Newbie Questions

[Leprechaun93]

Just got my DVR-207 today from china from the ebay seller estore009. I have 2 questions, one, the cigarette lighter in my car is always on, aside from hard wiring the device or unplugging it all the time, is there another solution? Also, right now I have a class 4, 4gb SD card as that's the only spare I had, whats a reccomeded size for recording 720p at 30 fps? Thanks

 

[Chris]

Just got my DVR-207 today from china from the ebay seller estore009. I have 2 questions, one, the cigarette lighter in my car is always on, aside from hard wiring the device or unplugging it all the time, is there another solution? Also, right now I have a class 4, 4gb SD card as that's the only spare I had, whats a reccomeded size for recording 720p at 30 fps? Thanks

I don't know any solutions other than the two you mentioned for the always on problem. Otherwise, the size of SD card you get depends on what your personal needs are. For only videos of accidents, you don't need more than a couple gigabytes. For roadtrip videos or parking mode, you'll want the largest compatible memory card (32GB for the DVR). You can use the recording time calculator here on dashcamtalk.com to see what size memory will hold what amount of video. The DVR uses a bit rate of about 15 Mbps for 720p and 30fps. 32GB will hold about 5 hours of 720p video at 30fps.

However, it is very important that you use a class 10 SD card (with write speeds of at least 15MB/s) if you want to record in 720p at 30fps. Otherwise, you will have a lot of serious problems with the camera. Furthermore, do not use memory cards larger than 32GB for the DVR; that will also cause serious problems.

I recommend this SD card, I use it in my DVR-207GS: http://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Extreme-Class-Memory-SDSDX-032G-AFFP/dp/B007M54E1M/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1377553213&sr=8-4&keywords=sandisk+extreme+32gb

 

[Leprechaun93]

Thanks for the info. What would be the best way to hard wire it? Since my car only has 1 power outlet, i think that'll be the best way to go. I'll have to pick up a better SD card in the next few days. One other issue i noticed while driving, it has the tendency to adjust the light output based on the sky rather than the road. My hood is in the bottom part of the camera so i don't really want to aim it too much lower, but im guessing that would be the best solution to get it to adjust the light for the road?

 

[Chris]

Thanks for the info. What would be the best way to hard wire it? Since my car only has 1 power outlet, i think that'll be the best way to go. I'll have to pick up a better SD card in the next few days. One other issue i noticed while driving, it has the tendency to adjust the light output based on the sky rather than the road. My hood is in the bottom part of the camera so i don't really want to aim it too much lower, but im guessing that would be the best solution to get it to adjust the light for the road?

IMO, the best way to hardwire it is to first find a fuse in your cabin fuse box that only turns on when you turn the key. Optionally, you can buy a product called add-a-circuit to literally add a circuit to the fuse (these are available at most auto stores and online, but they aren't really any cheaper online). Then connect a positive wire and a negative wire from the fuse to the cigarette lighter adapter. I have almost finished uploading a video on how to connect these wires to the cigarette lighter adapter, which then powers the DVR with its DC connector; I'll update you when it is finished uploading.

I don't know how to fix your exposure problem with the sky (I don't have any problems with that myself on the GS version), but maybe someone else on the forum can give advice. Otherwise, it's just something we have to deal with when using the DVR-207.

 

[Chris]

Leprechaun93, see my hardwiring thread and video here: http://dashcamtalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=2310

 

[Leprechaun93]

Thanks, one other question, whats the best way to play the video files back? When playing them back in windows media player they're really of rather poor quality and i'm hoping that its not the camera, but in my video editor they look considerably better. I'd post a sample video, but youtube isn't taking uploads right now.

 

[Leprechaun93]

Here is what it looks like right now, seems like most other 207s have better quality.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=71 ... 9714140089

 

[Leprechaun93]

Here is the youtube version, seems ok on youtube, so maybe its just windows media player on my computer?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJhJHbY7k5c

 

[Chris]

Here is the youtube version, seems ok on youtube, so maybe its just windows media player on my computer?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJhJHbY7k5c

Your video quality matches what I've seen in my videos and other peoples. If you search around on this forum, you can find other threads with raw videos and youtube videos to compare yours to. I already have one video uploaded to youtube if you want to compare your video quality to it, here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KgPzA1HRU4

Also, as long as you're watching in 720p, the video quality on youtube is exact to the raw video file (I did not use any of the youtube video enhancements). BTW I wouldn't trust the HD video quality on facebook.

 

[Leprechaun93]

Sounds good, whats the best player to play the raw files on the computer? They don't look great in windows media player

 

[jokiin]

Sounds good, whats the best player to play the raw files on the computer? They don't look great in windows media player

different playback software shouldn't make any difference to the quality, VLC and Media Player Classic are popular playback options

 

[CheckYourLights]

I second VLC. I use it to play everything. Your video looks just a little dark, but bumping the EV value up one click or so on the camera would fix that.
I also recommend buying a 32GB SD card. I use a Sandisk Ultra in both my DVR-027 and TF2+P.
I personally leave my camera on as much as possible because you never know what you might capture not only while driving, but parked as well. I've caught everything from someone driving the wrong way down a one way to a rear end accident while parked and not in my car.

 

[Leprechaun93]

I've since picked up a 32gb card, like I said earlier on, the camera tends to adjust the light for the sky rather than the road. I'll have to try bumping up the ev a bit to see if that helps.

 

[Xybone]

I use VLC Media Player.

 

[CheckYourLights]

the camera tends to adjust the light for the sky rather than the road.

When that happens trying tilting it down just slightly but not to where it films more dash then road.

 

[unpaidbill]

I play mine back with Windows Media Player. When I play it back with VLC it looks choppy. Not with WMP.