Reviewing and Testing the new Vantrue N4S Dashcam

[EricSan]

Here are some images from the rear cameras. The N4S rear camera is higher resolution and a somewhat smaller angle of view (and thus, less visual distortion for horizontal lines) than the A139Pro. Both suffer from not having a polarizer lens attached, as you can see the rear dash reflected in the window. The Moiré effect caused by the fabric pattern of the rear dash is more clearly prominent on the N4S, I presume this is a function of the higher level of digital compression that Vantrue uses.

This comparison is a bit more of a mixed bag for me. I appreciate the overall lower level of distortion and greater linearity present in the N4S camera. The wider field of view with the A139Pro introduces obvious barrel distortion, though the higher bit rate of the A139Pro results in less digital noise as a result of the reflection of the fabric of the rear dash in the window. Overall detail and readability of the N4S image are much greater, see the crops below. As you can tell with a few of the shadows, both camera lenses are in the full sun due to the direction of travel.

N4S Rear Camera, 2560x1440 resolution:

And here is the view at exactly the same point in time (bumper just touching the start of the cross walk) from the Viofo A139Pro rear camera, 1920x1080. Due to the wider field of view from the Viofo, the car looks further away and you can see more on the periphery of the image. Due to the higher bit rate, though, the Viofo features a more smooth looking rear dash.

And the corresponding crops of the banner that is strung across the road in the above images. Greater resolution clearly helps the N4S produce more readable text in the banner when compared to the A139Pro rear camera. The N4S rear camera picks up a bit more color detail in the banner as well, particularly in the letters of the word "Music."

N4S Rear Camera Crop:

A139Pro Rear Camera Crop:

 

[EricSan]

Here is a similar comparison of the rear cameras, but now I'm traveling in the opposite direction, so both camera lenses are in the shade (car traveling toward the sun). The black car on the right is traveling in the opposite direction and we're both moving at about 20mph, so that's about 40mph when added together. Neither camera renders the plate of the black car on the right side of the image in a readable manner, even after the plate clears the reflection of the rear speaker grill. The A139Pro looks a pinch sharper in this setting, despite its lower resolution (but higher bitrate).

N4S rear camera in the shade:

A139Pro rear camera in the shade:

 

[EricSan]

Many thanks to Wendy at Vantrue for also sending a VP03 (II) Hardwire Kit and a 40mm circular polarizer to fit the N4S dashcam!

This hardwire kit seems to be made for the Nexus series of cameras, but I suspect it will work just fine with any Vanture camera.

The hardwire kit provides 2A of power at 5v and works well for both 12v and 24v systems as you can see:

Below is am image of the contents of the hardwire kit. It comes with two plastic bags, each with four different size add-a-fuse adapters (each has a barrel jack connector attached to the wire end). The specific sizes should be sufficient to fit most cars:

2x ATO (19.1mm)
2x Mini (10.9mm)
2x Micro2 (9.1mm)
2x Low Profile Mini (10mm)

Providing two fuse taps of each size allows for one to be connected to the Red 12v Batt+ line and the other to the Yellow ACC wire that toggles drive mode with parking mode. I was also pleasantly surprised to see that each add-a-fuse connector already had a 5A fuse installed! Way to go! The completeness of the hardwire kit is just awesome: no extra trips to the hardware store or hunting for stuff on Amazon. Everything you need is in the box! A BIG thumbs up for no extra shopping trips and no required wire cutting or soldering in order to complete the install!

The 5v voltage regulator has a two position switch to protect your car's main start battery from becoming too far depleted.

The Manual for the hardwire kit has clear images and thorough descriptions to aid with installation.

Each of the wires for the kit is clearly labelled and the Red +12v Batt wire and the Yellow ACC wire both have barrel jack connectors and clear insulators to keep the wires from causing any trouble once installed. The ground wire has the usual C-clip that goes under a grounded screw head. I love all of this attention to detail. The wire on the 12v input side of the voltage regulator is about 3ft/1m long and the wire on the 5v output side of the regulator is a pinch more than 8ft/2.5m long.

 

[EricSan]

Here is the circular polarizer for the N4S. Given the ubiquity of the Vantrue characteristic lens on many of their cameras, I suspect this polarizer will fit nearly each of their cameras:

The lens is protected with a clear, peel-away cover on the front and back and it comes with a cleaning cloth as well!

The inside of the metal ring around the N4S lens is threaded and the outside ring of the polarizer is threaded to match, so they mate easily.

Here is a side view of the camera with the polarizing lens installed. Note the ridges on the front on the lens (farthest right side of image) so the lens can be easily rotated to adjust the polarization effect.

 

[EricSan]

The manual indicates the N4S draws 7w.

Here is some preliminary Power Draw data. Making accurate measurements of power draw for dashcams seems to be challenging at best and is probably best measured over time that than just at an instance in time. So, I placed my DMM in series with the negative lead of the hardwire kit and used the Min/Max setting for about 20s. I then averaged the high and low current readings. This is not a super precise measurement, but it gets us in the ballpark for reasonable power consumption measures. The camera and hardwire kit was being powered by my LTO parking battery which was fully charged to 15.76v at the time.

Front + Cabin + Rear, all at 1440P resolution, Drive Mode:
- Max 478mA, Min 427mA, typical 452mA at 15.76v = ~7.1w

Front + Cabin, both at 1944P resolution, Drive Mode:
- Max 498mA, Min 447mA , typical 472mA at 15.76v = ~7.4w

Front (1944P) + Rear (1440P), Drive Mode:
- Max 457mA, Min 422mA, typical 440mA at 15.76v = ~6.9w

Front Only 2592x1944, Drive Mode:
- Max 444mA, Min 420mA, typical 432mA at 15.76v = ~6.8w

Parking Mode Front + Rear, Low Bit Rate at 1080p:
- Max 393mA, Min 158mA, typical 275mA at 15.76v = ~4.3w

The power draw for front + rear cameras in LBR is the most likely mode that I'll use this camera, which is why I tested this setting. For my 276Wh LTO battery, this will provide a bit more than 60hrs of parking mode record time.

 

[EricSan]

I have tested the battery saver setting on the VP03 (II) hardwire kit and found it to be quite accurate. At the 12.0v setting, it kept the camera powered up continuously. After backing down the voltage to 11.95v, the camera shut down within a minute or so. I retested this condition for the 11.6v switch setting and found the same behavior: 11.6v kept the camera powered up and 11.55v caused the camera to turn off shortly thereafter. This is excellent precision!

Just out of curiosity, I connected the E360 rear camera to the N4S main camera, but it was not recognized. This isn’t really a surprise that it didn’t work, but I wanted to give it a try. Oh well…

 

[jsmith]

@EricSan

1. The Hardwire Kit from Vantrue has very short wires for grounding. You may find difficulty reaching a bolt. I had to get the OBD II hardwire kit as no bolt was within reach.

2. When you view the rear camera (expanded view with no Front + Rear visible) with the Vantrue App, does the rear live feed appear out of focus? The front and Interior look fine, but the rear doesn't via the app. However, when I download and play the video, it's crystal clear.

 

[EricSan]

After completing my installation using the Vantrue hardwire kit to connect the N4S to my DIY LTO parking battery pack, I found another curiosity. The USB-C connector on the utility plug adapter (shown on the right in the image below) has a nice 90 degree angle so it helps keep the installation looking clean and neat. This angles the wire directly up the windshield toward the headliner, where you can tuck it out of the way. The VP03 (II) hardwire kit, though, has a straight USB-C cable (shown on the left in the image below), which makes the cable stick out on the right hand side of the GPS unit, taking up more space and leaving a more visible wire loop behind. Now I have a stright wire poking out of BOTH sides of the N4S, the rear camera wire on the left and the hardwire cable on the right of the GPS unit. Other than the small wire details, my installation using the hardwire kit worked well.

Conclusion with an easy fix: It would be awesome for the hardwire kit to also had a 90 degree USB-C connector on it like the utility outlet adapter does.

Now that the camera is hardwired, I can play around with the parking modes and see how the camera behaves.

 

[EricSan]

@jsmith - Yes, I have noticed both of the things you've pointed out. The add-a-fuse taps provide another 8" or so for the +Batt and the ACC wires, which can help, but I can imagine some installations where you might need a longer reach for the grounding C-clip. In my case, I would remove the C-clip and just solder on an extension wire. But not everyone has tools, comfort, or skill to extend the wires so easily.

I have also noticed the rear camera feed looks blurry in the app on my iPad. At first, I was concerned that it was a blurry video capture, but it's nice and sharp when viewed on my computer. I'm guessing this is a firmware or app issue, since the video file itself is clear and sharp.

So here is an updated list of improvements I would recommend, they will make an excellent camera even better:
1) The USB-C power input on the GPS unit and the USB-C connection to the rear camera are on opposite ends of the camera. Having wires sticking out on opposite sides makes the install look a little more cluttered than it would if all of the cables came out the same side of the camera.

2) The new utility port power adapter does not grip the utility outlet as firmly as its predecessor. So far, I've tried it in three different cars (Ford, Toyota, and Volvo) as well as my EcoFlow River 2 power station. In all cases, the spring loaded tip pushes the barrel back out of the socket more than I'd like it to after I seat the plug.

3) Increase the length of the black grounding wire longer on hardwire installation kit to insure that it can reach a grounding screw for all vehicles.

4) Correct the blurry in-app image from the rear camera.

5) Change the USB-C power connector on the hardwire kit to a 90 degree connector for a cleaner wire installation.

 

[jsmith]

@jsmith - Yes, I have noticed both of the things you've pointed out. The add-a-fuse taps provide another 8" or so for the +Batt and the ACC wires, which can help, but I can imagine some installations where you might need a longer reach for the grounding C-clip. In my case, I would remove the C-clip and just solder on an extension wire. But not everyone has tools, comfort, or skill to extend the wires so easily.

I have also noticed the rear camera feed looks blurry in the app on my iPad. At first, I was concerned that it was a blurry video capture, but it's nice and sharp when viewed on my computer. I'm guessing this is a firmware or app issue, since the video file itself is clear and sharp.

So here is an updated list of improvements I would recommend, they will make an excellent camera even better:
1) The USB-C power input on the GPS unit and the USB-C connection to the rear camera are on opposite ends of the camera. Having wires sticking out on opposite sides makes the install look a little more cluttered than it would if all of the cables came out the same side of the camera.

Agreed, I found the placement of the Rear Camera and the Power Cable on opposite ends to be unslightly, too

3) Increase the length of the black grounding wire longer on hardwire installation kit to insure that it can reach a grounding screw for all vehicles.

I brought this up to Vantrue on my N2X. The 5 or 6 CM length ground wire is way too short. I needed at least triple that to reach a ground bolt. Therefore, I am using the OBDII hardwire kit for both the N2X and the recently installed N4S (Family Member's Vehicle I will use for Testing) given I only that a vehicle has only 1 OBDII port.

4) Correct the blurry in-app image from the rear camera.

I reached out to Vantrue regarding blurry video in APP 2 days ago. You are correct, the actual video is fine.

I originally thought Vantrue sent me a faulty rear camera. I cleaned windshield and lens of Camera at first thinking it was my fault. Finally pulled off video from rear and it was perfectly clear.

 

[EricSan]

I originally thought Vantrue sent me a faulty rear camera. I cleaned windshield and lens of Camera at first thinking it was my fault. Finally pulled off finally and it was perfectly clear.

Ha- I thought I had forgotten to remove the clear film lens protector after I had already installed the camera😉. The actual video file is fine...

 

[EricSan]

Hmmm... Is anyone else missing a few minutes of recordings after the N4S transitions from parking mode to drive mode while using the hardwire kit?

LATE UPDATE: Issues of missing footage seem to be related to the specific hardware configuration of rear camera that has since been corrected. My example of the N4S was a pre-production unit, so a few kinks were still being worked out. This is exactly the point of early product testing. Kudos to Vantrue for their responsiveness.

 

[jsmith]

Hmmm... Is anyone else missing a few minutes of recordings after the N4S transitions from parking mode to drive mode while using the hardwire kit?

I'll take a look later and report back.

I checked the videos earlier today and THINK i noticed that same thing, but let me recheck and confirm that to be true. I only did a quick skim earlier as I haven't had a lot of time to spend with camera yet.

 

[EricSan]

It happened with the very first transition from parking mode back to drive mode - I had about 6 mins of missing footage. I didn't see it the second time around. I'm also seeing a 7 second blackout as the camera makes the transition from parking mode video back to drive mode. This could be critical as parking lots have lots of potential for accidents are people are backing out of spots.

Edit: Issues of lost footage temporarily went away after reformatting the SD card. See "late update" two posts above.

 

[Hack_man]

I need a little bit of help interpreting the next comparison because I'm not exactly sure what is going on with the aspect ratio of the playback. To set the stage, I'm using my laptop computer that has a maximum screen resolution of 1920x1200 (less than the resolution of either camera that I'm using right now).

This first image is from the N4S with resolution set to 2592x1440 resolution and displayed in VLC player with its "Original" 16:9 aspect ratio:
View attachment 81267

However, when I change the N4S resolution to its maximum setting of 2592x1944, I get a horizontally squished image upon playback that does not look natural in VLC player with its "Original" 4:3 aspect ratio:
View attachment 81268

In order to see the 2542x1944 higher resolution image without it looking like it's been put in a vice and squeezed, I changed VLC Player to display the video with a 16:9 aspect ratio. This is what I get then, which looks closer to "normal" to me...
View attachment 81269

At first, I thought this was an artifact of my laptop's display resolution, so I switched to using my desktop computer with a native screen resolution of approx 2500 by 1940, which is a direct match to the highest resolution on the N4S. When I compare the two videos there, I see the very same results. It doesn't matter if I use VLC or the Vantrue player.

Any insights on why the horizontally-squished-appearance of 2592x1944 resolution image? Technically, it's display correctly with a 4:3 aspect ratio, but the image doesn't look right to my eye...

I noticed the exact same thing (squished appearance with 2592x1944 resolution). When I set up my camera the first time, it was "defaulted" to 1440 resolution so I changed it to 1944 thinking it would be better. I did not like the distortions and I think the text is less readable than with the lower resolution.

 

[jsmith]

I noticed the exact same thing (squished appearance with 2592x1944 resolution). When I set up my camera the first time, it was "defaulted" to 1440 resolution so I changed it to 1944 thinking it would be better. I did not like the distortions and I think the text is less readable than with the lower resolution. I'm trying to figure out the relationship between H x V resolution and Aspect ratio.

This isn't a "problem" per say as the highest resolution sets the aspect ration to 4:3. Running it at 1944 (front), 1440p (Interior), and 1440p (rear) is necessary to maintain the 16:9 aspect ratio. The one channel N2X does the same thing if set to highest aspect ratio.

 

[jsmith]

It happened with the very first transition from parking mode back to drive mode - I had about 6 mins of missing footage. I didn't see it the second time around. I'm also seeing a 7 second blackout as the camera makes the transition from parking mode video back to drive mode. This could be critical as parking lots have lots of potential for accidents are people are backing out of spots.

Haven't taken a look yet but Ill do so ASAP and report back.

 

[EricSan]

This isn't a "problem" per say as the highest resolution sets the aspect ration to 4:3.

Yes, the highest resolution from the front camera works out to a 4:3 aspect ratio. I just can't get it to display on any device in a "non-squished" format without overriding the default 4:3 aspect ratio in the playback software. Just seems odd to have a squished image...

 

[jsmith]

Yes, the highest resolution from the front camera works out to a 4:3 aspect ratio. I just can't get it to display on any device in a "non-squished" format without overriding the default 4:3 aspect ratio in the playback software. Just seems odd to have a squished image...

4:3 is always going to looked squished. Best to run aspect ratio at a 16:9. It's like my Samsung S22 Ultra. You can choose 108 MP but it's a 4:3 aspect ratio too. The camera doesn't support the highest aspect ratio in widescreen.

 

[jsmith]

It happened with the very first transition from parking mode back to drive mode - I had about 6 mins of missing footage. I didn't see it the second time around. I'm also seeing a 7 second blackout as the camera makes the transition from parking mode video back to drive mode. This could be critical as parking lots have lots of potential for accidents are people are backing out of spots.

@EricSan

I don't see that issue. There is a 6 second gap between transitioning from Parking Mode to Normal Mode via the OBDII Hardwire Kit. This is to be expected as the camera must "Pause", Change Modes, and Begin recording normally.

Please let me know your configuration, but I checked a few videos and each one consistently loses 6 seconds between switching from Parking to Normal.