Very Blurry Image Quality

[adamb9b]

Hey guys,

I wired up the A139 this weekend (probably purchased in March or April), and when I checked the video yesterday, the image was shockingly blurry to the point that no license plates are readable. Here is an example of when I was stopped at a light at 5PM on a sunny evening:


From reading other posts, I know the first order of business is to update to the latest firmware and check my bitrate setting to see if it's max or not, but should I check any other settings? I am currently running one channel with the intention of adding in the rear camera, and using the Viofo hardwire kit direct to my car battery. It's currently set at 4K max settings on the Sandisk High Endurance 256gb card.

One other thing I considered was that this is screenshot of the video playback on my phone. Could the video on phones be super compressed and this is a result of that, as opposed to viewing it on a computer?

Thanks for any help

 

[DT MI]

One other thing I considered was that this is screenshot of the video playback on my phone. Could the video on phones be super compressed and this is a result of that, as opposed to viewing it on a computer?

Possible. First thing is to view the actual video as it is on the memory card. That way you eliminate potential outside causes.

 

[adamb9b]

Possible. First thing is to view the actual video as it is on the memory card. That way you eliminate potential outside causes.

Good call, thanks. I'll check that tonight before I format the card and upload the most recent firmware

 

[adamb9b]

Here's the screenshot from the raw video file paused in VLC and using Snipping Tool for the image. It's a bit better, but the license plates are still not very clear. I'm about to reformat the card and upload the latest firmware, so I'll report back on my findings next time I'm out in the car

 

[DT MI]

Here's the screenshot from the raw video file paused in VLC and using Snipping Tool for the image.

Rather than pausing and 'snipping' take a snapshot from within VLC. Again, we're eliminating as many outside influences as we can. Likewise, if you have a different video player (I assume you do) do the same with it and compare the results. The whole purpose of this is to determine if it's the camera or some other cause.

 

[VIOFO-Support]

View attachment 66556

Here's the screenshot from the raw video file paused in VLC and using Snipping Tool for the image. It's a bit better, but the license plates are still not very clear. I'm about to reformat the card and upload the latest firmware, so I'll report back on my findings next time I'm out in the car

Please update this firmware to test: https://we.tl/t-hZV0VtMh5f
It is better to check the video in the VLC player to confirm if it is clear enough. There will be difference from the original footage if you just pause the video to get a screenshot.

 

[mikey94025]

Make sure you have set recording set for highest quality: 4K 2160P 30fps and Bitrate=maximum.

In VLC press the little camera icon in the bottom toolbar to snapshot the video frame at the maximum (actual) resolution. You will find the full resolution image file in your Pictures folder. Otherwise you are probably screenshotting the video scaled down to fit your screen resolution (if Video...Always Fit Window is selected).

 

[OldEastSider]

Please don't take offense at this, but are you sure the lens is clean? Just a faint fingerprint can cause degredation of image quality. It's so easy to accidentally touch the lens when mounting it and adjusting it in the car. I've done it many times.

Worth a thought?

 

[CaptureYourAction]

Point the lens down a little more. Shoot for about 50% dash/hood/road and 50% sky. This should brighten the image a little bit.

 

[adamb9b]

Thanks for the input, everyone.

I did the slow format of the card last night and installed the latest Viofo firmware (I was using the out of the box firmware when I installed it last weekend and the above recording used that), I set the bitrate to Max from Normal, 60Hz and made sure the quality is the highest 4K option available. Although the license issue seems to be more of pixelation/compression related, I will be sure to clean the lens off with a clean microfiber, and will also better adjust the lens itself closer to the 50/50 ratio suggested above.

I plan on driving the car this weekend to get some more example shots, along with installing the rear camera, so I will report back after I get some footage and will compare the files between some different media playback software, as well as using the built in screen capture of VLC and others, instead of Snipping Tool.

I full well understand that the dashcam won't be perfect in every scenario 24/7, so I'm just trying to get everything squared away to maximize it's performance and make sure I have the best chance to capture the necessary info, should the unfortunate situation arise.

I appreciate everyone's input and help thus far!

 

[Raaz]

Your screenshot looks pixelated, not "smeared" by motion blur.
As others said, one issue with that screenshot is that the video is in 4k and while the vlc snapshot button will take a single frame as it is and store it, snipping tool will only grab the pixels of your monitor.

Also you can have pixel crawling if the source video has too many pixels for your monitor. Watching 4k Youtube Videos on an older 720p "HD" TV will have massive Pixel crawling.
The Player and Display have to filter down the resolution and depending on that algorithm, you will have jittery lines etc.

Next point: the live view and preview in the viofo app are very very compressed and will look very pixelated.
If you download the video via the app, it will be full quality though.
But it then depends on your phone resolution and the filtering algorithm.


What I would recommend:
Use vlc again, use the snapshot button. Then open that snapshot with a picture viewer of your choice and zoom in. At some point the resolution will match your monitor 1:1 and the picture should look best.
The standard Windows 10/11 photo viewer has a percentage at the top right. 100% will match pixels 1:1. The picture probably won't fit your monitor though.

Btw, the look in vlc can also depend on your hardware. Different hardware acceleration will filter better or worse etc.
Can you tell us your exact pc/laptop specs and display resolution?

Additionally: if that looks good, then it's all fine.
To make the video look good on standard monitors (1920x1080), either render it down with the video editor of your choice or upload it to YouTube (select private or non-listed), which will make it available in 4k, 1440p, 1080p, 720p etc.
Many ways to do this.
Or just leave it be if you just want the footage for proof in case of a situation. With vlc, you can just zoom in until the pixel crawling stops.

 

[adamb9b]

Your screenshot looks pixelated, not "smeared" by motion blur.
As others said, one issue with that screenshot is that the video is in 4k and while the vlc snapshot button will take a single frame as it is and store it, snipping tool will only grab the pixels of your monitor.

Also you can have pixel crawling if the source video has too many pixels for your monitor. Watching 4k Youtube Videos on an older 720p "HD" TV will have massive Pixel crawling.
The Player and Display have to filter down the resolution and depending on that algorithm, you will have jittery lines etc.

Next point: the live view and preview in the viofo app are very very compressed and will look very pixelated.
If you download the video via the app, it will be full quality though.
But it then depends on your phone resolution and the filtering algorithm.


What I would recommend:
Use vlc again, use the snapshot button. Then open that snapshot with a picture viewer of your choice and zoom in. At some point the resolution will match your monitor 1:1 and the picture should look best.
The standard Windows 10/11 photo viewer has a percentage at the top right. 100% will match pixels 1:1. The picture probably won't fit your monitor though.

Btw, the look in vlc can also depend on your hardware. Different hardware acceleration will filter better or worse etc.
Can you tell us your exact pc/laptop specs and display resolution?

Additionally: if that looks good, then it's all fine.
To make the video look good on standard monitors (1920x1080), either render it down with the video editor of your choice or upload it to YouTube (select private or non-listed), which will make it available in 4k, 1440p, 1080p, 720p etc.
Many ways to do this.
Or just leave it be if you just want the footage for proof in case of a situation. With vlc, you can just zoom in until the pixel crawling stops.

Wow, great info! Thank you!

The pixel creep makes a lot of sense. I have a dual monitor setup, but both are a few years old and I highly doubt they're 4K monitors. Probably just 1080. My desktop setup is an Intel i5 3.5GHz 6600k, Win10, 24GB RAM and a Nvidia 2070 Super GPU.

I went kayaking this evening and was at the same intersection at around the same time and conditions, so it was almost a perfect comparison. After following the suggestions of everyone, upgrading the firmware and making sure the settings were maxed, the results were MUCH better, even with it being slightly down-scaled because of the two channel recording. I adjusted the front camera down a bit, but not quite 50/50. There's a ton of dash when it's 50/50 and I'm afraid of potentially missing info at the top of the screen, but this is still better than before. No CPL on either, haven't played with that yet.
Here are the front and rear images with the snapshot taken from VLC itself:

 

[Dashmellow]

I have a dual monitor setup, but both are a few years old and I highly doubt they're 4K monitors. Probably just 1080.

If you have a look at the display properties on your computer's system it will tell you the resolution of your two monitors along with other useful info. If you're not quite sure how to do that a simple Google search will explain what to do depending on which OS you've got.