Reviewed in the United States on January 3, 2022
When I saw your advertisements for your V50 X action cameras I thought it was just the thing I was looking for. It had Image Stabilization and 4K video which is what I wanted. So I bought one. This was my biggest mistake...
I have never been so disappointed in my life as when I finally got (and tried) a product. So far, I have tried to import the videos I’ve made into 10 different Video Editor programs and none of them have worked as expected. No matter what settings I set in the options menus, I cannot get the audio (in any of the videos I made) to import. The videos I recorded with the camera played correctly on the camera itself (both audio and video) but I still cannot import the audio on my PC’s.
I have tried all the Resolution Settings as well as the Video Encoding Settings as well as the Power Frequency Settings, and still nothing works. It looks to me as if Akaso does not use a STANDARD MP4 format when they encode their video and therefore it will not import correctly. Why they did this, I have no idea, but as a result any video files I make or use are useless to me. I have just wasted over $100 on a camera that does not work as advertised. Plain and simple…
As a result of this I cannot recommend this camera to anyone. If you buy one you’ll be sorry you did…
As well as buying one of your V50 X action cameras (for attachment to my helmet) I also bought another action camera (an Eken 4K Ultra HD model) to use on my rear bumper for video recording of the rear. This camera records video using the “MOV” format which works as expected and I have no problems with. My only regret is that Eken doesn’t make a model with Image Stabilization because if they did I would buy one and throw the Akaso model away. This is what I think of your “So Called” action camera.
If I could find some way to get a refund I would ask for one. But I do not expect that I will ever get one so I figure I have just wasted my money on a piece of junk. Hopefully this will prevent others from making the same mistake that I did…
Thank you…
Joe Schutts
UPDATE
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Hello Everyone,
Sorry about the delay in posting this review, but I just got back from vacation and I needed some time to unwind before I got back to work, plus I also had major surgery so I needed some time to heal and to gather my thoughts together.
Ok, so I originally ordered this camera (my 1st Akaso V50X action camera) from Amazon back on June 11, 2021 along with some other items I needed. The camera came pretty fast (considering Covid and all) and I was extremely happy about that. After using the camera for a short time I encountered some major problems, which I’ll get to.
Along with this camera, I also purchased another camera. My second camera is an Eken 4K action camera, but without image stabilization (unlike the V50X).
Now I had been planning on using the V50X camera as my main camera (mounted facing the front on my helmet) and then putting the Eken camera above my rear brake light on my rear motorcycle fairing facing towards the rear and recording the idiots behind me.
This way if I got into an accident, I would have some way to show (and tell) the cops what the idiots did wrong and collect the insurance (and hopefully get a new bike).
Now just so everyone knows, I have been a PC Tech since the mid 70’s so I pretty much know what I am talking about whenever I see (or have) a PC or hardware problem.
Ok, so I got the camera (the V50X) and installed a 32G TF (formatted) memory card and started shooting some scenes riding the bike. I then took out the TF Card and inserted it into an TF to SD Card adapter and inserted that into my laptop. Once I inserted the SD Card I then copied over the video files onto the PC
Now on my main PC (I own 2 Laptops, 1 Tablet, and 3 desktop PC’s) I have the following programs installed on each one.
Video Editors:
1. Cyberlink PowerDirector 15
2. Sony Vegas Pro 14.0
3. Sony Vegas Movie Studio Platinum 9.03
4. Ulead VideoStudio SE DVD3
5. VLC VideoLAN
Video Conversion Programs:
1. #1 Video Converter
2. ArcSoft MediaConverter
3. Bigasoft MKV Converter
4. QuickTime
5. Handbrake
As you can see, I have a fairly good selection of programs to work with. So if one doesn’t work, then the others should… Or so I thought...
When I transferred the video files (from the V50X) into the PC and then ran CyberLink PowerDirector 15, I then imported the video files into it. I then tried to increase the volume on the imported video to no avail. No matter what I tried on the audio track, nothing worked. It seemed as if (for some reason or another) the Audio Track would not import correctly. The Audio Track would show up in PowerDirector, but it would be empty.
I then tried Sony Vegas Pro 14.0 with the same results. I also did the same thing for Sony Vegas Pro 14.0, Ulead VideoStudio SE DVD3, and VLC VideoLAN. Again, none of them worked. I then tried something else.
I imported the videos (including the Audio Tracks) into PowerDirector and split the Video Track from the Audio Track and saved (just the Audio Track) onto it’s own MP3 Audio Track. I then loaded the Audio Track into various Audio Editors (I have) to try to increase the volume. But again, no matter which Audio Editor I used, the Audio Track was blank (nothing was there).
At this point, I was rather stumped and began to suspect that something else was wrong with the camera itself. I came to the final conclusion that one of two things could be wrong. Either the Camera Software (firmware) was buggy or the Camera settings were set up wrong.
I then tried all the different settings on the camera itself including the Video Resolution, Video Encode, and even the Power Frequency. No matter what settings I used, when I imported the finished Video files into whatever Video Editor I was using, the Audio Track was empty. This fact alone left me with only one conclusion. It was a firmware problem. More than likely, Akaso was not using a standard MP4 Video format for their Video and Audio recordings.
I then tried to see if Akaso had released another firmware update for this camera (which regretfully they hadn’t) and at this point, I wrote a bad review of the V50X Camera and posted it to the Akaso site. I did this after I repeatedly tried to contact them for some kind of fix. I have to admit now that I was waiting for some type of response or a fix for this problem, but I heard nothing back from them. After a while I gave up, and it was at this point that the camera I had bought became useless to me and I gave the camera away to a fellow co-worker.
Sometime after this (I’m not sure how long), I finally received a response from Akaso apologizing for the delay in their response to me (which was understandable) and they asked if I would like a replacement camera for the one I had (which I had given away). I said yes, that I would be glad to get a replacement camera. That takes us up to today…
Now I have to admit that I was rather hopeful that Akaso had finally replaced the firmware (or at least fixed it) to the point that I could now import my videos with the Audio Track included (and fixed), but it seems that Akaso did not. I now have another camera that I cannot import in my Video Editors (with the Audio included).
It turns out I was wrong. I just found out that regretfully there is NO ONE STANDARD format for MP4 Video files. I wish I had known this before I purchased my cameras as it would have saved me a bunch of money. But this was something I was unaware of. I had just got done going over this very same problem with the people over on the Cyberlink Forum. They are the ones that informed me there wasn’t a STANDARD MP4 FORMAT and that Akaso’s MP4 format could be imported (with sound) and plays fine in PD365 - but that there is no sound in PD13, PD14, PD15 or PD17. So basically, I’m SOL unless I want to spend extra money on an upgrade for PowerDirector… Which I don’t want to do, but it looks like I have no alternative...
So now the only option I now have is to either move up to PD365 or one other option, which is to search for another camera that’ll fit my needs. So this is where I stand today. Regretfully, this whole situation could have been prevented if ALL MANUFACTURERS would agree on FORMATTING STANDARDS for ALL Video Equipment. This would be nice to see, but I honestly don’t see it happening anytime soon.
Now I want to take the time to thank Akaso for their kind offer for another camera. While it didn’t do any good in fixing this problem, it showed me at least that this company has the guts to stand behind their products with good intentions. Thank you Akaso, both for your wonderful help and your support in trying to resolve this problem. If only more companies did this, than we would have a better world.
So as far as others are concerned… At least now you know that if you have this same problem, your only option is to upgrade your PowerDirector to PD365 otherwise you’ll run into this same problem…
Below is the response I got from the Akaso web site on my problem and how to resolve it by using Handbrake...
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The MediaInfo profile of the NORM0001.MP4 clip matches what you posted earlier. On my system, each of your sample clips play fine in PD365 - but there is no sound in PD13, PD14, PD15 or PD17 even though each version displays the audio waveform when the clips are placed on the timeline.
I used the free Handrake app to convert each clip using the Production Standard profile and only tweaked the average video bitrate to match the original clip, like this one for NORM0001.mp4:
You'll want to enter "30300" for the NORM0002.mp4 clip to match the original bitrate. Also make sure you have the Framerate (FPS) setting set to Same as source.
I've attached the converted clips for you to test, and unfortunately you'll need to convert each clip to get viable sound unless you upgrade to a newer version like PD20/365.
The short answer is there is no "STANDARD MP4" (aka universally compatible) format that every single device can play. The sheer number of different combinations of audio and video encoders out there that comply with the MP4 requirements is enormous.
For whatever reason Akaso chose an audio format that many video editors aren't able to work with, so you'll have to decide whether it's worth the time to convert every single clip from that camera before editing or find another camera vendor/model that creates clips your desired video editors can work with.
Joe, it appears that V50X can record video in H.264 or H.265 with default being H.264 per the manual. You might try the H.265 option and see if your version of PD can properly load that file. I would not use HandBrake on your current files as audio is reduced from current stereo to mono as it appears the audio tracks are not properly handled.
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