Panorama X2 Firmware 1.01.09 (Native 64GB/128GB/256GB exFAT microSDXC format support and more!)

Hello,

I recently installed my X2 which I purchased from Jon a few months back. I am trying to troubleshoot my Transcend 64GB Micro SD card which I'm using for the front camera. For some reason the read speed on this card is MUCH slower than the card used in the rear camera. i'm using the latest stable software 1.01.09 and have set both cards to record in 1080P 30 FPS with high bit rate..

It's to the point where I actually can't directly watch videos off hte SD card when viewing on my computer.. I actually have to move the file onto my local disk and then view it..

However, the rear videos don't seem to give me this issue.

I'm currently formatting the trouble card on my PC and an going to run some tests on it to see if anything is wrong with it.

I did notice something interesting however.. all of the videos recorded on the front camera have the same exact size for each 2 minute increment but the rear camera's file sizes are all different (I'm assuming based on lighting, colors etc..) which tells me that the rear camera is somehow saving the files differently even though it has the same exact settings as the front camera.

Btw. both my front and rear camera are using the same exact card as below:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/B00C18I3FS
Update: So now that I did a full reformat on my PC, i'm testing the card and I'm getting 18.2 MB/S write speed... I'm assuming the read will be fast as well..

I did format this card while it was in my Camera.. I wonder if that had an affect on anything? I'm going to put it directly into the camera and not format it in the camera this time to see if it make a difference.. The new firmware handles the normal exFat format on this card without any issues.
 
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What's the bitrate show on front vs rear videos when you check the properties of the MP4 files? Maybe the rear are a lower rate even though you have the settings the same.

If they are confirmed the same bitrate manually checking the files on the computer what happens if you swap front/back cards and format/ try again?
 
Pier28 said:
What's the bitrate show on front vs rear videos when you check the properties of the MP4 files? Maybe the rear are a lower rate even though you have the settings the same.

If they are confirmed the same bitrate manually checking the files on the computer what happens if you swap front/back cards and format/ try again?
Click to expand...

Jon,

They are both at 1920/1080 30 frames/second.

I'll definitely do some more testing to try and narrow down the problem. Hopefully it's just a formatting issue between the two cards.

When you choose the format option within the camera, does it format both cards or just a particular card? I did use the format option in the camera but I forget which card I formatted if it gave me the option..

PS.. I know that it's been mentioned all over these forums but Jon's customer service is top notch.. it doesn't matter when I contact him (day/night) I'm going to get a response within an incredibly quick turn around..

This was actually very important to me and really one of the main reasons I decided to go with the Panorama X2 versus other brands.
 
Thanks :)
Yes you need to select front format select rear format. It should be a two layer menu option.

1080P is the resolution
30 is frames per second.

Bitrate will be either 12Mbps or 15Mbps
If in windows right click the MP4 file select properties in the popup menu. Click on the last tab. If on a Mac install media info or other app
 
ahh.. i forgot to write down the bit-rate on the videos from he rear card before I formatted. On the front it's 15. I have chosen the "high" option in the camera settings for both but when I do more testing, I'll make sure that rear isn't recording at a lower bitrate compred to the front.

I'll update this evening..
 
This is a free and easy to use software package that can measure various performance metrics from an SD / microSD card or even your PC HDD / SSD:

http://crystalmark.info/software/CrystalDiskMark/index-e.html

Just point it at the card and fire it off - for a more thorough test you can increase the test file size but for SD cards and microSD cards 100MB is usually enough.

The X2 does use VBR which means smaller file sizes at night and some of the recent firmwares have locked the rear channel at 12Mbps.
 
Pier28 said:
Thanks :)

Bitrate will be either 12Mbps or 15Mbps
If in windows right click the MP4 file select properties in the popup menu. Click on the last tab. If on a Mac install media info or other app
Click to expand...

Alright. I was able to verify and the bit rate on the rear camera's recording is actually 12Mbps even though both front and back are set to High. The front is 15 mbps.

It still takes quite a long time to transfer the front camera recordings off of the microSD card while the rear recordings are super quick. So I've narrowed it down to either the bit rate/how it is saved being the culprit or the actual card being defective in some way.

I did run some tests with the software that was suggested by Reverend and here are my results:

upload_2015-1-13_21-40-34.png

I'll end up swapping the front with the rear as Jon suggested to see if the issue is replicated with the rear card.
 
To be honest the read speeds look good on that card - a couple of the write speeds look a little slow but it may be normal for the Transcend - at a guess you've used a USB 3 reader there?

It's worth trying the same test on both cards as they should give similar results.

Also try running a chkdsk on the card that's reading back slowly - sometimes exFAT filesystem problems can cause havoc with performance.

As a baseline it's probably worth doing all of the above to get the figures back so you have a baseline and then format both the cards in the camera and see what happens from there :)

As for the 12Mbps rear channel it's a bug in the most recent firmwares and should be fixed by @Sungmoon Jang soon :)

Believe it or not you can even get firmware updates for USB SD readers - depending on what it is there may be an update for yours - I had to update mine (Kingston) last week to fix some mounting issues I was seeing with Windows not noticing new cards inserted.
 
I can't for the life of me find if this question has been answered on the forums yet, but I want to post some raw footage from my X2 to see what you guys think (i.e. do I have the cameras in the correct position etc.), but I want to strip the sound out of the files before I do so. I'm using Registrator Viewer. TIA
 
mcaf123 said:
I can't for the life of me find if this question has been answered on the forums yet, but I want to post some raw footage from my X2 to see what you guys think (i.e. do I have the cameras in the correct position etc.), but I want to strip the sound out of the files before I do so. I'm using Registrator Viewer. TIA
Click to expand...
Yeah mate like Rick says just right click at the start and set that, then right click and the end to set the end point and then when you do save file there are three tickboxes - video, audio and then GPS metadata. Just untick the ones you don't want and it will give you a clean file :)
 
Thnx for the tip guys. Managed to get some footage extracted and uploaded to Dropbox (uploading takes forever LOL).

Here is where I have the front and rear cams mounted:
2015-01-18%2014.20.54.jpg

2015-01-18%2014.20.38.jpg


You will see that the black dotted area around the rear view mirror is visible in the front camera footage. I reckon I may need to get a mount that gets the lens closer to the glass.

Here is the raw footage hosted on Dropbox:
Front: day - town driving - http://bit.ly/1wjUKUI
Front: dusk - town driving - http://bit.ly/1EebKlp
Front: night - motorway driving - http://bit.ly/1Bovswn
Front: night - town driving - http://bit.ly/1EebWAZ
Rear: day - town driving - http://bit.ly/1BOWpIL
Rear: dusk - town driving - http://bit.ly/1ugLBwg
Rear: night - motorway driving - http://bit.ly/15fKh7o
Rear: night - town driving - http://bit.ly/1yd9l9z

@reverend , @niko, @Pier28 I know you're in the best position to comment on how the camera is operating, so would greatly appreciate your input!! :D

For reference, I'm driving a 2015 Honda CR-V which has a raised ride height, if that has any effect on number plates etc.
 
They look good to be honest mate - the guy in the van behind you in http://bit.ly/1ugLBwg is clearly sat playing on his phone while he's driving along!

That rear camera really does work way better without privacy glass - mine is much darker than that at night on the motorways etc.

The AE should improve with every version coming as well.

Have you painted that X2 then mate as I know you were on about that Plastidip stuff? Looks good like that for sure.

It didn't take a bird long to poo on your new car though did it :D

This was one from mine yesterday off to the tip when we had the snow:
 
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As per dimpled ( dotted ) area, it looks like it does not affect a focus ( it's nice and sharp ), which is good, because it's acts now for you like camera lens sunshade.
Overall video quality is similar to mine, but as earlier mentioned, some IQ adjustments still waiting to be done.
 
reverend said:
They look good to be honest mate - the guy in the van behind you in http://bit.ly/1ugLBwg is clearly sat playing on his phone while he's driving along!

That rear camera really does work way better without privacy glass - mine is much darker than that at night on the motorways etc.

The AE should improve with every version coming as well.

Have you painted that X2 then mate as I know you were on about that Plastidip stuff? Looks good like that for sure.

It didn't take a bird long to poo on your new car though did it :D

This was one from mine yesterday off to the tip when we had the snow:
Click to expand...

Thanks for the feedback!

I haven't painted it yet. So far I've only taken the gaudy text off using nail polish remover.

Yes, had the car a few days and they're already at it lol
 
niko said:
As per dimpled ( dotted ) area, it looks like it does not affect a focus ( it's nice and sharp ), which is good, because it's acts now for you like camera lens sunshade.
Overall video quality is similar to mine, but as earlier mentioned, some IQ adjustments still waiting to be done.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the feedback! Looking forward to even better image quality
 
reverend said:
Have you painted that X2 then mate as I know you were on about that Plastidip stuff? Looks good like that for sure.
Click to expand...

What do you reckon to using 3M black carbon fiber vinyl wrap? 2 sheets of A4 cost a fiver on amazon which will be more than enough to cover the X2. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/B00KNR0X52Will it affect heat dissipation on the silver frame?
 
I'm really not sure mate about that - I've just been reading up on the DiNoc stuff as that looks awesome but it says it's a permanent addition and can damage whatever is underneath - I'm guessing this stuff will affect the warranty but only @Pier28 and @niko could confirm that - not sure if that's a problem or what you're expecting?

It looks blooming good though like that - I'm tempted to buy some and have a play with some other stuff!
 
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