I've had the K2 installed for over 5,000 miles now. I like it, it's a good system, but there are a few niggling issues that I would like to see addressed to make it a great system.
1) We NEED a way to protect files from being overwritten. Currently there is no way to mark a recorded file as "protected." The system can do it by itself (by putting the file in the PARK folder) but we, as a user, can't do it. If I am out on a ride and I see something awesome (or scary or whatever), I want to be able to go into the K2 app and say "protect the current recording". I go on trips where I'm riding for 11 to 12 hours a day, so my entire 256-gigabyte memory card will be overwritten several times on a trip, so I need a way to protect certain files. Ideally, I'd like an option on the main screen that says something like "protect the last five minutes" or so, so that with the push of a button I can ensure that whatever's been recently recorded and is currently being recorded, will be protected from being deleted. This would be a HUGE upgrade for the K2 system.
2) Please fix the "mobile data" bug, where the phone cannot connect to the K2 unless the phone has been put in "airplane mode" or has mobile data disabled. This is a serious limitation and basically renders the phone app unusable while riding, because if I have to choose between mobile data or K2 app, mobile data wins.
3) Fix the G sensor. I have a Harley, Harleys vibrate some, and even with the G sensor set on "low" I find that about 1/3 of the recorded videos end up in the PARK folder. That's pretty much useless. The sensor is way too sensitive and should only be triggering when there's a real collision event, not just when running over some Bott's Dots on the highway.
4) Playback on the phone is pretty much useless. I have a premium powerful phone, the Google Pixel 2 XL, and trying to play back files from the K2 results in very stuttery performance. I'll get maybe three seconds of playback, then it pauses and buffers for two or three seconds, then plays for three, then pauses, etcetera. It's not useful.
5) Why is transferring a file to the phone so interminably slow? It's wi-fi, it should be pretty quick, but it takes forever to copy a five-minute file. It makes copying a file pointless. Note, copying the file was my attempt to work around point #1 above, but it takes so long it's just not practical.
6) Battery drain issue needs to be fixed. It doesn't seem to bother my bike much, but it definitely bothers other bikes, and this should be a high priority item to get fixed.
Agree with all the points.
I detach the sd card when I want to save some video, as the wifi transfer is painfully slow.
The main problem for me is the battery drain, I can't simply use this product in the current situation... my battery dies in 2 days if K2 is connected.
Thank you for the inputs, that is very valuable information especially the K2 with your 5000 miles riding.
We have been seriously considering your input, and our guys have been working on the changes.
Do you mind to share some video clips to share the enjoyment of the touring?
I've got this problem now battery drain went to go out this morning and battery totally flat so now I've wired the live to the ignition switch so when I turn bike of the K2 turns of, got no choice in doing this as can't risk having flat battery so yes this problem needs to be fixed, and I don't have parking mode on 😖 just hope it doesn't ha the unit ?
If you recently bought your K2 and really got an old power module (means: not the one with the blue led), you should contact your reseller for a replacement.
Or contact Innovv directly at tech@innovv.com
Thanks for the info I've just contacted the by email so let's see what response I get
Agreed on most points. I suppose I don't share the urgency for a manual "lock" feature because I frequently remove the SD card to save any videos of interest to my PC. If you use a good viewing program like Dashcam Viewer, it is easy to see where you were at what time & make copies of relevant clips.
I turned off the G-sensor long ago for the same reason. Too easily-triggered, even at the "low" setting.
Is the WiFi file transfer artificially slow? I assumed that it was slow because the files are big. But I haven't done the math. I resigned myself to removing the SD card any time I want to copy more than one or two clips off the K2.
I am not sure the "mobile data bug" can be fixed. I think it is an Android limitation. I have the same issue on the phone app for my other dashcam, a Viofo A129 Duo.
Same t hing happens when I'm accessing devices on my home network from my phone. If the phone cannot talk to "the Internet" through the WiFi connection, it automatically tries the mobile data connection, even for addresses that should only be available on a LAN (e.g. 192.168.0.x). Which is silly. If you ask me, this is more of an Android bug/poorly-designed "feature," than a problem with the Innovv app specifically.
Had I known playback via WiFi was useless, I would not have purchased this K2 kit. Is this a hardware problem or cna it be addressed with firmware?
Why do you mean playback via Wifi is useless? The Wifi is too slow to download videos in a reasonable time, but it is fast enough to stream a video.
At least I have not problems using playback via wifi.
But to answer your question.
According to the specs, the wifi chip within the DVR supports up to 54 MBit, which is 2-3x the current speed. So I suppose it should be possible to increase the wifi speed by firmware.
Hi Frostie,
What I mean is;
My iPhone is connected to the K2 WiFi connection in Settings > WiFi on my phone (INNOVV_K2_xxxx) Open INNOVV app and select DOCUMENT
Select Files in Camera
Select Continuous Recordings to list documents in my K2
Select a file
Click Play ( Online stream)
After a few moments (3 to 4 seconds) the video begins to play. It plays about 2 seconds, pause for 2 to 3 seconds and plays another 2 seconds and continues in this manner.
Am I doing something wrong?
I've just tried the same on my spare K2, running v70. For a realistic test, I've copied a video from my last trip on the sd card. It was recorded with a 20mbit bitrate, using my modified firmware.
And I have had no problems streaming it. One image error after 5 sec, but the next 5 minutes everything was fine.
iPhone SE with iOS 13.5.1
Frostie,
Note:
I am using the latest v70 INNOVV firmware.
iPhone X with iOS 13.5.1
"It plays about 2 seconds, pause for 2 to 3 seconds and plays another 2 seconds and continues in this manner."
That's exactly what I experience. That's why I said it was useless. I've tried different cards, and I get the same result. It seems that the K2's wi-fi connects at 11 megabits, which is not enough to sustain the data transfer of a 12 megabit file, so it pauses, buffers, plays a couple of seconds, pauses, buffers, plays a couple of seconds, etc. It's pointless.
Frostie, it sounds like you're getting a much better connection rate than we are. I don't know how. Declan's using an iPhone, I tried it on a Pixel 2 XL, and I tried it on a Moto G7, and it always does the same thing.
Well, okay, I have to take that back. I just tried with my latest phone, a Moto G8 Power, and the wi-fi is drastically better. It shows a connection speed of 54 to 72 megabits per second, files play back flawlessly, and I uploaded a clip from the K2 over to the phone, and a 5-minute clip took just over 2.5 minutes to transfer to the phone.
I don't know if they fixed the app, or the firmware (I think I'm running 0.57) fixed the wi-fi, or if the actual phone makes a difference or not, but I am much happier with the wi-fi now. I would consider items 4) and 5) in my original post to be resolved now.
Interesting. Following "subscribe" above, I dug out an old iPhone 6 with iOS 12.4. Connecting to the INNOVV WiFi it worked exactly as expected. I only watched about a minute of video but it does look promising.
My question now is, why OK on one phone and not on another with a later os & more powerful phone? From Frostie's post it is unlikely the OS.
Declan
I had upgraded the app, and I went ahead and upgraded to V70 with Frostie's modified bitrates, and the wi-fi is working well on both my G7 and G8 Power, so ... seems to me either the firmware or the app changed the wifi speed? Upgrade your app (uninstall it, then re-install it) and maybe it'll work better?
I have deleted the app and re-installed with the same result. I wil try Frostie's firmware next.
This should not make any difference, as I only modified the bitrate values within the firmware.Except for that, the firmwares are the same.
Frostie,
I didn't expect the firmware would make a difference for the reason you mention.
At this stage I am at a loss as to why an iPhone 6 works fine and an iPhone X does not.
I have seen others complain of the same issue (stuttering playback) so take some comefort in the fact that I am not alone. However a solution must be found for this problem.
Well...though both iPhone use the same iOS version, it does not necessarily mean they behave the same. iPhone 6 and iPhone X are different hardware, which results in different device drivers are used and different features are enabled/disabled.
I measured the download speed from the K2 on my iPhone and got something around 72MBit/sec. Which is equal to the speed my Raspberry tells me when it is connected to the K2.
What do you get on your iPhone X when downloading a video?
Frostie,
As soon as I can I will make a video showing you how WiFi play back (streaming) looks on both phones. It may take a couple of days.
I just got a new K2 system. I noticed that Innovv crimped a couple of "claw" type terminals on the red and black wires of the power converter.
Good move, guys! The power converter used to come with only bare wire ends. I didn't have any trouble installing my own terminals, but you've made things easier for users who are not electrical hobbyists.
Frostie,
Here is the video https://www.screencast.com/t/zflJklC9Eww
The first part, trimmed to save time, shows the iPhone 6 streaming nicely.
The second shows the iPhone X stuttering its way along.
In both clips the actual video is played unedited.
I see that it is stuttering. But what I asked for, was the download speed :-)
So please download a video to your iPhone (6 and X), stop the time and divide the size of the video by the seconds.
Then we could see if the iPhone 6 gets a higher data rate than the iPhone X.