Urive Albatross II

I do understand about costs and profitability, but the wifi upload feature I mentioned should be just a programmatic change on the units which already have wifi. I would think R&D costs wouldn't be that much more and there would be little to no hardware change to incorporate. Heck with the trend of most new dashcams going to microsd, I would even buy a no frills model with only the wifi upload feature. I have been on a hunt for a newer high quality dashcam, but have had to dismiss many good choices simply because they lack a standard SD slot, and trying to change a microsd daily is just asking to have them lost in the many cracks & vents in the dash area.

One of the reasons I own a dashcam, aside from the obvious accident investigation, is also to protect myself from claims against past events. There have actually been reports of cash strapped red light camera companies doctoring photos to generate revenue from unsuspecting motorists. Imagine getting a ticket for running a red light 3 weeks ago and having the video documentation to prove it was false or that there were extenuating circumstances. I haven't had to use the archived footages for anything yet, but the paranoid side of my keeps thinking the day I decide to stop archiving is the day I'll need it.

KuoH

I see your point. You proposals are interesting, but don't forget: more features you ask - more it cost.
 
I do understand about costs and profitability, but the wifi upload feature I mentioned should be just a programmatic change on the units which already have wifi. I would think R&D costs wouldn't be that much more and there would be little to no hardware change to incorporate. Heck with the trend of most new dashcams going to microsd, I would even buy a no frills model with only the wifi upload feature. I have been on a hunt for a newer high quality dashcam, but have had to dismiss many good choices simply because they lack a standard SD slot, and trying to change a microsd daily is just asking to have them lost in the many cracks & vents in the dash area.

One of the reasons I own a dashcam, aside from the obvious accident investigation, is also to protect myself from claims against past events. There have actually been reports of cash strapped red light camera companies doctoring photos to generate revenue from unsuspecting motorists. Imagine getting a ticket for running a red light 3 weeks ago and having the video documentation to prove it was false or that there were extenuating circumstances. I haven't had to use the archived footages for anything yet, but the paranoid side of my keeps thinking the day I decide to stop archiving is the day I'll need it.

KuoH

In theory its should be easy to do, but in practice ( as I can see from many samples ), even slight change poses big problems for manufacturer or it takes ages to adopt something new.
Your point of keeping video documentation history is justified. For this I think best solution will be soon presented by jokiin, where A7 based dash cameras can record to external HD, where you can fit tonns of files. This would be a quckest and easiest solution for you at the moment, or just need t owait another 3-6 month, 1,2,3 years ? , till somebody will come-up with product that meets your needs via WiFi solution proposed by you.
 
Well I am quite new to this forum and the high end market, but as a regular consumer, I'm not sure some of the current expensive models justify their price as jokiin put it, given the features and performance. If they do come out with one that matches my list for above my asking price, it had better be one well polished product with excellent performance and reliability, which does not seem to be the case with what's on the market now. I can go out and buy a 32G Eyefi card now for around $50-$75 and make a wifi capable dashcam out of just about any that have an SD slot. Having actually thought about and typed all this out, I might just go and try it out in the near future.

KuoH

We just might see most of that list by next year when A7L-a solutions start to appear. At least we can hope.
Only thing is I suspect it will be north of your $300 price point.
 
Hence the remote system module, but microsd is acceptable if wifi was built-in. My only reason for full SD is ease of access. A guy can dream.

KuoH

Full size SD is too hard to fit in most designs without them growing substantially as a result
 
Well I am quite new to this forum and the high end market, but as a regular consumer, I'm not sure some of the current expensive models justify their price as jokiin put it, given the features and performance. If they do come out with one that matches my list for above my asking price, it had better be one well polished product with excellent performance and reliability, which does not seem to be the case with what's on the market now. I can go out and buy a 32G Eyefi card now for around $50-$75 and make a wifi capable dashcam out of just about any that have an SD slot. Having actually thought about and typed all this out, I might just go and try it out in the near future.

KuoH

Yes, Eyefi will do job for you with dash cams which using SD card, but majority of dash cams these days using MicroSD and als oas you pointed out: you need to keep dash cam running when you lets say arrive at home, so all files can be transfered via wifi. As soon as you switch off ignition, dash camera switches off, - this is drawback for your solution with Eyefi. Or you just need to keep car engine running until files are transferred. Or hardwire dash camera and this way can leave dash camera files transferring, but not sure how long it going to take via wifi to transfer whole day jorney files, - car battery can go flat. So there are many opsticals to consider, but you have a point that might put some manufacturers to think of new features.
It's always good to have a debate, - only this way things can be done better.
 
That's true, but being in the IT industry, I know the life expectancy of running HDs exposed to temperature extremes are much shorter than average and likely to be an issue, unless special heating/cooling provided.

KuoH

Your point of keeping video documentation history is justified. For this I think best solution will be soon presented by jokiin, where A7 based dash cameras can record to external HD, where you can fit tonns of files.
 
That's true, but being in the IT industry, I know the life expectancy of running HDs exposed to temperature extremes are much shorter than average and likely to be an issue, unless special heating/cooling provided.

KuoH

It would be a mistake to only develop product limited to current technology
 
Yup, my next project after the Eyefi would be a 12V relay timer to control the camera power off. It shouldn't be too hard to find or build one myself with a 555 timer and less than $10 in parts. Given typical 802.11n speeds, a couple of hours should be more than enough time to transfer several gigs of data.

KuoH

As soon as you switch off ignition, dash camera switches off, - this is drawback for your solution with Eyefi. Or you just need to keep car engine running until files are transferred. Or hardwire dash camera and this way can leave dash camera files transferring...
 
Agreed. I'm simply bringing up an idea and stating current limitations. If you can build it somebody will probably buy it. It's just a matter of deciding how many somebodies you want to sell it to. This has been an interesting discussion and I hope it will lead to some future development, even if it's out of my price range to start with. Once it's introduced, I'm sure someone else will come along and make it cheaper.

KuoH

It would be a mistake to only develop product limited to current technology
 
There's a thread here asking how the perfect dashcam should be designed, this discussion really belongs there
 
Ok, sorry for the hijack. I'll look for the other thread.

KuoH
 
There's a thread here asking how the perfect dashcam should be designed, this discussion really belongs there

I was just looking into that thread to draw "our" discussion out there because we went an out of topic here ( sorry to Albatross II )
 
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