Thread

Reverse-engineering a $35 backup camera display (AMT630A)

83 points · 25 comments · mogrinz

BugsJustFindMe · 1790788823 · focus · HN ↗
Title nit: "backup" means a second copy, "back up" is the verb phrase for moving backwards. Verb phrases get hyphenated for clarity when used as adjectives immediately preceding a noun. So this should be "back-up camera", not "backup camera".
1. Steve44 · 1790793015 · focus · HN ↗
  I think this may be a case of language evolving/devolving and quite possibly an Americanism.
  I'm British and to me backup means having a reserve or spare ready to use. You have a battery backup on your servers to step in when there is a mains problem, a photographer will have a backup camera, you backup you files regularly etc.
  We would call this a reversing camera, for when you reverse your car using the Reverse gear. You can back into a parking space, or even just back up a little bit into a better spot.
  One thing I'm seeing which irritates me is people are starting to call backing singers backup singers. They are not a backup the the lead singer, that would be an understudy, they are supporting like the backing on picture.
  1. mogrinz · 1790793732 · focus · HN ↗
    Fwiw, I used the same phrasing in my title as the product I bought on Amazon. Most of these are made (and packaged) in China: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/s?k=backup+camera" rel="nofollow">https://www.amazon.com/s?k=backup+camera A search for “reverse camera” only returns “backup camera”s
    zoo · 1790805911 · focus · HN ↗
    At least the naming convention has redundancy, unlike most people's actual backups
  2. justin66 · 1790797901 · focus · HN ↗
    > One thing I'm seeing which irritates me is people are starting to call backing singers backup singers.
    Rolling Stone magazine has been using the phrase "backup singer" for a genuinely long time.
    <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/dylan-gets-gospel-treatment-in-l-a-195116/" rel="nofollow">https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/dylan-gets-gos...

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