i1000 / F70 / X6 720P Dual Lens DVR Dash Camera

[Michael Jenkin]

I just bought one of these "Anonymous" OEM models (From eBay) with no stickers or logos and a manual written in poor english. For $66 AUD including taxes and shipping, I thought it was worth a go.
I have struggled with the "english" manual to work all the features out but so far, all is working, no issues (Early days).

Opening it up, it is an A10 processor. Welcome screen says "Car Black Box" and then the same again (I assume) in Russian and Mandarin. Firmware is A10_20140311

Settings menu has the 1080p which I assume is not really 1080p but appears to capture a lot more than 720p setting. I can see numberplates if close (Front camera). Rear camera is fairly bad. The IR for night vision may work .... hard to tell.

Night in general sucks on this unit. Audio not too bad. I have had to reset the unit once already.

I just figured out what Open/close means under the LCD screen. It means slide the unit this way to detact or attach to it's mount on the front

For the money I paid, I am quite happy. It seems the 1080p setting is not too bad.

As long as this thing keeps working, I am in a happy place and may have a good unit

 

[Michael Jenkin]

Looks like the allwinner Tech A10 can handle 1080p. I have to wonder what sensor is in this camera.

http://www.allwinner.com/product/A10.php.html

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/130869869537
Camera sensor
1280*720 pixels/720*480 pixels
File Format
JPEG/MOV
Efficient Pixels
HD(1280*720)30 Frames//720*480 30 Frames
Lens
120 degrees A+ level degrees high resolution
Camera Resolution
2048*1536(For taking photos)
Modes
Dual Record(Front and Rear), Capture photo, Playback
Display Screen
2.0 inches TFT
Recording Discontinuity
100ms-400ms
Night Vision
Supported(4 IR)
Motion Detection
Supported
Display/Sensor Screen Positive and Reversed Phase
Supported
Collision Sensor
Three Axis Stereo Collision Detection
Emergency Lock Collision Induction
Manually Lock Emergency Collision Detection
Remote Control
Supported
Automatically Overwritten
Supported
Loop Video Recording
Supported
Webcam
Supported
TV Out
NTSC/PAL
Multi-languages
English, Germany, French, Spanish, Italic, Portugal, Japanese, Russian, Chinese
Port
USB2.0/AV
Audio
Built-in Mic/Can be muted
Storage
TF card slot, up to 32GB, no memory inside
Battery
800mah lithium polymer batteries (Built-in)
Working Temperature
-20℃~60℃
Dimensions
90*64.5*28 mm
Power
12V-24V

 

[jokiin]

Looks like the allwinner Tech A10 can handle 1080p. I have to wonder what sensor is in this camera.

when used as a single channel solution

the chipset is intended for tablet PC use so never really setup for this

 

[Michael Jenkin]

when used as a single channel solution

the chipset is intended for tablet PC use so never really setup for this

Cool. For the moment, as long as it works. I have front and rear camera working, no overheating or lockups after 30 mins. no idea whom makes this as the other A10 units I see online have a wider screen.
This thing has the following ram http://www.datasheets360.com/part/detail/h5tq1g63efr-h9c/2701110079336810993/
Hynix H5TQ1G63EFR-H9C
Category: Memory ICs
Manufacturer: SK Hynix
Description: 64M X 16 DDR DRAM, PBGA96

I can't see any markings on the sensor. no idea what it is. I am going to take a closer look now as I put it back together upside down

 

[Michael Jenkin]

I have to wonder if this unit is an F80 /F70 hybrid.

 

[jokiin]

there's stacks of these around based all different types of solutions, if you have a working one best leave it alone, most aren't so lucky

 

[Michael Jenkin]

yes, I noticed. There are a huge array of same looking but different breed ones. I have not seen many with the A10 so I thought I would post about it. Let's see if it still works in a few weeks. At least I have my image sensor the right way up now

 

[jokiin]

there are actually a couple of these which work fine, there's a bunch of low end ones though that spoil it for the others, a shame you can't tell them apart before buying

 

[Michael Jenkin]

This unit with the A10 processor is an i1000 according to the supplier.

 

[niKoGran]

Has anyone tried the 2.7" model?
And where can I find a model with the rear camera that is waterproof and can be mounted outside ? (the non rotatable one)
Did someone tried to mount it outside and has video sample/ opinion for it?
Thanks

*edit:
Found this on ebay:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/161074503945

 

[redcast]

I opened up my Geekbuy camera and it has a F20 chip.

 

[Michael Jenkin]

I opened up my Geekbuy camera and it has a F20 chip.

Looking at the specs, not sure if the A10 or F20 are better than the other. F20 seems more popular.

I have done a lot of googling and have not yet found anyone whom includes the A10 in an i1000. Very odd. The A10 does popup in other DVR systems.
The A10 can do 1080p at a processor level and the settings offer it, but the quality is only slightly better than 720 p (likely interpolated).

I also found out what happens with my firmware if I tell it to record unlimited and it runs out of space. An error comes up "Check your SD card speed". The card fills with files with zero byte size, the record process sticks on (lights flashing and counting continues) and record can't be turned off, the rear camera comes up on the display as the main display (main camera vanishes) and the thing ignores you, except it acknowledges a shutdown from the power button. I wonder if the other firmwares do the same thing.

 

[Michael Jenkin]

ok, so 4 days on. The rear camera has now failed. It produces an image but it's not usable. It started with a flickering, and now has black sections through the image. I have checked all the connections, reconnected. No difference. Time to see if the warranty is real (Front camera still works perfectly and the main units features all work as normal).

 

[Michael Jenkin]

I was so happy with this unit but .... I am packing it up and sending it back.

I recommend anyone whom gets one of these to test it recording for 45 minutes or more.

On my short trips - 15 - 20 minutes, this thing was awesome. Nothing failed. Pushing it further than that, is when it starts to overheat. First, my rear camera video has black lines and noise on it. Then, the rear camera died all together. Then the unit felt warm to the touch. then it made a weird ticking noise from the main unit, then it shutdown.

On restart, the language is now set to Mandarin. Rear camera is useless. Unit only remains powered for 1 minute and then restarts. It is now dodgy.
If I let the camera cool, the rear cam looks perfect again. As it warms up, it starts to fail again.
So, time to box it back up. Weird about the ticking noise. It is the sound of heating metal as it expands. Not sure what is in there to expand.

 

[jokiin]

Can't say I'm surprised, hopefully you don't get any grief from the seller

 

[Michael Jenkin]

I asked to have the unit replaced. I want to play a little more with this unit. I suspect that the A10 processor needs a heat sink.

I killed the new unit on it's first use.

Testing conditions are:15 Celsius (59 Fahrenheit), In my house (The house heater was not on), On a laptop internal USB port.
Attach Rear camera to main unit, Plug main unit into USB port, Install 32 Gb Sandisk MicroSD class 4. Charge 2-3 minutes from USB, finally power up.
From the three options choose that come up, select the bottom one "Charging". Now in settings set to 5 minute record loop.
Press record. Leave recording for 35 minutes with LCD on, mic on, Auto IR lights. Unit starts to get warm at 30 minutes. At 35 minutes the rear camera starts having static and eventually blacks out.
The main unit then reboots and will not stay powered up correctly.

Using only the cables provided and standard 5v USB 1 amp laptop USB.
During first 25 minutes system is responsive and seems to work. After 30 - 35 minutes the unit becomes unreliable.
The other unit did the same thing at 45 mins. It rebooted into Chinese and then did not work further.
The other unit had similar test but started to first fail in a car (Same symptoms).

The two main things that stand out as odd are the menu setting offering 1080p (It can only do 720p) and the A10 chip which does not seem to be common on a i1000 unit.

so if you see an A10 firmware (no need to open it like I did on the first one) and it offers 1080p .. you might want to run away

 

[redcast]

That sucks, my geekbuy one is still holding up. I drove with it in the sun for 2 hours and left it in the car baking. It does get very hot tho.

 

[Michael Jenkin]

That sucks, my geekbuy one is still holding up. I drove with it in the sun for 2 hours and left it in the car baking. It does get very hot tho.

Can you confirm what the firmware? Does it start with with F20 / F70

 

[redcast]

The frimware is, 1.02_2014.02.20
with a F20 chip

the backup camera has parking lines, which I don't like.

 

[Hooked]

Hi all,

I just purchased one of the i1000 units from ebay:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/131188532840
The unit seems to work ok with one exception - I have it set up with motion detection on and it works as specified without the rear camera connected ie it will stop recording after 5 secs of non-activity. However, with the rear camera connected, it will continue to cycle non-stop, recording for 5 secs at a time. The unit is connected to constant power, if that makes a difference.

Has anyone else experienced this problem? Sorry, I'm at work and don't have access to the firmware version at the moment.

Thanks & regards,

Brian