Im using QuickTime Player. I cant get it to open on Media Player at all on 2 different computers. 1 Computer on Vista the other on XP

Originally Posted by Tom Frank

I'd like to have one of those clips to look at, but they must be over 1GB each and too big to post. What player are you using that gives this error? What happens with a different player?

I'll get in touch with my camera source contact to see what's going on with this. Can any one else confirm this with a different camera?

BTW... be very careful!... bad public movie atoms can be hazardous to your health!

Originally Posted by Tom Frank

BTW... be very careful!... bad public movie atoms can be hazardous to your health!

I'm sorry, I'll apologize in advance but it's too good to pass on.....

When I was in the service I got one of those bad public movie atoms but I thought it was from using the Public Restroom in Long Binh

Yabba

Originally Posted by mavlo77

Thanks! Talking about the cards..... Exactly today I came back with a dead 8 GB card .... None of my PC's (different kinds of SD adapters used, different readers etc.....) recognize it. Volume doesn't even show up in the disc manager. Seems to be completely dead. It's an original Kingston. So I can conclude that the camera destroyed my card!

There are utility programs that can restore corrupted SD cards back to life, even if they are no longer seen as a drive. I posted a link back on the MEGA thread, but have lost track of it. You might want to Google for that, it's worth a try

One way a card might be corrupted is if the cam is jolted while recording is taking place.

Thanks, I will have a look. Nothing special happened during the last recording.

I have experience with Recuva, to recover files from a corrupted card. But then the card was always recognized (not as a valid volume, but at least it got a drive letter)...

Now nothing happens, when I insert the card. Even no item in device manager under disk drives, or whatever. But I will have a look in that thread, thanks for your hint. Looks like the PC doesn't even detect that I insert the card.

But I will have a look in that thread, thanks!

Originally Posted by mavlo77

Now nothing happens, when I insert the card. Even no item in device manager under disk drives, or whatever. But I will have a look in that thread, thanks for your hint. Looks like the PC doesn't even detect that I insert the card.

I have seen where folks have reformatted a non-responsive card in a camera (with format feature such as Casio), then it works. You say you tried PC's, which use complicated registry witchdoctoring, cameras might find the card easier and execute a reformat. Easy and safe to try!

Good luck!

lil vid with the 808HD

HD key fob cam snow vid (0 min 20 sec)

Originally Posted by autorail1

Im using QuickTime Player. I cant get it to open on Media Player at all on 2 different computers. 1 Computer on Vista the other on XP

Thanks. I sent an email to my vendor contact about this to see if he might have seen this before. I'm guessing the file is not getting closed properly. I'd try to duplicate the issue with a different flash memory card if you have one just to rule out a problem with the card.

Another video with the HD 808... I'm really really happy with this little camera, and I just got it yesterday...

808 HD camera test, flying the EXI 450. (8 min 43 sec)

Originally Posted by mavlo77

Thanks Tom for this correction! You're absolutely right! I was a bit too frustrated I think .

The frustration is understandable. My Transcend flash cards have a lifetime warranty against defects in materials or workmanship. Not all manufacturers have this, but maybe you can get a warranty replacment for yours?

Originally Posted by KeithLuneau

Another video with the HD 808... I'm really really happy with this little camera, and I just got it yesterday...

I dunno Pirate,

I see vignetting, slight out of focusiness and your blades look bent as bad as mine were back in the reg keyfob thread

Just joking, ain't these things neat.

Good video, strap that puppy to the EXI and let's go fly!

btw, what flavor of Futaba is that? I use a 12MZ

Yabba

Originally Posted by RADAR_66

lil vid with the 808HD
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcYGlXVlPiU

Brrrrr

Originally Posted by yabbadaba2

btw, what flavor of Futaba is that? I use a 12MZ

Yabba

Mine is a humble old 9CAP, the original and not the Super. I bought it when I started getting more into FPV, and absolutely love it! One of these days I'll get my hands on a newer one. If I ever win the lottery I'll pick up a 14MZ... Seriously though, the 9C is a great radio, and pretty much all I need!

Originally Posted by yabbadaba2

Brrrrr

Yess it 22*f right now

Originally Posted by victapilot

I have seen where folks have reformatted a non-responsive card in a camera (with format feature such as Casio), then it works. You say you tried PC's, which use complicated registry witchdoctoring, cameras might find the card easier and execute a reformat. Easy and safe to try!
Good luck!

Thanks, I tried this. But my photo camera locks up.... Can't even reach the menu to format it... Then I tried my cellphone, it says the card is unknown...

Then I have started a live distribution of Linux Gparted. But the card is invisible there. Nor from my integrated card reader as from the external USB reader.

So.... I think I need to try plan B (returning the card).

I won't pollute this thread much more with my card issues. Thanks for all suggestions!

Let's continue to share knowledge about the HD camera .

Originally Posted by RADAR_66

Yess it 22*f right now

I can only wish for such warm, inviting weather :P It will hit -5f (-20f with wind chill) tomorrow. And I intend to go throw my Stryker in the air!

Now if only I had a nice 720p camera to attach on it... although it probably wouldn't work. All three of my #3's die within 30 seconds of taking them outside, even if I'm very careful to keep them warm. Cold + cheap 1s lipo is not a good combo.

Originally Posted by mavlo77

Thanks, I tried this. But my photo camera locks up.... Can't even reach the menu to format it... Then I tried my cellphone, it says the card is unknown...

Then I have started a live distribution of Linux Gparted. But the card is invisible there. Nor from my integrated card reader as from the external USB reader.

So.... I think I need to try plan B (returning the card).

I won't pollute this thread much more with my card issues. Thanks for all suggestions!

Let's continue to share knowledge about the HD camera .

LAst suggestion before you return the card. Did you try to use the special SD card formatter with it? I don't know if it will do any different, but it is designed specifically for formatting SD cards.

Just tryed a different card and it does the exact same thing for any player I use.

Originally Posted by Tom Frank

Thanks. I sent an email to my vendor contact about this to see if he might have seen this before. I'm guessing the file is not getting closed properly. I'd try to duplicate the issue with a different flash memory card if you have one just to rule out a problem with the card.

Originally Posted by autorail1

Just tryed a different card and it does the exact same thing for any player I use.

So far no one else has tried to duplicate your problem and post their findings here to see if it's a common problem with other HD key cams. I hope mine will arrive tomorrow and I'll be trying it for sure.

Also, have you done the date removal firmware replacement? I'm wondering if your firmware got corrupted somehow, and if the new "no date stamp" firmware would fix it? If you've read the link in the FAQs (post #3) page, you know there is a risk of bricking your camera doing this if it's a very early version. But the vendors have implied they will replace one that is bricked by this process, so you don't have much to lose by trying it.

I have not done anything to the cam except record.

Originally Posted by Tom Frank

So far no one else has tried to duplicate your problem and post their findings here to see if it's a common problem with other HD key cams. I hope mine will arrive tomorrow and I'll be trying it for sure.

Also, have you done the date removal firmware replacement? I'm wondering if your firmware got corrupted somehow, and if the new "no date stamp" firmware would fix it? If you've read the link in the FAQs (post #3) page, you know there is a risk of bricking your camera doing this if it's a very early version. But the vendors have implied they will replace one that is bricked by this process, so you don't have much to lose by trying it.

I have done some editing of the HD key cam .MOV files using the latest version (V2.5.4) of AviDemux, and have the following tips that might save you some time and/or frustration:

Main Window Configuration

I like the two-pane display showing the Input Video and Output Video after your edits, like Vdub does. AviDemux can do this, but it doesn't default to that mode, nor can you save it in a configuration setting. The Window top tool bar has the pane orientation selection icons, and the pane sizes have to be set using the "View/Zoom Ratio" menu. Pretty clumsy at best.

"H.264 Detected" Alert

This alert box pops up whenever a video is opened that uses the H.264 video codec like this camera uses. I've always clicked on "no" to reply to this with no problems, fearing what the "loss of frame accuracy" might do. I found that doing this when I loaded back in a file I had just output which had been re-encoded with the MPEG-4AVC (H.264) codec option caused the program to crash! When I reloaded it and selected "yes" the file loaded fine, so sometimes you don't have a choice. I need to do some more testing to see how/if selecting "yes" every time affects the final video.

Sound Issues

The audio codec used in the .MOV file is not a mainstream one in the PC world. I've had troubles with it not working when using the direct "Copy" selection in the main editing window. I now routinely output all my files by selecting the "MP3 (lame)" option in the selection dropdown box under the Audio heading. It is NOT "lame"... EVERYTHING today plays MP3 files!

Sometimes when re-encoding the native .MOV file the sound is intermittant and breaks up while playing the video during editing. Not to worry... it always seems to play fine in the final saved video. Similarly, reloading a file that you just saved can result in some strange sound during playback in the editor, like the sound track plays at several times normal speed! Again, it always plays fine after you save out that revamped file.

Output File Naming

When you output a file you will be prompted for a file name and location. Be sure to add the file type suffix for the format you chose to the end of the file name when you type it in. AviDemux does NOT do this automatically (but it should!), so if you leave it off, there is no file suffix to call up your media player to play when you click the icon. You can also change the file name after you save it to add the suffix if you forget.

Simple Trimming

Clipping of unwanted sections of a video can be done without re-encoding the video... just leave the default drop down box set for "Copy" under the Video heading.

Use the orange "A" and "B" icons at the bottom of the window to set the beginning and end of the section you want to trim. The selected range will be highlighted with a blue outline on the timeline slider. Hitting the "Delete" key or selecting the Edit/Delete menu option will delete that portion. You can drag the timeline slider to quickly get near your trim points, or take short steps to get there with the left or right arrow keys. I've had an alert pop up on occasion when saving a file after trimming the first part of a file, saying the "the video does not start on a key frame". A key frame is the first full image that is used to define the next series of compressed frames, so if it's not there, the subsequent frames have no reference and the program will abort the output. The easiest way to make your cuts at a key frame seems to be to use the arrow keys to step to your final trim point before setting your "A" or "B" markers.

When outputting a simple trimmed, direct copy video file, DO NOT use .AVI file format... it will not work properly. You will need to re-encode the video to do that. Set the output to "MP4" in the dropdown box under the Format heading.

Improving Video Fidelity With Filters

Most of these cameras are set to record with over-saturated colors and with a high contrast setting. While this produces very vivid colors, it also looks somewhat un-natural, increasing the visibility of a central "hot spot" and darkening of the corners in the video. Applying several filters built into AviDemux editor can eliminate most of these undesired artifacts.

Some users prefer the very vivid colors the #11 camera produced. This post gives novices step-by step instructions for boosting the #16 colors to more closely match the #11 camera.

Re-encoding Video


It is necessary to re-encode the video whenever a direct copy into a different file format doesn't work properly (e.g. .AVI), or when you want to use a filter to modify the final video characteristics. Some useful filters you might consider are sharpening, color correction, brightness/contrast tweaks, cropping, and re-sizing. There are a lot more. Access them via the Video/Filters menu, highlight the ones you want, and click the green "+" icon to activate them for the output. I won't try to explain their individual settings that will pop up when you select one... best suggestion is to play with them to see what they do.

My best advice is to always output to the MP4 Format using the MPEG-4AVC (i.e. H.264) Video Codec and the MP3 (Lame) Audio codec. This will produce the most consistent and reliable results. All my video players and editors for Windows 7 will import and use MP4 files except Vdub. You can output the re-encoded video into an .AVI format so Vdub can load it, but there's really no need to unless Vdub can do something better than AviDemux. I haven't found anything yet other than interact with AviSynth scripts to do some fancy combining of multiple videos. But I have a commercial editor that I would normally use for that.

The "Configure" button under the Video Heading gives important toggles for the MPEG-4AVC codec. The only ones that need changing from the default settings for good results are the "Encoding Mode" under the "General" tab. The dropdown box gives 5 options. I have tried them all, and the two that produce slightly better results are the "two pass" options. I think the "Average Bitrate (two pass)" option is just a tiny bit better and easier to configure. Select that one and type in "7000" for the value in the "Average Bitrate" box. That is the approximate average bit rate that this camera normally produces, and will make your final output quality virtually identical to the the original.

If you need to reduce your final file size, you will need to reduce the average bitrate number which will reduce the video quality. An easier way to get a specific file size is to select the "File Size (2 pass)" Encoding Mode, and enter your desired file size in the Target File Size box.

Originally Posted by Acorns

I can only wish for such warm, inviting weather :P It will hit -5f (-20f with wind chill) tomorrow. And I intend to go throw my Stryker in the air!

Now if only I had a nice 720p camera to attach on it... although it probably wouldn't work. All three of my #3's die within 30 seconds of taking them outside, even if I'm very careful to keep them warm. Cold + cheap 1s lipo is not a good combo.

Wow now thats cold

Hi, first I would like to thank you all for such a great forum. Ive ordered two of these from power-gps and cant wait for them to arrive. Does anyone know the weight of these cams and if possible the various parts as I'm planning to power it from the main heli battery via a small switch mode psu. Many Thanks

I just wanted to post a BIG THANK YOU to Tom for posting his tips for using AviDemux. I'm sure it will save lots of frusration for anybody who, like me, easily gets confused with the miriad of settings offered even on these basic video editors.
Thanks Tom
Head

Headles and realpastaman, + 1 for sure, these guys share a wealth of knowlege and experience, makes me feel dumb and selfish for having fun leeching on others work. But If I can help someone I will.... lets face it. Its video, seen on this site, for various planes and flights, that sucked me into the hobby. A good video of a good flight can sell hundreds of planes in my estimation. There's lots of lurkers out there that will get in and never post (again my estimation). Keep up the good work.

Pasta, my #8 is 15.6 grams with soft velcro side attached to top and bottom. My hd is on the way. I would guess not much more. Oh I removed the keychain part.

P.

Originally Posted by realpastaman

Hi, first I would like to thank you all for such a great forum. Ive ordered two of these from power-gps and cant wait for them to arrive. Does anyone know the weight of these cams and if possible the various parts as I'm planning to power it from the main heli battery via a small switch mode psu. Many Thanks

There are some photos of the camera circuit board on most of their web pages. I copied one in my Post #2.

So far powering this camera from an external Lipo or power source needs to be tested. It can record and charge while being powered from it's dedicated car charger, but there is more going on in the mini USB plug than just supplying +5V and ground. It will not work with a simple mini-USB plug generic power source. Most likely, the two data pins are connected to each other or ground in some way that will need to be duplicated if you plan to supply power via the USB plug.

You might be able to go direct to the circuit board where the battery wires connect, but that also has not been tried. And the voltage may need to be reduced with a diode to simulate a nearly fully charger lipo to work properly. This camera, unlike the old 808 key chain cameras, appears to have a battery charging/discharging circuit in a small IC on the main circuit board rather than (just?) on a separate one encapsulated in the battery wrap. It is unknown how the camera will function going directly to the board with an external power source.

Please post your solution here when you get it working!

how do you get the web cam option to work i try to follow the instructions but it didn't work

To get into webcam mode:

• Turn off the camera, then plug in USB.
• The red LED will show that it's charging.
• Hold down the shutter button (small one all the way to the front), and while holding it, hold down the power button (larger one right behind the shutter button).
• The LED will blink then flash a couple times, and you'll hear the tone in Windows when it connects. You can release the buttons when the LED is solid yellow.
• The yellow LED will stay on. It should now show up as a webcam, and Windows will probably install the drivers for it if this is the first time you've used it on that PC as a webcam.
• You can use AmCap, or just about any other program meant to use a webcam to view the video stream from it.

Notes from Tom:

Originally Posted by Tom Frank

There might be a couple clarifications needed? If the battery is fully charged when this is done, the red LED will blink once when plugged into the USB port, then quickly goes out. If YOU blink, you will miss it and may get confused waiting for it to come on. Also, sometimes there is a slight delay after toggling the web cam mode before the camera is recognized by the computer, even after the first time when the drivers are loaded for the first time. There is no pop-up message about drivers being loaded... the camera just isn't recognized immediately, and the video capture program will not see it as being available.

I've run into this several times now going through many iterations of lens focusing.

I haven't really used the webcam feature much since focusing mine, so I haven't noticed these points... Thanks for the heads up!



Taking pictures and stills:

• A quick press of the power button turns the camera on, and shortly after the LED lights it will blink once. It's in movie mode, this is default when it's powered up.
• A quick press of the small button will start recording a movie, the LED will flash a few times then go dark while it records. Quick press the small button again, and it stops recording and the LED comes on again. It's still in movie mode, and you should be able to record another movie.
• While it's in movie mode (and not recording), quick press the larger power button to switch to picture mode. It will blink the LED once to confirm that it changed modes. Now a quick press of the small button takes a picture, and the LED blinks once when it takes it. (I say blinks, it goes dark for about 1/2 a second)
• You can now quick press the large button to go back to movie mode, or hold down the large button until the LED switches off the turn the camera off.

Originally Posted by KeithLuneau

To get into webcam mode, turn off the camera, then plug in USB. The red LED will show that it's charging. Hold down the shutter button (one all the way to the front), and while holding it, hold down the power button. The LED will blink then flash a couple times, and you'll hear the tone in Windows when it connects. The yellow LED will stay on. It should now show up as a webcam, and Windows will probably install the drivers for it.

Keith,

Your post should probably be a sticky because the instructions are written in full blown Chinglish. You explained it as it works.

Bill

Originally Posted by Prof100

Keith,

Your post should probably be a sticky because the instructions are written in full blown Chinglish. You explained it as it works.

Bill

Yes, I agree, Bill. I had just decided to add it to the FAQ page (post #3) when I read this next post of yours.

Thanks for the good webcam instruction, Keith. You are now bequeathed with the dubious honor of authoring a FAQ link!

Oh well, I bricked my new HD camera by trying to remove the date/time stamp.
I bought it on Dec 17, delivery Jan 6.
Can only hope now eletoponline365 will be nice.

Does anyone know if formatting the flash card before applying the firmware patch can cause this? In my case the DCIM folder wasn't present when I tried to remove the stamp.

Originally Posted by Tom Frank

Yes, I agree, Bill. I had just decided to add it to the FAQ page (post #3) when I read this next post of yours.

Thanks for the good webcam instruction, Keith. You are now bequeathed with the dubious honor of authoring a FAQ link!

Tom,

Great.

Bill

Originally Posted by deepinside

Oh well, I bricked my new HD camera by trying to remove the date/time stamp.
I bought it on Dec 17, delivery Jan 6.
Can only hope now eletoponline365 will be nice.

Does anyone know if formatting the flash card before applying the firmware patch can cause this? In my case the DCIM folder wasn't present when I tried to remove the stamp.

The DCIM folder should not matter. The camera reads the new firmware file directly from the root directory where the DCIM folder would be, not from inside that folder, nor does it need any other files from inside that folder.

Sorry to hear that... I think you will get resolution from the vendor. Out of curiousity, is your camera completely dead... i.e. no response (no leds) when plugged into the USB port or turned on with it's power button?

Originally Posted by Tom Frank

Yes, I agree, Bill. I had just decided to add it to the FAQ page (post #3) when I read this next post of yours.

Thanks for the good webcam instruction, Keith. You are now bequeathed with the dubious honor of authoring a FAQ link!

Awesome!

Maybe I'll even take the time to format it better...

Originally Posted by Tom Frank

Sorry to hear that... I think you will get resolution from the vendor. Out of curiousity, is your camera completely dead... i.e. no response (no leds) when plugged into the USB port or turned on with it's power button?

No, not completely dead. The battery seems to work ... I get the red LED when I plug it in (disappears when fully loaded). But I won't get the yellow one anymore; no recording of course; resetting doesn't help.

Originally Posted by deepinside

No, not completely dead. The battery seems to work ... I get the red LED when I plug it in (disappears when fully loaded). But I won't get the yellow one anymore; no recording of course; resetting doesn't help.

This is exactly what mine was doing before I sent it back to China. Looks like there is no FIFO in their inventory as Dec 17/Jan 6 is pretty late and there have been many who successfully removed the date stamp with earlier cams. Perhaps someone should suggest that the vendor adopt batch controls or better yet, SAP for processing orders....

clx1

Originally Posted by clx1

This is exactly what mine was doing before I sent it back to China. Looks like there is no FIFO in their inventory as Dec 17/Jan 6 is pretty late and there have been many who successfully removed the date stamp with earlier cams. Perhaps someone should suggest that the vendor adopt batch controls or better yet, SAP for processing orders....

clx1

Nope, I still picture a big barrel of cameras ready to be packed and shipped out.

It looks like there's a need to use some better way to identify the camera type or vintage before doing the date stamp removal. The EXIF data attached to JPEG images from the cam might help as a fingerprint.

BTW some of the old #3 types that went catatonic were restored by hard reset - that is by disconnecting the battery. However best to send it back.

I noticed that in the webcam mode, the HD Key cam has a video delay in movement about twice as long as the Key cam #3. Could be due to the higher resolution, but the regular webcam I use has 10MP and there is no delay. Of course I got it to fly with and didn't get it for web cam use anyway
Cheers,
Jim

Originally Posted by jesolins

I noticed that in the webcam mode, the HD Key cam has a video delay in movement about twice as long as the Key cam #3. Could be due to the higher resolution, but the regular webcam I use has 10MP and there is no delay. Of course I got it to fly with and didn't get it for web cam use anyway
Cheers,
Jim

I used the HD as a webcam on skype and the first thing others noticed was how clear the picture was.

Yeah I agree, I didn't get it for a webcam and doubt I'll ever use it, but it's definitely a nice one! Nice and clear picture for sure.

Originally Posted by deepinside

No, not completely dead. The battery seems to work ... I get the red LED when I plug it in (disappears when fully loaded). But I won't get the yellow one anymore; no recording of course; resetting doesn't help.

Did you try the trick that worked on a lot of #3's? Remove the SD card, then turn on the camera. The #3 would blink 30 times, then shut down automatically. Put the SD card back in, power up, and see if it works. Well, worth a try at least.

My HD key cam arrived today! So now I can play with the real deal. I just shot a few test clips to make sure it works, and a web cam test, before putting it into a run 'til it dies stop and record test to see if my files are properly saved. Once that is done, I'll do the date removal.

I had to stop these activities to watch my Seahawks embarrass all the football prognosticators and odds makers! Great game... quite a difference when all the starters are back healthy, play hard, and make few mistakes. My condolences to Saints fans!

Originally Posted by Tom Frank

My HD key cam arrived today! So now I can play with the real deal. I just shot a few test clips to make sure it works, and a web cam test, before putting it into a run 'til it dies stop and record test to see if my files are properly saved. Once that is done, I'll do the date removal.

I had to stop these activities to watch my Seahawks embarrass all the football prognosticators and odds makers! Great game... quite a difference when all the starters are back healthy, play hard, and make few mistakes. My condolences to Saints fans!

I watched the Saints - Seahawks game as well. Bummer for Saints fans.

Glad you got your camera. Don't brick it!

Originally Posted by wheelspinner20

Headles and realpastaman, + 1 for sure, these guys share a wealth of knowlege and experience, makes me feel dumb and selfish for having fun leeching on others work. But If I can help someone I will.... lets face it. Its video, seen on this site, for various planes and flights, that sucked me into the hobby. A good video of a good flight can sell hundreds of planes in my estimation. There's lots of lurkers out there that will get in and never post (again my estimation). Keep up the good work.

Pasta, my #8 is 15.6 grams with soft velcro side attached to top and bottom. My hd is on the way. I would guess not much more. Oh I removed the keychain part.

P.

Thanks wheelspinner - Thats so useful to me. I've been working on a dc dc converter to power the camera from the heli 3.7v cell I'll post something about that soon - Hoping to remove the battery from the camera to save some weight.

Tested this on a standard def keychain - Purpose is to use the heli battery 3.7 volts to power the HD key chain. Input voltage range is 2.5V - 4.5V output is stabilised 4.3 volts ~ 300mA max it will also do 9V O/P for 2.4Ghz tx. Cant wait to try it out on the HD keychain when it arrives. If anyone wants the circuit then let me know.

wow pasta that thing looks like impressionist art.! very cool. Do you think a mini board with surface mounts would save you some weight?

P.

Originally Posted by wheelspinner20

wow pasta that thing looks like impressionist art.! very cool. Do you think a mini board with surface mounts would save you some weight?

P.

Hi wheelspinner - The main IC is surface mount - Its just a birds nest ) - Hell of a job to solder surface mount IC - Yes it would save some weight if I did a mini board - The problem to power anything off the main heli battery is that it drops quite a bit under full load. Thats why the power unit is ok down to 2.5V at which point the heli would no longer be flying -

Originally Posted by realpastaman

Tested this on a standard def keychain - Purpose is to use the heli battery 3.7 volts to power the HD key chain. Input voltage range is 2.5V - 4.5V output is stabilised 4.3 volts ~ 300mA max it will also do 9V O/P for 2.4Ghz tx. Cant wait to try it out on the HD keychain when it arrives. If anyone wants the circuit then let me know.

When you confirm a working connection to the HD key cam, come back and edit this post, with a circuit diagram and any hook up instructions, tips or tricks, and I'll include it in the Frankencam reserved post #4 for stuff like this.

Originally Posted by realpastaman

Hi wheelspinner - The main IC is surface mount - Its just a birds nest ) - Hell of a job to solder surface mount IC - Yes it would save some weight if I did a mini board - The problem to power anything off the main heli battery is that it drops quite a bit under full load. Thats why the power unit is ok down to 2.5V at which point the heli would no longer be flying -

I doubt the camera will function down at 2.5V input either!

Originally Posted by Tom Frank

When you confirm a working connection to the HD key cam, come back and edit this post, with a circuit diagram and any hook up instructions, tips or tricks, and I'll include it in the Frankencam reserved post #4 for stuff like this.

OK Tom I sure will - Still waiting for the HD key cam to arrive from Hong Kong - The battey in the HD key cam looks like a typical 250mA 3.7 lithium and so I'm pretty sure it will work OK - Its quite efficient ~ 80% and I'm hoping the current drain will be be low compared to the heli motor - Hopefully the HD key cam will be here next week - Thanks for such an interesting thread.

Originally Posted by Tom Frank

My HD key cam arrived today! >>snip<< My condolences to Saints fans!

Congratulations on both counts.

How bout them Broncos!!

Yabba

I've finished some initial sample clips and tests with my HD key cam, shot indoors with just natural window light, and outdoors in both cloudy (but bright) and full sun. My first impressions of the video are that the contrast and color saturation on mine is slightly over-stated, but I can correct that during editing. The vinetteing in the corners is there, but it's not too bad fortunately. My focus can use a little tweaking, but overall I'm very happy with the video.

Interestingly, the video bit rate in my 4 sample clips ranged from 7111 to 7605 kbps which is a bit higher than clips the vendors furnished. So, I set my average bit rate at 7400 kbps in AviDemux when I compiled and trimmed the clips rather than the 7000 kbps setting I recommended in my AviDemux Tips and Tricks post. So I'd say to check the average data rate on your native videos before re-encoding them, and set AviDemux accordingly. With Windows, just right click on the icon and select "Properties/Details" to show the data rate.

My next test was to check the 20 minute close-and-continue recording function, which work exactly as advertised, and when the battery ran low the last clip closed properly before the camera shut down. The delay between closing/saving one video and starting the next is one is only 3 seconds!

I then checked the web cam function, which also worked well. The video image is reduced to 640x480 for this function, and the white balance is a little off toward the red side on my monitor compared to other web cams I have, but is not too bad. And the extremely sharp image makes up for it. I have less than 1/2 sec. delay in video motion on my computer.

Finally, I did the dreaded date removal firmware replacement. After I copied the new firmware file to my card, I pushed the ON button and held my breath. After a 4-5 sec. delay, the yellow LED came on I was able to breath again. Success, and it was really an easy update process compared to that needed to remove the date stamp on the old 808 camera.

I'll check out the car charger cord tomorrow and maybe refocus if it's a sunny day.

Initial Clips with HD Key Cam (3 min 19 sec)

nice video Tom Frank, i want one!

i notice a strange and repetitive noise in the video, at 0:52 in advance can be listened more clearly,
at 1:47 in advance disappeared apparently

808HD ipad (1 min 15 sec)

....just showing my buddy the new cam

It's a keeper Tom.

Originally Posted by wallaguest1

nice video Tom Frank, i want one!

i notice a strange and repetitive noise in the video, at 0:52 in advance can be listened more clearly,
at 1:47 in advance disappeared apparently

I hadn't noticed that when I compiled the video since I had the sound turned down, plus my hearing at certain frequencies isn't all that hot. But, I turned up the sounds and could hear what you heard.

It sounds like short buzz sounds at about 1 sec. intervals. I thought that might have been something that crept in during the conversion from the native audio to MP3 during the re-encoding, but I could also hear it in the native clip. I have no idea what was causing that. I didn't hear it in the the sunny clip in front of my house... just in the back near the door and inside when downstairs. I have wireless internet and wireless digital phone soures near that area, etc. It might have been some kind of RF interference being picked up by the camera?

I'll shoot some more clips away from the house tomorrow and see if it goes away.

i have tested several "camera pens" and in some of them i noticed similar sounds.
i end up concluding it was CPU noise poorly filtered in the circuit.

But as i said its strange because is just noticeable in a part of the video,
i guess it was not a continuous shoot, so maybe the sound becomes picked just sometimes? strange...

maybe i am wrong but i wouldn't bet for the RF option, they probably have a very low output power to interference in such thing,

let me know your test results, cheers

Originally Posted by clx1

This is exactly what mine was doing before I sent it back to China. Looks like there is no FIFO in their inventory as Dec 17/Jan 6 is pretty late and there have been many who successfully removed the date stamp with earlier cams.

Did you order it from eletoponline, because mine was shipped from Singapore?
So far the seller hasn't contacted me back. Did your seller ask you to send it back or did you just send it?

Originally Posted by wayback

Did you try the trick that worked on a lot of #3's? Remove the SD card, then turn on the camera. The #3 would blink 30 times, then shut down automatically. Put the SD card back in, power up, and see if it works. Well, worth a try at least.

Already tried that. It used to work on one of my old #3's but not on the #11.

Anyways, before I bricked it I recorded a small clip just for testing purposes with the date/time stamp still there. Its only 25MB, so if anyone with greater knowledge wants to have a look or compare it to his own HD cam... maybe it helps identifying the version of the cams.

http://rapidshare.com/files/441605390/PTDC0001.MOV

Well Rome was built brick by brick..Ugh sorry

Here's what MediaInfo says about your file. Looks typical, from what I remember.

D:\PTDC0001.MOV;MPEG-4;;;;QuickTime;;qt ;;;;24.0 MiB;19s 0ms;;;;10.6 Mbps;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;UTC 2004-01-01 00:00:00;UTC 2004-01-01 00:00:00;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; ;;;;;;;;;;;1;;AVC;Advanced Video Codec;;;Main@L5.0;;;;;;;Yes;1 frame;;;;;;avc1;Advanced Video Coding;;;19s 0ms;;Variable;10.1 Mbps;;;;1 280 pixels;;720 pixels;;16:9;;;Constant;;30.000 fps;;;;;;YUV;4:2:0;8 bits;Progressive;;0.365;22.8 MiB (95%);;;;;;English;;UTC 2004-01-01 00:00:00;UTC 2004-01-01 00:00:00;;2;;PCM;;;;;;;;;;;;Little;Signed;;;;;sowt ;;;;19s 0ms;Constant;512 Kbps;;;;1 channel;;32.0 KHz;16 bits;;;;;1.16 MiB (5%);;;;;;;English;;UTC 2004-01-01 00:00:00;UTC 2004-01-01 00:00:00

If you had a JPEG still image, it might contain a lot more clues.

Here's the data from vendor sample "girls with bicycle"

D:\PTDC0002.MOV;MPEG-4;;;;QuickTime;;qt ;;;;16.1 MiB;19s 0ms;;;;7 091 Kbps;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;UTC 2004-01-01 00:00:00;UTC 2004-01-01 00:00:00;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; ;;;;;;;;;;;1;;AVC;Advanced Video Codec;;;Main@L5.0;;;;;;;Yes;1 frame;;;;;;avc1;Advanced Video Coding;;;19s 0ms;;Variable;6 577 Kbps;;;;1 280 pixels;;720 pixels;;16:9;;;Constant;;30.000 fps;;;;;;YUV;4:2:0;8 bits;Progressive;;0.238;14.9 MiB (93%);;;;;;English;;UTC 2004-01-01 00:00:00;UTC 2004-01-01 00:00:00;;2;;PCM;;;;;;;;;;;;Little;Signed;;;;;sowt ;;;;19s 0ms;Constant;512 Kbps;;;;1 channel;;32.0 KHz;16 bits;;;;;1.16 MiB (7%);;;;;;;English;;UTC 2004-01-01 00:00:00;UTC 2004-01-01 00:00:00

Here's "car on bridge" vendor sample

D:\PTDC0038.MOV;MPEG-4;;;;QuickTime;;qt ;;;;49.6 MiB;59s 0ms;;;;7 051 Kbps;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;UTC 2004-01-01 00:00:00;UTC 2004-01-01 00:00:00;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; ;;;;;;;;;;;1;;AVC;Advanced Video Codec;;;Main@L5.0;;;;;;;Yes;1 frame;;;;;;avc1;Advanced Video Coding;;;59s 0ms;;Variable;6 537 Kbps;;;;1 280 pixels;;720 pixels;;16:9;;;Constant;;30.000 fps;;;;;;YUV;4:2:0;8 bits;Progressive;;0.236;46.0 MiB (93%);;;;;;English;;UTC 2004-01-01 00:00:00;UTC 2004-01-01 00:00:00;;2;;PCM;;;;;;;;;;;;Little;Signed;;;;;sowt ;;;;59s 0ms;Constant;512 Kbps;;;;1 channel;;32.0 KHz;16 bits;;;;;3.60 MiB (7%);;;;;;;English;;UTC 2004-01-01 00:00:00;UTC 2004-01-01 00:00:00

So vendor samples have lower bitrate, but that's been seen by Jantares after taking JPEGs

Originally Posted by Tom Frank

Finally, I did the dreaded date removal firmware replacement. After I copied the new firmware file to my card, I pushed the ON button and held my breath. After a 4-5 sec. delay, the yellow LED came on I was able to breath again. Success, and it was really an easy update process compared to that needed to remove the date stamp on the old 808 camera.

Tom,

Congratulations on finally getting the cam in your hands and successfully doing the date removal! Mine also arrived, without the date stamp to boot. So it appears that the vendor is a pretty good bunch, do good work and value good customer relations! I am happy. Thanks for all your efforts and I will continue to wade in and see what I find on this wonderful thread from time to time.

clx1

Originally Posted by Tom Frank

I've finished some initial sample clips and tests with my HD key cam, shot indoors with just natural window light, and outdoors in both cloudy (but bright) and full sun. My first impressions of the video are that the contrast and color saturation on mine is slightly over-stated, but I can correct that during editing. The vinetteing in the corners is there, but it's not too bad fortunately. My focus can use a little tweaking, but overall I'm very happy with the video.

Interestingly, the video bit rate in my 4 sample clips ranged from 7111 to 7605 kbps which is a bit higher than clips the vendors furnished. So, I set my average bit rate at 7400 kbps in AviDemux when I compiled and trimmed the clips rather than the 7000 kbps setting I recommended in my AviDemux Tips and Tricks post. So I'd say to check the average data rate on your native videos before re-encoding them, and set AviDemux accordingly. With Windows, just right click on the icon and select "Properties/Details" to show the data rate.

My next test was to check the 20 minute close-and-continue recording function, which work exactly as advertised, and when the battery ran low the last clip closed properly before the camera shut down. The delay between closing/saving one video and starting the next is one is only 3 seconds!

I then checked the web cam function, which also worked well. The video image is reduced to 640x480 for this function, and the white balance is a little off toward the red side on my monitor compared to other web cams I have, but is not too bad. And the extremely sharp image makes up for it. I have less than 1/2 sec. delay in video motion on my computer.

Finally, I did the dreaded date removal firmware replacement. After I copied the new firmware file to my card, I pushed the ON button and held my breath. After a 4-5 sec. delay, the yellow LED came on I was able to breath again. Success, and it was really an easy update process compared to that needed to remove the date stamp on the old 808 camera.

I'll check out the car charger cord tomorrow and maybe refocus if it's a sunny day.

http://www.vimeo.com/18579886

Cool! Looks like the focus is OK?
In numberz the increase from 480p to 720p doesn't sound so much, but looking to your video in full screen, it is certainly a significant step up from the #3 in terms of definition!

Can't wait to receive my camera and film onboard!

Hmm... strange, played around a bit, got my HD to work again to full functionality and could even remove the date/timp stamp. Heres what I did.

After trying to remove the date/time stamp using the adapter I wouldn't get the yellow LED to come on anymore, though the red one was working fine.

I removed the formatted flash card from the cam (the one which I tried to remove the date/time stamp with before) and put it in the adapter. I then copied the "Date On" bin-file "FW96630A.bin" to the root of the flash card with the DCIM folder missing. I removed adapter and flash card and put the card back into the cam. It wouldn't start (no yellow LED).

I connected the cam to the computer via USB. The red LED came on. The cam wasn't recognized as a mass storage device. After about a minute I pressed the POWER button for about five seconds and the yellow LED came on and the cam appeared as a mass storage device with the DCIM folder and the bin-file present. I removed only the bin-file.

I pressed the power button again for about a second and the yellow LED disappeared and the red one appeared. The cam wasn't recognized as a mass storage device anymore. I unplugged the cam so that the red LED was gone.
I then could start the cam normally. Both video and photo were working fine with the date/time stamp present.

I then used losthelis instructions from post #108 to remove the date/time stamp, this time avoiding the adapter and using the solution via direct USB connection (with the DCIM folder still on the flash card and using FW96630A.bin from the "Date Off" folder).
Everything works fine.

Heres a photo from the cam with EXIF data:
http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/7718/ptdc0002.jpg

Does anyone have the following problems?
Date time does not keep very well, gained 14 days in a week.
Low light situations do not film well.
Stopped taking pics, this one has me scratching the noggin, as I used to have no trouble taking pics.


Jazz

That's great work, deepinside!

Here's a shot of the EXIF data, good for comparison

Originally Posted by deepinside

Hmm... strange, played around a bit, got my HD to work again to full functionality and could even remove the date/timp stamp. Heres what I did.

I wonder if your 808HD only be unblocked and able to upload new firmware with the date and time. Do you still record video in over 10000kbps?
Have you used the firmware to remove the date and time?

Originally Posted by mavlo77

Cool! Looks like the focus is OK?
In numberz the increase from 480p to 720p doesn't sound so much, but looking to your video in full screen, it is certainly a significant step up from the #3 in terms of definition!

Can't wait to receive my camera and film onboard!

My focus is not too bad, but I think it could be tweaked a small amount to move the depth of focus slightly further out for AV purposes. For general use with subjects both far and near, I think it's pretty good right where it is. The overall focus is a bit difficult to tell solely by looking at the compressed images in the camera's video, because the compression tends to dull fine detail like grass, weeds, tree branches in the distance, etc.

Adjusting focus in the webcam mode helps since the image can be kept stationary to better see the changes in the distant fine detail area. The only down side from that is the 640x480 image is sub-sampled off the CMOS sensor, so it's smaller and center frame biased with much less pixel width and height, you don't see how the edges of the full HD frame are affected, and that's where the focus is the worst when the center is in good focus. Sometimes backing off from the best center focus a tiny bit to improve the edge focus can result in a better looking overall image across the entire frame.

Originally Posted by jantares

I wonder if your 808HD only be unblocked and able to upload new firmware with the date and time. Do you still record video in over 10000kbps?
Have you used the firmware to remove the date and time?

Yes, I used the firmware given in this thread. And yes, I still record with over 10000kbps. MediaInfo gives me the following on a new sample clip

General
Complete name                    : G:\PTDC0002.MOV
Format                           : MPEG-4
Format profile                   : QuickTime
Codec ID                         : qt  
File size                        : 28.1 MiB
Duration                         : 22s 0ms
Overall bit rate                 : 10.7 Mbps
Encoded date                     : UTC 2004-01-01 00:00:00
Tagged date                      : UTC 2004-01-01 00:00:00

Video
ID                               : 1
Format                           : AVC
Format/Info                      : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile                   : Main@L5.0
Format settings, CABAC           : Yes
Format settings, ReFrames        : 1 frame
Codec ID                         : avc1
Codec ID/Info                    : Advanced Video Coding
Duration                         : 22s 0ms
Bit rate mode                    : Variable
Bit rate                         : 10.2 Mbps
Width                            : 1 280 pixels
Height                           : 720 pixels
Display aspect ratio             : 16:9
Frame rate mode                  : Constant
Frame rate                       : 30.000 fps
Color space                      : YUV
Chroma subsampling               : 4:2:0
Bit depth                        : 8 bits
Scan type                        : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame)               : 0.369
Stream size                      : 26.8 MiB (95%)
Language                         : English
Encoded date                     : UTC 2004-01-01 00:00:00
Tagged date                      : UTC 2004-01-01 00:00:00

Audio
ID                               : 2
Format                           : PCM
Format settings, Endianness      : Little
Format settings, Sign            : Signed
Codec ID                         : sowt
Duration                         : 22s 0ms
Bit rate mode                    : Constant
Bit rate                         : 512 Kbps
Channel(s)                       : 1 channel
Sampling rate                    : 32.0 KHz
Bit depth                        : 16 bits
Stream size                      : 1.34 MiB (5%)
Language                         : English
Encoded date                     : UTC 2004-01-01 00:00:00
Tagged date                      : UTC 2004-01-01 00:00:00

If you have the time, can you do a different check of your bit rate for the video you used in the example below? Just right click on the file icon, select properties and click the details tab, then report what you show for the "data rate". The reason I ask is because the camera records with a variable bit rate, and what MediaInfo shows as the "bitrate" might be the maximum bit rather than the average? The other method I gave will report the average bit rate.

I've not gotten more than a little over 7000 kbps average bit rate with mine, though I need to shoot more samples. It seems unusual that the average bit rate would vary by as much as 3000 kbps with this camera, but perhaps it does.

FWIW, anything over 5000 kbps is likely not visible to most viewers, and the free posting site with the highest video quality (ExposureRoom.com) will reduce the bit rate on uploads to this value for this reason. Bottom line is even 7000 average bit rate will produce as excellent a video as this camera's lens and CMOS can produce, and the file size will be about 30% smaller than one shot with 10000 kbps average bit rate.

Originally Posted by deepinside

Yes, I used the firmware given in this thread. And yes, I still record with over 10000kbps. MediaInfo gives me the following on a new sample clip

General
Complete name                    : G:\PTDC0002.MOV
Format                           : MPEG-4
Format profile                   : QuickTime
Codec ID                         : qt  
File size                        : 28.1 MiB
Duration                         : 22s 0ms
Overall bit rate                 : 10.7 Mbps
Encoded date                     : UTC 2004-01-01 00:00:00
Tagged date                      : UTC 2004-01-01 00:00:00
 
Video
ID                               : 1
Format                           : AVC
Format/Info                      : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile                   : Main@L5.0
Format settings, CABAC           : Yes
Format settings, ReFrames        : 1 frame
Codec ID                         : avc1
Codec ID/Info                    : Advanced Video Coding
Duration                         : 22s 0ms
Bit rate mode                    : Variable
Bit rate                         : 10.2 Mbps Is this average rate or max rate?
Width                            : 1 280 pixels
Height                           : 720 pixels
Display aspect ratio             : 16:9
Frame rate mode                  : Constant
Frame rate                       : 30.000 fps
Color space                      : YUV
Chroma subsampling               : 4:2:0
Bit depth                        : 8 bits
Scan type                        : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame)               : 0.369
Stream size                      : 26.8 MiB (95%)
Language                         : English
Encoded date                     : UTC 2004-01-01 00:00:00
Tagged date                      : UTC 2004-01-01 00:00:00
 
Audio
ID                               : 2
Format                           : PCM
Format settings, Endianness      : Little
Format settings, Sign            : Signed
Codec ID                         : sowt
Duration                         : 22s 0ms
Bit rate mode                    : Constant
Bit rate                         : 512 Kbps
Channel(s)                       : 1 channel
Sampling rate                    : 32.0 KHz
Bit depth                        : 16 bits
Stream size                      : 1.34 MiB (5%)
Language                         : English
Encoded date                     : UTC 2004-01-01 00:00:00
Tagged date                      : UTC 2004-01-01 00:00:00

I've seen a wide variation in the birate on all the clips I've made. Anywhere from 7000 to over 11000Kbps! Here's the info on one of the higher ones using the details tab as explained above...

I've tried taking videos before and after taking pictures, since it was suggested earlier in the thread that taking video after pictures would result in a lower bitrate. That didn't seem to be the case for me. In fact, I took 3 clips back to back, about 4 or 5 minutes long each in the same conditions, the first was around 7Mbps, the next around 10, and the last was over 11, the one in the picture here...

Seems to be random I guess... For what it's worth, I can't really see much, if any difference in the quality between the 3 clips.

Edit - also attached the info given with "MediaInfo"

Originally Posted by KeithLuneau

I've seen a wide variation in the birate on all the clips I've made. Anywhere from 7000 to over 11000Kbps! Here's the info on one of the higher ones using the details tab as explained above...
...

Thanks for that info, Keith. So the bit rate is the average, and it varies a LOT. I think the key to the differences are how intricate the detail in the images are and how fast they are changing, so panning with a highly detailed scene should show a higher bit rate to capture the detail. Intermediate frames between key frames with this codec are just capturing differences from adjacent frames, so with little motion, the changes from one frame to the next are less with lower bit rate needed to capture them. The video processor in this camera seems to be more sophisticated and more powerful than my older HD camcorder which comes more than twice as much. My daughter got a new sony "Bloggie" for Christmas, so I'll look at some of those clips just for comparison.

I just added these new comments to my FAQ AviDemux editing post:

Sometimes when re-encoding the native .MOV file the sound is intermittant and breaks up while playing the video during editing. Not to worry... it always seems to play fine in the final saved video. Similarly, reloading a file that you just saved can result in some strange sound during playback in the editor, like the sound track plays at several times normal speed! Again, it always plays fine after you save out that revamped file.

Originally Posted by Tom Frank

I just added these new comments to my FAQ AviDemux editing post:

Sometimes when re-encoding the native .MOV file the sound is intermittant and breaks up while playing the video during editing. Not to worry... it always seems to play fine in the final saved video. Similarly, reloading a file that you just saved can result in some strange sound during playback in the editor, like the sound track plays at several times normal speed! Again, it always plays fine after you save out that revamped file.

Tom,

That's good Tom, I noticed the crackling and sound cycling during editing. I was hoping it would clean up during the final coding of the file.

Bill

Looking at deepinside's video in Adobe Premiere, it is specific that the bitrate number is "average"

I will see if I can see the min and max by graphing in Ulead, but I don't seem to get the codec working for it there. Here are some data rate graphs from Adobe Premiere.

Data rate The line represents the average data rate.

Sample size The red bars represent the sample size of each keyframed frame.

Differenced frames sample size The blue bars represent the sample size of the differenced frames between compression keyframes.

Heres a few from today....one of me "trying" to fly and some on the hat cam

Wing dragon 4 onboard crash (1 min 42 sec)

Wing dragon sporter crash (4 min 9 sec)

Ez yaking it up (2 min 48 sec)

Just to update on my camera focus problem (link 1 & 2). The vendor has continued to answer my emails within 24 hours and has offered to exchange the camera.

eletoponline365 says: dear friend,

my boss said the lens is dirty, would you like sent it back, i will repalce for you.

woud you agree?

And with that, today its gone back!

I'm not sure on the boss's diagnosis (could be internal I suppose) but I can't fault the service so far. FWIW, the problem seemed slightly worse every time I used the cam.....

Simon

Simon,

It's good to read you are being taken care of properly. Just remember, a $40 miniature HD camera doesn't have much quality control being used during production.

Bill

Originally Posted by autorail1

I have not done anything to the cam except record.

Just curious if you have done anything to resolve your bad files with the 20 min. stop/save/continue recording. I'm pretty confident your seller will replace the camera if it is one of the four mentioned back in post #2. If so, I would definitely try the date removal firmware patch first if it were me. They are replacing any cameras that might be bricked by this process, so you'd have nothing to lose other than some time waiting for a replacement. And if your firmware is somehow corrupted, this just might fix it.

FWIW, I have asked my camera contact if they can eliminate the 20 min. stop/save/continue function altogether, and they have confirmed it is possible, just as was done on some of the old 808 cameras. If there is enough interest, I think they would implement this for us. I thought most users would rather not have the 20 min. stop/save/continue recording, as long as the camera will properly close and save a file when the flash card fills up. But perhaps I guessed wrong? I don't want to fill up this thread with many posts that agree with my hunch, so if you violently disagree with me, please post your objection. I'll assume all others who read this and don't reply would like the camera to continuously record without stopping until the memory card is full.

Originally Posted by Tom Frank

Thanks for that info, Keith. So the bit rate is the average, and it varies a LOT. I think the key to the differences are how intricate the detail in the images are and how fast they are changing, so panning with a highly detailed scene should show a higher bit rate to capture the detail. Intermediate frames between key frames with this codec are just capturing differences from adjacent frames, so with little motion, the changes from one frame to the next are less with lower bit rate needed to capture them. The video processor in this camera seems to be more sophisticated and more powerful than my older HD camcorder which comes more than twice as much. My daughter got a new sony "Bloggie" for Christmas, so I'll look at some of those clips just for comparison.

It is probably another reason. In my two videos recorded on the same stationary object. The size of one is 7000kbps and the other 10000kbps. And should have the same values.

Okay, I tried to refocus but I'm like someone else posted, I'm not much good at it.

Please give your general impression of the focus of my camera now. I ended up screwing the lens IN about 1/8 of a turn but I'm not sure if this is the answer.

I know that it's not "shooting down the fence" but I did that to come up with this finished focal length.

Note that I like to fly high and far away. Plus some mid-range stuff. Not so worried about close (less then 3or 4 hundred feet).

I tried Tom's Avidemux tutorial and his settings to clip this with AvDemux and I'm not sure what happened to the sound at ~23 seconds. I'm sure it was something I did and I'm not concerned about that.

Just general impressions from you guys would help me figure if I'm in the right zipcode as far as focus is concerned.

808HD test focus (0 min 45 sec)

Thanks

Yabba

Originally Posted by jantares

It is probably another reason. In my two videos recorded on the same stationary object. The size of one is 7000kbps and the other 10000kbps. And should have the same values.

OK... I agree... something else unexplainable is going on, and so far I have not been able to duplicate it.

Originally Posted by yabbadaba2

Okay, I tried to refocus but I'm like someone else posted, I'm not much good at it.

Please give your general impression of the focus of my camera now. I ended up screwing the lens IN about 1/8 of a turn but I'm not sure if this is the answer.

I know that it's not "shooting down the fence" but I did that to come up with this finished focal length.

Note that I like to fly high and far away. Plus some mid-range stuff. Not so worried about close (less then 3or 4 hundred feet).

I tried Tom's Avidemux tutorial and his settings to clip this with AvDemux and I'm not sure what happened to the sound at ~23 seconds. I'm sure it was something I did and I'm not concerned about that.

Just general impressions from you guys would help me figure if I'm in the right zipcode as far as focus is concerned.

Thanks

Yabba

Yabba... I think you have it nailed! Assuming it hasn't moved as a result of the flight motion....Quick, put a dab of silicon adhesive on the thread joint so it doesn't move, let it cure, then have fun!

I was just starting to refocus mine when your email came in. I've seen so far there is noticeable difference between focus at my frame center than near the corners, as would be expected with these cheap lenses. In addition to spherical abberation of the lens (I seriously doubt they are using aspheric lens elements), the focal plane of the lens is likely not flat, but the CMOS sensor is, so this is what we have to live with. I think this can explain why some have said they needed to turn their lens counter-clockwise (out) rather then clockwise (in) to get better focus. Focusing for sharper corners will decrease focus near the center, but might improve the overall perception of the entire frame.

FWIW, AviDemux has some bugs in the way it handles audio in the editor mode, but they seem to get resolved during the file output process. I found on one occasion that what I was doing on the computer while the file was being re-encoded screwed up the sound and video, and simply outputting the file again made it right. I always test my final output file before I close down my editors, just in case. I seldom care about audio in my AV videos anyway.

Originally Posted by yabbadaba2

Just general impressions from you guys would help me figure if I'm in the right zipcode as far as focus is concerned.

Thanks

Yabba

Yabba,

Looks like a very nice focus setting for aerial videos. You got it in the right zipcode and parked right in the driveway.

I'm still waiting for my HD808 camera to arrive. With my old #3 cam I used the webcam mode hooked to my laptop and sat out on my deck and focused on some distant objects. A neighbors deck, and another neighbor's multipane windows at about 100 yard or so, provided the fine details I needed to make distant objects pop. Having the instant feedback of the laptop monitor insures that you get the focus where you want it, without having to do multiple video shoots.

Doug

I just found this thread and was so excited. I forced myself to read through at least 20 pages of this thread though, trying to get an idea of any quirks to watch out for, etc. But after that, I ordered one almost immediately.

I had been wishing forever there would be a small camera with better quality of the keychain cam, yet still small enough and affordable enough to not be worried about if it crashes. To my knowledge none existed, until now. (If anyone does know of any others that are even comparible to price/quality please pm me).

Anyways, I know the Field of view is already larger, but I'm wondering if anyone has tried fitting one of those good quality .67x or 180 fish eye lenses on them. Those dramatically improved my old keychain cam footage.

As one of the first to receive this 808HD camera, and after all the warnings, I should probably not have done this. But encouraged by some of you who had success removing the date stamp I just HAD to try it. My camera was ordered Dec. 8th 2010 from internet-shop365. He (she?) has been very helpful and responded very quickly to my emails - he also sent me the timeset.txt file and the firmware file (with warnings!) early on.

At first I thought I had success also.
After I had copied the firmware file to the SD card and turned on camera, the yellow light came on (after some seconds), and I made a short test video. BEFORE turning off the camera I connected it to the PC to have a look at the video file. I was very pleased to see the date stamp had disappeared!
Disconnected the PC, turned off and then on camera again - then I realized I had forgotten to delete the firmware file. The firmware loaded like first time (took some seconds again), and I was able to connect to the PC and delete the firmware file.
Now the problems started. Disconnected the PC, turned off camera and tried to turn it on again. No go! Dead. Bricked!

Just for fun I copied the firmware file back to the SD card (by means of a #3 camera) and tried again to turn on the 808HD camera. NO.

I shall try to contact my vendor and ask him about a replacement, but shipping to China from Norway may be quite expensive - hope he will trust me.. Oh well.

/Jan

Originally Posted by carl1864

I just found this thread and was so excited. I forced myself to read through at least 20 pages of this thread though, trying to get an idea of any quirks to watch out for, etc. But after that, I ordered one almost immediately.

I had been wishing forever there would be a small camera with better quality of the keychain cam, yet still small enough and affordable enough to not be worried about if it crashes. To my knowledge none existed, until now. (If anyone does know of any others that are even comparible to price/quality please pm me).

Anyways, I know the Field of view is already larger, but I'm wondering if anyone has tried fitting one of those good quality .67x or 180 fish eye lenses on them. Those dramatically improved my old keychain cam footage.

Have a look here http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showp...&postcount=314

In this YouTube video you may see the effect from a .67x wide angle lens from ab. 2:15 in the "wing-cam" scene. Sorry about the bad weather..

Test 4 vignetting (5 min 43 sec)

/Jan

Originally Posted by yabbadaba2

Okay, I tried to refocus but I'm like someone else posted, I'm not much good at it.

Yabba - that's superb video, just needs a sound track! Don't touch that cam anymore - it might qualify for the Smithsonian!

Yep, focus is dead on Yabba! Just this morning I tweaked mine again, using the webcam mode this time. I think it's a little better this time. I know it wasn't perfect after my last attempt...

If I can get mine as good as yours is I'll be happy!

Tom, I ordered the 0.67X wide lens a few days ago, it'll be here in a week or two I guess. Do you happen to have a picture of the HD808 with it mounted? I'm just curious about the size. Any chance you could measure the outer diameter of the lens where it sits on the camera? I'm hoping it will fit another little camera I have here too, but it will need to sit down in a recessed area on the front of that one. Maybe you can spare me the anticipation while I wait on the slow boat to get it here...

Originally Posted by jhi

Now the problems started. Disconnected the PC, turned off camera and tried to turn it on again. No go! Dead. Bricked!

Do you still get the red LED to show up? Like when you charge it via USB?
If so, theres a chance to turn it on again by loading the "Date On" bin-file back in the cam like i described above.
Worth a try before you send it back.

Thank you!

Yes, I get the red light, but no response from the ON-button. Shall try your suggestion later and report back. Thanks again!

/Jan

Originally Posted by deepinside

Do you still get the red LED to show up? Like when you charge it via USB?
If so, theres a chance to turn it on again by loading the "Date On" bin-file back in the cam like i described above.
Worth a try before you send it back.

Originally Posted by yabbadaba2

Okay, I tried to refocus but I'm like someone else posted, I'm not much good at it.

<<snip<<

I tried Tom's Avidemux tutorial and his settings to clip this with AvDemux and I'm not sure what happened to the sound at ~23 seconds. I'm sure it was something I did and I'm not concerned about that.

Thanks Guys, I feel better. I know I liked the looks of the focus but hell, I'm old, I've had cataract surgery. Everytime I would look at it I would think something different so I relly wasn't sure until I got your responses. Thanks

Tom,

AviDemux has some bugs in the way it handles audio in the editor mode, but they seem to get resolved during the file output process. I found on one occasion that what I was doing on the computer while the file was being re-encoded screwed up the sound and video, and simply outputting the file again made it right. I always test my final output file before I close down my editors, just in case. I seldom care about audio in my AV videos anyway

So You just re-save the file (same settings and output, etc) ?

I'll start checking BEFORE I close Avidemux next time, thanks.

Also, I had to re-name the saved file to add the .MOV extension to it.. Is this correct? I think I remember seeing that somewhere, if it's correct to have to do that maybe you could consider editing the Avidemux post and mentioning that. Or maybe I did it wrong and managed to stumble across a way to save my goof-up

But the tutorial was spot on. It will help a lot of people like me who are having to learn many things we never wanted to learn

Thanks All,

Yabba

OK, I tried your suggestion and was able to revive the camera!

- I put the "ON" firmware (FW96630A.bin) on the card and pressed the ON-button. After 10 LONG seconds the yellow light came on and the camera was ready for shooting video.
- Removed the firmware file from the card and tried again. No response after several minutes. Looks like the camera now need to load firmaware from the card - perhaps not enough capacity on the IC Tom talks about in post #16.
- Now I tried the "OFF" firmware. To my surprise, this time the yellow light came on after 10 seconds again. Test movie showed no date stamp . The first time I tried this (when I thought I had bricked the camera) I probably did not wait long enough.

Conclusion.
I have a "semi" working camera which depends on the fimware loaded on the SD card. To make it fully working I need a new IC as described in post #16, but I don't think I am able to change it myself.
I guess I shall ask for a new camera, in the mean time the old one is OK - it only takes 10 seconds to start it..

Awaiting email from internet-shop365.......

Thank you deepinside for your response and Tom Frank for the IC information..

/Jan

Originally Posted by deepinside

Do you still get the red LED to show up? Like when you charge it via USB?
If so, theres a chance to turn it on again by loading the "Date On" bin-file back in the cam like i described above.
Worth a try before you send it back.

jantares - re bitrate variation

I agree with you, it could be significant, but doesn't seem to affect the video quality. The test clips from China were at the low bit rate, and quality looks good. Here's the "crossing the bridge" sample

While we're checking focus, here's what mine looks like after tweaking it again. Look good?

(I know it's different than being in the air, but I have no time to fly it today, or any time soon... )

HD 808 focus test... (0 min 30 sec)

Originally Posted by yabbadaba2

Thanks Guys, I feel better. I know I liked the looks of the focus but hell, I'm old, I've had cataract surgery. Everytime I would look at it I would think something different so I relly wasn't sure until I got your responses. Thanks

Tom,

So You just re-save the file (same settings and output, etc) ?

I'll start checking BEFORE I close Avidemux next time, thanks.

Also, I had to re-name the saved file to add the .MOV extension to it.. Is this correct? I think I remember seeing that somewhere, if it's correct to have to do that maybe you could consider editing the Avidemux post and mentioning that. Or maybe I did it wrong and managed to stumble across a way to save my goof-up

But the tutorial was spot on. It will help a lot of people like me who are having to learn many things we never wanted to learn

Thanks All,

Yabba

Just re-saviing the re-encoded file worked for me the one time I had a corrupted output. The second time I wasn't mucking around in the backgroud while AviDemux was copyin, and that seemed to do the trick.

If you selected the MP4 output container like I recommended, the file type tag should be .MP4 not .MOV. If I neglected to mention that you need to include the file extension to match the output format you select, then it was an oversight. I'll go back and take a look. So, if you output as an .AVI file, when you are prompted for the name of your new file, you would type in your name and add .AVI.

FWIW, .MOV and .MP4 are kissin' cousins, so you can usually use either extension and the files will play (do I hear banjo music!? )

Originally Posted by KeithLuneau

While we're checking focus, here's what mine looks like after tweaking it again. Look good?

(I know it's different than being in the air, but I have no time to fly it today, or any time soon... )

Nail it Bro. The Trampoline is just slightly out but the tree limbs starting at ~13 or 14 sec and the building are crystal clear.

Which means, with my eyes you'd better start all over

Naw, really, you nailed it.

Yabba

Originally Posted by jhi

Looks like the camera now need to load firmaware from the card

Did you try to load the firmware with the USB connected to the computer like I described in post #462 or did you try it without the USB connected?
I have a feeling that on some cams the firmware only loads properly/complete with the USB connected.

Originally Posted by Tom Frank

FWIW, .MOV and .MP4 are kissin' cousins, so you can usually use either extension and the files will play (do I hear banjo music!? )

Well, I heerd they got deevorced but they're still cusins

(useless post taking up space)

Yabba

Originally Posted by KeithLuneau

Yep, focus is dead on Yabba! Just this morning I tweaked mine again, using the webcam mode this time. I think it's a little better this time. I know it wasn't perfect after my last attempt...

If I can get mine as good as yours is I'll be happy!

Tom, I ordered the 0.67X wide lens a few days ago, it'll be here in a week or two I guess. Do you happen to have a picture of the HD808 with it mounted? I'm just curious about the size. Any chance you could measure the outer diameter of the lens where it sits on the camera? I'm hoping it will fit another little camera I have here too, but it will need to sit down in a recessed area on the front of that one. Maybe you can spare me the anticipation while I wait on the slow boat to get it here...

I don't own one of the wide angle lenses, but if you go over to the "The Mega Key Chain Camera" thread in this forum and do a search there for "wide angle", you should get many hits.

I believe the lens attaches to a magnetic ring that was glued to the camera case, maybe with hot melt glue. The lens is pretty big compared to the camera, but useable. There are some pictures in that other thread.

Originally Posted by deepinside

Did you try to load the firmware with the USB connected to the computer like I described in post #462 or did you try it without the USB connected?
I have a feeling that on some cams the firmware only loads properly/complete with the USB connected.

I don't remember exactly, but I think I first loaded the firmware to the card, then disconnected the camera and turned it off - then on trying to load the firmware first time. I shall have another look at your post #462, hopefully I shall have the camera fully working sometime tomorrow - it's getting late here now. Thanks for staying with me

/Jan

Originally Posted by KeithLuneau

Yep, focus is dead on Yabba! Just this morning I tweaked mine again, using the webcam mode this time. I think it's a little better this time. I know it wasn't perfect after my last attempt...

If I can get mine as good as yours is I'll be happy!

Tom, I ordered the 0.67X wide lens a few days ago, it'll be here in a week or two I guess. Do you happen to have a picture of the HD808 with it mounted? I'm just curious about the size. Any chance you could measure the outer diameter of the lens where it sits on the camera? I'm hoping it will fit another little camera I have here too, but it will need to sit down in a recessed area on the front of that one. Maybe you can spare me the anticipation while I wait on the slow boat to get it here...

I took some pictures of my .67x macro lens. The diameter of the metal ring (glued to the camera) is ab. 13mm (half inch). A metal cap also came with the lens - very useful to protect the camera lens.

On the picture you may also notice the "cone" I made to the camera lens opening hoping to get rid of some of the vignetting - it did not help

/Jan