Testing & Reviewing the U1000 Plus

[Vortex Radar]

So I've been testing the U1000 Plus recently and working on the full review. In the meantime, I put together a video quality compilation showing samples from the dashcam day and night, front and rear, as well as some discussion about image sensors and HDR.

I've been compiling my thoughts about the dashcam as I continue to test. Here's some of my initial impressions after maybe a week of testing or so.

Visually it looks almost the same as the original U1000. Just some black trim instead of silver.

Daytime video quality on the front cam looks good. I like that it adds dewarping as well. There's no CPL available for the front cam given that the lens is slightly curved out. When things are dark it does look a bit worse with HDR off since it uses a smaller sensor than the U1000. HDR does help with capturing plates when your headlights are shining on them, but not nearly as good as the Viofo A229 Pro's HDR implementation. They have an AutoHDR feature based on time of day, but that time is currently not adjustable.

The rear cam is a noticeable step back, moving from the IMX335 to a 1080p Silicon Optronics F352 sensor. Everything looks worse including video quality, colors, detail capture, etc. The rear cam does support HDR, but there's some distracting artifacting in the highlights.

They're adding HEVC which I know @Panzer Platform will be thrilled about.

They're bumping from Super Night Vision 2.0 to 3.0. I did some quick comparison testing and it looks like there's a bit of an exposure bump at night with the new version, but I need to do some more comparison with this.

The updated smart parking mode for high heat parking is nice, but I don't think I'll be testing this specifically. They're also adding Multiplexer support which is excellent, but I don't have a multiplexer system on hand so I won't test that either.

I like that it offers the optional external radar module up front, but I do feel a bit spoiled with the integrated front and rear radar on the U3000. Hopefully they make a U3000 Plus with HDR.

I like the Bluetooth capability to make it easier to connect to the dashcam without having to connect manually to WiFi first, as well as if my phone is connected to CarPlay over WiFi. It is slow to connect though and you still need WiFi for some features like file transfers.

Thinkware Connected is an improvement over Thinkware Cloud, basically a newer cloud app. It's still got some limitations like cloud not working in energy saving parking mode (of course) and there's still a ~20 sec delay when livestreaming.

The ADAS still is still dumb. In my Kia EV9, the "hey cars are driving away and you're not moving" beep has been helpful at times, but on the U1000 Plus it's hyper aggressive and beeps way too soon, almost as soon as the other car starts moving. There's no way to dial this back and have it wait until cars drive farther away before it beeps. I've asked for some adjustability for this setting to make it more usable.

I like that they've added support for 512 gig cards max instead of 256 gig cards, but I've been having a hard time getting other cards to work in the Plus given that you can no longer press and hold the "Rec" button on the back to format a new card. The dashcam keeps boot looping complaining that the card isn't formatted and then restarting. I've tried formatting to ExFAT in my computer, but no luck. The only solution I've found is to format the card in the original U1000 and then move it over to the U1000 Plus, lol. Hopefully they can restore that feature via a firmware update.

It's also gonna retail for $30 less than the original U1000. I like that they're adding BT, better cloud features, larger card support, and definitely HDR. The image sensor change, especially for the rear cam, is part of the trade-off though to get more features for less money.

You can use the same power cable as the original U1000, but you need a new front/rear cable even though it still uses MicroUSB. Apparently it has a different transmit method, but I wanna test it either way.

 

[Panzer Platform]

They're adding HEVC which I know @Panzer Platform will be thrilled about.

It’s not that I dislike H.265 HEVC.
What drives me up the wall is when manufacturers use H.265 as the only Codec.
If they want to use H.265 that’s fine, but they should also include H.264 as well.
So consumers have the option to choose the most compatible Codec ever, or fancy pants H.265. Lol
Btw, where is @Dashmellow this is one topic we agree on?
I haven't been scolded in over a month.
Is it possible @Dashmellow and @Nigel are the same guy?

Btw, I’m thinking about driving my own personal car to Vegas just for the meeting with Viofo (Bill), Ben, Robert, you, etc.
Since my car is set up with (3) A229 Pro & A229 Plus in 3-CH configuration it would be fun to film a skit with Ben, Robert, and you on the (3) IR Interior cameras.
Actually, my car has 6 seatbelts, (split bench front) Bill, and his brother can fit too. lol
I’ll be the UBER from the hotel to the restaurant.
You just have to sit there while this song plays.

 

[Nigel]

They're also adding Multiplexer support which is excellent, but I don't have a multiplexer system on hand so I won't test that either.

Does the multiplexer plug in separately, or instead of the rear camera?
With 5 channels, would that be a resolution of 960x540 each and 4K for the front?

HDR doesn't look good for moving plates, too much motion blur with the small sensor, same issue as the IMX415.

 

[gamesfrager]

Thanks for this quick review.
Hopefully this is not the new standard "Let's reduce the quality of the components and market it as cheaper than the older version. Oh and slap a PRO/PLUS/ULTRA on it"

Oh wait..... that's already been going.
The heart and soul of a dash camera is video quality, endurance, and video quality. Did I say video quality more than once? YEAH, BECAUSE IT IS THE WHOLE IDEA.
I don't want the bells and whistles. Those are nice to have, but don't reduce quality and call it a PLUS/PRO/ULTRA.

 

[Vortex Radar]

Btw, I’m thinking about driving my own personal car to Vegas just for the meeting with Viofo (Bill), Ben, Robert, you, etc.
Since my car is set up with (3) A229 Pro & A229 Plus in 3-CH configuration it would be fun to film a skit with Ben, Robert, and you on the (3) IR Interior cameras.
Actually, my car has 6 seatbelts, (split bench front) Bill, and his brother can fit too. lol
I’ll be the UBER from the hotel to the restaurant.

lol that'd make for a fun video if we're all in there. I've never driven at SEMA since I always fly in, but parking/traffic can be kinda nuts when I call for a Lyft out of the show. I'm sure it's doable though.

HDR doesn't look good for moving plates, too much motion blur with the small sensor, same issue as the IMX415.

Here's a few more samples as I sift through sample footage. First up is an example of passing a stationary car. The U1000 Plus is better with HDR, but clearly not as good as the Viofo.



Here's another example stopped behind a white car while other cars pass by me. Again we see improvements with the Plus, but not as good as the Viofo.



These are all at max bitrate with no CPL.

Thanks for this quick review.
Hopefully this is not the new standard "Let's reduce the quality of the components and market it as cheaper than the older version. Oh and slap a PRO/PLUS/ULTRA on it"

Oh wait..... that's already been going.
The heart and soul of a dash camera is video quality, endurance, and video quality. Did I say video quality more than once? YEAH, BECAUSE IT IS THE WHOLE IDEA.
I don't want the bells and whistles. Those are nice to have, but don't reduce quality and call it a PLUS/PRO/ULTRA.

Yeah I've been thinking about this and trying to put myself into Thinkware's shoes. They wanna release an updated model with new features and HDR, but to actually lower the price after adding new features, especially given prices rising with inflation, something's gotta give. They opted to go for cheaper image sensors, but given that video quality is at the very heart of any dashcam, I'm not thrilled about this either.

Additionally they can still say that the Plus uses a 4K Sony Starvis sensor up front which is true and that HDR will help with low light recording, but that sorta skirts around the fact that they're cheaping out with the sensor and so there will be some trade-offs that people may not necessarily realize.

Skimming through some sample footage I think I did notice some, but I still gotta do more head-to-head comparisons like I posted above to get into the specifics and confirm things first.

 

[Panzer Platform]

if we're all in there.

That reminds me of the Norm Macdonald joke about the old man, inviting a new neighbor over for a welcome party with a little dancing, drinking, and screwing.
Neighbor: That sounds nice, who's all gonna be there?
Old man: Just me and you

 

[Panzer Platform]

Does the multiplexer plug in separately, or instead of the rear camera?

 

[Agie]

So I've been testing the U1000 Plus recently and working on the full review. In the meantime, I put together a video quality compilation showing samples from the dashcam day and night, front and rear, as well as some discussion about image sensors and HDR.

I've been compiling my thoughts about the dashcam as I continue to test. Here's some of my initial impressions after maybe a week of testing or so.

Visually it looks almost the same as the original U1000. Just some black trim instead of silver.

Daytime video quality on the front cam looks good. I like that it adds dewarping as well. There's no CPL available for the front cam given that the lens is slightly curved out. When things are dark it does look a bit worse with HDR off since it uses a smaller sensor than the U1000. HDR does help with capturing plates when your headlights are shining on them, but not nearly as good as the Viofo A229 Pro's HDR implementation. They have an AutoHDR feature based on time of day, but that time is currently not adjustable.

The rear cam is a noticeable step back, moving from the IMX335 to a 1080p Silicon Optronics F352 sensor. Everything looks worse including video quality, colors, detail capture, etc. The rear cam does support HDR, but there's some distracting artifacting in the highlights.

They're adding HEVC which I know @Panzer Platform will be thrilled about.

They're bumping from Super Night Vision 2.0 to 3.0. I did some quick comparison testing and it looks like there's a bit of an exposure bump at night with the new version, but I need to do some more comparison with this.

The updated smart parking mode for high heat parking is nice, but I don't think I'll be testing this specifically. They're also adding Multiplexer support which is excellent, but I don't have a multiplexer system on hand so I won't test that either.

I like that it offers the optional external radar module up front, but I do feel a bit spoiled with the integrated front and rear radar on the U3000. Hopefully they make a U3000 Plus with HDR.

I like the Bluetooth capability to make it easier to connect to the dashcam without having to connect manually to WiFi first, as well as if my phone is connected to CarPlay over WiFi. It is slow to connect though and you still need WiFi for some features like file transfers.

Thinkware Connected is an improvement over Thinkware Cloud, basically a newer cloud app. It's still got some limitations like cloud not working in energy saving parking mode (of course) and there's still a ~20 sec delay when livestreaming.

The ADAS still is still dumb. In my Kia EV9, the "hey cars are driving away and you're not moving" beep has been helpful at times, but on the U1000 Plus it's hyper aggressive and beeps way too soon, almost as soon as the other car starts moving. There's no way to dial this back and have it wait until cars drive farther away before it beeps. I've asked for some adjustability for this setting to make it more usable.

I like that they've added support for 512 gig cards max instead of 256 gig cards, but I've been having a hard time getting other cards to work in the Plus given that you can no longer press and hold the "Rec" button on the back to format a new card. The dashcam keeps boot looping complaining that the card isn't formatted and then restarting. I've tried formatting to ExFAT in my computer, but no luck. The only solution I've found is to format the card in the original U1000 and then move it over to the U1000 Plus, lol. Hopefully they can restore that feature via a firmware update.

It's also gonna retail for $30 less than the original U1000. I like that they're adding BT, better cloud features, larger card support, and definitely HDR. The image sensor change, especially for the rear cam, is part of the trade-off though to get more features for less money.

You can use the same power cable as the original U1000, but you need a new front/rear cable even though it still uses MicroUSB. Apparently it has a different transmit method, but I wanna test it either way.

Nice review, like I was saying I think it was yesterday - ADAS on dashcams just needs to die. It just doesn't hold up to ADAS on cars which are waaay more accurate and reliable, similar experiences on my Kia Forte as you etc etc.

Rear camera sensor dropping from a Sony to that one - eeeek