Review and Unboxing: Dome GS98C 1296p Ambarella A7LA70 GPS Dashcam from Gearbest.com

[Sunny]

Gearbest.com provided this sample for review.
Thank you @GearBest
This dashcam with GPS is available here for $74.99 with the GBGS98C coupon code: *****************************************
Summary:
GS98C is improved version of G90.
Video: Excellent video quality in daytime.
Night is also very good.
Audio: Great audio quality. GS98C doesn't have the audio distortion that G90 suffers with.
GPS: GPS works great with the separate GPS module.
Physical attributes: Size is same as G90 but looks more discreet due to all black design. Lens housing has some chrome but isn't visible from the front.

Concerns:
Mount just slides in and out of the camera. There is no locking mechanism. Hopefully, it doesn't get loose after use.
Battery life is bad. It was bad in G90 and it's bad in GS98C.

Overall, great video and audio quality.
Highly recommended!
.
*****************************************
Unboxing Video:

Description and Features:
The GS98C is based on Ambarella A7LA70 and can do 2560x1080p @ 30fps.
The same chip is in other Dome models like G90 7S.
Since the G90 7S is heavily reviewed here already and features are almost similar, I won't go into too much details.
Also, since GS98C is similar in size and features to G90, I'll use them side by side in this thread.

A side note on shipping.
This is the fastest I've ever received anything from China.
It was picked up on Friday in China and delivered here on Monday by DHL.
Amazingly fast!

Package contents:
1. GS98C Dashcam.
2. Suction cup mount.
3. GPS Module.
4. mini USB Car Charger.
5. mini USB to USB cable.
6. Product Manual.



The GS98C is almost exact size as a G90 except in body thickness.
GS98C is little bit thicker and heavier and also feels like better built than the G90.



Top of GS98C: GPS port, mini USB charging port, mount and mini HDMI.


Back of GS98C: LED indicator, LCD screen, emergency button and labels.

Left of GS98C: microSD slot and mic.

Nothing on the right side:



Bottom on GS98C: Most buttons are on the bottom.
Reset, Down, Mode, OK, Menu, Up and Power.

Mounted in the car next to G90 7S:






Video samples and comparison coming soon...

 

[GearBest]

Hi Sunny! Thanks for your review! How about the GPS?

Does it work well?

 

[Sunny]

Hi Sunny! Thanks for your review! How about the GPS?

Does it work well?

The GPS icon (looks like wi-fi icon) was green after few minutes when I drove this morning after parking all night (cold start).
I'll check the videos tonight to get exact time it took to lock on to GPS signal.

For now, I have the GPS module on the dash with a Velcro.

 

[GearBest]

That sounds good! I am looking forward to your indepth review!

 

[Sunny]

Folder and files:
Exact same as G90.
SD card has EVENT and NORMAL folders.
File names are named with date and time so easy to find a particular clip.


VBR and file size:
Overall bit rate: 18.6 mbps (same as G90)
Video bit rate: 18 mbps (same as G90)
Audio bit rate: 128 kbps (This is different: G90 has 408 kbps)

A 3 minute file @ 2560 x 1080p is around 410mb. (same as G90)

General
Complete name               : F:\NORMAL\2015-08-20-08-03-58.MP4
Format                      : MPEG-4
Format profile              : JVT
Codec ID                    : avc1
File size                   : 400 MiB
Duration                    : 3mn 0s
Overall bit rate mode       : Variable
Overall bit rate            : 18.6 Mbps
Encoded date                : UTC 2015-08-20 08:03:58
Tagged date                 : UTC 2015-08-20 08:03:58
AMBA                        :

Video
ID                          : 1
Format                      : AVC
Format/Info                 : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile              : Main@L5.0
Format settings, CABAC      : Yes
Format settings, ReFrames   : 1 frame
Format settings, GOP        : M=1, N=15
Codec ID                    : avc1
Codec ID/Info               : Advanced Video Coding
Duration                    : 3mn 0s
Bit rate mode               : Variable
Bit rate                    : 18.0 Mbps
Width                       : 2 560 pixels
Height                      : 1 080 pixels
Display aspect ratio        : 2.40:1
Frame rate mode             : Constant
Frame rate                  : 29.970 fps
Color space                 : YUV
Chroma subsampling          : 4:2:0
Bit depth                   : 8 bits
Scan type                   : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame)          : 0.217
Stream size                 : 386 MiB (97%)
Title                       : Ambarella AVC
Language                    : English
Encoded date                : UTC 2015-08-20 08:03:58
Tagged date                 : UTC 2015-08-20 08:03:58
Color primaries             : BT.709
Transfer characteristics    : BT.709
Matrix coefficients         : BT.709
Color range                 : Full

Audio
ID                          : 2
Format                      : AAC
Format/Info                 : Advanced Audio Codec
Format profile              : LC
Codec ID                    : 40
Duration                    : 3mn 0s
Bit rate mode               : Constant
Bit rate                    : 128 Kbps
Channel(s)                  : 2 channels
Channel positions           : Front: L R
Sampling rate               : 48.0 KHz
Compression mode            : Lossy
Stream size                 : 2.75 MiB (1%)
Title                       : Ambarella AAC
Language                    : English
Encoded date                : UTC 2015-08-20 08:03:58
Tagged date                 : UTC 2015-08-20 08:03:58

Text
ID                          : 3
Format                      : Timed Text
Codec ID                    : text
Duration                    : 3mn 0s
Source duration             : 3mn 0s
Bit rate mode               : Constant
Bit rate                    : 2 502 bps
Stream size                 : 55.0 KiB (0%)
Source stream size          : 55.0 KiB (0%)
Title                       : Ambarella EXT
Language                    : English
Encoded date                : UTC 2015-08-20 08:03:58
Tagged date                 : UTC 2015-08-20 08:03:58

That sounds good! I am looking forward to your indepth review!

The GPS worked great.
Cold start took 1 minute in the morning and then 30 seconds in the evening.
So looks like GPS signal lock issue is resolved.
However, I did get weird number one time after parking for 15 minutes.
It got signal in a minute or so but displayed 330km/h and got stuck with that speed..
I'll test more and see what's causing that.

Unfortunately, can't post screenshots and videos.
I thought this will never happen to me but it happened after owning over two dozen dashcams.
All my footage and time wasted so need to test again.
Now who can guess what happened?

 

[GearBest]

Oh. I hope everything goes well Sunny! Take it easy

 

[Sunny]

Oh. I hope everything goes well Sunny! Take it easy

Nothing serious.
The answer is in the picture above.
It's user error.

 

[Sunny]

Looks like no one figured out the issue (or maybe too early) so here it is.
I forgot to pull the plastic off the lens so everything is blurry.
It was still better than few dascams I had without the plastic.

 

[Sunny]

Here are some daytime screenshots: Video quality is excellent!

The quality is at least same as G90 7S if not better.
Corners are little better and sharper in the GS98C.












continued...

 

[Sunny]

Daytime screenshots continued:

 

[Sunny]

Daytime videos...
These are on the same streets I test most dashcams so you can visit my other reviews to compare videos...

Others are still processing...

 

[GearBest]

Hello guys,

We have one G98C dash cam without GPS.

Are you interested in this dash cam?

 

[Sunny]

More daytime videos:
Audio replaced:

Against the Sun:
Original Audio: Very good audio.
Green light @ 00:33 but cars kept coming till 00:38. Nissan leaf almost hit one.

Original Audio: Very good audio.

 

[Sunny]

Night screenshots:
Night video quality is pretty decent



















but reading license plates of moving vehicles at night is still a thing of future for any dashcam...


continued...

 

[Sunny]

Night screenshots continued...



My garage needs some fixing to do... it was abused by previous owner...

 

[Sunny]

Night Videos:
From strip mall to highway to neighborhood streets...
Great video at night as well...
Audio replaced in all clips due to phone calls...

 

[Sunny]

Conclusion: GS98C is improved version of G90.
Video: Excellent video quality in daytime.
Night is also very good.
Audio: Great audio quality. GS98C doesn't have the audio distortion that G90 suffers with.
GPS: GPS works great with the separate GPS module.
Physical attributes: Size is same as G90 but looks more discreet due to all black design. Lens housing has some chrome but isn't visible from the front.

Concerns:
Mount just slides in and out of the camera. There is no locking mechanism. Hopefully, it doesn't get loose after use.
Battery life is bad. It was bad in G90 and it's bad in GS98C.

Overall, great video and audio quality.
Highly recommended!

 

[newspeed]

Hi all,

My device is suffering from short battery lapse and watch reset. Anyone experiencing these?

 

[Sunny]

Hi all,

My device is suffering from short battery lapse and watch reset. Anyone experiencing these?

How long do you drive?
If you start from dead battery and stop after few minutes, it may not have enough charge.
It doesn't last too long even when it's full charge anyways.

 

[rjg144]

I have this model with the separate GPS module. I mounted the GPS on my windshield. The GPS icon is not red, but always white and I never get GPS information on my video. Is that normal? What does white mean? Thanks.