Mobius 2 Action/Dash Cam support thread

[richcam]

I'll be very interested to see your M2 vs M1 comparison for UK number plates.

Regarding your settings, have you tried 1080p60 instead of 1080p30? Are you using it with battery or capacitor?

Sorry for the delay, I'm made a small aluminium 'U' bracket to mount the M1 onto the windscreen and am now awaiting delivery of a 2nd cable from Amazon to power it.

Having reviewed some video footage recorded using the Mobius M2 I note that in normal daylight that number-plates of oncoming vehicles are mostly sharp and easy to read, but in lower light or at night-time they tend to be blurred. Is something which I'm aware of when using dash cams and I doubt will be overcome for quite some time. Never say never!

I've not tried the M2 at 1080p 60 as yet because the file size for a 3 minute file at 1920 x 1080 at 30fps is already rather large at approx 660MB so I dread to think what it would be when recorded at 60 frames per second.

The M2 I ordered is fitted with a battery. I did request an additional super capacitor on my order but they obviously missed that one!

One option that I have noticed is missing is 'Motion Detect' which I hope will be added in a future firmware update.

And talking of firmware updates, I used to use MobiusManagerV2 for the Apple Mac for the Mobius 1, might it be updated for the Mobius 2?

In the meantime I manually edit the config file in the TextEdit app for the Mac, though have to remember to update the time settings at the end to ensure the time is right before transferring the file to the Mobius.

 

[jokiin]

I've not tried the M2 at 1080p 60 as yet because the file size for a 3 minute file at 1920 x 1080 at 30fps is already rather large at approx 660MB so I dread to think what it would be when recorded at 60 frames per second.
.

bitrate determines file size rather than frame rate

 

[richcam]

bitrate determines file size rather than frame rate

Cheers jokiin, I've checked several of the video files recorded using the Mobius M2 and noted that the bitrate was approx 30,000 at 1920 x 1080, so will change to 60 frames per second to see if that improves the quality. Have noticed in the past that higher bitrates tend to improve the quality of the footage especially when trees and foliage are involved, far less blocky.

 

[TonyM]

bitrate determines file size rather than frame rate

Would I be correct in saying that 1080p30@30Mbps and 1080p60@30Mbps will produce the same file size for 1 minute of footage, however the 1080p60 image quality 'might' be leower due to the additional compression required to squeeze in twice as many frames for the same bitrate? Put another way, 1080p30@30Mbps and 1080p60@60Mbps should have the same image quality?

 

[jokiin]

There's no extra compression, if you have a mobius 1 try 5fps versus 30fps and you'll find file size to be the same, the longer exposure time of the lower frame rate may offer advantages in some scenarios like a static scene but the higher frame rate will look better when there's motion

It's not like some cameras that offer things like 1fps or time lapse parking mode, they are doing things differently and can create smaller files

 

[TonyM]

Think I need to go away and think about this for a while

 

[richcam]

bitrate determines file size rather than frame rate

Just checked a 3 minute video clip recorded using the Mobius M2 at 1920 x 1080 at 60fps using h264 compression and it's over 940MB, the file format is MP4, interestingly the bitrate has shot up to over 42,000, I've been unable to play the clip because the footage is too jerky on my iMac which I assume is down to the old processor in it and a mere 4GB RAM, I also tried playing it on my newer MacBook Pro but encountered the same problem, this despite the fact that it has 16GB of DDR3 RAM installed.

In both instances I tried playing the video file straight from the SD card, then copied the file to the desktop to see if it was the SD card causing the issue. I'm using the VLC Media Player for Mac which is normally pretty good at dealing with video files but unfortunately not on this occasion. Looks like I will have to revert back to 30fps.

Does anyone know of any further adjustments that can be made in VLC to reduce the load on the processor?

 

[Yooshaw]

Why not adjust the bitrate to something lower? I don't have a Mobius 2, but I thought there were various quality settings you can make?

Or, why not try H265? Supposedly 21Kbs H265 would be equivalent quality of 42Kbs H264, and would be about half the file size. Supposedly...

 

[richcam]

Why not adjust the bitrate to something lower? I don't have a Mobius 2, but I thought there were various quality settings you can make?

Or, why not try H265? Supposedly 21Kbs H265 would be equivalent quality of 42Kbs H264, and would be about half the file size. Supposedly...

Thanks for the tips, I hadn't thought of that!

I wasn't expecting the bitrate to change because all I altered was the fps from 30 to 60 to see what would happen. It is possible to adjust the quality which is currently set to 'Highest' so it looks like I will be changing it to 'Higher', 'High' or 'Standard'. Will be interesting to see the improvements made in video quality as the firmware improves over the next few months/years.

I've already tried using H265 compression but is caused grief with playback, can only assume the poor old processor in the iMac was struggling because when there is little motion everything looks good. Like you say, perhaps reducing the quality setting may help in this matter, will have to do some more experimenting!

I'm really not too sure as to what advantages there are to recording at 60fps if I then go and reduce the bitrate. Most important thing to me is improved low light performance and the ability to read number-plates of oncoming vehicles at speed.

Have to say that the recording time isn't that great if it's eating nearly 1GB per 3 minutes of recording time even when using a 128GB SD card.

Ought to mention that in the movie frame rate settings is 'WDR30 (only for 1080p)', not too sure what that does so will have to give it a try.

Have enclosed a screenshot taken from a few days ago when the Mobius 2 was set at 30fps to give you some idea of the changes to the settings that can be made from default, all easily made using a text editor if you have a Mac, or use the GUI app for PC if you prefer.

 

[kamkar]

I have no issues with H.265, but to post it on youtube i will have to put it thru movie maker and that also change it to 30 FPS.

I think i will have to ask santa for some new editing software, and then hope i have been a good boy and santa cant read minds.
Cuz if santa can read minds or the religions that advocate reincarnation is right, then my next life will be a miserable one as a dung beetle, and there will be no presents for me.

 

[TonyM]

I wasn't expecting the bitrate to change because all I altered was the fps from 30 to 60 to see what would happen. I'm really not too sure as to what advantages there are to recording at 60fps if I then go and reduce the bitrate. Most important thing to me is improved low light performance and the ability to read number-plates of oncoming vehicles at speed.

One possible benefit of recording at 60fps is you're forcing the camera to use an exposure time of no more than 1/60s, which may give sharper results in moving traffic than allowing the camera to go down to 1/30s for 30fps. Unless the camera records at 1/30s and writes double frames to make 60fps, but I don't think the M2 does that.

 

[jokiin]

day time smoother video, night time more motion blur, that why most will drop to 30fps or frame double in low light situations

 

[TonyM]

The M2 I ordered is fitted with a battery. I did request an additional super capacitor on my order but they obviously missed that one!

Did you pay extra for the capacitor but not get one? When I asked the seller they said they had them, even though I could not find one in their eBay shop.

 

[Yooshaw]

Thanks for the tips, I hadn't thought of that!

I wasn't expecting the bitrate to change because all I altered was the fps from 30 to 60 to see what would happen. It is possible to adjust the quality which is currently set to 'Highest' so it looks like I will be changing it to 'Higher', 'High' or 'Standard'. Will be interesting to see the improvements made in video quality as the firmware improves over the next few months/years.

I've already tried using H265 compression but is caused grief with playback, can only assume the poor old processor in the iMac was struggling because when there is little motion everything looks good. Like you say, perhaps reducing the quality setting may help in this matter, will have to do some more experimenting!

I'm really not too sure as to what advantages there are to recording at 60fps if I then go and reduce the bitrate. Most important thing to me is improved low light performance and the ability to read number-plates of oncoming vehicles at speed.

Have to say that the recording time isn't that great if it's eating nearly 1GB per 3 minutes of recording time even when using a 128GB SD card.

Ought to mention that in the movie frame rate settings is 'WDR30 (only for 1080p)', not too sure what that does so will have to give it a try.

Have enclosed a screenshot taken from a few days ago when the Mobius 2 was set at 30fps to give you some idea of the changes to the settings that can be made from default, all easily made using a text editor if you have a Mac, or use the GUI app for PC if you prefer.

I don't have a Mac, but when I tried to play a 60FPS Mobius 2 H.265 file on my PC with VLC, it was terrible - really garbled and playback stuttered BADLY. I switched to a different player (PotPlayer, supposedly optimized for H265), it played smooth as butter, with less than 50% CPU usage. And my PC is almost 10 years old now.

 

[TonyM]

I think it's worth bearing in mind that we use dashcams to record evidence in case of an unfortunate event. That evidence is no good if the police / lawyer / whoever else doesn't have PotPlayer to view the video. If they try Windows media player or VLC they might deduce that the evidence is corrupt and not admissible in a legal dispute.

 

[Yooshaw]

Ok, but Pot Player is free and took me less than 5 min to install. But agree it may be problematic if trying to show an officer on the scene if your phone or other device cannot readily play the file. Hopefully playback support for H265 increases across all platforms.

 

[RippleTheRippler]

I think it's worth bearing in mind that we use dashcams to record evidence in case of an unfortunate event. That evidence is no good if the police / lawyer / whoever else doesn't have PotPlayer to view the video. If they try Windows media player or VLC they might deduce that the evidence is corrupt and not admissible in a legal dispute.

That won't be much of an issue. A lot of security systems require specialized software for viewing the videos, and these are admissible in court.

 

[kamkar]

Here i would never have to provide any footage at the scene of a crash, but knowing how the general public Denmark is operating i assume the cops will be on old & overpriced Apple equipment, and obsolete software ( it take a cop 45 minutes to open a criminal case on a computer here )
So best to provide them with something simple.

YES ! they did try to make new software for the police here, cost us tax payers 500 millions DKkr, and the cops are still on the old system and the new stuff just got deleted and thrown out.

Kinda hard to make new software for the police when they wont tell what they want it to be able to do, as it was the case here

 

[Dashmellow]

That won't be much of an issue. A lot of security systems require specialized software for viewing the videos, and these are admissible in court.

I disagree. Admissibility in court is only a small part of the equation. Trust me, I've been in the trenches with this in a complex criminal matter that involved CCTV and dash cam footage that was required to be viewed by State Police, prosecutors, attorneys and court personnel. The last thing you want to do in a legal (or insurance) matter of any kind is to create obstacles or difficulties in viewing evidence you've submitted to support your case. You want the whole process to flow as smoothly as possible, especially because video evidence is often handed off or copied for review by different parties, some of whom may only have basic media playing ability (or knowledge and skills) available to them on their office PC. Expect that many people who will be handling your matter have different types (PC, laptop, OS version, etc.) and different vintage computers with different software and different capabilities. It is best to supply video in a common format that will easily work for everyone.

 

[RippleTheRippler]

I disagree. Admissibility in court is only a small part of the equation. Trust me, I've been in the trenches with this in a complex criminal matter that involved CCTV and dash cam footage that was required to be viewed by State Police, prosecutors, attorneys and court personnel. The last thing you want to do in a legal (or insurance) matter of any kind is to create obstacles or difficulties in viewing evidence you've submitted to support your case. You want the whole process to flow as smoothly as possible, especially because video evidence is often handed off or copied for review by different parties, some of whom may only have basic media playing ability (or knowledge and skills) available to them on their office PC. Expect that many people who will be handling your matter have different types (PC, laptop, OS version, etc.) and different vintage computers with different software and different capabilities. It is best to supply video in a common format that will easily work for everyone.

I suppose it really depends on where you are. Here, it would be no issue. I know for a fact of certain cases and the security systems used can only use specialized software for viewing. Again, depends on your area...