Pier28 Early Adopter Beta Pilot Program - A7 Rearview Mirror Dual Channel DVR Manual or Auto Dimming

Is a Pier28 Rearview Mirror DVR Replacement a Good Stealth "DashCam" Installation Option?

  • Yes (no more worrying about smash and grab window break-ins!)

    Votes: 54 78.3%

  • No (I'd rather have a hidden DVR with "remote lens" option)

    Votes: 15 21.7%
  • Total voters
    69
Interested too.

Especially the model that records simultaneously front and rear.

Opel / GM astra convertible TS mark 4 2003.
 
RoadCam said:
Phase 1) Ambarella A2 Based RearView Mirror DVR (skipping)
Phase 2) Ambarella A7 Based RearView Mirror DVR with WDR
Phase 3) Ambarella A7 Based RearView Mirror DUAL Channel DVR with WDR
Phase 4) Ambarella A7 Based RearView Mirror DVR with WDR (with WiFi & Android/iOS app)
Potential Phase 5) ??? Android with multi touch capacitive screen (and ???)

P.S. WDR = Wide Dynamic Range (aka Night Vision'ish)
Click to expand...

jokiin said:
I specifically mentioned mapping rather than GPS logging as Android is used on these devices when they feature navigation but still early days for that, for GPS logging the OS they run now is far better
Click to expand...

"Phase 3) Ambarella A7 Based RearView Mirror DUAL Channel DVR with WDR"

Phase 3 Front channel will be Full HD WDR. The rear channel will be VGA (same Backup Camera, double duty)
This means we should simply mount the rear D1 camera above the license plate where it always goes. This is possibly a bit low for DVR recordings, but it's stealthy and gets the job done. (and is pulling double duty as I said) The rear image is mirrored but we'll see what we can do for that when we get there.

Ambarella doesn't have very good A7 dual channel Full HD/Full HD support yet unfortunately. (limited sensor choices with Dual = poor night performance) This will mature though at some point.

The short term mixed model dual channel approach (HD front VGA back) is the next best thing. (for now)
 
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Have a few places for a rear camera.

small camera in the rear valance OR bottom of roll bar OR just above the rear view mirror pointing backwards OR plastic boot/trunk lid.

The issue with a convertible is the cameras need to be hidden otherwise people may steal them.

Another option is a permanent DVR in the glovebox etc and then individual cameras wired to it.
 
I am interested but ... please please ... use full size SD card.
I had a bad experience looking for a micro SD that flew out under my finger nail.
Took me about 15 minutes before I found it deep under the passenger seat.
(just bought Aiptek X5 because it uses full size SD, rare these days)
 
I also find this product very interesting, since after changes to the laws regulating camera surveillance, it's doubtful whether it's allowed to use dash cams in Sweden or not. Having such a nice covert solution like mentioned above, would be excellent, as long as the stuff on the inside performs in a good enough way.

By the way, why did you choose to make the camera part so extremely bulky? In my eyes it sticks out way to much, and that should be possible to re-arrange, so that only a very small lens is visible in the mirror. Like it looks at the images at the moment, that "front telescope" on the mirror is giving it away.

I would also be interested in becoming an early adopter, as long as the price/quality is at a reasonable level. Please feel free to send me a PM with more details. :)

Car model(s):
2012 Toyota Auris - 5D, and possibly also 2009 Toyota Aygo - 5D.
 
jhm said:
Having such a nice covert solution like mentioned above, would be excellent, as long as the stuff on the inside performs in a good enough way.

By the way, why did you choose to make the camera part so extremely bulky? In my eyes it sticks out way to much, and that should be possible to re-arrange, so that only a very small lens is visible in the mirror. Like it looks at the images at the moment, that "front telescope" on the mirror is giving it away.

I would also be interested in becoming an early adopter, as long as the price/quality is at a reasonable level. Please feel free to send me a PM with more details. :)
Click to expand...

Hi Welcome to the forums.
Once it's installed you'll find you don't see the long lens. You don't see it while sitting, and all the black blends together from the outside viewed through the window. This might be improved in the future.
The short answer is we used an existing mold to save on development costs. I'll add you to the list! (stand by for a PM in the next few weeks)
 
Excellent! By the way, how well will this solution perform, compared to for instance the cams from BlackVue? These have so far been on my list, but since they are in no way covert, I'm rather hesitant about it. ;)
 
Jon, are you still after guinea pigs? This looks like the perfect solution for what I'm looking for.
 
I could of sworn that your username changed from roadcam to pier28 is that right I presume? How is the phase 2 coming along I believe? I'm still on the waiting list right? Around when would you say it would be ready to be shipped to beta testers since the phase 1 is out of the picture?
 
Here are the specs so far for our Phase 2 A7 Mirror. You're going to love the OV04689 performance once things are tuned up.

SVsedpu.png

+ GPS

LHLXD said:
I could of sworn that your username changed from roadcam to pier28 is that right I presume? How is the phase 2 coming along I believe? I'm still on the waiting list right? Around when would you say it would be ready to be shipped to beta testers since the phase 1 is out of the picture?
Click to expand...

You're still on the list. We've certainly had a fair amount of change in the past few months. We recently parted ways with one of our partners, and have therefore rolled the dashcam business up under the Pier28 brand, where it will continue for the future. We certainly don't want to confuse you or lose your confidence. As an original technical team member, rest assured I (Jon) am standing by to continue giving over the top customer service and support on all our products. (today and into the future) We have a new technical dream team with access to more resources then ever before. We're feeling more confident than ever about the future. Our new e-commerce platform is days away from launch.
http://shop.pier28.com
(I'm adding our Panorama products as we speak)

The biggest thing holding up internal phase 2 samples is a unexpected GPS logging issue. There was a small recent hardware change to fix the issue and we are expecting new internal samples to be ready shortly.
Once internal testing is complete, we can start rolling in early adopter customers.

Thanks are moving forward.

Jon | Business Development Manager, DashCam Specialist
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/pier28/
Become a fan on Facebook.com/Pier28inc
Subscribe on YouTube.com/Pier28inc
Follow us on Twitter.com/Pier28inc
DashCamTalk @Pier28
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Congratulations Jon. It's great to see your business grow. Thanks for including the Panorama and Jokiin's products. You have good credible background for us to trust as a DC supplier. Selecting excellent products can only help your success.
One of the loose ends for customers, is to buy a maximum capacity and compatible SD card. For my Panorama2, I gave up on a 64GB Samsung that seemed to fit the forum compatibility comments. Tried both methods to format this 64GB several times but no luck. No idea if mine is a lemon or somehow not compatible. Offering your customers a pre-formatted SD card as an option would be attractive to me. Ready to use.

(Edit to add update)
Thanks Jon. Your comments below fixed my memory card issue. I updated the FW in the camera. At first it still did not recognize the SD card ("please insert SD card" message) so I returned to the PC and reformatted SD card again, this time using default format setting in the computer. Then inserted SD card into Panorama and used camera formatting option. It recognized the SD card and completed the format cycle. This 64GB SD card is working fine !! :):)
 
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albertson said:
Congratulations Jon. It's great to see your business grow. Thanks for including the Panorama and Jokiin's products. You have good credible background for us to trust as a DC supplier. Selecting excellent products can only help your success.
One of the loose ends for customers, is to buy a maximum capacity and compatible SD card. For my Panorama2, I gave up on a 64GB Samsung that seemed to fit the forum compatibility comments. Tried both methods to format this 64GB several times but no luck. No idea if mine is a lemon or somehow not compatible. Offering your customers a pre-formatted SD card as an option would be attractive to me. Ready to use.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your vote of confidence. My new Business Partners and I are looking forward to growing the business as well. The recipe for success is to continue to listen to forum members, pick quality products, and provide over the top customer service and support. I have access to more resources now, so we'll be adding all kinds of memory cards in the near future!

You should try loading the latest firmware on your Panorama 2.
http://dashcamtalk.com/powerucc-panoramaii/#Firmware
The latest version has native exFat support which means you can format any size SD card inside th Panorama itself. (even 64GB and 128GB) No need to "special" format the card Fat32 in a PC any more.
 
The original thin remote control with bubble buttons is too hard to use, and too easy to lose.
There is a new remote control in development. (not final, just to give you a general idea) It will be nice when it's all touch screen in the future, but not possible for first few phases.
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I had one of those to hard to use thin bubble button remotes. Not sure what happened to it and don't miss it at all. Your new design looks much better.
 
I am interested in Purchasing one of these when the come out. It is exactly what i am looking for.

Any idea when they might be available. Also i have a Scion TC will it work on my car?

Thanks
 
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