using it for ?? weeks now, and i have not noticed anything out of the ordinary.

 

[kamkar]

The reason to why i think not having so many choices in a dashcam, at least in regard to image quality, it also tie a little into this, cuz the more options you have the more different combinations can you use, and some combinations might be unfortunate.

The dashcam i would make would just have 1 IQ option, and that would be the best possible Image Quality. And if you want less than that, you should not buy my camera.

 

[Nigel]

The real problem here is that there is no consumer electronics product category that is more prone to problems, glitches and failures than dash cams

Not convinced about that!

How about set top boxes? The one connected to our TV is always updating itself with fixes, which cause things to go wrong, then they remove the feature so that it can't go wrong, then they get complaints and put it back, then it doesn't work again... or at least that is the impression I get of it. If I just use it as a satellite TV receiver then it is OK, if I use the DVR function then it is not so good, if I use it for streaming Youtube then it is pretty bad at times, even streaming BBC videos crashes sometimes! I think half the problems are that I play Youtube videos on it using the Youtube app on my phone & tablet, and use them as the remote control, maybe most people just use the built in menus and don't see most of the problems. But it is the same with dashcams, a lot of the issues only happen when you use advanced features such as parking mode, which of course some people consider to be a basic feature!

 

[Dashmellow]

Not convinced about that!

How about set top boxes? The one connected to our TV is always updating itself with fixes, which cause things to go wrong, then they remove the feature so that it can't go wrong, then they get complaints and put it back, then it doesn't work again... or at least that is the impression I get of it. If I just use it as a satellite TV receiver then it is OK, if I use the DVR function then it is not so good, if I use it for streaming Youtube then it is pretty bad at times, even streaming BBC videos crashes sometimes! I think half the problems are that I play Youtube videos on it using the Youtube app on my phone & tablet, and use them as the remote control, maybe most people just use the built in menus and don't see most of the problems. But it is the same with dashcams, a lot of the issues only happen when you use advanced features such as parking mode, which of course some people consider to be a basic feature!

I have to disagree. While certain other products may experience various issues, especially ones which update themselves beyond the users control, no other category of product experiences the shear range and number of problems and failures as dash cams regularly manifest - Cable connections, component failures, firmware glitches, camera freezes, memory problems and card compatibly issues, out of focus problems, heat issues, etc. And all this hasn't touched upon parking modes. Unlike missing out on some YouTube videos, dash cams are a mission critical product where reliability should be the number one priority for the manufacturers but we often seem to get just the opposite because products are released to the market with known (and unknown) issues . How many times have we seen desperate posts from members who discovered that their dash cam didn't record at the decisive moment?