Linus tech tips on dashcams.

[vbx]

Use use an app to convert your old phone to a dashcam.

 

[Nigel]

BlackVue uses HiSilicon. I don't consider myself an expert by any means, but I think that if I know that then so should he since technology is his field?

I don't expect he put much time into his research, he does release a new video on a new topic every day!

The quick way of doing the research was to order all the top Amazon recommended models in one go, then stick as many as you can fit into your car, leaving off the big ones that didn't fit! Then go for a drive and check the results. And so that you don't look stupid, also buy the most expensive model, and the one recommended by people who are experts/experienced.

I'm surprised he spent so much time talking about Novatek processor 96670 vs 96630 vs 96650 that he did not mention anything about bit-rates. You can have a high end processor with crap bit-rates and it will still look like crap.

It made a good story, and that is what he video is, not a technical or scientific investigation/tutorial/review of dashcam technology. If people had to think and understand what he is saying in all his videos then he wouldn't be getting the 2 million views in 2 days!

He had a point to make, and he made it well, don't take the rest too seriously.

since technology is his field?

The reason for the folder structures being similar is that it is an international standard, used by all cameras, so that any old camera/video software can find the photos/videos without having to spend ages searching the card and examining things that may or may not be photos/videos; there would be good reason to complain if any other structure was used!

So, I suggest he is a consumer of technology rather than a technical expert, and his videos are aimed at typical consumers of electronic gadgets and their software.

 

[Nigel]

Use use an app to convert your old phone to a dashcam.

And you will get poor results with frequent overheating, and when you do eventually need some video, you will find that on that particular journey, you forgot to open the app and press record!

 

[kamkar]

Sort of like me using parking guard, and my car getting rammed whole parked, 1 hour after the parking guard timer kicked in.
I am now using 3 hour on the timer, and the next time it happen it will probably be 4-5 hours after i parked my car.

I have now gotten a appointment at the shop, but as i need a loaner car meanwhile, well September 12 is my date,,,,,, untill then i have to drive a car that are now essentially illegal to drive.

 

[Panzer Platform]

It made a good story, and that is what he video is, not a technical or scientific investigation/tutorial/review of dashcam technology. If people had to think and understand what he is saying in all his videos then he wouldn't be getting the 2 million views in 2 days!

As usual, Nigel is spot on.
When YouTubers are small channels they are usually more serious, and take pride in the accuracy of the information they convey.
When they become big channels, and the money starts rolling it, the content changes more torwards "entertainment".
And they have to keep doing crazier things, and be more outlandish to maintain the views, and the $$$.
-Chuck

 

[Dash cams Serbia]

As I said, I agree with Linus. Years have passed and we still are offered the same image quality, no matter the price.
Too bad they didn't include dash cams from 70mai, DDPAI, an similar in the comparison.

 

[Kremmen]

I'm of the same mind. I'm no expert but my research when I wanted to move away from vibrating stalk mounted cams and find a solid mount with good reviews pointed me to the Viofo A119 range.

I have a friend with a £200+ Blackvue setup and my V3 delivers sharper footage. Plus he had to modify his own CPL because the Blackvue one was a rip off.

The small number of lenses and processors shared across makes was interesting, is it true ?

 

[Nigel]

As I said, I agree with Linus. Years have passed and we still are offered the same image quality, no matter the price.
Too bad they didn't include dash cams from 70mai, DDPAI, an similar in the comparison.

Image quality has improved, but now nearly every manufacturer is using the Sony IMX335 image sensor in their full range of dashcams, so the differences in image quality between the various dashcams have become even smaller. Lenses have also become far closer in quality to each other, and the worst SoCs have disappeared, thus making the SoCs closer to each other.

We will get a significant improvement only when one of the manufacturers releases a dashcam with a new image sensor that is a definite improvement over the IMX335, then the IMX335 will continue in the cheaper cameras and we will have a new set of more premium cameras with genuinely better image quality.

Currently only the Viofo A129 Pro with its 4K IMX317 stands out as being different, and for sunny weather it is definitely a big improvement, unfortunately the IMX317 isn't designed as a low light sensor, so is not ideal for dashcams. A229 Pro?

I'm of the same mind. I'm no expert but my research when I wanted to move away from vibrating stalk mounted cams and find a solid mount with good reviews pointed me to the Viofo A119 range.

Yes, the mounts are one of the things that are actually different between cameras, and some are much better than others.

The small number of lenses and processors shared across makes was interesting, is it true ?

Not really true, there is actually quite a big range of processors within the Novatek range, these days mainly differentiated by processing power and how many channels they can support, so dashcam manufacturers do have choices. And there is also a selection of other SoC manufacturers, Blueskysea use some of them to give great value, although Novatek seem to manage the best image quality for dashcams so they are what many manufacturers choose. Ambarella used to have great image quality, better than Novatek, but they failed on other factors for dashcam use so don't get used these days.

There is plenty of choice in lenses, the cheap plastic ones don't tend to get used these days except for the $10 cameras, and to get noticeably better than normal requires a fairly expensive lens, so they tend not to get used either. One of the main reasons Viofo do better on image quality is the quality of their lenses, always using decent anti-reflection coatings on all the surfaces.

 

[markus]

I popped over here as I watched the video yesterday, and did wonder if anyone else had.

I do wonder about commenting on the video, specifically the comments about image quality. There was no mention if they had changed any of the settings, or adjusted the lens, or used a CPL.
I think as some of us know, changing some of the settings, say EV and such, could make a bit of a difference to image quality. My guess is just the defaults were used as that is what the majority of people would likely do.

 

[Lothar]

I'm of the same mind. I'm no expert but my research when I wanted to move away from vibrating stalk mounted cams and find a solid mount with good reviews pointed me to the Viofo A119 range.

I have a friend with a £200+ Blackvue setup and my V3 delivers sharper footage. Plus he had to modify his own CPL because the Blackvue one was a rip off.

The small number of lenses and processors shared across makes was interesting, is it true ?

BlackVue has been known for having sub-standard video/image quality because they use much lower bit-rates than their competition from Viofo and Street Guardian.

 

[kamkar]

Same go for Lukas, i think they still feel 9 mbit is fine for people.

 

[mentadent]

That guy is clueless

 

[mentadent]

I don't think there is any reason to avoid the subscriptions? They work well.

And, it tracks your views anyway, knows exactly what you have watched, what you are interested in, what you have searched for on Google and thus might want to watch...!

What is ASO?

 

[mentadent]

We are all paying big time now for our information being turned into profit and power, if they do that with out attention too,,,, we are lost.
That is probably also why i intensely dislike people that are overly fans of something.

How are we paying?

 

[thomas-dash]

How are we paying?

Loss of privacy, companies thinking your browsing habits are "their data", big tech being used to suppress viewpoints they disagree with and becoming the arbiter of "truth", etc.

 

[kamkar]

We are paying with our privacy and so in essence our freedom.
At least thats what i think.

 

[Nigel]

You are also paying by buying the products that are advertised by Google related advertising on YouTube, Google Searches, mobile apps, etc. The adverts being targeted based on your interests and life history, including what you have searched for in Google and in YouTube, plus what channels you are subscribed to in YouTube, how many minutes you have spent watching the Linus Dashcam Review, where you live, when you last moved home, when you last had a death/birth/wedding in the family, where your sister went on holiday last year and what holidays she has searched for recently, etc...

Not necessarily a bad thing, in fact accurate targeting of advertising can be very useful to you, possibly saving you a lot of time and money, but there is also the potential to use the information in negative ways, and it is very easy for them to invade your privacy, and very easy for them to control your interests and thus life in certain ways, you maybe don't want that information getting into the hands of a political organisation!

 

[Kremmen]

I'm interested how they are supposed to target advertising because I can't remember ever having seen any adverts directed at me.

How are they delivered ?

 

[Nigel]

I'm interested how they are supposed to target advertising because I can't remember ever having seen any adverts directed at me.

How are they delivered ?

Maybe you have disabled targeted advertising?
Maybe you have blocked Youtube adverts?
Maybe you have paid Youtube to remove adverts?

Normally when you do a google search it has adverts and paid links at the top of the list, for example a search for "Viofo" gives me a list of shops selling Viofo dashcameras, including Amazon and Ebay, followed by the search results. The 1st advert is for Amazon selling the A119 V3, maybe because I've just watched the Linus Youtube video recommending the A119 V3, last time I searched the 1st was for an A229, maybe because I had been watching A229 reviews on Youtube. Normally the targeting is hard to notice, they just advertise things you are interested in, and don't advertise things you aren't interested in, such as dog food. Same goes when watching Youtube; currently watching the BBC Youtube News channel on my TV, results in adverts from the Welsh Government wanting me to contact them for help with increasing my exports; does everyone get that advert, or only people likely to want help with exporting? I don't know the answer, but it would be sensible if it was targeted and that the Welsh Government are not wasting money playing that advert to people who only want to buy dog food! It can easily be targeted but it is not possible to tell.

 

[Kremmen]

Thanks

I do run a couple of ad and tracker blockers plus a browser that also has a built in blocker.

Opera, Privacy Badger and uBlock Origin