Do you have to install some specific codecs for a correct dashcam clips playback?

[Tigro]

I've just bought my first dashcam, the Viofo A119 and I really love it but I have a bit of trouble with correct playback of its clips on my computer. They do play but when I compare what the clips look like on, say, my TV and my computer (which has half the diameter of the TV screen), the gap is enormous. On my TV everything looks perfect but when I plug the card into my PC, there's a lot of grain even though it was barely afternoon when the clip was being captured, some very unpleasant smearing/blur when the car turns and the overall quality looks just way worse than on the TV. Some players, like the good ole' Windows Media Player, don't play some files at all while they do play others. Same goes for Dashcam Viewer - for some clips, it only shows me the GPS data and updates it correctly but there's no video. The only player that I've found to be reliably running the clips is VLC but the problems of blur, grain and quality degradation persist in it as well.

Do you have to install some codec pack to correctly playback dashcam clips with proper quality? I'm very new in the dashcam world so I'm sure I'm missing something Oh, and I'm running Windows 7 BTW.

 

[CaptureYourAction]

This player seems like a good one as well. Give it a try.

https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threads/registratorviewer-free-alternative.30771/

 

[Nigel]

Just install the K-Lite codec pack and it should play fine, including in the Windows Media Player:
http://codecguide.com/download_kl.htm

There is nothing special about the A119 video, but Windows 7 is getting old!

 

[Zardoz66]

I just use VLC

http://www.videolan.org/

 

[kamkar]

And do remember to copy files to computer hard drive before playback, this are some times the issue when people try to use camera as mass storage devise and playback from the camera.

I do have k-lite and a range of players, but i mostly just use the generic player in windows ( 10 ) and if i use a dashcam player it is registrator viewer

 

[jokiin]

try your camera at 1080p30 and your computer will probably do a lot better with the files

 

[Tigro]

Thanks for all the replies. Tried everything mentioned and nothing really changed but what I've observed is that my TV applies some filters to the video cause all the clips, albeit way "prettier" in reception, are also way, way darker than when seen on my rather neutrally-calibrated computer screen. Thus, it's just a matter of detail - the TV video compression algorithms sacrifice some of it for the sake of the perceived pleasantry of viewing (which does make sense for movies), while the PC shows the picture as-is - in this case, more grainy but also way, way more detailed and true to what the camera really outpust. Thank you all for the replies.

On a related note, I really liked RegistratorViewer - it seems snappier and prettier than the somewhat cluttered Dashcam Viewer and it's free. Going to stay as my main dashcam playback player, thanks @CaptureYourAction

 

[HeWhoMustNotBeNamed]

https://mpc-hc.org/ is also free, uncluttered, and lightweight. works great on my ancient computer!