FAQ

POV.HD questions



VIO Stream Battery Consumer Version FAQ

The following FAQ should help to answer questions for the Consumer version of the Stream Camera with a battery endcap.

 

 

POV.HD


I’m recording with my POV.HD and get blank or invalid clips

  • Power down - A sudden power loss, such as removing the batteries or POV Power while recording may result in an invalid clip.
    - Side note: Alkaline batteries lose voltage as they discharge, and the POV.HD uses this predictable curve to determine battery level. NiMH rechargeable batteries do not have this predictable battery loss rate and thus the POV.HD may power off suddenly when it is out of power.
  • Sudden SDHC card removal - Removing the SD card while recording may produce an invalid clip.
  • Low quality SD card - Using a low quality or low speed SDHC card may produce invalid clips due to the insufficient write speeds on lower quality/speed cards. Please see below for recommend SDHC cards.

The POV.HD does offer recovery software to repair damaged files. It is not able to repair all files every time.

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What is the FOV for 1080p? 720p?
1080p has a Field of View of 142 degrees. 720p has a field of view of 95 degrees. The difference in field of view is caused by the amount of sensors pixel area that is used.

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What are the specs use the camera in still photo mode? Mega Pixels?
Still photo's are in jpeg format, resolution is 1920x1080, file size is greatly dependent on the image content (500 -1200 KB), we use a low quantizer factor to have a near lossless compression. For 300dpi image size is 6.4 x 3.6 inch – 16,25 x 9,14 cm. Currently we only store the image in jpeg format.

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Is there a way to keep the battery status on all the time?
At this time the battery display will be shown for about 4 seconds whenever the mode is changed (from Playback to Record etc).

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Date/Time reset
The Date/Time will reset on the POV.HD if the batteries are removed from the unit while it is powered on. To avoid this please power the unit down before replacing batteries. Also if the POV.HD has no power source for more than 1 hour the Date/Time will reset.

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Proper power up/waiting before re-powering up
To properly clear the capacitor on the POV.HD, please wait 5 seconds between powering off the POV.HD and powering the unit back on. This will allow the unit to power all components properly. When powering up the unit, hold the power button for approximately 1-2 seconds until the status LED turns bright red.

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Card formatting - SD Card organization formatter for PC/Mac
For best performance please reformat SDHC cards in the POV.HD. If you must reformat SDHC cards on a PC, please use this program from the SD Association: www.sdcard.org Mac OS X users should use the built in Disk Utility.

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What operating systems does V.I.O. support?
At this time, V.I.O., Inc supports playback and editing on Windows Vista, Windows 7 and Mac OS X 10.5 only for the POV.HD.

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Deletes on Macintosh - need to empty trash or they are not really deleted
To delete files off of the SD card properly when the unit is attached to a Mac, please be sure to empty the Trash bin before unit removal.

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SD Card performance - Class 6 For optimal use with the POV.HD, V.I.O recommends SDHC cards rated at class 6 or above. Cards that are below class 6 may experience dropped frames, especially when recording Loops or video shot using the Very High (16 mbit/s) setting. To know which class your SD card is please look for one of the following symbols:



If you plan to use the Very High Settings for video quality (16 mbit/s) a class 10 SDHC card is recommended. As of this version of the FAQ we have seen best results with Sandisk and Lexar SDHC cards.

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NCD handling for various error codes/behaviors

Lock to Video Failed - LVDS has not locked on – This error code is often caused by POV power up failures. Please see the above section on powering up/re-powering up the unit and follow the instructions carefully. If the issue remains, contact customer care, as you may have an issue with your camera head.

No Video Detected – This indicates a data flow error – Please contact customer care, as you may have an issue with your camera head.

Communication Failed - Often caused from a lack of cable connection. This message appears when the cable has been removed, or if connector pins have been damaged. If the cable is connected and this message occurs, please contact customer care to discuss if pins are damaged, or whether the whole unit may need to be replaced.


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VIO recommends the following video editors:s

  • Adobe Premier Elements 9
  • Adobe Premier Pro CS5 or later
  • Final Cut Express 4
  • Windows Live Movie Maker
  • iMovie ’09 or later


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VIO Stream Battery Consumer Version

 

What are the minimum system requirements for my smartphone?

     Minimum System / User Requirements

 

  1. High end 4G LTE Android smartphone with a 4G LTE data plan and remaining high speed data
  2. Phone Processor = Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 Quad Processor or better (for 720p version of application)
  3. Phone Processor = Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 Quad Processor or better (for 480p version of application)
  4. Memory = 3GB internal RAM for 720p version of application, 2GB for 480p version of application
  5. Phone Operating System = Android KitKat 4.4+
  6. Requires mobile phone hotspot capability for normal local use for live screen display and recording
  7. Requires cellular data services and a strong (3-5 bars) stable 4G LTE connection for YouTube or USTREAM Live Streaming
  8. Requires a Gmail / YouTube account and/or a USTREAM account


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Are iOS phones supported?

      iOS phones are not supported at this time.

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How can I get my camera to connect to my hotspot?

  1. If you have not previously changed the camera hotspot settings through the application, and the hotspot settings are still the default settings, check to ensure that you have set up the following hotspot parameters: SSID= VIO_Stream, Password= VIOSTREAM. Start the hotspot and then start the camera. Use the phones hotspot management tool to monitor if the camera is connected to the hotspot.
  2. It may take several minutes to connect to the hotspot the first time. Future connections should take around 30 seconds.
  3. If you are rebooting your camera, monitor the hotspot connection - after powering down the camera, wait until the connection clears before starting the camera again. After the camera shows in the hotspot connection, it still may be resolving the ip address on the camera side. Give it another 10-15 seconds to resolve ip addresses before opening the application.


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How can I get my application to find or connect to my camera?

     If the application cannot find the camera, you should retry using the retry button. If this does not work after a few tries, it is likely that the phones hot spot is not set up properly or that the camera is not connecting properly to the phones hot spot. If the application cannot connect to the camera, this may be due to a timing issue. First try to reconnect. If this does not work, then follow the directions on the reconnect screen to power the camera down, wait until it is disconnected from the hot spot (monitor this with the phones hot spot management tool), power the camera back up, wait until it is connected to the hot spot again, then wait another 10 seconds for ip addresses to finalize in the camera and then start the application.



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How long will the battery last?

     The battery will last approximately 2 to 2 & 1/2 hours.


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Can the application handle multiple cameras?

     The application can handle one camera at this time. If multiple cameras are connected to the phones hotspot, it will select the first one it encounters. The application will still function and if an additional camera is to be used, the other camera must be powered off and you must wait until it is no longer registered on the hotspot. This may take 30 seconds to a minute or so. If multiple cameras are in the same area with different owners, it is highly recommended that you change your name for your hotspot through the application, then once that is complete, change the hotspot on the phone to match, power the camera down, then start the new hotspot, start the camera, then after the camera registers on the new hotspot, wait 10-15 seconds and start the application.


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How long can the SD Card record?

     The 8GB SD card can record for approximately 6 hours. Since the battery will not last this long, this will take multiple batteries or recharging.



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What SD card sizes are supported?

     4GB - 32GB


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Are there settings and how do I access them?

     There are settings. You can see the settings menu by swiping from the left hand side of the screen in landscape mode toward the center of the screen. These can also be hidden once they are visible by swiping from the center of the screen back toward the left side of the screen.



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Should I use 30 fps or 25 fps?

     If you are in a country with 60 Hz lighting - such as the United States - you should use 30 fps. If you are in a country with 50 Hz lighting - such as Europe or Hong Kong, then you should use 25 fps.



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What are the steps for changing the name of my hotspot on my phone and camera?

     The camera has a default hotspot SSID that it expects to connect to on your hotspot. This default is VIO_Stream. It also has a default password that it expects to use. These can be changed by going to your phones settings application, then configuring the hotspot to match this SSID and password before starting the hotspot. After connecting to the camera, you may use the application settings to change the hotspot on the camera. Make sure that the phone and camera are near each other (approximately 2-3 feet apart). After you have changed the cameras settings using the camera application settings, you MUST stop the phones hotspot, power down the camera, change the phones hotspot settings to the new SSID and password, start the hotspot, then power up the camera. Once the camera is connected to the hotspot (monitor with the hotspot management tool on your phone), wait another 10 seconds then launch the application.



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You can share your streaming link by swiping from the left side of the phone screen toward the center to pull up the settings menu, then selecting the appropriate Share option (depending on whether you are using YouTube or USTREAM). You then need to select between Facebook or other options. If you select Other options, then the application will bring up all applications that are compatible with sharing text, such as messaging, email, twitter, etc.


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How do I retrieve recordings?

     With initial versions of the application, you can view recordings by opening the back of your camera using the 2 latches on the camera, removing the SD card, placing your SD card into an adapter and inserting it into the PC. The PC should recognize this as a mass storage device and prompt you to view it. If you choose to open a File Explorer window, you can then look in the DCIM/Videos folder for recordings.



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Can I make a phone call while using the application?

     You can make a phone call, however, the application will go into the background which may cause any live display or external streaming to stop. This means that if you open the application back up, it will reconnect to the camera and any existing YouTube or USTREAM streams may have stopped. Any recordings in progress will continue.



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Can I receive a phone call while using the application?

     You can receive a phone call, however, we recommend either allowing the call to go to voicemail or answering it with speaker only if your phone has this option. Changing to the phone application to receive a phone call forces the application into the background which will disrupt your live display and external stream. Answering by speaker only may allow both to function (if that is an option on your phone), however, the added load on the phone may be too much to allow your phone to keep up with the heavy processing demand the video requires and may result in additional video delays, buffering, etc.



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What are possible issues I may have with YouTube and USTREAM?

     Streaming externally to a YouTube or USTREAM server is highly dependent on several factors. You MUST have a strong 4G LTE connection at all times or the stream may be lost. Your service provider MUST provide sufficient bandwidth to support your selected quality level. This requires a bit rate of 1.2 Mbps for HIGH quality, 1Mbps for MEDIUM quality, and 800 kbps for LOW quality. Many cell service providers in remote areas provide contracts that may limit your high speed 4G LTE data. You should be aware of your limits and how close you are to any limits in high speed data by monitoring your phones data usage. Often after your high speed data limits are reached, the service defaults to low speed data (i.e. 300 kbps) for the rest of the month unless you purchase additional high speed data.



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Why do I occasionally have invalid clips and can I fix them?

     An invalid clip is an unreadable video file. There are multiple possible reasons for getting an invalid clip. An invalid clip is an indicator that one of two things has happened:

  1. The power was lost to the system while recording.
  2. The Micro SDHC card could not keep up with the data rate. Using a low quality or low speed Micro SDHC card may produce invalid clips due to the insufficient write speeds on lower quality/speed cards. The recommended MicroSDHC Card Class is a Class 10 card. A Class 6 card will likely work but may result in undesirable frame drops.

 

     If an unreadable video file exists, generally there will be another file of the same name with a .idx extension. This file will help with power loss recovery of the file, if it is possible. To recover the file, make sure that there is enough free space on the SD card. Then reboot the camera (power down then power back up). If the file is not recovered, you may try to reboot additional times to see if the file will recover, as sometimes this may take multiple reboots to accomplish or removing other files to ensure that there is enough free space on the card.



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What is the Field of View (FOV) for the camera?

     The Field of View for the Consumer battery version of the camera is 720p. The sensor for the camera is set to 720p which crops the field of view to 95 degrees in all cases. If you are using the 480p version of the application, the sensor is set to TBD and the field of view will be TBD.



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How should I format my Micro SDHC card?

     For best performance please reformat SDHC cards in the Stream using the application settings menu. If you must reformat SDHC cards on a PC, please use the program from the SD Association: www.sdcard.org Mac OS X users should use the built in Disk Utility.


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What Operating Systems does V.I.O. support for file playback?

 

     At this time, the camera supports playback, and editing on Windows Vista, Windows 7, Mac OS X 10.7.5 or later. Android is supported through the Android application which does not have playback capabilities at this time. Windows XP should work as well, however, due to limited support in the market for the OS, support may be limited.



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What latency should I expect?

     The latency on the applications live display is around 2 seconds if only the live display and recording are in use. If streaming to YouTube or USTREAM are in use, latency may increase due to the added load on the phone, as well as bandwidth availability, etc.



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Should I choose High, Medium, or Low external stream?

     There are many factors that determine what data rate can be achieved to view the stream. It is best to start at a lower data rate and then increase to determine the best setting. Factors include having a high end phone, strong 4G LTE connection, good bandwidth (avoiding peak hours), ensuring you have high speed data remaining in your month per contract, ensuring close proximity between your camera and phone (closer is better down to around 2 feet).



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What editors are supported?

 

 

  • Adobe Premier Elements 9
  • Adobe Premier Pro CS5 or later
  • Final Cut Express 4
  • Windows Live Movie Maker
  • iMovie 09 or later

 



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What SDHC Card Performance Class should I use?

     For optimal use with the Stream, V.I.O recommends Micro SDHC cards rated at class 10. Cards that are below class 10 may experience dropped frames, or in some cases a file that is not closed properly.



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Can I use my Stream in salt water?

     The Stream may be used in salt water. As in any moist environment, use care to ensure that the endcap is sealed and latched properly prior to placing in the water. It is important to rinse the exterior of the unit off with clear fresh water after use in salt water to prevent corrosion on the unit due to salt water.



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How do I reset the camera to defaults?

     You can reset the Stream to its default settings by turning on the camera, waiting until the LED is blinking green, then pressing and holding the button on the camera for approximately 12 seconds until a fast red led flash is seen. At this point you should release the button and quickly depress/release it again to confirm the reset. The camera will then perform a soft reboot. This may be helpful in the case where the hotspot settings get changed but are not connecting properly, or if you are switching from the 480p version of the application to the 720p version of the application.



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Can the camera stream be viewed when the camera is under water?

     The camera stream can not be viewed while the camera is under water because WiFi RF signals do not transmit very well through water. There may be some minimal limited abilities but it is a very minimal limited distance. If you have started recording through the camera application, any recording in progress will continue, however, you will likely lose your video stream live display which will cause the application to close. You can restart the application to view the live display when the camera is once again above water.



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How far will the Wifi reach?

     The Stream is a low power camera. Its Wifi range is 30 feet line of sight. The camera may be able to reach further in certain orientations, however, it is generally successful at reaching 30 feet in all orientations. Any metal or other interference may alter this distance.



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