Been waiting for an update the POV.1? Well here it is! The POV.1.5 is the successor to the wildly popular POV.1. While not a completely new product, there have definitely been some changes made. The POV.1.5 now comes with a shorter, orange, tethered camera head, so no more bent or broken pins. It also comes from the factory with built in SDHC support, new mounting options, a 4Gb SDHC card, and tutorials on disc.

In addition, VIO has also released the POV.1.5M which includes the POV DC Power Adapter for you vehicular POV users.

Some highlights of the VIO) POV.1.5:

• New shorter camera head with tethered cable
• Built in LCD screen on recording unit to view live video and review video
• 98 Field of View Wide Angle Lens with Infinite Focus
• DivX MPEG4 AVI Compression, 1GB at 720×480@30fps = 40 Minutes
• 24P and 30P Progressive video ready, up to 720×480
• SDHC card storage up to 8GB (6 Hours), USB 2.0 connectivity, and Analog video/audio output
• No digital to analog conversion – digital from camera to compression
• Wireless remote – start/stop record and nice TAG feature
• 4 AA batteries powers the recording unit and camera
• 1 cable from recording unit to camera
• Waterproof in-line microphone integrated into camera cable
• Lightweight (About 1 lb (375 grams) with batteries and camera) and power efficient
• Includes POV Manager software to quickly edit and post to web

1. Pre-Review Information
   • Digital vs Analog
   • Fully Integrated vs Pieced Together
2. Full POV.1.5 Review
   • The PDF Manual for the POV.1.5
   • The Manufacturer
   • Branding and Packging
   • What You Get
   • The Recording Unit
   • The Camera
   • Video Quality
   • MPEG4 Codec Settings
   • Sample Video Clips, RAW and Unaltered
   • Sample Video Frame Grabs
   • Recording Modes
   • Recording Capacity
   • Battery Time
   • The Cable
   • The Connectors
   • The Microphone
   • The Wireless Remote Control
   • Overall Usability
   • Warranty and Support
   • POV Manager Software
   • Summary and Recommendation
   • Pricing
   • About HelmetCameraCentral.com
   • Review Change Log

Pre-Review Information

Full POV.1.5 Review

The PDF Manual for the POV.1.5
First off, we recommend downloading and taking a peak at the actual POV.1.5 manual. There’s lots of good information and pictures in the PDF version of the POV.1.5 manual. It’s a great companion to this review as well. Download the full manual here.

Branding and Packaging

The retail packaging for the POV.1.5 is the best to date for any commerical helmet cam system. The box it comes in is professionally designed and will look good in a glass case next to digital sporting equipment such as GPS units, rifle scopes, avalanche transceivers and hands-free radios. When you pick up the box the contents feel solid and there’s no rattling or open space inside the package. Open the box, and slide out the streamlined carrying case which contains everything you need to start filming. There is no packing material, or plastic bags – just the carrying, recording unit, camera, wireless remote, SD card, batteries, quick start guide, software CD, and some basic camera mounting options.

What You Get
The Case is about the same size as a CD carrying case and has handle on it as well. Inside the zippered case is everything you need to get going: Camera, Recording Unit, Wireless Remote, Digital Camera Cable, 4 AA Batteries, 4GB SDHC Card, USB Cable, A/V output cable, Quick Start guide, CD containing Manual & POV Manager software, and star mount kit.

The CD case doubles as the Quickstart Guide. It’s not obvious to the spastic first time POV.1.5 user that you should open the CD case for instructions on how to hook things up. I was a bit excited when opening the product (to say the least) and proceeded to hook up the camera wrong, and struggle with putting the batteries in. Here’s a bit of advice – READ THE QUICK START GUIDE first! Even better – download the manual here and read it before you do anything! It would be nice of VIO to include a printed, yet compact version of the full manual in the packaging.

The Recording Unit
The POV.1.5 has successfully replaced the aging Camcorder solution with a durable, attractive, waterproof, USA engineered, digital video recorder (DVR). This is not vaporware, it is here, and it’s real, and yes – it’s made in China. Also, keep in mind that several military requirements went into the design of this unit. Alright, let’s get into the details.

The recording unit is 6.5″ Long by 2.5″ Wide by 1.5″ High and weighs just under 1 LB. The shape is a welcome change from the traditoinal short and fat approach to recording units. The unit sits well in the hand, slides easily into stuffed backpacks, and integrates well with military vests and police belts.

The durability of this unit is apparent when you start using it. It feels very solid, especially compared to the many consumer bsed DVRs and camcorders out there. Dropping this should not be an issue and there are no internal moving parts such as hard drives, etc. It would be difficult to crack the casing, smash a button, or break the screen.

One of the exciting features of this system is that it’s rated “Waterproof” not “water resistant” – right out of the box. To test this, I connected the camera, turned it on, started recording, and dropped the whole system in the lake in about 2 feet of water. I was able to see the LCD screen laying on the bottom, recording, and existing happily along side the camera! When I pulled it out of the water I shook it off, and wiped the lens on the camera with my t-shirt and we were good to go. This bodes well for wakeboarders, windsurfers, kiteboarders, kayakers, fisherman, and more!

The waterproof specifications state that the camera head and the recording unit is submersible 1m (3ft). So, if you are going scuba diving and taking the recording unit deeper than 3ft, then you will still need a high-end pelican case for the recording unit. For the rest of us, we can slide the POV.1.5 recording unit into a backpack/hippack and go whitewater kayaking! No silicone sealant, pelican cases, etc.

NOTE: VIO has a blurb on their site asking users to NOT remove the camera lens as it might compromise the waterproof integrity of the camera. There is not much documentation from VIO on the do’s and don’ts of water use. I’m sure people will find ways to get water inside this unit – I’m thinking iPod in the washing machine. It will be interesting to see how VIO responds when that starts happening.

The LCD has great color and is very bright (adjustable). What a joy to have quick, easy access to what the external camera is seeing! Repeat, what a joy to have quick, easy access to review previously recorded clips. The POV1 comes with a clear adhesive protective covering for the LCD screen as well to reduce scratching. The LCD screen shows live video from the external camera, and also allows playback/delete of existing clips on the unit. Additional information on the LCD shows: Unit Status, Record Mode, Available Recording Time, Battery Status, and Keylock mode.

The user interface is very easy to use and informative. When holding the unit in your hand, your thumb is the tool of choice to interact with the simple buttons and user interface. The settings menu lets you configure the Remote, Speaker volume, MIC level, Time and Date, Framte Rate, Video Resolution, Video Quality (compression level), Record Mode, Loop Record Time, LCD Sleep Timeout, Power Off Timeout (includes Never), Display Brightness, and Analog Video Output Type (NTSC/PAL for hooking up to a TV). There is an LED in the upper left of the unit that shows status: Orange=Booting Up (2 seconds for boot up), Green=Standby, Flashing Red=Recording, Flashing Orange=Warning/Alert Condition.

Overall, the user interface is pretty is easy, it works and gets the job done. The good news is the POV.1.5 has updateable firmware. This is great since new user interface features can be delivered via firmware upgrades. Manufacturers such as Archos and Sony can update firmwares, but they don’t care about Helmet Cam users (and never update their firmwares)! I would imagine that VIO will be listening to us for our enhancement requests. Read the Nice To Have’s section for some of my thoughts on UI improvements and new features.

There are two “hatches” on the POV.1.5, one is for battery access and the other for SD Card, USB, A/V Out, and a secondary MIC input. Both have a strong water proof seal setup with a unique interlocking rubber gasket system.

The battery hatch has a unique “wing level” system. At first glance the wings appear they would unlock and then “pop” the battery hatch off for you. This is NOT the case. Just lightly pop the wings out, which is easy (no prying nec. Then, you remove the battery hatch manually, which is not that easy. The interlocking rubber gasket system actually creates a locking seal, so it takes a bit of practice to remove the battery hatch. I have found the easiest way is to get a fingernail under the “red arrow” in the picture and pry up. My softy computer fingers struggled a bit — a mountain man or a good military woman with some real hands will probably just fling the hatch without even thinking. The batteries go in quite firmly as well, which in turn requires additional finger nail force to remove. A nice to have here would be the trusty ribbon strip that folds underneath. They may have scrapped that idea for fear the ribbon would occasionally get pinched between the waterproof seal and make in susceptible to water intrusion. I’ve been using some Duracell rechargable AA’s, and they are even tighter fitting than regular AA’s. Tight is good so that the batteries don’t jiggle around, but in cold weather it will be more of a challenge when hands are cold – but definitely doable.

The SD Card hatch is easier since it has the small turn screw with a little loop handle. Unscrew it and pull firmly out. Inside you find a stanard SD card slot with the push & click lock mechanism. The SD card is easy to put in, but takes a little practice to get out. It’s hard to say how often the SD card will be changed in the field – most likely will depend on your activity. Overall, the hatches are well designed and durable – no weak hinges or cheap plastic here.

Note: The downloadable manual has walk-throughs for all of the various features – recommended reading.

The Camera
The POV.1.5 has a completely redesigned camera head that is new to VIO. The camera still has the same focal length and image sensor as the POV.1, however the camera head is now bright orange and the LVDS cable is now tethered to the camera head. This means no more bent or broken pins, at least on the camera head side. The new camera head is also quite a bit shorter due to the lack of mounting hardware for the cable. The camera head uses a CMOS sensor as opposed to CCD. CMOS technology has been around for awhile, but only recently has it appeared in the video marketplace. Example, several Sony video cameras now use CMOS sensors, especially their High-Definition model and Twenty20 helmet cams have been CMOS since 2006. Initially, getting a killer image out of a CMOS sensor has been tricky. Two key benefits of CMOS are: Much lower power consumption (read longer run times) and it handles direct sunlight much better (no streaking).

The lens on the POV.1.5 ships standard with a wide angle 98 degree horizontal field of view (110 degree diagonal). A few good links on FOV and Focal Length: Go here for more on Field of View and Go here for an interactive Focal Length demonstration over at Canon’s website. The Lens is removeable, but do not take the lens off just for fun it. It’s always good to keep the factory seal!

My experience with this camera is this: Great color, Low power consumption, great wide angle and excellent response to varied lighting conditions. One of the struggles we have always had with helmet cams is filming outdoors during sporting activities. Traditional CCD based helmet cams have a hard time dealing with lighting conditions that rapidly change from bright to dark. The POV.1.5 handled these situations very well. Straight shots at the shot showed NO streaking or power banding. Swinging the camera from dark to light and back to dark was handled smoothly, instead of the classic jumpy white balance adjustments that come out of traditional helmet cams. My guess is that there is some programmed algorithmic logic to handle the white balance in such a smooth fashion. More kudos to VIO.

Here are the specs on the imaging sensor: Advanced CMOS sensor, Electronic Global Shutter, Dynamic Range of 75dB to 110dB, 5 lux color (Sub 0.1 lux monochrome sensor), and a 32 Bit MIPS processor with 12 bit imaging. I have not seen inside the camera housing, but the electronics inside must be doing some advanced image processing on the fly to deal with the general “jumping through hoops” nessecary to make CMOS images look good. I say this because the images coming out of the POV.1.5 look good! Overall, the images are sharp and the color is good. With a LUX rating of 5 this camera is not designed for nighttime stealth missions. Traditional helmet cameras have LUX ratings < 1. Lux ratings this low reflect the Security Camera roots of helmet cams. I’m actually pleased to see a helmet camera that has been designed with normal day light use in mind. The LUX rating on the POV.1.5 again sends the clear message that this system has been engineered from the ground up to meet the requirements of the helmet cam community. VIO has not forgotten about the low light either – they have a night vision camera head in the works for their military customers.

Video Quality
I’m going to lay it right out there. DVD Frame Size? YES. DVD Quality? Pretty darn close. Better than the other DVR’s on the market today? Definitely. The video quality of this unit is great, but when delving into the quality frame by frame there are more compression artifacts than you would find on a “dvd”. Will the average video watcher complain about the quality – no way. Would a video phile pick it apart? Sure. It appears that engineers and manufacturers are still doing the delicate dance between cost, performance, storage, and energy consumption. There are links to downloadable RAW POV.1.5 Video clips just following this section – You decide.

Here is my experience: Filmed some footage, brought it home, dragged the clips into Sony DVD Architect, clicked Burn, brought into the home theatre, put it up on the big screen using my 800 x 600 LCD projector and… It looked great! Nice sharpness, great colors, and good motion. You will be very pleased with the overall quality of the video that comes out of this unit. Take a look at the raw mpeg4 sample video clips and the raw frame gallery below to see for yourself.

The POV.1.5 is quite flexible when it comes to video settings. There are several frame sizes to choose from: 720×480, 720×400, 640×480 (default), 360×240, 360×200, or 320×240. Again, big Kudos to VIO for FINALLY providing us with a true 720 x 480 NTSC compatible frame size for video editing! Frame rates are also configurable: 30, 25, 24, or 15. There are 3 compression settings: High, medium, low. The manual states: “A high setting produces a sharper more accurate image, but takes more space on the memory card. A low setting saves space but sacrifices color accuracy and detail.” Personally, I’ve been using the POV1 at 720×480 @ 30fps in High quality mode. One of the nicest video quality features of the POV.1. is that everything is Progressive Frame video. I went into detail on this in the “Analog vs Digital” section above. This greatly contributes to the overall video quality.

MPEG4 Video Codec Specifications
To see the video compression codec details for the POV.1.5 configured in 720×480 @ 30fps in High Quality mode, click on the last image in the Frame Grab gallery below to see a screenshot from the GSpot Codec Appliance. The basic codec settings for the POV.1.5 when recording in 720×480 @ 30fps in High Quality mode are as follows:

• Video: MPEG4 @ 720×480 @ 30 fps @ 3113 kbps using the industry standard XviD Codec
• Video Codec Download for PC and Macs: http://www.xvidmovies.com/codec/
• Audio: MPEG-1 Layer 2, 32000Hz, 64kb/s, Monophonic

Actual Raw MPEG4 Video Clips from the POV.1.5
( Please let us know if these links stop working, Thanks. )

• Water and Sun, RAW POV1 Video Clip / 17MB
• Snow and Sun, RAW POV1 Video Clip / 25MB
• Highspeed Motorcycle Racing at Track, RAW POV1 Video Clip / 22MB / Courtesy of CAL-SportBike & TrackXperience

Actual Video Clips from the POV.1.5 Compressed via YouTube

Actual Raw MPEG4 Frame Grabs from the POV.1, and Codec Settings

Recording Modes
The POV.1.5. has two different recording modes, both of which are configurable via the Settings menu. The first mode is the standard Start & Stop recording mode. In this mode you press REC and it starts recording, press STOP and it stops.
The second recording mode is new and quite interesting. It’s called Loop Record mode. The Loop Record mode is definitely ground breaking in that it’s ALWAYS recording, so you will never miss that crazy moment – unless of course you forget to TAG it! I’m not going to get into it in much more detail, but here is the description from the manual: “Loop mode allows you to save a video segment of a pre-defined duration by hitting the TAG soft key on the POV.1.5 Recorder or the REC/TAG button on the remote control. Loop mode makes it easy to leave the POV.1 in recording mode all day, and just save the best hour or two’s worth of video on the SD card. In Loop record mode the POV.1.5 records a continuous loop of video clips that are all of the same duration. For example, if the POV.1.5 is set to record 3 minute loops, it will record a series of 3 minute loops for as long as the unit is in Loop record mode. Then, when something happens that you want to save you simply press TAG or REC/TAG to save that loop.”

Recording Capacity
The POV.1.5 comes standard with a 4GB SDHC Card and is able to use up to a 8GB SDHC card. Here are some examples of recording times based on different frame sizes, rates, and quality settings just to give you an idea:

Most people are used to getting a maximum of 1 hour of video on a DV tape, so squeezing up to 6 hours of DVD quality video on a 8GB SD card is fantastic! As of fall of 2009, SD card prices for a 8GB SDHC card are around $40 each. Remember, you can use them in your digital still camera and a SD based handheld video camera too! The POV.1.5 is currently limited to 8GB SD cards – so don’t go buying the 16GB+ cards just yet.
One of the major downsides of Camcorder DV tapes is that 1 hour of footage requires 1 full hour to transfer to a computer for editing (not to mention 12GB of disk space). With the POV.1.5, 60 minutes of video footage requires about 4 minutes to transfer to a PC using a 50X speed SD card (7.8MB per second). Also, the overall storage savings on your hard drive is significant. DVD quality MPEG4 footage uses about 1.5GB per hour.

Battery Time
The POV.1.5 uses 4 AA batteries to power both the recording unit and the camera.VIO chose AA batteries for a few reasons: they’re inexpensive, and the military specifically requested AA batteries. I’m quite pleased with the choice of AA’s. The POV.1.5 will free us from expensive & proprietary lead-acid, nimh, and lition-ion batteries that a variety of older helmet cam systems use. You will not have to mail order batteries for the POV.1.5 anytime soon, that’s for sure.

As with most digital devices, the POV.1 is good at eating up batteries. First thing you should do is set the LCD timeout to 15 seconds as this will save a ton of battery juice right out of the gate. A fresh set of middle of the road akaline batteries will record for about 6-7 hours (with LCD timeout set). Keep in mind that is RECORD time, not just idling, which would last longer. We highly recommend rechargeable AA’s for the POV.1. A 2500 maH set of rechareable Energizers will run the POV.1.5 for up to 10 hours! Note: The POV1 by default will not automatically shutoff, so if you leave it on it will run the batteries down for sure! Also, there is a configurable auto shutoff setting in the preferences menu.

The Cable
Notice how I said, “The Cable” and not “The Cables”. That’s right, the POV.1.5 has only ONE cable! The cable is about 5 feet long and both ends have male connectors. The cable itself is a little on the stiff end, but the more I use it – the softer it is. In talking with VIO, the cable needed to be a little stiffer to protect the integrity of the LDVS based digital pathways contained within. This cable is unique in that it has been specifically engineered for the POV1. The cable provides a fully digital pathway between the recording unit and the camera imaging sensor. VIO calls this cable the “LDVS Cable”, rightly so, since it is based on the widely used LDVS Standard. Low-voltage differential signaling, or LVDS, is used behind the scenes in many high-speed data transfer protocols such as FireWire, Serial ATA, SCSI, and more. This digital cable contributes significantly to the overall great image quality in the POV1.5. It is my understanding that engineering and manufacturing this cable has been costly. I would suggest to VIO that they open up their LDVS implementation to other vendors in hopes that wide scale adoption will drive down costs!

The Connectors
The connections on any helmet cam system are critical. The POV.1 had a cable with threaded connectors one both ends, on the 1.5, the camera head is tehtered. They are connected and disconnected often, and generally take a beating. In the case of the POV.1.5 they also need to be waterpoof. The connectors on the POV.1.5 are stainless steel, threaded, durable, and waterproof. These are burly connectors for sure. The cable connections are “keyed” in a way that it makes it very difficult to misalign the pins. That being said – BE REALLY CAREFUL WHEN CONNECTING THE CABLE! The male pins inside the end the camera cable have 8 fragile pins. It is possible to hose the pins up royally, and the cable is expensive. Before connecting, take a good look at the male pins to ensure they are intact, and look at the keyed alignment system. You can’t push the connector together until the keys are lined up. Once the cable is connected and seated, screw the threads down until tight. Once you do this, it’s easy as cake. I would suggest being patient and not rushing this step.

The Microphone
A durable & waterproof microphone has been embedded approximately in the middle of the cable. A simple “blow on the mic” wind test has confirmed that this microphone will do what most mics do in the wind – it will static out. Adjusting the MIC level to its lowest setting reduced the wind noise significantly. If the microphone is in a backpack or hippack wind noise should be minimized, and in those situations I would suggest increasing MIC level to pickup ambient sound better.

The Wireless Remote Control
The Wireless Remote Control is a major step forward, and a few steps back as well. I really like the wireless approach since it eliminates cable clutter and allows the remote to be mounted in a variety of locations. The remote works within “close proximity” to the POV.1.5. I found that if the POV.1 is out in the open you can get 6ft, but if you place the POV.1.5 in a backpack you might get 3ft. The remote can also be configured to operate on different channels. This will allow multiple POV1’s to operate in close proximity to each other. If you wanted to, you could leave the POV1’s all on the same channel and start/stop record multiple units with one remote.

This remote took a few steps backwards in terms of usability. For starters, you cannot power the POV1 on and off using the remote. The power on/off feature has been standard in the LANC protocol for years. If you are really concerned about conserving battery time, then you need to be powering the unit off when you are in between filming sessions. The second step back, is that the communication between the remote and POV.1.5 is one-way. The remote can talk to the POV1, but not vice-versa. So, the only way to know if the POV.1 is recording when you press REC is to listen for the BEEP that comes out of the POV1. Granted, the beep on the POV.1.5 can be turned up pretty loud – I’m used to looking down at my LANC remote and seeing a flashing Red light when recording. If you place the POV.1.5 in a backpack where the unit is not visible you will have to listen for the BEEP when starting and stopping recording. Also, the LED on the remote does light up, but only when you press the buttons. To provide myself with some comfort, I quickly got in the habit of pressing and holding the REC/TAG button for multiple seconds just to make sure that the signal got through.

VIO acknowledged the usability issues with the remote and they are aware of what the ideal remote feature set is. In the end it came down to cost and engineering. The wireless remote requirement was apparently more critical to the overall usability design, than have it tethered to a cable. I’m assuming the POV.2  will most likely have a bi-directional wireless remote.

Usability
On a scale of 1 to 10, the POV.1.5 gets a 7. For the most part usability on this systems rocks: Cable clutter has been reduced to one wire, live camera video can be viewed on the unit with ease, easy playback & review of recorded clips, simple user interface, good ergonomic design, easy & fast transfer of video to computers, and slides in & out of packs easily. The POV.1 lost 3 points in the following areas: Battery hatch is tricky to open & the batteries are hard to pry out (- 0.5 point), Lack of Power On/Off from Wireless Remote (- 1 point), and Lack of visual feedback & unit status on Wireless Remote (- 1.5 points).

Warranty & Support
VIO provides a 1 year manufacturers warranty on the whole system, plus a 30 day money back guarantee. They are doing a great job backing this product up. Their tech support and overall customer service have been great. Warranty issues start with contacting your dealer and/or VIO to get a Return Merchandise Authorization. The customer is responsible for shipping the unit back for warranty work, and VIO will pay return shipping the same way it was sent. So, if you send it back next day air, they will repair and return via next day air. If you crash and smash the unit – you are out of luck.

POV Manager Software and Video Sharing
Something completely new in the helmet cam space is the included POV Manager software. The software is a rudimentary video editor specifically designed to interact with the POV1 via USB, save & edit clips, and click a button to upload & share them on the internet with friends. It’s a good idea and plays off of the whole viral video marketing approach. The product is pretty version 1.0, but functional. Perhaps more detail in another review at another time.

In Summary
The video quality of this unit is great, and when coupled with the overall usability, good recording capacity, out of the box waterproof status, major reduction in cable clutter, built-in LCD, and durability – it makes for a superb wearable video system. This is the successor to the first helmet cam / wearable video product to get it all right for the consumer market. While the video quality and functionality of the unit are the same as the POV.1, the new camera head and mounts really increase usability. It’s just like a camcorder, you buy a box at the store, take it home, and it works!  Helmet Camera Central highly recommends the POV.1.5 from VIO.

Pricing

Helmet Cam Central Price:
$529.95 + Free 4GB SDHC Card +  Free Shipping.
Visit The Shop @ HelmetCameraCentral.com to order one up today.
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Please contact us directly to discuss quantity discounts.

Some history on us, the blog, and The Shop.In the Fall of 2005, Helmet Camera Central was born as a result of our helmet cam experiences from our video consulting business Two Brothers Video. Helmet Camera Central is a simple resource designed to help people find objective and pertinent information about helmet camera systems. Over the past few years we have tried to review helmet camera systems with an unbiased and objective point of view. Generally, we focus on the functional and usability aspects of helmet camera systems. We have run the gamut of helmet cam systems and know what works and what does not.

The type of reviews we produce are a by-product of our day to day experiences with helmet cam systems. Ease of use, reliability, and quality are at the top of our priority list. The helmet camera systems that we chose to Recommend and Sell at The Shop were chosen for a very good reason: They rock! If a review seems biased, it is only because we strongly feel that particular product is worthy of our bias! There are quite a few systems out there, and the ones we recommend generally provide the most elegant solution and the best return for your investment.

We are always here to answer your questions and help you purchase a helmet camera system that meets your needs. If one of our recommended systems is a fit for you, we hope you will find that The Shop is a trusted storefront to supply your helmet cam equipment. If our recommended systems do not fit your needs we will not hesitate to put you in contact with the right vendor to find a solution.