Dashcam Viewer for Mac and Windows

[traveler]

@LateralNW Thanks for the testing the Reset Windows and Clean Up functions. I made a tweak in the code to improve the Clean Up function based on your feedback. Actually, in your first screenshot, the Clean Up would have worked if either (1) the Main Window was moved about 10 pixels to the left, (2) the Main Window was shrunk about 10 pixels on the right hand side, or (3) the width of the Control Center window was shrunk slightly. Clean Up will freeze the Main Window and try to move the other windows around it if there's enough room. The Control Center window is probably a few pixels off screen on the right side.

You are correct that a Reset Window Positions function lays out the windows such that bottom bar of the Main Window is obscured. This makes better use of the available space at the expense of making life slightly cumbersome if you want to resize the Main Window since the Dashboard window will need to be moved down slightly first.

note the GPS map is below and on top of the Task Bar and needs to be manually resized to fit in the desktop frame.

Yep, I verified this bug and fixed it.

Thanks!

John

 

[DesertBike]

@traveler I don't believe you have yet listed it as a supported model, but so far it seems Dashcam Viewer Pro 4.0.0 is compatible with video produced by the Innovv K7 motorcycle dashcam system.

I recently bought a K7, installed it on one of my motorcycles, and have a good amount of video collected with it by now. Is there any testing I could do for you in DCV to confirm compatibility?

 

[markus]

I hope it is not too rude to ask, but could you please add a line in the upgrade notes (that you see when you launch the app and there is an update available) to mention the requirement for macOS 12. I dowloaded the update and noticed the icon indicating it would not run on my machine (it's running 11.7.0, the highest version it can run. yeah, new mac time probably 😀 ). I did have the disk image from the prior update so reinstalled that. However having something in the release notes would be great.

I'm NOT going to say "why can't you just still support previous macOS versions for ever (and ever, and ever, and ever 😀 )" because it's just not viable to do that, at some point you do need to make a change like this, so I totally understand (I'm part of a development team and usually the one who pushes to drop prior os versions as quickly as possible due to the extra effort required to test on multiple os versions)

 

[traveler]

@traveler I don't believe you have yet listed it as a supported model, but so far it seems Dashcam Viewer Pro 4.0.0 is compatible with video produced by the Innovv K7 motorcycle dashcam system.

I recently bought a K7, installed it on one of my motorcycles, and have a good amount of video collected with it by now. Is there any testing I could do for you in DCV to confirm compatibility?

@DesertBike Thanks for reporting Dashcam Viewer compatibility with the Innovv K7. If you have some free, please send me a pair of front/rear raw K7 videos so I can test on my systems. You can send me large files using https://wetransfer.com.

 

[traveler]

I hope it is not too rude to ask, but could you please add a line in the upgrade notes (that you see when you launch the app and there is an update available) to mention the requirement for macOS 12. I dowloaded the update and noticed the icon indicating it would not run on my machine (it's running 11.7.0, the highest version it can run. yeah, new mac time probably 😀 ). I did have the disk image from the prior update so reinstalled that. However having something in the release notes would be great.

I'm NOT going to say "why can't you just still support previous macOS versions for ever (and ever, and ever, and ever 😀 )" because it's just not viable to do that, at some point you do need to make a change like this, so I totally understand (I'm part of a development team and usually the one who pushes to drop prior os versions as quickly as possible due to the extra effort required to test on multiple os versions)

@markus Good catch! I mentioned the macOS 12 requirement on the Dashcam Viewer website but forgot to add it to the "Check for New Version" notice. I updated the notice so that this piece of information is now included.

I appreciate your understanding the difficulties in supporting older systems while also trying to take advantage of the latest system features. At some point there are diminishing returns as fewer and fewer people use the older systems. This was the situation with Windows, as version DCV v4 is the first version for which I felt confident to finally ditch the 32-bit version. And so far there has been no complaints <knock on wood>.

For version 4.0.0 on Mac, I moved the DCV development environment from an old Intel-based Mac to a MacBook Air M1 which has newer tools, libraries, OS, etc. This required the macOS 12 change. For your macOS 11.7 system, please continue to use v3.9.8.

 

[traveler]

A few Dashcam Viewer users have had trouble with their videos not showing GPS data (e.g., missing Map route) in certain circumstances. This can happen if the first video loaded doesn't have GPS markers embedded in it because the vehicle has been sitting in a garage for a long period of time. I made this YouTube video to show why this can happen and how to workaround the issue.

 

[DesertBike]

@DesertBike Thanks for reporting Dashcam Viewer compatibility with the Innovv K7. If you have some free, please send me a pair of front/rear raw K7 videos so I can test on my systems. You can send me large files using https://wetransfer.com.

Done, you should have them available soon. They are in the K7's default 2k (2560x1440x30 fps, with GPS tracking) mode from a recent trip.

If you would like files recorded in other formats the K7 is capable of, let me know, I wanted to experiment with others (e.g. EIS mode and high-framerate 1080p) anyway.

 

[topsurfer]

Hi,
I have an issue with the GPS data included in files from my Vantrue E1 cam.
in Vantrue-Player the files (including GPS track!) are showing fine, the track is completly and correct shown in the map.
But when loading this file in Dashcam Viewer (4.0, Plus-Version), in few files no GPS informations are shown.
on other files the kml-export hase only 3 points (in Vantrue-Player it's a smooth and fine track).

In other files Dashcam-Viewer is showing no GPS data, but in Vantrue it's fine (!?)
No changes are done on camerea settings in this time.

For me it's important to extract the tracks from dashcam video files (~ 200 files), was my 3 week holiday in the USA with 2400 miles!)

Thx!

 

[traveler]

Done, you should have them available soon. They are in the K7's default 2k (2560x1440x30 fps, with GPS tracking) mode from a recent trip.

If you would like files recorded in other formats the K7 is capable of, let me know, I wanted to experiment with others (e.g. EIS mode and high-framerate 1080p) anyway.

@DesertBike Thank you for the Innovv K7 samples. Dashcam Viewer 4 loaded and displayed your Front/Rear videos and GPS data, no problem!

Beautiful Utah desert scenery, btw. Must have been a great ride.

 

[traveler]

Hi,
I have an issue with the GPS data included in files from my Vantrue E1 cam.
in Vantrue-Player the files (including GPS track!) are showing fine, the track is completly and correct shown in the map.
But when loading this file in Dashcam Viewer (4.0, Plus-Version), in few files no GPS informations are shown.
on other files the kml-export hase only 3 points (in Vantrue-Player it's a smooth and fine track).

In other files Dashcam-Viewer is showing no GPS data, but in Vantrue it's fine (!?)
No changes are done on camerea settings in this time.

For me it's important to extract the tracks from dashcam video files (~ 200 files), was my 3 week holiday in the USA with 2400 miles!)

Thx!

@topsurfer That's strange--the Vantrue E1 samples I have work fine in DCV 4. Please send me the problematic raw E1 videos and I'll have a look. You can send me large files using https://wetransfer.com. Thanks!

 

[traveler]

@topsurfer Thank you for the two Vantrue E1 problematic videos. I examined them in detail and am sharing my findings here since they apply to issues others may experience these issues.

1. File_0004_T_A.MP4 - This was the first video of your drive and the E1 GPS receiver did not achieve lock for 7 seconds. During those 7 seconds, empty data tags were written to the locations where GPS data was expected. Unlike Vantrue Player, DCV does not have advanced knowledge that this is a Vantrue video. It relies on detectable formats of GPS data at the expected file locations to determine how to interpret the data. Without GPS data present at the onset DCV hit a brick wall . The Vantrue E1 writes its GPS data in NEMA GNRMC sentences. Interesting factoid: Had Vantrue chosen to write "null data" in the NEMA GNRMC sentence format instead of just format-less zeroes, then DCV would have been able to detect this was an E1 video and process the data. The workaround in this case is to clear the cache (Preferences->Advanced) and then reload all your data files EXCEPT the first one (File_0004_T_A.MP4). I made a video on how to do this here.
2. file_0025_T_A.MP4 - Like the first video, this file was recorded at 12x timelapse. But unlike the first video, this video had correctly-formatted GPS data embedded throughout the file. So why didn't DCV sync what was happening in the video with the location of the vehicle on the Map? The answer was that DCV was programmed to detect up to 10x timelapse, and your file was 12x. Admittedly, 10x was an arbitrary limit I built into DCV based on video samples I've received over the years. I changed it to 18x and then tried loading your video again-- it worked. I'll push this change to the next release version (4.0.2).

Thanks for your patience and for taking the time to provide the video samples.

John

 

[LateralNW]

@traveler do you support mai70 A810?

 

[traveler]

Unfortunately, all 70mai dashcams (except the 70mai Dashcam Pro) record their GPS data in a way that is not compatible with Dashcam Viewer. That is why they are not listed as a supported model.

 

[topsurfer]

@topsurfer Thank you for the two Vantrue E1 problematic videos. I examined them in detail and am sharing my findings here since they apply to issues others may experience these issues.

1. file_0025_T_A.MP4 - Like the first video, this file was recorded at 12x timelapse. But unlike the first video, this video had correctly-formatted GPS data embedded throughout the file. So why didn't DCV sync what was happening in the video with the location of the vehicle on the Map? The answer was that DCV was programmed to detect up to 10x timelapse, and your file was 12x. Admittedly, 10x was an arbitrary limit I built into DCV based on video samples I've received over the years. I changed it to 18x and then tried loading your video again-- it worked. I'll push this change to the next release version (4.0.2).

Hi John,
thx for your answer,
I made the Clear-cache, but seems most of the problem files still not work.
Also all the files has the same frame rate (I set to 5 fps in germany in advance and has not touched this setting in the USA!), so it's strange that 80% /works fine! Only in the beginning (in the first 20%) DC has problem to find the correct GPS info:
I set the Daschcam time after three days to the USA time, can this causded problem (but some clips with incorrect date are working alos fine !?)

(Hint: I send you another clip (0050), GPS fix was totally fine all the time (3 minutes), in Vantrue fine, in DC no GPS ...)

 

[TheSpanishInq]

Anyone else having issues with DCV (v4.0.0) rear cam view after upgrading their Viofo A229Pro to V1.3.1_241024 and rear to V1.3_241022?

When I load the files, DCV doesn't show the rear cam feed. The toolbar button is greyed-out and displays a 1:


When I select recordings that where made with the previous firmware it does show the rear cam feed and the toolbar button can be selected:


Files names of recordings with the new firmware:

Name                         LastWriteTime
----                         -------------
2024_1028_114057_000049F.MP4 2024-10-28 11:41:56
2024_1028_114057_000050R.MP4 2024-10-28 11:41:56
2024_1028_114157_000051F.MP4 2024-10-28 11:42:56
2024_1028_114157_000052R.MP4 2024-10-28 11:42:56
2024_1028_114257_000053F.MP4 2024-10-28 11:43:56
2024_1028_114257_000054R.MP4 2024-10-28 11:43:56
2024_1028_114357_000055F.MP4 2024-10-28 11:44:56
2024_1028_114357_000056R.MP4 2024-10-28 11:44:56
2024_1028_114457_000057F.MP4 2024-10-28 11:45:18
2024_1028_114457_000058R.MP4 2024-10-28 11:45:18

File names of recordings with the previous firmware (filename convention seems the same to me...)

Name                        LastWriteTime
----                        -------------
2024_1016_102722_00001F.MP4 2024-10-16 11:28:22
2024_1016_102722_00002R.MP4 2024-10-16 11:28:22
2024_1016_102822_00003F.MP4 2024-10-16 11:29:22
2024_1016_102822_00004R.MP4 2024-10-16 11:29:22
2024_1016_102922_00005F.MP4 2024-10-16 11:30:22
2024_1016_102922_00006R.MP4 2024-10-16 11:30:22
2024_1016_103022_00007F.MP4 2024-10-16 11:30:36
2024_1016_103022_00008R.MP4 2024-10-16 11:30:36

I've cleared the GPS data cache, restarted DCV, no joy? I couldn't find information related to rear cam playback in the FAQ. (Only regarding exporting videos, not viewing).
Based on traveler's explanation here, it should read the files, I think.
MPC-HC v2.3.6 plays the files without issue. When I compare the properties shown in MPC-HC of a video file made with the old firmware vs the new one, the only things that differ are the time stamps and the file names. (See attached txt files).

I'm running
Windows 11 (Build 23H2)
10.0.22631 (64-bit)

 

[rcg530]

Anyone else having issues with DCV (v4.0.0) rear cam view after upgrading their Viofo A229Pro to V1.3.1_241024 and rear to V1.3_241022?

When I load the files, DCV doesn't show the rear cam feed. The toolbar button is greyed-out and displays a 1:
View attachment 74786

When I select recordings that where made with the previous firmware it does show the rear cam feed and the toolbar button can be selected:
View attachment 74787

Files names of recordings with the new firmware:

Name                         LastWriteTime
----                         -------------
2024_1028_114057_000049F.MP4 2024-10-28 11:41:56
2024_1028_114057_000050R.MP4 2024-10-28 11:41:56
2024_1028_114157_000051F.MP4 2024-10-28 11:42:56
2024_1028_114157_000052R.MP4 2024-10-28 11:42:56
2024_1028_114257_000053F.MP4 2024-10-28 11:43:56
2024_1028_114257_000054R.MP4 2024-10-28 11:43:56
2024_1028_114357_000055F.MP4 2024-10-28 11:44:56
2024_1028_114357_000056R.MP4 2024-10-28 11:44:56
2024_1028_114457_000057F.MP4 2024-10-28 11:45:18
2024_1028_114457_000058R.MP4 2024-10-28 11:45:18

File names of recordings with the previous firmware (filename convention seems the same to me...)

Name                        LastWriteTime
----                        -------------
2024_1016_102722_00001F.MP4 2024-10-16 11:28:22
2024_1016_102722_00002R.MP4 2024-10-16 11:28:22
2024_1016_102822_00003F.MP4 2024-10-16 11:29:22
2024_1016_102822_00004R.MP4 2024-10-16 11:29:22
2024_1016_102922_00005F.MP4 2024-10-16 11:30:22
2024_1016_102922_00006R.MP4 2024-10-16 11:30:22
2024_1016_103022_00007F.MP4 2024-10-16 11:30:36
2024_1016_103022_00008R.MP4 2024-10-16 11:30:36

I've cleared the GPS data cache, restarted DCV, no joy? I couldn't find information related to rear cam playback in the FAQ. (Only regarding exporting videos, not viewing).
Based on traveler's explanation here, it should read the files, I think.
MPC-HC v2.3.6 plays the files without issue. When I compare the properties shown in MPC-HC of a video file made with the old firmware vs the new one, the only things that differ are the time stamps and the file names. (See attached txt files).

I'm running
Windows 11 (Build 23H2)
10.0.22631 (64-bit)

I just tested this using video files from an A229 Plus 2CH with a rear camera. I observed the same behavior that you did. The rear video files created with the v1.3.1_241024 (front) and v1.3_241022 (rear) firmware installed were not detected/displayed by DCV. When I loaded video files from a previous trip from that same camera with the older public firmware installed, the front and rear video files were detected and displayed.

 

[TheSpanishInq]

@rcg530: thank you for your time and the conformation. I'll submit a message on the DCV website and upload some sample files.

 

[traveler]

@TheSpanishInq and @rcg530 I appreciate you bringing this to my attention. It turns out that there is a subtle difference in file-naming scheme between the new and old Viofo A229 firmwares. I've updated Dashcam Viewer so the next release (v4.0.2) will support both formats.

Thank you for the sample files, @TheSpanishInq. They helped with testing.

 

[TheSpanishInq]

@traveler: Thank you for fixing this in such a short time! 👍
Unfortunately, I didn't notice the difference in the file-naming scheme myself 🤔.

 

[traveler]

Dashcam Viewer v4.0.2 Released


Dashcam Viewer v4.0.2 was released tonight for both Mac and Windows. Version 4.x is a free update for all Dashcam Viewer users.

New Camera Supports:

• Added support for Miofive S1 dashcam
• @TheSpanishInq ==> Added support for Viofo A229 Pro with latest firmware (fixes unrecognized 2nd channel video)
• Recognizes Innovv K3 “parking” mode and “accident” mode front/rear files.
• Recognize 12x timelapse mode (supported by Vantrue E1)

Bug Fixes:

• Changed the way that DCV ascertains GPS data encoding scheme. Now the midpint file of the video group being loaded is examined for GPS data instead of the first video. The rationale is that the first video is more likely to have incomplete GPS data so choosing the mid file is more promising for detecting the data encoding scheme.
• Minor improvements to Reset Window Positions and Clean Up Windows functions.

Dashcam Viewer v4.0.2 with Miofive S1 video and GPS data displayed in Map/Graphs​

Dashcam Viewer and Dashcam Viewer PRO are PC/Mac applications that allow you to play your dashcam’s videos while simultaneously viewing your vehicle’s location on a map. There are many other features in the software which are detailed on our website (http://dashcamviewer.com). The free version is fully-functional and allows the loading of up to 2 videos at a time.