Wearable Looxcie 2 Bluetooth camera/DVR; always recording to buffer; 3G phone uploads

[CZroe]

I've been interested in wearable cameras for about 10 years but my curiosity was really piqued when I read about a 2004 CES product demo from MyDejaView.com. Their wearable camera was constantly recording to a buffer and over-writing the oldest footage. Pressing a button would save the last 30 seconds to an SD card.

From what I can tell, that product never materialzed, but I recently found an actual product that uses and improves on this idea: The Looxcie wearable Bluetooth camera (Look, See; www.looxcie.com ). It seems that the second version was just released, though I never heard of it before now. None of the moto-vloggers are talking about it even though they love to talk about the latest POV cams and portable DVRs and this is seemingly made for their type of usage.

The Looxcie XL1 looks like a Plantronics Voyager Pro+ mated with an Aperture Science portal gun while the Looxcie 2 is condensed into what looks like a standard ear-hook BT headset combined with a lipstick tube.

They did say that there's a helmet mount accessory, but if you wear it like a BT headset it might as well be one also, right? Well, it is, but it smartly uses BT for a lot more. Your Android or iOS phone is also a 3G mobile Internet connection for uploading the 30-second "moment" to YouTube, Facebook, or TwitVid and it can stream with Looxcie Live too. The phone is also your viewfinder and lets you to manage the contents without a PC. It will soon be able to stream with Looxcie Live (I hope they can make it work with uStream and Justin.tv too). Even without the phone, it works like a DVR with the built-in storage and there's a camcorder mode for longer, higher-quality recordings.

I think they really need to court riders as potential customers. I'm planning another cross-country trip and I wonder if I can help them drum up interest with one of these. First live-streaming coast-to-coast ride, anyone?

[CZroe]

OK, pics:
looxcie_v1_300.jpg=
31-52PbeS9L__SL500_AA300_.jpg+portal-gun_2.jpg

lx2_website-v2_300.jpg=
imagesCA8GY7QF.jpg+imagesCAJS8SSC.jpg

[Jiggles]

Everything I've ever read about bluetooth cameras is bad. Really think about it, do you really want a camera that can only record for 30 seconds? Get a nice HD camera. Someone just posted about a HD car key look alike (keyfob???) its 50 bucks, takes 50 minutes of 720p 30fps video and is not much larger than these bluetooth cameras.

The problem is Bluetooths extremely low bandwidth. Yes it works for audio, but not for video

From what I've read, this is a very undesirable product at this point in time.

http://www.wired.com/reviews/2010/10...-its-close-up/

QUOTE

Warhol was only half-right. Sure everyone is famous these days, but only for 15 seconds and in 15 fps.

At least that’s what the Looxcie, a wearable video camera, presumes. Integrated into a flashy Bluetooth headset, the device is meant for capturing happenstance moments where whipping out a phone or cheap portable camcorder may not suffice. It also pairs with a mobile app that transforms your cell phone into a viewfinder, in case you want to frame specific shots. Still, it’s not for documentary films, just quick clips (up to 4-GB of ‘em). Which is supposedly why Looxcie only shoots HVGA in 15 fps, instead of anything even close to HD.

In theory, it makes sense. With a quick double-tap of an easy-to-find button on top of the headset, we were able to record almost five hours of random footage from a variety of places: buses, trains, crosswalks, the office (the bathroom!). It’s particularly solid for driving or other hands-free tasks you might want to document like, say, deconstructing and fixing a gadget (hat tip: @Alanwordguy ). In all of these instances, 15 fps is perfectly “good enough.”

Outdoor clips are noticeably grainy and pixilated, the sensor adjusts to bright sunlight very slowly, and the color contrast is pretty disappointing. However, it’s worth noting we found our indoor footage comparable, more or less, when tested side-by-side with an iPhone 3GS.



In practice, Looxcie still doesn’t seem quite ready for its close-up. The entire headset is less than 28 grams and fairly comfortable—until you really start moving around with it on. A light jog crossing the street required holding the camera in place. Every time we bent the flexible boom to frame a shot, the whole package jerks out of ear. The problem isn’t just hardware, either. Looxcie’s app is easy-to-use: Short clips are e-mailed within a minute. But for now, it’s compatible with Android phones (sorry iDrones). Plus, you can only share footage via e-mail and Facebook (BlackBerry and Apple compatibility along with Twitter/YouTube shortcuts are purportedly on the way, but until then, it’s a limitation worth noting).

A more bitter hindrance is the $200 price tag. Consider that a GoPro 960 helmet cam comes with a waterproof casing and various mounts suitable to a plethora of conditions. It costs only $180. Oh, and it captures a 170-degree field of view … in HD (60 fps). We’re not saying you shouldn’t buy the Looxcie. If you’re a Bluetooth headset kind of a person to begin with, killing two birds could be sensible. If not, well, you’re already carrying a smart phone that shoots 15 fps. Is using one of your hands that raw a deal, guys?

WIRED Alert every 30 seconds to remind you you’re filming. Lightweight at less than an ounce. Filming, viewing, editing a clip and sharing is a breeze. No limitation on clip duration. Excellent range (33 feet as advertised: CONFIRMED).

TIRED Sharing only works for short clips (30-minutes, 183 MB? No dice.). Terrible camera stabilization—some footage looked like deleted scenes from Cloverfield. Lackluster, muffled sound quality. No zoom. Harder to configure than a Rubik’s cube: two WIRED staffers couldn’t figure out how to adjust it to wear in left ear. Behind-the-ear battery looks like a hearing aid. Sorry nerds, cannot be worn comfortably with thicker-rimmed glasses.

END QUOTE

[Snake]

I think it would be good for secretly filming people. Great spy camera.

[CZroe]

Originally Posted by Jiggles

Everything I've ever read about bluetooth cameras is bad. Really think about it, do you really want a camera that can only record for 30 seconds? Get a nice HD camera. Someone just posted about a HD car key look alike (keyfob???) its 50 bucks, takes 50 minutes of 720p 30fps video and is not much larger than these bluetooth cameras.

The problem is Bluetooths extremely low bandwidth. Yes it works for audio, but not for video

From what I've read, this is a very undesirable product at this point in time.

http://www.wired.com/reviews/2010/10...-its-close-up/

QUOTE

Warhol was only half-right. Sure everyone is famous these days, but only for 15 seconds and in 15 fps.

At least that’s what the Looxcie, a wearable video camera, presumes. Integrated into a flashy Bluetooth headset, the device is meant for capturing happenstance moments where whipping out a phone or cheap portable camcorder may not suffice. It also pairs with a mobile app that transforms your cell phone into a viewfinder, in case you want to frame specific shots. Still, it’s not for documentary films, just quick clips (up to 4-GB of ‘em). Which is supposedly why Looxcie only shoots HVGA in 15 fps, instead of anything even close to HD.

In theory, it makes sense. With a quick double-tap of an easy-to-find button on top of the headset, we were able to record almost five hours of random footage from a variety of places: buses, trains, crosswalks, the office (the bathroom!). It’s particularly solid for driving or other hands-free tasks you might want to document like, say, deconstructing and fixing a gadget (hat tip: @Alanwordguy ). In all of these instances, 15 fps is perfectly “good enough.”

Outdoor clips are noticeably grainy and pixilated, the sensor adjusts to bright sunlight very slowly, and the color contrast is pretty disappointing. However, it’s worth noting we found our indoor footage comparable, more or less, when tested side-by-side with an iPhone 3GS.



In practice, Looxcie still doesn’t seem quite ready for its close-up. The entire headset is less than 28 grams and fairly comfortable—until you really start moving around with it on. A light jog crossing the street required holding the camera in place. Every time we bent the flexible boom to frame a shot, the whole package jerks out of ear. The problem isn’t just hardware, either. Looxcie’s app is easy-to-use: Short clips are e-mailed within a minute. But for now, it’s compatible with Android phones (sorry iDrones). Plus, you can only share footage via e-mail and Facebook (BlackBerry and Apple compatibility along with Twitter/YouTube shortcuts are purportedly on the way, but until then, it’s a limitation worth noting).

A more bitter hindrance is the $200 price tag. Consider that a GoPro 960 helmet cam comes with a waterproof casing and various mounts suitable to a plethora of conditions. It costs only $180. Oh, and it captures a 170-degree field of view … in HD (60 fps). We’re not saying you shouldn’t buy the Looxcie. If you’re a Bluetooth headset kind of a person to begin with, killing two birds could be sensible. If not, well, you’re already carrying a smart phone that shoots 15 fps. Is using one of your hands that raw a deal, guys?

WIRED Alert every 30 seconds to remind you you’re filming. Lightweight at less than an ounce. Filming, viewing, editing a clip and sharing is a breeze. No limitation on clip duration. Excellent range (33 feet as advertised: CONFIRMED).

TIRED Sharing only works for short clips (30-minutes, 183 MB? No dice.). Terrible camera stabilization—some footage looked like deleted scenes from Cloverfield. Lackluster, muffled sound quality. No zoom. Harder to configure than a Rubik’s cube: two WIRED staffers couldn’t figure out how to adjust it to wear in left ear. Behind-the-ear battery looks like a hearing aid. Sorry nerds, cannot be worn comfortably with thicker-rimmed glasses.

END QUOTE

Keep in mind, I do not own one nor have I tried it and I totally expect to have my own set of criticisms when I do, but I feel that people are missing the point of this.

The alternatives you and they imagine are not alternatives at all because they can not be used like a time-shifting DVR that is always recording, which is the whole point of this. When you watch live TV with a time-shifting DVR and you miss something, you can go back through the live recorded buffer whether you had scheduled that program to record or not. That's the difference between a time-shifting DVR and an old VCR, which is the same as between this and other POV cams, be they tape or DVR. Yes, the others are technically "digital video recorders" even if they don't time-shift, but not only will this one let you "go back" while it continues recording but it will also let you save 30 second clips from your back buffer without having previously told it to record anything. That's a HUGE distinction and it would not be realistically possible at the specs you seem to demand. Low resolution and frame rate are good enough when you consider that you would have had nothing if something cool and unexpected happens unless you got lucky and were recording something else that was worth recording. You are also completely ignoring that it has a full-resolution and frame rate mode as well that can record 5-10 hours, 30FPS, 480p, etc as long as you keep it charged. That's PLENTY for a device of this size.

Anyway, Bluetooth bandwidth is irrelevant when not live-streaming because it is *not* a "Bluetooth camera." It stores the recordings internally and only uses BT to give you additional functions that you would not have had otherwise (viewfinder, manage stored clips and video without a PC, go back and save a moment from hours ago while it's still in the buffer, etc). The low-bandwidth video for live-streaming is just as limited by 3G upload speeds. Even if you find a comparable WiFi camera, you'd be stuck within range of a hot-spot to get the benefit because even if you connected to your phone with WiFi, 3G upload bandwidth would bottleneck you.

This is also for the daily commuter who doesn't necessarily have anything to say to the world but may need documentation of unexpected incidents and may capture something cool while they are at it. The specs you are complaining about are ONLY the DVR mode and they are entirely reasonable considering the realistic limitations, especially instant 3G uploads.

The review you are reading is for the original version. The videos on their site make it look very simple to switch ears with the Looxcie 2. I doubt that's a concern with the helmet mount accessory anyway. Even so, almost every one of their concerns was addressed. The original is only $119 on their website and the others are significantly cheaper too, it has iDevice compatibility, it supports YouTube and TwitVid sharing, configuring for the left ear is easier, etc. Even though they don't acknowledge the 30FPS 480p camcorder mode, they do say that 15FPS HVGA is "good enough" for the types of clips they were recording. The GoPro is not "wearable" and HD videos are standard 24 or 30FPS so 60FPS isn't such an important spec (assuming it's even true; even standard definition is only 60 FIELDS per second, not 60 FRAMES per second and 60FPS HD is VERY rare outside of special cases, like Wipeout HD on the PS3). They never even acknowledge that you can get and share full 480p 30FPS video by offloading it to a PC (just like any other, GoPro included). They laughably imply that you continuously record 15FPS from your phone instead if you aren't a "Bluetooth kinda guy," as if your phone has infinite storage and you don't care about its battery life. I have yet to see a phone camera that continues recording video when the device is locked/asleep with the display turned off. The Looxcie will even if your phone didn't exist -once again, it is NOT a "Bluetooth camera" just because it has a BT headset and some nifty extra functions enabled by BT. Not having BT means only being able to dump the 30 seconds immediately prior. Not having BT means not having a viewfinder. Not having BT means not being able to review or share clips until you connect with a PC. These are all ADVANTAGEs compared to similarly wearable "bullet cams," NOT disadvantages, as you or they might imply.

They did say that it was particularly well suited to driving and "hands full" DIY vids, which is EXACTLY what I'm trying to say! The fact that most of their other complaints have been resolved makes it actually sound like a good review when you consider it.

FWIW, my Samsung YH-999 20GB Portable Media Center that synced my DVR'd shows from TiVo2go or Windows Media Center Edition 2005 was only 15FPS, HVGA too-unless you manually encoded your programs (tedious and you could have already watched them in the time it took you to bother). It was derided for many reasons but there was no "iPod Video" back then but no real alternatives existed to perform that function (well, there were other PMCs, like a Creative Zen model).

Originally Posted by Snake

I think it would be good for secretly filming people. Great spy camera.

Might wanna cover up the "recording" indicator light.

[CZroe]

Well, I really wish I had one of these two days ago when I encountered the rarely-experienced and still undocumented tank vacuum stall again between lanes in dangerous traffic.

I also wish I had it on my way home from work yesterday when I saw a guy with a Hyrulian Crest (video game reference) tramp-stamped onto his cruiser's rear fender.

Something else happened that I wanted to capture/remember too but I can't remember because I didn't have it. Argh!

[CZroe]

I see the Contour HD now has a Bluetooth module to use your smartphone as a view-finder (only mentions iPhone but sales reps said Android too). It probably isn't meant to run all day and definitely isn't wearable on its own and doesn't work as a BT headset. Even so, it's 1080p and the other functions could still be done by software.