The Dash cam thread

[5.0ALM]

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[5.0ALM]

Video cued at 4:19 for dash cams.

 

[jeffnudi]

You will not find a single radar detector in Virginia and they, also, have a law about things hanging from your rearview mirror. So, the whole concept having an USB port on your mirror is quite ludicrous.

https://www.allenandallen.com/virgi...ade it,driver's view through the windshield.”

 

[5.0ALM]

Today, we are going to review and check out the Viofo A229 PRO - a 4K Dash Cam with the Starvis 2 sensor.

I have the 3 channel kit with the front facing camera recording in 4K and the rear facing camera in 2K resolution and the interior cam in 1080P. We will do a quick unboxing, installation and check out is video quality in daytime and at night.

I will also be comparing the video quality of this dash cam to the Vantrue N4 PRO and the Rove R2-4K PRO and see which is better.

 

[93-Oct Mayne]

Got my Viofo A119 Mini 2 hardwired and working. Now I just need to hide all the wiring lol. Is it necessary to remove the panel with the AC running through it on the side of the dash?

 

[5.0ALM]

FYI.

Today, I'll show you an easy, affordable for Starvis 2 sensor, and the Best 2 Channel or Front and Rear Dash Cam Setup and this is especially if you have bigger and longer vehicles like full size SUVs and Vans.

 

[DCS]

Given the fact that the 2024 Mustang GT have USB power in the rear view mirror, are there any USB powered dash cams available? Every one I have looked at require 12 vdc and use a USB cable for data transfer. USB ports can only provide 5 vdc.

 

[RS1]

Any suggestions for Dash Cams to use with a 2024 EcoBoost Convertible?

 

[ZBOBMAN]

I use a dash cam app on my cell phone. It has saved me a few times. Autoboy Blackfox.

 

[Interstellar]

Any suggestions for Dash Cams to use with a 2024 EcoBoost Convertible?

Just installed the Viofo A129 Pro. I got the front and rear cam but have only installed the front as of now.
Works great! In my opinion, don't cheap out on something that you might need in an insurance battle one day!

 

[Dave_E]

I had nothing but issues with an early A129 a few years ago. Extreme temps in Florida summer just made it freeze up and drain the battery. After the 3rd time it got ripped out and tossed in the cupboard.

That Blackvue 970X Box setup really appeals for this reason. Great idea. Can't wait for the reviews.

 

[5.0ALM]

...
That Blackvue 970X Box setup really appeals for this reason. Great idea. Can't wait for the reviews.

Same here!
I'm surprised more manufacturers haven't adopted this approach. The front camera head unit is smaller and more practical to mount alongside these rear view mirror windscreen bases that seem to get more bloated by the year.
And the main processing box with the heat generating components can be placed out of direct sunlight in the glove box, so reliability should be far superior.

Blackvue seem to have an emphasis on cloud connectivity, but I hope they get the image processing quality and parking mode functionality right.

When retailers start discounting the current DR970X series, you know the DR970X Plus is on its way!

Can't wait for Vortex Radar's review.

 

[5.0ALM]

Unfortunately, it's looking like the BlackVue DR9070X Plus has really crappy image quality... which defeats the whole purpose of having a dash cam in the first place.

Just finished a quick rough cut of some sample footage and comparison clips.

This is mostly for me while I prep for the full review and take notes of what I see, but you can go ahead and check it out.

There's day and night sample clips from the DR970X Plus, both at low speeds and high speeds. I also added some license plate freeze frames comparing it with the original DR970X and the Viofo A229 Pro.

Based on what I'm seeing so far, the Plus is better than the original, but the Viofo is an even further improvement.

The video quality from the DR970X Plus does seem a bit grainy. The Viofo footage looks much more clear and crisp. I'll post some video samples later on so you can see.

As far as HDR, Blackvue didn't include it and while the faster shutter speeds help to stop motion, I feel like it's not enough to capture plates at night.

I've still got a bunch more clips to go through, but so far the Plus looks better than the original, though not as good as the competition.

The lens itself is much larger than before and so previous circular polarizers don't fit. Hopefully Blackvue creates a new one for the Plus models.

One issue @rcg530 and I have experienced is lens focus / alignment issues, just like with previous model Blackvues. For that reason Blackvue has sent over a second copy of both models and some of those have had issues too, both front and rear, and so the left or right side of the image may be a little soft and blurry. I'm not sure why they're having a hard time nailing the lens alignment. I was hoping the updated lenses would help with this, but I guess not.

The rear cam has the same model number as before, but it has a slightly different lens too, though they're both still f/2. Instead of a wider 139 degree viewing angle, it's now a slightly tighter 131 degrees. I also noticed that the white balance has changed. The previous models had a more greenish hue while the newer ones are more magenta. The drop from 4K to 1080p for the rear cam is painfully obvious and I'm not impressed with the rear video quality. That said if you're upgrading from a DR970X, you can always get a DR970X Plus 1CH and plug in your existing rear cam. I wish Blackvue had updated the model numbers between old and new rear cams to avoid confusion.

At SEMA Blackvue mentioned that their dashcams will finally add support for one standalone Blackvue connecting to the cloud via another standalone Blackvue. I got super excited about this feature since I run a 4CH setup with two separate 2CH systems for front/rear/left/right coverage and using a dedicated WiFi hotspot has been kinda problematic. For that reason, it should be much easier to have one dashcam connected to the cloud via a CM100GLTE or by using the LTE model and then have the other dashcam connect to it. However, at this time that feature is unavailable. I'm not sure when it will be added. That said, while I haven't tested it, you should still be able to connect other non-Blackvue devices, like phones and tablets, to a Blackvue hotspot.

One feature I really miss is one removed between the DR900X Plus and the DR970X, and it's still gone with the DR970X Plus. It's the ability to adjust individual voice options. I used to LOVE that you could start your car and only have the dashcam speak if it detects any impacts. Unfortunately it's now all or nothing, like Thinkware and Viofo, and so you have to choose between a chatty startup or missing out on important notifications when you get back in your car. Come on Blackvue! Please bring that feature back!

So far I feel like this is a much needed improvement over the original DR970X, but it still has room to go in terms of both features and video quality.

This is extremely disappointing, as Blackvue nailed the form factor.

 

[5.0ALM]

Another comparison image from Vortex Radar.

The new 970X Plus series is very disappointing, despite the higher bitrate.
Blackvue chose not to implement HDR capabilities of the Starvis 2 sensor.

And you would think all manufacturers could get the white balance correct this day and age!

So if you're comparing strictly to the original DR970X, this is a very welcome improvement, primarily for the video quality, but also for bonus features like the longer buffer to start clips earlier, as well as the ability to connect one Blackvue to another's WiFi hotspot (assuming that feature actually gets implemented in time).

Now if you compare it to other Starvis 2 dashcams, I think that the video quality still falls short.

I was really hoping that Blackvue would at least match the video quality of the competition, but that simply isn't the case. For that reason I'll probably continue running multiple dashcams like the DR970X Plus up front and another dashcam up front too like the A229 Pro or A139 Pro which has been on my WS for a while now.

The only thing missing is the looooong term parking recording and I'm absolutely loving the U3000 for that. I've been traveling more lately and the U3000 is the only one that can record the whole time I'm gone, even with the other dashcams plugged into multiple battery packs, while the U3000 is just using my car battery over OBD, lol.

So I feel like we're still in a situation where it's Blackvue for cloud, Viofo for video quality, and Thinkware for long term parking recording.

I was really hoping the DR970X Plus would give both cloud and awesome video quality in one package, but while the video quality is better than before, I wouldn't rank it as awesome.

Vortex Radar is expecting to release a review/comparison video soon - looking forward to that, although there will be no surprises.

 

[JP1]

I just installed the new Vantrue N5. Already had a busy windshield with a R7 radar detector wired to the passenger fuse box. Thanks to @Pyroguy for guidance on the fuse Numbers for ACC and constant power for the dash cam. Shout-out to @marcekb for the excellent recommendation for wiring the back camera as a straight shot through the headliner. Was able to buy a good USB c cable that was only 2M long and had almost no additional cable to hide.

Last week, the N5 was $399 with $80 off ($320 final number). Purchased a 512gb Samsung pro microSD to go with it

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