Electronics » Innovv K2 dash cam

On my previous bike (Triumph Street Triple) I had installed an Innovv K1 dashcam. It was overall a pretty good cam, but there were a few quirks which really irked me.
1. The connections are all a bit finicky. All are micro USB, and the slightest pressure from the wrong angle broke connection, causing either camera or full power loss.
2. The GPS receiver isn't waterproof, so was difficult to find a spot out of the weather but exposed enough to get a satellite lock
3. The cameras are square and industrial looking
4. Difficult to download the video - I have to pull the unit out from under the seat and remove the SD card. Then on replacing, hope that I didn't upset the cable connections

Now that Innovv have released their K2 model, they seem to have resolved pretty much all my complaints.
1. Camera connections are USB-C, so are reversible. They are also waterproofed (with o-rings) and secured with thumbscrews. The GPS and power connectors are waterproof in-line screw connections.
2. The GPS receiver is a sleeker design and now waterproof
3. The cameras are bullet-shaped and much more aesthetically pleasing
4. The unit has no screen now, and is wifi-capable. So can be hidden out of sight and mind, and videos can be downloaded via the companion mobile app

IMO, they missed on a couple of other points though:
1. The K1 has a dash-mountable push button that lit up red when recording. Pushing the button would save the current video loop file, allowing me to tag and locate videos segments. The K2 does not have this.
2. There is a microphone, but it is built into the main unit, meaning it has limited use depending on where the unit is mounted.

I've only just received it so haven't made much progress in installing. I've identified camera and GPS mount points, and I think the main unit I'll mount under the fairing somewhere. Then its just a case of tapping into 12V and and ignition signal. When I get round to it, I'll be sure to take some pics and post them up here.

(PS. Any suggestions on best place to get ignition. I'm considering one of the CANBUS power controllers but that's later down the line, so for the moment looking for a direct tap-in)

Mark
I would be interested in your report on the new camera.
Last year I fitted a cheaper version dual unit which gives variable results so I am looking for an upgrade.
I found the easiest source of an ignition powered supply was at the under seat power socket. The camera switches on automatically and begins its loop recording.
The footage of the last service and comments made were nicely stored.
Good luck with the installation
Alan

Zitat von Alda im Beitrag #2

---

The footage of the last service and comments made were nicely stored.

---

Zitat von Freddyfruitbat im Beitrag #3

---

Zitat von Alda im Beitrag #2

---

The footage of the last service and comments made were nicely stored.

---

So, anything interesting?!

---

Zitat von stiebs im Beitrag #1

---

Any suggestions on best place to get ignition.

---

Zitat von wessie im Beitrag #6

---

My 2nd accessory socket uses a piggy back fuse into one of the fuses under the rider's seat. There are 2 real fuses, one switched, the other always live. Run a wire alongside the tank. No canbus worries then

---

Installed the Innovv K2 this evening. Started taking pics, but then get too engrossed in actually doing the install and wanting to get it finished so I could the bike back together to ride to work in the morning!

I ran a wire from the battery remote terminal back to under the driver's seat where I located the inline fuse carrier that came with the Innovv.
Then piggy backed off the power outlet for switched power - shouldn't be an issue with CANBUS load, as it is a switch only, no load.
Mounted the rear camera after Dremelling the brackets a bit to fit the bodywork screws through
Threaded the 12V, switched power and camera leads through the cable tray that sits just under the petrol tank, up past the air intake then just inside the front right hand fairing.
Front camera mounted in similar fashion to rear (see pics)
GPS I mounted in the little indent above the LED running light, behind the wind screen. No pics, maybe later :)
Connected the Innovv power unit, grounding to the mirror mount
Plugged all the connections into the Innovv unit
Neatly folded up all the excess cable (fixed connectors make shortening the cables a PITA, which I couldn't be bothered with!
Couple of wraps of electrical tape to keep it all together
Tuck it all in between the frame and fairing, staying away from the fork rotation
Couple of cable ties to hold it all in place

All fires up, and connected to it via phone app. Seems to work nicely in my garage. Will download some footage of the ride to/from work tomorrow and post some snips here over the weekend.

And now after downloading a couple of recordings from my first day out with it, here's some more observations and a couple of vids.

Overall, really happy with it. Most of my gripes are with the Android app rather than the camera itself.

Firstly, there are two splash screens when you on the app - so either have to wait 2 secs for each splash, or press the "close" button twice. WHY?!
The camera connects to phone via wifi hotspot. Ie, you connect your phone to the Innovv K2's hotspot. As much as this is a pain because you need to disconnect from the internet while connected to the K2, it's understandably the easiest and simplest way to get a high speed wireless connection to it.

The app has a few features:
- view live footage from cameras
- take a still snapshot
- view / download saved footage
- change camera settings
- forum / web / blog and upload buttons

The app checks to see if you're linked to the K2 - if you try and view live footage, go to settings, or download video, it tells you to connect. If you are connected to the K2, you can't access the forum/web/blog. But even if I'm not, it tells me I need to disconnect wifi. At least they're pointless features to have in the app.

Viewing live footage is good for checking to see if everything is working ok, but beyond that not really useful to me. Some of suggested it's useful to keep rear camera footage rolling with phone in a handlebar mount. Not for me.
The live footage shows a pic-in-pic view of front and rear. I think you can select to show either front or rear, but I haven't played with that feature.

Viewing the recorded footage is quite nifty. It splits the screen, showing footage on one half and map track on the other. To skip ahead, you can either use the time bar on the video, or just tap on a spot on the map and the video will jump right there. That's also the same for the viewing footage on the phone after downloading. For playback, the front and rear videos are stored separately, so to get a pic-in-pic view requires post-editing. I haven't figured out if/how to get the map tracks onto my PC.

Downloading onto phone is a little bit painful. You are presented with a list of all the videos, then click on one to either view, delete, get info or download it. You can't select multiple and download. So downloading one segment requires finding the right video, downloading the front cam footage, and then the rear cam footage. I've selected a 5 minute video loop with both front and back at 1080p. Each video takes about 3-4 mins to download. Selecting a shorter loop (down to 1min, I think) will obviously be a quicker download, but more repetition to download longer periods. Selecting a longer loop (up to 10 minutes) .. well, you get the picture.

Hopefully with the right feedback, they can continue to improve the app.

Here's 4 vids - a front/back pair from a segment on my commute to work this morning, and a front/back pair from my commute home. Nothing exciting happens on either trip - I've just uploaded the full 5 minute segments with no editing. I've rotated the front cam slightly :)
Footage is nowhere near as crisp as a GoPro or the like, and it displays a bit of a wavering artifact sometimes. But as an evidence recording device, quality is just fine. In the "Innovv K2 #1 (front)" video at the 2:00 mark you can see the car's number plate being washed out by sun glare (I was riding away from the sun). Will be interesting to see how badly number plates are washed out at night from headlights. But given the reflective design of plates, I don't expect miracles.
The sound is a bit funny - seems to come in and out a bit to no particular pattern.

K2 #1 (front) : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G06yYkpDi6Y
K2 #1 (rear) : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkLqCUeINts

The first two thirds of this segment is mostly sitting in traffic, then entering a freeway at 80kph. Haven't hit 100 kph yet to see what it looks like at speed.
K2 #2 (front) : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvcRlTR-dmg
K2 #2 (rear) : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-hHZsv3DyU

As a quality comparison, here is a video that I saved from my Innovv-K1 last year. Something interesting does happen in this one. I uploaded it at a police officer's request.
https://youtu.be/VR8mKY6okpg

Zitat von stiebs im Beitrag #10

---

And now after downloading a couple of recordings from my first day out with it, here's some more observations and a couple of vids.

<snip>

As a quality comparison, here is a video that I saved from my Innovv-K1 last year. Something interesting does happen in this one. I uploaded it at a police officer's request.
https://youtu.be/VR8mKY6okpg

---

Zitat von Gaucho im Beitrag #11

---

...so good to see it is useful and images would be helpful when something happened. Only not sure I would want my speed visible and recorded all the time.

---