Dashcam?

[George K]

I'm thinking about getting a dashcam installed. Our local Best Buy does it, and it takes about an hour.

Does anyone have recommendations on brands/features, etc that I want to look for?

Thanks.

[jon-nyc]

Get the kind that record awesome accidents in which you avoid any damage to yourself or your vehicle.

[George K]

@jon-nyc said in Dashcam?:

Get the kind that record awesome accidents in which you avoid any damage to yourself or your vehicle.

LOL.

The reason I bring it up is because we had an incident about 18 months ago, where a guy in a parking lot, having determined he couldn't fit into the spot he was aiming for, backed up, right into the front of my car.

He was gracious enough to accept responsibility, but if he had been an a-hole, he could just as easily have claimed that I rear-ended him.

[jon-nyc]

@George-K said in Dashcam?:

@jon-nyc said in Dashcam?:

Get the kind that record awesome accidents in which you avoid any damage to yourself or your vehicle.

LOL.

The reason I bring it up is because we had an incident about 18 months ago, where a guy in a parking lot, having determined he couldn't fit into the spot he was aiming for, backed up, right into the front of my car.

He was gracious enough to accept responsibility, but if he had been an a-hole, he could just as easily have claimed that I rear-ended him.

Literally the same thing happened to me in January but the guy backed up when he realized the spot he was entering was handicapped. And it was a young guy on his dads insurance. He accepted responsibility but I was worried his dad was going to have him claim it was not his fault.

Worst part is I stood on the horn when he started backing up. He had plenty of time to stop. Hell I probably had time to throw it in reverse and outrun him.

[jon-nyc]

How do they work? Just record to an SD card?

I can see the utility.

[jon-nyc]

Funny thing is I had a scratch on my bumper which was my fault and two days before the accident I got a chip in my windshield.

All that was fixed. $5600!

[George K]

@jon-nyc said in Dashcam?:

How do they work? Just record to an SD card?

That's what I understand. And the recording loops, erasing the oldest data.

[Catseye3]

@George-K " . . . about 18 months ago"

Has it happened like that again since? Why complicate your life?

About wanting stuff, Gandhi said, Our needs make us vulnerable enough; why increase your vulnerability?

But if you insist on going through with this plan despite my excellent advice, YOYO; I have no other recommendations.

[taiwan_girl]

@jon-nyc said in Dashcam?:

How do they work? Just record to an SD card?

I can see the utility.

Yes, that is correct. As @Geoarge says, they just rewrite over the old stuff. But, sometimes you have to reformat the card just to clean it up.

One thing to be aware - in some cars, the "electric" port will remain "live" after you turn off the car, so the dash cam will stay on forever. In other cars, the electric port is dead when you turn off the car.

But maybe if you are going to have it professionally installed, they will go directly to the engine battery?

[89th]

I have no advice other than they seem to be increasingly common, especially overseas. If I drove a lot I would probably get one and (hopefully) never have to pull the video. I'd imagine features you'd want would be:

• Small profile (not distracting to driver or passengers
• Long battery (?) life
• Include accurate date/time stamps
• HD video, if something happens or you need a license plate, you probably need to see the finer details in the video
• Automatic audio recording?

[George K]

I plan to have it professionally installed.

I wonder how much of a battery drain is is if wired to the battery. My first Audi's phone charging port was always hot, and I drained the battery by leaving the phone in the car for a few days.

Current car's USB ports go dead when the ignition's off.

Don't think I need it live all the time - just when driving.

[George K]

Pulled the trigger last week.

Got the "Rexing V1P Max 4K UHD Dual Channel".

At Amazon's Showroom Best Buy, I was able to get an open-box, like new unit for about $170. I got the "intelligent hardwire" kit as well. That is what they call a "super capacitor." It charges up while the vehicle is running as well as providing power to the dashcam(s). When the car is parked, there's no battery drain, but it has a motion sensor which turns on the camera(s) and records until the motion stops.

The installation went well at BestBuy, and, overall, I'm pleased. I invested in a larger SD card so as to be able to store more video (you can go up to 128GB). I like the fact that you can program it to record whenever there's motion around your vehicle, even if unattended.

It has GPS and records speed and location.

Quality of the video is remarkably good.

Front camera view:

Rear camera view (notice the house on the left...)

[Renauda]

@jon-nyc said in Dashcam?:

Get the kind that record awesome accidents in which you avoid any damage to yourself or your vehicle.

Then he needs one of those Russian dash cams. Might be hard to come by these days.

[George K]

[89th]

If I drove more I’d probably get one. Why not!

[George K]

@89th said in Dashcam?:

If I drove more I’d probably get one. Why not!

Cost about $300, installed, at BestBuy.

I think of it as insurance.

The one I got, by the way records constantly until the storage is filled - then it loops. The size of the SD card is up to you.

It has another nice feature - there's a motion sensor so if it sees anyone near my car, it starts recording even if the car is parked. When the car is in motion it charges a "supercapacitator" which allows it to turn on when there's motion nearby.

[89th]

Cool!