using a119s with vico power

allowe

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hey everyone!

ive been using my a119s for 3 months with a 128gb samsung evo U3 for some time now and its been great!

today i ordered the vico power cut off thing and was wondering if the parking mode in our cams is good or should i just let it record regularly when i activate the device?

id also like to set it up in a way that i never have to touch it.

also, whats a good amount of voltage to start up my car (2013 scion Fr-s). i was thinking of 12.6 to be safe.

thanks reading!
 
I would use the highest voltage cut-off to start, but check it keeps running as long as you need.
I've never been tempted by parking modes, if they don't save power, then what's the point? As long as you have a large memory card just keep recording, IMO.
I could imagine a parking mode that would be useful, but all the ones I've seen are wide of the mark, I don't think the manufacturers have ever taken a step back and really thought about what what is needed (as opposed to what is a good marketing gimmick.)
But I don't own a a119s, so maybe owners will chip in.
 
I could imagine a parking mode that would be useful, but all the ones I've seen are wide of the mark, I don't think the manufacturers have ever taken a step back and really thought about what what is needed (as opposed to what is a good marketing gimmick.)

so what's your ideal parking mode?
 
Constant low fps recording till motion is detected, on detecting motion switch to normal recording.
 
so what's your ideal parking mode?
For starters, it would have to provide normal video footage for the time leading up to a collision. i.e. like you would get hitting the button if you were in the car.

To achieve this, it has to record continuously. But it would be OK to delete anything more than a few minutes old if nothing is of interest.
So, imagine it recorded in 3 minute segments. After 9 minutes you'd have 3x3minute files and need to start on a new file. The oldest could be deleted if no incident has been detected.
File1 would be deleted, file2 and file3 kept for now, and file4 is being recorded to.
Repeat the process indefinitely unless an incident is detected, in which case write-protect the lot, record a few minutes more and write-protect that too.

Unless you have an impact you'd never have more than 3 video files. So the card doesn't fill up and you don't need to delete any regular footage recorded during driving. (Well, maybe a handful of the oldest ones.)

Edit> And the beauty is you're using no more power than if you were messing about with low-FPS recording. So why not? I don't know why they haven't done this. Am I wrong? Do some cameras' parking modes already work this way?
 
Unless you have an impact you'd never have more than 3 video files. So the card doesn't fill up and you don't need to delete any regular footage recorded during driving.

are you talking about using this method while driving also?

Edit> And the beauty is you're using no more power than if you were messing about with low-FPS recording.

power differences between different modes are negligible
 
are you talking about using this method while driving also?
No. I like having a full recording that I can refer to if necessary. I would reserve this for parking mode.
Having said that, it could be an option in the settings. Better to have the option and not use it, than to want the option and not have it.

power differences between different modes are negligible
That's my point. I think parking mode is a selling point mainly because many people think it is a low-power mode. But it isn't.
 
what you're describing for parking mode isn't a lot different to cameras that use a prebuffer, if something happens that is deemed to be an event is written to memory including the several seconds leading up to the point where the event was triggered, it's not saving several minutes before but is that even necessary, probably not

That's my point. I think parking mode is a selling point mainly because many people think it is a low-power mode. But it isn't.

I can't say I've ever had feedback from any customer asking about parking mode that thought it was some sort of low power mode
 
prebuffer (snip)... it's not saving several minutes before but is that even necessary, probably not
It's what I'd want. :) And given that there are no real obstacles to doing it*, I'm surprised nobody has offered it.
(* Except wear and tear on the memory card, which I'd accept.)

Just as an aside, my first dashcam records one minute segments while driving, when you hit the save button it saves the current, previous, and next file. This works well for me.
A newer camera is set to record 3 minute segments. Hitting the button saves just the current file. Several times I've gone to review a saved file and the first thing in the recording is me hitting the button. Nothing before that.
So yeah, when the lead-up is missing, it can be severely annoying, and it's not how things should be done. Not when it's possible to do better.

I can't say I've ever had feedback from any customer asking about parking mode that thought it was some sort of low power mode
That's the thing about assumptions, you don't think to question them.
I think it's natural to associate parking mode with standby mode, which is used by so many devices these days - and in those devices the purpose is to save power.
Maybe your customers are better informed than most, but I've seen comments from people thinking it's a low power setting that can be left running for days or weeks.
 
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A newer camera is set to record 3 minute segments. Hitting the button saves just the current file. Several times I've gone to review a saved file and the first thing in the recording is me hitting the button. Nothing before that.

we used to have the same sort of limitation on saving files but have revised that since to avoid this situation

That's the thing about assumptions, you don't think to question them..

that's you assuming we don't ask questions ;)

Maybe your customers are better informed than most, but I've seen comments from people thinking it's a low power setting that can be left running for days or weeks.

some people seem to miss the fact that there is only so much memory available
 
some people seem to miss the fact that there is only so much memory available
How does this grab you?

Specifications:
Photo Size: 12M,8M,5M, 3M, 1M
Video Size:1920 x 1080p@30fps, 1280 x 720p@30fps, 848 x 480@30fps, 640 x 480p @30fps
Video Length: 1-30s/3/5/10min.
Built-in 24pcs LED for night vision
Response time: about 0.5s
Trigger Interval: 1s - 60min
Trigger Distance: Up to 20m
Full automatic IR filter
Up to 6 months of standby time
Waterproof standard IP66

 
I think the ideal parking mode would record low FPS (or maybe 2-3 seconds time-lapse) till activated, then save 1 minute prior to event and a 1-2 minute event file. What I'm after isn't power savings but keeping the cam heat low and to have enough 'history' to put the event into a clear context with no gaps in the recording (other than time-lapse losses) :D

A larger capacity car battery or powerbank solves recording time problems, and a larger card ensures that nothing goes missing without the card getting filled. Those points are already workable with any cam so my focus is on how the mode works and how well the cam can handle it ;)

Phil
 
for me, i never assumed parking mode was lower power. in the camera i recently retired from my wife's car, it worked as expected - prebuffered. i got it after her car was hit in parking lots 3 different times - all hit n run. the real pisser was that two of them happened AT CHURCH!!! of course, after getting the camera, people stopped hitting her car. and no, it wasn't her - one of them happened while at church, and i had driven us there and back.

parking mode being added to the a119 came at the perfect time - right as her old cam was taking its last breaths. no, the a119 isn't two-channel like the old one, but one channel is better than zero, which is where the old one was quickly heading. so i took the a119 (pre-production even!) from the back of my car and put it in the front of hers, reusing the battery drain preventer (dunno what brand, something korean) that was already in there for the last camera.
 
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