Dashcam Viewer for Mac and Windows

[jokiin]

Thanks I'll try that later today. But obviously I'd rather be able to use the dash cam to its best advantage

yes of course but it will help to identify the issue so @traveler can sort things out

 

[traveler]

I'm experiencing the same problem on my retina MacBook Pro. Audio but no video I hope you can fix this soon

My bad, guys. In working with @Paul Schmehl it turns out the MP4s produced by the DDPai M6+ are not compatible with the Mac version of Dashcam Viewer. The litmus test is Apple's QuickTime Player 7. If the movies don't play correctly in Apple's QuickTime Player 7, then they won't play in Mac Dashcam Viewer because they both use the same video backend. And sure enough the movies Paul sent did not play correctly in QT7 (audio only). Newer versions of QuickTime player use a different backend and may play these MP4s fine. Unfortunately there's not much I can do to remedy this issue.
It turns out the gentlemen I had been working with for testing had a PC not a Mac.

Also, I didn't take into account the multiple naming conventions DDPai uses for the .gpx files. That was why DCV was not recognizing Paul's GPS info. At least I can fix this issue. In fact, it's already been fixed. Expect to see in in v2.1.9.

Thanks for your patience!
John

 

[allerley]

Thanks for replying. However I successfully played the files in QT prior to installing dashcamviewer. It might just be a coincidence that they no longer play in QT or perhaps trying to open them in DCV has caused a problem because they no longer open in QT

It might help you to know that I've since tried to open them in VLC on my MacBook and they play perfectly

I appreciate you're time in developing this program and hope this information helps in some way

 

[Paul Schmehl]

Thanks for replying. However I successfully played the files in QT prior to installing dashcamviewer. It might just be a coincidence that they no longer play in QT or perhaps trying to open them in DCV has caused a problem because they no longer open in QT

It might help you to know that I've since tried to open them in VLC on my MacBook and they play perfectly

I appreciate you're time in developing this program and hope this information helps in some way

Are you saying that you can't open them in QT on your Mac? I'm not having that problem. I think Traveler is using an older version of QT, which is why he can't see the video. But DV should not affect your videos so that you can't see them in QT.

 

[Paul Schmehl]

try recording in 1080p and see if it works then

My wife is going out this morning, so I switched the resolution to 1080p. I'll submit those files to Traveler after she returns, but I suspect that won't change anything.

My bad, guys. In working with @Paul Schmehl it turns out the MP4s produced by the DDPai M6+ are not compatible with the Mac version of Dashcam Viewer. The litmus test is Apple's QuickTime Player 7. If the movies don't play correctly in Apple's QuickTime Player 7, then they won't play in Mac Dashcam Viewer because they both use the same video backend. And sure enough the movies Paul sent did not play correctly in QT7 (audio only). Newer versions of QuickTime player use a different backend and may play these MP4s fine. Unfortunately there's not much I can do to remedy this issue.
It turns out the gentlemen I had been working with for testing had a PC not a Mac.

Also, I didn't take into account the multiple naming conventions DDPai uses for the .gpx files. That was why DCV was not recognizing Paul's GPS info. At least I can fix this issue. In fact, it's already been fixed. Expect to see in in v2.1.9.

Thanks for your patience!
John

John, I can install QT 7 on my Mac, but your app would need to call it instead of the new QT player. I don't know how your app calls QT, but I'm willing to work with you to get that going as a workaround. Long term, I think you need to get DV working with the latest version of QT.

I'm going to install it now and test it out.

 

[allerley]

Are you saying that you can't open them in QT on your Mac? I'm not having that problem. I think Traveler is using an older version of QT, which is why he can't see the video. But DV should not affect your videos so that you can't see them in QT.

Well that was my experience last night. The file played in vlc but not QT. However I've just tried it again and it does play in QT even after trying to open it in DV again. So it must have been a glitch caused by myself possible not ejecting the card properly as I'm still prone to doing on the Mac

I'm using QT 10.5 at least that's how it reports on my Retina MacBook Pro running the latest software updates.

Sorry for any confusion caused

 

[Paul Schmehl]

I installed QT7 on my Mac and ran today's videos through it. I get audio but no video, just like when I use DV. So installing it does no good to solve the problem. I also changed resolution to 1080p, but that doesn't do anything either.

Either DV gets updated to use the latest QT engine, or it's no longer compatible with the Mac.

 

[traveler]

I installed QT7 on my Mac and ran today's videos through it. I get audio but no video, just like when I use DV. So installing it does no good to solve the problem. I also changed resolution to 1080p, but that doesn't do anything either.

Either DV gets updated to use the latest QT engine, or it's no longer compatible with the Mac.

Paul, I wish it were that easy. The 3rd party video library I use is not something I have the source code for. What you're asking would be the equivalent of taking QT7, gutting its video backend, and replacing it with the QT10 backend. Without the source this would be impossible.

But the overall situation is not that bleak. Most dashcam models work equally well in the Mac and Windows versions of Dashcam Viewer. I did a quick survey of the dashcam models I support and here are the statistics:

Total number of dashcam models supported: 59 (includes GoPro 3/4)

Number of dashcam models whose movies play in both the Mac and Windows versions of Dashcam Viewer: 52

Number of dashcam models whose movies do not play in the Mac version of DV: 2 (DDPai M6+, Thinkware F750)

Number of dashcam models whose movies do not play in the Windows version of DV: 5 (HP 520G, MiVue 580, MiVue 658, Rollei Car DVR 100, Thinkware F550)

John

 

[Paul Schmehl]

Interesting. I wonder what would happen if you switched to the VLC back end. It's open source and works on both Mac and Windows. Might solve the problem for the 7 problematic ones.

BTW, you could probably add DDpai Mini2, since it most likely uses the same format as the M6+.

 

[allerley]

I just installed a DV trial on a spare Win10 laptop. Sadly my woes continue. This time I have video but no audio. Too late to fully investigate tonight but I checked all the obvious things like mute etc. Still no Audio

 

[Paul Schmehl]

Strange. It works fine for me on Windows 10 except for GPS, which John is fixing.

 

[traveler]

I just installed a DV trial on a spare Win10 laptop. Sadly my woes continue. This time I have video but no audio...

@allerley, I had this happen to me once and it turned out I had the mic off in the dashcam settings so no sound was recorded by the dashcam. If that's not the problem, did you verify that the little speaker icon (mute) in the bottom right corner is not selected and the volume slider is turned up? Also, are you using a DDPai?

 

[traveler]

Guys,

This update is especially for DDPai M6+ users. It will make Dashcam Viewer look for both ".gpx" and "_D.gpx" files in the "103gps" directory. Apparently the DDPai M6+ sometimes sticks _D in the gpx filenames. Not sure why since I don't own this dashcam nor do I have it's user's manual. Apparently there is a .git directory in the 103gps directory as well but I am ignoring files in there. I am not sure how the .git files figure into the movie list in the "100video" directory. Anyway, if there are still issues loading the gpx files let me know.

Dashcam Viewer v2.1.9 Released for Mac and Windows

Dashcam Viewer v2.1.9 was released today to address a bug in reading the DDPai M6+ GPS files: Dashcam Viewer is available for Mac OS X and Windows (64-bit and 32-bit). Download the free version from our website.

Bug Fix:

• [Windows version] DDPai M6+ dashcam only: Fixed bug that would prevent some GPS files from loading. These files had a “_D” at the end of their name. Note that the MP4 movies recorded by the DDPai M6+ are not playable in Dashcam Viewer for the Mac or even in Apple’s QuickTime Player 7.

- John
Website: http://dashcamviewer.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dashcamviewer

 

[allerley]

Thanks. The MP4 files play fine on my Mac with QT and also VLC so it seems there is nothing wrong with the file format. Is there any prospects of getting DV modified to play these files. I'm using the latest MacOS on a 2015 Mack book pro. As most MacBook users will always upgrade to the latest OS it's unlikely any DDPai users will use DV until it's compatible with the latest OS. Disappointing really as DV seems to be the best dash cam software out there

 

[Paul Schmehl]

The dashboard, map and graph are now working on Windows with the DDpai M6+, however, there is about a 20 or 21 second delay in the GPS data. IOW, after you take off from a stop, the speed doesn't start rising and the marker on the map doesn't start moving for about 20 seconds. Same thing when you stop. About 20 seconds after you stop the speed is still going, then slowing down to zero, and the marker on the map is still moving toward the intersection.

 

[traveler]

The dashboard, map and graph are now working on Windows with the DDpai M6+, however, there is about a 20 or 21 second delay in the GPS data. IOW, after you take off from a stop, the speed doesn't start rising and the marker on the map doesn't start moving for about 20 seconds. Same thing when you stop. About 20 seconds after you stop the speed is still going, then slowing down to zero, and the marker on the map is still moving toward the intersection.

Paul, it sounds like there is a clock differential somewhere. Please check that your computer clock and your dashcam clock are synced. If that doesn't fix the issue, you can use the "timezone offset" preferences to manually insert a time offset. If you do so, be sure to uncheck the Always Auto Fix Timezone Offset checkbox.

 

[jokiin]

it's quite possible that the DDpai is getting its time sync from the cell phone that is used with the app (default behavior on this platform) rather than from the GPS, perhaps that is causing a problem with the data

 

[Paul Schmehl]

it's quite possible that the DDpai is getting its time sync from the cell phone that is used with the app (default behavior on this platform) rather than from the GPS, perhaps that is causing a problem with the data

I need to understand how this works. I thought that Dashcam Viewer would get its time from the files that the dashcam creates. So, IF I'm understanding this correctly, jokiin, you're saying that the movie might be synched to my iPhone, but the GPS files are synched to the GPS satellites? The iPhone gets its time from the cell towers which get their time from atomic clocks, so I would think it would be hard for the two to be out of sync, but what do I know?

 

[Paul Schmehl]

I'm viewing footage from today. At 2:42 he video shows me going 27 kph. DV shows me going 10 mph. (Should be 16 mph.) At 0:03 of the next video it shows me going 29 kph. DV shows me at 18 mph. (Pretty accurate.) At 1:00 the video says I'm going 55 kph. DV says 31 mph. (Should be 34 mph.) At 1:29 the video says 57 kph. DV says 35 mph. (Again pretty accurate.) At 0:12 of the third video I'm at a dead stop. Video says 0 kph. DV says 17 mph. DV doesn't reach 0 mph until 0:21 of the video, when I'm already moving again. At 0:41 in the video, I'm going 43 kph. DV says 29 mph. (Should be 26 mph.) At 1:48 in the video, I'm going 0 kph - stopped at a stop light. DV says 30 mph. At 1:57 DV "catches up" and says 0 mph.

If you need me to send files, I will.

I made a short trip today, so I copied all the files that were created today into folders of the same name on a UBS thumb drive. The total is 1.58 GB.

 

[jokiin]

it was more a comment for @traveler but the system time in the camera may be pulled from the cell phone but his program would likely be looking at the time in the GPS data which may or may not match at any given time