Mobius ActionCam Wishlist 2015

From what I read on Tom Frank's RC group is Mobius 2 will be slightly larger by 1-2 mm, H265 and 1080p-60 fps. video. and is in final testing and will be release soon. (in weeks)
 
Do windows movie maker even support H265 ?
 
kamkar1, well not a problem.

If you look at the current chips out there, even the cheap ones, all can do 1080p 60fps, so regardless of what chip they use in the mobius2 it
will still be a great upgrade. Unless they where to use a old chip, but I think that could be hard to find, and what would be the point of using
real old hardware ?

Some of them even have h264 or h265, so you get both, and you can select which one you want, also most seem to have digital image stabilization
and that can be great if you need it. Plus they can handle a lot higher bit rates too. The real beauty of the mobius was how easy you could do
modifications to it, so it would fit your specific needs. Change sensor and lens to something else. Install a better microphone, or use external
one and so on.

If you where to change anything on the new mobius2 it would be adding connectors to the IC-board (like the ribbon connector holding the lens)
so you could use HDMI-out, a speaker out connector, a microphone in-connector, extra battery connector. Small things that are cheap to add and then the mobius2 would have even more options on how you can use it.

But if it is just a few weeks away from release I think the hardware is all but done and they will not change anything, but adding extra connectors is easy and cheap. Or the option to have a ribbon connector for a daughter board with lots of extras on it. But that will probably not happen.

Anyone have their hands on a beta or test product ?
 
I keep hoping for WiFi _AND_ a cell phone App that allows us to look at and download the videos on the camera. In the event of an accident it would be nice to be able to show the police a replay of the video.
 
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showpost.php?p=32656429&postcount=16799

Mobius 2 - a brief look into the near future
With 1080p-60fps action cameras starting to show up in the marketplace, the developer has agreed to a brief status update on the M2 development here. So here's what I can tell you:

1. The M2 will obviously be capable of 1080p-60 fps as well as 720p-120 fps. Other resolutions have not been determined yet, but the M2 is NOT chasing the 2K/4K market, so don't expect it.. The goal is superior image quality at the resolutions and frame rates mentioned above.

2. Other goals are improved low light ability and better dynamic range. The imaging hardware in the M2 will be different from the Mobius of necessity, but no details on specs are being released other than it will NOT use an Ambarella DSP chip for many reasons I won't go into. I expect improvements will be more incremental than earth shattering. Improved sound capture hardware has also been incorporated.

3. The M2 design has been refined for about a 30% decrease in power consumption compared to other 1080p-60fps action cameras on the market. This means the battery size can be smaller and still give good recording times with diminished heat problems. The result is a form factor that is similar to and very close in size/weight to the Mobius, with three buttons controlling functions moved to one side of the case.

4. Needless to say excellent image quality in the Mobius tradition can be expected. Some functions will be added in stages via FW updates as they did with the original Mobius, but from what I've seen in the prototype cameras, the initial FW at release time looks like it will have a rich set of the more important basic user functions.

5. No release date or cost information is being given. If I have any further information on this, I will post it here, so asking for an update before then won't yield any new information
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6. The M2 will give the user a choice of using h.264 (a.k.a. AVC) or the new h.265 (a.k.a. HEVC) video codec. So what, some may ask? This new codec will be the de facto standard for HD content in short order, replacing h.264, because it has the ability to produce video with a similar quality to h.264 compression with nominally 1/2 the data rate, OR better quality with a similar file size. For M2 users, the main benefits from this I see are:
  • Files can be 1/2 as large, essentially doubling the recording time you can save on a given memory card, or cutting in half the capacity of the memory card you may need.
  • The camera will be able to write the streaming video output to the memory card faster with less power consumption.
  • Files for a given recording can be read off the memory card and transferred to external storage about twice as fast.

The ability to produce higher quality with the same file size is also dependent on the resolving power of the lens optics, the pixel size of the camera CMOS array, and the pixel size of the monitor used for viewing the video. These will be limiting factors with the M2 since it is focusing on 1080p video and not higher resolution 2K/4K video.

Of course, your video player and editing software will need to be able to decode the h.265 content (and also encode with that codec if you want to do heavy editing while keeping the small file size). Already the latest VLC, WMP, and MPC-HC (free and recommended) players can play most h.265 (a.k.a. HEVC) videos. And there are downloadable filters for earlier Window video software that allow processing of HEVC content. Video editors (even some commercial ones) have some catching up to do to support HEVC editing. The latest WMM handles HEVC input files nicely. The latest AviDemux free open source editor does also.. This is leading edge stuff, and will take a little time to be widely incorporated, but the M2 will be ready for it.

If you want to see what the HEVC codec can do with one of your h.264 encoded Mobius videos, download the free Handbrake video converter and re-encode your original with h.265 output codec set for an average data rate 1/2 of it's native data rate! I cannot tell any visual difference when I did this, other than the file size dropped from 366 MB down to 180MB! Rather amazing if you ask me!
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Last edited by Tom Frank; Mar 19, 2016 at 09:21 AM. Reason: minor updates in blue
 
country_hick, ok that is nice.

I have not issues with the new mobius not having 4k or 2k video. A great sensor, super sharp lens and 1080p 60fps could be better or equal to a 2k or 4k video. Just because you can record 4k or 2k video does not mean that the quality is any good. You always have the whole chain to thing about, from what you are capturing to the finished product, the video file on the MicroSD card. It is great that they say there will be better sound, and I think there will be image stabilization as most chips do have this now.

having h264 or h265 is nice, but then new HEVC will not make that big of a difference, smaller file size, probably but as long as there is support for 128Gb cards (or larger) I do not think h265 is a must, unless you get it for cheap with a new chip anyway. As I take it the new mobius will be using some sort of cheap chip, and not ambarella and the more expensive chips.

One thing I think they should work on, and I touched on this before is the ability to shift the lens (with sensor) 90 (both left and right) or 180 degrees and have it in some sort of seating or something that fixes the lens. Real nice to just move the lens and sensor if you want to use the mobius in a 90 degree position. Or upside down as not all sensors support the ability to flip the image.

The .txt file should be worked on so that it is more easy to change settings on the fly with a mobile phone, by downloading, changing and uploading the file. It must be easy to read and have all the information you need about each setting, that way you do not need a manual or if you forget something, the information is there if you need it.

--------------------------------------

BobDiaz, no wifi is not a problem, all you need is a USB cable (you can keep in the car), just connect it to your phone and then the mobius, transfer files with
a app you like to your phone and you can play it back with, say VLC. Wifi is nice, but adds costs to the product, not to say other problems with having specific
apps they need to work on to fix things.

It is always better to keep it simple. And with the mobius, they do not want to have a LCD screen, wifi and stuff like that. It is not their market anyway, that is why
I thought that the new mobius will be more of a hardware upgrade, not so much a new product. Focus on what you are good at and what the markets wants. If you
need a action cam, well then you might prefer a gopro or similar.
 
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DennisOlof, With all due respect your answer leaves me in the dark. I've never heard of a mini-USB to micro-USB cable to connect two devices like that. Where does the +5 volts come from, because my phone isn't going to supply it and the super-capacitor in the Mobius isn't going to have enough power? I'd build my own cable with a +5 volt supply, but what's the name of this Android App that makes my Moto E act like a computer for file transfers?

WiFi for file transfer isn't that difficult because there are several quad-copters that make use of it to transfer and play back files. The Mobius is great because of the small size, BUT if I'm in an accident, there's just no way to show the police the replay of what happened. The cost of adding WiFi can't be that much because the Raspberry Pi 3 added WiFi and the cost is still the same $35.
 
OTG (on the go) cables would let you connect your phone to the Mobius and your phone would power it as well. It's what the Android setup app uses.

Basically you would get an OTG microUSB male to USB A female and then you could use a standard Mobius mini USB male to USB A male cable.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/B005GGBYJ4https://www.amazon.com/gp/B00GM0OZ4O
 
Ah right ok not so sure - I assumed the phone would supply power either way but I've got to admit I only tried it on the battery version!
 
I did just find an older post saying the capacitor cams work with an OTG Y power cable so that you've got more power supplied :)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/B00CXAC1ZW
So it's Mobius into the female A socket, micro USB male into the phone and then a micro USB power cable int the micro USB female connector - maybe it would work without but for that price you can try both ways :)
 
BobDiaz, if the chip they are using has build in wifi, they will probably include that function to. If not, I do not see them putting a specific wifi chip
in the camera just to have wifi. Yes might be confusing but remember they are creating a product a majority of people want, if they do not have
the need for wifi and it is not something a lot of users are asking for.

Why should they include it, makes no business sense, and the more functions you have in a SOC the higher the cost is for each chip.

Besides, having a app to maintain and other things, it all adds up to more costs in the log run. I have always seen the mobius as a
great tiny camera that has focused on maintaining best possible quality for the lowest price possible. But I could be wrong of course,
you would have to ask the mobius team (or developers) if they are going to put wifi in the camera.
 
I would think that for the RC people, being able to play back or download a video you just shot would be a feature that RC people would want.

For the Dash Cam people, being able to do the same would be an important feature too, especially after the accident and I need to show the police what just happened.

... OK, that's my 2 cents on the subject. I can only hope that the development team sees it that way.
 
I think its fair to call me RC ppl or at least one of them, and i or any of the ppl i know have never had the need to review footage on site.
That have allways been somthing for when we got home, on the spot its more a matter of keeping our things going on land - sea or in the air.
 
BobDiza, well as I said, wifi is mostly built into new chips, and most "system on chips" have so much more included from the start than they used to,
so I do believe that wifi will be a part of the new mobius. The question is if they will select a chip that is cheaper and has a lot of stuff missing, and only
focuses on the essentials. It will probably depend a lot on the price of the new chips. As long as it is more or less the same as the current mobius I think
they will select a chip that has wifi and some other nice features. But who knows, time till tell.

What I am wondering about, is there a time frame for the mobius2 ?
When is it coming out, I do hope it is during 2016 ?

It would be nice if we could get some information out from the mobius team. I have no problem with buggy firmware and updates
like that. I want to know that they ARE working on a new mobius. I am in need of a dash cam for my car and the mobius is the best
in terms of having the ability to hide it away, most other dash cams do not have that option. So I would rather wait for a mobius2
than buying a current mobius.
 
country_hick, nice.

At least I know that we will have the M2 before we reach September, good enough for me. So nice, looking forward to installing this as a permanent
dashcam in my vehicle.
 
As the lighting is less, we know that the shutter speed must be longer. It would be an interesting and useful option to allow the user to select to slowest shutter speed allowed. For example:

( ) 1/30. ( ) 1/60. ( ) 1/120.

In this case the 1/30 allows for better low light performance, but will suffers from the most motion blur. The 1/120 would have the least motion blur, but would sacrifice low light performance. Because allowing the user to select this would mean that the user can decide which is the most important parameter to them.
 
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