Team-BHP - The Dashcam / Car Video Recorder (DVR) Thread

After a lot of research on STARVIS and STAVIS 2 I finally ended up here on these two
1. VIOFO A229 Plus
2. 70mai A810

The VIOFO even though is 2K, I am hearing all positive response for both front and rear captures during the night especially. Also the heat generated with the 4K recording and the amount of extra memory it occupies in 70mai A810 is more.

by having a dashcam ultimately we don't need a cinematic experience quality, it's mainly to have a crystal clear number plate recording. In that aspect VIOFO A229 Plus is superior but it costs nearly Rs 6K more compared to the 70mai A810.

Looking for an inexpensive dash cam for the rear windscreen of my Endeavour. A quick search online revealed 70mai m200, Pioneer H120SC and ddpai A2 as some good budget options. I have left out Qubo due to past bad experiences with their app and product. Please suggest if there are any other worthy alternatives that I may have missed out.

I am looking for a basic reliable cam without any fancy features. It must be able to capture number plates in close range at day time, and the app functionality must be good on both ios and Android.

One of my concerns is that the car is parked in direct sunlight for most part of the day, and I've heard that models with super capacitor fare better in extreme temperatures, so does that make super capacitor a non-negotiable for my use?

Now for the install, I am planning to let a portion of dash cam wire hang from the edge of the headliner like we do for front dash cams. But after accounting for the extra length needed to not hinder with the boot opening mechanism, I'm worried it will look odd when the boot door is closed. This leaves me with a significantly more difficult option to route the wires from inside the headliner and through the conduit to the boot. What is the generally followed procedure in the case of rear dash cams?

Also, I'd love to hear feedback on the models listed above. Particularly interested in the Pioneer model, but real-life reviews for it are far too less to inspire confidence.

Quote:

Originally Posted by self_driven (Post 5954715)

Particularly interested in the Pioneer model, but real-life reviews for it are far too less to inspire confidence.

I feel sometimes you need to take a risk and jump. Be a pioneer.

Go with the Pioneer. They have some of the best AV equipment for cars, and for decades now. How could you go wrong.

In 2018 I had picked up VIOFO for a paltry Rs 3,500 (With card, and good screen). Never let me down. I retired it just last month with another newbie; a WYVE.

Quote:

Originally Posted by CityZen_Drive (Post 5954661)

I have been using VIOFO a229 plus for 2 years now, although the reviews says its the best but its not perfect, there was an incident last year where a biker sctrahed my car and due to traffic he zoomed away quickly, when I checked the recording the bike didn't have rear number plate but had a number plate in the front which the rear camera couldn't resolve inspite of having STRAVIS 2 sensor, worst part I tried providing feedback to VIOFO support team about this issue thinking they could update the software but they had their ears closed, I finally gave up after 6-7 follow up emails and accepted that its money wasted and I should have gone for cheaper ones, I can't comment on 70MAI, I haven't used it and I am sure the sensor is marketing gimmick.

Quote:

Originally Posted by crotonic (Post 5954857)

I See. Now this puts in confusion again. :Frustrati
Although the dashcam is a must these days, Is it worth spending Rs 27K on VIOFO A229 Plus and Rs 22K on 70mai A810?
Rather get the cheaper ones instead. The rising demand for the dashcams have also made them a costly affair to buy one. :disappointed

Quote:

Originally Posted by CityZen_Drive (Post 5954958)

I agree dashcam is a must, but what I am trying to point out is that buying the most expensive dashcam isnt full proof.

See th attachment, get a good camera but no need to pay the premium for marketing gimmick like STARVIS 2, it doesnt exist in real world. Also I believe higher the resolution is better.

Check below for full recording :

https://drive.google.com/drive/folde...r2?usp=sharing

Starvis2 definitely makes a difference. There are many technical reviews on google showing difference in clarity of number plate between Starvis2 and non-Starvis2 models.

Also note there are other factors as well like other vehicle at extreme side, at a bad viewing angle and with some glare etc., which may impact the clarity of number plate. One has to decide his priority and which 'must have' features needed and then take a decision.

Quote:

Originally Posted by CityZen_Drive (Post 5954958)

Quote:

Originally Posted by India2022 (Post 5955075)

I believe you wrote it better than I did, you are absolutely right about "other factors as well like other vehicle at extreme side, at a bad viewing angle and with some glare etc" are some real life scenarios which may be not covered by STRAVIS2 sensors.

I am a noob on this topic, so please excuse my ignorance.

I was thinking of getting the 70mai 510 for my Kushaq. But in the footages of the reviews, I saw that the speed of the vehicle is also present in the footage as a watermark. I am slightly wary of this as this can be sometimes used against the owner also, say you are doing a 60 in a 40km/h road, which is fairly possible considering the lack of speed limit indicators and consistency.

Can this GPS-based speed be disabled? Otherwise I am thinking of getting a cheaper one like a400 that doesn’t have GPS.

Quote:

Originally Posted by vinaygeorgeroy (Post 5955142)

Can this GPS-based speed be disabled? Otherwise I am thinking of getting a cheaper one like a400 that doesn’t have GPS.

There are dashcams which record separate GPS log which can be retrieved when required using the software supplied with them. For eg DDPAI dashcams have that feature. Many others also have it so look for this feature before buying.

Would like to share my perspective on deciding which dashcam to buy.

Primary use case we look for is to have a dashcam which can help to resolve a dispute between us and a third party on the spot. Say, someone comes in wrong side or tailgates you from behind, hits you and wants to extract money or wants to bully you. Or say a traffic cop stops you for violation (jumping signal for example) and you want to show proof that you were not in the wrong. In all such cases, a recorded video is good enough to help you get out of the situation. Even an average quality video will do. These day to day situations are the first things which comes to our mind about why we need a dashcam.

Now comes remote scenarios like hit and run where we may want to have number plate captured. But not having high resolution video or image is not the end of the world. Chances are that those offenders can still be tracked down using other means used by police like cctv footage or by make/type of vehicle captured by the dashcam.

Bottom line is that if we want to catch 100% use cases, only best dashcam would do. But having a budget dashcam (but should be reliable) can still cover majority of use cases encountered on regular basis.