Mountain Bike Reviews Forum banner

Turn your Contour Roam into a Contour Roam 2.

108K views 162 replies 41 participants last post by  411898 
#1 ·
Picked up one of the Contour Roams on Amazon (the watersports kit version) and I've liked it so far, but I wanted better, so I modded the stock firmware to record 720p @ 60fps (versus the stock recording of 720p @ 30fps).

Messing around, and comparing the differences between the Roam 1 and Roam 2, I came across someone who figured out that the stock firmware for the Roam 2 works on the Roam 1!

Here's a link to it, but I'm also going to copy-pasta it in case Amazon removes it. Contour Roam 2 FW on Roam 1

I haven't yet done it, but I am doing so right when I get home. The problem with modding the stock Roam 1 firmware is that you have to use a really old firmware, without all the mic improvements and such.

It seems the Roam 1 and 2 are either the same camera, or extremely close. I think the Roam 2 uses a better lens, but that might be all that's different.

I'll be doing this tonight, so if anyone is nervous about trying it, I'll report back my results.

Here's the post, in case Amazon removes it:

Hey friends,

I found a way to install the Roam2 Firmware to the Roam1. Now you have all Roam2 features on the old Roam1

This is how it works:

Go to the contour homepage and download the current Contour2 Firmware V2.16

Download Firmware V2.16 -> you get the file "ContourRoam2.bin"

Rename the file to "ContourRoam.bin"

Plug the ContourROAM1 camera into your computer using a USB cable. Check to see that the Record slider is not in the forward (or ON) position. Once connected, the Battery LED on the ContourROAM1 will turn red and the camera will appear as an external USB device on your computer.

On your computer, navigate to the camera which is mounted as an external storage device.

Copy the ContourROAM.bin file that you downloaded and renamed in Step 2 to the camera's microSD card. Do not put it in any subfolders on the camera's microSD card.

On the microSD card of the camera will be a file called FW_RTC.txt. The file may be hidden and you may need to enable the ability to view hidden files in your computer's settings. Open the FW_RTC.txt file with a text editor application.

Near the top of the file is a line of text that reads `UPDATE_FW:N'. Change the `N' to a `Y' so it appears as `UPDATE_FW:Y' and save the file. This will instruct your camera to update the firmware when it next starts up.

Unplug the camera from your computer.

Press and release the Status Button. The camera will beep and the Memory and Battery LEDs will flash while the update is in progress. When the update is completed the camera will beep again and turn off.

That's it, now you have all Roam2 functions on your Roam1 including 720p with 60 FPS.

If you want, open the StoryTeller App on your PC and check if a Contour Roam2 will be recognized under "Devices".

Check some vids under youtube, username "budschidau". Have fun!
 
See less See more
#2 ·
Hey, it works.

Super simple, the only thing different than manually upgrading the normal firmware, was renaming the ContourRoam2.bin to ContourRoam.bin.

No reason not to do this :D

:EDIT:

Noticed it no longer records in the ridiculous Quicktime format, and now records in mp4.



Also has new Lighting options

 
#4 · (Edited)
Yes and yes.

Everything seems to be working.

Verified 60fps in Sony Vegas and you can tell from looking at it, it gives a much cleaner and crisper look.

I'm a member of the club that maintains the local trails, so I'm making "tour" videos for anyone interested in seeing our trails, and here's one I made with the Contour ROAM2 firmware. It was heavily overcast, so I set it to "overcast" in the settings.



Sent from my XT912 using Tapatalk 4 Beta
 
#9 ·
I certainly can, but it'll be tomorrow, I'm not home tonight.

If you press the reset button, that'll get you back up and running.

If you want to try again, downgrade to the ROAM1 1.01 firmware, and then try again. Maybe they locked it with the newer firmware. I was on 1.01 with the 60fps mode when I went to the ROAM2 firmware.

According to this article, the mod only works for version 1.01.

How to Mod a Contour Roam to 60Fps - wikiHow
I'm not talking about the mod, I'm talking about loading the firmware for the ROAM2 on the ROAM1.

I promise you both it works, and all the additional features seem to work fine as well. It seems the only difference between the ROAM1 and 2 is the 2 has a slide lock for the record slide and has a better mic.

Sent from my XT912 using Tapatalk 4 Beta
 
#10 ·
Well I'll be... that was easy. I upgraded directly from the v1.11 ROAM software and now have all the options for the ROAM2 (which is what Storyteller recognizes the cam as now). I guess that means I have to do some test vids to optimize the settings. Anyone know what they were for the ROAM? Mine worked pretty darn well in most light conditions before this, so I'll start with the defaults and go from there.



Nope, not true at all. As I said, I went from v1.11 to ROAM2 v2.16 directly. Piece of cake.

But be careful now on long rides. 60fps uses 1gb for every 7 minutes of video vs 1gb every 15 mins with 30 fps.

And what the hell is with the stretched out page width??
 
#12 ·
This has stuffed my camera up bad. I've come from the v1.11 update and all my camera does now if I press the record or status button is have the SD card LED flash red and do nothing.

I urgently need the camera for Monday and have tried everything to get it working again to no avail, anybody any ideas? Could somebody please upload the original FW_RTC.txt file? I'm hoping this will allow it to accept the previous firmware again.
 
#14 ·
Funny enough I did that just after I posted! Success. Thought I'd already tried it before, but hadn't waited for the yellow SD card light to appear.

Now works and the settings look great, thanks.

NB: To anyone else having the same problem, you must format the card using the camera (small pinhole button under the SD card slot), it won't work it you format it on your computer. Hold it down for around 10 seconds until the yellow SD led appears.
 
#16 ·
Hi all,

I came across this thread the other day and just registered so I could share my experiences so far.

I have two Contour ROAMs which I just purchased this week (good price on Amazon), so I decided to test out this firmware upgrade. I loaded the ROAM2 firmware on one of them and ran a few quick comparison tests.

Holding both cameras in the same hand, I just walked around my back yard for a few minutes and then into the house. For the ROAM1 firmware, I left it on ContourHD (720p/30). For the ROAM2, I did the following in my 3 tests:

  • ActionHD (720p/60), Center Metering
  • ActionHD (720p/60), Average Metering
  • ContourHD (720p/30), Center Metering

Sound levels were set the same in both (mic sensitivity 34).

My observations so far:
  • ActionHD is indeed 60fps
  • The ROAM2 firmware does significantly worse indoors. After walking inside the house, everything was much darker compared to the ROAM1. This was true across all 3 tests (I was hoping that changing those settings might alleviate the problem, but no).
  • Background noise is filtered out much more on the ROAM2 firmware. I didn't get enough sound in my tests to really say whether both picked up "desired" sounds equally well.
  • ActionHD (60fps) on the ROAM2 was about 11.9 mbit/s, or about 11.5 minutes per gigabyte - better than the advertised 7 min/gb.
  • ContourHD (30fps) on the ROAM1 was 10.8 mbit/sec, or about 12.6 min/gb.
  • ContourHD (30fps) on the ROAM2 firmware was about 9.9 mbit/sec (13.8 min/gb).
  • The ROAM2 firmware consistently started recording about 1/2 to 1 second faster than ROAM1.

I haven't had a chance to test and compare 1080p modes, but I would expect similar results to what I saw in the two ContourHD modes.

If it weren't for the indoor / low light performance issue with the ROAM2 firmware, I would definitely go with it for everything. As it is, though, I'm torn. I haven't had a chance to take these cameras out on any rides yet (that's next) so I don't know if the low light performance will even be an issue outdoors (shadows etc) or if there will be plenty of light as long as I'm recording in the day time.

I could also try adjusting other lighting settings on ROAM2 (particularly bumping up exposure), but I assume that would wash out any bright light recordings. I will try to report back with any other findings.

Thanks to whoever it was that originally discovered this trick. :thumbsup:
 
#18 ·
Worked like a champ- upgraded my ROAM with 1.11 firmware on it (that I bought from Amazon a couple years ago for ~$75!).

I'm going to try some actionHD today on the trails and see what happens.

Thanks for posting all the excellent info!!!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Krunk_Kracker
#20 ·
One thing I've found running 720p/60 fps "Action HD" mode: let the camera run a few seconds longer (than you typically would with the Roam v1 firmware) before turning it off. A couple of awesome videos ended up a bit too brief :/
 
#22 · (Edited)
It works astonishingly well. So far I can tell that the following ROAM 2 features work on the ROAM:

  • Contrast
  • Sharpness
  • LED On/Off - ALL LEDs
  • Laser On/Off
  • White Balance
  • 720P 60 FPS - Photoshop shows different images each frame

Exposure values seem like they work but it is very very subtle.

Auto exposure metering selections may appear to work as well. Amazing what a camera can do with proper firmware.
 
#24 ·
#25 ·
There are detail changes between the 1 and 2. Most noticeable being a lock for the on-off slider on the 2. Useful if you just toss the camera in your pack between uses. The 1 is easy to accidentally turn on.

No need for the waterproof kit unless you use it in the water.

Also looks like the water sports kit includes only the surfboard mount
 
#32 ·
Thanks to everyone in this thread. Got my camera and mount kit today. The update to Roam2 firmware went flawlessly. So it saved me a bit of cash. Can't wait to try it out on my next ride.

Question for you all. Which mode do you use 1080p @ 30fps or the 720p @ 60 fps? Wondering if the higher quality makes up for the slower frame rate as long as you don't want to do slow mo effects.
 
#35 ·
New member and I found this how to after purchasing the Roam. I got the ROAM within the past two weeks. I did all of the steps and after I hit the "Status" button my camera completely and totally died. It doesn't turn on at all, it doesn't show up on my computer when plugged in, I can't format the SD Card to return to the original settings. Any suggestions? Do you think Contour caught on to this and this is the solution?
 
#38 ·
Well, then I guess that's not the issue. I did everything step-by-step and formatted the card prior to the whole process. Now, the camera is completely dead(I don't know that it was fully charged before but it shouldn't have been very low either). Like I said, the only response I can get out of it is the battery light lights up red when I hit the "Reset" button but that is only while it is plugged in. I'm going to let it charge overnight and see if that does anything but I'm concerned as it died right after the update(the blinking yellow). I'm wondering if any more tech-savvy people have any idea what is wrong.
 
#43 ·
Try fully charging the camera before you do anything else.

Put the card (in an adapter, most likely) in your computer and copy the FW_RTC.txt to your desktop (or wherever you want it), then format it (FAT or FAT32) then put the two files back on the card (FW_RTC.txt and the firmware file) and try and restart the camera. Then reformat using the "FORMAT" button (NOT the "RESET" button!!!) and it should work fine.
 
#51 ·
i charged my camera using a wall outlet... took a bit of time.

i had already inserted the 32gb micro sd card into the slot, read and reread the directions about formatting the media.

after the green light lit up i grabbed the camera and connected to my mac... mac os x 10.8.4.

i had downloaded the firmware and copied it to the micro sd card and modified the file to tell the camera to update its firmware.

dismounted the camera from the mac and started it... it did its thing and after a few seconds the firmware updated!!!

i messed with it a bit.

i learned that rotating the lens thingy changes the orientation of the lens - ha ha.

also, the low light performance is not that great indoors.

i will test tomorrow outside leaving the white balance to auto.

thank you for this thread!!!!

joel
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top