I am new to Forums and YouTube so I'm not quite sure how they work. Please tell me if I'm breaking the etiquette or need to be in another "thread".
I need to replace an old dash cam which no longer works properly (and anyway I have treated myself to a new posh car for my retirement so want to get a commensurate quality dash cam, he-he!). My old dash cam was 1080p Full HD and very cheap (what I call a "Shanghai-Special" and no more than £40 (= $40, effectively)).
Unless advised otherwise by you good people, I think I want the following spec@.:
I have obviously read innumerable reviews and looked at many sample videos, both from suppliers' websites and YouTube, but I am astonished by how poor the quality of all of them is when compared to the video I get from my old dash cam. I cannot understand it. There must be something I am not understanding? I believe that video quality is degraded by compressing the video which is done to achieve a greater time-capacity for a given memory card size and to get a higher nominal frame rate (but I am prepared to buy bigger cards). Do I need a supersmooth 30 fps?
* Isn't the point that I am not wanting three hour records of my journey through some astounding landscape saved for posterity in hi-fi cinema-quality. Rather I am wanting records of events that were either detected automatically or flagged by me (pressing a button) along with a little context (events leading up to and following, and location and speed information). I frankly don't worry about true colour rendition, perfect contrast and absence of barrel-distortion, etc.: only inasmuch as they detract from my ability to identify and analyse what was happening. Importantly I think I need to know:
When judging video quality quickly I am using the criterion of the ease of reading car registration numbers on selected frozen frames around the event. By this judgement, why can't I find a new dash cam which has as good quality as my old one, while having the features I mentioned in my own "spec." above@)?
NOTE: I realised that the comparison I was making may have been false inasmuch as I was viewing my own videos direct on my computer but viewing comparisons by excerpts which had been uploaded and downloaded from the internet, possible suffering deterioration. To test this I have uploaded a sample of my own video to YouTube and compared THIS, when viewed back, as it were. There was no apparent deterioration of video quality. You can see that sample at YouTube, titled “Car Journey from Sainsbury’s to Lidl” (you see I lead a simple life!) and my YouTube id is “Bobandmalc Harborough”. (I expect there is a simpler way of identifying a YouTube entry, but I haven’t found it yet.) (Quality is not adversely affected by my viewing resolution; I can view at up to 3840 x 2160 pxs.)
I'm sure some of you will be able to put me right if my thinking is wrong? Has anyone got some recommendations, please? Price relatively unimportant; I'm even prepared to buy two separate dash cams for front and rear if that's what I have to resort to get good quality.
Regards and thanks to all who can help,
Malcolm, (United Kingdom).
I need to replace an old dash cam which no longer works properly (and anyway I have treated myself to a new posh car for my retirement so want to get a commensurate quality dash cam, he-he!). My old dash cam was 1080p Full HD and very cheap (what I call a "Shanghai-Special" and no more than £40 (= $40, effectively)).
Unless advised otherwise by you good people, I think I want the following spec@.:
dual dash cam,
display,
at least 1080p front and rear,
g-sensor,
GPS,
capacitor powered,
motion detection,
parking mode,
CPL & UV option,
(Wi-Fi optional no need for LDWS FCW).
display,
at least 1080p front and rear,
g-sensor,
GPS,
capacitor powered,
motion detection,
parking mode,
CPL & UV option,
(Wi-Fi optional no need for LDWS FCW).
I have obviously read innumerable reviews and looked at many sample videos, both from suppliers' websites and YouTube, but I am astonished by how poor the quality of all of them is when compared to the video I get from my old dash cam. I cannot understand it. There must be something I am not understanding? I believe that video quality is degraded by compressing the video which is done to achieve a greater time-capacity for a given memory card size and to get a higher nominal frame rate (but I am prepared to buy bigger cards). Do I need a supersmooth 30 fps?
* Isn't the point that I am not wanting three hour records of my journey through some astounding landscape saved for posterity in hi-fi cinema-quality. Rather I am wanting records of events that were either detected automatically or flagged by me (pressing a button) along with a little context (events leading up to and following, and location and speed information). I frankly don't worry about true colour rendition, perfect contrast and absence of barrel-distortion, etc.: only inasmuch as they detract from my ability to identify and analyse what was happening. Importantly I think I need to know:
The local conditions, weather and state of road
The make and model of vehicles involved,
Registration numbers of vehicles,
Positions and movements of vehicles,
Behavior of pedestrians and drivers,
Help to identify people, (clothing, features).
The make and model of vehicles involved,
Registration numbers of vehicles,
Positions and movements of vehicles,
Behavior of pedestrians and drivers,
Help to identify people, (clothing, features).
When judging video quality quickly I am using the criterion of the ease of reading car registration numbers on selected frozen frames around the event. By this judgement, why can't I find a new dash cam which has as good quality as my old one, while having the features I mentioned in my own "spec." above@)?
NOTE: I realised that the comparison I was making may have been false inasmuch as I was viewing my own videos direct on my computer but viewing comparisons by excerpts which had been uploaded and downloaded from the internet, possible suffering deterioration. To test this I have uploaded a sample of my own video to YouTube and compared THIS, when viewed back, as it were. There was no apparent deterioration of video quality. You can see that sample at YouTube, titled “Car Journey from Sainsbury’s to Lidl” (you see I lead a simple life!) and my YouTube id is “Bobandmalc Harborough”. (I expect there is a simpler way of identifying a YouTube entry, but I haven’t found it yet.) (Quality is not adversely affected by my viewing resolution; I can view at up to 3840 x 2160 pxs.)
I'm sure some of you will be able to put me right if my thinking is wrong? Has anyone got some recommendations, please? Price relatively unimportant; I'm even prepared to buy two separate dash cams for front and rear if that's what I have to resort to get good quality.
Regards and thanks to all who can help,
Malcolm, (United Kingdom).