What is the best action camcorder GoPro, Drift, Contour, Sony Action Cam, or other?

[ssky0078]

Hi all,

I am looking to get a action camcorder. I purchased a GoPro Hero2 Outdoor edition that immediately crapped itself with the v198 "brick" error message when it attempted to update firmware. I returned it and now want to get something that will be reliable, provide good video for potential motovlogging, and be easy to mount and use. I am looking to drop $200-$400(ebay pricing if possible, lol) I have looked at the following options:

GoPro HD Hero 3 (prefer black edition $399/possible silver$299)

HERO3 Comparison Chart

Pros:
1. Black edition has 1080p:60fps and 720p:120fps (good for super-slomo)
2. 12 MP camera that can take pictures during video
3. Black Edition has wifi remote included and silver edition has app for smart phone for controls
4. Has Waterproof case included
5. Many different mount options
6. Integrated wifi
7. Black edition has 4k and 2.7k recording capabilities.

Cons:
1. Bad experience with HD Hero 2 "brick" firmware problem. Also GoPro website already has firmware fixes up for Hero3 that is making me scared.
2. Flying Brick design (can anyone speak to helmet drag (i.e. over posted speed limits) when mounted there? I was thinking over the right or left shoulder (I have a modular helmet that is already heavy enough))
3. No TFT LCD on camera (but has app to allow viewing on smart phone), option to purchase wifi remote for $80 bucks (included on Black edition that does have LCD on remote for camera settings not view finding)
4. Non-rotatable lense must do with editing software.
5. No GPS



Drift HD Ghost - $399.00

Drift HD Ghost Action Camera | Two Way Remote | 2 Inch Gorilla Glass LCD Screen | Video Tagging | Photoburst | Timelapse | Drift Innovation

Pros:
1. Integrated LCD touchscreen monitor and speaker
2. Drift FlashbackTM Video Tag/Loop - allows you to tag the previous five minutes that were not being recorded. Awesome if you are trying to conserve battery life and microSD space but manage to carve some awesome twisties unexpectedly.
3. Longer battery life (bigger better battery)
4. Rotatable lense
5. 11 MP camera with Photoburst funciton
6. RF remote with LED indicating camera operation

Cons:
1. 1080p30fps and 720p60fps is the best it can do.
2. Waterproof case is seperate (not really needed for moto)
3. No GPS



Contour +2 GPS - $399.99

Contour+ 2 | Contour

Pros:
1. Instant on switch
2. Sleek bullet design (should be best for helmet mount) with rotatable lense up to 270 degrees
3. Slow Mo 480p120fps
4. Mobile app can control all video settings and view finding
5. GPS mapping capability (can map altitude and speed on google maps satelite image for your route and matches to video) (may not be cool if LE gets ahold of it, the police)
6. Includes waterproof case

Cons:
1. 1080p30fps and 720p60fps is best it can do
2. 5 MP is best the camera can do
3. No integrated LCD or speaker
4. Can't review video with mobile app (yet)


Sony Action Cam HDR-AS15 - $269.99

Pro:
1. Wifi integrated for cheaper price
2. Wirelessly transfer pictures and movies to your wifi connected device
3. Comes with waterproof housing.
4. Large start stop button for easy on/off use
5. 720p at 120fps
6. One of the better entry level cams.

Con:
1. Form factor and mounting options are limited
2. only 1080p30fps
3. 720p120fps loses all audio
4. On one review I saw the mic is overly sensitive, and the picture looks overly processed.



JVC Adixxion (GC-XA1) - $299.95

Action Camera - GC-XA1BUS - Specifications

Pros:

1. LCD display: can review previous footage and viewfinder.
2. Digital Image Stabiliser (DIS)
3. Stream via Hotspot or wifi directly to PC/laptop and Wireless data transfer

Cons
1. 1080p30fps and 720p60fps is best it can do
2. 5 MP is best the camera can do
3. No GPS
4. Newer player so mounts may be difficult to come by at first.



It seems GoPro black edition has the obvious advantage in regard to video quality but my concern is the non-aerodynamic nature that will make my already heavy helmet (HJC CL-Max II - XXL) that grabs enough wind drag already to make my neck sore in around 30 minutes that much more uncomfortable. I guess I could just go for a suction cup mount on the bike and leave it at that. But I think that would make motovloggin all but annoying having an external mic cord running all over the place.

I tried searching the other threads and didn't find anything that quite covers the full topic, so hopefully I dont' get a wrist slap for redundant posting. Please if you have had any experience with these product or possibly older versions let me know.

 

[MotoRick]

I have the Hero2, the Drift Stealth HD170, and the ContourHD 1080p.
For a good thorough review of the cameras you're interested in check out Navythomas8's video:
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQvc2vdxDfk]NT8 Action Cam Review - YouTube[/ame]

 

[WARPTH]

your missing one... sony HDRAS15 action cam. just got my hands on one to try out. just figuring out how to get it mounted on the bike as i only got the cam on its own. from what ive played with. it seems pretty awesome. wish it had a rotatable lens. only gripe

 

[ssky0078]

I edited and added the Sony Action Cam. I think the price is nice, the wifi is nice but one of the comparo vidoes I saw I just thought it was an overprocessed image

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jW7ocPOX0s4]GoPro Hero3 Silver vs Sony Action Cam vs Contour+2 vs Drift HD video and audio comparison - YouTube[/ame]

Also I emailed the group that produced it and this is what they had to say about the Action Cam

"Yep, the action cam audio is terrible. We thought it was the camera rattling in the housing but we've seen a video of someone pulling it apart and they discovered it's actually parts of the internals of the camera rattling."

and this

LaunchNorthAmerica 2 weeks ago

"I would say the GoPro and Sony were the closest to capturing the actual colors, then the Drift HD and then the Contour. We have had a play with the Drift HD Ghost and been extremely impressed with it; the colors are very true and the image quality is great"

 

[WARPTH]

Sony Action cam is the only one with steady shot. Probably why it looks overprocessed

 

[ssky0078]

Sony Action cam is the only one with steady shot. Probably why it looks overprocessed

True, the action cam for me just doesn't cut it, I'm sure many people will like it, but I don't like the video I've seen shot with it, the audio is terrible and the form factor for the waterproof case is to much. Although I don't intend to use a waterproof case other than on a GoPro.

 

[WARPTH]

All that rattling on the audio,
They mustve got a faulty one. I shook the shit out of the one i have here on a test after watching that. And no rattles.

 

[doggy69247]

i just picked up the new go pro black all i need now is some + temp's and il post some vids

 

[Landin]

Going to get me a Liquid Ego cam, its about $190-200 and got alot of accessories. Going to use it for the helmet, and a gopro for the bike.

its 1080 cam and 12mpixel camera.
Wifi built in.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7d-mkMbkdg]Liquid Image Ego 1080p Sport Action Camera Review (Part 1) - YouTube[/ame]

Part2

Liquid Image Ego Review Part 2 - The Verdict - YouTube

 

[ssky0078]

Going to get me a Liquid Ego cam, its about $190-200 and got alot of accessories. Going to use it for the helmet, and a gopro for the bike.

its 1080 cam and 12mpixel camera.
Wifi built in.

Liquid Image Ego 1080p Sport Action Camera Review (Part 1) - YouTube

Part2

Liquid Image Ego Review Part 2 - The Verdict - YouTube

That looks interesting. I noticed it came out about a month ago. I don't like the design.

I ended up getting a Hero2, which I still plan on taking back and a Contour +2. Which will also be going back. The Hero2 just doesn't perform as well as I want it to and I almost lost it off my motorcycle the other day because the suction cup mount came apart on me.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3epcrkMmpX4]Almost Lost GoPro Off Suction Cup Mount - YouTube[/ame]

The Contour +2 has a faulty battery compartment, the battery was rattling loose while I was riding causing the files to be corrupted and lose my footage. I tried multiple fixes through the software approach before finally getting a response from customer service. The guy right off the bat was like "sounds like you got one of our cameras with a bad battery compartment, we asure you it was a small batch this happened to, and we will gladly take it back and either fix it or replace your camera." Besides that I actually really liked the Contour +2 in daylight hours for both the video/audio quality and the GPS function is pretty sweet, it helped me figure out my speedo is off 10%.

I'm still contemplating a Drift Ghost as all the youtube Motovloggers seem to use it and it seems to be pretty cool but a little redundant with the Contour +2 now.

 

[waypoint]

Since I've recently been thru the evaluation and purchase process I thought I would chime in here.

First off, let me say that I received a GoPro Hero3 Black for Christmas. I’ve since returned it for a Drift Ghost HD and am happier for it.

They say "Perception is reality"! This holds true for pov action cams. Every one of them have their strengths and weaknesses and, even though you research and see the specs on each of the contenders, it's hard to tell what is going to be most important to you until you get them into your hands and actually perceive them. Turns out that what I thought was most important to me, wasn't. I got the Hero3 Black because of the specs… The wide choice of frame-rates, resolutions and fields-of-view. But after using the Hero3 for a couple of weeks, I returned it and got the Drift Ghost HD.

Why? The Hero3 was would intermittently freeze and become unusable until the battery was removed and reinserted. It really pi$$ed me off when, while my buddies were waiting for me, I had to remove the whole unit from the mount, remove the camera from the clear housing, then remove the battery to reset it, then put it all back together. A 3rd generation $399 camera should NOT freeze like this. I submitted a support issue on line and, after 5 or 6 days, they responded with instructions to re-upgrade the firmware manually. This helped some but didn’t totally fix the problem. Now here's the perception thing... I have another (much younger) buddy who also has a Hero3. I told him I returned mine cause it kept freezing and he casually said, "yea mine freezes every once in a while too, but I just remove the battery and it's all good". Get my drift (no pun intended). Reminds me of the Youth VS Maturity story with the old bull and young bull

As it turned out, what was really most important to me was ease-of-use. I'm making movies for my own personal enjoyment. That doesn’t require 2k or 4k resolution. Turns out that 720p at 60 fps looks darn near as good as 1080p at 60fps, especially when you’re viewing on a computer monitor, tablet or smartphone. 1080p at 30fps has more of a “film” look to it and, for many shots, turns out looking cooler at the lower frame-rate.

So let’s talk ease-of-use. I’m 50 years old and my eyes aren’t what they use to be. The tiny little LCD on the Hero3 was next to impossible to read, even WITH my glasses. I don’t wear glasses when I ride so you can imagine the angst when trying to make adjustments on a ride. The menu structure is complex and difficult to navigate via the tiny LCD. The battery would only last for 1 to 1 ½ hours making the 32 GB micro disk a waste of money. You’d have to carry a spare battery to fill the disk with footage.

With a renewed sense of “what was important to me”, I got the Drift Ghost HD. The much simpler menu structure with navigation via the 2” built-in color screen immediately made me feel like I had made the right decision. I could actually see what I was changing sans-reading glasses. In my hands it just felt more like an action-cam. Even though it was noticeably heavier, its profile made it feel less bulky to me. Again… Perception!

So how does it stack up after use? First the cons:
Mounting on the Ghost HD is NOT its strong point. Where the GoPro has the option to use a second arm to connect the camera to the clip that inserts into the stick-on receptacle, giving you basically 3 dimensions of camera rotation, the Ghost clip offers only a 2 dimension placement… 1 via camera rotation on the plane of the clip, the other via the lens rotation. Other than the Drift 2-arm suction cup mount, which wiggles in the wind enough to render the video unusable, you’ll have to mount the Ghost one dimension shy of the GoPro. There are handlebar mounts with ball joints that give you back that 3rd dimension adjustability, but bar-mounts are not really an option with the FZ8 as the instrument cluster sticks up too high to get an unobstructed view. Suffice it to say that if you use a flat or curved sticky mount, it MUST be on one of the 3 planes plains in your shot. This is a DRAG and will force you to be creative and/or fabricate your own. This counts as a BIG tick against the “ease-of-use” factor, but I’d rather deal with issues in my garage than on the road.

That said the Roll Bar mount works great for use on a fork leg. Mounting on my helmet is, though tougher to get right, much more streamline than the GoPro. I’m contemplating other solutions.

I guess you could say that the reduced number of resolution options and frame-rates is a con, but I don’t need 2k or 4 res, nor do I feel 120 fps at 720p is necessary. I do wish it did 60 fps at 1080p, but oh well.

The microphone on the Ghost sits in the front of the unit and wind noise is horrible. I’ll have to figure that one out cause it’s annoying.

Now the Pros:
I can say with confidence that the batter life is WAY better. I have only used it once but recorded just about the same amount of footage that drained the GoPro and still had plenty of battery to spare when I returned home.

The 2” screen makes changing settings a breeze, even for us older dudes with bad up-close vision.

A simpler cam makes for a simpler user menu structure. Another plus while on the road.

The remote is friggen awesome. Unless un-paired, it’s always ready to start and stop recording and take stills while you are recording without turning wi-fi on. You can even change from video to still to time-lapse to photo-burst right from the remote. I got the handlebar mount and put it dead center, behind the key. I can mount the camera to my fork or helmet and, short of changing camera placement or other in-depth settings, never touch it again.

Both Hero3 and Ghost have apps for tablet and smartphone, but Ghost app lets you stream it all from the camera… No need to download it or get a bulky accessory to see what you’ve just shot. So while you’re having lunch at the Rockstore, you can preview on the fly. Even if the Hero3 had this capability, I wouldn’t use it because of the much shorter battery life.

So how does the video compare? Both are AWESOME. I think the Hero3 does a bit better without adjustment. It looks a bit more saturated, but not overly done. The contrast is also a bit better on the Hero, but a slight bump in my editing software and the Ghost looks as good. It’s important to know that both of these cameras use a 170 degree physical lens. The way they make their narrower angles is by camera software. They zoom and crop. Both cameras induce some noise when they do this, but the Ghost seems to induce a bit more. The solution is to shoot everything wide, then zoom and crop in your editor. MUCH better results. As I mentioned earlier, I would like the Ghost to do 1080p at 60fps, and MAYBE it will be capable with a firmware update, but I DO like the “film” look of 1080p at 30 fps. If frame-rate is a concern, I’ll shoot at 720p 60fps and call it a trade-off for, you guessed it, ease-of-use. As far as clarity goes, I showed footage from both to a friend who liked the “warmer” look of the Ghost… Again… Perception.

Conclusion:
As far as video/still quality goes, you can’t go wrong with either of these 2 cameras… The both look AMAZING! I can’t speak to the others in consideration, but I’m sure they would suffice as well. IMHO, the best way to choose is to figure out what is most important to you. I.E. Higher resolution and frame-rates at the expense of finicky nature and ease-of-use? GoPro3! Easier and more enjoyable user experience at the expense higher specs? Ghost…. You get the picture.

I’m a recording engineer and we fret and sweat over which processors to use on which instruments, fine tune with equalization to make things sit better in relation to other stuff going on in the mix, toil over the right levels of each individual component and do our best to make everything sound as in-phase as possible. But in the end, it’s all about how good the song is. People would rather listen to a great song that’s not recorded and mixed will than a crappy song recorded and mixed to perfection. And what makes a great song???? Yup… Perception.

I’ll post some comparisons when I get a good shoot with the Ghost. I’ve only used it once with the suction cup mount on the gas tank. Way too much vibration and movement from the naked-bike wind to be usable. I’ll be getting my Roll-Bar mount for the fork in a couple of days, so I should be able to shoot next week.

Hope this helps!

 

[HeadFX]

hey thought I'd chime in quickly, as I've had too many JD and cokes
I've put together a setup using a large waterproof sat nav/GPS case on the handle bar and I'll be using my Nokia Lumia 920 for recording duties as soon as the weather gets better over in the UK!

The camera unit in the phone can record at 1080P, is mounted on tiny springs and connected to a gyro.... The system is called Optical Image Stabilisation and can correct for small movements at 500 Hhz (gives a kind of steady cam effect). Plus the mics on the phone can record sound up to 140dB without distortion. I can't wait

EDIT - well today I tried my phone out as a video camera... big fail! The phone case flopped around on it's clip/mount and the vibes through the 'bar made it to the phone too. The fancy image stabilisation fought valiantly but it was overwhelmed! If I persevere with recording with the phone I think it will have to be with a tank mount or chest mount.

 

[ssky0078]

Thank you Waypoint for such a detailed and informative post.

The only thing I would say is that in reality the human eye in most cases doesn't percieve that much difference between 1080p and 720p. I would agree with that if I don't have my glasses on, but if I do I can tell the difference. You are right if you are viewing these videos on a laptop, phone or tablet as most don't have full 1080p resolution capability. My laptop maxes out at 1380x768 (I think).

The bigger issue is the frames per second (fps). The human eye again doesn't percieve that much of a difference over 60fps (120fps only comes into play on larger lcd tv's and it prevents motion blur). The main situatoin that becomes relevant is if you are doing slow motion type editing. Then the higher the fps the better. The human eye can perceive a significant difference when the FPS drops below 60 frames, and 30 frames is a significant drop that generates the "film" appearance. I think this is why the GoPro Hero3 silver offers the 960p48fps. It is a good bridge between the full 1080p60fps and fallling way short of quality that 1080p30fps provides.

So as an update for myself.

I got another Hero2 to give it another shot. Again, I'm not impressed and I haven't bothered with the firmware update because that crashed it last time. I'm going to try the update soon and if it crashes again take it back.

I also picked up a Contour +2 off ebay for $150 under what I would have to pay in the store, although Best Buy already dropped the price to $350 so I really only save $100. I like the form factor, bought a handlebar mount and think it works well. BUT, it's already broke and I'm waiting for a return package from UPS to ship it back to them. I kept getting these error 2048 (2408?) messages when I would record. I tried contacting their support through the questions, error reports until finally I found [email protected]. I had read through all their help threads and finally found something mentioning that vibration can lead to file corruption. I described my most recent experience of failure of the Contour +2 and the guy says that it sounds like I have a bad battery compartment. Evidently they had a batch of cameras that the battery did not fit snugly enough and would shake loose causing the file to become corrupted and turning off the camera. They have offered to repair/replace it but I have to send it back.

 

[waypoint]

Thank you Waypoint for such a detailed and informative post.

The only thing I would say is that in reality the human eye in most cases doesn't percieve that much difference between 1080p and 720p. I would agree with that if I don't have my glasses on, but if I do I can tell the difference. You are right if you are viewing these videos on a laptop, phone or tablet as most don't have full 1080p resolution capability. My laptop maxes out at 1380x768 (I think).

The bigger issue is the frames per second (fps). The human eye again doesn't percieve that much of a difference over 60fps (120fps only comes into play on larger lcd tv's and it prevents motion blur). The main situatoin that becomes relevant is if you are doing slow motion type editing. Then the higher the fps the better. The human eye can perceive a significant difference when the FPS drops below 60 frames, and 30 frames is a significant drop that generates the "film" appearance. I think this is why the GoPro Hero3 silver offers the 960p48fps. It is a good bridge between the full 1080p60fps and fallling way short of quality that 1080p30fps provides.

Hey ssky0078... I'm with you all the way. Higher resolution + higher frame-rate = visually clearer image quality. That's why I originally chose the Hero3 over the Ghost. And if the damn thing wouldn't have kept freezing, I probably would have kept it despite it's other short-comings (tiny LCD, no preview screen, wi-fi remote that kills battery life, etc.)

I got another Hero2 to give it another shot. Again, I'm not impressed and I haven't bothered with the firmware update because that crashed it last time. I'm going to try the update soon and if it crashes again take it back.

Does the new firmware for the Hero2 offer 60fps at 1080p?

I also picked up a Contour +2 off ebay for $150 under what I would have to pay in the store, although Best Buy already dropped the price to $350 so I really only save $100. I like the form factor, bought a handlebar mount and think it works well. BUT, it's already broke and I'm waiting for a return package from UPS to ship it back to them. I kept getting these error 2048 (2408?) messages when I would record. I tried contacting their support through the questions, error reports until finally I found [email protected]. I had read through all their help threads and finally found something mentioning that vibration can lead to file corruption. I described my most recent experience of failure of the Contour +2 and the guy says that it sounds like I have a bad battery compartment. Evidently they had a batch of cameras that the battery did not fit snugly enough and would shake loose causing the file to become corrupted and turning off the camera. They have offered to repair/replace it but I have to send it back.

It sucks when you spend your hard-earned dough for a product that fu@ks up on you in the first few uses . I really considered the Contour +2 as well. The GPS is way cool! Let us know what you think of it when they get it all sussed out for ya.

I would be ecstatic if the Ghost bumped its frame-rate up to Hero3 specs cause, in all my dicking around with it thus far, its operated flawlessly. But until then, if I have to sacrifice a bit of image quality for reliability and ease of use, so be it.

Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[ssky0078]

UPDATE: I just received my Contour +2 back from Contour. They had the Camera for about 3 weeks. Before getting them the camera it took about a weeks worth of email exchange. I just want to say that I'm thankful that I have my camera back and hope that there are no further problems.

Basically what happened is that the camera repeatedly would shut off on it's own and when I would go to check footage, the file's would be corrupted and I could not recover them. I had never dropped the camera and most of the time it would turn on no problem.

The Contour support individual, which if you ever need is at [email protected] (it was a nightmare trying to search through all their support pages to finally get to an email to get a response), he was very helpful and immediately identified my camera must be part of a bad batch they had that would allow the battery to rattle lose and thereby lose power and corrupt the files. He asked for my serial number on the camera and told me I would be getting a UPS shipping label. Well at first I got a notification saying that a shipping label would be made, and it was but I must have missed the email or something because I waited for 5 days and had to contact them again, and they generated another label. I finally got the label printed and the camera sent off back in the middle of January.

The camera must of shown up there in about a week from when I sent it, because it was about 10 days after I sent it that I got an email saying that my camera was indeed part of the defective batch and I would be getting a brand new camera. I replied thank you so much, confirmed my address for them again and waited for 2 weeks, when nothing had showed up. So, I sent them an email on Friday, asking where my new camera was, do I need to file a shipping claim, what's the tracking number etc. Later that night (may have been 5 or 6 west coast time I get a UPS mail saying that a shipping label was created and they would be tracking my shipment. Well, it didn't actually go out till Tuesday I think because the package just showed up today. So in total I think I was without camera for 6 weeks, (1 week was my fault for not understanding how they wanted me to print the shipping label and pack it up and send it).

THE GOOD NEWS. I did receive a brand new camera and entire kit. The camera they sent also had a battery in it. So in total I have 3 batteries now, 2 4gb microSD card, 2 usb cords, 2 set of mounts, 2 waterproof cases, etc.

I would not say that the process was efficient or timely but I am very happy that they so quickly replaced the whole thing with a new setup.

Now hopefully I can put the camera through it's paces and compare it to my GoPro Hero2 footage.

 

[waypoint]

well i finally had a chance to play with editing some footage from my Ghost HD. here's a short edit with the 1st half shot in 1080 30fps and the 2nd half at 760 60fps. no filters or enhancements of any kind except where it goes to a still from slow-mo. youtube must compress the uploaded videos cause it doesn't look as good as the render from my video editing software. first time posting video. hope it works.
http://youtu.be/pTk96rjlUhY

shit... can't get the embedded player to work.

 

[Camo]

That's a kick ass bit off road mate! Nice job on the vid

 

[ssky0078]

well i finally had a chance to play with editing some footage from my Ghost HD. here's a short edit with the 1st half shot in 1080 30fps and the 2nd half at 760 60fps. no filters or enhancements of any kind except where it goes to a still from slow-mo. youtube must compress the uploaded videos cause it doesn't look as good as the render from my video editing software. first time posting video. hope it works.
Jason Grant Snake Run - YouTube

shit... can't get the embedded player to work.

I like the vid, I like the 720p60fps personally. I will be out there on April 6th to ride the Snake with a bunch of AZ motovloggers. It'd be cool to meet up.

 

[waypoint]

I like the vid, I like the 720p60fps personally. I will be out there on April 6th to ride the Snake with a bunch of AZ motovloggers. It'd be cool to meet up.

thanks... i agree, 720p 60fps does motion a lot better. i gotta figure out the export settings to get better results on youtube. it looks squashed compared to the master.

i'll plan on meeting up with you on the 6th for sure!

 

[ssky0078]

thanks... i agree, 720p 60fps does motion a lot better. i gotta figure out the export settings to get better results on youtube. it looks squashed compared to the master.

i'll plan on meeting up with you on the 6th for sure!

Awesome, I think there is supposed to be at least 50 riders from the AZ/CA motovlogger meetup The Annual April CA/AZ Motovlogger Meetup | Facebook

In regards to settings, I found that when finishing in WMM to make the file size set to Windows HD 720 for finishing. Also, when uploading if you don't have a ton of subscribers or likes/comments, then the videos won't automatically start in 480p. They will start at 240 or 360p. Try clicking on the setting wheel on the yotube window and jumping it to 720p. Makes a huge difference.