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How is your rear camera after MCU1 to MCU2 upgade (dark?)

Discussion in 'Model S' started by Battpower, Apr 28, 2020.

  1. Battpower

    Battpower Supporting Member

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    I have always had a problem with dark / underexposed image from rear camera, making reversing at night very tricky. I was told by service center originally that it's normal, but then revised to known issue with MCU2 units.

    With the recent camera viewer addition, it is now easy to play camera steams from all cams and it's obvious on my display that the rear camera display (& recorded image - which I find interesting) is much darker than others.

    In another thread someone posted that owners who have upgraded to MCU2 have seen the same issue. Has anyone managed to get it registered as a flaw that must be looked into / fixed? Any further info? I get the impression that it is not camera related as the upgraded cars have kept the original rear cameras. I have heard it said that it is an image renderring problem but if that's the case, when in the video processing flow does the problem get introduced? Why would the rear camera stream be processed differently from any other cams?
     
  2. Akikiki

    Akikiki A'-Lo-HA ! y'all

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    No.
     
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  3. Battpower

    Battpower Supporting Member

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    Thanks.
     
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  4. Chaserr

    Chaserr Hyperactive Hyperdrive

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    You can swap the rear camera and it makes a big difference if you have a 1st gen unit. It's just plug and play but taking apart the rear hatch and applique takes a while.
     
  5. zanary

    zanary Active Member

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    I saw the same issue with the Infotainment Upgrade I had done Middle of March. Since the issue has been present with those who have MCU2 from the factory, I don't know if this is a problem or a bug, or if this is by design.

    Since the darker nighttime views apparently with all MCU2 Model S/X then it's probably how it works. Just my guess.
     
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  6. Battpower

    Battpower Supporting Member

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    Thanks.

    I realize my post was slightly ambiguous in that I did not state that my car is a 2019 MS Raven, so has MCU2 from factory.

    I drove an MCU1 MX 2017 loaner a while back, and the rear view camera was fine. Obviously a slightly darker image during daylight is no big deal, but at night when reversing even with reasonable street lights the darker image is much harder to see and in darker surroundings it's useless.

    If they left your original camera installed when the MCU was updated then clearly it is not the camera causing the problem.

    Good to hear from someone who has seen the change when the MCU was swapped.
     
  7. zanary

    zanary Active Member

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    When the wife's Model X with AP2 gets the Infotainment upgrade, I'm curious what happens then because the cameras are different. Will the nighttime view from the rear be as dark as MCU2 from factory and HW2.5 --->HW 3 Infotainment Upgrade customers... I'm curious what will happen then.

    Summary

    MCU2 from Factory - Rear camera is dark during the nighttime hours.
    AP2.5 Infotainment Upgrade (with HW3 Upgrade) - Rear camera is dark during the nighttime hours.
    AP2.0 Infotainment Upgrade (with HW3 Upgrade) - TBD
    AP1 Infotainment Upgrade (Just MCU upgrade no AP upgrade) - TBD
    Pre-AP Infotainment Upgrade (Just MCU upgrade) - TBD​
     
  8. kdday

    kdday Active Member

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    Actually, I can respond here because I have the latest rear camera revision, AND I swapped from mcu1 to mcu2 using the same rear camera. Mcu2 displays rear camera as darker. It’s harder to discern detail at night. It’s like the turned the contrast up or something.
     
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  9. Battpower

    Battpower Supporting Member

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    #9 Battpower, Apr 28, 2020
    Last edited: Apr 28, 2020
    Like this?

    IMG_20200311_215555.jpg

    This is the view from the MX 2017 MCU1 under similar conditions:

    IMG_20200305_220335.jpg

    And a couple of images of all cams from the viewer at night under good street lighting that clearly shows how much darker the rear view is than the others:

    IMG_20200428_203747.jpg
    IMG_20200428_203813.jpg
     
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  10. kdday

    kdday Active Member

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    It’s meaningfully darker. There are a handful of threads on this.

    interestingly, on mcu2 diagnostic screen, the backup camera type says “backup_cam_fix” which I have no idea what that means. It’s said that for several firmware versions.
     
    • Informative x 2
  11. Barto

    Barto Member

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    Just upgraded a 2014 non-ap car to much. We now can't see anything in the rearview camera at night. Disappointed in this new feature.
     
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  12. zanary

    zanary Active Member

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    Yup. We all have that issue after the Infotainment Ugrade Package. You'll also noticed that the EQ doesn't go over 8 any more, and that there's no Dolby Surround (but that one was expected). Hopefully the camera issue is just software that they can fix, but I got my Infotainment Ugrade Package back in March, and have received about 8 software update since, and it's still a problem. The EQ part is what I want returned back to 10...
     
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  13. Battpower

    Battpower Supporting Member

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    It would be great to fill in the TBA's above.

    My MS R LR MCU2 still has very dark exposure on rear cam. Very easy to see using recently added viewer where rear cam is obviously different from the others.
     
  14. zanary

    zanary Active Member

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    I think it's safe to say that all Model S/X that get the optional $2500 Infotainment Ugrade Package will have the same darker reverse camera view screen and the lower EQ settings of 8.
     
  15. sumitkgarg

    sumitkgarg Member

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    Not providing any solutions but confirming that my 2017 Model S rear camera at night is pretty much useless now after MCU2 upgrade. Have to hit brake lights or hazard blinkers on to see anything. I doubt they changed the camera during upgrade. Must be a software issue.
     
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  16. kdday

    kdday Active Member

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    Same
     
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  17. Battpower

    Battpower Supporting Member

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    I was told early in 2020 that it was a known issue due to 'image rendering' with MCU2.

    What I don't get at all is why all other camera images are fine and just the rear so messed up.

    And of course, no sign of fix!
     
    • Informative x 1
  18. croman

    croman Active Member

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    It's 100 percent the video processing mcu2 does to the rear feed since the camera stays the same and it is so inferior. Really not happy with that additional downgrade. Radio loss was known and expected.
     
  19. squarepeg77

    squarepeg77 Member

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    Do cars that came factory-fitted with MCU2 have a darker rear camera too than a similar MCU1 equipped camera? Or does it only affect MCU2-upgraded cars?

    I don’t recall seeing this mentioned on here until MCU1 to MCU2 upgrades happened.
     
  20. Battpower

    Battpower Supporting Member

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    My Raven S LR has a very dark rear view. I couldn't believe when I first saw it that there wasn't much more concern. It isn't really a problem in light daylight, but in low light and artificial light mine is useless.
     
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