In-Car Video Setup
10-28-2005, 04:21 AM
#1
Race Car
Thread Starter
In-Car Video Setup
Video still from my old system:
I've been trying to get the right pieces together for a flexible and (relatively) affordable in-car video camera set up, and I think the camera I got today finishes it off.
The cheapest way to do in-car video, of course, is to make a home-made camera mount and slap on a $25 VHS camcorder that you picked up at a garage sale. When the car shakes the old camcorder apart, you take a Sunday morning and go find another garage sale. Simple and cheap.
But in my case, I want to be able to put one camera on the front bumper, or the rear wing (or pointed at the suspension, even), and one camera in the cockpit, showing the steering wheel and my feet as I drive. So, I ideally need two bullet cameras, a way to combine the two for a picture-in-picture effect, and a way to record the combined image that makes it easy to get it to the primary place I view it, my computer.
RECORDER
The Mustek PVR-A1 is a no-moving-parts solution that records MPEG-4 encoded video files to a SD memory card and is about the size of an iPod. It also has a screen, so you can see that your cameras are working correctly, and also review your laps right there at the track. It also has a rechargeable battery for when it's out of the car, so you can show other people your laps and exciting off-track excursions. (As a bonus, you can listen to MP3's on it and look at pictures of your wife and kids.)
A $50 SD card holds 3.5 hours of video, and goes right into a $5 reader for the laptop, which means no cables, encoding, or other nonsense when you want to get the videos into the computer.
It's the bargain of the package, too, at about $95 through .
PICTURE-IN-PICTURE
The View-2.com box by RCD Video allows you to combine two incoming video streams into one image. You can have an inset box, like you see above. You can change the size and location of the box in the frame, and you can also do half-split frames (horizontal or vertical) if you want to do a front-rear setup. It's $289, because it's not really a consumer item. It's available here. It's not cheap, but I think there's a real value to being able to see what you're doing (in addition to what the car is doing) in a lap video.
CAMERAS
I found a cheap source for Sony 1/3-inch CCD HAD bullet cameras, and there's an annoying problem with them that finally pushed me to buy a more expensive model. Many bullet cameras seem to be engineered for low-light photography, which makes them 'bleach out' too readily in bright light use -- like when you're driving at the track. I've finally concluded that the cheap cameras are fine for the cockpit-based camera (since there's less light in the car), so this one is a good choice for that.
But I just found a better solution for the main camera. It's a 530-line high-resolution camera with a 1/3-inch latest-generation SuperHAD (whatever that means) Sony sensor. Out of the box, it is less prone to the 'bleaching' effect, and it's capable of high enough resolution so that you could record to DV tapes and have a DVD-like image. But what it also has that's unusual is a wired remote control that you can attach to it which allows you to digitally zoom in or out, and pan or tilt on the digitally zoomed image. That's cool, but it's not important to lap videos. But it also allows you to manually adjust the camera's iris up or down in steps to compensate for a too-bright sky (or a too-dark day, or anything else, I guess). I believe the iris still responds automatically to incoming light level changes, at this point, but the steps allow you to change the range that it's opening or closing the iris within. When you power the camera off, it reverts to its normal settings.
It's $209 for this camera, and another $25 for the remote control. But the manual control the remote gives you is unique among the bullet cameras I've seen, and it holds the settings even after you unplug the remote. This retailer also includes all the stuff the other guys typically nickel and dime you for. You get an AC adapter, a 25-foot video and power cable, a 12V battery adapter, the RCA cables to connect it to a digital recorder or VCR, and a BNC-RCA adapter. I also got an extra lens for $20. It came with a wide-angle 3.6mm lens. I also got a 2.9-mm one that's even wider. I can switch them pretty easily without compromising the camera's weatherproof-ness.
The company that sells it is in St. Louis, and they sell it for $209 even though it lists on their site for $229. They're kind of new to e-commerce, and promise a simpler on-line ordering system in the next couple of weeks. But I ordered it on Sunday, and it shipped Monday by FedEx for only $8, with no sales tax. I was very impressed with their follow-up and service. They emailed me to let me know about the $20 price cut, for example.
Here's a 4-meg video clip that shows the camera opening and closing its iris. I tried to find the most difficult thing to photograph. It was getting dark outside, and it was dark in the house. I pointed the camera at the setting sun to get the most 'bleached' effect I could manage. (As a side note, my video editing software is still butchering the image that's recorded, but I'm working on fixing that.)
So, my new recorder and new camera look like this:
I include the quarter to show relative size.
MICROPHONE
You also need an $8 microphone. It's probably something you can get at Radio Shack, as well.
It's worthwhile to make the trip to Radio Shack to put together some 12V power lines from the cigarette lighter or other source with plugs for the cameras and the recorder.
RESULTS
I've been socked in with work stuff, and I'm out of town this weekend, but I'm hoping to do some test videos next week that I'll try to post. After that, I want to finish educating myself in overlaying DL-1 data logger data onto the videos, which will show speed, rpms, lateral g's, and other data on the clip.
I've been trying to get the right pieces together for a flexible and (relatively) affordable in-car video camera set up, and I think the camera I got today finishes it off.
The cheapest way to do in-car video, of course, is to make a home-made camera mount and slap on a $25 VHS camcorder that you picked up at a garage sale. When the car shakes the old camcorder apart, you take a Sunday morning and go find another garage sale. Simple and cheap.
But in my case, I want to be able to put one camera on the front bumper, or the rear wing (or pointed at the suspension, even), and one camera in the cockpit, showing the steering wheel and my feet as I drive. So, I ideally need two bullet cameras, a way to combine the two for a picture-in-picture effect, and a way to record the combined image that makes it easy to get it to the primary place I view it, my computer.
RECORDER
The Mustek PVR-A1 is a no-moving-parts solution that records MPEG-4 encoded video files to a SD memory card and is about the size of an iPod. It also has a screen, so you can see that your cameras are working correctly, and also review your laps right there at the track. It also has a rechargeable battery for when it's out of the car, so you can show other people your laps and exciting off-track excursions. (As a bonus, you can listen to MP3's on it and look at pictures of your wife and kids.)
A $50 SD card holds 3.5 hours of video, and goes right into a $5 reader for the laptop, which means no cables, encoding, or other nonsense when you want to get the videos into the computer.
It's the bargain of the package, too, at about $95 through .
PICTURE-IN-PICTURE
The View-2.com box by RCD Video allows you to combine two incoming video streams into one image. You can have an inset box, like you see above. You can change the size and location of the box in the frame, and you can also do half-split frames (horizontal or vertical) if you want to do a front-rear setup. It's $289, because it's not really a consumer item. It's available here. It's not cheap, but I think there's a real value to being able to see what you're doing (in addition to what the car is doing) in a lap video.
CAMERAS
I found a cheap source for Sony 1/3-inch CCD HAD bullet cameras, and there's an annoying problem with them that finally pushed me to buy a more expensive model. Many bullet cameras seem to be engineered for low-light photography, which makes them 'bleach out' too readily in bright light use -- like when you're driving at the track. I've finally concluded that the cheap cameras are fine for the cockpit-based camera (since there's less light in the car), so this one is a good choice for that.
But I just found a better solution for the main camera. It's a 530-line high-resolution camera with a 1/3-inch latest-generation SuperHAD (whatever that means) Sony sensor. Out of the box, it is less prone to the 'bleaching' effect, and it's capable of high enough resolution so that you could record to DV tapes and have a DVD-like image. But what it also has that's unusual is a wired remote control that you can attach to it which allows you to digitally zoom in or out, and pan or tilt on the digitally zoomed image. That's cool, but it's not important to lap videos. But it also allows you to manually adjust the camera's iris up or down in steps to compensate for a too-bright sky (or a too-dark day, or anything else, I guess). I believe the iris still responds automatically to incoming light level changes, at this point, but the steps allow you to change the range that it's opening or closing the iris within. When you power the camera off, it reverts to its normal settings.
It's $209 for this camera, and another $25 for the remote control. But the manual control the remote gives you is unique among the bullet cameras I've seen, and it holds the settings even after you unplug the remote. This retailer also includes all the stuff the other guys typically nickel and dime you for. You get an AC adapter, a 25-foot video and power cable, a 12V battery adapter, the RCA cables to connect it to a digital recorder or VCR, and a BNC-RCA adapter. I also got an extra lens for $20. It came with a wide-angle 3.6mm lens. I also got a 2.9-mm one that's even wider. I can switch them pretty easily without compromising the camera's weatherproof-ness.
The company that sells it is in St. Louis, and they sell it for $209 even though it lists on their site for $229. They're kind of new to e-commerce, and promise a simpler on-line ordering system in the next couple of weeks. But I ordered it on Sunday, and it shipped Monday by FedEx for only $8, with no sales tax. I was very impressed with their follow-up and service. They emailed me to let me know about the $20 price cut, for example.
Here's a 4-meg video clip that shows the camera opening and closing its iris. I tried to find the most difficult thing to photograph. It was getting dark outside, and it was dark in the house. I pointed the camera at the setting sun to get the most 'bleached' effect I could manage. (As a side note, my video editing software is still butchering the image that's recorded, but I'm working on fixing that.)
So, my new recorder and new camera look like this:
I include the quarter to show relative size.
MICROPHONE
You also need an $8 microphone. It's probably something you can get at Radio Shack, as well.
It's worthwhile to make the trip to Radio Shack to put together some 12V power lines from the cigarette lighter or other source with plugs for the cameras and the recorder.
RESULTS
I've been socked in with work stuff, and I'm out of town this weekend, but I'm hoping to do some test videos next week that I'll try to post. After that, I want to finish educating myself in overlaying DL-1 data logger data onto the videos, which will show speed, rpms, lateral g's, and other data on the clip.
10-28-2005, 07:35 AM
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Great post Jack!
Couple of questions. I stopped following the PVR market last year when I finally gave in and used up some Sony reward points for a free camcorder (which so far has worked well and certainly was cheap!). Do you have any track video using the Mustek? I'm curious as to how well it handles the compression in the face of a lot of motion. Presumably it has an S-Video in, what resolution will it record at? Is it limited to 320x200 or is higher res video possible? Thanks, again really cool post.
Couple of questions. I stopped following the PVR market last year when I finally gave in and used up some Sony reward points for a free camcorder (which so far has worked well and certainly was cheap!). Do you have any track video using the Mustek? I'm curious as to how well it handles the compression in the face of a lot of motion. Presumably it has an S-Video in, what resolution will it record at? Is it limited to 320x200 or is higher res video possible? Thanks, again really cool post.
10-28-2005, 08:57 AM
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Hey Jack;
Great stuff! I've sort of given up on my custom system in annoyance after getting a lot of electrical "noise." I need to filter my custom direct line from the battery I guess. That requires my electronics geek buddy to get me to the right components!
Anyway, I usually do my clips at 1mbps rate and then burn them to DVDs. Does your system record at such a high rate, and/or that clearly?
I look forward to further updates. What you have put together is not any more expensive than a good camcorder!
Great stuff! I've sort of given up on my custom system in annoyance after getting a lot of electrical "noise." I need to filter my custom direct line from the battery I guess. That requires my electronics geek buddy to get me to the right components!
Anyway, I usually do my clips at 1mbps rate and then burn them to DVDs. Does your system record at such a high rate, and/or that clearly?
I look forward to further updates. What you have put together is not any more expensive than a good camcorder!
10-28-2005, 09:36 AM
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10-28-2005, 10:01 AM
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Intriguing post.
Do most people fab their own mounts for these cameras? Or can you buy them somewhere? I have seen suction cup mounts are they strong enough to stay on during a run?
Do most people fab their own mounts for these cameras? Or can you buy them somewhere? I have seen suction cup mounts are they strong enough to stay on during a run?
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10-28-2005, 02:18 PM
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I fabbed my own mount - vide on my homepage - www.vaughanscott.com click on Videos. I did a roof-mount, and the quality is an amazing improvement over the inside camcorder.
10-28-2005, 03:31 PM
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I wonder if the camera angle of Vaughan and mine can tell who's fault on a metal to metal contact on a side.
Oh, I don't like PVR's forward/reverse function of playback at all. Always need a laptop.
Oh, I don't like PVR's forward/reverse function of playback at all. Always need a laptop.
Last edited by ryoji; 10-28-2005 at 04:41 PM.
10-28-2005, 04:39 PM
#10
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Great post - very informative. I had tried to use the older sony bullet cameras and had problem with the exposure delta between in/out of car. Looking forward to seeing some shots from the SuperHAD camera.
10-28-2005, 08:01 PM
#11
Originally Posted by jj99c2
Great post - very informative. I had tried to use the older sony bullet cameras and had problem with the exposure delta between in/out of car. Looking forward to seeing some shots from the SuperHAD camera.
There must be a better bullet cam out there somewhere. ANyone??
BTW, the cheap bullets work well when externally mounted.
10-28-2005, 09:47 PM
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Jack, great post! So when you add all this up you have how much:
209 for super HAD
150? for regular HAD
289 for pic-in-pic box
100 for digital recorder
50 cards and adapters
100? misc cabling?
around $900 ?
209 for super HAD
150? for regular HAD
289 for pic-in-pic box
100 for digital recorder
50 cards and adapters
100? misc cabling?
around $900 ?
11-04-2005, 05:17 AM
#13
Race Car
Thread Starter
Approximate costs:
209 for super HAD
70 for regular HAD
289 for pic-in-pic box
100 for digital recorder
50 cards and adapters
50 misc cabling
Total: $770
An update:
The Mustek recorder's 'high quality' setting is only 320x240 pixels, which is definitely inferior to what you'd get from most camcorder formats.
For computer use, the 320x240 is fine. The following videos are all blown up to 640x480, which increases the image area four-fold, and naturally hurts the image quality. If you have the Windows Viewer show them at half size, you'll see the recording in its native size. It's not bad.
Each of the clips are WMV and about 10 megs.
This video compares the recording quality of the Mustek PVR and my Canon Mini-DV camcorder:
PVR versus DV
The next two videos compare the newer Sony SuperHAD bullet camera and the older HAD one. It also shows the picture-in-picture setup.
The first clip, recorded to the Mustek PVR:
Camera comparison to DV
The second clip, recorded to Mini-DV:
Camera comparison to PVR
If video quality is important, it probably makes sense to pick up a cheap or lightly-used camcorder.
209 for super HAD
70 for regular HAD
289 for pic-in-pic box
100 for digital recorder
50 cards and adapters
50 misc cabling
Total: $770
An update:
The Mustek recorder's 'high quality' setting is only 320x240 pixels, which is definitely inferior to what you'd get from most camcorder formats.
For computer use, the 320x240 is fine. The following videos are all blown up to 640x480, which increases the image area four-fold, and naturally hurts the image quality. If you have the Windows Viewer show them at half size, you'll see the recording in its native size. It's not bad.
Each of the clips are WMV and about 10 megs.
This video compares the recording quality of the Mustek PVR and my Canon Mini-DV camcorder:
PVR versus DV
The next two videos compare the newer Sony SuperHAD bullet camera and the older HAD one. It also shows the picture-in-picture setup.
The first clip, recorded to the Mustek PVR:
Camera comparison to DV
The second clip, recorded to Mini-DV:
Camera comparison to PVR
If video quality is important, it probably makes sense to pick up a cheap or lightly-used camcorder.
11-04-2005, 11:10 AM
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Jack,
Great write up!! I'm alittle slow so bare with me. lol
The second clip recored to the min-Dv, Are you opposed to this setup? Is it that the vibration is damaging to the equipment and the Mustek PVR more durable?
Thanks,
Dave
Great write up!! I'm alittle slow so bare with me. lol
The second clip recored to the min-Dv, Are you opposed to this setup? Is it that the vibration is damaging to the equipment and the Mustek PVR more durable?
Thanks,
Dave
11-04-2005, 12:27 PM
#15
Race Car
Thread Starter
No, I'm not opposed to recording to DV at all. The advantages to the PVR are that it is inexpensive, has no moving parts, is lighter, and is easier to transfer to a computer. The advantages to the DV camcorder are that it has much better image quality, is easier to show the lap videoa on a television, and you can also use it to record footage of your kids' soccer games. 