Vortex Radar
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- Mar 26, 2014
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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.
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.