camera uninstall and return

U

unclejohn

n3wb
May 10, 2022
1
1
Los Angeles
Hi
I bought these cameras called blink outdoor. It comes with something called sync module 2.
The reason I bought this is because I wanted to be able to read the license plate of anyone that hits and runs.
I installed it and although the picture quality is good overall (I can tell there is a car passing by and even its make and model), I cannot read the license plates, they are too blurry.
In the app I selected "best" video quality and still cannot read the license plates. I am wondering if I am doing something wrong? maybe I am not zooming in enough?
I am about to return the cameras but I thought maybe someone here has an idea on how to improve the picture quality.

also I wanted to ask another question. When returning the cameras to the store, how do I know the next owner won't have access to all my data? for example when selling a laptop I will wipe the hard drive. But with this I am not sure how to do that.
 
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There's a lot to reading license plates. Here's an explanation from @wittaj:

Ok, lets talk PC-Based recording!

I must be honest I had a look at BI and, it looks clunky! Even the mobile app looks like it was designed in MS paint. I don't see it that way, but to each their own. Even if it did seem "clunky" to me (it doesn't) I'd still be with Blue Iris as I have since 2013...I prefer something that works...
ipcamtalk.com ipcamtalk.com

I assume that the camera you bought has a memory card installed. Just eject it and either use a tool to overwrite the data on the card a few times, or you can encrypt it and format it a few times:
www.komando.com

Safely erase your old flash drive

Ready to get rid of that old flash drive? You might be surprised to learn that simply deleting the existing files doesn't actually delete them, at least not permanently. Those with the right knowledge to do so can recover these deleted files quite easily.
www.komando.com www.komando.com
 
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Yeah a blink is not going to capture plates. You need the correct focal length for the distance to cover, the ability to set a shutter speed and the camera honor it (a blink and most consumer grade big box store type cameras will not), and a decent angle.

Regarding a camera for plates (LPR) - keep in mind that this is a camera dedicated to plates and not an overview camera also. It is as much an art as it is a science. You will need two cameras. For LPR we need to zoom in tight to make the plate as large as possible. For most of us, all you see is the not much more than a vehicle in the entire frame. Now maybe in the right location during the day it might be able to see some other things, but not at night.

At night, we have to run a very fast shutter speed (1/2,000) and in B/W with IR and the image will be black. All you will see are head/tail lights and the plate. Some people can get away with color if they have enough street lights, but most of us cannot. Here is a representative sample of plates I get at night of vehicles traveling about 45MPH at 175 feet from my 2MP 5241-Z12E camera (that is all that is needed for plates):

1642810698566.png


A blink will never give you that tight of a field of view unless the car is 4 feet away from the camera LOL. But even then the quality of it isn't going to capture it.


And that is the problem with cloud-based cameras and a return. We have a few posts here were someone bought a cloud-based camera and they are seeing someone else's cameras and the camera they bought is still tied to another username.

You have to figure out a way to sign out of the camera so that it isn't associated with your account.
 
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unclejohn said:
Hi
I bought these cameras called blink outdoor. It comes with something called sync module 2.
The reason I bought this is because I wanted to be able to read the license plate of anyone that hits and runs.
I installed it and although the picture quality is good overall (I can tell there is a car passing by and even its make and model), I cannot read the license plates, they are too blurry.
In the app I selected "best" video quality and still cannot read the license plates. I am wondering if I am doing something wrong? maybe I am not zooming in enough?
I am about to return the cameras but I thought maybe someone here has an idea on how to improve the picture quality.

also I wanted to ask another question. When returning the cameras to the store, how do I know the next owner won't have access to all my data? for example when selling a laptop I will wipe the hard drive. But with this I am not sure how to do that.
Click to expand...

Welcome @unclejohn

Blink Outdoor, iirc those are cloud dependent cameras, so video clips should be stored at Jeff Bezos house ... ( Amazon Cloud ) ..

In general, most consumer grade wifi cloud dependent cameras have wide FOVs and thus a very short "range" for clear image capture, as well as issues with quality image capture ..

If you want better image captures you will need to get better cameras than more consumer kits have ..
 
1652303105948.png

Here is another thread on beginning LPR.

LPR Case Study: Scoping, Planning, Proof of Concept, Installation, & Results

Introduction This thread is about my journey into LPR (License Plate Recognition) after having about 18 months of experience with IP cams and having quite a bit of my system finished. I am not an expert on LPR, or IP cameras either. But I have spent a lot of time working with my system and...
ipcamtalk.com ipcamtalk.com
 
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Forget wireless, forget consumer.

If you want a decent picture nevermind to LPR you need a professional wired setup using cameras most commonly from Hikvision or Dahua, and even then you need to pick models carefully for your application.

The cheapest but not the best route is eg a Dahua / Hik NVR with 2 cameras - 1 general, 1 LPR on POE cable. Most on here use Dahua so you may getter better support from that route.

Sorry to shatter your dreams but non of the wireless consumer cameras are going to achieve what you want, (LPR) no matter which brand.
 
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