Mirror Dash Cam - Questions

[#1]

ok @RobPN  didn't know that...have just checked out the linky , and will see what results I can come up with.. I think it will be just an exercise at the moment... unless of course the replacement from another source does the same thing... then it will probably be a big job every time we go out  !

cheers

EDIT EDIT EDIT..... just run one short vid and used the "mirror image" option and it look very good the right way round ! ! ... Can't see an option to "save" it though... so if it is needed... I will just run it in mirror image mode and re-record it using VOKOSCREEN... for the particular section that needs to be seen correctly 

Thanks again.

[#2]

Might be worth double-checking for the 'missing' option in the camera settings, maybe it's in a sub-menu, or only appears when you 'check' another option, or maybe in a drop-down menu.

[#3]

I' ll look through the on screen menu again tomorrow....  thanks

[#4]

@RobPN  Been there..... dun that.... no offer of "mirror image"... so  it's going back to supplier.

[#5]

@shutter Why can't you invert the rear camera? 

[#6]

@Mook   Well, I did try,but the bracket is too short to give it a clear view ..... also... i'm not sure that "inverting" it, WILL reverse a "mirror image" ....

  Imagine you taking a pic of someone holding their right hand up. ... and turning the camera upside down..

. it will still record it with the right hand up...  ... so you are operating the camera in a "vertical plane" in both cases...

what it needs  ( methinks) is being able to change the "horizontal plane", to make the mirror image, in to the correct view,

Running a video on SMPLAYER in mirror image mode.....   and  using VOKOSCREEN to re - record it, off the laptop screen, works fine... ( although the time digits are reverse image !..   but at least it "looks right" . !

[#7]

Fair point. Is there anything in the software that came with it that allows you to rotate the image. I know this is possible with Thinkware.

[#8]

@Mook  I refer to my last paragraph.....

Running a video on SMPLAYER in mirror image mode.....   and  using VOKOSCREEN to re - record it, off the laptop screen, works fine... ( although the time digits are reverse image !..   but at least it "looks right" . !

The rear view camera has a red "power" lead, that "should" be wired to the reversing light bulb... so that when reverse gear is selected, ( which lights up the reversing light(s)) it powers up the reversing camera,and switches it to "full screen" of the mirror, so you use the actual mirror to view the reversing view. I did not want that facility, so I just tucked it away.....

MAYBE... it also triggers the video signal to be reversed, so that the actual "View" in the mirror, is "correct" as if you were actually facing and looking through the rear window... If you understand what I mean...... !

But why it should be reversed(mirror image) as default, does not make sense to me....  

Anyway.... as already mentioned... it's going back..  and I'm looking at another suppler for the same thing...

If it happens with the new one... then SMPLAYER "mirror image mode" will be utilised for those parts that are important... when needed.  99% of the video recorded will not be used anyway ! ! ! ! ...

[#9]

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@Mook wrote:

... I know this is possible with Thinkware.

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Apologies to @shutter for going off topic/hijacking, but assuming you have a Thinkware dash cam @Mook , I'd be interested in whether you've had any problems with it.

I bought the U1000 (dual camera) a few months ago but returned it because there was a strange bug which caused the camera to stop recording when the GPS connected.  If the GPS connected straight away, the camera recorded OK, but if it later disconnected then reconnected, recording stopped, confirmed by noting the time the "GPS connected" audio announcement was made and comparing the time of the last recording.

The camera had the latest firmware, I couldn't find anything online about the bug, and it was repeatable despite trying various things such as resetting, re-formatting the microSD card etc.

I expected better from a top dollar camera so as it was bought from Amazon, it went back for a refund.

A shame really as I liked the camera, both aesthetically and feature-wise, and I'm tempted to buy it again and see if the second one would be any better.

[#10]

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@shutter wrote:

Running a video on SMPLAYER in mirror image mode.....   and  using VOKOSCREEN to re - record it, off the laptop screen, works fine... ( although the time digits are reverse image !..   but at least it "looks right" . !

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(My bold)

@shutter 

ISTR using the Thinkware camera mentioned in my previous post, data such as Time, Speed, GPS etc. were recorded as a separate track on the video, and were switchable 'on or off' whether viewing with the Thinkware app or as a subtitle track in VLC.

So it appears your camera may have been doing similar to ensure the text was the right way around, but it still seems strange why the camera recorded the video the wrong way round as a mirror image.  

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@shutter wrote:

...I wonder if i should try and invert it,  just to check to make sure the cam shows me on the correct side of the road  ????? 

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@Mook wrote:

@shutter Why can't you invert the rear camera? 

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@shutter wrote:

@Mook   Well, I did try,but the bracket is too short to give it a clear view ..... also... i'm not sure that "inverting" it, WILL reverse a "mirror image" ....

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I suspect that unless the rear camera has some method of detecting which way is 'up and down', physically inverting the camera would give an upside down image, still mirrored.

But did you find a camera setting to invert the image (top to bottom) in that situation?

I'm trying to imagine this in my head, but if there was such a setting, wouldn't physically inverting the camera and inverting the image (also top to bottom) in the software produce a non-mirrored image?  

[#11]

The only "software" in this type, will be internal, in the way the image is produced ... there is no setting for "mirror image"  or not... in the on screen menu.

If you use your phone on "movie" camera.... try it for yourself.... just inverting the phone either in portrait or landscape mode, will not invert the actual scene being "viewed" by the camera lens... nor does it change it to mirror image.

[#12]

I suspect using a phone camera bears no relation to a rear view dash cam as the phone detects its orientation and can correct/adjust the image accordingly.

I was actually referring to 'invert' (i.e. turn it upside down), or alternatively as @Mook said, rotate it.  Rotating it by 180 degrees would be the same as inverting, and I suspect the camera would not detect it's orientation, but would output/record an 'upside down' image.

[#13]

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@RobPN wrote:

...  Rotating it by 180 degrees would be the same as inverting, ...

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Correcting myself;

although rotating the image by 180 degrees would put it 'upside down' it's not the same as the true meaning of inverting it.

[#14]

Yeah, I see your point abiout the phone rotation, compared to the rear cam. can't fuss around with it here on hols.... but will investigate a way to mount it 180 degs from present orientation, when I get home tomorrow /Thursday.

[#15]

@shutter  - I wasn't talking about third party software, but the software that you got with the camera, either on mini CD or via QR code.

@RobPN - The camera I had was a Thinkware F770 Dual I bought from Amazon but I had it installed professionally by an auto electrician for no other reason than aesthetics. The camera was astounding with lots of features, it would even read the speed from road signs, tell you if you were crossing the white line etc and the picture quality back and front was HD.