FIXED! Too Much Contrast in Dashcam Viewer Compared to VLC Video Player

[Skeezix]

I've noticed that when watching my dashcam videos with Dashcam Viewer the colors are somewhat overdriven and the contrast is too high making the brigher areas almost wash out and the darker areas even darker. When I use VLC Video Player the contrast is normal and the colors appear natural.

I've emailed Dashcam Viewer a few times over the last several months and did not receive any helpful suggestions.

Has anyone else noticed this problem?

 

[Skeezix]

Here is a comparison...

From VLC VideoPlayer:



From Dashcam Viewer:



Notice the washed-out white area between the trees on the right side of the image.

 

[Kremmen]

I can't see any difference in my footage. Yours is definately extreme.

All I can think of is to make sure your codecs are up to date.

 

[Dashmellow]

I've noticed that when watching my dashcam videos with Dashcam Viewer the colors are somewhat overdriven and the contrast is too high making the brigher areas almost wash out and the darker areas even darker. When I use VLC Video Player the contrast is normal and the colors appear natural.

I've emailed Dashcam Viewer a few times over the last several months and did not receive any helpful suggestions.

Has anyone else noticed this problem?

Have you ever calibrated your computer monitor? What may look oversaturated or has too much contrast, etc. to you may look perfectly normal on someone else's monitor.

A calibrated monitor is the first thing anyone should sort out when evaluating image fidelity of any video or still photography they are viewing.

 

[Nigel]

Notice the washed-out white area between the trees on the right side of the image.

Not much detail actually lost, but it is certainly different!

If you are actually losing detail there then your monitor setup may well be making it worse, but there does look like a problem with the codecs, as Kremmen suggested.

If you are using Windows then try installing K-Lite to sort the codecs out: https://codecguide.com/download_kl.htm

 

[Michael23]

Hi,
I'm not up on all the "ins 'n' outs" of the Dashcam Viewer program, but I believe that the K-Lite codec pack you need is just the BASIC version.
"traveller" suggested that all that was required was to install that version.

I had a few glitches with the Full version which I always installed & had to revert to the basic one.
Version used is > BASIC #1612.

This cured the glitches.
-------------------------------------
@ Skeezix

Have you tried adjusting the image content....Contrast, Brightness, etc., in the Dashcam Viewer?

I know this won't help but I don't see any appreciable difference when using VLC, WMP or DCV.

 

[kamkar]

There are indeed huge differences in how different software players handle footage, i found out one night seeing how many 4K/60 FPS videos my computer could handle at the same time, and for that i used 3 different players. ( WMP - VLC - Potplayer )
I cant say about the dedicated dashcam players as i have not really used any of those in many years.

It is not so much needed now, but in the old days if you got a new screen ( TV or computer ) you often had to tweak it some to get the proper look, it would not surprise me if that was also the case with software used to play footage.
These days at least one of the profiles on a screen are tweaked correct from the factory, though they still have a hugely saturated "store display" setting too.

 

[Kremmen]

My biggest issue with colour and saturation was because I bought the wrong monitor type.

I bought a TN panel instead of IPS. Not the sort of thing you realise until you swap them out. I returned the TN and got a IPS and what a difference. You'd think there would be a price difference to highlight the inferior quality but not so.

As posted above, I also switched from a full codec to the lite pack as the full did have issues with some programs.

 

[Nigel]

My biggest issue with colour and saturation was because I bought the wrong monitor type.

I bought a TN panel instead of IPS. Not the sort of thing you realise until you swap them out. I returned the TN and got a IPS and what a difference. You'd think there would be a price difference to highlight the inferior quality but not so.

As posted above, I also switched from a full codec to the lite pack as the full did have issues with some programs.

All monitors should be able to show the full range of brightness from 8 bit dashcam video if set up reasonably, and that is all that really matters until we get HDR dashcams. An IPS monitor will do far better with the colour and accuracy than most types, and an FHD IPS monitor is often preferable to 4K monitors of other types because of that, but this should not be the problem here.

 

[Skeezix]

I really appreciate the suggestions I've received! I've had this problem for over a couple of years now. I've been using K-Lite Basic for the last 3 years and I update it regularly.

I'm currently using the Basic version 1638 along with update pack 1638_20210810. I see the current released version is 1646 and the update pack is 1648_20210930. (Hmmm. Wonder why the released version is 1646 but the update pack is 1648...) I'll install that later today.

When I try to change the brightness and contrast from within dashcamviewer, I can move the controls but they don't do anything.

I'm using a Samsung 32-inch monitor. The colors are correct in my drawing and my other apps, so I don't think it's the monitor.

 

[kamkar]

If there is a issue with adjusting contrast and brightness in dashcam viewer we better get @traveler on the ball too, so he can advise and or fix

 

[Kremmen]

What graphics card do you have ?

Nvidia have a default setting that is set to allow apps/programs to control the monitor settings.

I've found this a pain so I use the Nvidia control setting, far more stable.

 

[Skeezix]

My system is using Intel Graphics 530 card. I haven't removed the computer's cover so I don't know if this is on the motherboard or is an actual card that's plugged into the motherboard.

I just uninstalled the K-Lite package, rebooted the computer, and installed version 1646 and the 1648 update. This made no difference.

 

[Nigel]

My system is using Intel Graphics 530 card

Do you have any Intel Graphics configuration applications installed? Could just be the graphics card setup that some video players bypass while others don't.

 

[Skeezix]

No graphics card installed. The system uses integrated graphics (on the CPU).

 

[Nigel]

No graphics card installed. The system uses integrated graphics (on the CPU).

I believe there is still an Intel graphics card configuration utility even when it is integrated.

 

[Skeezix]

PROBLEM RESOLVED!

Thank you all who replied with your suggestions.

After reading Nigel's reply I opened the Intel Graphics 530 Settings application by clicking CTRL+ALT+F12. In the Video > Image Enhancement section I clicked Restore Defaults, then Apply, and then closed the Intel and the DashcamViewer windows. When I reopened DCV the video appeared as it does in VLC.

 

[Kremmen]

Ah, so it was graphics card related, glad I started this route

 

[Skeezix]

Actually my HP Pavillion Desktop 510-p114 uses integrated video, and there is no card slot for a graphics card on the motherboard. ; )

 

[Kremmen]

When I say 'graphics card' you know what I mean