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

[jokiin]

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.

recycling is something they've been having issues with for a long time on this model, longer recycle times are helpful

can someone check when the card is full and the recycle error happens how much free space is on the card and what setting is being used and post back with the details, I haven't been getting these lockups so can't check myself

 

[twoscoops]

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

blocked in China? a lot of people I know who are working in China get around that "problem" by using paid VPN. (the kinds that can even bypass the state security) Of course, most of them use it to watch porn....or so I heard. HideMyAss is one such VPN service that worked fine that last time I was there. $11/month, IIRC. For access to really sensitive sites(i.e. anti-commie talk), use double VPN(but that's at least $50 a month)

 

[Lunar]

JazJon:

Lol yes it can be fun trying to get your message across so they understand, I've exchanged a few emails myself with a very nice lady at E-Prance. The problem is...not many of us speak fluent Chinese. I would put it something like this...lol

Dear Demi,

You kind nice person to help us.

I try explain... Yes

1: Camera in default Loop ON setting, so it delete old files to make space for more files .... you understand...yes

2: When new card start, it empty, this work okay, car turned off, and when started it carry on record okay...this good, it work okay. Many times.

3: When card full it start delete old files, You understand....yes

4: If now stop car, it stop record, when car start, camera start record okay, but stop record after few seconds ... Why?

5: You very kind person to help fix

 

[jokiin]

blocked in China? a lot of people I know who are working in China get around that "problem" by using paid VPN. (the kinds that can even bypass the state security) Of course, most of them use it to watch porn....or so I heard. HideMyAss is one such VPN service that worked fine that last time I was there. $11/month, IIRC. For access to really sensitive sites(i.e. anti-commie talk), use double VPN(but that's at least $50 a month)

I'm connected to a VPN is San Francisco most of the time I'm online here, some girl that works in a factory using a VPN, maybe not, better just to avoid confusion and having something else to explain by putting a file where they can get straight at it

 

[bugelrex]

This is way too many words, sentences for a non-english speaker.
Video or simple 5 step instruction. It's most likely a external card problem, to give you an example:
I have a Nikon D7000, when taking videos it would 'sometimes' just stop randomly, no warning. As soon as I switch to a high speed card, it never stops. Impossible to reproduce if u didn't have the wrong card.

I would recommend phrasing it this way:
Can the engineer improve the cycle logic?
Can extra checks be added in the code to make sure it will always cycle, look for errors in the cycle logic, if cycle fails (recording doesnt start), try again 5 times.

Or:
Can you release the source code and build instructions? we can fix the code ourselves assuming it's not assembler

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)
....

 

[efoo]

Let mine recorded most of last night. As expeceted I experienced the dashcam powered itself off twice when my Samsung 32Gb class 10 card still has about 4Gb left. Just like others have said, when the card is about 90% full. I reformatted the card in my PC into FAT32 64k format, copied all the 28Gb recorded video files back into the card and reinseted it back into the 0801. The screen did flash up the message of asking me to format the card in the 0801 and I chose "no". One thing I find a bit perculiar is when I checked the microSD card just now, there are two additional DCIM folders in it with no video files, only the original DCIM folder contains all the video files. I deleted those two abbarant DCIM folders.

Just a hypothetical question here: I am wondering for people with this loop recording auto shutdown problem, could it because they started out recording in 1 minutes file, then later changed to longer 3 or 5 minute file, so when the card is full and the 0801 starts deleting the oldest file (which was a 1 minute file), there isn't enough space to record a newer file because it now needs space for 3 or 5 minute file? I could be wrong but thought I just ask.

 

[jokiin]

Just a hypothetical question here: I am wondering for people with this loop recording auto shutdown problem, could it because they started out recording in 1 minutes file, then later changed to longer 3 or 5 minute file, so when the card is full and the 0801 starts deleting the oldest file (which was a 1 minute file), there isn't enough space to record a newer file because it now needs space for 3 or 5 minute file? I could be wrong but thought I just ask.

that's a logical question, my cameras have selectable bitrate as well as the recycle time options so more variables, we have this note in the manual for that exact reason

NOTE: Anytime the VIDEO QUALITY or RECYCLE settings are changed the memory card should be formatted and then power cycle the DVR, the free space calculations vary depending on the chosen settings, altering these settings without formatting the card may impact the ability to recycle correctly

I do think though that plenty of people have just left them recording and they still fail so this is not what's happening in this instance

 

[Lunar]

recycling is something they've been having issues with for a long time on this model, longer recycle times are helpful

can someone check when the card is full and the recycle error happens how much free space is on the card and what setting is being used and post back with the details, I haven't been getting these lockups so can't check myself

Mine also has been okay.. so far anyway, I have checked what free space is on cards after the card starts to fill and is obviously now deleting the older files. (Recycling) On a 4-GB card it was just over 512mb free, it's possible the amount of free space maintained may increase on larger cards.

I know they reverted to .TS files because of issues, but I don't know if it was connected with this recycling issue some users are getting.
TBH if so, it doesn't make sense to me, I've done a lot of programming myself over the years, both in assembler, and C++. and have written many program's that write and read data from hard drives. Stored data is data, The drive is not concerned what it is, It only makes sense when it's read back in and the firmware or normal software then carries out the instructions. Until its run, It doesn't know what a .TS or .MOV file is...or anything else for that matter.
Therefore if .TS files work perfectly but .MOV files give problems then logically it has to be a problem with the firmware.

Are .MOV video files harder for the programmer of the firmware to implement than .TS files ? I honestly don't know. But as it seems less of an issue on latest firmware, maybe we are seeing big progress.

EDIT: I note your post above joklin, and that is a possibility, once set I don't tend to change any setting, But it is certainly something we all should be aware off, and reformat if changes are made, as the firmware may be storing data regarding the on-card free space, it will read that back in whenever it starts up. Thanks for highlighting it, as its a very important point to make.
Personally I would have thought it checks available card space every time it starts and frequently during operation.

 

[efoo]

Mine also has been okay.. so far anyway, I have checked what free space is on cards after the card starts to fill and is obviously now deleting the older files. (Recycling) On a 4-GB card it was just over 512mb free, it's possible the amount of free space maintained may increase on larger cards.

You are right. Mine has started loop recording (noted oldest file is AMBA0017.MOV) and there is still about 580Mb free space in my microSD card. Will unplug and plug the USB cable a few times to see if it will now auto power off itself during recording. Finger crossed.

 

[jokiin]

it's certainly a firmware issue, the write strategy for TS is a lot different from what I understand (I'm no expert on TS) compared to other formats, if for example you lose power when recording a MOV file if the file hasn't been finalised you can't see any of it, if the same thing happens with a TS file you'll be able to view most of it right up almost to the point where you lost power, I'm not sure how this happens but it certainly gets around the problem that recycling causes on this model

 

[twoscoops]

Just a hypothetical question here: I am wondering for people with this loop recording auto shutdown problem, could it because they started out recording in 1 minutes file, then later changed to longer 3 or 5 minute file, so when the card is full and the 0801 starts deleting the oldest file (which was a 1 minute file), there isn't enough space to record a newer file because it now needs space for 3 or 5 minute file? I could be wrong but thought I just ask.

That's a good question. I have only used 5-minute files on my 0801 since day 1. Like I said, never had a problem.

I'll reformat the card and set it to 1-minute intervals and see what happens.

 

[twoscoops]

it's certainly a firmware issue, the write strategy for TS is a lot different from what I understand (I'm no expert on TS) compared to other formats, if for example you lose power when recording a MOV file if the file hasn't been finalised you can't see any of it, if the same thing happens with a TS file you'll be able to view most of it right up almost to the point where you lost power, I'm not sure how this happens but it certainly gets around the problem that recycling causes on this model

I work with TS files on a daily basis... but that's limited to HD video studio production for the office.
TS is much easier to work with in a commercial setting. Less demand on the software and hardware.

MOV is a pain, especially when something goes wrong. When we get MOV files from clients, we always
uncompress it to MPEG2 HD files first and then work from there.(usually to TS)

 

[twoscoops]

I'm connected to a VPN is San Francisco most of the time I'm online here, some girl that works in a factory using a VPN, maybe not, better just to avoid confusion and having something else to explain by putting a file where they can get straight at it

Is there confirmation that "Demi" is a girl?

Most people would assume that Demi is a girl, like Demi Moore?

I have a former co-worker who was from central China(Szechuan or something like that)
His name was Demi Zhang... and he told me "Demi" is pronounced almost the same as his
Chinese name...(which I believe means "Virtue" and "Wisdom") He went back to China
last year, after landing a job that paid him 5 times what he made in the US as a programmer.

By the way, when I say "VPN" for China, I meant underground paid "VPN" for you know....

 

[Lunar]

Are there any users who have version 20130913 or later firmware having recycle problems, where it stops recording shortly after powering on. ?

 

[jokiin]

Is there confirmation that "Demi" is a girl?
...

who knows, they don't get hung up on gender when picking their movie star names

 

[Lunar]

You are mistaken. I posted I am using firmware 20130924

Sorry, my mistake, brain slipped a gear...lol. I'm trying to get 20130924 myself or whatever the latest firmware is at the moment from E-Prance. With all these very quick firmware updates in such a short period, and users having a few issues on older firmware, speaks volumes.. ;-)

 

[jokiin]

Sorry, my mistake, brain slipped a gear...lol. I'm trying to get 20130924 myself or whatever the latest firmware is at the moment from E-Prance. With all these very quick firmware updates in such a short period, and users having a few issues on older firmware, speaks volumes.. ;-)

I'm not confident that everyone here has identical hardware though

 

[Lunar]

I'm not confident that everyone here has identical hardware though

That thought did cross my mind too after I posted it, which may give wrong impression of what is the latest version..hmmm.. Yes it would certainly help if we knew we were all using the same product.. Lol Too many ifs and variables.

 

[jokiin]

there are some variables possible, this is always a challenge when there's more than one source for what otherwise has the outward appearance of identical product

 

[efoo]

Just came back from a few short drives locally, and yep like expected my 0801 with Samsung 32Gb class 10 micro SD card did auto shut down twice. Sigh, looks like I will have to try my older Samsung 8Gb class 4 card next. If the problem still persists, I suggest the manufacturer stop selling this dashcam until the problem is sorted.