HDR will be added on A119

[wryliewhiley]

I've just upgraded to V3.4 (16/11) from V2.2. I also got the latest Manual which was updated 14/11

Two questions.... 1) is there a "one place shows all" changelog list between Upgrade versions. I'm thinking a Sticky on the site.
2) in the Manual, shouldn't the Settings section mention the HDR feature? I only see WDR.

 

[5Cowbells]

1) is there a "one place shows all" changelog list between Upgrade versions.

https://www.captureyouraction.com/pages/viofo-firmware

 

[wryliewhiley]

https://www.captureyouraction.com/pages/viofo-firmware

EXCELLENT thanks 5Cowbells. Probably never would have found it there.
Forum moderators .... can it be a sticky?
Viofo .... can it be on your site with the download?

 

[wryliewhiley]

I've just upgraded to V3.4 (16/11) from V2.2. I also got the latest Manual which was updated 14/11

Two questions.... 1) is there a "one place shows all" changelog list between Upgrade versions. I'm thinking a Sticky on the site.
2) in the Manual, shouldn't the Settings section mention the HDR feature? I only see WDR.

I have gone through the latest Manual very thoroughly and did not notice any changes to my old V2.2 which surprised as the source (i.e. Viofo's own site) said
A119 Car Dash Camera Manual
Modified on: Tue, 14 Nov, 2017 at 2:32 AM
I have made notes in my manual & posted it previously and it's here in the upload. This is the latest Manual with notes.

 

[wryliewhiley]

Now that I have read the changelog I found a Parking Mode ON/OFF feature was added 16/8/17 in V3.3. It went through to my update V3.4 as I can see it with a cute little car symbol in the camera Menu (and it is in addition to "Motion Detection").

However, it is not mentioned in the Manual Modified on: Tue, 14 Nov, 2017 at 2:32 AM. What the heck WAS modified in the Manual? You'd expect info. on Parking Mode to be in the Manual so now I have to investigate it myself.

 

[wryliewhiley]

Have investigated the Parking Mode thread, understood some of it, and edited some existing Manual notes and added others too.

In the Setting section I added a heading for Parking Mode. In it, for fear of misleading with wrong information I simply added a link to post #107 by 5Cowbells and suggest people start there then
look in the rest of the thread. Parking Mode could justify a dedicated Manual section of its own and as it is so involved I think I understand why the November Manual doesn't mention it..
The attached file is my latest version of the edited Manual. I hope it helps others. Let me know of any errors or omissions.

 

[Marius33]

 

[TonyM]

Thanks for the comparison. It looks like HDR softens the video even when the car is stationary. For me that's too big a trade-off for the increased dynamic range.

 

[Harsh]

That's quite a difference!

 

[jokiin]

not easy to compare when having to scroll up and down

 

[spotnz]

Thanks for the comparison. It looks like HDR softens the video even when the car is stationary. For me that's too big a trade-off for the increased dynamic range.

agreed

number plates are harder to decipher, even on stationary cars. I't be great to see a nightime comparison *hint* *hint*

 

[TonyM]

I'm not saying that the higher dynamic range is not useful, as there can be occasions where having HDR on will rescue detail that would otherwise be lost at either the light or dark end of the exposure. And that could be more important than the difference in fine detail between HDR on and off. I just wish there was not so much of a compromise on detail as this example suggests.

I think it's better than the HDR implementation on the early Mobius 2 firmware. Maybe I'll compare them one day.

 

[5Cowbells]

I see value in having HDR at night, but I would not like to have to manually switch between WDR in daytime to HDR at night. Perhaps a compromise should be considered such as a mode that autonomously switches between WDR and HDR based on some threshold criteria such as average light intensity sensed by the camera over some extended period, so as to distinguish night from day.

 

[Dashmellow]

Thanks for the comparison. It looks like HDR softens the video even when the car is stationary. For me that's too big a trade-off for the increased dynamic range.

This is essentially the same reason that HDR was abandoned on the Mobius 2 and is the answer to the question I've had about this.

 

[Dashmellow]

I'm not saying that the higher dynamic range is not useful, as there can be occasions where having HDR on will rescue detail that would otherwise be lost at either the light or dark end of the exposure. And that could be more important than the difference in fine detail between HDR on and off. I just wish there was not so much of a compromise on detail as this example suggests.

I think it's better than the HDR implementation on the early Mobius 2 firmware. Maybe I'll compare them one day.

On the M2 the HDR issues were related to motion and the processing a textures. Here it is hard to tell from a single static screen shot exactly what is happening.

 

[jokiin]

Really I can't see how the multiple exposure type process used for HDR photography could work for video, not with the type of processing power we have available in these platforms at least

Does this exist in any consumer grade camcorder or similar that anyone knows of?

 

[Dashmellow]

Really I can't see how the multiple exposure type process used for HDR photography could work for video, not with the type of processing power we have available in these platforms at least

Does this exist in any consumer grade camcorder or similar that anyone knows of?

Yeah, I raised the same question quite some time ago. I believe HDR exists in some higher end consumer camcorders but such cams would have more processing power and more internal memory than the SoC chips in dash cams.

 

[jokiin]

Yeah, I raised the same question quite some time ago. I believe HDR exists in some higher end consumer camcorders but such cams would have more processing power and more internal memory than the SoC chips in dash cams.

I really can't see it working without a lot more processing power, any high end mobile phones that do HDR video maybe?

 

[Dashmellow]

I really can't see it working without a lot more processing power, any high end mobile phones that do HDR video maybe?

There are smartphones now with HDR but again, you got more processing power and memory in a device that sells for many hundreds of dollars or more. The new iPhone has it for example but look at what that costs.

 

[Dashmellow]

any high end mobile phones that do HDR video maybe?

Ars Technica: "Hands on with the iPhone X: OLED and HDR outshine the other features"