The list of shame fake 4K dash cameras Ultra HD

[Mtz]

We can win only if we will return back to sellers the false advertised products! More returns, more changes to win.

I was fighting against fake 4K action cameras here. Now is time to fight against fake 4K dashcams! This is the biggest dashcam forum in the world so we should raise our voices.
4K Ultra HD resolution is 3840x2160 and FPS over 24FPS. 2880x2160 found on some dashcams is not 4K, is just 2160p and you will see that in reality is just 2K! The camera is recording the video at 2880x2160 but in the header of the videos is written an information for the player which is telling him to play the video file at 3840x2140, so the player is making a resize of the image. You will see in reality a 2880 resized to 3840 but keep in mind that also that 2880 was resized by the camera software before encoding the image into the video.
It is expected that some manufacturers to use some poor chipsets which are resizing a Full HD video to 4K and in this way they will cheat you. Is expected such manufacturers to not use real 8MP CMOS so we can catch them here but also their video could be recorded at just 15-20FPS which is also fake.

Please look at this image to understand why is so needed a camera to be a real 4K. We need that much more video information over the Full HD. We do not need a FullHD or a 2K resized to Ultra HD because we are not obtaining more details on our videos because we will have the same Full HD or 2K recorded at higher bitrate and wasting space on the card.



The golden rule: a 4K dashcam must to have at least a real 8MP Image Sensor. No 8MP at least = fake 4K.

How to look if a camera is a fake 4K:
1. The real 8MP CMOS specifications: must to contain at least 3840x2160 resolution
2. Chipset specifications: must to contain at least 3840x2160 resolution; but take care to the FPS because recording at everything under 24FPS is considered fake because Ultra HD standards are not accepting FPS like 20FPS, 10FPS, 15FPS. Normally UltraHD is over 30FPS.
3. Brand (an well known brand are expected to release real 4K dash cameras)
4. Price: right now is expected a real 4K camera to cost over $150 China price

The list of fake 4K dashcameras you should not buy:
1. Aukey 4K dash cam DR02 J. Reason: Aptina AR0521 CMOS which is just 5MP = 2.5K, not 4K. Aukey was releasing also fake 4K action cameras so creating fakes is a common thing for them.


2. Rove R2-4K Reason: OV4689 4MP CMOS. Trying to cheat you that 4MP = 4K. No! 4MP = 2K. 4K needs 8MP CMOS.
3. Azdome GS63H Reason: OV4689 4MP CMOS. Trying to cheat you that 4MP = 4K. No! 4MP = 2K. 4K needs 8MP CMOS.
4. Rexing V1 4K UHD Reason: OV4689 4MP CMOS. Trying to cheat you that 4MP = 4K. No! 4MP = 2K. 4K needs 8MP CMOS.
5. Acekool 4K Dash Cam Reason: OV4689 4MP CMOS. Trying to cheat you that 4MP = 4K. No! 4MP = 2K. 4K needs 8MP CMOS.

As you can see most of them are using the OmniVision OV4689 4MP CMOS. On its specification it is written: The 1/3-inch OV4689 (which is a small sensor compared to others) can capture full-resolution 4-megapixel high definition (HD) . This 4MP does not means the video is recorded at 4K (3840x2160p), but it can be recorded up to 2688x1520 (4085760 pixels = 4MP) which is only about 2K resolution. So in reality you will have a Full HD or 2K video resized to 4K Ultra HD. Very Fake!
The Aptina 0521 size is 1/2.5" which is bigger than 1/3" OV4689 which means more details and better for Aptina and it also have more pixels: 5MP vs 4MP. But the Aptina maximum resolution is just 2592x1944 (5MP) so it is not even 2880x2160p as Aukey declared. They are doing software resizing.
Both OV4689 and AR0521 are offering smaller images than the declared 2160p and this means the 2880x2160p image from the cameras specifications are also fake! So even the declared 4K Horizontally Interpolated 2880x2160p image is fake!

The fake 4K cameras from the same manufacturer costs a little more compared to their Full HD versions just to take more money from you, by cheating you, because on the case is printed that fake 4K Ultra HD.
For example the Rexing V1 Full HD version is with Sony Exmor chipset and costs about $100. The Rexing V1 4K is with OV4689, a cheaper CMOS compared to Sony Exmor but it costs 40% more ($140) just because they printed the fake 4K resolution on the case. So you will pay 40% more just to be cheated.

To be continued...
Please report!
Please, not too much offtopic. I will add your reported cameras to first post of this thread.

enjoy,
Mtz

 

[samuel412]

Looks like
Rove r2-4k can enter the list.
2880-2160p
4MP sensor.

azdome gs63h
2880-2160p
4MP sensor.

 

[Mtz]

Thanks! Added!
Yes, you are right, both are using OmniVision OV4689 CMOS. I expect most of these 4K fake dashcams to use the OV4689 CMOS because it is 4MP. OV4689 is a CMOS released maybe 4 years ago when nobody was dreaming about a 4K dashcam.

enjoy,
Mtz

 

[DAP]

Wouldn't it be more useful to report which 4k dash cams are real?

 

[Mtz]

Of course it can be a thread about real 4K cameras, anybody can create it, but is more help for users to be warned because very few people can distinguish a fake camera from a real camera. If a buyer bought a real 4K camera which is in that thread or which is not, it is OK. But is not OK if he bought a camera which he believed it is a real 4K even he tried to buy a correct one. If you will look in their fake 4K cameras descriptions you will see how ”crisp” is their 4K UltraHD image. People will believe their words and buy their camera. An image can be crisp also at Full HD, 2K, not only 4K.

If somebody will read the thread about real 4K camera and he will decide to buy a camera which is not presented in that thread, if he is not informed how to stay away from fakes, he can buy a fake camera thinking that all 4K cameras are real. He can think the camera he found is like the ones discussed in that thread.

In this thread is not only about a list of fake dashcams to be avoided but also how to obtain the informations.
Also the fake dashcams manufacturers should know that on the biggest dashcam forum in the world their product is on a shame list. If some manufacturers will read this they will know if they will put the 4K logo in their fake 4K dashcam will end in this list.
If the fakers will not be advertised as fakers, more and more manufacturers will create fake 4K dashcams like happened to 4K action cameras which now costs under $40. Just imagine the fake 4K action cameras started to sell at over $100 and think how many people was cheated.

We should put a link to this thread to any fake 4K dashcam presentation from Amazon, ebay, YouTube, etc. and in this way people will see that we are not against just one brand, we are not haters, but we believe in truth, correctness and honesty.

enjoy,
Mtz

 

[samuel412]

Rexing V1 3rd Generation
https://www.rexingusa.com/en/store/...R-Loop-Recording/p/97787574/category=18444673
2880x2160p
ov4689 4MP sensor
-----------------------------------
acekool 4k dashcam
2880x2160p
ov4689 4MP sensor

all of them probably doing resolution scaling, I am not talking about scaling to real 4k, scaling to their advertise res.
IMO its worth.
ov4689 it's 2688x1520 pixels sensors.
http://www.ovt.com/sensors/OV4689
4085760 pixels, 4MP.
for 2880x2160 you need
6220800 pixels, 6.2 MP sensors.

 

[Mtz]

OK, thank you. I added more details for the CMOS sizes, MP, so people understand better how it is obtained the fake video from a resized image.

Two years ago some action cameras with Novatek chipset offered real 2160p because they used Sony IMX206 CMOS. The dashcam manufacturers from the above list used this idea from the action cameras. But at least the action cameras offered 2160p, real 2880x2160 which was not resized by software chipset, was a native resolution of the CMOS.
Now the fakers faked also the declared 2160p by resizing it from 1520 or 1944 to 2160. I consider Aptina could make a little more effort to release the sensor at least 2160p so the fakers to offer at least the vertical 2160p as real.

enjoy,
Mtz

 

[Submariner Gold]

Very useful thread.
My camera a Vico MF3 is classified as 2K . One reviewer not the mfg. said it was actually closer to 2.5K
Its got a 4MP sensor and records at 2,560 x 1,440p with a blended HDR of 60-30 fps.
Apparently it doesnt use any trickery of upscaling. But how would I know anyway except the storage is heavy and the picture looks very good ... well as good as I could find.

The only thing close to 4K that I found was a high spec Go Pro .

 

[Mtz]

I don't expect an well-known brand like Vico to create fake 4K dashcams. A 2K dashcam is nothing special, I consider a normal dashcam for year 2018, better than FullHD cameras.

4K dashcams are not so easy to produce and if fakers will sell fake 4K dashcams for the same price as Full HD cameras when the real 4K camera will be available more and more on the market the price will be higher than the fake 4K cameras and so people will not understand why. If the lower price is for them the first reason to buy, they will end in buying a fake 4K dash cam.
It is normal a fake 4K dashcam to have almost the same price as a Full HD dashcam because it is using the same hardware like used by many other manufacturers: the OV4689 CMOS and the Novatek 2K chipset.

The fake 4K cameras from the same manufacturer costs a little more compared to the Full HD just to take more money from you because on the case is printed that fake 4K Ultra HD.

enjoy,
Mtz

 

[jokiin]

Very useful thread.
My camera a Vico MF3 is classified as 2K . One reviewer not the mfg. said it was actually closer to 2.5K
Its got a 4MP sensor and records at 2,560 x 1,440p with a blended HDR of 60-30 fps.
.

2560 x 1440 is QHD, Quad HD is 4 times standard HD (1280 x 720) resolution, I think making references to 2k or 2.5k etc are more confusing

 

[Submariner Gold]

2560 x 1440 is QHD, Quad HD is 4 times standard HD (1280 x 720) resolution, I think making references to 2k or 2.5k etc are more confusing

I feel Vico’s description was fair ... no complaints from my side very pleased with them especially at my discounted price

 

[jokiin]

I feel Vico’s description was fair ... no complaints from my side very pleased with them especially at my discounted price

doing real resolutions and not interpolated ones is the important bit, what they call it doesn't matter too much as long as the result as real, it can be confusing for consumers, moreso from the amount of fake product that throw these marketing numbers about than anything else though

 

[Mtz]

2560 x 1440 is QHD, Quad HD is 4 times standard HD (1280 x 720) resolution, I think making references to 2k or 2.5k etc are more confusing

I think there are some trademarks because I see manufacturers avoid to use Ultra HD and are using 4K to brand their products.
I don't know from where came first time the 2K as resolution instead of QHD, but maybe for the manufacturers 2K sounds better than 1440p or QHD which can be interpreted as just Quarter of HD. Some of manufacturers used Super HD which sounds good and seems better than Full HD.

enjoy,
Mtz

 

[jokiin]

no trademark issue, just poor marketing

 

[medash]

Is AUKEY DR02 J 4K a bad buy even at $70 (right now on sale) on Amazon?
https://www.amazon.com/gp/B0771DYFTZ
$89.99 - $20.70 w/ promotion code WPRXHD9E = $69.29.

 

[Mtz]

This thread is not about quality of cameras or if is good or bad some model. It is about manufactures which are lying people with false specifications just to sell their product.
I don't recommend any product from manufacturers which are selling fake models because if they are lying with some thing they can lie with everything.
So is better to ask in another thread or forum area about a product, we are focusing here to see who is lying and people should not buy any product from them.

enjoy,
Mtz

 

[guscam]

Virtually all the rear view cams[and dual dash cams] on ebay will say HD and then have a yellow video connector and have monitors with 240 lines

 

[USDashCamera]

Soon we will see 8K on the boxes, but in the fine print it'll be 8000 rupees.

 

[c4rc4m]

Or China will adopt the K as a symbol for Megapixels (8mp = 4k)

 

[JB-007]

people that bought these fake spec cams were cheated and lied to about fake specs on their products and should be reimbursed somehow by these companies and Amazon if they are selling them should be alerted and the vendors specs should be vetted carefully before taking them on as an approved seller