HD DVR Vehicle Dash Cams

Putting this on my list. Do you always have access to them?

 

i want one now

 

Does the camera itself have any memory or do you need the card for it to store video?

 

Should have access, only downtime is waiting on his supplier.

Camera does not have internal storage, so you will need to run a memory card.

 

I sent payment last Thursday and received the camera yesterday! Very prompt service. The unit is well packaged. With the screen closed, the camera is roughly the size of my radar detector. (I may try to piggyback them to use a single mount...) The battery had 3/4 charge upon delivery, so I was able to fire it up immediately. The default menu language is English. It's simple enough to navigate and configure without the instructions, but there is a manual included. You can turn the sound on/off- default is on, so you hear the beeps when you push buttons, etc. I turned them off. You can also choose whether or not to record sound. I left it on. It will take up to a 32GB sd card. While waiting for my class 10 32GB card to arrive today, I used a class 2 2GB card and it worked fine. I imagine the new on will only improve my experience. You can choose how long you want each file. You can select from 2, 5, or 15 minutes, or to let it record continuously (I think.). You will have to decide which mode suits your needs. In choosing a recording length, you are choosing how often the camera saves a file and starts recording a new one. There is a 2-3 second period of no recording while this happens, but having smaller files to work with seems easier to deal with. Once the sd card is full, the camera will start rewriting over the oldest file first. The audio recording quality is very good. I was able to make out my F bombs over the radio and the road noise. If you plug this into a 12-volt power socket that only has power when the truck is on, it will automatically turn on and start recording without any user intervention. It stops recording and powers down when you shut the truck off. It is portable since it has a battery, but I can't vouch for battery life, yet. There is also a still camera mode for snapshots. There is a motion detection mode which will begin recording when something in front of the lens moves. I haven't tried that yet, either. You can view your videos on the screen. To view them on your PC, just pop the sd card out of the unit and into your computer, or use the included USB cable and connect the camera to your PC. Sorry this was so long, hopefully it helps in your decision making. I am very pleased with this device and will follow up after I log more usage hours.

 

I might be interested. I'm looking forward to the battery life review.

 

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On a fully charged battery I got 70 minutes of recording (fourteen 5-minute files.). I just turned it on and let it go until the battery died. A 5-minute file is about 250MB in size. If my math is correct, a 32GB card will hold 128 5-minute files. That's 640 minutes, or 10.66 hours! I have the video setting to the highest quality. I have shown a few people a couple of the videos I've taken and they all remark about the high quality of the video. One person was surprised that it wasn't shaking or jittery at all.

With the screen closed and the unit recording there are two very low lights visible on the back of the unit. The power button is red and the recording button flashes blue. They are not a distraction to me. I have plenty of other things that give off far more light. This is my favorite new gadget. Thanks Alex!

 

Thanks for the detailed review! Great to hear youre happy with it. I'll be sure to pass it on to my friend.

 

Cool thanks.

 

In my first battery life test, I forgot that I left the IR sensor on Automatic. I had placed the camera in a dark spot, causing the IR light to come on. So, I retested leaving the camera in a bright spot. This resulted in 20, 5-minute files, or 100 minutes of recording vs. 14 files and 70 minutes with IR on. I think both results are impressive. It's good to know I'll always have a charged, portable DVR within arm's reach.

 

dam good info, I haven't even tested mine. Very Good information. Thanks!

 

Pm sent...want one if still available....not sure if pm went thru

 

I got a chance to check out two more features - motion detection and IR recording. For motion detection, you toggle it on/off in the menu. When it's on, any motion in view of the lens will initiate a recording. It will record until the end of the specified time (2, 5, or 15 minutes.). Once it resets, if there is no motion, it sits in standby waiting for the next movement. If you choose to have no time limit (the OFF choice on the menu,)
EDIT: If you select Off rather than 2, 5, or 15 minutes, the unit will record until the card is full and stop recording. It will not recycle and start recording from the beginning. This is true for all recording modes, not just Motion Detection.

IR recording is for nighttime or dark situations. There are 6 IR lights on the front of the camera along with light sensor on the top front of the device. The menu settings for IR LED are Automatic and Off. IR light is not visible to the human eye, so you won't know if they're on or off by looking at them. I took this into a small, pitch black room in IR recording mode with the screen closed and I couldn't see a thing. The recording showed everything in that greenish type light, but it was decent quality video. The lights have a limited range, so you will only see what's in range. If I find out what that range is, I'll let you know.

In motion detection mode at night, the IR LEDs are constantly on whether recording or not. Be aware of this during battery powered operations.

Other observations:

The USB port may be used to recharge the battery, however the unit cannot be operated in camera mode while connected via USB. USB allows for charging or PC connections only. So, USB car chargers will not replace the car charger that comes with the unit. This is unfortunate, but not a show stopper to me. Powering through the USB port would eliminate the separate power port, but there must be a reason for having both.

When in menu mode, you navigate using the up/down buttons. Once you navigate to the setting you want, you hit the blue record button to make your selections. Knowing this will save you some time and little frustration...

The battery life seems decent in day and night modes (see my previous posts.) I did a quick Amazon search and it looks like you could get a spare battery for $5 to $15. That's short money for insurance if you were on a recording mission away from a power source.

In order to connect the video output to a large screen TV (or any HDMI input) you will need a mini-HDMI to HDMI cable. This would be for playing video directly from the camera and viewing it on a big screen or feeding it into some other device. I've seen these cable starting at $5 on Amazon.

I think I've covered most use cases, but if anyone would like more info, please ask. Now it's on to durability testing, but that will take time. Again, I really like this product and I asked Alex a lot of questions before I bought it. I figured the least I could do is answer some.

 

How are the LEDs when shining through the windshield?

And damn... That ruins some of my plans if I'm going to have to hardwire it. I don't want to take up one of my car chargers. How does the unit know if it's a USB if there's only a power source?

 

I suppose there is the potential for the IR to reflect off the windshield and affect a recording, but the glass angle should prevent that. I haven't done any nighttime vehicle recording yet, but I don't think the LEDs would be effective more than a few feet past the hood. I should be able to verify that this weekend. Alex posted a great nighttime recording; IR had little to do with illuminating that. It was all city lights and headlights, but I'm sure IR would have been on if he was in Auto LED mode. I would consider IR as last resort lighting in pitch black situations.

The included car charger plugs into a small, round port on the opposite side of where the USB port is. If you plug it into a switched (ignition on/ off) 12-volt outlet, the camera will turn on/off with the truck. If it's hard wired or otherwise always has 12-volt power, it will record continuously.

When the supplied, standard USB cable is used to connect to a PC, the unit displays a USB symbol, defeating all other camera operations. This scenario allows access to the recorded files from your PC while also charging the battery. If you use a wall charger with a USB connector, the camera will sense it and attempt to establish a PC connection. It will display an hourglass and all other operations are defeated, but charging will occur.

So, for recording operations your power options are battery or supplied car charger. For out of vehicle charging, there are the two USB options. I hope that answered your questions.

 

I had a chance to check out IR from within the vehicle in total darkness. IR by itself picked up nothing. I put the headlights on and got grainy, color video to about 10 ft. beyond the front of the truck. So, IR alone from inside the vehicle in total darkness is a no-go, in case that's important to you... If there is any outside lighting at all, the camera basically sees what you see.

 

Good info Scott, thank you for all the reviews and testing you have done. I am really wanting one of these, but need to get funds for one. With all the morons out and about, its a matter of when, not if, someone causes an accident and takes me with them. I almost t-boned a school bus that pulled out in front of me this morning

 

I just got mine, Thanks for the answers! I'm planning to hardwire it into a source that turns on with the ignition.

 

Can you post a diy when you do it? Im thinking i would want to do the same when i order mine but wouldnt know where to wire it in.