Is anyone using something other than the PV500? If so, what are you using? This can't be the only option.

It is the preferred option for the MSCs that do video shopping.

So far it's the best option. They tend to be reliable.

I started with the Eagle Eye but the quality did not compare to the PV-500 which was far superior.

This topic has been talked to death. Do a search and you will see that the industry has decided to use this old, proven and extremely overpriced recorder. Technology is changing much faster than the MS community is willing to change.

I live in a two party consent state and have several spy video recorders that can record at a better quality or the same quality as the PV500 series. Some MSC's are open to seeing a video demo clip and see if it will work with the editing software they use.

I have not moved forward and shoot video when I do shops for my own review. I use a key fob that allows me to turn off the audio and be legal in my state and use it for timings, name tags, and descriptions.

Search my posts and there is an in depth discussion about this a few months back.

You miss something important, it's not just the MS industry but clients who are happy with the results. You have been talking about providing video to a MSC for quite some time. My suggestion would be do it already so if there is something out there easier and more reliable we will know. Another suggestion would be to provide much more than a clip. You will need to be able to use it for longer scenario shops, senior living, new homes, apartments and new cars with a test drive, to be able to show it is adaptable and allows for capturing the target 80% to 90% of the time.

Nobody ever said the industry was not "willing" to embrace new technology. The new technology needs to be able to provide consistent, reliable results.

@LisaSTL wrote:

You miss something important, it's not just the MS industry but clients who are happy with the results. You have been talking about providing video to a MSC for quite some time. My suggestion would be do it already so if there is something out there easier and more reliable we will know. Another suggestion would be to provide much more than a clip. You will need to be able to use it for longer scenario shops, senior living, new homes, apartments and new cars with a test drive, to be able to show it is adaptable and allows for capturing the target 80% to 90% of the time.

Nobody ever said the industry was not "willing" to embrace new technology. The new technology needs to be able to provide consistent, reliable results.

I have posted several times where video shoppers that are familiar with the needs of the clients can obtain this cheaper hardware and have explained it to death. I would rather see a video shopper that is experienced in video shopping give it a test drive and present it to a video MSC than someone like me that is not experienced in submitting video.

I figured if I posted exactly where to buy it from the manufacturer and the specs and how to use it with screen shots of the setup as I have, that if there was any possible traction here, that the video shoppers with experience would pick one up as a backup and review it in Mystery Shopper Magazine.

If you look at my previous posts, I have given all the links and every possible needed information for a video shopper with years of experience to review this type of unit.

What reason do we have to spend money to test equipment? While I would be disinclined to buy something that may end up not making me a dime, I would be more than happy to help you with advice on how to conduct a shop likely to be accepted. Keep in mind we still have the small issue of uploading video, higher quality can mean longer upload times which means timing out. It is probably minor and can be tweaked. The other issue is what you were told by the MSCs, it will need to work with their editing equipment unless they are willing to make the investment. That's why nobody ever said it wasn't a good idea. Good ideas aren't always practical. We need to find out if yours is practical.

Scanman, I am intrigued by your equipment. It appears to be some variation of a software definable circuit. Anyhow, I'm prepared to make a deal...If you would be willing to send me a unit, and if I can find one of the video MSCs that would be willing to see if the resulting video would meet their specs and can be edited with their software, I will do a shop on my own time [that way I don't have to worry about any potential ICA violations], and I will do an article for Mystery Shopper Magazine about the results, including the comments from the MSC. I will return the equipment after the test.

As Monty Hall would say, "Do we have a deal?"

I'll be the audience (standing and clapping and, of course, yelling): DO IT SCANMAN! DO IT! TAKE THE DEAL!

(heart)

I'll be the mystery shopper in the background making sure the process looks good. lol

I can't part with my unit as I don't want to be without it. I planned on ordering a second unit to keep the camera on the cable off the fob for button hole use. I'll have to get it from China before I can loan my unit out.

Also, There are different firmwares that produce different types of video. If your willing to hook it up to your PC and flash it to the .avi firmware, it would be easier to drop ship it directly to you than to have it sent to me.

We are not talking about enough money to pay for shipping three times. It's down to $41 with shipping now:

[www.ebay.com]

The extension cable and a lower FOV camera to mount a camera from the fob for shirt or other button hole mounting:
$12

[www.ebay.com]

Also, you can set the resolution and even the bit rate to make it high quality or lower quality/resolution as needed.

The default firmware makes 10 minute files and delete the oldest file to keep the MicroSD card full (Up to 32 M as it was intended to be a dash cam in it's original design. The firmware I use now is set to break the files up in 70 minute .avi files. The only recording limit is based on size of card 32GB and having a small external battery pack if you need to go beyond the first 70 minutes.

How much total battery time can you get? It's not just having enough for a longer scenario, it's having enough to power it through a full day of video shops while on the road.

The whole thing sounds fishy to me. Scanman, you mentioned that you are not even doing video shopping yet so why can't your part with the equipment on a short-term basis? You spout off all these stats. When a seasoned video shopper and former editor/current writer for the MSM offers to test out the equipment, you shoot him done.

Do you really think that the writers for tech magazines and web sites pay for each and every piece of new technology that they do a review on? No, the manufacturers offer them that new technology at no cost. Sometimes just to borrow, sometimes to keep or it becomes the property of the magazine/website.

Scanman has said he uses his video set up for traditional shops. I frequently do the same thing.

What has happened to using one's memory? People are paying money for all these brain and memory games to try to keep their minds sharp. MS'ing is a free brain and memory game that actually pays us for keeping that muscle viable.

I have already invested in all this equipment. It makes less sense to leave it sitting in its case on my desk.

I took my unit out today for the first time and recorded a whole bunch of ceilings. Looks like a little more practice time.

I would like to buy the PV 500.. seems very popular and recommended by many here. I wish I could test the equipment out first or find a company that is local who sells the equipment.

@LisaSTL wrote:

I have already invested in all this equipment. It makes less sense to leave it sitting in its case on my desk.

But you ARE a video shopper. Of course you need your video equipment. But relying on video and audio for every single traditional shop is turning one's brain into mush.

I'm fairly certain it's the drugs in my case.

Most video shoppers who video their traditional shops do so for backup or timing reasons. I find myself doing the report while I play the video for the timing and rarely actually use the video for reporting. When I do it's one of those things like when you're checking into a hotel and they're required to use your name twice. For those I'll go back and listen to make sure.

First of all, I have nothing to gain from this as I have no skin in the game. It's not my product and I don't get a commission. I'm linking to the actual manufacturer. They have been refining the unit and models with feedback from the RC airplane and drone community that needs exactly the same things in a camera as we do.

1. Extremely small.
2. Extremely lightweight. (20 grams)
3. Extremely inexpensive.

The cost of the camera is less than I have made doing a single shop and would cost more than 1/4 of the price of the unit just to ship it at $41 with free shipping from the manufacturer in China.

The internal battery is 1,200 Milliamp hour battery and will record for 70 minutes.

The unit can be extended to record until you fill up a 32 GB MicroSD card with an external USB power bank and a mini-b USB power input cable such as this three ft cable for $1.90:

[www.amazon.com]



The unit can be programmed to start and stop recording whenever an external USB power pack is attached as well. This would allow for more than a full days recording non-stop with one of the larger battery packs. The battery packs are sold at every drug store and come in all shapes and capacities. There are small ones that also look and double as a key chain sized led flashlight.

This small power pack has a battery that is 2.3x larger than the 70 minute internal battery to extend the continuous record time to about 4 hours for $9:
[www.amazon.com]


This larger battery pack and powerful LED flashlight is 9x the size of the internal battery and would extend the record time to well over 12 continuous hours if you were to place it in a pocket and snake the USB to mini usb cable power cable to the recorder for $18:

[www.amazon.com]



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I don't rely on my camera for everything, but it is really nice to not need to pick up my phone and make timing notes for when the waitress first arrives at the table, how long until the drinks landed, appetizer ordered and landed, soup course ordered and landed, main course ordered and landed, desert ordered and landed, bill landed and returned after processed.

So I reviewed the video for yesterdays dining shop and got 12 timing points from the video very quickly and with the embedded date and time stamp turned on in the video, it was down to the second accurate. Sure, I could have fumbled with my cell phone and typed myself a note or snapped a photo when each of the timing events happened. It was much less noticeable to do nothing if I am being observed by the staff.

The video just makes timings extremely accurate. If your writing the description of multiple employees without name tags, it sure is nice to pull up video and freeze frame a nice still of them and then you can describe the fact those earing's were of a gold leaf, or describe some other very identifiable small feature you might not remember during the 10 seconds you were actually facing the hostess before she turned around and you only saw her backside for the 30 second trip to the table.

I have contacted a MSC to see if they would be willing to review and edit the resulting video.

I've had a couple of bad experiences with ebay and so I don't deal with them anymore.

@James Bond 007.5 wrote:

I've had a couple of bad experiences with ebay and so I don't deal with them anymore.

There is a reputable reseller here in the US that charges a little more for ordering and stocking the camera in the USA.

I didn't post this because I didn't want to be accused of making someone a small profit and chose to post the actual manufacturers direct and cheapest cost link.

Camera Key FOB recorder with B lens $47:
[www.massiverc.com]

They sell the USB video out and power input cable separately $4:
[www.massiverc.com]

Then for pin hole concealment you can buy a 10 or 25 inch lens extension cable $10:

[www.massiverc.com]

When you do a video shop, is there still a lengthy report to do?

Depends on the client. Some are every bit as horrendous as the traditional shops while others are just the date, time and name of the target. I've also seen them change back and forth over the years. Some new car videos for Intellishop went from no report to the same report as all their shops and someone told me recently they are back to no report.

Maybe someday science will prove which video camera is the best. However, science as yet to figure out what 300 people work at a Wal Mart, but only two registers are open.

Its been proven in a court of law that humans make very poor eye witnesses.

Surely our job is to be unbiased and get the account right.

If a video or audio device can be used to help with events and timings, that has to be a good thing.

I just wanted to thank scanman for supplying the info in his posts.

I may have a use for this outside of MS that would make it economical to set up thses types of rigs
at a reasonable price.

@scanman1 wrote:

I can't part with my unit as I don't want to be without it. I planned on ordering a second unit to keep the camera on the cable off the fob for button hole use. I'll have to get it from China before I can loan my unit out.

Also, There are different firmwares that produce different types of video. If your willing to hook it up to your PC and flash it to the .avi firmware, it would be easier to drop ship it directly to you than to have it sent to me.

We are not talking about enough money to pay for shipping three times. It's down to $41 with shipping now:

[www.ebay.com]

The extension cable and a lower FOV camera to mount a camera from the fob for shirt or other button hole mounting:
$12

[www.ebay.com]

Also, you can set the resolution and even the bit rate to make it high quality or lower quality/resolution as needed.

The default firmware makes 10 minute files and delete the oldest file to keep the MicroSD card full (Up to 32 M as it was intended to be a dash cam in it's original design. The firmware I use now is set to break the files up in 70 minute .avi files. The only recording limit is based on size of card 32GB and having a small external battery pack if you need to go beyond the first 70 minutes.