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

Mine shipped with firmware 20130924

Was that from E-Prance ?

I have asked E-Prance if they will send their latest version to me. IME They are respectable and caring people to deal with. :)
 
I ordered those exact items as well.. I'm still waiting on the Fuse adapter, it's been a month already. I may have to report as never getting it and ordering another one and waiting a few weeks again.


I just checked my emails, and I ordered the 12/5v converter on the 26th Sept, it was dispatched on the 27th and reached me on Monday this week the 7th, so not too bad to the UK, the other lead to connect into the fuse box only took a couple days because they are only 50 miles from me. Likely snail mail to Canada ;-) (well it obviously is) Did you order it from same UK seller ?
I have however ordered some items in the past from China which did take a month to arrive.
 
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Hi Guys,
So I've been watching this thread and there seems to be some issues with cards etc. There is no problem as far as I have tested or been made aware of with the cards I sell or SanDisk 16gb MicroSD class 4 or Kingston 32gb Microsd class 4. Regarding the firmware, I have just checked 3 out of the 9 we have left randomly and it is running firmware: 20130913. We're gonna be stocking some class 10 cards soon does anyone have any preference?

Kind regards,

Dan
 
Hi Guys,
So I've been watching this thread and there seems to be some issues with cards etc. There is no problem as far as I have tested or been made aware of with the cards I sell or SanDisk 16gb MicroSD class 4 or Kingston 32gb Microsd class 4. Regarding the firmware, I have just checked 3 out of the 9 we have left randomly and it is running firmware: 20130913. We're gonna be stocking some class 10 cards soon does anyone have any preference?

Kind regards,

Dan

Hello Dan good to see you guys monitor the forum, shows good integrity on your part. :)

I'm using firmware 20130913 on my own 2 camera's with C6 cards and I've had no problems myself, at least not this re-cycling issue where it stops recording shortly after starting to record from power on.
From feedback it appears if the user reformats his card it works okay until it fills up again, he can switch the car off and on several times without any problems. The problem seem to occur once the card is say 90% full and the camera will then delete older files to make space for the next recordings, it obviously then does this continually otherwise there would not be the space on the card for it's recordings, "and it's when it starts to do this deletion of files or re-cycling as we call it on here, that it seems to stops recording shortly after the car is started or power applied.

Regarding the speed of the cards, it does state in the manual, Quote. "CLASS 4 or above. but then says (Class 10 cards may cause problem because the speed of card is too fast, it is better not use class 10 card) "

AIS earlier, the majority of buyers will likely order class 10 cards, naturally wanting the fastest and best for their new camera, and to be fair my own tests which I emphasise were not extensive on the C10 cards, but did seem to work okay, but to be on safe side I've been using mainly Samsung Class 6 cards, though other makes of class 4 also seemed work okay, (but the Samsung ones have had more use by me) and have been tested in my car for a longer period than my 2 32gb C10 cards.

In view of the fact that all cards below class 10 all use the standard clock speed, in theory they may well be more compatible. I can't see the manufacturer inserting those comments about class10 cards for no reason ?

But of course all this is purely conjecture on my part..lol So it may be prudent to stock some class 6 cards also and let the customer choose, if I'm buying now.. I would go for Class 6 over the C10 cards.. also IME there are a few class 10 cards out there that when tested perform slower than some good quality class 6 or even class 4 cards.

With regard to Brand, I tend to lean towards Samsung as long as they are genuine Samsung, you can usually tell by looking to see if it has the Samsung Info rectangle on the rear, you have to look very closely it's a bit like a hologram. AFAIK Fakes don't have it.
Though Im sure many well known brands are okay too. A recent Transcend 32gb class10 did have one bad sector on it, but it worked okay once I mapped it out, but may indicate quality control issues... The lower capacity Sandisk cards seem pretty decent with good speeds, but not convinced their 32gb class 10 are as good as they claim.

16gb class 6 cards may also be worth stocking as in theory, and also in my own experience they tend to have less issues, than the higher capacity microSD cards, maybe due to physical size restraints, this was certainly applicable when 32gb microSD cards were first released.
 
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Was that from E-Prance ?

I have asked E-Prance if they will send their latest version to me. IME They are respectable and caring people to deal with. :)

No I purchased mine from JooVuu.com
 
ok I am confused. In the cam's settings, there are three options in video resolution: Full HD, 1080p30 and 720p30. I thought full had WAS 1080p? Which do I put it on for 1920x1080?
 
ok I am confused. In the cam's settings, there are three options in video resolution: Full HD, 1080p30 and 720p30. I thought full had WAS 1080p? Which do I put it on for 1920x1080?

1080p is 1920x1080. 720p is 1280x720.
 
ok I am confused. In the cam's settings, there are three options in video resolution: Full HD, 1080p30 and 720p30. I thought full had WAS 1080p? Which do I put it on for 1920x1080?

Leave it on the default Full HD which are 1920x1080, I just double checked the details on my own recordings and I can confirm they are indeed 1920x1080
 
OK I understand full HD is 1080p but the why three options? It should be full hd or 720p. Or..... 1080p or 720p. Strange!
 
ok I am confused. In the cam's settings, there are three options in video resolution: Full HD, 1080p30 and 720p30. I thought full had WAS 1080p? Which do I put it on for 1920x1080?

You must remember its manufactured in China.. ;-) I suspect Full HD and the 1080p setting is obviously one of the same...looks good though..lol

If thats the only thing thats confused you.. then you are doing better than me...lol.. You may already know, but if you have the GPS version, you may have discovered in GPS settings that 'Open' is really 'ON' and ' Close' means Off.
 
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You must remember its manufactured in China.. ;-) I suspect Full HD and the 1080p setting is obviously one of the same...looks good though..lol

If thats the only thing thats confused you.. then you are doing better than me...lol.. You may already know, but if you have the GPS version, you may have discovered in GPS settings that 'Open' is really 'ON' and ' Close' means Off.

I didn't buy the GPS version. I figured what is more important if an accident occurred (God forbid) is what happened in front of the camera and not where exactly it happened. I also figured with GPS processing involved, it would just give the camera/cpu more processing to do and I want to dedicate all to the recording and not locating/tracking. Well that's my thinking anyway. :)

I just installed it in the car. Cord length was fine. Was getting dark outside but I did it. Managed to tuck the cable in the grooves where possible but where I couldn't I used some sellotape. Back of rear view mirror is grey so it stands out a bit, but I don't mind. If a camera is seen (as in stores or on homes) surely it is a deterrent? I plan on unplugging the camera every night and not leaving it in the car over night.

Will test over next few days. FYI, I put in a Samsung 32gb Class 6 card
 
I don't think Demi from e-prance gets what the problem is. Check out her latest response. Can someone please write up something in Chinese she will understand?

------------

"Demi is back, sorry for waitting so long time. i finally understand your problem, cause first i just thought it is a normal problem.

Do you mean you turn on the loop recording, the problems will happens? when the card is full and it can't be record again , and you need to format the card for using? really? while as usual, this problems just happens when turn off the loop recording function, i want to know the answer.

And i know the dash cam forum talk about this problem: i want to make a explanation:

All the DVRs on the market are the same, has the off/on loop recording option.
1, off loop recording option: when the card is full, this means we don't have the spear room for new files, yes, we can't record again, and the dvr will give you the message LOW SPEED CARD" or "STORAGE ERROR" , we need to download the files and format the card for a new start, on this condition, maybe it is better to prepare two cards.
2, on loop recording option: this means when the card is full, the new recorded files will replace the old files, so we can continue to use. now i use off and on not close and open,haha

waiting for your reply. Demi~
- e-prance"

---------------

I've explained it to her 4 different ways already. Her solution of not using loop mode is totally unacceptable too.

So yeah can someone please help craft a nice response she would better understand?
 
I didn't buy the GPS version. I figured what is more important if an accident occurred (God forbid) is what happened in front of the camera and not where exactly it happened. I also figured with GPS processing involved, it would just give the camera/cpu more processing to do and I want to dedicate all to the recording and not locating/tracking. Well that's my thinking anyway. :)

I just installed it in the car. Cord length was fine. Was getting dark outside but I did it. Managed to tuck the cable in the grooves where possible but where I couldn't I used some sellotape. Back of rear view mirror is grey so it stands out a bit, but I don't mind. If a camera is seen (as in stores or on homes) surely it is a deterrent? I plan on unplugging the camera every night and not leaving it in the car over night.

Will test over next few days. FYI, I put in a Samsung 32gb Class 6 card

Your thinking about GPS option may be a correct, in theory it's something less to cause issues, I almost went with the non-GPS version myself for the same reasons. The GPS can always be turned off anyway, but if you don't need it no real point buying it. I changed the pad to a black one. There's 2 sides to whether a visible camera is a deterent or not, it's reasonable to think it would be, but some also think it may temp some crook to break in just to steal it, I leave mine in the car all the time. My rear camera is more visible. You can buy adhesive stickers on eBay which boldly warn there's cameras fitted to the vehicle, but whether its a good idea is debatable.

I note your using the same 20130913 firmware as myself, with a Samsung 32gb C6 card, let us know how it goes over the next few days, At the moment my 1 camera has the same card as yours and a Samsung 16gb C6 in the other one, just for testing purposes so I can see how they perform. So far both are okay with no problems to report.

One observation I have noticed.
When I have taken the camera inside, (not on base) I have noticed when charging direct to the camera with it switched off, so just the red charging led is on, after the led goes off to indicate its fully charged, it will often fail to switch on, this happens on both cameras. This has happened a few times, but always comes back to life after a long reset, so not a major issue, more of an annoyance, as when on the base it doesn't happen. Just thought I'd mention it in case anyone else notices this behaviour while off the base after charging.
 
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I note your using the same 20130913 firmware as myself, with a Samsung 32gb C6 card, let us know how it goes over the next few days, At the moment my 1 camera has the same card as yours and a Samsung 16gb C6 in the other one, just for testing purposes so I can see how they perform. So far both are okay with no problems to report.

You are mistaken. I posted I am using firmware 20130924 :)
 
ok I am confused. In the cam's settings, there are three options in video resolution: Full HD, 1080p30 and 720p30. I thought full had WAS 1080p? Which do I put it on for 1920x1080?

My firmware, .TS file format has 1920x1080, 1440x1080 and 1280x720. Perhaps that's what the other 1080p mode is on yours?
 
I don't think Demi from e-prance gets what the problem is. Check out her latest response. Can someone please write up something in Chinese she will understand?

------------

"Demi is back, sorry for waitting so long time. i finally understand your problem, cause first i just thought it is a normal problem.

Do you mean you turn on the loop recording, the problems will happens? when the card is full and it can't be record again , and you need to format the card for using? really? while as usual, this problems just happens when turn off the loop recording function, i want to know the answer.

And i know the dash cam forum talk about this problem: i want to make a explanation:

All the DVRs on the market are the same, has the off/on loop recording option.
1, off loop recording option: when the card is full, this means we don't have the spear room for new files, yes, we can't record again, and the dvr will give you the message LOW SPEED CARD" or "STORAGE ERROR" , we need to download the files and format the card for a new start, on this condition, maybe it is better to prepare two cards.
2, on loop recording option: this means when the card is full, the new recorded files will replace the old files, so we can continue to use. now i use off and on not close and open,haha

waiting for your reply. Demi~
- e-prance"

---------------

I've explained it to her 4 different ways already. Her solution of not using loop mode is totally unacceptable too.

So yeah can someone please help craft a nice response she would better understand?

Here's my response, hopefully it's clear enough?

______________________________
Hi Demi,
The biggest feature people want in a DashCam is to always have Loop mode ON.

I've never come across one person that thinks turning Loop mode OFF is a good thing.
(so using more than one card isn't a good answer)

We all want Loop mode ON to work day after day, week after week. It should just work all the time. We shouldn't have to even touch the camera unless we get in accident. We are worried that when an important event happens we will miss the recording since the camera might have shut down from the "STORAGE ERROR" or "LOW SPEED CARD" problem.

Someone else in the forum says they have firmware 20130924 (even newer yet)

Could you please provide me with the latest firmwares to try? Some new owners are saying their new 0801 works fine even when loop mode is on and the card is full. (over writing older files automatically like it should)

Nobody want's to format the card or manually download files often to keep the card empty. We all want to have loop mode on. The DVR needs to be a "Set it" and Forget it" operation we can depend on like an appliance.

So yes everyone has Loop mode ON on the forum. We've all tried both 1min and 5min loop.

Here's how it works. I take the 0801 to my bedroom and power it via USB cable. I tell the 0801 to format the card so it's empty. I then let the 0801 record over night for 10 hours straight. When I wake up it's still recording. I pull the usb cable and the 0801 automatically shuts down like it should. I plug the usb cable back in, the camera turns on, and starts recording. At this point the camera will flash an error of "STORAGE ERROR" or "LOW SPEED CARD" and the camera powers off It happens anywhere from 1 to 10 minutes after the camera turns back on for the very first time after the card is full. Sometimes it will actually record fine so it's intermittent. If I unplug and plug back in the usb cable, I'd say the error happens 50% of the time.

Does this make sense? I hope I'm clear.
Thanks again and I'm looking forward to trying new firmwares! Pleases send!"
______________________________
 
I don't think Demi from e-prance gets what the problem is. Check out her latest response. Can someone please write up something in Chinese she will understand?

................

I've explained it to her 4 different ways already. Her solution of not using loop mode is totally unacceptable too.

So yeah can someone please help craft a nice response she would better understand?


Even I don't understand what the problem really is and I've been following this thread for the last 20 pages at least! :)

My own Mini 0801 does not do what you're describing. All the Samsung Class 6 cards that I own work fine so far. It came with the 0903 firmware. It has not give me any error messages as of yet and I've tracked every video to make sure that everything was recorded. So far, I have a total of 18+ hours of videos. I have never used loop off mode. I don't know if this makes any difference, but I don't use the USB lighter adapter that came with the 0801. My car has USB port built-in directly from the factory. (one is for charging phones and the other one is for music playback) I bought a 10-foot USB cable and plugged the 0801 in that way.

I recommend making a video showing how you can duplicated the problem. Upload the video to YouTube or email directly to the manufacture/seller and see what they think. :)

As of today, the only real "problem" that I'm experiencing is the sun. On my afternoon commute, I have to drive westbound for about 20 miles on the interstate. The sun is just above the horizon. Since the 0801's lens is facing forward, the sunlight blinds it, making the video unusable. I tried to place the 0801 higher. I have 5% window tint that I installed on the upper 4 inches of the windshield.(as allowed by my state's tint law) If I put the 0801 there, the sunlight is shielded, but the picture is pretty dark... with only the sunshowing as a ligh spot. Oh well... I guess there's no solution to this.... unless someone can tilt the earth's orbit a bit so the sun is not in my face in the afternoons. :D
 
Even I don't understand what the problem really is and I've been following this thread for the last 20 pages at least! :)

My own Mini 0801 does not do what you're describing. All the Samsung Class 6 cards that I own work fine so far. It came with the 0903 firmware. It has not give me any error messages as of yet and I've tracked every video to make sure that everything was recorded. So far, I have a total of 18+ hours of videos.

I recommend making a video showing how you can duplicated the problem. Upload the video to YouTube or email directly to the manufacture/seller and see what they think. :)

As of today, the only real "problem" that I'm experiencing is the sun. On my afternoon commute, I have to drive westbound for about 20 miles on the interstate. The sun is just above the horizon. Since the 0801's lens is facing forward, the sunlight blinds it, making the video unusable. I tried to place the 0801 higher. I have 5% window tint that I installed on the upper 4 inches of the windshield.(as allowed by my state's tint law) If I put the 0801 there, the sunlight is shielded, but the picture is pretty dark... with only the sunshowing as a ligh spot. Oh well... I guess there's no solution to this.... unless someone can tilt the earth's orbit a bit so the sun is not in my face in the afternoons. :D

Well it seems a small handful of people such as yourself have the magic combination of firmware and microSD card. It seems that Samsung is the way to go so far! I might have to buy one at some point.

I re-explained the problem in great detail to Demi. (see my last post)

My Polarizing CPL Mod fixed the sun problems. (see DIY thread I made)
http://dashcamtalk.com/forum/index....reduce-windshield-dashboard-reflections.2343/
 
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Well it seems a small handful of people such as yourself have the magic combination of firmware and microSD card. It seems that Samsung is the way to go so far! I might have to buy one at some point.

I re-explained the problem in great detail to Demi. (see my last post)

My Polarizing CPL Mod fixed the sun problems. (see DIY thread I made)
http://dashcamtalk.com/forum/index....reduce-windshield-dashboard-reflections.2343/


I suspect the problem is a combination of hardware, firmware, and the MicroSD card.

Dont' know if this will help... but I kept thinking about the looping problem you 're haveing
and this is the closest that I think of:

When I built my HTPC, I wrote a code for the DVR function.(records off local digital cable)
I used a tiny 250GB Samsung SSD. I was getting errors and it turned out that when the
oldest recorded program was deleted, the SSD didn't have time to react/save the newest
program currently being recorded. This only occurs when the 250GB SSD was 99% full.
I ended up re-writing the code so that it will always delete the three oldest recordings.
I also set a minimum so that in case the three oldest recordings are short programs, the
SSD will continue to delete older recordings until there's 50GB of empty space.

I wonder if that kind of problem is being experienced by the Mini 0801? When the oldest
recording gets deleted at the same time as a new recording is being made, the card may
not have time to write data to the empty space that was just created. If so, it can easily be
solved by using the method that I used, which is to delete two or three oldest recordings
to create the empty space in advance.
 
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I recommend making a video showing how you can duplicated the problem. Upload the video to YouTube or email directly to the manufacture/seller and see what they think. :)

making a video showing the error is a good way to demonstrate the problem, YouTube is blocked in China though, better to just upload a raw file somewhere that's not blocked, Mediafire, Mega etc
 
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