CDV300 Series Firmware

[efoo]

Yikes, both look bad, just the first one looks terrible.

 

[jokiin]

There´s still some noise, even during daylight, but the plates don´t flick anymore..

For the quality, really worth to try it, jokiin.
.

we already did a firmware that sorted this, a few people here had tried it before we removed ours from sale

Only have one major problem: Now I can´t turn it on after connecting to the computer, because the battery won´t charge anymore.... if I unplug it, it just give me around 5 seconds or so..

If someone that has the technical knowledge to check the both firmwares, and fix this, would be much appreciated..

I don't think that's firmware related

 

[Rodrigo Emedy]

I don't think that's firmware related

Yes, it is firmware related. Before installing the Cambox, I had around 2 minutes, now I have around 5 seconds.

When I turn the car off, it can not get within 5 seconds of the turnoff countdown.

Cambox version is 0.4.3, original one, with CDV300X bought from foxoffer1 was 0.4.7.

 

[jokiin]

Yes, it is firmware related. Before installing the Cambox, I had around 2 minutes, now I have around 5 seconds.

When I turn the car off, it can not get within 5 seconds of the turnoff countdown.

Cambox version is 0.4.3, original one, with CDV300X bought from foxoffer1 was 0.4.7.

I still don't think it's firmware related, this is the type of problem this model has with erratic power behavior

 

[Rodrigo Emedy]

Before installing the Cambox, the battery was lasting about 2 minutes... after Cambox, less than 10 seconds.

Now, if I need to reinstall another firmware, I´ll have to run inside my car, plugged on the base, so it won´t turn off during the firmware flashing.

If someone that has the technincal knowledge about the firmware setup, could check both original and Cambox firmware to see how to make the original bitrate went from 15 to 27Mbps, I´d downgrade to it again.. that´s all I want.. a better compression quality.. really can´t stand on the 15Mbps after seen the 27´s.

Thanks in advance.

 

[jokiin]

you should only install the firmware when connected to power anyway, don't try it from battery power alone

I can give you some different firmwares if you want to experiment

 

[Rodrigo Emedy]

yes jokiin, if you have some with a better bitrate, that works safely on CDV300X, please share. Just don´t wanna take a risk of bricking it..

The problem about the battery is because when I connect it to the computer, appears that "PC" icon that blocks all the commands. .so to update the firmware, I need to unplug from the computer, and restart it so the firmware.bin gets flashed. Since the base is glued to my windshield, that´s the only what I can connect it.

.... did it works with my iPhone AC adapter? Mine has an input of 100-240V - 01.5A and Output of 5v - 1A. There´s no info on the input needed at the 300X unit.

 

[jokiin]

you can power from a phone adapter yes, you can also just put the file on memory card and power up in the car, you will get the prompt to run the update or not, it won't automatically run

 

[jokiin]

here you go http://www.mediafire.com/download/6l9zjksfjrg4d35/CDV300_type_test_firmware.rar

 

[Rodrigo Emedy]

you can power from a phone adapter yes, you can also just put the file on memory card and power up in the car, you will get the prompt to run the update or not, it won't automatically run

Sure... but I have a pregnant woman at home, so, no overnight´s walk to the car...hehe... I´ll take a look at it tomorrow.

Thank you in advance for the file. I´ll let you know!

 

[tmanz]

Hi Guys,

Sorry to hear @Rodrigo Emedy that your having problems with your unit, and sorry I haven't been able to reply to you concerns (the day job has taken over for the last few weeks). However, I've been running a few different firmwares to test how they work. One is the original TCL firmware, the other is the Cambox firmware and the last is Street Guardian's latest firmware for their identical product. All seem to have advantages and disadvantages. So a comparison against the base level TCL firmware:

Pros:

Cambox:
1) Records at a much higher bitrate ~28Mbps, which results in sharper image during the day,
2) Ability to turn on/off GPS,
3) Ability to record and turn on/off a custom user stamp,
4) Ability to record and turn on/off the speed in km/h,
5) Consistently shuts down in the user specified time, never abruptly
6) Better handling of the GPS function, locks within a minute every time for me (lowest record was 10 seconds)

SG:
1) Simplified menu by taking out redundant features, no photo or security menu and slight UI improvements
2) They have selectable bitrate levels for the video, highest is ~22Mbps
3) Ability to record and turn on/off a custom user stamp,
4) Struck a good balance between video bitrate and recording quality (I am still reviewing videos but I would say the best out of the three, at the max setting)

Cons:

Cambox:
1) Higher bitrate means larger file size and requires larger memory if you don't want videos to record over,
2) Higher bitrate means more noise is recorded in video (I am still reviewing videos but I believe the night videos are a bit grainy in dim-lit areas because of this, when compared to a lower bitrate, but better than lower bitrates when your headlight is illuminating the car in front of you - a balance must be struck)
3) Lots of customizable features that you will not touch, for example the GPS and GLONASS protocol selection (GPS is what works on the TCL CDV300X right now, saying this I prefer to have more options to choose from)
4) Because of the higher bitrate the processor on board is running harder and hotter, this could be an issue for the lifespan of your device (However I have been running my setup on the Cambox firmware with no issue to date)

SG:
1) No ability to record speed
2) No ability to turn GPS tracking on/off
3) Sometimes abruptly shuts down on power off
4) GPS lock is the worst out of the three and averages 3-4 minutes

What would be the knockout firmware for the CDV300X? @billknow
1) Take Cambox's hardware handling, UI layout and feature set minus GLONASS and the picture menu
2) Apply SG's three prong bitrate selectivity with max bitrate ~22Mbps
3) Allow speed to be recorded in miles/h and km/h

This is very much a brain dump at the moment, I'll hope to have a proper video comparison up in the weekend.

I may also play around with the hardware abstraction layer, as mentioned in the Russian forums and see where that takes me.

All the best DCT!

 

[jokiin]

I can't guarantee the other products you try this on are the same hardware as ours was as this may have changed so your mileage may vary on functionality, GPS performance etc, use it as a guide for what may be possible but use at your own risk with other hardware versions, you can always roll back to the other versions so not much risk involved if you want to play with it, you may do just as well by using the tools @Tobi@s has and seeing what you can do

 

[ZenithMach3]

Hi,
Thanks for your files, tmanz.
I did not encounter any issue with this cam yet, but if video seems to be good enough with external viewer (VLC, for instance), quality is very bad when using RegistratorViewer software (with TCL built in firmware). Thanks to your explanations, I have just upgraded the unit with Cambox firmware. So, I will try Cambox alternative firmware soon to test video quality changes...
Regards.

 

[tmanz]

Hi,
Thanks for your files, tmanz.
I did not encounter any issue with this cam yet, but if video seems to be good enough with external viewer (VLC, for instance), quality is very bad when using RegistratorViewer software (with TCL built in firmware). Thanks to your explanations, I have just upgraded the unit with Cambox firmware. So, I will try Cambox alternative firmware soon to test video quality changes...
Regards.

I think you will find the Cambox firmware to be stable. Just watch out for over heating, if you are in a cold climate this should not be much of a problem.

 

[ZenithMach3]

I live in France, not in Russia . I think climate is quite the same as in the States, even if not warm enough than California ones.

With Cambox firmware, user stamp and speed recording are provided with and GPS fix is much quicker (less than a minute), but video seems to be quite the same as with the built-in TCL firmware, especially when video is displayed into RegistratorViever.

I tried StreetGuardian firmware too. With this firmware, the video is highly more accurate even in RegistratorViewer and user stamp is available too but speed recording is not provided. GPS fix duration is no longer nor shorter than TCL firmware (less than 4 minutes). I noticed that only this firmware version allows the date and time to be set by the way of the GPS data information (time was always wrong with other ones). I will try it longer to check its stability and no corrupted file issue during power off ... I hope further tests will remain ok and make me keep this firmware for use.

I heard that new TCL firmware, including user stamp, is in preparation... Do you have any information about delivery date and other changes?

Thanks for reading my "Frenglish"

 

[tmanz]

I heard that new TCL firmware, including user stamp, is in preparation... Do you have any information about delivery date and other changes?

Thanks for reading my "Frenglish"

No worries. The main dude behind Foxoffer, user @billknow on the forums, told me he's working on it. This was a while back and since then he has not replied to my follow-up messages.

 

[jokiin]

No worries. The main dude behind Foxoffer, user @billknow on the forums, told me he's working on it. This was a while back and since then he has not replied to my follow-up messages.

he doesn't get on here that often

 

[AdamNZ]

I've been trying the Cambox firmware for the last few days, and the picture is sharper than the factory firmware (plates are easy to make out), but night shots are unacceptably bad to me, and even daytime recording in full sunlight is very grainy and artificial. I have just installed the Street Guardian version, and will try that out for a bit.

 

[tmanz]

I've been trying the Cambox firmware for the last few days, and the picture is sharper than the factory firmware (plates are easy to make out), but night shots are unacceptably bad to me, and even daytime recording in full sunlight is very grainy and artificial. I have just installed the Street Guardian version, and will try that out for a bit.

The Street Guardian firmware will give you beautiful video quality, however its not stable at all. I've had it running in my unit for 4 days now and it runs the battery down very quickly. It also takes a very long time for a GPS lock and very often does not automatically start recording when you power the unit on. I'd be wary running it if stability is important to you.

The Cambox is 'grainy' but playing videos on an external player like VLC is fine. Basically this is because there is so much information being recorded at 28Mpbs. I did a test where I took the Cambox video and put it through Adobe Premier Pro to reduce the output to 22Mpbs, the result was a very good and non-grainy video. Basically it averaged the information to something that doesn't look so bad to the human eye. So the information is all there and your not losing quality, albeit it looks 'grainy'.

Share your experience when you have the chance.

 

[jokiin]

The Street Guardian firmware will give you beautiful video quality, however its not stable at all. I've had it running in my unit for 4 days now and it runs the battery down very quickly. It also takes a very long time for a GPS lock and very often does not automatically start recording when you power the unit on. I'd be wary running it if stability is important to you.
.

I'd agree, test it and try for the video (same processor and sensor) but don't rely on it for normal use, I don't think the hardware you have now is otherwise the same, they have been working on hardware revisions

The Cambox is 'grainy' but playing videos on an external player like VLC is fine. Basically this is because there is so much information being recorded at 28Mpbs. I did a test where I took the Cambox video and put it through Adobe Premier Pro to reduce the output to 22Mpbs, the result was a very good and non-grainy video. Basically it averaged the information to something that doesn't look so bad to the human eye. So the information is all there and your not losing quality, albeit it looks 'grainy'.
.

yeah there's more to it than just bitrate, some do just up the bitrate and think that's the answer, if only it were that simple

if someone wanted to combine our video with whatever they've changed to suit in the cambox version they'd probably find a good all round result for this model, I know some Russians had done similar stuff on other Ambarella based models, not heard of any of those looking at this one, there are some talented guys out there though so you never know what they might be able to achieve if the right guys get hold of it