VIO POV 1.5 Digital Video Recorder

[Zero Knievel]

Okay, it took a LONG time to get to a point where I could draft this, so I apologize for anyone who was interested but had to wait.

PRODUCT REVIEW - VIO P.O.V. 1.5 Moto Video Camera

PRICING:

I obtained the tested product from Pointofviewcameras.com. For all practical purposes, they were the lowest price supplier I found at the time.

I obtained the VIO POV 1.5 Moto Video Camera w/4GB memory card ($649.95); the Mount Kit ($69.95); the POV Lens Shield ($12.95) and the POV Pouch ($21.95).

Pointofviewcameras.com has free shipping on any order of sufficient amount, so my total outlay at this point was $754.80.

Initially, I was impressed with the product. It is well constructed, waterproof (IPX-7) and shockproof. So, it can take a nice bit of abuse. If you expect significant direct water exposure, I believe that site has a pouch ideal for ensuring the POV does not get exposed more than it can handle.

FEATURES:

VIO claims that their product produces DVD-quality video. Of this I can attest. The POV produced the sharpest quality video I saw on any product marketed for motorsport applications.

Shooting in 720 x 480 mode, you do have widescreen aspect available, but the resolution is not sufficient to be "HD compatable" (presuming you want to match the resolution levels native to HDTV; starting at 1,024 x 768 for 720p models). VIO is not currently marketing a "HD" version of their product at this time, but to be fair, I know of no motorsport-targeted product that is meeting this expectation.

There are six recording resolution modes (720 x 480; 720 x 400; 640 x 480; 360 x 240; 360 x 200; and 320 x 240). There are four frame rates (30, 25, 24 and 15 fps), and three video quality settings (High, Medium and Low).

I did not see the overall value of the lower frame rates or resolution save the desire to put footage online where bandwidth preservation was more important than quality of the video itself.

The POV encodes to the DivX format, and the included CD has that plus VIO's own software package to install on any system you need to use to edit and review footage on a monitor.

Personally, I did not care for the POV Manager software package. Compared to other video editing software, I found it to be too simple for much practical application. However, I do not believe VIO was out to produce a true "video editing" package to compete with what is already on the market. Rather, VIO seems to tailor the POV Manger to features immediately relevant to the POV.

Other than copying footage from the POV into the PC and managing files on the POV, the POV Manager had three basic functions:

1. Video extraction.

This was the most valuable tool of the POV Manager. Normally, if you take a five-minute clip and shorten it to the 45 seconds you plan to use in a production, the only way to minimize damage to the stock footage is to save the end result with no compression. However, this results in a massive file on the HDD. You can impose compression, but that risks degradation of the image and sound quality every time it's done. The POV Manager allows you to set the "in" and "out" on an existing clip and then produces a new file with is that clip minus what's outside those markers. It's not a new rendering, as normal video editing programs tend to do, so there is no quality loss...just a deletion of unwanted footage. This is a useful feature if you are like I am and find working with short clips on a production easier than a couple of very long clips.

2. Video sharing.

I did not test this feature, but the POV Manager allows you to share and manage your videos online.

3. Video editing.

The ability of the POV Manager to "edit" video is very limited. However, if you "extract" the footage you want and arrange it in the order you like on the storyboard, the POV Manager can make a new file with your clips in the order you specify. There is nothing to "jazz up" the production.

I did all footage tests on 640 x 480, 30 fps and High quality. This was done to compare against my Canon PowerShot A620 which takes video at those maximum settings. I highly regard my Canon where video is concerned, and depending on how much I paid for a motorsport-targeted product, I set my expectations accordingly. For over $600, I had high expectations of the POV.

OPERATION:

The POV has a fairly short learning curve. You press play to play. You press record to record. However, both buttons DO NOT do as labeled on the first press. Pressing PLAY will enter you into playback mode. Pressing it again will play the displayed clip. Likewise, pressing RECORD will bring up the current camera view and put the recorder into STANDBY mode. Pressing it again will start the recording process.

The POV comes with a remote that can be attached to many things (I used a Velcro strap to affix it to a RAM mount arm). This remote lets you start and stop recording in CLIP mode and to designate clips to save when in operating in LOOP mode. In CLIP mode, hitting the record button while recording inserts a "tag" which designates a part of the clip you want to note as important. I did not fiddle enough with this to appreciate its value.

DO BE WARNED! To record in LOOP mode, you must press RECORD once to start the process. Pressing it again will then save the relevant clip(s). If you do not do this, your next press will start recording in LOOP mode but not save anything. Likewise, if you press STOP, it will stop ALL recording and you will have to press RECORD again to start the process over. Basically, in LOOP mode the recorder is always running but dumps clips not tagged for saving.

PLAY mode

RECORD STANDBY mode

RECORDING mode

NOTE: When recording in both CLIP and LOOP modes, you need to be sure you hit the RECORD button ON THE RECORDER, not the remote. If the recorder is not in STANDBY mode, it will not respond to the remote.

The remote can be opened up to replace its battery and select a channel to respond to. The POV has 10 channels it can respond to. This feature should only concern you if you are operating multiple POV units or if someone else in your group has one in use.

PRODUCT ISSUES - MOUNTING:

Getting the POV to work on a motorcycle was not easy. The first hurdle was finding a way to mount the unit onto a motorcycle. VIO sells the Mount Kit which comes with many parts for different options, but none of them were truly ideal. There was a helmet mount (which I tested), but I did not care for footage shot from that perspective. I instead opted to mount the camera to a fixed point on the motorcycle, under the nose on the leading edge of the bike.

I tried the "star mount" (two triangle-shaped pieces with magnets). I figured that would work well, but there was way too much vibration. The magnets at the far corners allowed too much vibration overall. I went instead with the foam rubber pad and Velcro on the star mount to make a uniform adhesion when attached to the bike. This, for the most part, worked with minimal to no vibration.

Cable mount glued behind a fairing panel

However, the Velcro and foam pad used poor quality glue that did not hold up under temperatures over 90 degrees without them peeling off. More than once my camera came off the bike because of the heat. Ultimately, anything attached to the bike was glued on with clear silicone adhesive or I did field repairs of the problem with Crazy Glue. VIO has been informed of this issue, and I hope that they will find a better supplier for their Velcro products. So, just be sure that once you know where you want things mounted that you use aftermarket adhesives that you know will hold up over time.

Most every system I tested had a serious deficiency in how their mounts worked. The POV was not an exception. All mounts allow the camera to be adjusted at least 45 degrees from center "left" or "right." However, that is about it. Like most every other product I tested, there was no "up" or "down" adjustment. So, if the surface you mount to does not place the camera view straight on with the axis you cannot adjust, you will have to craft something to do the job. For the cost of the mount kit, it would be nice if VIO at least added "shims" that could angle the camera head along a second axis, but as I stated, hardly anyone (other than GoPro; another product I tested) seemed to put much thought into mounting of the equipment.

The camera attaches to the POV via a threaded A/V cable with built-in microphone. One problem I ran into was lots of wind noise on recording. I solved this by zip tying a section of used sock over the microphone and then routing the A/V cable behind/under a fairing panel so that wind did not make contact with the microphone. This worked for me but has the drawback of having to open up panels to remove the camera head and A/V cable from the motorcycle.

Attaching the POV recorder to a motorcycle is yet another problem. The POV is not "huge" but it is large enough and heavy enough that it is not going to work with any RAM mount option in the catalog. The 12v direct power adapter (included with my unit, but not standard on all POV models) has a threaded hole that RAM does make a part for, but when you add the weight of the POV to the end of an arm, vibration makes holding it steady almost impossible over time.

I had to engineer my own solution.

I ultimately wound up in Wal-Mart and got a basic "fanny pack" from the sporting goods department. Armed with this, I did the following:

1. Extract the magnets supplied with the POV's star mount kit. I found you only need 6 of them, so if you did not buy the Mount Kit, the star mount that comes included with your POV will have enough of them.

2. Cut a sheet of metal the right size to fill the back most pocket of your fanny pack. Attach the 6 magnets to that and cover the edges with of the metal with a layer or two of electrical tape so it does not cut into anything. Insert it into the back pocket with magnets facing outward.

3. Hopefully, the fanny pack you find will have an interior rear pocket. Mine had one, so I folded a used washcloth and stuffed it in there to make a "buffer" between the metal sheet and magnets and anything that would be inside the case. I found the included magnets to be strong, but not any stronger than you would find in most tank bags. My "buffer" probably added 1/4" to 1/2" of space between the magnets and the contents of the pouch. If you have no such pocket in what you find, make something that serves a similar function. I cannot say that failing to do this will harm the POV, but I did it to be on the safe side.

4. Insert POV into fanny pack. A/V cable and power cable (for 12v direct wire) can hang out the bit where the zipper won't close 100%.

NOTE: If you do not have a metal fuel tank, you may have to find your own way to secure the recorder to your bike. You can always put the POV into a tank bag, but I don't like having a tank bag on the bike, and this option placed the POV forward of the fuel cap and well out of my way while riding.

NOTE: Since the camera head is wired to the recorder, it would be inadvisable to have the recorder on the bike and the camera head on your helmet. I would recommend wearing the recorder on your person. There is no quick-disconnect for the A/V cable.'

PRODUCT ISSUES - VIDEO QUALITY:

Ultimately, the POV justifies its price tag, but this did not happen without issues along the way. I struggled with a matter of "dropped frames" and what I will call "micro looping" (where the image seems to jump backwards a frame or two then resume forward). This problem only happened when there was much "activity" on the screen. Typically, taking a twisting road through a canopy of trees produced these artifacts in recordings.

VIO did not have an easy answer for this issue. This unit came with the v1.3 firmware upgrade (which is available free online). This allows recording on SDHC cards up to 8 GB in size. The VIO manual says to use SDHC cards with a Class 4 rating or higher. I obtained two Kingston SDHC cards rated at Class 6. I felt that was in compliance.

Even their FAQ states:

What is the largest SD card I can use?

The POV 1.5 supports any SD/SDHC cards that are 8GB. Please be sure to use cards that have a class rating of 4 or higher. Class 2 cards may still work with the POV 1.5, but you may experience corrupted/invalid clips from the use of the slower cards.

However, later in the FAQ, they state:

What brand of SD cards do you recommend?

The POV 1.5 needs to be able to write to the SD card at a speed of 3.5 Mb/s. We recommend you use cards rated at least 66x (10 Mb/s) or Class 4. The specific card we recommend for optimal performance and quality is the SanDisk Extreme III SD card series.

So, VIO's initial suggestion was that I get the "recommended" memory card and see if that solved the problem. The two 8 GB Kingston SDHC Class 6 cards were about $42. Two 8 GB SanDisk Extreme II SDHC cards set me back $101.47.

This did not resolve the problem, and I was not pleased. VIO then suggested that it was an exposure issue, and that would ultimately prove to be the case. They recently released (7/2009) the v1.4 firmware upgrade which introduced multiple exposure options other than the one the VIO originally comes with. It took some trial and error, but selecting the "SPOT (NARROW)" mode resolved the issue as far as I can tell.

Apparently, the VIO meters light levels across the entire image, and it tries to set an exposure balance based on that. When exposure issues change quickly (riding at 50-60 mph under a canopy of trees on a bright day) it "overloads" the sensor and the VIO cannot process the data fast enough. I see this as a design oversight as any video processor should have had the power to handle whatever might be asked of it, BUT the SPOT (NARROW) option resolves the issue by making the exposure meter focus only on the centermost section of the image. This provides a more stable light level to calculate for.

This emphasizes the need that if you purchase the VIO you MUST pay the extra $10 for the v1.4 firmware upgrade so you can employ the solution. Some think this upgrade should be free, and maybe, in time, it will be included on all units sold.

OVERALL:

Without question, the POV is one of the most expensive digital video recorders on the market. On the plus side, the remote control, the IPX-7 waterproof rating, the shock resistant case, and 8 GB of storage makes the POV a very nice option compared to other systems I tested.

As a comparison to units I tested:

The GoPro Hero (approx. $200) was almost superior in concept, but it only used AAA batteries, was limited to 2 GB of storage, and both units I tested had poor video quality that no low price could justify. However, the GoPro Hero did have the most versatile mounting options I found in any motorsports product, and it came in a waterproof/shockproof case,

The MotoComm (approx. $300) was never tested because just mounting the camera head and microphone was tricky at best. The MotoComm came with many mounting parts, but all of them were very limited in how "useful" they were. Ultimately, using the MotoComm would require crafting a custom mount unless you have a perfect location that requires no modifications. From what I saw of MotoComm footage (from other owners), I suspect the video quality would be quite nice. Other than mounting the camera head and microphone, the MotoComm was "clumsy" in its design because you could not easily route 12v direct power to the camera/microphone and recorder unit. One used a rechargeable internal battery and the other used a bulky battery pack that held 8 AA batteries. This is an openly and oft-criticized shortcoming of the MotoComm. Another thing I did not care for was that the MotoComm has no easy way to start and stop recording on any of its surfaces. So, operating it while in motion on a motorbike would be unwise at best.

The POV, in contrast, will cost you easily around $700. You will likely need some of the parts in the Mount Kit and you must buy the POV Lens Shield (you will get two of them) because you do not want to ruin a perfectly good lens with road debris. Oh, and if it is not included, you will need the v1.4 firmware upgrade. For all of this, you do get superior video quality; 8 GB of storage capacity; easy connection to 12v power supplies (if included with the model you choose) or you can use 4 AA batteries (lithium or NiMH). While the on-unit buttons are too small to operate while in motion, the starting, stopping and tagging of video can be done via the remote with easy to work buttons.

I debate the wisdom of the standard 110-degree camera head on the VIO. It is not too wide of an angle, but if you follow a subject on the road, you will need to be within 3-5 feet for it to be anything more than a tiny blob on the video. VIO makes a 70-degree camera head which would provide a tighter shot ($150) but you will need a separate A/V cable ($70) to attach it to the recorder.

The POV is certainly a bit heavy and bulky, but for what it does, it is about as compact as I think it can be made without compromising durability under stress.

The VIO pouch was designed more with SWAT teams in mind, and I found it to be useless for my needs (motorbike). The fanny pack solution I came up with can double as a wearable pouch if you do not remove the waist strap.

If you are willing to pay the money, I would suggest not wasting time with lesser products and go for the POV. If money is an issue for you, the MotoComm might do the job for less, but you will have to do some work to make it clean and simple.

A final option I did not test is to just get a recorder (HD or otherwise) that allows you to hook in an external bullet cam and microphone and dump the load into a tank bag. This is what most bikers have done for a very long time, but price, the work of wiring and mounting, and overall quality results make this option a huge unknown as far as price/convenience/quality are concerned.

I hope this review is helpful to anyone thinking about this product.