The future of Street Guardian

[Deacon]

So now that the new DR is officially released, I’m curious what direction SG will take moving forward.

Any “roadmap” even if someone vague would be great to give some insight. Higher resolutions? Bigger sensors? New barrel-bodied cam packages for the DR? Maybe IR-illuminated for internal-facing? New wedge offerings? Better (faster) WiFi or connected/cloud type offerings? A DR with 3 or even 4 or 5 cam inputs? Maybe more focus on backup/front cams and other such directions not exclusively dashcam-specific?

Personally I’d love to see whatever it is that would increase the rate of successful plate captures at speed. Bigger lenses and sensors? Higher resolution? Higher frame rates? Higher bit rates? I honestly don’t know what will help with that, but it seems like most manufacturers are marketing hard around higher resolutions.

So, in what direction does SG see itself moving? I’m very interested to hear their thoughts. @jokiin

 

[kamkar]

I think SG are moving towards 4K, but they dont seem to be in a hurry to get there.
I like they have taken the turn of remote camera / cameras, i think that is a thing of the future, so next i would like to see a jump to 1440p which i think can be done without sacrificing low light performance on the high altar of resolution.
Bitrates are still a focus point of mine, many cameras do choke if you enter a place of much information to process, so very comforting memory card prices have tanked in preparation for that.
But bitrates also seem on the way up, though slowly.

I still favor being able to daisy chain units, that way you dont have to make a 4 - 6 channel system, you can just daisy chain dual channel systems, though you then do have several places to go for the memory card.
It would be nice if you in such a system could designate camera / unit #1 as storage point for all attached units, that that necessitate a high speed daisy chain and not just a sync chain.

 

[jokiin]

not something I want to talk about publically, last time I mentioned we were working on something and it was delayed we got slammed for it, have multiple models in development at the moment, a couple will be ok for this year, some will be next year, others are still 18~24 months away as they're a lot more involved, along with that we still have further development on existing models to keep us busy, a lot of the things mentioned here are coming but as to timelines not something I can promise at this stage, would rather wait until they're in transit before talking too much about them, products in general are evolutionary rather than revolutionary, you'll see incremental improvements as things progress, hardware choices improve, firmware develops etc

 

[SawMaster]

Well whatever they are, if it's SG once they get here they'll not be chock-full of issues the way many other brands often are.

Phil

 

[jokiin]

Well whatever they are, if it's SG once they get here they'll not be chock-full of issues the way many other brands often are.

that's the aim at least

 

[kamkar]

Pretty much just need one goal, and thats moving forward.
best to leave world domination to other companies.

 

[jokiin]

Pretty much just need one goal, and thats moving forward.
best to leave world domination to other companies.

everytime I see a product that claims a 'world first' spec or feature that is some actual notable change (not just marketing BS) it generally ends in a world of pain for the early adopters that buy in on the dream, quite content to not be first to market

 

[kamkar]

I assume getting "there" first can win you great things, but the chance of it not panning out are great and most often no matter who you are it demand a great deal of luck. ( some call this timing to market )
Personally i go by getting something out, that are equal or more than what i put in to something, with a few exceptions like friendship and such where it is not really a matter of topping the other part.

I dont get people that take their company on stocks, cuz they you better do 11% growth annual or shareholders will go crazy.
Better to stay what ever you are, and just be glad doing what you can do, which should hopefully be rewarding both mentally and economical.

 

[DashCamOwnersAustralia]

not something I want to talk about publically, last time I mentioned we were working on something and it was delayed we got slammed for it, have multiple models in development at the moment, a couple will be ok for this year, some will be next year, others are still 18~24 months away as they're a lot more involved, along with that we still have further development on existing models to keep us busy, a lot of the things mentioned here are coming but as to timelines not something I can promise at this stage, would rather wait until they're in transit before talking too much about them, products in general are evolutionary rather than revolutionary, you'll see incremental improvements as things progress, hardware choices improve, firmware develops etc

Given how childish some people were I fully respect this.

 

[Nigel]

quite content to not be first to market

You are relying on other people doing all the hard work and then allowing you to benefit from the knowledge they have gained.
That approach doesn't always work, even if you have done quite well out of it in the past.

There always has to be somebody who takes the lead, and the risk that goes with it, and hopefully the rewards that come from it.

 

[jokiin]

You are relying on other people doing all the hard work and then allowing you to benefit from the knowledge they have gained.

no, just not stupid to jump in at the deep end on new technology when it's not proven, don't have money to burn on things that are yet to work just to be able to say you have it first, the Koreans in particular are masters at world first half working products

 

[Nigel]

no, just not stupid to jump in at the deep end

Currently 4K is the deep end, 2K is the shallow end, and 1080 is the paddling pool!

 

[SawMaster]

Better to swim successfully than to chance drowning, even if you never win the swimming races. Letting others lead the way into uncharted territory allows you to avoid pitfalls they discover and have to deal with and the damages to youself that would have occurred otherwise. It is a wise way to all approach things, not just dashcams

1080p is still sufficient for most of what the average person will need for their dashcam to do, for it clearly gives enough detail to prove innocence or fault even if it is somewhat lacking at plate capture, which is most useful only in cases of hit-and-run. Those events usually happen when the culprit driver has no insurance so the end result is the same on your end whether you get the plate number or not, and the only difference is in the offending driver possibly getting caught. With the penalties for hit-and-run being as high as they are, no sane and legal driver would knowingly risk them Right now, 4K cams aren't as reliable or as good as they should be; there is more potential to be had there and it's needed 2K has been made to work very well and given quality hardware and good firmware comes close to 4K vid quality. To me anyway that's where the bar is currently set for good front cams which can be relied upon.

Lacking reliability in a dashcam is an automatic fail in my eyes no matter what else is considered. Dashcams are not about taking chances, but quite the opposite, so reliability matters more than everything else

Phil

 

[jokiin]

1080p is still sufficient for most of what the average person will need for their dashcam to do,

possibly why 90% of the market is sales of 1080p models, no point going broke trying to appeal to what is currently a minority, it will progress though, just takes time, no rush to get to 4k, all the current 4k cameras in the market overheat