Grainy Front Camera and Park Mode Problem

ScriptKiddie

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I've two issues after 1.7T updates.

I contacted to supports via ticket.

Anyone did know what can i do myself ?

1- Park mode has a problem. After turned off engine device recorded just one time, so parking mode disabled. I added my recorded videos list. Check it i draw square for parking mode.

2- This problem already existed. After the update 1.7T nothing any changed.
My Front camera very very grainy. That is more evident in low light. At night quaility is terrible. I uploaded pictures.


I added video please check it.

Look under the red car.

day_front2.jpgday_front3.pngday_front11.pngList.pngnight_front1.pngnight_front2.pngnight_front3.png
 
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Have you changed the quality which is preset to High? (there is also "Maximum") What SDcard do you use? Is the power provided via 3-wire kit or something else? (i had issue with power connected through the base, try to connect it directly to the front unit) What type of parking mode do you use?

The night footage looks normal to me. (at least in the case of A129Pro) I hope for some updates which will enhance the smearing (but it'll darken the image, i'm afraid).
 
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Have you changed the quality which is preset to High? (there is also "Maximum") What SDcard do you use?

The night footage looks normal to me. (at least in the case of A129Pro) I hope for some updates which will enhance the smearing (but it'll darken the image, i'm afraid).

Thank you for answers. I set Maximum. But i didn't try High settings.

My SDcard; samsung evo plus 128GB

I watched some test videos before i'll buy. These videos better than my night videos too. Maybe, it reason is ambience light, i dont know.
 
Do you have WDR turned on? I don't know how about v1.7 but older firmwares was doing some funny stuff with IQ. If so, try turn it off.
 
Do you have WDR turned on? I don't know how about v1.7 but older firmwares was doing some funny stuff with IQ. If so, try turn it off.

i was open this settings. But when i read some things here i set turned off. So now WDR OFF.
 
I have WDR alway on, no issues. I did find, if I pointed my camera down too much, covering my hood, which is white, darken things, likewise to high not good. I just barely see my hood and seems to work best. Color of hood seems to make a difference a bit. Night quality is very good, not grainy as yours.

Initially, I had it, but setting bitrate to high or max made a difference. Anything less the high wasn't acceptable for me. Also, I didn't notice on the inside of the filter there was a plastic protector. Barely visible, it made it look fuzzy/grainy. If you are touching your unit a lot, I would take a close look for finger marks, they will have same effect. Those greasy finger marks. lol, eh?

The only issue so far with the unit, is g force issue, when the unit warm up, it becomes to sensitive and trigger a lock file. As it getting warmer, I had to turn that off because of too many false accident recording. I am still using original firmware, 1.3

Parking mode work okay here, however battery voltage is critcal. When I setup viofo kit, i initally set it to lowest voltage and work great, however, when I turn it up to max voltage, it does stop recording. My truck is diesel, has two batteries, it has 95 percent life, so battery is good. But during colder weather, and short trips could drop the voltage to 11.10 volts, especially overnight in minus temperatures. I suspect truck, car battery probably a bit issue for many, especially if your battery is 3 years or older.

Hope this info helps someone.
 

I added video please check it.

Look under the red car.
Few things to mention:
1) Because of Youtube enhancing features we probably won't see the "grain". (at least i don't see anything)
2) If the dashcam is in parking mode and you set "low-bitrate" then grain is quite normal.
3) 1440p is not a multiple of a 1080p or 2160p resolution so it must be scaled from lower or higher resolution which can cause reduction of the IQ as well. (cameras also can just crop the image but then it's a bit shifted so i don't think this is the case)
 
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Few things to mention:
1) Because of Youtube enhancing features we probably won't see the "grain". (at least i don't see anything)
2) If the dashcam is in parking mode and you set "low-birate" then grain is quite normal.
3) 1440p is not a multiple of a 1080p or 2160p resolution so it must be scaled from lower or higher resolution which can cause reduction of the IQ as well. (cameras also can just crop the image but then it's a bit shifted so i don't think this is the case)

1- Watch in 1440p and while truck going and sec40 seen perfect under of red car.

2- it is not parking mode. I am still in car and car working. I just change sound.

3- I tried 1440 1080 2160p. This problem always here.
 
what are we looking for exactly?

if you want to judge quality need to see the original file, YouTube re-encodes the file which changes the result


yes i know. But same the original video too.

Look under back of car. time is 45sec
 
Are you using h.264 or h.265?
Video is recorded at fix bitrate, so for complex scenes like above, the encoder needs to sacrifice some details in order to maintain others.
If you aren't already encoding in h.265, changing it and the camera will use the better encoding format and you will have more bits to store details.

High resolution high framerate sensors suffer in low light conditions, but the A129 Pro still seems to be the better quality 4K dashcam out there.

Check your exposure settings, setting it too high may force the sensor to put in data that it can't really see in order to maintain the balance, hence the grain.
 
Are you using h.264 or h.265?
Video is recorded at fix bitrate, so for complex scenes like above, the encoder needs to sacrifice some details in order to maintain others.
If you aren't already encoding in h.265, changing it and the camera will use the better encoding format and you will have more bits to store details.

High resolution high framerate sensors suffer in low light conditions, but the A129 Pro still seems to be the better quality 4K dashcam out there.

Check your exposure settings, setting it too high may force the sensor to put in data that it can't really see in order to maintain the balance, hence the grain.

i am using default. So h.264 i am going to open h.265 today.

My exposure +0.33 or 0.6 When i am using 0.00 more grain than +0.33-6.

I already regret for not buy a129 duo. Because of software and hardware problems. Beeping grainy etc.
 
The way camera sensors work, in low light it is always a compromise between graininess and motion blur.
That's why you see recent phones come with multiple camera sensors.

Remember what we have here is an automotive event data recorder, we need high resolution high framerate to capture plates of moving cars, some graininess is a decent sacrifice for motion blur.
 
The way camera sensors work, in low light it is always a compromise between graininess and motion blur.
That's why you see recent phones come with multiple camera sensors.

Remember what we have here is an automotive event data recorder, we need high resolution high framerate to capture plates of moving cars, some graininess is a decent sacrifice for motion blur.

So you say it is normal for all a129 pro model. If it happened all pro users. I will not send RMA.
 
So you say it is normal for all a129 pro model. If it happened all pro users. I will not send RMA.
I think it is normal, a dashcam has to make a lot of compromises, and the detail underneath the red car really wasn't very important compared to detail elsewhere. It will always prioritise a fast shutter speed over zero grain so that the motion blur is limited on things moving fast. You shouldn't expect DSLR image quality from a reasonably cheap camera that is trying to record detail rather than have perfect noise free images, and most DSLRs are not actually very good for video anyway, certainly not dashcam video in low light!
 
Exactly, do not care about some minor noise during a day in the dark areas, there is a lot more of it in low-light and night time anyway. As it has already been said many times, this is not some hollywood-blockbuster-grade cam, it is for capturing what happened on the road. If you have no other issues with it, be glad that it does exactly this for you.
 
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