Smallest Ambarella Car DVR a.k.a. Mini 0801

[iridium]

Re: Smallest Ambarella Car DVR

How have these been holding up?
Still weary... because it looks like that crap "Smallest HD 720p DVR" that ate 4 of my memory cards

I've had mine for over a month now, using a 32GB ADATA UHS-I Class 10 card. No issues at all. Overall very good impression. I will post some pics later to show how it fit in my car.

Any luck with those pics?

 

[ciuvak]

Re: Smallest Ambarella Car DVR

Any luck with those pics?

Here you go:

I was able to mount so it's always shaded from sun under the "black dots" area. My setup is mostly "set & forget", and I never use the screen or any buttons. As everyone knows, this particular model uses a very convenient docking mount: the power comes into the dock, and there is no cable to unplug when disconnecting the camera. So it's very easy to slide out the camera and take home to download the files. I also never take the SD card out, just connect the camera to my laptop using a USB cable and download files this way.

 

[Krookz]

Re: Smallest Ambarella Car DVR

Very nice

 

[iridium]

Re: Smallest Ambarella Car DVR

Any luck with those pics?

Here you go:
I was able to mount so it's always shaded from sun under the "black dots" area. My setup is mostly "set & forget", and I never use the screen or any buttons. As everyone knows, this particular model uses a very convenient docking mount: the power comes into the dock, and there is no cable to unplug when disconnecting the camera. So it's very easy to slide out the camera and take home to download the files. I also never take the SD card out, just connect the camera to my laptop using a USB cable and download files this way.

Thanks for the pics - that's pretty much how I intend to mount mine, which arrived today!

 

[Evan55]

Re: Smallest Ambarella Car DVR

my car has a sensor pod behind the mirror, so I had to go to the side.

luckily, there is a power port at the top of the camera too, so you dont have to use the dock power port if you dont want to.

 

[iridium]

Re: Smallest Ambarella Car DVR

Ok, I've mounted it behind the mirror. Two problems so far - it only shows in KPH, and the timezone seems to reset when you use GPS

Other than that, I'm very happy with it.

 

[jokiin]

Re: Smallest Ambarella Car DVR

Timezone reset would be a firmware problem, support for mph is a firmware thing as well, haven't seen anyone doing this model with mph so far

 

[ciuvak]

Re: Smallest Ambarella Car DVR

Ok, I've mounted it behind the mirror. Two problems so far - it only shows in KPH, and the timezone seems to reset when you use GPS
Other than that, I'm very happy with it.

I also have the same problem with the time reset. I decided to disable GPS. It was fun for about a day, but for me personally the GPS doesn't add anything useful. I should've saved a few $ and gotten the version without GPS. I'm going to move this camera in the back, once jokiin starts selling a new model, which will become the main front dvr.

 

[Street Guardian USA]

Re: Smallest Ambarella Car DVR

Wow I didn't expect such good quality (day and night) video from the tiny Ambarella. I love the form factor/stealthy size.

What is the next generation jokiin camera I've seen mentioned a few times in various posts? I've been waiting for the perfect cam the last few months so I might as well keep waiting a bit longer. (I have to pull the trigger at some point though)

 

[Evan55]

Re: Smallest Ambarella Car DVR

here is a 720p file straight off the camera.
https://mega.co.nz/#!NMk2WAxY!E_3csFSP0 ... _tX7Z5Civg

ive switched it to 1080p and ill pull one off later and post it up, as well as a night sample.

 

[Street Guardian USA]

Re: Smallest Ambarella Car DVR

Ok, I've mounted it behind the mirror. Two problems so far - it only shows in KPH, and the timezone seems to reset when you use GPS
Other than that, I'm very happy with it.

This camera is SO close to meeting my wants & needs. I'd buy one of these today if they fixed those two speed/time GPS bugs.

I'm also holding out to see what the next gen jokiin camera with newer chip is like.

here is a 720p file straight off the camera.
https://mega.co.nz/#!NMk2WAxY!E_3csFSP0 ... _tX7Z5Civg

ive switched it to 1080p and ill pull one off later and post it up, as well as a night sample.

Your raw 720p clip looks pretty freak'n clear. I can only imagine the 1080p qualtiy, nice!!! The Auto Exposure driving through tree shadows is fairly good. Audio is not stable but I'll take it. .TS files open just fine in VLC player. It would be nice to have the .MP4 or .MOV container so the iPAD could import via SD adapter though.

So is this e-prance version the current state of the art? It seems to have HDMI output as well. (don't see HDMI on the Ali ones)
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mini-0801-Ambar ... 1c3416a250
I'm going to contact him about KPH/GPS time bug fix questions we want addressed.

 

[ciuvak]

Re: Smallest Ambarella Car DVR

So is this e-prance version the current state of the art? It seems to have HDMI output as well. (don't see HDMI on the Ali ones)
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mini-0801-Ambar ... 1c3416a250
I'm going to contact him about KPH/GPS time bug fix questions we want addressed.

that ebay camera is the same as Ali. The Ali version has HDMI output. Also, if you get the version from Ali that has internal memory, you might be able to find better firmware with 15mbps bitrate (vs current 10)

 

[jpcdmd]

Re: Smallest Ambarella Car DVR

I think I'm going to get one of these to use in my rear window since the size is small and it still has an LCD display (Leaning towards the DOD GT550W for a front camera). Does anyone know how long the power cord is? I haven't decided whether I want to hard-wire it to my fuse box or plug it into the rear passenger cigarette lighter, which is located at the rear of the front seats' armrest/center console. If I would like to take advantage of the G-sensor feature to capture any potential incidents while parked, should I have the unit hard-wired to a constant-on power source?

Also, I can't tell any difference between the two cameras available on AliExpress. Same product?

 

[sludgeguts]

Re: Smallest Ambarella Car DVR

Interested to see this in a head to head with the Mobius

 

[Street Guardian USA]

Re: Smallest Ambarella Car DVR

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mini-0801-Ambar ... 1c3416a250
I'm going to contact him about KPH/GPS time bug fix questions we want addressed.

that ebay camera is the same as Ali. The Ali version has HDMI output. Also, if you get the version from Ali that has internal memory, you might be able to find better firmware with 15mbps bitrate (vs current 10)

hmmmm I think I'm ready to make do with a Smallest Ambarella as my First ever entry level DashCam DVR. I'll gladly sell it and upgrade to Jokiin's cam assuming it lives up to the good vibe tech talk.

So questions,

1) Should I buy the eBay one or one of the two Ali one's?
Givoe:
http://www.aliexpress.com/store/product ... 74589.html

FTW(HK)LTD:
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/New-2013 ... 26255.html

2) Which one has the most active Firmware updates coming out? You said to get the model with intergrated 8GB. Where is the high bitrate firmware available at? Is it in English?

3) Which brand SD card should I order? (or is it TF??) Can I go 64GB? I know I want Class 10 but I'd rather just order what is known to work well. (word of mouth)

4) Does this thing output in mini-HDMI or HDMI?

So again I know this card may not have perfect Audio, and I'm forced to use KPH, but whatever for now. I'm great at selling old gadgets as I upgrade on eBay so will replace the Smallest Ambarella when I'm finally wow'd by the perfect DashCam later this year.

Please point me to the high bitrate firmware for this thing so I know what I'm getting myself into. It's really confusing to find support on a camera that has so many near twins/cousins. I searched around for "Smallest Ambarella Firmware" and it all leads to this long 20 page thread which I've read twice now.

I made a note that this latest model has
- 8GB internal memory
- OV2710 CMOS sensor.

The form factor really can't be beat on this thing, and the price is right. (that's why I'm going to just go for it)

 

[jokiin]

Re: Smallest Ambarella Car DVR

So questions,

1) Should I buy the eBay one or one of the two Ali one's?

2) Which one has the most active Firmware updates coming out? You said to get the model with intergrated 8GB. Where is the high bitrate firmware available at? Is it in English?

3) Which brand SD card should I order? I know I want Class 10 but I'd rather just order what is known to work well. (word of mouth)

4) Does this thing output in mini-HDMI or HDMI?


The form factor really can't be beat on this thing, and the price is right. (that's why I'm going to just go for it)

1) Buy wherever you feel most comfortable with the seller

2) I don't think any of them are active with firmware, judge it based on what it delivers now, updates may not eventuate, there are two sources for this product, both use solution companies for the firmware, they're both capable of delivering a stable product but without some of the extras that others might achieve with the platform

3) I've use Samsung, Transcend, Sandisk and PNY (all class 10) with this camera running 15Mbit firmware and they all worked fine

4) Mini HDMI, the port is in the bottom of the unit though which is not practical if you wanted to cable it permanently, you could use a right angle connector perhaps to neaten it up a bit, still maybe not that ideal, I'd suggest instead think about using the AV connection to connect to your headunit, on such a small screen and for the amount of time you'd actually use it I don't see using AV as a great compromise, it's really only useful for when you want to change menus, adjust the camera, review a bit of footage etc and the SD resolution you'll get out of the AV is plenty for the purpose, the AV port is live all the time, I'm not sure the HDMI port is though (that would need to be checked) as it's primarily there for review purposes

I'll admit to being a bit of a resolution junkie as well but I think I'd still go with the AV output for increased practicality, form over function

 

[Street Guardian USA]

Re: Smallest Ambarella Car DVR

1) Buy wherever you feel most comfortable with the seller

2) I don't think any of them are active with firmware, judge it based on what it delivers now, updates may not eventuate, there are two sources for this product, both use solution companies for the firmware, they're both capable of delivering a stable product but without some of the extras that others might achieve with the platform

3) I've use Samsung, Transcend, Sandisk and PNY (all class 10) with this camera running 15Mbit firmware and they all worked fine

4) Mini HDMI, the port is in the bottom of the unit though which is not practical if you wanted to cable it permanently, you could use a right angle connector perhaps to neaten it up a bit, still maybe not that ideal, I'd suggest instead think about using the AV connection to connect to your headunit, on such a small screen and for the amount of time you'd actually use it I don't see using AV as a great compromise, it's really only useful for when you want to change menus, adjust the camera, review a bit of footage etc and the SD resolution you'll get out of the AV is plenty for the purpose, the AV port is live all the time, I'm not sure the HDMI port is though (that would need to be checked) as it's primarily there for review purposes

I'll admit to being a bit of a resolution junkie as well but I think I'd still go with the AV output for increased practicality, form over function

1) Well so far we have one person that bought it from e-prance on ebay and one person that bought it from Givoe on AliExpress. That's all I have to go off of. The Givoe one doesn't even bother showing very many photos, that's sloppy. e-prince has MANY photos and even of the menus. The protection of eBay is best when it comes to buyer protection. (I'm fine with Paypal, as a Buyer) I'd have to go with e-prance for being more detailed oriented in the listing. Ok eBay it is

2) I guess I won't push this too far then since I don't plan on using it long term. I'll use it as is.

3) I've never bought a "TF" card before, as long as I have a SD adapter ready to go I guess that works, kind of annoying but oh well. I wish we were all able to create 15MBps custom firmwares for this thing I could understand you not wanting to "help" the competitors out by releasing your home brew firmware to us, when you want to sell your own camera soon. (fair enough) I can live with 10MBps short term. If you made it work too good, we might not want to upgrade at all You sure know how to tease us though knowing this thing can handle 15, oh well

4) I know there are many 90 / 270 degree HDMI adapters out there, I'll have to find a mini-HDMI version. The new HDMI cables with "RedMere® Technology" are super thin, and smaller than normal connectors. I'm going to just hook it up, even if I might not use it often I'll be happier in my own world. (you know how it goes sometimes with tech insanity) If it works it works, I'll post a detailed review. My AppRadio 3 only has HDMI input. It's made to be a Mirror of your smart phone. All GPS and Music apps are done on my iPhone 5. (which is jailbroken) You can install a 3rd party app called AppRadio Extensions which gives you FULL iOS integration for any app forced landscape. pretty amazing stuff
http://avic411.com/index.php?/topic/341 ... e-control/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVb85B38QRA This isn't the beset Demo video but notice the nice big capacitive multi-touch iPad like screen actually controls your iphone as if it was the iPhone.
My AppRadio 3 is on the way via Amazon
So yeah it's probably easier to just use my self powered $7 HDMI auto switch, than try adding a conversion from Analog RCA to HDMI. (which I have a spare box laying around that would work actually) 90 degree angle it is!

And now we wait..........

EDIT: Just noticed the eBay one doesn't come with integrated 8GB memory (not that I need it) but then read the AliExpress one says "Super Night Vision" is that just marketing hype? Well the AliExpress one sells it 10 different configurations

 

[jokiin]

Re: Smallest Ambarella Car DVR

there's a long and possibly rather boring technical explanation why you probably won't see this one released with 15Mbit firmware supporting mov or mp4 output, the chipset is stable up to 18Mbit but I don't know that anyone really runs them that high, there's diminishing levels of return as you go higher and higher and it's much more complex from a firmware perspective, it still produces decent results at the bitrates they offer

 

[Street Guardian USA]

Re: Smallest Ambarella Car DVR

there's a long and possibly rather boring technical explanation why you probably won't see this one released with 15Mbit firmware supporting mov or mp4 output, the chipset is stable up to 18Mbit but I don't know that anyone really runs them that high, there's diminishing levels of return as you go higher and higher and it's much more complex from a firmware perspective, it still produces decent results at the bitrates they offer

That works for me, I was just complaining the other day that 6MBps was too low on the new dual cam BlackVue 550, so I should be happy enough with 10MBps of this super tiny stealthy thing. (and yes I'm happy with .MOV, though .MP4 is preferable if I had a choice)

 

[jokiin]

Re: Smallest Ambarella Car DVR

6Mbit is way too low, I think around 12Mbit is the sweet spot, sure 15Mbit gets better results but at 12Mbit they run cooler, use less memory space so you have more hours of footage saved, files are smaller so a bit easier to work with etc