DOD LS300W DVR

[niko]

Analysing properties of the picture I took few day ago:

As you can see from camera / tilte , - it says NOVATEK CAMERA.
Camera model: 96460

Could it be Novatek NT96460 ? ... :?

Chipset is Novatek, they just silk screened their logo and a model number, guess they haven't worked out how to fake the properties reported by the chipset yet, deceptive and questionable marketing anyway, they're not the only ones doing this at the moment though

I had same thoughts when discovered this info.
Anyway, this dvr shoots very good video quality and DOD has been strong brand ( I mean original Dod by TioTech), but what questions me is: why to do that "faking"? It is easy to find out real hardware info. This confuses end customer and puts reputation down despite being good quality product. Manufacturer should be open-minded and straight forward without hiding / faking data, because sooner or later it comes out anyway.

 

[jokiin]

Have no idea what the thinking is behind this, personally I think it impacts credibility, I'd have a lot more respect if they were able to say here's what we're using and we can get better results than others using the same solution

Not something I'd contemplate doing anyway, as I said they're not alone, I know another supplier doing the same with an Ambarella based product

 

[fessa]

Based on image of disassembled LS300W (not plus!) (posted on taker.im) physical image sensor size corresponds to Aptina AR0330
Also if you download LS300W firmware from the official DOD website - there are a number of occurrences of "NT96650" and "AR0330" in it.

So it looks like it's rebranded Novatek NT96650 and Aptina AR0330

 

[jokiin]

Based on image of disassembled LS300W (not plus!) (posted on taker.im) physical image sensor size corresponds to Aptina AR0330
Also if you download LS300W firmware from the official DOD website - there are a number of occurrences of "NT96650" and "AR0330" in it.

So it looks like it's rebranded Novatek NT96650 and Aptina AR0330

I haven't seen one to confirm but was told they were using the new version of the AR0330, a superior sensor to the model that was mentioned anyway, mistake by whoever said that perhaps, I'm not sure

 

[Maulhofer]

Hello,

as it is now with the registration plates, registration plates which can recognize good or is a cam with a smaller angle for better?

 

[Jazzist]

Maybe the silk screening is to slow down the fakes.

 

[airbender]

I have been using LS300W for the past two or three days.

I removed the GS8000 from the windshield as it had heat issues.

1. LS300W's video quality at 720p 60fps is on par with BlackVue DR500GWHD at 1080p (Without the firmware upgrade). Both capture at about 8000-9000kbps.

2. LS300W video quality at 1080p is one of the best I have seen at 15000kbps. The file size is about 620MB for 5 minutes.

3. With LS3000W there are surprisingly no heat issues unlike GS8000. GS8000 would get super hot that one could fry a toast on it after five minutes. LS300W is just Luke Warm after about 10-15 minutes at 1080p.

4. In the LS300W videos there are few seconds overlap between each video so you won't lose a frame.

On the downside:

1. the USB cable is not really secure.

2. The joint between the mount and the device could loosen if parked under the Sun from the heat.

So far this seems to be better than GS8000 or the BlackVue DR500GWHD.

 

[Street Guardian USA]

The 1080P quality sounds great. I guess over lap is better than having gaps between clips, but how hard can it be for them to program it to be seemless? It's kind of a pain to edit / piece multiple clips together that have overlappping repeated frames

 

[billknow]

Both DOD LS300W and GT300W use Novatek chipset, if you want to buy one, i recommend you buy GT300W, because the price is better than LS300W.
Also the GT300W can use LS300W firmware, we test GT300W with LS300W firmware, it works well.
And you will find more camera come with WDR feature from china, most of them use same solution as GT300W.
You can think about the GT300W if the price is under USD110.

 

[niko]

I have been using LS300W for the past two or three days.



1. LS300W's video quality at 720p 60fps is on par with BlackVue DR500GWHD at 1080p (Without the firmware upgrade). Both capture at about 8000-9000kbps.

My day time video test properties shows bitrate at 720p 60fps Date rate 6553kbps, Total bitrate 7577kbps

 

[Maulhofer]

Night video quality will not be the same on LS430. It has aperture F2.0. and no WDR. LS300W or Tiotech GT300W has aperture F1.6 + WDR.
Best way is to wait for DOD LS430W which will have all the best from ls300w and ls430.

Maybe you have already heard that there will be a LS430W?

 

[adamus]

update:
with the newest software ( LS300W 2013-03-28 )dod LS300w can work WITH SDHC (8/16/32GB) AND SDXC (64/128GB)

 

[niko]

Night video quality will not be the same on LS430. It has aperture F2.0. and no WDR. LS300W or Tiotech GT300W has aperture F1.6 + WDR.
Best way is to wait for DOD LS430W which will have all the best from ls300w and ls430.

Maybe you have already heard that there will be a LS430W?

I am sure its ready, but when they start selling them , - dont know.
It is not 100% known how they will name this model for outside market, ( same way as first models for local market were LS388W and LS300W Plus, also as LS400W and local market LS488W, but first signs tells that it should be LS430W. Anyway, if look into LS400W design, you see top part where bracket goes, this is for GPS unit ( same as on other similar DOD models ), so they left this part empty now just for the reason to add in future a GPS module.

Lets wait and see.

 

[jcgruspe93]

Hi I've been lurking for a while now and I'm interested in buying this cam. Is the LS300W really the same as GT300W? Can anyone link me to a reputable seller? Thanks.

 

[airbender]

The LS300W has a really sharp focus for about 10 minutes at 1080p and then it seems to lose focus a bit. Even of the objects are close they appear to be blurred. Anyone else experience this issue ? There are no heat issues. The DVR is very slightly warm after about 15 minutes of driving but the blurring happens after 10 minutes. It focuses objects that are closer but it is not able to read the license plate of a care that is only few feet away.

 

[niko]

Hi I've been lurking for a while now and I'm interested in buying this cam. Is the LS300W really the same as GT300W? Can anyone link me to a reputable seller? Thanks.

Foxoffer:

 

[niko]

I think it is a good camera. Waiting for your videos.
A wide angle is not good. Will make all objects smaller and you will not see the characters from the registration plates. If some event and not witnesses, the most important thing are the registration plates. Not the corners, the color of the sky or if the grass is green.

enjoy,
Mtz

Actually there is something wrong with DOD specs advertising 140 degree. Even measuring diagonal at 720p it is not 140 degree. I tried comparing angel at 720p vs 1080p and in both modes angle was same for horizontal and vertical.
I had few other dash cams with 120 degree diagonal at same test, and they angle was wider then DOD LS300W which claims to have 140 degree.
I did not had time to do DIY measurements of real angle, but in some russian forums I read that FullHD 1080p DOD LS300W had 86 degree in horizontal and 46 degree at vertical. Those numbers are more believable to what I see from my DOD LS300W display.

 

[niko]

For some time DOD official website had firmware update for LS300W, but probably after many so called generic TioTech products can be updated with same firmware, they removed update.

They still have firmware instruction up:

Update Instruction

but after clicking on download and decompress "LS300W_130328.rar" new page takes to DOD download page which does not have firmware update any more for LS300W:

http://dod-tech.com/downloads.php

Thanks to FoxOffer they own website tech support, you can find update here:

http://www.foxoffer.com/blog/2013/05/22 ... -firmware/

There is a full instruction as well added.

Latest firmware version ( 27/05/13 ) is LS300W130328

This can update GT300W, LS300W and some other similar dash cams which are using same TioTech hardware / firmware ( I found around 7 TioTech GT300W based dash cams, will try to do some short overview soon ).

So, just in case all potential buyers please download new firmware if you are not sure if getting old bunch or new bunch dash camera GT300W / LS300W.
Other than that you may keep watching FOxoffer website for updates ( if DOD official website will not be publishing firmware update in future )

Maybe DashCamMan can also store firmware in the server and share to public ?

 

[Maulhofer]

If the GT300W the same cam as the LS300W, why then is this so much cheaper than the other? Only the company logo alone can not be the reason. They might have different processor?

 

[niko]

If the GT300W the same cam as the LS300W, why then is this so much cheaper than the other? Only the company logo alone can not be the reason. They might have different processor?

DOD is not a manufacturer.
TioTech is manufacturer for DOD and many other so called "brands". LS300W- serieal is DOD brand. GT300W is neoutral TioTech factory un-branded. Inside and outside they are 100% same, except DOD ordering they logo and serieal / model nubmer printings.
With a minimum order of 100 units TioTech ( and most other manufacturers in China ) they can print "brand name" lets say "Maulhofer" or "niko" ... Thats how business runs "there".