Vantrue Sonnet 1 (S1) Pro - Testing / Review - RCG

[rcg530]

I was contacted by Vantrue to see if I wanted to check out the new Sonnet 1 (S1) Pro 2-channel dash camera.

Vantrue is providing all of the items used in my testing/review free of charge.

A few days ago, I received a from Vantrue:

• 1 - Pre-production (no serial number) S1 Pro 2-channel dash camera
  • Processor: Novatek (TBD)
  • Front Image Sensor: Sony STARVIS 2 IMX675
  • Rear Image Sensor: 2MP Sony STARVIS (TBD)
  • Screen: 2" IPS Screen
  • Video Files
    • Video Codec: H.265
    • Video File Container Format: MP4
      • Front Filename Basename Suffix: "_A"
      • Rear Filename Basename Suffix: "_B"
  • Camera Lens Info:
    • Field of View: Front 160° / Rear 165°
    • Aperture: Front F/1.8, Rear F/1.8
  • Video Resolutions:
    • Front+Rear:
      • 1944P +1080P 30FPS
        1944P +720P 30FPS
        1440P +1080P 30FPS
        1440P +720P 30FPS
        1080P+1080P 30FPS
        1080P+720P 30FPS
        720P+720P 30FPS
    • Front Only:
      • 2592x1944P 30FPS
        2560x1440P 30FPS
        1920x1080P 30FPS
        1280x720P 30FPS
  • High Dynamic Range (HDR) - Default setting = On/Yes
    • Front: Yes, Rear: Yes
    • "HDR Timer" feature is present in the firmware settings
      • Default value is off (for this feature) but when enabled you can schedule the HH:MM start time and HH:MM stop time for the HDR feature
  • Internal Power Source: Super capacitor
  • External Power: USB Type-C connector on side of GPS windshield mount
  • GPS Receiver: Built into the windshield mount
  • Wi-Fi: Dual band 2.4 GHz & 5 GHz
  • Firmware Update Methods:
    • Over-The-Air (OTA) via the "Vantrue" app (Android / iOS)
    • MicroSD Card: Place firmware bin file (front or rear) in the root directory of the microSD card's file system
  • MicroSD Card Sizes Supported: 32 GB to 512 GB U3, Class 10
  • Operating Temp Range: -4°F to 140°F(-20°C to 60°C)
  • Voice Assistant (Voice Commands):
    • You can adjust the sensitivity of this feature in the "Voice Assistant" firmware sensitivity setting: low / standard / high / off
  • Audio: Built-in microphone and speaker
  • Parking Modes
    • By default this feature is turned off
    • Collision Detection
      • The dash camera powers down to a low power consumption state waiting for an impact to occur.
      • When an impact occurs, the dash camera is powered up to begin recording video
        • Additional/separate firmware setting allows you to select between "Power Saving Mode" and "Quick Start Mode".
        • "Power Saving Mode"
          • This is the default and it allows the dash camera to power down to a very low power consumption state (see power consumption data in this thread)
          • The amount of time between the impact event and when the video starts recording is approximately 12 seconds.
        • "Quick Start Mode"
          • This is a relatively new feature for Vantrue dash cameras.
          • When the dash camera enters into collision detection parking mode with this setting selected, the dash camera does go into a "low power" consumption mode.
          • The amount of power it consumes in this mode is about 6.7 times the amount of power consumed in "Power Saving Mode".
          • The amount of time between the impact event and when the video starts recording is approximately 3 seconds.
    • Motion Detection
      • When the dash camera has detected motion within the defined "Motion Detection Area", it will create a buffered video recording for the front/rear cameras which contains 15 seconds before the triggering motion event and 30 seconds after the triggering motion event.
    • Low Bitrate
      • You select either "1080P 15FPS" or "720P 15FPS" in the parking mode settings for this parking mode.
      • The front and rear video files will contain audio and the video resolution will be at the resolution and frames per second as selected for this parking mode.
    • Low Frame Rate
      • You select the number of frames per second for the dash camera to record video in this parking mode: 1 / 5 (default) / 10 / 15 FPS.
        • The video recorded will be at the resolution currently selected in the main "Resolution" setting at 30 fps, but the internal video streams in the video files will be recorded at the select FPS setting for this parking mode.
        • No audio is recorded in this parking mode.
  • Included in the box with the dash camera
    • Car Charger - Cigarette Lighter Adapter (CLA)
      • Supports 12V & 24V systems
      • No low voltage cutoff feature
      • Output Power: 5V at a max of 2.4 Amps
      • Cable: 3.5 m / 11.48 ft - USB Type-C power cable to dash camera - 22 AWG wire
    • GPS Mount
    • Rear Camera - Vantrue RC04
    • Rear Camera Cable (USB Type-C connectors)
      • Length: 6 m / 19.68 ft
      • Cable Thickness: 4.25mm / 0.1675 inches
    • USB Type-A to USB Type-C Data Cable: 1 m / 3.28 ft
    • Two electrostatic stickers
    • Dust-free cloth
    • Two warning stickers
    • 1 front / 1 rear replacement 3M adhesive pads
    • Plastic installation pry tool / crowbar
    • User Manual
• 1 - 256 GB Vantrue branded microSD card (sold separately)
• 1 - Vantrue VP05 3-Wire Hardwire Kit with Voltage Display (optional accessory)
• 1 - Vantrue "S1 Kit" (optional accessory)
• 2 - Vantrue 40mm CPLs (optional accessory)

Today, I received:

• 1 Vantrue Sonnet 1 (S1) 2-channel dash camera
  • Vantrue wanted the S1 Pro to be compared with the older S1 dash camera.

When Vantrue starts shipping production S1 Pro dash cameras:

• 1 Production S1 Pro 2-channel dash camera

Spoiler: Unboxing Pictures

Box / Contents:


Front Camera:


Rear Camera:

 

[rcg530]

Spoiler: Vantrue VP05 3-Wire Hardwire Kit with Voltage Display

• Newer 3-wire hardwire kit with USB Type-C power connector
• Supports 12V & 24V systems
• Three user selectable low voltage cutoff values:
  • 11.6V / 23.6V
  • 12.0V / 24.0V
  • 12.4V / 24.4V
• Output Power
  • 5V at a max of 2.5 Amps
• Cables
  • 2.5 m / 8.2 ft - USB-C power cable to dash camera
  • 1.0 m / 3.3 ft - 12V/24V 3-wire input power cable - 24 AWG wires
    • Included with 2 sets of four fuse taps for constant battery and accessory power wires - ATM Mini, Low Profile Mini, Micro2, ATO/ATC

Spoiler: Vantrue S1 Kit - 2-Wire Hardwire Kit (for older S1 dash camera)

• 2-Wire hardwire kit intended for use with the older S1 dash camera with a mini USB power port
• Supports 12V & 24V systems
• Low voltage cutoff feature (not user changeable)
  • 11.6V / 23.6V
• Output Power
  • 5V at a max of 2.0 Amps
• Cables
  • 3.0 m / 9.84 ft - Mini USB power cable to dash camera
  • 0.5 m / 1.64 ft - 12V/24V 2-wire input power cable - not marked but estimated using 24 AWG wires
    • Included with 1 set of four fuse taps for constant battery power wire - ATM Mini, Low Profile Mini, Micro2, ATO/ATC

Spoiler: Vantrue 40mm CPL

Spoiler: Vantrue 256 GB MicroSD Card

 

[rcg530]

Power Consumption Test Results

 

[rcg530]

Focus Quality Testing - Not Installed In The Car

I attached the S1 Pro front and rear cameras to a test rig which I placed on the rear trunk lid of my car. I test the focus quality of the dash cameras outside of the car (initially) to avoid any influence (if any) my car's window glass may play in the focus quality of the dash camera.

The front camera has a decent level of focus clarity. The RC04 rear camera is out of focus (in general).

Spoiler: S1 Pro Focus Check Screenshots - Not Installed In The Car

Front Camera Focus Check


Rear Camera Focus Check

Focus Quality Testing - Installed In The Car

After installing the S1 Pro in my car, I drove my car on a 2.5 hour drive. After a 30 minute low bitrate parking mode session, the rear camera focus quality got far worse. After I returned to the car and drove home with the A/C on, the focus quality got somewhat better, but again even cold the focus quality of the rear camera is not great. The front camera's focus quality seems to be "good" in all temperature situations. I've reported the rear camera focus issue to Vantrue.

Spoiler: Rear Camera Screenshots - Start Of Trip / After 30 min LBR Parking Mode Session / After 30 minute cool down drive

Start of trip with "cool" rear camera


After a 28 minute low bitrate parking mode session, the focus quality of the rear camera degraded after being directly exposed to the sun and the passenger compartment temperature rose to a max of 100F/37.7C.


After a 30 minute drive home. The passenger compartment cooled down with the A/C on.

 

[rcg530]

Power Consumption Test Results - (2019) S1 1-Channel/2-Channel Dash Camera

When configured as a 2-channel dash camera, the S1 (non Pro) only offers one resolution option of 1920x1080 (front) + 1920x1080 (rear) 30fps. When the S1 is operated in 1-channel mode, it offers four resolution options of 2880x2160 24fps (not full 4K video resolution), 1920x1080 60fps, 1920x1080 30fps and 1280x720 30fps.

The only parking mode option for the S1 is motion detection. It records at the resolution selected for normal recording mode and starts recording within 1 to 3 seconds (noted in spreadsheet info) and continues to record until the motion stops plus another 10 seconds. The "S1 Kit" 2-wire hardwire kit was used to power the S1. Entering into parking mode requires the dash camera/vehicle to be stationary for 5 minutes.

Firmware that was installed out of the box was VTS10J.V11.



Most recent firmware is VTS10J.V23. That firmware adds low bitrate parking mode. I'll test that additional parking mode and post an update.

 

[rcg530]

Power Consumption Test Results - (2019) S1 1-Channel/2-Channel Dash Camera - Firmware VTS10J.V23

Upgrading the S1 (non Pro camera) firmware from version VTS10J.V11 to VTS10J.V23 added a new parking mode type of "Low Bitrate". The low bitrate parking mode will create 1280x720 15fps videos no matter how the dash camera's "Resolution" setting is configured. I added two additional rows to the spreadsheet for the 1-channel and 2-channel modes of operation in low bitrate parking mode.

 

[rcg530]

I ran a plate readability test in my garage with four dash cameras. I used a retired personalized plate which has the white background and the standard reflectorized coating on it. All four front dash cameras did a poor job of "seeing" the plate when the light is pointed directly at the plate. You'll see the reflection of the plate in my car's hood and that will be visible for some of the cameras, but not all.

Going left-to-right

BlackVue DR970X Front (FW v1.004 / No CPL) - No WDR/HDR setting available in this dash camera:

When the light is on the plate, it is not readable. The reflection of the plate in my car's hood is readable.



Thinkware U3000 Front (FW v1.01.00 / With stick on CPL installed):

When the light is on the plate, it is not readable. The reflection plate in my car's hood is not readable.



Vantrue S1 Pro Front (FW VT-ECH281 / With 40mm CPL) - HDR Enabled for front camera with HDR Timer disabled:

When the light is on the plate, it is not readable. The reflection of the plate in my car's hood is somewhat readable.



Vantrue N5 Front (FW VT-ECH121 / With 40mm CPL) - WDR Enabled for front camera:

When the light is on the plate, it is not readable. The reflection plate in my car's hood is not readable.

 

[Panzer Platform]

I ran a plate readability test in my garage with four dash cameras

Good test, thanks for the confirmation.

 

[rcg530]

Looking at the front video/audio transitions vs the rear video/audio transitions for the S1 Pro.

I used two front and two rear video files created about 10 minutes into a recent normal mode driving session. The file transitions for the front/rear cameras seem to occur at slightly different times. The front video file transition takes place 10 frames (10 / 30 = 1/3 of a second) before the rear video file transition. The reason I say that is the case is the clock overlay text is only in sync when this offset is accounted for. The audio track contents are also about 10 frames offset from each other.

Screenshot from Adobe Premiere Pro - Timeline showing 10 frame offset


Looking at the next file transition, you can see there is a small amount of audio dropped at the end of each file. The front video file has three audio frames missing at the end. The rear video file has 1 audio frame missing at the end of the file.

 

[rcg530]

I used my TOPDON TC004 thermal camera to capture some thermal pics of the dash cameras in my car during my weekly 3 hour drive. The outside temp during the entire trip ranged from 71F/21.6C to 83F/28.3C. At the end of the last parking mode session (about 30 minutes), that's when I used thermal camera. The inside center console temp (where I have a cheap thermometer shows 99F/37.2C.

The S1 Pro camera body was not exposed to direct sunlight during this parking mode session. The rear camera was exposed to direct sunlight.

145.5F/64.0C - In the center of the button area - Max temp is actual from the Thinkware U3000 to the left of the S1 Pro in the picture


153.2F/67.3C - On the bottom side of the front lens with a 40mm CPL installed - 376.1F hotspot is a reflection of some sort in the thermal image.


147.3F/64.0C - Just above the button area and at the base of the screen which is off. The 161.7F/72.0C hotspot is located on the right side of the picture where the microSD card slot is located.


149.1F/65.0C - Just above the button are and at the base of the screen which is off. The 160.6F/71.4C hotspot is at the top/middle of the S1 Pro front camera body.


153.4F/67.4F - Is located where the rear camera cable plugs into the front camera case. The 170.0F/76.6C hotspot is where the microSD card slot is located.

The section that is blurred out is to avoid showing a dash camera that is currently under a data embargo.


Rear Camera (had direct sunlight on it):

158.3F/70.1C - is the S1 Pro rear camera. The hotspot is the my car's third brake light case.

 

[Agie]

I used my TOPDON TC004 thermal camera to capture some thermal pics of the dash cameras in my car during my weekly 3 hour drive. The outside temp during the entire trip ranged from 71F/21.6C to 83F/28.3C. At the end of the last parking mode session (about 30 minutes), that's when I used thermal camera. The inside center console temp (where I have a cheap thermometer shows 99F/37.2C.

The S1 Pro camera body was not exposed to direct sunlight during this parking mode session. The rear camera was exposed to direct sunlight.

145.5F/64.0C - In the center of the button area - Max temp is actual from the Thinkware U3000 to the left of the S1 Pro in the picture
View attachment 67488

153.2F/67.3C - On the bottom side of the front lens with a 40mm CPL installed - 376.1F hotspot is a reflection of some sort in the thermal image.
View attachment 67489

147.3F/64.0C - Just above the button area and at the base of the screen which is off. The 161.7F/72.0C hotspot is located on the right side of the picture where the microSD card slot is located.
View attachment 67490

149.1F/65.0C - Just above the button are and at the base of the screen which is off. The 160.6F/71.4C hotspot is at the top/middle of the S1 Pro front camera body.
View attachment 67492

153.4F/67.4F - Is located where the rear camera cable plugs into the front camera case. The 170.0F/76.6C hotspot is where the microSD card slot is located.

The section that is blurred out is to avoid showing a dash camera that is currently under a data embargo.
View attachment 67493

Rear Camera (had direct sunlight on it):

158.3F/70.1C - is the S1 Pro rear camera. The hotspot is the my car's third brake light case.
View attachment 67491

I know I sound like a broken record at this point (haha), but what gets me is the use of older chipsets with old processor architectures, hence running so hot. They would never get away with this with mobile phones, and yes I know dash cameras don't do anywhere as much as what mobile phones do. Just wish someone would force e.g. Novatek, to stop using 15-year old-phone-era architectures and move to something newer, so they'd perform better and optimally in all sorts of temperature environments.

 

[Karagandinez]

I know I sound like a broken record at this point (haha), but what gets me is the use of older chipsets with old processor architectures, hence running so hot. They would never get away with this with mobile phones, and yes I know dash cameras don't do anywhere as much as what mobile phones do. Just wish someone would force e.g. Novatek, to stop using 15-year old-phone-era architectures and move to something newer, so they'd perform better and optimally in all sorts of temperature environments.

What don't you like about Novatek processors? I tested many models of DVRs from Viofo and Vantrue, and all of them had processors from Novatek inside. All models were operated at times at very high temperatures and none of the models had any problems.

 

[Agie]

What don't you like about Novatek processors? I tested many models of DVRs from Viofo and Vantrue, and all of them had processors from Novatek inside. All models were operated at times at very high temperatures and none of the models had any problems.

Only cos they seem to be the biggest player when it comes to dashcam chipsets these days, that's all. If there were other brands then them too. Anyways different industry to cell phones and other applications, and I'm not an engineer, so what do I know ...

 

[rcg530]

Vantrue sent me a debug RC04 firmware which displays some "data" in place of the regular status line text. During my weekly drive last Friday, the S1 Pro's rear RC04 camera started off "somewhat out of focus" and as the day progressed, the focus quality continued to get worse. I've sent my results to Vantrue.

Somewhat out of focus


Very out of focus

 

[DT MI]

...During my weekly drive last Friday, the S1 Pro's rear RC04 camera started off "somewhat out of focus" and as the day progressed, the focus quality continued to get worse. I've sent my results to Vantrue.

Somewhat out of focus
View attachment 67587

Very out of focus
View attachment 67588

Similar to what I experienced. Posted examples in my review thread.

 

[Agie]

Vantrue sent me a debug RC04 firmware which displays some "data" in place of the regular status line text. During my weekly drive last Friday, the S1 Pro's rear RC04 camera started off "somewhat out of focus" and as the day progressed, the focus quality continued to get worse. I've sent my results to Vantrue.

Somewhat out of focus
View attachment 67587

Very out of focus
View attachment 67588

Least they acknowledged the issue and working on it now, hopefully is some kind of fix

 

[Panzer Platform]

Least they acknowledged the issue and working on it now

This is part of the reason I accepted the S1 Pro for test & review, (even though I detest the H.265 Codec is uses).
Vantrue seems to be making strides in listening to customer & tester feedback to improve their products.
Unlike some other manufactures that I won't mention. lol

 

[Agie]

This is part of the reason I accepted the S1 Pro for test & review, (even though I detest the H.265 Codec is uses).
Vantrue seems to be making strides in listening to customer & tester feedback to improve their products.
Unlike some other manufactures that I won't mention. lol

One popped up last week we all know that one haha

 

[DT MI]

Vantrue seems to be making strides in listening to customer & tester feedback to improve their products.

However, it would be nice if there were a formal channel for feedback (I've specifically asked Jeff about this twice with no response), and an acknowledgement of our concerns.

 

[Agie]

However, it would be nice if there were a formal channel for feedback (I've specifically asked Jeff about this twice with no response), and an acknowledgement of our concerns.

This. Would be nice for a centralised channel where we can communicate directly with Jeff or a representative. Makes it easier than for him to have to read 800 threads and 800 DM's.