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

[bugelrex]

sucks! I guess try 720p, if that works then its really is "Low Speed Card", or perhaps hardware tolerance with handling 1080p?

Bad News, 20130924 has the same old problem. After the card is full I get "Low Speed Card" then "Storage IO Error" and it stops recording. (and shuts down minutes later)

 

[Street Guardian USA]

I changed the Video Resolution setting from FULL HD to 720P30

It did record a bit longer, but eventually gave out too same errors

I guess it's time to try my other Class 10 32GB card and see what happens. (last test was on the 32GB Class 4)

I might have to shell out the cash for the Samsung Class 6 card.

I hope the new e-prance 0801 on the way is stable. If so, I'm ready to exchange this givoe 0801 for a new one too.

 

[DDP]

calibration, as in sensitivity should be no issue, calibration as in orientation though may be an issue, I would suggest doing the calibration while it is mounted and you are not moving

the calibration option is ok, I suspect the different G force adjustments may be a misapplication of the intended purpose though, hard to say without knowing exactly which G-Sensor they have used in this one

Tried calibration whilst in situ, problem still remains of, as soon as recording starts the LOCK symbol is on and I am unable to switch of the LOCK, with the down button.

Down button does work without any issues as I use it to navigate around in the settings menus.

 

[Street Guardian USA]

Here's my latest exchange with Lia at Givoe/Aliexpress
_________________________

Me:

21:41 Oct 17,2013

Bad News, 20130924 has the same old problem. I recorded for many hours until the card was full. I then removed power so the camera shuts down. I applied power so the camera turns on and starts recording. Seconds later I get "Low Speed Card" then "Storage IO Error" and it stops recording. (and shuts down minutes later)

I recorded what happens on my iPhone so you can see video of what happens exactly.

You can download the MOV here:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/2080wdla7y2pivd/IMG_5333.MOV

I'm not sure you can view youtube but here's the link too.

_________________________

• GIVOE Lia:
  
  23:34 Oct 17,2013
  
  Dear Jon,
  
  Thank you for undated the information.
  Can you tell me all problem? different fw, different problem, So I need to collect all send to factory, check, waiting for new way to solve.
  
  Best wishes,
  Lia
  

_________________________

• Me:
  
  23:41 Oct 17,2013
  
  Here you go, I simplified the explanation as much as possible............
  
  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. This work many times until #3
  
  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?
  "STORAGE IO ERROR"
  
  5: You very kind person to help fix
  

_________________________

(I borrowed the same Chinese friendly grammar explanation write-up I gave Demi at e-prance)

 

[Street Guardian USA]

• GIVOE Lia:
  00:27 Oct 18,2013
  
  
  
  So can you help confirm, about your no Storage problem.
  In the menu, have you check G-sensor lock problem?
  because if G-sensor lock, the sd card will quick full, and stop record.
  Lia
  ____________________
  
  • Me:
    
    00:38 Oct 18,2013
    
    Good idea to check. I went into the menu. I changed G-SENSOR PRECISION to CLOSE (off)
    
    I started recording, after 30 seconds the same error's I talked about in my previous posts flashed don the screen and recording stopped.
    
    G-SENSOR doesn't seem to be the issue since I turned it off. It's possible the firmware is not the right one for my hardware though. I'm not able to perform G-SENSOR CALIBRATION. (it hangs forever)
    
    I confirmed someone in the forum recently received a new 0801 that came with firmware 20130924.
    They are able to successfully run G-SENSOR CALIBRATION. (it completes in 2 seconds for them)
    
    I might need to send my camera back to you to be exchanged for a fresh batch. (if no firmware will make it stable)
• P.S. I also tried setting RESOLUTION to 720P30 (and it failed too)

 

[Street Guardian USA]

• GIVOE Lia:
  
  00:41 Oct 18,2013
  you install back to 0903 and try?
  
  00:41 Oct 18,2013
  because I think 0924 maybe not fit your device
  _______________________
• • Me:
    00:42 Oct 18,2013
    
    Yes 0903 has the same problem and is the reason I was excited to try 0924.
    (both have the same problem)
    
    From what I'm reading 0922 is the correct version for my device, do you have that one?
  ___________________________

 

[Street Guardian USA]

• GIVOE Lia:
  
  00:53 Oct 18,2013
  
  0922 lock by factory so we don't have this, and also you get it, can't updated youself too.
  So let me clarify you storage problem. if at the end can't help, Then send back, ok?
  Lia
  
  _______________________
  • Me:
    
    00:56 Oct 18,2013
    
    Ok sounds good! Thanks as usual
    

 

[Street Guardian USA]

I just received the following email!
The thing is, I never received a TS version from Givoe, I received that one from e-prance.
I guess I'll try it, I'm the 0801 With GPS And 8GB.
I don't think they ever released the internal 8GB version as TS anyway so sounds good. (probably lost in translation and complexity as usual)

____________________________________________________
On Fri, Oct 18, 2013 at 1:03 AM, GIVOE Sales <salesATgivoe> wrote:
Dear Jon,

Thank you for your order!

Because no to delay your shipping, we shipped the TS file format of 0801 to you. There is new firmware for your 0801 upgrade publiced.

0801 Standard (NO GPS NO 8GB): http://www.givoe.com/upload/file/soft/fw/Firmware-0801-244-2212-Standard-20130924.zip

0801 With GPS (NO 8GB): http://www.givoe.com/upload/file/soft/fw/Firmware-0801-244-2212-GPS-20130924.zip

0801 With 8GB (NO GPS): http://www.givoe.com/upload/file/soft/fw/Firmware-0801-244-2212-8GB-20130924.zip

0801 With GPS And 8GB: http://www.givoe.com/upload/file/soft/fw/Firmware-0801-244-2212-GPS-8GB-20130924.zip

Updates Contents:

1. Change TS to MOV file format.

2. Improve video quality, upgrade bits rate.

3. Solve some noises problem.

Attention Please:

* Only for older than ***0725 which TS file format version (except ***0604 and ***0725).

* Please make sure your device configuration (with GPS or not, built-in 8GB or not), then choose correct firmware to udpate.

* If your device can't be updated, please contact us: b2c@givoe.com.

Update Steps: http://www.givoe.com/upload/file/soft/int/DVR-Firmware-Update-Step-0801-244-2212.pdf

Best wishes,

GIVOE Sales
____________________________________________________

 

[cranky]

Just a quick update, mine has been running without any issues for almost 2 weeks now, it's got to the point where i leave it in the car and forget it's there, i glance once in a while to check the recording indicator is blinking away.

I pulled the card out today to be sure and yup, it's overwriting old files nicely.

At last i'm really happy with my Mini 0801.

 

[jokiin]

Tried calibration whilst in situ, problem still remains of, as soon as recording starts the LOCK symbol is on and I am unable to switch of the LOCK, with the down button.

Down button does work without any issues as I use it to navigate around in the settings menus.

Hardware fault maybe

 

[efoo]

Here's my latest exchange with Lia at Givoe/Aliexpress

Here you go, I simplified the explanation as much as possible............

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

5: You very kind person to help fix

LOL JazJon, now you are talking Chinglish.

P.S. JazJon, does your loop recording problem only happen when you record in car, or does it also happen when you record in your room?

 

[efoo]

At last i'm really happy with my Mini 0801.

Sorry I couldn't recall your old posts. Do you mean your Mini 0801 used to have problem but is now fixed? If so, can you tell us what changes have you made to fixed yours?

 

[cranky]

Sorry I couldn't recall your old posts. Do you mean your Mini 0801 used to have problem but is now fixed? If so, can you tell us what changes have you made to fixed yours?

The same as most people here, Storage IO error, low speed card errors.

I bought a 16Gb C4 kingston card, it's been perfect since.

 

[DDP]

Same here been using a Kingston 32GB C4 card, from new, never seen any problems.

 

[Lunar]

I do suspect poor cards account for many of the recording issues, when ordering a new card I think it would be prudent to order a class 6 card, just to give that little extra 2MBps headroom in write speed, as although in theory a class 4 should be easily fast enough, you have to bear in mind the write figures are based on continual writing speeds.

My video's record at aprox 17200kbps, which equates to a writing speed requirement of about 2.1MBps, so in theory as class 4 cards should be able to write at 4MBps we have plenty of headroom speed, but IME this can vary depending on the efficiency and design of the device being used to write the files and so may lower this figure.

When these camera's start to re-cycle, it also has to delete it's older files which takes time, and maybe in some instances fails to have the speed to keep up. A decent class 6 gives that little extra 2MBps headroom in speed. If you already have a couple C4 cards then by all means try them, my own C4 cards seem to work okay too, but when buying new cards I think with this camera Class-6 is the better choice, and of course it still runs at the standard bus speed.. maintaining better compatability, unlike the Class 10 which uses faster bus speeds, and which they advise we avoid.

As I stated many times I've had no issue's with Samsung C6 cards at all, though any good brand C6 should also work fine. I use 32gb cards, but its quite common to see higher capacity cards even same brand & class often have slightly lower write speeds than lower capacity cards such as a 16gb.. just something I've noticed.

It's obvious that when it has to continually delete files, this must have a very big impact indeed on the overall writing speed. It's not uncommon to find a good Class 4 perform better or equal to a very poor class 10 card, so 'buyer beware' , sadly it's also true that a good card won't solve everyone's problem, but it definately helps.

EDIT 20/10/13.
I have since experienced a issue with a poor mini-usb connection which was causing one camera to stop recording just seconds after it was powered up, prior to this it just stopped recording on it's own after running all day fine. Cause of this latest hiccup as seen in later posts was nothing more than a poor mini USB connection, a quick blast with isopropyl, and a slight squeeze in of the connector to make it a firmer fit, solved it... so worth bearing in mind.

 

[bugelrex]

For those guys who are having problems, do you remember exactly where your bought your SD cards from?
retail store, amazon 'directly' (not 3rd party seller on amazon). Perhaps the problem all along has been very slow 'fake' SD card. Do a read/write speed test on the cards you have?

 

[Lunar]

For those guys who are having problems, do you remember exactly where your bought your SD cards from?
retail store, amazon 'directly' (not 3rd party seller on amazon). Perhaps the problem all along has been very slow 'fake' SD card. Do a read/write speed test on the cards you have?

I tend to avoid Ebay and Amazon Market place sellers, and buy direct from Amazon themselves when buying cards, mainly because it's so easy to return, and AFAIK I've never had a counterfeit card yet. You can usually tell if a Samsung card is fake, by looking on the back for a small glossy rectangle box sort of imprinted into the plastic with details of the device in it, It's barely visible but can just be seen, ( a magnifying glass helps) a bit like a security Glyphic on credit cards. I read that fakes don't have it.

 

[jokiin]

I tend to avoid Ebay and Amazon Market place sellers, and buy direct from Amazon themselves when buying cards, mainly because it's so easy to return, but I've never had a counterfeit card yet. You can usually tell if a Samsung card is fake, by looking on the back for a small glossy rectangle box sort of imprinted into the plastic with details of the device in it, It's barely visible but can just be seen, ( a magnifying glass helps) a bit like a security Glyphic on credit cards. The fakes what what I read don't have it.

the fakes are normally only screen printed as well, print quality not as good as the genuine models

 

[Lunar]

the fakes are normally only screen printed as well, print quality not as good as the genuine models

Yes, you are right, I have seen one, but as you say it's not so clear and sharp, A common trick I've also noticed is to show picture of a SD adapter with Samsung on it, but the card itself has no such markings, leading the buyer into thinking it's a genuine Samsung card.

 

[nuxator]

Great! I was waiting to get usb on the go cable + Male to male usb adapter order before upgrading my cam again (since last time it bricked).
I recieved it today and it's working! Now i have an cheap and easy way to unbrick the cam.
And by coincidence, new firmware available to play with!