Low power consumption 24/7 video recorder?

**lacning74** · 06-29-2009, 12:17 PM

Originally Posted by HiJackZX1

Thankfully I drive a SUV, alot of people think twice before cutting me off. When they do they usually cut me off to go into a faster lane. Florida drivers are almost as bad as NYC drivers, so they tend to be predictable. They always seem to cut people off thinking they are going to a faster lane. Next thing you know they are trying to get back into the lane they just left, but at that point I am so enraged that Ive already taken there previous spot and am now driving side by side the car ahead of them. This keeps them from being able to pass. Its amazing though because you will see the car bob from lane to lane thinking that one of us will speed up. The final stage is they try to tailgate me, which results in me slamming my breaks, and them finally slowing down and driving decent. Its so sad but true. In NYC though I would have murdered someone if I lived there.

PS: I decided to look through your car cam playlist.... You did the same f#$king thing that the cab driver did in this one. Shame on you, LMFAO. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2stw...eature=related

PS 2: OMFG you NY people drive like $h!+, I am so amazed at your collection, its like everytime you get into your car its an adventure, filled with humor (the 2 ladies fighting over the cab), and so on..... WOW.... Let me get back to watching them.

Back on topic..... So the Car PC doesnt have to be on right? How do you have it set up? I ask because I know you can set it to 24/7 mode so it records all the time, but I read in the instructions that if power is cut the video is corrupted. So I wonder what you do to avoid that? Or is it untrue and you can cut power. My setup is when I turn igniton the DQP and cams turn on.... I want the DVR to work that way also..... just automatically record.

the audi incident though my fault was a little different. bumper to bumper traffic, he was moved into bus lane/right turn only lane to cut a few cars and get back in to the left. that's the only reason the lane was free and he was able to pick up speed. of course he wasn't happy when he saw me moving to that lane also at an illegal perpendicular angle i admit, but i was planning to actually take a right turn not cut back into traffic.

about my dvr, it is independent of the carpc. much more reliable that way. you can set it up to start whenever it gets power (by setting the time of day recording settings to the full day). so if you hook it up an ignition switch it will record whenever your car's running. also, i haven't had any issues with corruption of the last file when power cuts off that i know of. the files are approx 8 seconds in length each. when you splice them together (i use a freeware video joiner), the footage is continuous without and stop gaps.

**lacning74** · 06-29-2009, 12:22 PM

Originally Posted by nobb

I took a look at some of your videos too, and wow, the video quality is very good. Are you using it on low, med, or high quality mode? Also I am wondering if you have any idea how long 2GB can record, because I really rather not have to buy another SD card if possible.

I am also curious on how well the unit handles if the power is suddenly cut (or the degree of video "corruption"). I overlooked this fact. With my previous unit I can just turn it on and off like a light bulb, no problems at all. From the manual, it says "Power loss during a recording results in incomplete video or errors", so I am wondering how serious would this be since I dont intend to leave my unit running 24/7.

my settings are maxed at 704x480 resolution 12FPS and high quality so i get about 7 hours on my 4GB card. also, i think my pinhole camera has a decent CCD chip to help explain the quality. i've had cheap CMOS camera that give horrible images.

also, not sure about video corruptions. hasn't been an issue with me. the video files are only 8 seconds each anyway.

**HiJackZX1** · 06-29-2009, 12:36 PM

Originally Posted by lacning74

the audi incident though my fault was a little different. bumper to bumper traffic, he was moved into bus lane/right turn only lane to cut a few cars and get back in to the left. that's the only reason the lane was free and he was able to pick up speed. of course he wasn't happy when he saw me moving to that lane also at an illegal perpendicular angle i admit, but i was planning to actually take a right turn not cut back into traffic.

about my dvr, it is independent of the carpc. much more reliable that way. you can set it up to start whenever it gets power (by setting the time of day recording settings to the full day). so if you hook it up an ignition switch it will record whenever your car's running. also, i haven't had any issues with corruption of the last file when power cuts off that i know of. the files are approx 8 seconds in length each. when you splice them together (i use a freeware video joiner), the footage is continuous without and stop gaps.

That explains why your vids are not long. I hope the unit I want doesn't do that... I want continuous record, and not have to worry about merging.

**lacning74** · 06-29-2009, 12:58 PM

Originally Posted by HiJackZX1

That explains why your vids are not long. I hope the unit I want doesn't do that... I want continuous record, and not have to worry about merging.

not really why my videos aren't long, i keep em short for the viewers sake. joining them takes just a few clicks. i'm curious how a continous record file would overwrite itself. i'm guessing a lot of cctv security dvr's still record in segments but a lot of em have proprietary software to view and scan them continuously. probably more stable or reliable that way.

**tempgp** · 06-29-2009, 01:36 PM

most new DVRs use flash buffer normally 8 min buffer, so when they erase something they still have 8 min from buffer that they will put back on harddrive. Same thing with motion recording so u can actually see what happaned up to 8 min before motion ;-)

**nobb** · 07-11-2009, 10:27 PM

Oh wow! My new DVR just came in an I love it. Not only has power consumption decreased from 0.3 amps to 0.26, but the video quality is MUCH better and smoother. It doesnt feel cheap like the old one. There is a ton of functions, and everything feels professional. Even the manual is in proper english, where the old DVR was "chinglish." Although the recordings are split into multiple files, there is practically no delay between them. The only disadvantage now is that Ill probably have to spend more money and buy a bigger memory card, because my 2GB isnt going to cut it.

Here's some sample video...the resolution and quality is maxed out, but its only running at 10 fps. 10 seconds of video takes approximately 1.25MB of space.

**asplodzor** · 07-11-2009, 11:30 PM

Originally Posted by nobb

Oh wow! My new DVR just came in an I love it. Not only has power consumption decreased from 0.3 amps to 0.26, but the video quality is MUCH better and smoother. It doesnt feel cheap like the old one. There is a ton of functions, and everything feels professional. Even the manual is in proper english, where the old DVR was "chinglish." Although the recordings are split into multiple files, there is practically no delay between them. The only disadvantage now is that Ill probably have to spend more money and buy a bigger memory card, because my 2GB isnt going to cut it.

Here's some sample video...the resolution and quality is maxed out, but its only running at 10 fps. 10 seconds of video takes approximately 1.25MB of space.

Awesome - love the quality! What unit is it, and what camera are you using? Also, did something speed the video up slightly? It looks like you're doing 40-50mph (65-80kph) in a residential! Haha.

**nobb** · 07-11-2009, 11:38 PM

The DVR unit I bought is linked to in post #45. The camera I am using is a Sony CCD based unit from eBay. Works great in low light. It was a bare circuit board model though...meaning I had to make an enclosure for it (using a dental floss case...it looks really ugly, bleh).

I was only going 50kph, I think the video just looks faster because of the video converter I used. The unit records in a .ASF format, and I couldnt attach that format to my post.

**asplodzor** · 07-11-2009, 11:45 PM

Originally Posted by nobb

The DVR unit I bought is linked to in post #45. The camera I am using is a Sony CCD based unit from eBay. Works great in low light. It was a bare circuit board model though...meaning I had to make an enclosure for it (using a dental floss case...it looks really ugly, bleh).

I was only going 50kph, I think the video just looks faster because of the video converter I used. The unit records in a .ASF format, and I couldnt attach that format to my post.

Ok, cool thanks! I'm posting this info and pictures because I know when I refer back to the thread for info later on, the ebay listing will be long gone... haha.

(NY P0122 SecuMate Ultra Mini Portable Security Color Audio/Video Recorder with SD Memory Slot)

Also, seems like the format could be problem if we can't find a decent transcoder that'll keep the time straight. Isn't the point to be as accurate as possible?

**HiJackZX1** · 07-12-2009, 12:13 PM

Originally Posted by asplodzor

Ok, cool thanks! I'm posting this info and pictures because I know when I refer back to the thread for info later on, the ebay listing will be long gone... haha.

(NY P0122 SecuMate Ultra Mini Portable Security Color Audio/Video Recorder with SD Memory Slot)

Also, seems like the format could be problem if we can't find a decent transcoder that'll keep the time straight. Isn't the point to be as accurate as possible?

Now that you got yours and I see it works well, Im getting the same one, its awesome!!!!!!!! Are their cracks in the lens or the windsheild? I have another question, were on the dash are you guys mounting the camera? I want mine to get the widest angle and even get the sides of the front a bit.