Why is my TeslaCam Quality terrible!

[chrismahoney23]

Hi all,

So having seen some posts online and seeing some youtube videos people upload, i'm wondering why the quality of my recorded clips is so terrible in comparison. Its so much worse than the examples ive seen.

Things i've tested.

1. Changed USB drives - Same issue
2. Plugged straight into the USB in the car rather than through a hub or splitter - Same issue
3. Reformatted both drives again Fat32 - Same issue
4. Checked the clip info and it was HEVC - 1280/960

I took a couple of new clips of my garage so not the best light, i'll be able to take some day time footage tomorrow but when i was reviewing that footage earlier today i was really shocked at how much worse it looked than the examples i've seen online.

Any ideas? Also, im currently running 2020.8.3 software, no update available at this time.

p.s my current USB set up is a Sandisk MicroUSB 3.0 Reader with ultra endurance microsd card. The alternative USB i tested was a WD USB Stick 3.0

Thanks for any and all help.

 

[The_Observer]

What's "terrible" to you? Can you show us some video samples for us to see?

 

[chrismahoney23]

I am going to take a drive tomorrow so i'll be sure to get some footage to post up as i erased the drive to attempt to rectify the issue (forgot to offload the footage i had on there in my haste)

But from what i can see online in terms of video, the quality does seem to vary quite wildly. Maybe because of the dates, older videos look worse than newer uploads.

p.s I have a 2020 M3 Performance, only had it 3 weeks.

 

[chrismahoney23]

just took a quick drive. this screenshot was lifted from the usb direct

 

[chrismahoney23]

Did a hard reset on the car - no change.

 

[chrismahoney23]

shot of left and right cams also. White lines showing same issue, also White dots all over the shot look like dead pixels or something.

 

[sduck]

How do your day videos look? Night time ones are always going to look bad, especially if you look at isolated frames.

 

[Akikiki]

You want high quality 4K video from a dash cam? Add a aftermarket dash cam like we did before Tesla made dashcam ( because everyone saw cameras and think it would work) from cameras that were not designed to be dashcams.

That's the answer. And one man's garbage...

 

[bcpm3p]

try cleaning the cameras

 

[Leeon]

This is a software and equipment issue. At least that’s what I was told by a tech when I took it in... stated that it’s a known issue and Tesla has been working in it... something to do with the fact that these are not action cameras and the software... really didn’t get a direct answer... I have a 2019 M3P... picked up 06/2020

 

[chrismahoney23]

How do your day videos look? Night time ones are always going to look bad, especially if you look at isolated frames.

I’m taking some day video today and will upload.

this isolated frame is actually a really good example of what the video looks like in playback.

what was strange is that when I was close to my garage door and the lights were on it seems as though the gain on the camera was set to normal so it looked like a passable picture. As soon as I pulled out of the garage the gain on the cameras went up and I’m left with that mess of an image.

I cleaned the cameras and same issue.

 

[chrismahoney23]

This is the actual video from the quick drive around the block last night. This is an actual representation of the clip off the USB

 

[chrismahoney23]

This is a day drive today in comparison. Still doesn't look good even knowing these cameras aren't great.

 

[AdamMacDon]

Honestly these look about par for the course. It's 720p video ran through an extremely powerful filter that allows the autopilot cameras maximum visibility in all light conditions. Keep in mind these cameras have to be able to see on a pitch dark road while highbeams of oncoming cars are dazzling them. Those visible lines you see are an artifact of this system. Often there is a purple colored tint with obvious vertical lines over the videos. These cameras weren't designed for taking studio quality photos, they needed small, cheap, rugged cameras that can make sure the AP system can see accurately what is going on around the vehicle. I think the only half decent camera on the vehicle is the rear one. The "Teslacam" feature was an afterthought and is not the primary use for these cameras. If you want amazing video quality, you'll need to spend $1000 or so for a good front and rear dashcam setup.

 

[The_Observer]

To be honest, the quality is about the same as some of my footages from what I have seen. It's not designed for dashcam usage as other people have said, it's a bonus feature that Tesla allowed for. Although I would like to see Tesla to also use the other two cameras, if they work better for dashcam, or have us to see the differences.

If you really want the best of the best video quality for dashcams, go get yourself a Blackvue. For me, it works fine for its purpose.

 

[chrismahoney23]

Honestly these look about par for the course. It's 720p video ran through an extremely powerful filter that allows the autopilot cameras maximum visibility in all light conditions. Keep in mind these cameras have to be able to see on a pitch dark road while highbeams of oncoming cars are dazzling them. Those visible lines you see are an artifact of this system. Often there is a purple colored tint with obvious vertical lines over the videos. These cameras weren't designed for taking studio quality photos, they needed small, cheap, rugged cameras that can make sure the AP system can see accurately what is going on around the vehicle. I think the only half decent camera on the vehicle is the rear one. The "Teslacam" feature was an afterthought and is not the primary use for these cameras. If you want amazing video quality, you'll need to spend $1000 or so for a good front and rear dashcam setup.

Adam, thank you for the helpful info. I didn’t expect it to be great going into it but was a little shocked having seen some good/half decent footage online.

Maybe in the future Tesla will be able to reduce the level of compression or make it a cleaner imagine.

thanks again

 

[AdamMacDon]

Adam, thank you for the helpful info. I didn’t expect it to be great going into it but was a little shocked having seen some good/half decent footage online.

Maybe in the future Tesla will be able to reduce the level of compression or make it a cleaner imagine.

thanks again

No problem, your mileage will vary significantly depending on lighting issues, rain/snow, and the alignment of the stars, haha! Occasionally the purple lines will obscure the camera completely rendering your backup camera nearly unusable. You'll have to either disconnect the HV and 12V battery connectors or wait several hours without the car plugged in for this to go away if it happens. I highly recommend a Blackvue dashcam if you want high quality 1080 or 4k footage. Just be happy if you never see this:

 

[calvin_xl]

Indeed this was an afterthought from Tesla but despite a lower quality vs other aftermarket offering they do fill an important gap.
This is the sentry mode. If you want to keep recording your precious while parked, with an aftermarket solution you have to either buy a voltage cutoff gadget to avoid draining your car battery, since your dash cam is plunged on the always on power, or install an expensive dash cam dedicated battery your cam would run off instead of your car battery.
Both of these solution have their drawback and one of them is the limited capacity.
I have solution #1 on my other car, blackvue + voltage monitoring.

Bottom line, if you want the best install, enable Sentry mode to record in parking mode and buy a 2ch proper dash cam with min HD resolution and a wide view angle (above 120deg) and you are covered.

Since I moved to that solution, I am very happy and stopped complaining about that great free feature, this is a couple hours install and the perfect time these days since most of us are bored at home.

BTW, now I wish that my other car had a sentry mode with the built in cams, especially for the side panels for people dinging your doors, but it's and ICE so I guess that's settles it.

 

[P3dStealth]

Mine look like this also. I have a 2020.

I just figured it's how it is. Better than nothing.

 

[Akikiki]

...If you want to keep recording your precious while parked, with an aftermarket solution you have to either buy a voltage cutoff gadget to avoid draining your car battery, since your dash cam is plunged on the always on power, or install an expensive dash cam dedicated battery your cam would run off instead of your car battery.
I have solution #1 on my other car, blackvue + voltage monitoring.

One of our famous TMC poster invented and was selling a GPS based voltage cuttoff device. Put it on your Blackvue or other dashcam and it will turn off the power drain when you are home. Give a shoutout to @HankLloydRight also the creator of EV-CPO.com and the EV horn with cool sounds.