Rove R2-4K Dash Cam Ultra HD 2160P NT96660 GPS+WiFi Proper Review

CrodPS

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In depth review of the Rove R2-4K dash camera with built in GPS and WiFi to control it from your phone
Novatek NT96660 Chipset with OV4689 light sensor for great night video.
Full review plus sample clips.
 
Not sure why you say hardware does not support it.
It takes 4K videos at 2880 x 2160P @ 24fps. which is 4:3 aspect ratio.

When playback it is reconstructed to 16:9 video which is 3840x2160p.

It takes better image than any other dash cam out there in the market compare to any 1080p, 1440p dash camera as ROVE R2-4K has 2160P video.

We would love for anyone to compare our video side by side to see which one is better.

Thank you.

Andy
 
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As far as i know the OV4689 are just a 4 mpix sensor, half of what it takes to make up 4K footage.

The OV4689 is a high performance 4-megapixel CameraChip sensor in a native 16:9 format designed for next-generation surveillance and security systems. The sensor utilizes an advanced 2-micron OmniBSI-2™ pixel to provide best-in-class low-light sensitivity and high dynamic range (HDR).
The 1/3-inch OV4689 can capture full-resolution 4-megapixel high definition (HD) video at 90 frames per second (fps), 1080p HD at 120 fps, and binned 720p HD at 180 fps. The sensor's high frame rates enable crisp, clean image and video capture of fast moving objects.

Supports images sizes:
- 4MP
- 3MP
- EIS1080p
- 1080p
- EIS720p
 
As far as i know the OV4689 are just a 4 mpix sensor, half of what it takes to make up 4K footage.

correct, you'd need an 8mp sensor to do real 4k, the camera will have to use interpolation to create the higher resolutions with the 4mp sensor it uses, it's not 4k
 
Yep.

Otherwise the OV4689 are a sweet sensor, still valid i think, and if they can make a 8 mpix sensor in the same flavor i am sure it would land in some dashcams.
 
Otherwise the OV4689 are a sweet sensor, still valid i think, and if they can make a 8 mpix sensor in the same flavor i am sure it would land in some dashcams.

the 96660 + OV4689 is a good combo as seen in a lot of other cameras, it's not 4k but it does a decent job at the real resolutions it supports
 
Yes, I agree with you guys, as per the manufacturer guidelines of OV4689 is the 4MP sensor. Yes, ROVE R2-4K is not a real 4K as nowadays we all have 16:9 aspect ratio on our TV and Monitors.
However, we were able to create 4:3 aspect ratio at 2880x2160p @ 24fps with OV4689 - 4MP sensor and NT96660. (which many competitors will say NOT real 4K, which we will NOT argue the point)

By working on custom firmware only offered by ROVE, we were able to create high bit rate videos which can even capture LICENSE PLATES even from an ONCOMING TRAFFIC especially when we were driving at 55-MPH.
I am not sure if there are any other dash camera out there which can do this. We test heavily by purchasing our competitors cameras, then put them side by side to see if ROVE R2-4K will exceed in video quality compare to other expensive or at least similar in price range. Now it would be false advertising if we can't prove our quality promise and we would look bad. We are an honest customer-centric company who wish to advertise and sell honestly.

So I am posting a video here for you to check and see if any other dash cameras can do it?
I would be glad to see videos that can capture details close to what ROVE R2-4K has to offer.

Again, Thanks for your valuable information and nice to talk to you here on this thread.
 
Nice in-depth review of the product, apart from misleading info from the manufacturer side regarding real situation about 2K vs 4K as already has been mentioned above.

Just want to clarify for readers one more a little bit misleading things about license plates readings.

which can even capture LICENSE PLATES even from an ONCOMING TRAFFIC especially when we were driving at 55-MPH.

:eek:

I am not sure if there are any other dash camera out there which can do this. .

;)

55mph is about only 89km/h.

We were able to read numberplates at 1080p/30Fps from 122km/h (75mph) + 122km/h(75mph) = approx 240km/h (149mph) combined. Check out @alexsoll test below which he did more than 2.5y ago.

As you can see from that test even 1080p dashcam which uses high quality parts and fine tuned software is able to capture numberplates at much greater speed (around +40% greater speed than you tested), but it was only possible due to perfect light conditions. In some bad (cloudy) weather conditions same dascham may struggle to capture numberplates even at 50km/h (30mph). The factor of light conditions will apply to all other daschams as well no matter how many "mega-giga pixels" is the sensor.

Reading numberplatest from oncoming traffic is more complex than most people think. It is not only megapixels, bit-rate or FPS but also F-stop, lens quality and very importan the light (weather) conditions are involved.

Unfortunately, most people are falling into advertisement trap of "The bigger number - the better performance". There are too many other variables involved than "Super/Mega/Giga" pixels written on the box.

SG9665GC v2. 07 (5).jpg
 
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Yeah plate capture is a science of its own.
Here i have the old sjdash out for a test on rainy Danish highways, this mean i and the oncoming traffic do 80 km/h at least.

And i swear some days i cant get a plate capture and conditions to me feel better than yesterday when i did get plate captures with the same camera.
Making me thing some days cameras choose less optimal settings for a recording, cuz to the eyes the conditions was the same.
 
Thank you guys for your response.
However, I forgot to mention please compare Apples to Apples.
I would like to see dash cam capturing license plates on coming in the USA or even in CANADA.

As both of your videos are outside of USA.
Europian and Asian country have huge license plate numbers, plus their contrast is black and white, so that's out of the question as those can be easily captured by any 1080p dash cam.

Does your camera has any video showing capturing license plates of USA or Canada as they are super small? We have tested some top manufactures whos cameras are priced at 169.99, 89.99 and even few expensive ones, but they all fail to capture what ROVE R2-4K is able to capture. Obviously, we didn't compare with all other models out there, but I am wondering if there are any other manufacturer's dash cam can capture such small details?
I don't think there is any dash cam out there which can capture such details in the USA. I look forward to someone posting a video from the USA capturing on coming license plates while driving above 40MPH. There are some real pros out here whos hobby is true dash cam lovers. So I would like to see if someone has something like this. I am all ears.

Thank you for your nice post. Check to see how small USA plates are in a video here again.
ROVE R2-4K Dash Cam Capturing On Coming License Plates
 
Explanation: fake = interpolated

On this forum there is already a 30 pages thread about fake 4K action cameras, seems we need now a topic about fake 4K dashcams if the same thing will happen with dashcams like happened with the action cameras. Chinese poor manufacturers desperate to sell their poor action cameras started to write a big 4K on their cases and on their website descriptions and started selling fake 4K camera. But this was happening in China. Now I am surprised to see the same 4K letters on a non-4K product which is sold in USA where companies have more respect for their customers.

The ugly trick from this manufacturer is to put the 4K word in the name of the camera because in a list of searches people will click because of 4K. Then they will see also the 4K printed on the dashcam. If people will ask why is there the 4K word in the camera title if they will accept it is not a native 4K camera, for sure they will say it is just a coincidence.

Why is so hard to be correct, put just 2K or 2.5K instead of 4K which is reflecting the reality? Then all the work about reading license plates at XXmph will have a real value. When I see a company which is telling me the image is clear and can read at some super-speed but their specs are false they are losing me as a client or fan. Fortunately for such companies most of the people does not know how to inform about the real specifications of the dashcams so they can sell only based on what companies are saying.
I was always fighting against fakes and my advice is to not buy cameras with false advertising and I post here from 5 years. Sorry for that!

enjoy,
Mtz
 
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Indeed in regard to plate capture we Euro boys are blessed, American plates and what is allowed on them beside numbers can be quite problematic.
 
Thank you guys for your response.
However, I forgot to mention please compare Apples to Apples.
....

Guys, car speed actually doesn't matter assuming short time exposure in good light condition (to minimize motion blur). What really matters is distance (assuming lense, sensor and bitrate are all comparable)

OK, back to the subject - question for you Andy as representative of Rove. You use OV4689. According to its datasheet, there is only two useful modes (assuming you don't crop) - 2688x1520 and 1280x720:

Clipboard-1.png

How do you manage to get 2880x2160? Why there is no native mode 2688x1520 (4MP)? Wouldn't it provide best video quality? Same question applies to the image quality where 12MP mode sounds typical specmanship is not BS

I start to believe that vendors are trying to impress customers by numbers instead of getting best image quality. Not if it's wrong (most people are stupid enough to choose base on the number on the box) but please provide best quality option as well
 
Indeed in good weather the dashcam will spend more time every second waiting for permission to record the next frame, than the time it take to record the 30 frames / second.

Ideally we would want exposure timing to stay above 1:500 second, but as it is now it drop all the way down to 1:30 second in low light ( night )

This time of the year when it is mainly cloudy and light levels are more than 20 X lower than in the summer, i can pretty much forget plate capture of oncoming cars on the highway ( 80 Vs 80 km/h speed )
And thats mid day when the sun have been up for almost 4 hours ( only above horizon for 6.5 hours daily this time of the year ) but it matter little with a thick grey layer of clouds.
 
You use OV4689. According to its datasheet...
How you manage to get 2880x2160? Why there is no native mode 2688x1520 (4MP)? Wouldn't it provide best video quality? Same question applies to the image quality where 12MP mode sounds typical specmanship is not BS
Man, you are wasting your time on an aggressive advertising thread. That 2160p lie is the biggest lie I saw on a fake product. These fakers can advertise as 4K even a 1MP sensor by interpolation.
That guy is on the wrong forum with his fake DashCam. He didn't read the forum before posting here to understand that many forum members know dashcams better than him.
Normally the advertising threads about fake 4K dashcams should be deleted to avoid cheating people.
We should report such threads to administrator to delete them.

enjoy,
Mtz
 
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