Rear Dashcam 1.2.7 for Gen5W

Rear dashcam 1.2.7 for Gen5W head units (Android 4.4), as a NEMESIS package: the recorder service, the Dashcam playback app and the Digital Rearview Mirror app in one install.

Changes in this version:

Rear Dashcam 1.2.7: recording indicators, steadier mirror

• New: red recording dot in the status bar while the dashcam is writing to the USB drive.
• Digital Rearview Mirror: a blinking "Recording to USB" badge in the bottom-right (grey "Recording Disabled" or "No Flash Drive" otherwise), and a wide-angle caution in the bottom-left.
• Fixed: the mirror flashed when plugging or unplugging the USB drive. The camera now stays open; only recording starts or stops.

Install gen5-codec-patch (media.codecs 2.1+) first. It's required for on-device video playback. Needs NEMESIS 1.16 or newer. Only for the IONIQ 5 SE and SEL (no 360° view); the installer refuses other cars.

Install over ADB with nemesis install --update dashcam-1.2.7.zip, or by USB: extract dashcam-1.2.7-usb.zip onto the root of a FAT32/exFAT drive and plug it in. Reboot the head unit after installing or updating to activate the camera overlay fix. Recordings and the recording on/off setting carry over when you update. Check downloads against SHA256SUMS. DashcamPlayer.apk and DigitalRearviewMirror.apk are the apps on their own; the package already contains them, and the mirror needs the package's recorder.

If the reverse camera ever fails to come up, stop and report it, and uninstall the package until it's fixed. Details in the README.

Rear Dashcam 1.2.0 for Gen5W

Rear dashcam 1.2.0 for Gen5W head units (Android 4.4), as a NEMESIS package: the recorder service, the Dashcam playback app and the Digital Rearview Mirror app in one install.

Changes in this version:

Rear Dashcam 1.2.0: Digital Rearview Mirror, no more camera flash between apps

• New: Digital Rearview Mirror. Hold the steering-wheel Mode button to show the live rear camera full screen, mirrored like a real rear-view mirror. Hold Mode again, tap the screen or press Back to close it. A short press still changes media sources as before. Holding Mode no longer opens the car's Mode Settings screen. The mirror works without a USB drive too, and gives way to the car's own reverse camera.
• Fixed: the camera picture flashed for a moment when switching between apps. It now stays hidden unless the car's camera view is showing.
• Recordings are back to 720x480, the backup camera's own resolution. Larger sizes were only stretched copies of the same picture, and used more CPU for no extra detail.
• The camera debug screen is gone.
• The Dashcam app shows its version number under the title, and has a button to buy me a coffee.

As always, reboot the head unit after installing or updating, so the camera picture stays hidden under Android Auto and CarPlay.

Install gen5-codec-patch (media.codecs 2.1+) first. It's required for on-device video playback. Needs NEMESIS 1.16 or newer. Only for the IONIQ 5 SE and SEL (no 360° view); the installer refuses other cars.

Install over ADB with nemesis install --update dashcam-1.2.0.zip, or by USB: extract dashcam-1.2.0-usb.zip onto the root of a FAT32/exFAT drive and plug it in. Reboot the head unit after installing or updating to activate the camera overlay fix. Recordings and the recording on/off setting carry over when you update. Check downloads against SHA256SUMS. DashcamPlayer.apk and DigitalRearviewMirror.apk are the apps on their own; the package already contains them, and the mirror needs the package's recorder.

If the reverse camera ever fails to come up, stop and report it, and uninstall the package until it's fixed. Details in the README.

Rear Dashcam 1.0.1 for Gen5W

Rear dashcam 1.0.1 for Gen5W head units (Android 4.4), as a NEMESIS package: the recorder service and the Dashcam playback app in one install.

Changes in this version:

Rear Dashcam 1.0.1: fixes the head unit restarting when you reverse right after starting the car

• Fixed: the head unit could restart if you shifted into reverse soon after it started up. While the head unit boots, a separate chip shows the backup camera on its own (the plain picture you get before Android is up). If the dashcam started recording before the car's camera app had shut that down, which happens about 10 seconds later or not at all for a while after unlocking the door, going into reverse made the car reset the head unit. The dashcam now shuts down the early camera itself, the same way the car's camera app does, before it starts recording.
• The dashcam also checks the gear one last time right before it opens the camera, and won't open it in reverse.

Reverse in the first ~20 seconds after the screen comes on still shows the car's plain early picture, before the dashcam and the car's camera app have started. That's normal and the same as without the dashcam.

As always, reboot the head unit after installing or updating, so the camera picture stays hidden under Android Auto and CarPlay.

Install gen5-codec-patch (media.codecs 2.1+) first. It's required for on-device video playback. Needs NEMESIS 1.16 or newer. Only for the IONIQ 5 SE and SEL (no 360° view); the installer refuses other cars.

Install over ADB with nemesis install --update dashcam-1.0.1.zip, or by USB: extract dashcam-1.0.1-usb.zip onto the root of a FAT32/exFAT drive and plug it in. Reboot the head unit after installing or updating to activate the camera overlay fix. Recordings and the recording on/off setting carry over when you update. Check downloads against SHA256SUMS. DashcamPlayer.apk is the app on its own; the package already contains it.

If the reverse camera ever fails to come up, stop and report it, and uninstall the package until it's fixed. Details in the README.

Rear Dashcam 1.0 for Gen5W

Rear dashcam 1.0 for Gen5W head units (Android 4.4), as a NEMESIS package: the recorder service and the Dashcam playback app in one install.

Changes in this version:

Rear Dashcam 1.0: first supported release, for the IONIQ 5 SE and SEL

• Supported on the Hyundai IONIQ 5 SE and SEL (plain backup camera, no 360° view). The installer refuses other models, and still refuses 360°-view cars such as the IONIQ 5 Limited.
• Needs NEMESIS 1.16 or newer and Video Codec Fix (media.codecs) 2.1 or newer, which is required for playing recordings on the car's screen. Update the codec package to 2.1 first. NEMESIS now checks for it when you install, and won't uninstall it while the dashcam is installed.

As always, reboot the head unit after installing or updating, so the camera picture stays hidden under Android Auto and CarPlay.

Install gen5-codec-patch (media.codecs 2.1+) first. It's required for on-device video playback. Needs NEMESIS 1.16 or newer. Only for the IONIQ 5 SE and SEL (no 360° view); the installer refuses other cars.

Install over ADB with nemesis install --update dashcam-1.0.zip, or by USB: extract dashcam-1.0-usb.zip onto the root of a FAT32/exFAT drive and plug it in. Reboot the head unit after installing or updating to activate the camera overlay fix. Recordings and the recording on/off setting carry over when you update. Check downloads against SHA256SUMS. DashcamPlayer.apk is the app on its own; the package already contains it.

If the reverse camera ever fails to come up, stop and report it, and uninstall the package until it's fixed. Details in the README.

Rear Dashcam 0.15.7 for Gen5W

Rear dashcam 0.15.7 for Gen5W head units (Android 4.4), as a NEMESIS package: the recorder service and the Dashcam playback app in one install.

Changes in this version:

Requires the Video Codec Fix package

• Install gen5-codec-patch (media.codecs 2.0 or newer) first. It's required for on-device video playback: without it, the Dashcam app can't play recordings on the car's screen. The installer now checks for it and refuses with a message if it's missing.

Install gen5-codec-patch (media.codecs 2.0+) first. It's required for on-device video playback, and this package won't install without it.

Install over ADB with nemesis install --update dashcam-0.15.7.zip, or by USB: extract dashcam-0.15.7-usb.zip onto the root of a FAT32/exFAT drive and plug it in. Reboot the head unit after installing or updating to activate the camera overlay fix. Recordings and the recording on/off setting carry over when you update. Check downloads against SHA256SUMS. DashcamPlayer.apk is the app on its own; the package already contains it.

If the reverse camera ever fails to come up, stop and report it, and uninstall the package until it's fixed. Details in the README.

Rear Dashcam 0.15.6 for Gen5W

Rear dashcam 0.15.6 for Gen5W head units (Android 4.4), as a NEMESIS package: the recorder service and the Dashcam playback app in one install.

Changes in this version:

360° camera cars aren't supported; steering-wheel save on more models

• Cars with a 360° (surround view) camera aren't supported, and the installer now says so. On these cars (the IONIQ 5 Limited and other 360° trims, and the Kia EV6 tested so far), the camera only sends a picture while the car is showing its own camera view, so the dashcam would record nothing. The installer checks your car's camera and refuses with "camera system not supported (360 view cars)". If it can't tell, it installs, and the Dashcam app says the camera isn't supported instead of recording.
• Saving with the steering wheel's mute button (four quick presses) should now work on other models, not just the IONIQ 5 it was built on. The recorder now finds the head unit's button device by its own model name.

As always, reboot the head unit after installing or updating, so the camera picture stays hidden under Android Auto and CarPlay.

Install over ADB with nemesis install --update dashcam-0.15.6.zip, or by USB: extract dashcam-0.15.6-usb.zip onto the root of a FAT32/exFAT drive and plug it in. Reboot the head unit after installing or updating to activate the camera overlay fix. Recordings and the recording on/off setting carry over when you update. Check downloads against SHA256SUMS. DashcamPlayer.apk is the app on its own; the package already contains it.

If the reverse camera ever fails to come up, stop and report it, and uninstall the package until it's fixed. Details in the README.

Rear Dashcam 0.15.3 for Gen5W

Rear dashcam 0.15.3 for Gen5W head units (Android 4.4), as a NEMESIS package: the recorder service and the Dashcam playback app in one install.

Changes in this version:

Camera overlay fixed from boot; no more USB notices

• The camera no longer shows over Android Auto after a boot. In 0.15.2 the fix only took effect after the camera restarted (replugging the drive, reversing). On the first start after boot, the camera's display layer isn't ready yet when recording begins, so the request to hide it was refused and never repeated. It's now retried until it's accepted, usually about 10 seconds after boot. Recording isn't held up by it.
• No more "Reading USB" and "No Supported Files" at the top of the screen when the dashcam drive is plugged in or the head unit starts. The drive is still scanned as before; only the notices are taken down. They may still flash for a split second.

As with 0.15.2, reboot the head unit after installing or updating.

The boot-time overlay retry and the dismissal on replug were checked on the IONIQ 5 (NEEV23). Dismissing the notices at boot is new in this version and hasn't been tried on a car yet.

Install over ADB with nemesis install --update dashcam-0.15.3.zip, or by USB: extract dashcam-0.15.3-usb.zip onto the root of a FAT32/exFAT drive and plug it in. Reboot the head unit after installing or updating to activate the camera overlay fix. Recordings and the recording on/off setting carry over when you update. Check downloads against SHA256SUMS. DashcamPlayer.apk is the app on its own; the package already contains it.

If the reverse camera ever fails to come up, stop and report it, and uninstall the package until it's fixed. Details in the README.

Rear Dashcam 0.15.2 for Gen5W

Rear dashcam 0.15.2 for Gen5W head units (Android 4.4), as a NEMESIS package: the recorder service and the Dashcam playback app in one install.

Changes in this version:

Fix the camera covering Android Auto while recording

The dashcam now keeps recording without drawing the rear camera over Android Auto's projected video. A boot-started native helper makes only the camera display layer transparent, leaving the camera DMA ring and hardware encoder running. Camera alpha is restored before reverse/camera-button handoff and when the recorder disconnects or dies. Video routing, overlay priority and SurfaceFlinger stay at their normal settings.

Reboot the head unit after installing or updating. The display helper needs the CAP_SYS_RAWIO capability NEMESIS grants services started at boot. Normal recording continues if alpha control is unavailable; Camera Debug reports now include the helper's diagnostics.

Other changes:

• Faster reverse detection: 50 ms polling while the recorder owns the camera, with slower polling for other work and idle operation.
• Lower overhead: batched native frame-detection hashes, bulk DMA strip reads, and no hidden debug-preview frame copies behind projection.
• Record to /dev/null test mode in Camera Debug for wired Android Auto without a flash drive. Camera and hardware encoding continue, but nothing is saved. USB insertion disables the test, even with the app closed.
• Clear no-drive status, green null-recording/red drive-recording indicators, stable fixed-width recording controls, and acknowledged on/off transitions without stale-poll flicker.
• Saved (0), dimmed playback controls without a drive, and updated Camera Debug, Save Report and Play Latest labels.
• Expanded TECHNICAL.md documenting boot privileges, device-tree validation, register addresses/masks, socket ownership, privilege drop and recovery behavior.

Validation: native conversion/hash/register-guard tests, null-mode cancellation/restart tests and recording-command transition tests passed. A live hardware-encoded test sustained 20 fps without dropped or torn frames; wired Android Auto, stock-camera handoff and recorder-death cleanup were checked on the NEEV23 head unit. CarPlay and other head units were not validated in this session.

Install over ADB with nemesis install --update dashcam-0.15.2.zip, or by USB: extract dashcam-0.15.2-usb.zip onto the root of a FAT32/exFAT drive and plug it in. Reboot the head unit after installing or updating to activate the camera overlay fix. Recordings and the recording on/off setting carry over when you update. Check downloads against SHA256SUMS. DashcamPlayer.apk is the app on its own; the package already contains it.

If the reverse camera ever fails to come up, stop and report it, and uninstall the package until it's fixed. Details in the README.

Rear Dashcam 0.14 for Gen5W

Rear dashcam 0.14 for Gen5W head units (Android 4.4), as a NEMESIS package: the recorder service and the Dashcam playback app in one install.

Changes in this version:

No more screen tearing, and it keeps recording while you reverse.

• No more screen tearing: video playback on the head unit no longer flashes with corrupt frames while the dashcam records. The recorder now takes the camera's frames straight from the memory the car's own reverse view draws from, instead of through the camera API, whose buffers collided with video playback. So recording no longer pauses while you watch something.
• Keeps recording in reverse: when you shift into R or press the camera button, the dashcam hands the camera to the backup view as before, but keeps recording what that view shows (guide lines included), then takes the camera back a few seconds after.
• One recording setup, tested end to end: 720x480 at 20 fps, 3 Mbit/s (about 1.35 GB an hour). The Settings screen is gone; tap the recording status at the top of the app to turn recording on or off.
• The parking guide lines reliably come back on after recording hands over the camera.
• Frame stepping in the player lands on the exact frame, back and forward.
• Uses about a third less CPU while recording.

Install over ADB with nemesis install --update dashcam-0.14.zip, or by USB: extract dashcam-0.14-usb.zip onto the root of a FAT32/exFAT drive and plug it in. Recordings and the recording on/off setting carry over when you update. Check downloads against SHA256SUMS. DashcamPlayer.apk is the app on its own; the package already contains it.

If the reverse camera ever fails to come up, stop and report it, and uninstall the package until it's fixed. Details in the README.

Rear Dashcam 0.8 for Gen5W

Rear dashcam 0.8 for Gen5W head units (Android 4.4), as a NEMESIS package: the recorder service and the Dashcam playback app in one install.

Changes in this version:

• Records only while the car is on. No more grey/green boxes from the head unit waking up overnight or starting up. - The parking guide lines are kept out of recordings, and come back when you reverse. If you had them off, they stay off. - Recordings are flipped the right way round, so text reads normally. - Press the steering wheel's mute button four times quickly to save the last two minutes. - Saved recordings: tap one to play it, rename it with a new on-screen keyboard. Saves that touch an earlier one join it, and unsaving is done from the Saved screen. - Fixed the frame-step buttons being cut off.

Install over ADB with nemesis install --update dashcam-0.8.zip, or by USB: extract dashcam-0.8-usb.zip onto the root of a FAT32/exFAT drive and plug it in. Recording settings carry over when you update. Check downloads against SHA256SUMS. DashcamPlayer.apk is the app on its own; the package already contains it.

If the reverse camera ever fails to come up, stop and report it, and uninstall the package until it's fixed. Details in the README.