[McLaren Roxx]

Originally Posted by wrongturn

I received a mail about Viofo's new dashcam. Looks interesting, has anyone tried it yet?

Going by how the 119 and 119s perform, this should be a fantastic cam too. Plus it's dual channel, so even better.

I just bought the WR1, else would've loved to own this particular one.

[Mu009]

Originally Posted by harsh79

Best at what?

Sub $100 cameras have better video quality.

I do agree that dash cam video quality leaves a tremendous amount to be desired - I don't know if it's because of greater fov, and consequently a wider sensor with lower pixel density (or is that done with a wider angle lens), but 1080p drone/GoPro/DashCam footage looks more VGA than FHD.

Hence I short listed the 4k Black Vue. Along with:

See a strong liking for the screen-less tube design, no wonder the BlackVue.

Plus the fact that it's 2 channel, and how neatly it wires in to the fuse box (presumably without warranty issues).

That said, I would be glad to hear of cheaper alternatives, and what I'd get/forgo in them, if you'd be so kind to elaborate.

Originally Posted by Wanderers

I know what you are talking about. I am equally mad about dashcams.
I am using sub $ 50 (70mai) and sub $ 100 (ddpai) and for sure they can give run for money to Blackvue but there is a difference but can't get into justifying it. But yes you can replace 'best" with good ones"

Likewise for your sir - if you wouldn't mind "getting into justifying it" and expounding freely, I'd be chuffed.

Cheers!

[Wanderers]

Originally Posted by Mu009

if you wouldn't mind "getting into justifying it" and expounding freely, I'd be chuffed.

I would suggest you to check youtube reviews of Blackvue dashcams. That would give you a good idea about the pros and cons.
I like it for its discreetness, quality of material used including cables (digital to rear camera)
The dashcams mountings are fixed but you can still take them out while giving the car for service.
Blackvue also has live view streaming to your mobile anywhere in the world and one can even instruct the people/driver in the car.
There is only one switch/button on the camera (for SD card format) and you don't need to get physical with your dashcam, everything is programmable.
There are regular firmware updates and Blackvue have recently added time lapse parking mode on DR 750 and DR 900. This was one feature which Thinkware had since quite long.

DR 900 has new compression technology H.265 (high efficiency video coding) and thus 4K HD video uses the same space as 1080p.
Nevertheless you should consider higher capacity SD card based on MLC technology.
There are very limited option in MLC cards and cost a bomb. Apart from Blackvue Micro SD card, Transcend, San disk and Samsung have now come out with MLC based SD cards. San disk is cheapest but not preferred and its available up to 64 GB only.

[Guite]

Originally Posted by Mu009

I do agree that dash cam video quality leaves a tremendous amount to be desired - I don't know if it's because of greater fov, and consequently a wider sensor with lower pixel density (or is that done with a wider angle lens),

Wider FOV is achieved with lens, not sensor. So sensor size is not related to FOV.

but 1080p drone/GoPro/DashCam footage looks more VGA than FHD. Hence I short listed the 4k Black Vue

This is going into the classic megapixel debate. 4K is just more pixels than FHD. It does not guarantee better picture quality per se.

Picture / video quality would depend on a lot of things: sensor size, sensor quality, lens quality, compression software, etc.

[ChiragM]

Please suggest a good dashcam to buy.

Budget of around INR 4000 or less. Decent night recording and adequate storage space required.

Two options I am considering are:
Blaupunkt BP 2.1 FHD Digital Video Recorder (Full HD)
Xiaomi YI Smart Car DVR 165 Degree 1080P 60fps Car Detector 2.7" Dash Camera ADAS Safe Reminder Dashcam

More suggestions welcome.

[harsh79]

Originally Posted by ChiragM

Please suggest a good dashcam to buy.

Budget of around INR 4000 or less. Decent night recording and adequate storage space required.

Two options I am considering are:
Blaupunkt BP 2.1 FHD Digital Video Recorder (Full HD)
Xiaomi YI Smart Car DVR 165 Degree 1080P 60fps Car Detector 2.7" Dash Camera ADAS Safe Reminder Dashcam

More suggestions welcome.

Blaupunkt, from what I've seen, video quality is average. The Yi model suffers from focus shifts in hot weather, gets blurry, lots of reports.

If you don't care for a screen, take a look at the B1W and the Mobius 1.

With a screen, look for the A119 on sale. I remember getting mine for $67.

[anjan_73]

Hello Everyone

can anyone advise if there is a Rexing dashcam service center in India?

[akshay380]

Phisung DVR console has new firmware update. Mine came with 1.4. Upgraded the same to 1.6 yesterday. Gimmicks like collision warning, front vehicle moving etc have been removed. Rear camera displayhas some changes. Front camera quality seems slightly improved. Screen can be aligned if inverted. Still exploring the added features.

[Mr_Bean]

I've ordered the street gaurdian sggcx2 dashcam, Please suggest me the correct hardwire kit to purchase.
Rgds,
vinod

[torquecurve]

Originally Posted by Wanderers

Blackvue DR900 and Thinkware F800 pro are the best but most expensive dashcams. DR 900 has 4K HD recording and hence edge over Thinkware, which records at 1080p but priced near to Blackvue.



I know what you are talking about. I am equally mad about dashcams.
I am using sub $ 50 (70mai) and sub $ 100 (ddpai) and for sure they can give run for money to Blackvue but there is a difference but can't get into justifying it. But yes you can replace 'best" with good ones"

Hi mate, how does the 70mai hold up to heat - blurry videos, battery safety?

[Vysakh]

Non DIY folks from Bangalore, where did you get your dashcams installed from?

[Wanderers]

Originally Posted by torquecurve

Hi mate, how does the 70mai hold up to heat - blurry videos, battery safety?

I have installed 70mai in Grand i10. The car has very little exposure to direct sunlight except when driving and thus air conditioner switched on. I did not encounter any issue so far. Please format sd card once in 15 days to get better result.

[hemanth.anand]

DDpai mini2
I had ordered the DDpai mini2 dashcam based on good reviews in this forum.

Pros

• Small footprint-No screen and hence discrete
• Well built-Although it doesn't reek quality
• Simple in construction and easy to install
• Can record even in 1440p
• Mobile application is easy to use

Cons

• video file division on time intervals not available (I may be incorrect here)
• The camera can't be removed - I'd have preferred this; especially when giving the car to a service centre
• No GPS
• Sometimes disconnects from the phone and reconnects. During the firmware update, it happened.
• Some settings are not clearly explained in the app

Purchase
I had ordered the DDpai mini2 from Ali Express on August 16th for my wife's Alto K10. Along with the hard wiring harness, it was priced at $99.58. It was shipped from Singapore via Singapore post on 17th August. It landed in Chennai on 25th and the customs clearance took about a week. Yesterday, it was delivered home. There was no additional duty levied. I had ordered a 64GB Samsung microSD card separately from Amazon.

Unboxing
The contents were neatly packed in a black cardboard box with mini2 written on it. The DDPai logo can be seen on the side.


Upon opening, it had two small packs. The right one contained the folded instruction manual.


Underneath that instruction manual was the Dashcam and the circular bluetooth remote.


The camera and the remote close up...

The housing plastic is gloss black; although it doesn't reek quality, it's well built. The camera is to be fixed to the windshield using the 3M Double side tape. I prefer this to the suction cup since the videos will be more clear because of less vibrations. The remote is used to capture still images on the go-not very useful IMO.

The other box had the Micro USB to USB cable (easily over 2 mts), A prying tool, one extra 3M Double side tape and a cigarette lighter adapter for power. The power adapter had 2 female USB ports (1A and 2A). One for the camera and the other one can be used for any other device.


The optional Hard wiring harness that I ordered comes in a separate cover. it has the long wiring with fuse and a micro USB at the one end.


Installation
I installed the DDPai Android app from the Google Playstore and through that, I paired the camera (very easy). Once I was able to get the live view, I took the camera to the car and pasted it on the centre of the windshield just behind the IRVM. The cylindrical design made it easy to vertically align the video.
Currently I've just put it to the 12V socket with the wire hanging straight down. the extra wire is bundled and kept in a storage area. Hard wiring will be done later. So didn't take any pictures there.

The App
The Android application is very easy to understand. Pairing of the device is very easy. I paired it with 2 phones and it worked fine.
Setting related to Resolution, Sound recording, Gyro sensitivity, Time stamp, Parking mode, Memory card format, Live view and Playback were all quite easy to set up and took no time at all. It also upgraded the firmware once without much hassle.
However one important setting is missing IMO. The video can't be set to divide files at defined time intervals. At least it doesn't show it as different files in the app. If anyone knows that if we can do this, please let me know.

Recording
Yesterday night, I drove the car after installation for some minutes, and the video quality seemed alright on the phone. Today evening, I'll check the entire day's video and then post the videos of both daytime and night time and give a final conclusion.

Originally Posted by hemanth.anand

Today evening, I'll check the entire day's video and then post the videos of both daytime and night time and give a final conclusion.

This is the cigarette lighter adapter


This is how it looks from outside


Close up


Now for the videos. Although the files are not split, while downloading, it downloads a maximum of 5minute from any particular time point that we select. If we want smaller duration, we can stop diwnloading when we have the length we need. The download screen looks like this...


A 5-minute video at 1440p is around 378MB. My Thinkware dashcam files are 80MB for a 1min video.

The video samples are below
Daytime-reduced to 1080p on Youtube

http://youtu.be/02YkpmT4aSg

Night time-retained 1440p on Youtube

http://youtu.be/VpmCMhSyROY

The registration numbers of vehicles in front are easily identified. But moving vehicles beside our vehicle are blurred. It has a good angle of vision. During day the shadows of trees doesn't affect much which is good. Night video is also clear...much less noisier than I had expected.

Overall happy with the Purchase.

[Mr_Bean]

Originally Posted by Vysakh

Non DIY folks from Bangalore, where did you get your dashcams installed from?

Top gear, Koramangala.
On the pricier side, but installation is neat and reliable. Book an appointment to avoid delays or having to wait longer.

[hemanth.anand]

Originally Posted by Vysakh

Non DIY folks from Bangalore, where did you get your dashcams installed from?

High Definition cars, Jayanagar 4th T block.
https://goo.gl/maps/TjfgpZFPo1Q2
On the pricier side, but installation is neat and reliable. Weekends, you may have to wait longer.