Urive Albatross II MD-7500P

The Urive Albatross II MD-7500P is a dual channel dashboard camera which was released in May 2013.  The front camera records at 1080p, 19fps with a bit rate of 8 Mbps.  The rear camera records at 720p, 19fps at a low bit rate of 4 Mbps (Note the specifications state 20fps).  We would like to thank our member niko who provided the review for this camera on our forum.

Video quality during the day is very good and night is good for the front camera in most conditions.  Rear camera is good during the day and average at night.  While the 8Mbps bitrate is better than many other dual cameras currently available, video performance can suffer in some situations with a lot of moving objects.

The Urive Albatross II MD-7500P is bigger (front camera is 101.9 x 63.3 x 35.9 mm) than its sibling the Urive MD-8000P due to the 3.5″ touchscreen.  Here is a picture of the Albatross II compared to the BlackVue DR500GW-HD.

Note that the camera can be hidden behind a rear view mirror like this.

The Albatross II comes with optional GPS, G-sensor and parking mode making it a full featured dashboard camera.  It also has battery discharge protection built in with the following cut-off voltages:  11.5V, 11.7V, 11.9V, 12.1V.  Note that 12.1V is a bit on the low side.

Known problems

Macroblocking / Pixelation

A common problem with dual cameras is macroblocking or pixelation due to the low bit rates used.  The Albatross II is using a bit rate of 8Mbps front and 4Mbps rear.  The following video illustrates the pixelation problem.  Note the video was recorded in “1 channel” mode with a bitrate of 12Mbps and frame rate of 29fps.  In “2 channel” mode, the quality would be worse given the lower 8Mbps bit rate and 19fps recording.

Blinking LEDs

The camera has blue blinking “security” LEDs on the front and rear cameras and there is no option to turn them off.  You can use black electrical tape to cover both LEDs.

Framerate

As mentioned previously, the framerate in the specification is 30fps for 1 channel recording and 20fps for dual channel.  The camera actually records at 29Fps for 1 channel recording and 19fps for 2 channel recording.

Switching off the Rear Camera

Currently there is no way to switch off the rear camera via the settings.  To switch off the rear camera you need to pull out rear camera video / power cable.

Mounting the Camera

Our member niko has come up with a sliding bracket solution for this camera as illustrated in the following video.  Full instructions can be found here.

Sample Videos

Day Video – Front

Night Video – Front

Should I Purchase?

While this model is one of the better dual channel cameras, the high cost, relatively low bitrate / framerate and medium size make it a hard sell.  If a dual camera system is a must, compare this with the BlackVue DR550GW-2CH (has WiFi but lower bit rate) or the Urive MD-8000P Shotgun (is smaller and cheaper).  All 3 systems have their drawbacks.  Unfortunately there are very few good multi-channel cameras available at the moment.

Firmware

The latest English firmware and player can be downloaded from the Urive site.

User Manual

You can download the manual here.  The menu interface can be seen in this video by niko.

Specifications

Published: November 12, 2013

Urive Albatross II MD-7500P

The Urive Albatross II MD-7500P is a good camera but high price, size and pixelation are drawbacks.

Product SKU: Urive Albatross II MD-7500P

Product Brand: Urive

Product Currency: USD

Product Price: 330

Price Valid Until: 2023-01-01

Product In-Stock: SoldOut

Editor's Rating:
4