FINEVu CR2000G video quality is subpar, plus a few other gripes

[spaceballsrules]

A little over a week ago, I started using a FINEVu CR2000G. It has had its issues.

There have been a few corrupted files, so I switched out the microSD to a Lexar 633X 64 GB.

The clock will not keep the correct time, which leads me to believe that there may be an issue with the capacitor.

The GPS takes forever to connect, if it ever does. This also affects the clock's time setting, as once GPS does connect, it changes to satellite time.

The biggest problem I have is the video quality, especially at night. The rear camera actually looks really good, despite being set to 720p, but the front camera has a sparkly graininess to it, even in the daytime. At night, it gets significantly worse, and even road signs become unreadable, even when they should show up clearly i.e. plenty of light. I have tried viewing files in the FINEVu player, VLC, Windows Media Player, and uploading to Youtube. No matter what I use, it just looks bad. I even tried messing with the WDR, brightness, and sharpness settings, all to no avail. In the second video of the front camera's night footage, when I enter the shopping center, is probably the worst of it.

Can anyone think of any solutions to improve the video quality? Should I try to RMA this camera?

Thanks!

 

[russ331]

@niko did give you a hint that you might be asking for trouble...

https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threa...-quality-dual-lens-dashcam.12367/#post-159882

You may be happier with a Panorama X2 or Thinkware F750.

 

[spaceballsrules]

@niko did give you a hint that you might be asking for trouble...

https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threa...-quality-dual-lens-dashcam.12367/#post-159882

You may be happier with a Panorama X2 or Thinkware F750.

If I were to get a different dashcam, it would be the iNavi Thinkware X500.
I think this is more a case of a defective unit than that of a bad product. The footage that BlackBoxMyCar uploaded to Youtube looks so much better than what I am getting. The night footage starts at 10:00.

 

[BMbler]

looks like damaged or even fake cam footage...

 

[niko]

@niko did give you a hint that you might be asking for trouble...

https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threa...-quality-dual-lens-dashcam.12367/#post-159882

You may be happier with a Panorama X2 or Thinkware F750.

Yeah, that was the hint only based on Korean forum posts from "previous" productions and past FW, but as I understood the latest Firmware sorted out most earlier issues ?
X2 has the best dual channel 1080p footage, but unfortunately it also has it's own "little sins" at the moment and firmware is still under polishing up. I guess Thinkware would have the most stable firmware ( based on my past Thinkware dashcam experience and feedback from international forums ), however the video quality could be better.
Unfortunately at this stage there are no dual channel 1080p dashcams out there that would be fully perfect.

 

[niko]

If I were to get a different dashcam, it would be the iNavi Thinkware X500.
I think this is more a case of a defective unit than that of a bad product. The footage that BlackBoxMyCar uploaded to Youtube looks so much better than what I am getting. The night footage starts at 10:00.

YT video are not the best place to analyse footage, but what I can see is that 25% of left lens area is slightly blurry, centre is in OK focus and right side or lens is in perfect sharp focus.
Also there is a strange sort of noise or mosquito pixelation which could be seen mostly on entry-level 15usd dashcams. Maybe faulty sensor, maybe lens, maybe combination of both ?
By the way, what is the bit-rate of video front and rear camera at 1080p and 720p ?

FineVu is well known brand and their built quality usually is good, but non of the manufacturers is fully protected against small defects. You may try to ask to replace it, but before sending a new one ask seller to double-check it.

 

[spaceballsrules]

YT video are not the best place to analyse footage, but what I can see is that 25% of left lens area is slightly blurry, centre is in OK focus and right side or lens is in perfect sharp focus.
Also there is a strange sort of noise or mosquito pixelation which could be seen mostly on entry-level 15usd dashcams. Maybe faulty sensor, maybe lens, maybe combination of both ?
By the way, what is the bit-rate of video front and rear camera at 1080p and 720p ?

FineVu is well known brand and their built quality usually is good, but non of the manufacturers is fully protected against small defects. You may try to ask to replace it, but before sending a new one ask seller to double-check it.

Yeah, I think I will try to send this one back.

The bitrates (video only) are as follows:

Front daytime: 11320 kbps
Rear daytime: 5200 kbps
Front nighttime: 9953 kbps
Rear nighttime: 3759 kbps

 

[niko]

Not the greatest bit-rate as well. But some CPU solutions can do quite well on low bit-rate. I remember one of the best at low bit-rate I ever had was Urive Albatross II, but It is based on Cortex A8 chipset.
If I remember correctly CR2000G is based on Ambarella A7. You may read an anwer from @jokiin HERE

P.S. I just realised my earlier comment at "your" video regarding pixelation and left side of lens / sensor focus shift, - it's actually not your video but from BBMC.

 

[spaceballsrules]

Not the greatest bit-rate as well. But some CPU solutions can do quite well on low bit-rate. I remember one of the best at low bit-rate I ever had was Urive Albatross II, but It is based on Cortex A8 chipset.
If I remember correctly CR2000G is based on Ambarella A7. You may read an anwer from @jokiin HERE

P.S. I just realised my earlier comment at "your" video regarding pixelation and left side of lens / sensor focus shift, - it's actually not your video but from BBMC.

The bitrate is actually higher than the Blackvues, Lukas', and such. If only the Panorama X2 had a quick-release windshield mount, I would have gone with that.

Yes, the CR2000G runs the Amabarella A7.

What is BBMC?

I will try turning down the brightness and sharpness levels to see if that reduces some of the noise I am getting.

 

[niko]

The bitrate is actually higher than the Blackvues, Lukas', and such. If only the Panorama X2 had a quick-release windshield mount, I would have gone with that.

Yes, the CR2000G runs the Amabarella A7.

What is BBMC?

I will try turning down the brightness and sharpness levels to see if that reduces some of the noise I am getting.

Yeah, 10Mbps can do a better video quality on dashcams with "other CPU brand", but not sure if for A7 the 10Mbps is not enough to process qiality video like @jokiin mentioned.

BBMC = BlackBoxMyCar. You bought from there, right ?

I have few quick release solutions coming for X2 but I must say ( as I mentioned before ) X2 also is a little bit fussy on some things and firmware is still under polishing. So there are no issue-free 2ch 1080p dashcams out there yet unfortunately.

 

[spaceballsrules]

Yeah, 10Mbps can do a better video quality on dashcams with "other CPU brand", but not sure if for A7 the 10Mbps is not enough to process qiality video like @jokiin mentioned.

BBMC = BlackBoxMyCar. You bought from there, right ?

I have few quick release solutions coming for X2 but I must say ( as I mentioned before ) X2 also is a little bit fussy on some things and firmware is still under polishing. So there are no issue-free 2ch 1080p dashcams out there yet unfortunately.

It didn't occur to me that bitrate is less important than the CPU. I thought that bitrate correlated directly to quality. Oh well, expensive lesson learned on that subject.

Yes, I did buy this from BBMC. Time to test out their customer service.

I wish the high-end manufacturers would concentrate solely on the video quality of their cams instead of constantly trying to add silly features like lane departure and collision warning systems that honestly don't really work. Just get the quality down. Then, if there is any headroom left, start adding other features.

 

[reverend]

That's kind of where the Panorama X2 is at - it doesn't really have any of the bells and whistles which most people turn off anyway after the first couple of trips as they're more of an annoyance than a help.

Video quality wise the X2 is still the best dual channel system out there. It just needs a couple of bugs squashing.

 

[niko]

It didn't occur to me that bitrate is less important than the CPU. I thought that bitrate correlated directly to quality. Oh well, expensive lesson learned on that subject.

Yes, I did buy this from BBMC. Time to test out their customer service.

I wish the high-end manufacturers would concentrate solely on the video quality of their cams instead of constantly trying to add silly features like lane departure and collision warning systems that honestly don't really work. Just get the quality down. Then, if there is any headroom left, start adding other features.

Finevu is a reputable brand. Their CR-500HD is still one of my favourite models. It also had ( has ) around 10Mbps bit-rate, but at that bit-rate it has a better video quality in my opinion if comparing CR-2000G video and I assume it's due to different CPU used. Same comes to Itronics ITB-100HD ( also one of my favourite models ). At low bit-rate it has quite good video in comparison to CR-2000G. In regards to night sensitivity, CR-2000G is OK, but maybe you just got a dodgy unit, which may happen to any products, no matter how "high-end" they are. BBMC has a good reputation and I believe they will help you out to sort this out via exchange. Everyone deserves a second chance !

 

[Module 79L]

I know someone who bought one of those and his footage also has that kind of purple areas on both edges of the picture. He says he can't see anything but now that I've seen another footage from the same cameras with the same issue I believe that's not normal.
You can clearly see it by looking at the colour of the clouds on the edges compared with the center.

 

[spaceballsrules]

Just a quick update on the cam and my gripes with it.

I haven't had any corrupted files since switching to the Lexar SD card.

The clock will keep the correct time if you drive around enough to keep the capacitor charged. I usually take only short trips, so the capacitor never has a real chance of charging up, but I took a 150 mile road trip last week and the clock kept proper time for a week before it gave up again. I have just gotten used to setting the correct date and time every time I get in the car.

The GPS has started to work better. According to FineVu, because the GPS is internal it takes longer to connect to the satellite than an external GPS module. Once the GPS kicks on, it works well and the speeds recorded are very accurate. The GPS also seems to be better at finding the signal and takes a little less time to connect than before.

As for the video quality, FineVu customer service had the great advice of cleaning my windshield. OK This one really irks me. If someone can't clearly see the problems with the video quality in my samples beyond a dirty windshield, especially the night footage, then they have no business designing and selling high end dashcams. If I had paid less for this cam, I would be fine with it, but I paid a hefty price for a top tier product. I did NOT receive a top tier product.


I tried RMAing my original camera back to BlackBoxMyCar. That ended up being a 3 week hassle, and for no reason. BBMC insisted that in order to receive a new unit, I had to buy a whole new camera, which I did. I wasn't happy about forking over another $300 USD, but whatever got the ball rolling. I wasn't in any mood to argue. Anyway, the new unit arrived and it had all of the same problems as the original, but it also had a problem with the touchscreen. The top layer of the screen was loose and would move around when I touched it. More horrible quality control by FineVu. I ended up just sending back the replacement and keeping my original. BBMC did refund my money once they received the unit I sent back, but after accounting for the international service fee my bank charged and the changing exchange rate, sending back the cam cost me an additional $15.

 

[DaveM]

The GPS has started to work better. According to FineVu, because the GPS is internal it takes longer to connect to the satellite than an external GPS module. Once the GPS kicks on, it works well and the speeds recorded are very accurate. The GPS also seems to be better at finding the signal and takes a little less time to connect than before.

I have entirely different experiences with GPS modules, can be it will happen with FineVu cams but with other cam brands the internal GPS modules will work flawlessly.

 

[niko]

Unfortunately at the moment there are no fully reliable 2 channel 1080p + 1080p, no matter how high-end model you buy. They all have some kind of issues.

 

[USDashCamera]

I agree with Niko above, I looked at my archived CR2000G footage from when I reviewed it, i still have the raw video files. looks about the same.

fact of the matter is 2CH systems the past 2 years just cant compete with single channel cameras, and they NEVER will. because that chipset that finally gets 2ch systems up to par today, will be powering better quality single channel systems by then too.

If you get a 2CH cam you have to accept you will get worse video quality, whether or not its good enough for your needs is up to you. if you really expect top of the line video quality, get two single channel cams.

 

[reverend]

fact of the matter is 2CH systems the past 2 years just cant compete with single channel cameras, and they NEVER will. because that chipset that finally gets 2ch systems up to par today, will be powering better quality single channel systems by then too.

If you get a 2CH cam you have to accept you will get worse video quality, whether or not its good enough for your needs is up to you. if you really expect top of the line video quality, get two single channel cams.

Incorrect - the likes of the 2 channel Panorama X2 can match the video of the single channel cameras as it is basically two single channel cameras in one housing (two processors, separate memory each and separate microSD controllers) - they just have never been able to fix exFAT corruption issues yet which is a shame and it suffers from card compatibility issues for some people - it's definitely better with FAT32. It's a complex beast for sure and the keep it simple, stupid adage works well for dashcams (i.e. why lots of people have great success running two 1 channel systems) as if it crashes or has a card problem you've only lost one channel.

The existing TI and Ambarella based dual cameras have limits on the max bitrate they can handle across both channels whereas they can boost the bitrate in their single channel versions to a higher level than two combined. I'm not sure if dual channel is something on Novatek's radar but @jokiin would have more of an idea.

One day another manufacturer may take the same route of putting essentially multiple processors into a single unit and having the clever glue on top to make it all work well together and that way there is no hit whatsoever on the video quality.

And just so no-one thinks there's any bias I paid full price for it 11 months ago

It's still sat in my car now alongside an SG9665GC which is a great single channel camera.

 

[niko]

Incorrect - the likes of the 2 channel Panorama X2 can match the video of the single channel cameras as it is basically two single channel cameras in one housing (two processors, separate memory each and separate microSD controllers) - they just have never been able to fix exFAT corruption issues yet which is a shame and it suffers from card compatibility issues for some people - it's definitely better with FAT32. It's a complex beast for sure and the keep it simple, stupid adage works well for dashcams (i.e. why lots of people have great success running two 1 channel systems) as if it crashes or has a card problem you've only lost one channel.

The existing TI and Ambarella based dual cameras have limits on the max bitrate they can handle across both channels whereas they can boost the bitrate in their single channel versions to a higher level than two combined. I'm not sure if dual channel is something on Novatek's radar but @jokiin would have more of an idea.

One day another manufacturer may take the same route of putting essentially multiple processors into a single unit and having the clever glue on top to make it all work well together and that way there is no hit whatsoever on the video quality.

And just so no-one thinks there's any bias I paid full price for it 11 months ago

It's still sat in my car now alongside an SG9665GC which is a great single channel camera.

No wonder why most laptops / smarphones has multicore processors.
These days Dashcam manufacturers should follow same path for high performance multichannel DVR solutions until one day we see trully high-end one core processor that can handle all high volume data processing what multichannel requires.