VAVA Dash Impression

runtohell121

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Dash Cam
Viofo & Vantrue - too many to list
I posted the Vava Dash before when it was still in kickstarter phrase and the dash cam finally started shipping (though they said it should have been shipped in April for doorbusters... just arrived today). I personally paid for this unit at the price of $109 after shipping.

Let's begin with some photos of the box, unit, and it's accessories.

Kickstarter backer doorbuster package:
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Dash cam itself, it's a magnet mount system.
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CMhuzJx.jpg

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The power adapter, mount, and dashcam
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and remote
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and finally, the USB cable with the GPS unit built in I assume..
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First impression of the unit is pretty solidly built, except the mount moves way too easily when I was reaching to eject the microSD card. The video quality for day and night seems pretty good also. The app that controls the dash cam seems pretty limited at this time and I do not see a parking mode on this dash cam yet. So it's just for recording for now it seems like, not much options through the app.

Will upload sample footage of the dash cam later.
 
Looks a very nice package - it's the Sony IMX291 sensor in there from what I've read so should be a good performer day & night although guessing there may be extra performance gains to be had long term as these companies tweak this new sensor to get the best out of it :)

It's also nice to see a Kickstarter turn into reality after a few high profile ones crashed and burned!
 
Yeah, it definitely have a good sensor and a good packaging overall. I did a quick comparison to the Shadow2s Plus at night time today and seems quite comparable, both excellent night quality video.

I do however am seeing some issues currently with my VAVA Dash and trying to figure it out and/or contacting VAVA and posting on their community page, as I am noticing footage missing from when I started driving off from my house to a store. It didn't record anything until my car was parked and at the store, making the VAVA completely useless during my short drive to a store. I'm either not understanding how the VAVA Dash works or there's something wrong with the camera itself or some firmware issues with the g-sensor not detecting motion to start recording once the car was in motion.

Anyways, here's a short clip comparison between the VAVA Dash and Shadow2s Plus:
 
I think we're all beta testers for everything these days and I guess they'll be updating firmware via their app as I've not seen it for download anywhere yet.

I update my home wifi access points at least every 14 days and I've just updated my TV twice in the last 24 hours :D

The night video looks good :)
 
So, Does it display speed on screen ?
i thought about GPS module inside of power cable long time ago. Gladly, someone made it happen :)
 
Having the GPS in the power cable seems like it could present an installation headache in many situations. I know it would in my vehicle because it would make it hard to run the cable.
 
I would speculate that the GPS module in the cable might even cause reception issues depending upon where and what angle it ends up in during installation.
 
Signal doesn't seem to suffer too much, installation is a hassle though

I'm wondering what might happen if all or part of the GPS module ends up behind metal along a roof line or A pillar or something to that effect. Seems like a potential issue to me, or at the least, not optimal.
 
I'm wondering what might happen if all or part of the GPS module ends up behind metal along a roof line or A pillar or something to that effect. Seems like a potential issue to me, or at the least, not optimal.
in my country, car worker alway install GPS behind the A pillar. Stick GPS module into metal of A pillar. GPS signal seems pretty good although it's surpose hardly to catch GPS signal because of Faraday cage effect.
And my ideal is not ready GPS module in GPS cable but is sonething like this:
20173500fde1-4c89-4a7e-b641-30ab4079091a.jpg

@jokiin Is this too hard for customer to install ?
- only one input into camera. (mircoUSB or miniUSB)
- in the intersection, has 3.5 audio input.
----------> simply: Move to conection of GPS input from the camera into somewhere more reasonable. And from camera itself, there is only one wire ---> more discreet
Cons: have to product wire individual. Made cost of product increase
 
@runtohell121
Thanks for bringing us a new cam and your thoughts- I'm liking the form-factor and sensor :D Looking forward to hearing of your further experiences.

On the cable-integrated GPS, it's like the form-factor of 'wedge' cams: great for those who can make good use of it but awful for those who can't. As long as a regular cable will work to power the cam I see no great loss as I'm not a fan of GPS in dashcams. The proprietary mount concerns me if it isn't rock-solid since there are no other choices to go to. One should not design in limitations when addressing the general marketplace ;)

Phil
 
I can handle cables with GPS no, but it is a bit harder to deal with and i can see circumstances where it would be a royal pain.
I would clearly prefer another solution for GPS antenna, either on a separate wire, or GPS in the mount.
 
I would speculate that the GPS module in the cable might even cause reception issues depending upon where and what angle it ends up in during installation.
It's possible but I was pleasantly surprised when I installed a couple of A118C's as side cams. They're located in the quarter panel windows behind the rear doors, vertical and under the metal roof - GPS unit on the right side is located in the upper right corner. Signal acquisition is slower than for the GC's mounted front and rear (sometimes as long as 4 minutes) but given my primary reason for having the GPS is clock synchronization that's not a major issue. (Ignore the cable mess - out of sight, out of mind.)

SideMount.JPG
 
It's possible but I was pleasantly surprised when I installed a couple of A118C's as side cams. They're located in the quarter panel windows behind the rear doors, vertical and under the metal roof - GPS unit on the right side is located in the upper right corner. Signal acquisition is slower than for the GC's mounted front and rear (sometimes as long as 4 minutes) but given my primary reason for having the GPS is clock synchronization that's not a major issue. (Ignore the cable mess - out of sight, out of mind.)

View attachment 31062

Pleased to hear that it worked for your. I would still venture a guess that it could be problematic depending on the quirks of each car and the required installation involved. In your case you seem to have ended up with reasonably good glass contact and a slightly upturned angle of the GPS module. I suspect that success may also be dependent on the particular GPS module depending upon which camera you've got.

I'm pretty happy with the separately wired GPS module on my SG9665GC which is mounted directly on my dash board tucked off in the right hand corner and hidden under my dash mat. It's as if it isn't even there.
 
I can handle cables with GPS no, but it is a bit harder to deal with and i can see circumstances where it would be a royal pain.
I would clearly prefer another solution for GPS antenna, either on a separate wire, or GPS in the mount.
GPS in mount maybe is good in cold country but it's pain in the ass in hot climate country like mine.
 
So, Does it display speed on screen ?
i thought about GPS module inside of power cable long time ago. Gladly, someone made it happen :)

I don't think so (no option to display coordinate/speed on video)... Not really sure how everything works at this moment, but I assume that the GPS unit is to record the "driving trip" or so called "journey" feature on the app.
 
in my country, car worker alway install GPS behind the A pillar. Stick GPS module into metal of A pillar. GPS signal seems pretty good although it's surpose hardly to catch GPS signal because of Faraday cage effect.
And my ideal is not ready GPS module in GPS cable but is sonething like this:
20173500fde1-4c89-4a7e-b641-30ab4079091a.jpg

@jokiin Is this too hard for customer to install ?
- only one input into camera. (mircoUSB or miniUSB)
- in the intersection, has 3.5 audio input.
----------> simply: Move to conection of GPS input from the camera into somewhere more reasonable. And from camera itself, there is only one wire ---> more discreet
Cons: have to product wire individual. Made cost of product increase

I think VAVA wants you to mount the GPS unit on the top part of the windshield, near the A-pillar when hardwiring/installing it.
IMG_0079.PNG
 
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