DDPAI Mini3 – Super HD 2018 Award Winning Dashcam

Mr CKJ

Member
Joined
Jun 29, 2017
Messages
31
Reaction score
3
Country
Malaysia
Author's Note: The original review can be found at my blog- DDPAI Mini3 @ Smartech101

This is an award winning dashcam! It was being awarded by the iF Design 2018 for its ultra original design. The competition is among 6401 products from 54 countries for this honor.
The DDPAI Mini3 is an Ultra HD Dashcam with 1600p resolution. This is my 2nd review of DDPAI dashcam, the first was the DDPai Mini2.
What I like most about the Mini series is their design in round tube shape and what impressed me much would be their stylish look in dark that make it more secluded.
Bear in mind this is a 2K+ resolution dashcam that really give a Ultra HD quality recordings!

Million thanks to DDPAI for sending me one of their latest product DDPAI Mini3 to review. Do check out their Official Website and have a better understanding of the range of DDPAI products.






Dashcam Setup


Product Specification & Features:
Processor: HiSilicon Cortex A17 + Cortex A7
Sensor: OmniVision 05A10 image sensor
Memory: 4GB
Viewing angle: 140° wide angle 6G lens F1.8
Resolution: 2560×1600 30fps
Storage: Built-in 32GB eMMC 5.1

– 3rd Generation Remote Control
– Built in 2.4GHz Wi-Fi
– Emergency recording/Parking mode (hardwire kit excluded)
– Unique SR (Sense Reality) Technique
– 360° rotatable camera
– Wide Dynamic Range


Inside the box:

• Mini3
• Mount
• USB car charger
• Pry tool
• 90° angled microUSB cable
• MicroUSB cable
• Spare mounting tape
• Remote button
• User guide



Unique SR (Sense Reality) Technique




Pairing with apps


Yay:
– Super capacitor technology
– Matt black/Slim/stylish body.
– No screen display on dashcam, only can view via apps (won’t disrupt while driving)

Nay:
-Phone battery drained fast when pairing with apps
– Only 32gb Built in memory only, no slot for external memory

A fantastic improvement compare with mini2 , doing great at the noise reduction but there are space to improve during low light especially night drive. It would be great if it can extend to 160° anger (ideally). Shout out for the super capacitor technology that owner can worry less to the hot weather! This is really a good products that never fails me and always gives me a WOWWW!!
**Awaiting the hardwire kit to test on parking mode where you can record footage with 24/7

Hope my comments and review will be resourceful to you. Thanks for reading!

Watch my Youtube channels




 
Is there a way to STOP the amber light when the device is on? My mini 2 always have amber light on and no way to stop it.
 
Is there a way to STOP the amber light when the device is on? My mini 2 always have amber light on and no way to stop it.

I am afraid it don't have the function to switch off the status light.
 
Looks quite good played back at 1440P (the night video does not like 1080P playback, but that's youtube not the camera!). Would like to see it on a completely unlit road though.

Can you turn data recording off on this unit? Very useful option to be able to prevent speed, location or both from being recorded.

One point though, Ultra HD is 4K not 2K. Perhaps should call it Super HD or Extended HD maybe?
 
Last edited:
I like the concept of inbuilt storage just like on mobile phones, but I would also like the option of a microSD card slot:
1. For easier file transfer to PC
2. To expand the storage capacity
 
I am afraid it don't have the function to switch off the status light.


Regarding mini 2 status light for a reason , tells you if it's on /off , normal recording / parking mode recording and if it's going from normal to parking .

Orange to violet to blue - for a reason...
 
I like the concept of inbuilt storage just like on mobile phones, but I would also like the option of a microSD card slot:
1. For easier file transfer to PC
2. To expand the storage capacity

I think onboard storage is a serious mistake and that alone would stop me buying one.

On mobile phones it's ok because it isn't continuously in use. However, in a car camera, the camera is constantly writing to memory that has a write limited lifetime. A memory card rarely lasts more than a couple of years so basically with onboard storage you're creating a certain failure point whereby you're going to have to buy a new camera when it fails. Depending on the quality of the memory / and or the amount of usage, could be a lot sooner.
 
Regarding mini 2 status light for a reason , tells you if it's on /off , normal recording / parking mode recording and if it's going from normal to parking .

Orange to violet to blue - for a reason...

Yup, it can't be switched off but the indicator light does has it's meaning with the colors. Manual does explain that.
 
I like the concept of inbuilt storage just like on mobile phones, but I would also like the option of a microSD card slot:
1. For easier file transfer to PC
2. To expand the storage capacity

Agree with you to have external micro sd slot. I read some articles where emmc lifespan may last for about 5years
 
Agree with you to have external micro sd slot. I read some articles where emmc lifespan may last for about 5years

As I said above it depends on the type of memory and the amount of usage eg a professional driver eg delivery driver, rep, lorry driver, will rack up the average's drivers weekly hours in just one day. Equally, look around and you'll find on here many different tales of memory lifespan.

The big danger with inbuilt memory is it goes wrong = buy a new camera time. With external memory, it's just a new SD Card.

Personally, I think it far better to supply the camera with an SD slot and no memory than to build it in.

I also haven't seen a reply to my point above about GPS and Speed Recording. Viofo have recently made an option on their cameras to have GPS logging full data on / off / Speed Only / Location Tracking only. Personally I think this was a great move, provided the data isn't recorded into the stream, and not just switched not to show. It would be interesting if DDPai could confirm what options there are, if any on their camera.
 
The big danger with inbuilt memory is it goes wrong = buy a new camera time. With external memory, it's just a new SD Card.
I completely agree with you on this. If there was also a microSD slot that could be used instead of the onboard memory that could reduce the risk of having to buy a new camera.

I've not heard of people having to buy a new phone because the onboard memory is corrupt, but maybe it happens more than I thought. Modern smart phones do seem to be constantly reading from and writing to memory as the operating system and apps refresh data, perform updates, stream media files etc.
 
I completely agree with you on this. If there was also a microSD slot that could be used instead of the onboard memory that could reduce the risk of having to buy a new camera.

I've not heard of people having to buy a new phone because the onboard memory is corrupt, but maybe it happens more than I thought. Modern smart phones do seem to be constantly reading from and writing to memory as the operating system and apps refresh data, perform updates, stream media files etc.

I'm no expert but I think you'll find a smartphone writes comparatively little to a memory card. Remember 99% of the time it's inactive in your pocket, although some apps may download a few Kb's of background data.

However, a dashcam is writing 10-25mbs constantly when in use - that can be for hours if driving or 24/7 if there's a parking mode. So, if my maths is correct and you're comparing occasional cellphone use of maybe a GB or two a month, with a device that even at 10mbs is writing 1GB of data every 102.4 seconds (1GB = 1024mb = 1024/10), or 1 minute 43 secs if you like. With 24 hr recording that's potentially 834GB per day (86400 seconds (seconds in a day) / 103 seconds (time taken for 1GB of data)).

So a 10mbs Dashcam could be writing up to 834 times the total cellphone data usage for a month, in a single day!!!
 
After doing some wider reading here on DCT and elsewhere I accept that onboard eMMC is generally not a good idea for a high volume data device like a dashcam. If it was using SSD rather than eMMC that might be different.
 
Agree with you to have external micro sd slot. I read some articles where emmc lifespan may last for about 5years

I calculate it could be 3-4 months with 24/7 parking usage, and 1.5- 2 years @ 4 hours per day.

Personally, if I'm correct in my estimations, I don't think either is long enough.
 
I currently have a DDPAI-2P MINI and every time I need to access my camera I have to place my phone in airplane mode in order for the phone app and camera can connect . With the new built in WIFI did DDPAI MINI 3 eliminate this issue?
My cell phone is a Samsung Galaxy Note 8.
 
I also have a Note 8 with the Oreo update. I find I have to turn on WiFi "which I typically always have off" then select the Mini3. Then I can go into the app to connect to the camera. What is strange is that with my DDPai M6 Plus I can just open the app and it turns on Wifi for me then connects. I think it must be a WiFi setting I have different between the two which I need to determine.
 
I'm interested why my calculations show the built in memory in a much more favorable light than the examples above. I'm wondering if some calculations are mixing up the bitrate (for example 10mbps - i.e. 10 Mega bits per second) with MBps which would be Mega Bytes Per Second. In the example which C4rc4M noted above he stated that 1GB = 1024mb = 1024/10 - which it doesn't. 1GB is 1 GigaByte which is 1024MB (megabytes) not 1024mb (which is Megabits). The difference in the capitalisation of the bitrate figures is important here as there are 8 bits in a byte so the calculations above are out by a factor of 8. Writing at 10mbps, 1GB would take over 13 minutes to write, not 1 minute 43 seconds. This also means the camera at 10mbps would be writing a total of just over 105GB in a day, not the 834GB noted.
 
I'm interested why my calculations show the built in memory in a much more favorable light than the examples above. I'm wondering if some calculations are mixing up the bitrate (for example 10mbps - i.e. 10 Mega bits per second) with MBps which would be Mega Bytes Per Second. In the example which C4rc4M noted above he stated that 1GB = 1024mb = 1024/10 - which it doesn't. 1GB is 1 GigaByte which is 1024MB (megabytes) not 1024mb (which is Megabits). The difference in the capitalisation of the bitrate figures is important here as there are 8 bits in a byte so the calculations above are out by a factor of 8. Writing at 10mbps, 1GB would take over 13 minutes to write, not 1 minute 43 seconds. This also means the camera at 10mbps would be writing a total of just over 105GB in a day, not the 834GB noted.
Your calculations are correct. However I still think that having removable storage rather than in-built non-replaceable storage is the better solution for writing more than 100GB per day.
 
Your calculations are correct. However I still think that having removable storage rather than in-built non-replaceable storage is the better solution for writing more than 100GB per day.

The figure of 100GB+ per day assumes that the camera is recording continuously at full resolution for 24 hours. I haven't seen the setup for the Mini3 parkguard and timelapse but if its the same as the M6plus then it would be recording at 1fps in timelapse mode (about 9GB a day) and each time parkguard was activated it would create a 3 minute file of around 225MB. The only scenario where it would record more than 100GB a day is at 10mbps for 24 hours of recording (ie never going into timelapse parking mode) giving 105GB/day - which I would think is unlikely.
 
Back
Top