VOTE! Future of DashCam Solution. 1,2,4ch Discrete / Stealth cameras, Remote lens, "Snowden W007"

[dannymstone]

The demand is there for sure. I have tried the 2 camera system from Genius, DVR-Hd500D (http://www.geniusnet.com/Genius/wSite/ct?xItem=57836&ctNode=3321). It is bad in many aspects except the tiny lens for the back.
What is needed is something with a decent rechargeble battery life, 1080 from all lenses, a decent user interface. If you people are planning for the future, consider integration in modern vehicles with factory in dash monitors, linked to data, the securties industry might like the visual/tracking abilities.

 

[sludgeguts]

The demand is there for sure. I have tried the 2 camera system from Genius, DVR-Hd500D (http://www.geniusnet.com/Genius/wSite/ct?xItem=57836&ctNode=3321). It is bad in many aspects except the tiny lens for the back.
What is needed is something with a decent rechargeble battery life, 1080 from all lenses, a decent user interface. If you people are planning for the future, consider integration in modern vehicles with factory in dash monitors, linked to data, the securties industry might like the visual/tracking abilities.

Is 1080 really essential all round though?
I still haven't gotten round to swapping out my F70 in the car but the 720p is fairly good in the front - thinking it would be so much better in the rear (and I'll use my G1W to cover the front) with the F70's rear lens covering driver's side (at whatever P*** poor quality that uses) since it does a reaasonable job of covering the rear.
I would be very happy to buy something cheap that uses remote lenses to cover 1080 front & 720 for the other 3 with just a basic DVR stored remotely in the glove box/under a seat or in the rear.
This would be my perfect setup for a year, or maybe two years - by which time, tech will have leapt forward enough to get better than 1080 all round with perfect recording etc.

 

[jokiin]

we'll see good quality dual 1080p within the next few months

 

[sludgeguts]

Hopefully at a good pricepoint.
(for 'good' read 'cheap' )

Regarding those close-up shots in the top pics - am I alone in thinking these might not be true representations of actual zoom shots?
Whenever I try to zoom into a pic - and mine are 1080p - the pic itself starts to lose clarity, those zoom shots seem to have the same clarity as the original.

 

[jokiin]

yeah I think when the advertising material gets put together by a graphic artist the results may not be consistent with what an end user would get themselves, very typical way things are portrayed unfortunately

 

[sludgeguts]

Looking at my 'shots' on the 'dashcam with telescope lens' thread - I reckon I could get a job in advertising (as long as no-one notices the distance shot of blackpool tower is at ground level whereas the close-up shot was taken from above the heads of the workers up there )

 

[spotnz]

This is MAIN Concept of future of dash cam system which actually already in big demand right now.
- cameras need to be seen AS LITTLE AS POSSIBLE from outside of the car !

Other extras like OP system, functionality, removable hdd, wifi, gsm, gps and so on - this is other topic.
Having separate hidden main unit where size almost doesnt matter, it allows to built in easily endnless extras depending on market needs, but MOST important ( point of this thread ) is to bring a message to manufacturers about needs of new concept in dashcam system development.

the cameras also need to be "invisible", inside the car. To discourage theft, and also from people discovering that they're being filmed & committing themselves to more undesirable acts.

backing cameras already integrate with screen on the rear view mirror, or ICE etc. So why can't these screens also control the cameras? Or perhaps have a screen looking like a generic gps unit.

I also wonder how close the sensor needs to be to the lens. I'm showing my ignorance here. Can the image be sent from the lens to the sensor, via a fibre optic cable? Making a bigger sensor easier to use. I recall this being done some time ago ( in Japan ) by someone wanting to introduce extra sunlight to a dark room.

yet another thought leads me to the mounting. Can the lenses be mounted directly to the screen? And still produce viable images. It should ( using modern hi-tech ) be possible to selectively capture a portion of the image captured on the sensor, so that it looks like the lens is pointed in the right direction.

david

 

[oppconsulting]

its nice but like said other interface required i dont really like some of the smaller ones

i dont have or want a smart phone or tablet and to many tiny ones want this reminds me of my cable company going to those d phones and crap

the camera i have i used the adhesive mount and in the right spot almost invisible i cant see and never remove it

but hey to each there own i just hope this summer i dont have any issues with this camera getting to hot sitting on windshield direct sun and all

 

[sludgeguts]

but hey to each there own i just hope this summer i dont have any issues with this camera getting to hot sitting on windshield direct sun and all

Another good reason for having remote lens. The main DVR - where all the power is going & all the heat is generated - needs to be housed remotely.
For anyone with a modicum of DiY skills, you could even tap into the car's aircon system with a small hose to divert some of that cool air, or maybe incorporate some other cooling mechanism (as used on PCs?)

 

[Dashmellow]

Another good reason for having remote lens. The main DVR - where all the power is going & all the heat is generated - needs to be housed remotely.
For anyone with a modicum of DiY skills, you could even tap into the car's aircon system with a small hose to divert some of that cool air, or maybe incorporate some other cooling mechanism (as used on PCs?)

I've found that in my vehicle (a Toyota) there is always a flow of air coming up my windshield from the dash vents that I can feel moving past my camera. In hot summer weather I can enhance this effect dramatically by using the air conditioner and simply directing the cold air up the windshield using the defroster setting and cranking up the blower. No hose required. This seems to work especially well with my Mobius. I'm more concerned when the camera sits there baking in the hot sun with the windows closed when the vehicle is parked somewhere. On the other hand, now that I have super-caps in my front and rear cameras I won't have to worry about cooked batteries this season. Still, I'm hoping it won't be too long before we have a viable remote lens system with a DVR "base station". I would like to see something similar to a miniature multi-channel CCTV surveillance system like I have on my home and business but optimized for automotive use.

 

[albertson]

I would replace my dual cameras with a good 2 channel unit, small head unit and hidden DVR. The goal to me is to have a 2 channel unit that matches performance of dual Panorama 2 cameras. The dual Panorama 2 work very good, just wish they were not so visible. One DVR and two very small lens units. Hopefully lens head is near AA size battery, or smaller than a C battery. I don't care much about if the shape being like a mobus or cylinder, etc.

My next wish is to make both lens units compatible to be outside mounts. The back-up camera lens on my wife's Chevrolet Traverse is a small cube, maybe 5/8 inch square. It is outside mount (at top of license plate frame). No GPS needed for me.

I think designing it compatible with a car display would really drive up the cost. Too many variations in the market. The DVR can have the screen and I can view it long enough to set it up, and then hide it under the dash. If it needs to use a smart phone, I will borrow my daughters phone to set it up. Just make it reliable and easy to transfer files to my PC.

I hope there are candidates like this in next 6 months.

 

[Sungmoon Jang]

I would replace my dual cameras with a good 2 channel unit, small head unit and hidden DVR. The goal to me is to have a 2 channel unit that matches performance of dual Panorama 2 cameras. The dual Panorama 2 work very good, just wish they were not so visible. One DVR and two very small lens units. Hopefully lens head is near AA size battery, or smaller than a C battery. I don't care much about if the shape being like a mobus or cylinder, etc.

My next wish is to make both lens units compatible to be outside mounts. The back-up camera lens on my wife's Chevrolet Traverse is a small cube, maybe 5/8 inch square. It is outside mount (at top of license plate frame). No GPS needed for me.

I think designing it compatible with a car display would really drive up the cost. Too many variations in the market. The DVR can have the screen and I can view it long enough to set it up, and then hide it under the dash. If it needs to use a smart phone, I will borrow my daughters phone to set it up. Just make it reliable and easy to transfer files to my PC.

I hope there are candidates like this in next 6 months.

HaHa, Did you heard some rumor about two panorama which has AA size camera? Even it has exactly same quality as panorama S. Seems you know something.....

 

[jokiin]

I think you'll see most of what you're looking for before the year is out

 

[spotnz]

I think you'll see most of what you're looking for before the year is out

I'm looking forward to it.

david

 

[jokiin]

progress is ongoing at all times, while the majority are working on cheaper low end junk there are still manufacturers out there that are working on bringing better product to market

 

[phy6]

Was thinking about this the other day, in regards to a multi mobius hack job. We know the camera ribbon cable can't be more than about 30-40cm before signal degradation. But our main concern is having the storage, controls (and optional display selection) back in a centralized location, like under the dash in a box. The image processing could stay local to the camera.

So if you extended the MicroSD header via a ribbon cable, you'd be able to move the storage to the centralized box if you can get the data to transfer right. Something like a USB cable should have the right number of wires and transfer rate to allow the SD card to be stored in the central box. (Could also tap off this USB connection for power) The Mobius already has a microUSB socket that can handle AV output and simultaneously power the device.
Now we're left with the buttons. If they were desoldered and hooked up to a pair of wires, something like generic ribbon cable or cat5 could be used to move the buttons and even LED output back to the central location.

Then you'd connect your AV device of choice to the new black box, with switches for changing the AV source.

Anyway, I've probably been watching too much MacGuyver.


The real deficit with a hack like this is there is no firmware/system running to record on shock, track GPS, provide UI settings, etc.

 

[semo]

I am all for this concept / design.
But instead of having the camera cylinders sitting flush like that i would like the lens in the end of the cylinder.

Lets say the camera housing is 20 x 40 mm, then like that you will see 20 x 40 mm on the window, but if the lens was at the end of the cylinder al you would see is a 20 mm diameter round shape.
So i would prefer the cameras to be small bullet cameras, like on the Panasonic HX-A100 action camera
And i would like the DVR headunit to contain a ssd or laptop harddrive, and i would like for that harddrive to be hot sawp so i can bring it into my house and dock it in my USB 3.0 harddisk docking station for quick transfer to my computer or other storage solution.

Yep a hot swap 2.5" drive bay would be excellent. Ideally the DVR will have a buffer which will be written to first before the 2.5" drive so that you could swap the drives without any interruption (e.g., eject drive for home backup, insert blank drive).

Was thinking about this the other day, in regards to a multi mobius hack job. We know the camera ribbon cable can't be more than about 30-40cm before signal degradation. But our main concern is having the storage, controls (and optional display selection) back in a centralized location, like under the dash in a box. The image processing could stay local to the camera.

So if you extended the MicroSD header via a ribbon cable, you'd be able to move the storage to the centralized box if you can get the data to transfer right. Something like a USB cable should have the right number of wires and transfer rate to allow the SD card to be stored in the central box. (Could also tap off this USB connection for power) The Mobius already has a microUSB socket that can handle AV output and simultaneously power the device.
Now we're left with the buttons. If they were desoldered and hooked up to a pair of wires, something like generic ribbon cable or cat5 could be used to move the buttons and even LED output back to the central location.

Then you'd connect your AV device of choice to the new black box, with switches for changing the AV source.

Anyway, I've probably been watching too much MacGuyver.


The real deficit with a hack like this is there is no firmware/system running to record on shock, track GPS, provide UI settings, etc.

Please no more MicroSD! Full size SD is not much bigger but is cheaper and can hold more data. It is also faster for backup purposes. Other than that, MacGyver on my friend!

 

[Sam369]

I am also interested in this kind of setup. Just saw these two on ebay.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&isRelated=1&item=360925908936
https://www.ebay.com/itm/171125643768
I think you can choose your own compatible cameras. Both have AV out and can have GPS. The second one also have 3G and WIFI. One problem is video quality is only 720P the best.
What do you guys think?

 

[spotnz]

720 is less that average currently. AND needing "headlights" to work at night makes them even more suspect.

 

[Street Guardian USA]

720 is less that average currently. AND needing "headlights" to work at night makes them even more suspect.

I agree not impressed with ANY product that uses LED to claim night vision. In 2014 anything less than 1080P is old news.(even for multi-channel)