MIOFIVE Dash Cam Dual - Review/Testing - RCG

[rcg530]

In early January 2023, a representative from MIOFIVE reached out to me to see if I was interested in testing/reviewing their "MIOFIVE Dash Cam Dual" 2-channel dash camera. I was sent a free sample of the MIOFIVE Dash Cam Dual and the MIOFIVE HWK1 3-wire hardwiring kit.

I'm trying to get a head start on my review by getting some initial specification gathering completed along with running my standard power consumption tests.

Dash Camera

• MIOFIVE Dash Cam Dual - $249 USD on Amazon US website
  • 2-channel dash camera
    • Front
      • Processor: Novatek NT96670
      • Image Sensor: Sony STARVIS IMX415 8MP
      • Lens: FOV 140°, F/Stop 1.8
      • Video Resolutions: 4K 3840x2160 30fps, 2K 2560x1440 30fps, FHD 1920x1080 30fps
      • Video Codec: H.265
      • Wi-Fi: 2.4 GHz & 5 GHz
      • Parking Modes
        • Requires the use of the HWK1 3-wire hardwire kit (optional accessory)
        • Time-Lapse
          • Firmware setting "Time-lapse Scheduled Shut Down" defines how long the dash camera will operate in this parking mode for a period of up to 24 hours.
          • Available settings: Disabled, 24 hours, 16 hours, 8 hours, 4 hours
          • I've asked MIOFIVE to see if an "Unlimited" setting can be added to allow time-lapse parking mode to record for more than 24 hours.
        • Parking Guard (aka Parking Monitor)
          • This is a power saving parking mode which will make the dash camera go into a low power consuming mode and it will be awakened when an impact event takes place.
          • Available settings - Parking Guard Sensitivity: Disabled, Low, Medium, High
          • If the "Time-lapse" parking mode is enabled (firmware setting "Time-lapse Scheduled Shut Down" is set to any value other than "Disabled"), the "Parking Guard" parking mode will not be invoked when the vehicle accessory power is turned off.
          • Time delay between impact event and the start of the video recording
            • There is an extremely long delay between the impact event and the start of recording.
              • Front: Impact-to-video start = 10 seconds
              • Rear: Impact-to-video start = 16 seconds
      • File Storage: 128 GB eMMC internal drive (1-channel version has 64 GB eMMC storage)
      • Internal Power: Supercapacitor (1-channel version has a 500 mAh battery instead of a supercapacitor)
      • External Power:
        • Connection Type: Micro USB
        • Cigarette lighter adapter (CLA) - included
          • Input 12V/24V
          • Output: DC 5V 2.4A (max)
          • One USB Type-A port
        • 3.5 m (11.48 ft) USB Type-A to Micro USB power cable - included
        • 28 cm (10.5 inch) USB Type-A to Micro USB data cable - included
        • MIOFIVE HWK1 3-Wire Hardwire Kit (optional accessory)
          • Input 9V-16V
          • Output: DC 5V 2.4A (max)
          • Low voltage protection - 11.6V
      • CPL Filter: None available
    • Rear
      • Processor: Novatek NT96671
      • Image Sensor: GalaxyCore GC4653 4MP
      • Video Resolutions: FHD 1920x1080 30fps
      • Video Codec: H.265
      • Lens: FOV 140°, F/Stop 2.0
      • Front-to-Rear Video Cable: Ethernet cable 6 m (19.68 ft)
      • CPL Filter: None available
    • Notes
      • Video Filenames / Date Modified
        • The filenames for the front and rear video files contain date and time values.
          • Front: 030823_083411_00038A.mp4
          • Rear: 030823_083418_000039B.mp4
        • The date and time values are GMT based time values instead of the local time zone value.
      • Front/Rear date/time out of sync
        • The front and rear camera each have their own processor.
        • The date/time values when files are first created will often have a 2 to 7 second difference between the front and rear video files.
        • MIOFIVE has stated this is normal for this dash camera.
        • Trying to coordinate the front/rear video file creations/rotations ended up destabilizing the system.
      • eMMC storage
        • If you require copying video files from the dash camera, you must either use the MIOFIVE app or connect the front dash camera to a computer and mount the MIOFIVE dash camera's eMMC file system as a USB drive.
      • Parking Guard - Parking Mode
        • This parking mode puts the dash camera into a deep sleep mode waiting for an impact event.
        • The power consumption is quite low while waiting for an impact event.
        • The long delay between the impact event and the start of recording makes this feature less useful in capturing what's taking place around the vehicle at the time of impact.
        • I'm going to ask MIOFIVE is there is any way to decrease the amount of time required to wake up the dash camera and start recording.

Box Contents:


3-Wire Hardwire Kit:

 

[rcg530]

I ran a series of power consumption tests for the MIOFIVE Dash Cam Dual.

 

[rcg530]

In-Vehicle Review Testing Started

Yesterday, I removed the previous dash cameras that I was reviewing and that freed up space to install the MIOFIVE (4K_2K) Dash Cam Dual.

Another front dash camera with lose windshield mount....

Recently, I was reviewing another company's dash camera and I ran into a problem with its front windshield mount(s) having excessive free play in them allowing the front camera (or rear view camera plugged into the front camera) to move while driving. It looks like I have another front dash camera with a similar issue but for a different reason.

During the install of the MIOFIVE front dash camera, I found the GPS module/windshield mount to be a bit loose at the swivel joint which is used to adjust the field of view of the front dash camera. There's resistance to movement (like it should have), but once you move it to any position there's a noticeable amount of movement still possible when it should be firmly held in that position.



I imported the front camera video footage into Adobe Premiere Pro to watch the up/down movement of the front camera on a frame-by-frame basis. With the video zoom level at 200% and with a grid line placed just at the base of the defroster vent holes, I could see the bottom edge of the vent holes move from just above the pale green/blue line to just below the line when hitting a small/moderate ripple in the road. The three frame grabs are from just before the bump, during the bump and the frame just after the bump.



When I checked the video footage from a DR900X-2CH Plus, VIOFO A229 Duo and VIOFO WM1, there was no movement at all when looking at anything within the vehicle's passenger compartment. I reported the presence of the slop/free play in the MIOFIVE windshield mount to MIOFIVE. Yesterday, I created a video with my phone to show the movement of the front camera and how it looked with the alignment lines enabled in the MIOFIVE app. The response to that video was that they've never had anyone complain of that issue. The VIOFO WM1 has a similar mount/adjuster but it does not have the slop/free play after being positioned to the correct position for the camera's field of view.

 

[rcg530]

Dropped or Duplicated Video Frames

During today's short drive into town, I generated about 30 minutes of video footage from the MIOFIVE 4K UHD front and 2K QHD rear cameras. The focus clarity of both camera is very good.

When viewing the video files (Windows Media Player, VLC, MPC-BE, Adobe Premiere Pro), I noticed that all video files have multiple occurrences of either a duplicated (reused) video frame or occurrences of a video frame that is randomly dropped. I've reported this issue to MIOFIVE.

Firmware Versions (front and rear camera's have their own firmware versions)

• Firmware versions
  • Front Miofive_P_2.0.2.0213
  • Rear Miofive_P_2.1.1.0929

Duplicated Video Frame Example:

• Frame 00:00:43:10 - Starting frame
• Frame 00:00:43:11 - Next frame
• Frame 00:00:43:12 - Duplicate of 00:00:43:11
• Frame 00:00:43:13 - Next frame

Dropped Video Frame Example:

• Frame 00:00:51:05 - Starting frame
• Frame 00:00:51:06 - Next frame - notice the distance traveled by the car (left-to-right)
• Frame 00:00:51:07 - The distance traveled by the car is twice the amount expected - implying a frame was dropped from the camera
• Frame 00:00:51:08 - The distance traveled by the car between 51:07 and 51:08 is the expected amount (same car travel distance that was present between 51:05 and 51:06)

 

[kamkar]

I know the feeling, you generate maybe 30 minutes of footage, but then you get home and spend a couple of hours analyzing it looking for things like missed or double frames.
It also take a while to make up one of my plate capture videos, even if the raw material are just like 20 seconds.

 

[rcg530]

I know the feeling, you generate maybe 30 minutes of footage, but then you get home and spend a couple of hours analyzing it looking for things like missed or double frames.
It also take a while to make up one of my plate capture videos, even if the raw material are just like 20 seconds.

So true!

 

[rcg530]

File Locations On The Internal eMMC Drive

The top level directories are CarDV, LOG and MISC. The MISC directory is currently empty on my dash camera.



LOG Directory Contents:



DEVLOG Directory Contents:



The text log file format is not available to me at this time. There's a number field and then a time field.

2,2023-04-11T16:26:57
5,2023-04-11T16:26:57
1,2023-04-11T16:41:46

GPSLOG Directory Contents:

The GPS data collected by the dash camera is stored in text log files in this directory.

• Fields
  • Date: YYYYMMDD
  • Time: HHMMSS
  • North/South Latitude: “N” or “S”
  • DDM Latitude: ddmm.mmmmmm
  • West/East Longitude: “W” or “E”
  • DDM Longitude: dddmm.mmmmmm
  • Speed in Knots
  • Azimuth in Degrees
  • Altitude in Meters

20230411,162739,N,3839.621030,W,12056.152500,0.000000,0.840000,454.600000
20230411,162740,N,3839.621350,W,12056.152500,2.626000,355.460000,454.500000
20230411,162741,N,3839.622030,W,12056.152590,2.276000,4.050000,454.600000
20230411,162742,N,3839.622590,W,12056.152560,2.115000,9.580000,454.800000
20230411,162743,N,3839.623060,W,12056.152450,0.000000,8.030000,454.900000

CarDV Directory Contents:



Movie Directory Contents:



Emr Directory Contents:

This directory appears to contain the video files that were recording in "Normal" mode but an impact event took place. You can hear a "beep beep" in the recorded audio at the point when an impact event was detected.

Normal Directory Contents:

This directory contains the "Normal" mode recording video files.

Park Directory Contents:

This directory contains the video files created by the "Parking Guard - Parking Mode". When the dash camera detects an impact in the power saving parking mode, it creates a 60 second video for both the front (A file) and rear (B file) in this directory.

The amount of time it takes the dash camera to power up and start recording is a very long 10 to 11 seconds for the front camera and 16 to 17 seconds for the rear camera. While this parking mode will consume very little power while it's waiting for an impact, the amount of time it takes to power up and start recording makes this feature very unlikely to capture the reason for the impact.

Timelapse Directory Contents:

The time-lapse parking mode video files are stored in this directory. Video is captured at 1 FPS from the front and rear cameras and stored in video files in this directory with a playback speed of 30 FPS.

Front / Rear Camera Video Files - File Creation and Rotation Is Somewhat Offset From Each Other

The front and rear cameras each have their own processor. The creation of the video file for each camera is not synchronized as with most other dash cameras. There will be a several second gap between the timestamp in the filename for the front and rear video files. When I asked MIOFIVE about this, they stated it was decided to allow the video file creation to be as it is since trying to sync the front and rear processor file creation seemed to reduce the stability of the dash camera.

The filename timestamp values and the date modified values at always in Zulu (GMT) time. The timestamp that appears in the status line of the video will be converted to the local time based on the local time zone as determined by the dash camera based on its current location. This dash camera does not have a time zone configuration setting. It also deals with the DST being inactive or active. It properly determined that my location is currently GMT-7 based on daylight saving time being active.

 

[rcg530]

I checked with MIOFIVE to see if MIOFIVE had resolve the dropped or duplicated video frame problem I mentioned in an early post. MIOFIVE stated that the issue is still being investigated. Currently, there is no estimated date when an updated firmware to resolve the issue will be available.

I'm suspending my MIOFIVE Dash Cam Dual review until MIOFIVE issues a firmware update for that issue. I'll get the MIOFIVE reinstalled in my car as soon as a spot in my review queue opens up after the firmware update is released.

 

[Agie]

Se

I checked with MIOFIVE to see if MIOFIVE had resolve the dropped or duplicated video frame problem I mentioned in an early post. MIOFIVE stated that the issue is still being investigated. Currently, there is no estimated date when an updated firmware to resolve the issue will be available.

I'm suspending my MIOFIVE Dash Cam Dual review until MIOFIVE issues a firmware update for that issue. I'll get the MIOFIVE reinstalled in my car as soon as a spot in my review queue opens up after the firmware update is released.

Seems a bit clunky digging up this review but just came across this and had a chuckle at the Amazon reviews online. We all know how rigged the overall Amazon star rating can be for a product

Seems like MIOFIVE really **** the bed on this one. Nothing about Firmware on their website either.

 

[rcg530]

Se
Seems a bit clunky digging up this review but just came across this and had a chuckle at the Amazon reviews online. We all know how rigged the overall Amazon star rating can be for a product

Seems like MIOFIVE really **** the bed on this one. Nothing about Firmware on their website either.

My MIOFIVE contact was checking with the R&D team back in August to see if there were any updates. I haven't heard back since.

 

[Agie]

An

My MIOFIVE contact was checking with the R&D team back in August to see if there were any updates. I haven't heard back since.

Another one bites the dust haha