Mobius Maxi Support Thread

[SawMaster]

Fair, whay I meant they are not pushing dashcam aggressively.

I would disagree with that perception but that's a topic for elsewhere. It is good to know that Garmin is still in the game

Phil

 

[Dashmellow]

Fair, whay I meant they are not pushing dashcam aggressively.

Who says? Just check out Garmin's presence on Best Buy, Amazon and elsewhere.

 

[Matt_V939]

Who says? Just check out Garmin's presence on Best Buy, Amazon and elsewhere.

OMG, is becoming a flame. I promise, my last OT
https://www.amazon.com/Best-Sellers-Electronics-Car-Dash-Mounted-Cameras/zgbs/electronics/3248689011

Ok, when even a vacuum cleaner can do better than Garmin (and all the others too).
It should be cumbersome to attach it to the windscreen (maybe with vacuum instead of the suction cup), but YI is NO.2 and garmin at 36th place...doesn't look "aggressive" to me....

 

[Dashmellow]

I will keep it short not to bother with too much OT.
- as I wrote, major mfg got out (see garmin and others): WHY?
- which means there is NO margin in that market, and no future too as soon as car mfg will install dashcamera as OEM, it will be wiped out.
- 808 example serve to show how the business model started out (support came from users more than mfg), why after mobius success should they change?
- "millions of sales"(?) doesn't mean profits, which doesn't translate into investment in support and such, when I got my mobius I had also a gopro: compare price/quality of support (also not that great on the latter)
- cctv cameras have a totally different history, they came from expensive and with SECURITY in mind and then trickld down on price.
- if all your consideration prevails, I am starting to wonder why such a big market opportunity (lack of support, lack of quality) is not being exploited by anybody
Where is this big untapped market for reliable Dashcam?

On the other hand, I see the OPPOSITE is happening, VIOFO is letting private individuals semi-officially "hacking" (not really but you got the meaning) -and "improving" their products.
And I think that's great news....

OMG, is becoming a flame. I promise, my last OT
https://www.amazon.com/Best-Sellers-Electronics-Car-Dash-Mounted-Cameras/zgbs/electronics/3248689011

Ok, when even a vacuum cleaner can do better than Garmin (and all the others too).
It should be cumbersome to attach it to the windscreen (maybe with vacuum instead of the suction cup), but YI is NO.2 and garmin at 36th place...doesn't look "aggressive" to me....

808 keychain cameras were a novelty product that became popular with RC enthusiasts who began seeking higher performance until the keychain camera eventually evolved into the Mobius which initially became a “dash cam” because it featured looping. Actual dash cams existed long before novelty keychain cameras came along.

Dash cams actually came about because off the shelf technology from CCTV cameras was cleverly repurposed and reconfigured, such as SoC chips, sensors and M12 lenses that have been standard all along in the industry. And my point about CCTV cameras was that unlike dash cams they are 100% reliable in all conditions running 24/7, built like tanks, use the same basic technology and are currently available in the same precise range as many dash cams.

While the 808 keychain cameras and the Mobius are “enthusiast” cameras that have certainly benefited from the efforts of the people purchasing their products Mobius is the ONLY company that has relied exclusively on private individuals to provide ALL contact with the public including technical support, software and owners manual creation and publishing, web presence for firmware distributions, product introductions, etc., yet the company itself remains entirely behind the curtain. One can speculate about profit margins all one wants but when you are grossing millions in sales over an extended period of years you either have a viable company that can support itself without exploiting the goodwill of it's enthusiastic customers or you don't.

The folks from Mobius including the owner of the company closely monitor this forum as a silent member. Unlike other companies, he chooses to remain silent, never revealing anything, clarifying anything, or answering important common questions. This contrasts sharply with other manufacturers such Jokiin of Street Guardian, Viofo, SJCAM, Rayman Chan (mini- xxx series) and others who have an interactive personal presence here. None of these companies with a personal representative interacting with customers on this forum are contingent upon the margins on the products they sell.

By contrast, Viofo who you cite as an example of a company where people are modifying their firmware (unlike Mobius firmware) is a rapidly growing dash and action camera manufacturer that has a well crafted web site featuring their products including online camera and accessory sales, full contact info including a phone number and email, a blog, a users community forum, a FAQ, a support page and owners manual and firmware downloads, as well as the aforementioned personal presence on the forum.

And why bring up Garmin as an example in commentary in regard to a (pre-Mobius) 2011 post about 808 keychains cameras being toy like and not designed to be robust or easy to use? Garmin offers dash cameras but happens to be a publicly traded multinational company with 1.78 billion dollars in sales that primarily specializes in GPS technology for automotive, aviation, marine, outdoor, and sport activities and also markets a wide range of related consumer products. One simply can't compare Garmin with the typical manufacturer of dash or action cams we've all come to know on this forum. As for posting a page of Amazon best sellers when Garmin dash cams happen to be one of the few corporate mainstream dash cam manufacturers with a retail presence in stores such as Best Buy just seems silly and proves no point in particular.

It is puzzling that you make such a fuss about Garmin which has absolutely nothing to do with and is completely unresponsive to my original post and indeed all these arguments you've raised ignore the primary point I brought up back in my initial post which is that, “I can't think of another category of electronic product, gadget or camera I've ever purchased where flaws and problems are as prevalent as they are in dash cams and where the buyer counts himself lucky if the product that arrives in the mail truly performs as advertised and continues to do so without glitches or failures”.

 

[SawMaster]

When a vacuum cleaner meant for home usage tops out a category labelled as "Best Sellers in Cars On-Dash Mounted Cameras" you should immediately be suspicious.

Phil

 

[Dashmellow]

When a vacuum cleaner meant for home usage tops out a category labelled as "Best Sellers in Cars On-Dash Mounted Cameras" you should immediately be suspicious.

Phil

Gotta' love best seller #9 on list, the Actionpie Dash cam X1LD. Best name ever!

Then again, (back on topic finally, I guess), my girlfriend says that name Maxi makes her think of a certain brand of menstrual pad.

 

[DCTuser9718]

Best thing to do is have a browse through mSetup first and pick and choose the features you want. For a dashcam I would at least set it to start recording when power on and change the power off setting to "immediate" given you have the capacitor version (it won't last long on capacitor power, just enough to safely save and shut down).

As far as video settings go, I personally have mode 1 as 1080p60 and mode 2 as 2.7k30, which is the native resolution. For quality (bitrate), I would go for the second highest setting. It depends on your SD card really - some cards don't work well with the highest setting and smaller capacity (<32GB) cards might fill up too quickly for your liking.

As far as colour/exposure/etc. settings go, I would leave everything default unless you actually have a problem with the video quality.

Enjoy!

Welcome to DCT.

Typically you will have the camera mounted upside-down in the car, so I would suggest setting Rotate Image to Inverted. But if you will also be mounting the camera with the buttons facing upwards on your bike, then perhaps Auto is better for you. There may be a short section at the start of each car recording with upside-down video before orientation sensor kicks in.

I would set loop recording ON, usually 1 or 3 minute clip length. Then go back to the Misc tab and enable the gravity sensor.

Image stabiliser should be OFF.

As suggested by tempviewer12, I would leave the advanced settings at default for now. 1080p60 is a good place to start.

For a bike I would consider getting a handlebar mount like one of these 2 options. Being aluminum it should take some abuse unlike a plastic mount that is more likely to get cracked and fall apart.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/272707536822
https://www.ebay.com/itm/162817146655
Either mount above is only half of the solution. It grabs onto your handlebars (if your handlebars are the right size for the mount) but you need another part to use the mount with a mobius maxi.
These look to be the correct parts. I am not sure if the 1/4" x 20 rod or the locking bolt is included or if you will have to buy another part and a bolt to cut down to size. I am sure a seller can tell you.
Aluminum costs a little more but should not break like plastic.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/283117997962
https://www.ebay.com/itm/192601742128
You could buy this plastic part. After it breaks you could move the threaded part to the aluminum parts shown above.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/322960758517

Thank you all for the welcome and great advice! I used it yesterday for the first time with out-of-box settings using the included suction mount and 12v to 5v plug. Completed proper setup today.

Initial setup experience:
I had a little trouble getting a Windows 10 computer to recognize the Maxi, but pressing the shutter button after connecting did the trick. (Maybe this was a step I missed.) The light turned red and put it into memory card mode. At that point, mSetup recognized the device and recommended a firmware upgrade. The upgrade went fine, and once the camera restarted, I tapped the shutter button to get it recognized again and removed the memory card to go into webcam mode.

Settings as recommended:
- Start recording power on
- Power off immediate
- Mode 1 1080p60
- Mode 2 2.7k30 (128gb Samsung Pro Endurance so should be fine)
- Rotate image to auto
- Loop recording on
- 3 minute clip length
- Gravity sensor to medium (Biking is triggering this, may try low)

Next steps:
- Hardwire to powered rear-view mirror (purchased, need to add some header pins to insert into plug)
- Find discrete car mount (magnetic maybe for quick switching to bike)
- Explore recommended bike mounts (have the generic Mobius mount at the moment)

Any thoughts on the hissing at 00:18? My theory is the pull from my bike battery is causing it.

Originally recorded at 2.7k30, Vimeo compresses. Where do you typically upload your videos?
The car at the beginning either ran red or squeezed yellow

 

[jokiin]

OMG, is becoming a flame. I promise, my last OT
https://www.amazon.com/Best-Sellers-Electronics-Car-Dash-Mounted-Cameras/zgbs/electronics/3248689011

Ok, when even a vacuum cleaner can do better than Garmin (and all the others too).
It should be cumbersome to attach it to the windscreen (maybe with vacuum instead of the suction cup), but YI is NO.2 and garmin at 36th place...doesn't look "aggressive" to me....

Garmin is primarily sold in offline retail channels, they have quite a large market share without having to compete with $40 no name cameras on Amazon

 

[jokiin]

Dash cams actually came about because off the shelf technology from CCTV cameras was cleverly repurposed and reconfigured, such as SoC chips, sensors and M12 lenses that have been standard all along in the industry. And my point about CCTV cameras was that unlike dash cams they are 100% reliable in all conditions running 24/7, built like tanks, use the same basic technology and are currently available in the same precise range as many dash cams.
.

the first dashcams evolved out of the digital video camera solutions rather than CCTV solutions, the generic digital still camera and digital video camera market stopped almost as quickly as it started once cameras in mobile phones became a thing, the first mod for car use was the addition of a G-Sensor, even today a lot of the solutions still have remnants of the DSC and DVC functions buried in their SDK's that are unused

 

[Dashmellow]

Garmin is primarily sold in offline retail channels, they have quite a large market share without having to compete with $40 no name cameras on Amazon

That was what I meant when I mentioned that Best Buy carries Garmin products including dash cam as they are primarily a brick and morter national big box electronics chain that also has a popular web presence. The do just fine thank you without having to rely on Amazon.

 

[Dashmellow]

the first dashcams evolved out of the digital video camera solutions rather than CCTV solutions, the generic digital still camera and digital video camera market stopped almost as quickly as it started once cameras in mobile phones became a thing, the first mod for car use was the addition of a G-Sensor, even today a lot of the solutions still have remnants of the DSC and DVC functions buried in their SDK's that are unused

What I was basically referring to is that dash cams adopted M12 lenses directly from CCTV cameras, along with certain sensors and even DSPs from back in the day. Digital still and digital video cameras did not use M12 lenses. That's still the case actually. Current dash cam Exmor R and Starvis sensors for example are used in today's CCTV cameras as are M12 lenses.

 

[jokiin]

What I was basically referring to is that dash cams adopted M12 lenses directly from CCTV cameras, along with certain sensors and even DSPs from back in the day. Digital still and digital video cameras did not use M12 lenses. That's still the case actually. Current dash cam Exmor R and Starvis sensors for example are used in today's CCTV cameras as are M12 lenses.

the lens and sensor is only part of the solution, that camera later (CCTV type product), the first dashcams were basically just DVC solutions in a different chassis

 

[Dashmellow]

the lens and sensor is only part of the solution, that camera later (CCTV type product), the first dashcams were basically just DVC solutions in a different chassis

I think various things came together to create what we now know as dash cams. In my view, dash cams and action cams were basically "invented" initially by cleverly bringing together available off the shelf parts in a new way. A little bit CCTV camera, a little bit DVC camera, etc., all in a new chassis with dedicated firmware. I think of the Flip which was a seminal DVC example in its day. As far as I know it used off the shelf M12 lenses.

 

[jokiin]

they've developed quite a long way since the early versions, first one I saw was I think in 2003 or 2004 from a Korean company and was very poor by current standards, even a $20 no name Chinese camera would give better results than something that was 20 times the price back then, for sure some of the progress has come out of related products, it's still early days in a lot of ways though I think, a lot more room left for improvement

 

[Dashmellow]

they've developed quite a long way since the early versions, first one I saw was I think in 2003 or 2004 from a Korean company and was very poor by current standards, even a $20 no name Chinese camera would give better results than something that was 20 times the price back then, for sure some of the progress has come out of related products, it's still early days in a lot of ways though I think, a lot more room left for improvement

Yeah, the Flip camera was originally 640 x 480. Only later did it make it to 1280 x 720 with H.264 compression that they called "UltraHD". Thinking further about the different components that came together to create dash cams and action cams I see your point about DVC in that they had some form of on-board memory that CCTV cams didn't even if they used S lenses that came from CCTV cams.

 

[country_hick]

I had a little trouble getting a Windows 10 computer to recognize the Maxi, but pressing the shutter button after connecting did the trick. (Maybe this was a step I missed.)

That is a required step. As I recall one member said by removing the micro-sd card before connecting the mobius maxi to a computer that button press would not be required.
Now I simply click on that button without an issue. I got used to that requirement easily and quickly.

EDIT: I would guess the noise in your video came from vibration after you reached a certain speed and bump factor.
I could hear something rattling a little bit at a much slower rate before it became so loud and obvious.
Those sidewalks are not perfectly smooth. What part is vibrating (buttons on the maxi, the mount, or something else) you will have to figure out.

 

[jokiin]

Yeah, the Flip camera was originally 640 x 480. Only later did it make it to 1280 x 720 with H.264 compression that they called "UltraHD". Thinking further about the different components that came together to create dash cams and action cams I see your point about DVC in that they had some form of on-board memory that CCTV cams didn't even if they used S lenses that came from CCTV cams.

those early dashcams were likely 640 x 480 as well, I don't really remember, I do remember they were crap, was way too early

 

[Dashmellow]

those early dashcams were likely 640 x 480 as well, I don't really remember, I do remember they were crap, was way too early

It feels like it wasn't really until the Novatek NT96650 processor and the Aptina AR0330 CMOS that dash cams started to come into their own. Daytime video was decent enough if you had 1080p if a little blocky sometimes but night video was completely useless. I remember seeing a grainy pool of light directly in front of my high beams a few yards out and virtually nothing else. That was a dash cam with an older Novatek sensor of unknown designation and an unidentified sensor.

 

[jokiin]

The Ambarella A2 was probably the first stable solution, it was released in 2007 but I think it was probably around 2012 before it was actually working well enough for western markets, the Novatek 96650 with AR0330 that came along a little later was a massive leap in comparison when it came to video performance

 

[country_hick]

There has been mentioned from time to time a desire to have your cams run for x amount of time after the car is shut off.
Some timers may use some electricity even when not working thus drawing your battery down.

I found what looks like a great solution for those who only want to run cams for up to one hour after shutting the car down. This should draw zero energy once shutdown is finished.
Put this relay in line with your fuse tap power wires. One wire being powered always and the other wire has power only when the key is turned on. You will use 0-60 minutes of electricity and no more.
H3Y-2 DC 12V Delay Timer Time Relay 0 - 60 Minute with Base
https://www.ebay.com/itm/162008677186


If more time is desired this should allow enough time recording to drain the largest car battery. I would be concerned that the electronics involved would always use electricity.
DC 12V 20A 1500W Timing Timer Digital Display Time Delay Cycling Module 0-999h
https://www.ebay.com/itm/273257799279