Backup camera quality

Does that mean if you press a color you get the Complementary Color instead?

 

The first month I had my car I took it back to the dealer complaining that the back up camera image was only on half the screen. They finally figured out that was how Toyota designed it. I still think it is silly to have an 11" screen and only use half of it.

 

You would need a camera with matching (or higher) specs to fill that screen, otherwise it would look even worse (pixelated).

 

I think additional vertical resolution would be of minimal value for backing up unless you wanted to avoid backing into low flying aircraft. Had the screen been horizontal a wide angle camera would definitely been if value.

 

As we know, cameras have been improving over the last few years. I am amazed at the quality of pictures I can get from my iPhone compared to the expensive Lumix camera i have. We were talking about the blind spot monitor on the Prime. It is interesting that the Tesla Model 3 can use their rear camera while driving down the freeway to act as a blind spot monitor to see oncoming traffic in the next lane. It would be really great if there were a front camera mounted low that would let me know when I am getting too close to the curb as I drive into a parking spot. There is no doubt that what we have will be improved in the near future. I hope it will be incorporated in the next RAV4Prime.

 

Front facing camera would be appreciated. The radar sensors don’t do a good job of detecting low objects like curbs and the like. Would make pulling into parking spaces easier which is why I back into spaces whenever possible. I find it easier (in my advanced years) to pull out of a perpendicular parking spot safely if I’m facing forward.

 

It would be difficult to fit landscape orientation camera image to full the portrait screen without severely distorting the image.

 

I am not sure why that is. I have an iPad that is about the same size as the Prime screen. I can press the camera button and get a clear full-screen picture whether it is in portrait or landscape mode. What is so special about the 11" screen in my car that it can't do that?

 

I don't think that's a good comparison. On iPad or smartphone, you are changing the orientation of the image when you rotate. If the camera source has a fixed landscape aspect ratio, you can't fit that into portrait orientation without distorting the image. It's similar to landscape photos or videos displayed on the portrait smartphone screen. If you want to see the entire photo without distorting the image, you will have wide black bars. If you want to fill the entire portrait screen with a landscape image without distortion, the only way is to crop the image which will serve no purpose for a back-up camera.

 

It’s more about safety than difficulty: it’s best not to back up at all, but if you must choose between backing in or backing out, it’s safer to back in: you can check the parking space beforehand, and you’re less likely to have a collision with a pedestrian or a moving vehicle.

The Bell System explained it better than I can (starting at 3:46 and 6:36):

(@ETC(SS), are they still using the same video?)

 

It’s like you said, danger of backing up into cross traffic or pedestrians. There are much fewer variables when backing in to an empty space then when backing out. Also makes for a quicker getaway. In most cases I find it better to back in, but there are exceptions.

BackIng in is definitely an advantage if traffic is backed up in the parking area. Like during an evacuation. It’s no fun trying to back up into a line of cars where everyone is trying to get out as fast as possible.

 

Where I work they want us backing into spots and one of the reasons why is you know what you're backing in to whereas you do not know what you might be backing out in to.

Another reason is if you need to leave suddenly, you can simply pull out and leave.

I usually look for pull through spots but if I can't find one readily, I will back in due to training.

 

LOL
No...We no longer use that specific video.
Even MY beloved company has to change out their training vids every quarter century or so.
HOWEVER (comma!) Big Phone still follows the same practice.
When they started issuing techs those little “Hello Kitty” vans there was a spike in mailbox murders, but usually the standard 3-day unpaid vacation followed by a 3-year service record entry incentivizes techs not to squish things.

About once a month I’ll be parking Goofy and putting out three cones and somebody will ask me if I’m afraid somebody will run over my little car.
Like face masks......I use it as a coachable moment.

 

A caveat regarding backing into a space as opposed to nose first, is that steering may be more challenging for some to gauge turning radius effect and proximity to confining adjacent vehicles (think rear-steering over control as with a forklift). Here, the back up camera and proximity sensors can be quite helpful. Conversely, backing out into an open travel lane is not so much a harrowing experience when equipped with the Rear Cross Traffic Alert.

 

Why does the automatic parking feature (if you have the feature) only offer back in perpendicular parking and not the opposite?

 

Given the large display and a tiny portion of it is used for the backup camera, Toyota could have displayed other information on the bottom half such as distance to object data from the sensors. If the bottom display showed your car from overhead and either showed distance to object from each side of the car or at least display those bars, it would be somewhat helpful.