Have owned the Roadie for about 1 month and wanted to share my review for prospective/current buyers.
But first /rant on: With how innovative Tesla is, it's laughable they haven't already integrated similar through Tesla UI/touchscreen. Come on Tesla... is this on the horizon?
Also, with all the aftermarket tech/goods avail. these days TMC needs a 'Reviews' forum.
/rant off and review...
Product: Roadie 128GB
Setup and overall use: 4/5
Also, I found a workaround for manual file delete failures (in talking to Jake/Roadie dev). Seems most likely caused by access violation as Sentry is ALWAYS recording, even while trying to delete. Through trial and error I found that plugging Roadie into the rear USB port will allow manual file delete, since those ports are not connected to Sentry. Just FYI for anyone else wondering about this issue (and v.21 doesn't fully address).
Value: 3.5/5
Side note on the SanDisk: I swapped this out for a Transcend High Endurance 128 flash and immediately noticed an improvement in response (playback, delete, scrolling) since it uses 3d NAND instead of 2d TLC. Really think Roadie team just needs to use H.E. chips by default, considering the price diff is so small.
Would recommend anyone considering Roadie to get the 64gb version and buy a 128gb H.E. drive on Amazon for ~$30-40. About the same cost as the Roadie with the 128gb SanDisk upgrade that way.
Otherwise the Roadie is a great/low cost convenience feature and overall a good experience.
Would give it just under 4/5. Easily a solid 5/5 if above issues are addressed.
But first /rant on: With how innovative Tesla is, it's laughable they haven't already integrated similar through Tesla UI/touchscreen. Come on Tesla... is this on the horizon?
Also, with all the aftermarket tech/goods avail. these days TMC needs a 'Reviews' forum.
/rant off and review...
Product: Roadie 128GB
Setup and overall use: 4/5
- Setup failed the 1st time, but not the 2nd. Since then the app has worked quite well with 2 major gripes (Roadie dev is investigating both)
- Occasional gaps in recording (both Sentry and drive cam)
- Manual file delete not working (v.21 hotfix was to address but didn't work, at least for me)
- Hotspot is the way to go to prevent juddering video and nice that the 1/2 frame rate and speed options are there for those that must use Wi-Fi.
- Nice that landscape mode still allows all four cameras on the screen (takes a second for frames to adjust)
- Full screen zoom per camera is working great.
- Very few crashes so far & app is responsive. Love how convenient this is vs constant unplug/replug of a USB drive
- Fix the manual delete failures for good
- Allow individual file delete instead of forcing grouped delete
- Enable LTE connectivity/viewing
Also, I found a workaround for manual file delete failures (in talking to Jake/Roadie dev). Seems most likely caused by access violation as Sentry is ALWAYS recording, even while trying to delete. Through trial and error I found that plugging Roadie into the rear USB port will allow manual file delete, since those ports are not connected to Sentry. Just FYI for anyone else wondering about this issue (and v.21 doesn't fully address).
Value: 3.5/5
- Wasn't a big fan that Roadie comes with a run-of-the-mill SanDisk Ultra micro-sd.
- Honestly kind of surprised and disappointed it didn't come with a High Endurance flash drive by default...are SO common in video/camera technology these days.
- The SanDisks are notorious for failure after multiple writes
- Many H.E. drives are only fractionally more $ these days (ex: 128gb for ~$30-40) and designed for thousands of hours/re-writes.
Side note on the SanDisk: I swapped this out for a Transcend High Endurance 128 flash and immediately noticed an improvement in response (playback, delete, scrolling) since it uses 3d NAND instead of 2d TLC. Really think Roadie team just needs to use H.E. chips by default, considering the price diff is so small.
Would recommend anyone considering Roadie to get the 64gb version and buy a 128gb H.E. drive on Amazon for ~$30-40. About the same cost as the Roadie with the 128gb SanDisk upgrade that way.
Otherwise the Roadie is a great/low cost convenience feature and overall a good experience.
Would give it just under 4/5. Easily a solid 5/5 if above issues are addressed.