Dash cam / DVR / recorder thread

[zoltiz]

I'm researching a permanent in-car DVR solution - something that's extremely popular outside of US and is still raising eyebrows here for some reason.

For those who have no idea why one would need something like that - first and foremost insurance fraud prevention, especially if live or end up in big city. Second, accident fault determination, and third - uploading to YouTube fun / weird / scary stuff that happens on the road all the time.

So now that we have the "why" out of the way, the hard part starts - "what".

My criteria are as follows:

• High quality matrix capable of 30fps 1080p recording
• Lens angle >= 120 degrees
• Ability to transition from segment to segment without interruptions in recording (most of these devices are capable of writing to x-minute long files, with oldest one being overwritten once the storage card is filled up, thus giving a continuous recording loop and making it maintenance free).

So far I've only been recommended DOD-brand devices, F900LHD in particular.

DOD F900LHD

I'm not pulling the trigger yet because the damn thing costs upwards of $200 and I heard a rumor that the device loses 3-4 seconds when it switches from file to file during recording transition, this second part is more of an issue than $200 price tag. There is a plethora of knockoffs of that particular DVR selling for $60, but the hardware on these is crap and you don't know what real specs are until you get the device - it might have interpolated video, crappy lens, 15fps recording, etc.

So if this research is something that you want to participate in - let's use this thread.

A couple of illustrations of why $200 is extremely cheap insurance:

Why A Dash Cam Is Important - Auto Fraud On The Rise -Carcamerahq - YouTube

Highway Accident Scam Fail - YouTube

[Ludercrz]

uploading to YouTube fun / weird / scary stuff that happens on the road all the time.

lol this would be the only reason i'd do it.

actually after seeing that last video in your post i might want one for that reason, f*kin scammers. (that video was actually in Toronto)

not just to protect yourself but you could catch another person getting scammed by your camera and you could stop and offer your evidence for their case.

[zoltiz]

I think even a $50 generic unit will do 90% of the job when it comes to proving some lying piece of crap at fault for the accident they caused (like cutting you off, running a stop sign, etc).

Some more advanced units have speed and GPS coordinates recording, which can help in the situation like in that Toronto video (shows your speed at zero when you are getting bumped).

[zoltiz]

Found one more contender today:

Blackvue HD

Doesn't have a built-in screen, but has GPS, G-sensor, "parked" mode (motion detection), and looks a lot sexier and less conspicuous.

[Ludercrz]

"Fred" has one in his car i found out yesterday. he said he paid 40$ for it from China, i asked him to post a link to it so we'll see.

[zoltiz]

$40 ones usually have native 400x320 or so resolution stretched to pretend 720p with software, but still better than he said / she said in court...

My buddy just got out of a red light ticket by showing the cop the video of him crossing right on the spot when he got pulled over.

[wkqkqkfk]

I actually bought it for $25 shipped from china and it was used for my school project. Yes the video quality is super crappy but I guess it cant go wrong with that price. too bad the CMOS is so crappy, it does not capture licence plates that well.

Functionality is not bad where it starts recording when the car turns on and turns off when the engine is off plus other features like IR light and LCD screen.
I've seen some really nice ones in Korea where it captures 4 sides of the car and has GPS tracker on it as well.

here's a screen shot of the vid.

[wkqkqkfk]

if you want a good quality DVR, BlackVUE makes fiarly good quality DVRs with good reviews.

did a quick search on ebay and found one (DR400G-HD)

NEW Vehicle Car Camera BlackBox DVR GPS Recorder BlackVue DR400G-HD ENGLISH 16GB | eBay

[zoltiz]

Yeah, so far Blackvue is on top of the list. It killed DOD on night image quality and gapless transitions from file to file. One tiny issue is that you need an android device or a laptop in the car if you ever want to show the cop that he's blind and you did, in fact, stop at the stop sign or went through the intersection while the light was still green. Other than the lack of screen, I really like that device.

[demon13]

Found this one: 2.5" Car DVR Video Recorder Night Vision G-Sensor AV Out ESPOW thoughts?