POV1 Camera

Having been described as the 'holy grail' of helmet cams we were not disinterested when new VIO POV 1 point-of-view camera arrived at Jigsaw. The idea of pov or 'helmet cams' seems great in theory, but in practice tends to involves inordinate lengths of wire, gaffa tape and frayed nerves in order to show your friends a smudge on a screen that was indeed a big rock that you almost missed.

'Works straight-out of the box' is a feature often touted by tech manufacturers, but VIO have accomplished something pretty special with this camera. With the military and emergency services in mind (as well as police and fire services around the world the camera is being used by the US military in Iraq), they've created a fully-integrated easy to use, bomb-proof system packaged in what is basically a CD carry-case.

When you open the zipper, the thing your eye will first be drawn to is perhaps the most important item in the case and the gizmo that really sets this system apart. The TV remote-sized recorder. It's waterproof ('proof', not 'resistant') down to 1m right out of the box and built tough enough to be used as a weapon at a pinch. The actual camera is also waterproof down to 10 metres, so with the recorder in a suitable waterproof case, you've got a scuba camera. Importantly for a sports unit, it records onto SD card so there aren't any moving parts for you to foul-up with your antics. The unit also sports a high quality 4cm X 3cm LCD preview screen and a speaker.

The camera itself is about the size of a big guy's thumb and uses a CMOS sensor. Although there've been some issues in the past getting high-quality pictures from CMOS, they've recently started coming into their own, as evidenced by Sony switching to CMOS for their new range of entry-level pro HD camcorders. The chip's ability to smooth out light streaking and better conserve power are both useful attributes when you consider that this unit's primarily going to be used outdoors in sunlight to capture rapid motion in places where it's unlikely there's going to be a power point. However, after all the acronyms have stopped being bandied about, in practice what you get from the camera is great colour, low power consumption, and excellent response to varied lighting conditions.

Perhaps the next most interesting item is the cable connecting the recording unit to the camera. It's a proprietary LDVS cable built by VIO and is essentially a Firewire. The practical upshot of using this digital cable is that information doesn't have to go through any unpleasant digital-analogue-digital conversion, thus preserving the quality of the image from the camera's digital sensor.

The rest of the stuff in the case is too numerous to list, but rest assured - it contains everything you need to strap the camera to yourself, do something daft, and get the resulting footage/evidence onto your computer. And yes, batteries are included.

We tested the camera on a sunny late-November day (a low, bright sun shining into the lens and lots of shadows) but the camera coped admirably and reacted quickly to the awkward light conditions. It took us all of ten minutes to get the camera out of the case and strapped to the handlebars of a bike using the mounts included with the kit (the case even includes cable ties and self-adhesive velcro). The only snafu being us connecting the cable the wrong way round. Both ends of the cable are identical male connectors but the information traffic is one-way so failing to realise that the black on black VIO logos on the camera and cable are actually for lining-up purposes means that the unit won't work. But this problem can be eliminated by reading the instructions. Interestingly, we didn't and still got up-and-running in no time after reconnecting the cable.

Although the natural habitat of the recording unit is most likely a bag or rucksack, we found that it fitted comfortably into the pocket of a pair of baggy jeans. In fact, it was completely forgotten about as soon as we set off.

The kit also comes with an eraser-sized wireless remote control that you can either drop in your pocket or attach to your wrist using the strap provided. The remote's a simple two-button affair with an LED that flashes when one of the buttons is pressed down. However, if you wanted to pick hairs, it would be useful for there to be a 'record' light on the remote, especially as the recording unit with the status display is likely to be inaccessible while you're up to whatever it is you're up to.

Transferring the data from the recording unit to a computer was also pleasantly simple via the included USB cable. Removing the cover at the base of the unit to get to the USB port was a little hard on the fingernails, but remember this unit's waterproof, and a sore fingernail's going to cause you a lot less hassle in the future than a wet USB port.

Once connected, the unit was automatically recognised and it was simply a case of opening the icon and drag-and-dropping the clips we wanted. The POV 1 also includes a CD with some rudimentary editing software which is ideal for those who simply want to upload and share their videos, although as the unit puts out files in MPEG4, it's a doddle to import them into more proficient software and get creative. The unit also records in 6 frame formats (720×480, 720×400, 640×480 (default), 360×240, 360×200, or 320×240) for extra flexibility in the editing suite.

In summary, this is clearly a system that has been designed by people that use it. All the bugbears of traditional helmet-cam systems have been systematically removed and you're left with a beautifully streamlined, easy-to-use unit that's fit for purpose. Crucially, you're actually going to enjoy using this camera.

Iain Denny

To find out more about our broadcast solutions, call us on 03332 400 222, email  broadcast@Jigsaw24.com or take a look at our full broadcast range.