SEMA 2025

It took a little getting used to with the hinged rear camera, but i got mine in there just fine and it have not moved a bit.
 
Alrighty, next up is Redtiger and Wolfbox who shared a booth at the show. I'm not a huge fan of the companies given that they like to advertise the fake 4K stuff, and their execution often leaves something to be desired. Given that they had a bunch of stuff up on display though, it was a good opportunity to walk through their lineup and go over some of their pros and cons.

 
With Nextbase, they didn't have much, so I just did a pair of shorts.

The first is going over how they plan on selling their 385GW line via Mazda dealerships in the US, similar to how they've been doing in the UK.


The second is some discounted bundles they're offering on the iQ and 622GW.

 
jsmith said:
@Vortex Radar "Shared" this in his SEMA coverage, although I didn't see him talk about it any. Therefore, I feel comfortable sharing this information. Based upon feedback and testing, I suggested Vantrue redesign their hinged cameras due to unstable nature and flexing of the hinges. The hinged causes video shot from the rear dashcam (S1 Pro Max and N4 Pro S) to have vibrations. Vantrue recommended using 3m VHB to attached the top and bottom hinges together, and while the "work around" did resolve the most of the vibrations, most consumers would see the problem and simply return the product without reaching out to Vantrue Support.

Therefore @Jeff_Vantrue shared my feedback with the engineering team, and the S1 Pro Max and N4 Pro S rear cameras are getting redesigned. The N4 Pro S has started production in early November, and should be out to the public in late November / Early December. The S1 Pro Max has yet to begin production.

Note: I have yet to test the "Redesign Camera". For the moment, pictures only.

Here are images of the N4 Pro S featured in @Vortex Radar SEMA coverage with the Old Rear Camera versus New.


1. Left is Redesigned Camera. Right is "Old Camera".

View attachment 87880


2. The Rear Cable plugs directly into the Redesign Rear Camera on the Left. On the right, the old Camera uses a "Pig Tale".

View attachment 87881

3. The Redesigned Rear Camera (Left) uses a Swivel Concept. The Old Camera on the Right uses a Hinged Design.

View attachment 87882

4. Both Cameras use a 1.8 Fixed Lens and 5M Cmos Sensor

View attachment 87883

5. Redesigned Camera (Left) uses a Swivel and Fixed Mount. Old N4S Pro Rear Camera (Right) used a Pig Tail and Hinge Design

View attachment 87884
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Similar to what 70mai has done with their T800 for their 4k rear camera. Simple throw of the Imx678 into a different casing that's all, which I'm surprised Vantrue didn't do in the first place with the S1 Pro Max.
 
Vortex Radar said:
With Nextbase, they didn't have much, so I just did a pair of shorts.

The first is going over how they plan on selling their 385GW line via Mazda dealerships in the US, similar to how they've been doing in the UK.


The second is some discounted bundles they're offering on the iQ and 622GW.

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Nextbase lost all respect for considering their ripoff models for a couple of years back (model name has lost me).
 
Vortex Radar said:
Alrighty, next up is Redtiger and Wolfbox who shared a booth at the show. I'm not a huge fan of the companies given that they like to advertise the fake 4K stuff, and their execution often leaves something to be desired. Given that they had a bunch of stuff up on display though, it was a good opportunity to walk through their lineup and go over some of their pros and cons.

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Nice videos Ariel! I think redtiger and Wolfbox have improved in that they are using actual real Starvis 2 with their sensors now, but their execution is left wanting e.g. their missing HDR in their last two iterations of the G900 series. And also just poor app design and execution.

For a RVM solution its great, but mainly because there is no real competition for them in the space. The use of eMMC on their other dashcams is a bit of a weird move too. There's potential there for them as a brand, but the execution of features leaves me wanting.
 
Augustus said:
Similar to what 70mai has done with their T800 for their 4k rear camera. Simple throw of the Imx678 into a different casing that's all, which I'm surprised Vantrue didn't do in the first place with the S1 Pro Max.
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Could it be the board wouldn't fit into the new barrel shaped case? So maybe Vantrue retooled for a smaller board to go inside the barrel shape vs say the Oblong N4 Pro S (Old camera) and the Oval S1 Pro Max? Retooling is far more expensive than moving over electronics, but I surmise if transitioning was possible, Vantrue would have certainly gone that cheaper route.

I commend them for wanting to spend the money to do things right versus cutting corners.

I'm guessing here and could be wrong?
 
jsmith said:
Could it be the board wouldn't fit into the new barrel shaped case? So maybe Vantrue retooled for a smaller board to go inside the barrel shape vs say the Oblong N4 Pro S (Old camera) and the Oval S1 Pro Max? Retooling is far more expensive than moving over electronics, but I surmise if transitioning was possible, Vantrue would have certainly gone that cheaper route.

I commend them for wanting to spend the money to do things right versus cutting corners.

I'm guessing here and could be wrong?
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Well who knows and no one will ever know the real reason, but if other manufacturers are fitting it into the barrel shaped bodies rather than the thick oblong, then shouldn't be a re-tooling issue then. These are probably ODM shells they're putting the electronics in, but I could be wrong.
 
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Augustus said:
Well who knows and no one will ever know the real reason, but if other manufacturers are fitting it into the barrel shaped bodies rather than the thick oblong, then shouldn't be a re-tooling issue then. These are probably ODM shells they're putting the electronics in, but I could be wrong.
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Either way, they made a change for the better! I plan to test out the camera ASAP. Just got it 2 days ago.
 
Here's Vueroid, checking out the more affordable S1 2K Infinite, their CV for trucks, and some LTE and box models they're working on.


I also did a short on the S1 2K.

 
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Having been running dual 4 K systems, i can say one thing for damn sure, and that is 256 GB of memory space is absolutely on the low end for these.
 
Vueroid.

I have long been thinking, as a EURO dweller with nice large plates, i think i would prefer a 2K model and not least if this allowed for these 2K sensors to be run at higher bitrates than 4K models

D40 Q2 also interesting CUZ i have for many years argued the solution with a hidden main unit is to be preferred, not least if the advantages of this are maxed out.
 
Here's Vantrue. I start by going over their newest Nexus models, as well as what the priorities are for the company moving forward including LTE improvements, heat reduction, parking mode, and menus. Then I get into the prototype of the new Pilot 2 they had on display, a 4CH dashcam with a thermal cam. I'm not sure yet how good it'll be in practice, but it was one of the most interesting dashcams I saw at the show.


and here's the short focused just on the Pilot 2:

 
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Vortex Radar said:
Here's Rexing. They had a lot of really interesting and creative dashcams that I wasn't expecting. They've definitely evolved from the bulky fake 4K V1-style dashcams.

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Good to see them finally come to the table of Starvis 2 etc and not fake
 
Here's Dongar. They make some nice and simplified hardwire solutions that let you plug into the back of your RVM. I've been wanting to test one of these out for a while, but sadly they don't fit my cars. Luckily they were at SEMA and we had a chance to go over their different models and get into the weeds a bit.

 
Vortex Radar said:
Here's Dongar. They make some nice and simplified hardwire solutions that let you plug into the back of your RVM. I've been wanting to test one of these out for a while, but sadly they don't fit my cars. Luckily they were at SEMA and we had a chance to go over their different models and get into the weeds a bit.

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That was useful and informative interview. A link to their website might be more useful than a link to their Amazon store.

Unfortunately I don't think they make an adapter for my car, which does not have an auto dimming rear view mirror.

It seems that Viofo dashcams will remain in normal recording mode when powered by one the Dongar Pro rather than switch to parking mode when the ignition is turned off. He kind of mentioned it in the interview but it wasn't clear what he was saying.

Can I use a Viofo dash cam with the PRO?

Viofo cameras will continue to record with the Dongar PRO while your vehicle is parked, however their parking mode (a low-power mode which records only when movement or touch is sensed) will not activate. This does not mean that you cannot use a Dong
help.dongar.tech help.dongar.tech
 
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Vortex Radar said:
Here's Vantrue. I start by going over their newest Nexus models, as well as what the priorities are for the company moving forward including LTE improvements, heat reduction, parking mode, and menus. Then I get into the prototype of the new Pilot 2 they had on display, a 4CH dashcam with a thermal cam. I'm not sure yet how good it'll be in practice, but it was one of the most interesting dashcams I saw at the show.


and here's the short focused just on the Pilot 2:

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@Vortex Radar exceptional video. I'm awaiting @Jeff_Vantrue to send out samples of these. There are going to be two concerns.

1. Installation requires accessing the firewall and routing wire into vehicle, which will be complicated and likely require professional installation.

2. What type of alerts will be offered and can these alerts accurately distinguish between objectors or animals? 3 seconds to brake might be a lot on a country rode, but it could give warning to take evaside action or at least slow down enough in hopes that animal moves out of the way. It'll be interesting to see how well the Pilot 2 works.

Once test units go out, I'll gladly put this camera through the paces for stability and reliability.

Note:

The N4 Pro S camera has been redesigned. The new model is not water proof (as previously mentioned), but will likely be far more stable and provide a better view from the rear mounted window.

The S1 Pro Max Redesign is coming soon. Not yet have that unit in hand.
 
TonyM said:
That was useful and informative interview. A link to their website might be more useful than a link to their Amazon store.
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Agreed. I added that shortly after releasing the video and added a coupon code for people there too.
TonyM said:
Unfortunately I don't think they make an adapter for my car, which does not have an auto dimming rear view mirror.
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Yeah, sadly there's still a lot of vehicles missing. I guess that's just part of being a small startup and trying to build out for all types of vehicles.
TonyM said:
It seems that Viofo dashcams will remain in normal recording mode when powered by one the Dongar Pro rather than switch to parking mode when the ignition is turned off. He kind of mentioned it in the interview but it wasn't clear what he was saying.

Can I use a Viofo dash cam with the PRO?

Viofo cameras will continue to record with the Dongar PRO while your vehicle is parked, however their parking mode (a low-power mode which records only when movement or touch is sensed) will not activate. This does not mean that you cannot use a Dong
help.dongar.tech help.dongar.tech
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Agreed. I asked him for clarification about that after the show and he confirmed that you'll need the Pro+ to trigger parking mode for Viofo, RedTiger, and 70mai dashcams.
 
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