RoadHawk HD Vs Blackvue DR500

[B20RRL]

Hey guys...

A popular question that we get asked here at Advanced In-Car is which high end 1080p camera is better? The Roadhawk HD or the Blackvue DR500?

Well we decided to pit them against each other in true in English style, in the RAIN! Both were recording at 1080p at 30fps and at 12mb/s bitrate to keep it a fair competition!

Thought you may all like to see the results. I have my own thoughts on which is better. But what do you think?

(Don't forget to set the YouTube video to 1080p)

If you want to check out more info on either cameras then check out the links below:

Blackvue DR500 - http://goo.gl/bR3NnM
RoadHawk HD - http://goo.gl/hc9jtO

 

[RacingSnake]

Looks like slightly more contrast and saturation on the 500, but the RH seems to be brighter, and in those conditions really seems to clinch it imo :|

 

[jokiin]

Both were recording at 1080p at 30fps and at 12mb/s bitrate to keep it a fair competition!

so the Blackvue is on custom firmware then?

 

[Photosbykev]

the Roadhawk HD is 12Mbps straight out the box, what does the Blackvue do without installing non-Blackvue firmware? That would be the fair comparison, imho, as few people want to play around with firmware upgrades.

regards
Kev

 

[B20RRL]

I'm pretty sure that on the latest DR500 firmware you can choose the bit-rate and it goes up to 12mb/s.

 

[jokiin]

I'm pretty sure that on the latest DR500 firmware you can choose the bit-rate and it goes up to 12mb/s.

I thought it was 10mb/s, anyway bitrate aside was it using the custom firmware or stock, sounds like it was the custom version from your reply, yes?

 

[B20RRL]

Yes on custom firmware with all standard stock settings apart from a 12mb/s bitrate.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[jokiin]

Yes on custom firmware with all standard stock settings apart from a 12mb/s bitrate.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

not sure how equal that makes things but I guess anyone that is enthusiastic about the picture quality would probably look at the custom firmware anyway

 

[Photosbykev]

not sure how equal that makes things but I guess anyone that is enthusiastic about the picture quality would probably look at the custom firmware anyway

I agree with you that the more interested people will be looking to improve their systems but it would be very interesting to know just how many people do anything to their cameras other than just 'fit and forget' them.

I suspect that a very high percentage will be the 'fit and forget' type of person so they will use whatever firmware was supplied in the camera at the time of purchase.

Personally I'm happy to pull a camera apart just to see what it is running or modify it to get the best out of it.

regards
Kev

 

[Brooklands 280]

I have a DR500 DW HD and it records at 7000/7500kbs. It is a UK item purchased from Daltec/Novus with the latest firmware as this was the first thing I did when I got the unit.

How do you increase the Bitrate as I can not find the way to do it through the downloaded Firmware. I am not technically minded is it easy to download and use Custom Firmware if so are there instructions and for the beginner is it safe to do so?

Thanks

 

[Estoril Sport]

It is quite easy to update the DR500 DW HD firmware to the latest official version 'DR500GW_v1.009E' (English) I did mine yesterday, this offers 10000kbs, the only problem is the Blackvue web site appears to be down. Basic process which I did:

1. Download the correct firmware for your model
2. Decompress the files on to your PC
3. Insert your microSD card in to your PC (please make a backup copy of your existing configuration on your existing microSD card)
4. Double click the firmware update to start the program
5. Continue with the step by step guide as described in the firmware update program
6. Once I installed the latest firmware on to the MicroSD card I then started up the Blackvue application on my PC to alter the default settings such to MPH and the highest video quality
7. Disconnect your DR500 DW from power, insert the updated MicroSD card in to your DR500 DW
8. Connect the power to your DR500 DW this will automatically install the latest firmware to your DR500, the voice announcements on your Blackvue should tell you if complete and successful

Job done.

Before I did this I also formated a 64Gb MicroSD card to FAT32 format, so far working OK

 

[Photosbykev]

I've just received a new replacement Roadhawk HD dashcam after the 1st one developed a power on stop/start problem. Looking at the config file the camera creates on 1st initialisation the video bit rate is set to 4Mbps, rather than 12Mbps, so I was incorrect with my 1st post, my error. I guess the manufacturer delibrately sets the video quality low to get the maximum length of video on the SD card rather than optimise it for best quality. So the comparison probably is fair even allowing for both manufacturers sending out hardware not optimised for quality and both required user changes to get the best from them

regards
Kev

 

[jokiin]

I So the comparison probably is fair even allowing for both manufacturers sending out hardware not optimised for quality and both required user changes to get the best from them

regards
Kev

sort of, if you have a menu option in the Roadhawk you can manually change yourself is a lot different to having to install a hacked Russian firmware version, out of the box using the menu options available the Blackvue wouldn't fare too well against the Roadhawk

 

[Photosbykev]

sort of, if you have a menu option in the Roadhawk you can manually change yourself is a lot different to having to install a hacked Russian firmware version, out of the box using the menu options available the Blackvue wouldn't fare too well against the Roadhawk

The RoadHawk is certainly simpler to improve via the GUI and it keeps it inside warrenty. Put a hacked firmware into the Blackvue and the warrenty goes out the window. Having said that I've installed hacked firmware into Canon DSLR cameras that cost £3k lol

regards
Kev