# Vantrue N2 PRO - Video quality degrades after time?



## NotYetADriver (Oct 28, 2014)

Hello friends,

I was looking at some RideShare videos on YouTube and noticed something.

People would post a Vantrue N2 video and then months later, the same person's video was significantly less clear.
I looked at various groups of videos by the same person (and different people) but at different times.
The orange time stamp and data seems consistent with it being the same (or similar) camera.

For example, in this video, note the calrity of the drivers face AND the video date in these videos.





At least to me, it seems that the Vantrue N2 / N2 pro degrade rapidly as far as video quality is concerned over time.
I was wondering if anyone else noticed this? Or could it have been a set of coincidences that made it appear that way?
Maybe the driver changed the resolution manually?
Maybe only the night time video degrades?
Perhaps there's an obvious explanation and I just missed it?

Do you own a Vantrue N2 Pro? Do the recordings now seem as clear as they did when it was new?

For $175.00 retail, the sensors in the Vantrue should not be low quality and should provide clarity for years.

I run front and rear cameras in my vehicle all the time anyway. I usually use SJ4000 or Campark ACT74's
These have not lost clarity after several years of use.
Every once in a while you can get some amazing video of the crazy things people do behind the wheel.


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## SpinalCabbage (Feb 5, 2020)

Gawd I hate pax.

I haven't noticed any decline in the quality of my recordings yet. It may be as simple as a dirty lens.


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## Uberguyken (May 10, 2020)

I've had mine for about 6 months and it's been awesome... Love it.


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## BigRedDriver (Nov 28, 2018)

Don’t have that brand, but on mine I could adjust the settings to get more time on the card. When I did that the video quality degraded. That’s probably it.


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## _Tron_ (Feb 9, 2020)

I have the vantrue. Great camera and recommended. I can tell you with a great degree of certainty that any post degradation you are seeing is not related to the camera. Being digital, the image the camera produces is the same now as later. That's the beauty of digital. Although you seem to have spotted a pattern related to the vantrue, it is more likely related to youtube or the person who posted the video.


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## NotYetADriver (Oct 28, 2014)

_Tron_ said:


> I have the vantrue. Great camera and recommended. I can tell you with a great degree of certainty that any post degradation you are seeing is not related to the camera. Being digital, the image the camera produces is the same now as later. That's the beuty of digital. Although you seem to have spotted a pattern related to the vantrue, it is more likely related to youtube or the person who posted the video.


True.
But the image depends on the sensor. It is a digital sensor, but the quality can vary a lot. Sony makes some of the best digital video sensors. China knock offs are abundant and many very cheap. Also, if the housing is plastic, heat can change the distance from the lens to the sensor and/or the focal point which both can result in blurry images. Being windshield mounted, the Vantue probably gets very hot from sunlight.

Does the Vantrue N2 have a metal or plastic housing?


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## _Tron_ (Feb 9, 2020)

You're talking about the same footage being viewed at one point in time, and the same image being viewed later. Right? If the footage from the camera was acceptable when first viewed -plastic or metal- then any later degradation is due to another factor. I promise.


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## NotYetADriver (Oct 28, 2014)

_Tron_ said:


> You're talking about the same footage being viewed at one point in time, and the same image being viewed later. Right? If the footage from the camera was acceptable when first viewed -plastic or metal- then any later degradation is due to another factor. I promise.


No, if you look at the video link above, you can see that footage recorded earlier is clearer than the footage recorded later.
What factors for "later degradation" can you think of?

If the housing is plastic, I could all but guarantee that slight changes in the plastic casing due to heat are causing it.
It only takes 1000's of an inch to alter the focus of the lens to the sensor.


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## _Tron_ (Feb 9, 2020)

Ok, that clarifies. Let me check the camera next time i go to the car...

feels like plastic. I think. Very hard plastic. There have been several posts on this board about keeping your dashcam out of direct sunlight. I wonder if direct sun combined with your theory might explain the difference.

i have my camera mounted pretty high on the windshield, just adjacent to the mirror... not dead center _under_ the mirror. Have never noticed the camera overheat or have degraded footage. But I don't review my footage that often.


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## NotYetADriver (Oct 28, 2014)

The only thing might be that you probably don't have any original footage (taken when you first got it) to compare it to.
I would bet that if you have any footage you saved from the first month you started using it and compared that to footage you recorded today then you would see the difference.

Also, it could possibly affect night (Infrared light, dark interior) recording the most.


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## estore009 (Oct 14, 2017)

NotYetADriver said:


> People would post a Vantrue N2 video and then months later, the same person's video was significantly less clear.


Not sure! Need raw footage to check. Video footage compressed by Youtube, will harm to video footage quality!


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## NotYetADriver (Oct 28, 2014)

estore009 said:


> Not sure! Need raw footage to check. Video footage compressed by Youtube, will harm to video footage quality!


Agreed.
YouTube could have changed their compression etc.
Maybe some here will check raw footage and see if it's as sharp as it was initially.


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