As this topic gets a little bit lost in the old thread, I decides to post it in a new thread, hoping that Rock will pin it :-)
As mentioned in my "Compression artifacts at 1080P" thread, I created some modified firmwares for the K2. These firmwares offer a higher bitrate for video encoding and minimizes the compression artifacts, which can happen when driving in areas with much details (e.g tree-lined roads). There is a video which shows the effects of a higher bitrate (see link below). Don´t watch it online, as the quality may throttle, depending on your internet speed. Just download it and watch it on your pc.
Disclaimer
These firmwares are based on the original Firmwares from Innovv, but are modified by me. Therefore they are not supported by Innovv and, of course, come without any warranty.
Also be aware, that a higher bitrate means the size of the video files increases accordingly, which means you definitively need a quality sd card which can handle the higher data rate.
How to install?
Install it just like the original firmware. Download the desired file, rename it to "K2.bin" and put it in the root folder of your sd card. Then start your K2 and wait for the flashing process to end. That's all.
How to remove?
Simply install one of the original firmwares to remove the modified firmware.
You can find the modified firmwares here.
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/o3xnk8u4alospta/AAAX67-ELsL6KDDt92-F1SQTa?dl=0
Description of files (latest files first)
K2-V67-1080P-20K---720P-15K-Bitrate.bin
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Based on the latest V67 firmware. Increases the bitrate at 1080p to 20MBit and at 720p to 15MBit. Only tested for some minutes, but I don't expect any problems.
K2-V64-1080P-20K---720P-15K-Bitrate.bin
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Based on the V64 firmware. Increases the bitrate at 1080p to 20MBit and at 720p to 15MBit. Only tested for some minutes, but I don't expect any problems.
K2-V61-Front-Cam-28K---Rear-Cam-default.bin
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Based on the V61 firmware and created on user request. Increases the bitrate only for the front cam at 1080p to 28MBit and at 720p to 22MBit. The rear cam keeps the default bitrate. Only tested for some minutes.
K2-V61-1080P-20K---720P-15K-Bitrate.bin
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Based on the V61 firmware. Increases the bitrate at 1080p to 20MBit and at 720p to 15MBit. Only tested for some minutes, but I don't expect any problems.
K2-V57-1080P-20K---720P-15K-Bitrate.bin
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Based on the V57 firmware. Increases the bitrate at 1080p to 20MBit and at 720p to 15MBit. Does not work when using a 256GB SD Card, due to a bug in the original firmware.
Works fine with all other card sizes.
It is on top now.
Really happy that we have you in the community and bring something interesting for testing and reach good result.
Awesome work. Downloaded and looking forward to testing.
I am curious about your experiences and opinion. I did a small tour today (4 hours) with the modified V49. And everything looks fine.
Hey @Frostie, I managed to get out and do some testing today, did a quick round trip with the standard v49, updated to the higher bitrate firmware and did the same trip.
I would love to provide some proper feedback (file size, varying speeds etc) but the video was cut off and corrupted on the first run with the standard firmware.
However the footage was perfect using the modified firmware and captured the entire ride.
@Neil Maltby
That's a pity that the video of the first run was corrupted. I love to see some more comparisons. But it is great to hear that the modified firmware worked the entire run. Till now I tested the modified V49 for about 4 hours without any problems.
I just downloaded and watched the comparison video. The 20Mbit bitrate is definitely an improvement! Thanks for doing this, Frostie - I'll give it a go!
Frostie, is the V49 modded firmware using the original V49 that was posted up by INNOVV then pulled or the later corrected one that USB works with? Cheers
A binary compare of the original V49 K2.bin files (before it was pulled and after it was posted again) reveals that these two are actually the same file.
As Dave said, both V49 firmwares are identical. I did a checksum compare, too :-)
I finally got around to installing Frostie's modified V49 firmware prior to a 400 mile day trip.
Reviewing the video, there was indeed a noticeable quality improvement! The file size went from 452mb to 753mb for a 5 minute clip.
However, NO GPS DATA was recorded for the entire day, aside from a few short periods that contain speed but not location data. There were no video errors that I could find.
I then put the OEM V49 on the card and reinstalled, and all was normal.
Anyone else have this happen? Is the processor being loaded too heavy?
I never seriously tested gps, so I can't tell how good or stable it works. But I am quite sure that the increased bitrate is not the reason why your K2 did not record the gps data. Of course it puts a higher load on the processor, but there are still enough ressources left.
I guess the K2 appends the gps data as an additional video stream or subtitle stream. In either way, this would only add some extra bytes per second to the amount of data to be encoded. Compared to the amount of video data, this is negligible.
I wonder how your K2 was able to record the speed without location data. GPS only contains location data and the speed is calculated out of them. So your K2 did calculate speed out of nothing :-)
I will do do some tests with gps when the weather gets better.
The higher bitrate will put an added load on the processor and could be the reason the GPS is not working. This is most likely a case where the card can't keep up with the processor. The memory card is always the Achilles heel of any camera system. The factory and developers know that these bitrates are possible, they usually make the choice of bitrate for the best health of the processor and memory card compatibility.
@Ryan
You can't compare the SoC within the K2 to a normal processor. It is more like a normale pc with a graphic card. The graphic card is doing the redering, while the processor does the rest.
In the K2, the processor (part) has nothing to do with the video enconding, as this is the job of the DSP. The MIPS processor alone would never be able to encode videos in realtime :-)
If increasing the bitrate would overload the processor, we would see a noticeable performance decrease in the webserver response or liveview, but there are non of such issues.
Increasing the bitrate will add some load to the processor, as there are more data to be written on the sd card. But before the processor gets overloaded by increasing the bitrate, the DSP will strike sail :-)
I can't say why dvdPlayfairs K2 had problems recording the GPS data. Maybe it is a sd card issue. I will do some tests with GPS, when the weather gets better. Hopefully next weekend.
I have mine on the modded firmware set to 1080 and did a 20 min ride yesterday, all gps data recorded successfully.
What sd card do you use?
I used a SanDisk Ultra 128GB microSDXC UHS-I card. Will do a speed test and re-check firmware, but it has worked well in the past.
Frostie, I'm also wondering about file sizes. Are these higher bitrate files getting so big that you can't move them over wifi?
As the bitrate is increased by 66%, the size of the video files increased accordingly by 66%. You can still transfer them over wifi, but it takes 66% more time. Unfortunately the wifi is bloddy slow, so transfering a 15 min video on 12 MBit bitrate (1,4 GB) takes 10 minutes on my K2, while the same video on 20 MBit bitrate (2,3 GB) takes 17 minutes.
I am still trying to get more out of the wifi.
@Frostie Quick update from me, still running the higher bit rate V49 firmware, all files including GPS data recording with no glitches, the only feedback is that the unit seems run a little warm but I have no benchmark for how warm it runs with standard V49.
N.
Hi Neil,
thanks for your update. The K2 gets a little bit warm, even with the standard firmware. I noticed that when doing me tests with the spare K2 on my desk. But that's nothing to worry about. My Raspi gets warmer than the K2 :-)
Added modified V-52 firmware.
Removed old V-39 firmwares.
I've been running the V-49 firmware for a few weeks and all seems good even with a 256gig card. The GPS issue seems to be caused by a faulty receiver, which is being replaced. After a long ride, the DVR is warm, but nothing to be alarmed at. Just make sure you allow good airflow around the case, as the processor transfers its heat to the aluminum (bottom and sides).
The V-52 change is only for ex-fat? What is the added benefit?
Rock hasn´t updated the Firmware history yet, so there is no offical statement what has changed. I haven´t seen anything new/special during my short tests, beside exfat and the fact, that usb works if the sd card is formated in that format.
V-52 is to support SD card which is larger than 32GB without formatting SD card.
No need to format SD card when first time to use.
Sorry, but I have to disagree.
You don't need to re-format the sd card to use it with the V52 in terms of recording videos.
But if your card is larger than 32 GB and you want to use the USB feature, you have to re-format the card in EXFAT.
Added modified V57 firmware
Bene using the V49 trouble free for a while. Brilliant work.
Just followed the link at the top and only seeing the old version of the page with the V39 to V49 firmwares.
I can't seem to refresh the page to see updated version.
Sorry for being an idiot.
V57 fix bugs that few rear cameras without video.
i own the C5 I’d love to have this firmware upgrade
You mean you would like to get a modified firmware for the C5 with increased bitrate?
I can modify one, but as I don't own a C5, I can't test it. So if you are willing to test it, I would modify the latest V42 for the C5. But I need to know what the current bitrate for each available resolution is to identify the correct data fields in the firmware.
According to the product specs, the C5 supports:
2560x1440
1920x1080 at 30 FPS
1080x720 at 60 FPS
@andrew.w.farrar
No interest?
Hi Frostie thanks for the response that would be great -
Ok. So can you provide me the information about the current bitrate, as mentioned above? After that I will modify the latest C5 firmware and put it on dropbox for you to test.
Sorry how do I get that info do I need a url to enquire the device
Open one of the videos using VLC. Then go to Tools / Codec-Information.
In the window that opens up you will see the current resolution.
Then go to statistics and look at "Input-Bitrate".
Ok that reads between approx 14kbit/s and 16500 bit/s as the video plays for the HD 30fps setting I havnt used the other configs i can take some video with them if required
If you only want a higher bitrate at 1080p, then I don't need the other values.
So far I have found four data fields for 1080p at 30 FPS with a bitrate of approx 14,4MBit.
To clearly identify the correct data, will create four firmware files for each data field. It will then up to you to test each file and report, which one increased the bitrate.
Ok thank you v much
I made four firmware files with an increased bitrate of 20MBit.
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/o3xnk8u4alospta/AAAX67-ELsL6KDDt92-F1SQTa?dl=0
Following this link you will find the four firmware files called INNOVV-C5-V52-x (with x going from 1 to 4). Copy the firmware you want to test into the root directory of your SD Card, rename it to "INNOVV-C5.bin" and start the C5 to flash the file. I don't own a C5, so I can't tell what the flashing process looks like.
If flashing was successfull, just record a short video and check whether the bitrate has increased or not. If not, just take the next file. When you have found the correct firmware, please tell me the name of the file (1, 2, 3 or 4).
Ok will get back to you with the result
Hi Frostie the correct file is file number 4. I haven’t had chance to test it properly but will feedback later - many thanks really appreciated.