Team-BHP (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/)

-   In-Car Entertainment (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/car-entertainment/)

-   -   The Dashcam / Car Video Recorder (DVR) Thread (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/car-entertainment/134448-dashcam-car-video-recorder-dvr-thread-99.html)

Oh! I had no idea about this. Thanks for the clarification.
But, it does seem pretty costly compared to the 85.5$ that I ended up paying. Not sure if the prices have increased across the board.

Hi, I don't know whether you managed to sample the output from shajufx's experience, but I did a DIY using this app: here's my story.

As I've been subscribed to this topic for a while, I've have been following posts closely. Finally managed some DIY and here's my two pence worth:

I had an old Samsung S3 lying about (8MP camera capable of HD1080p@30fps). Wiped it clean with a factory reset, slotted a 16GB class 10 SD card, and installed Autoboy Dash Cam - Blackbox. I've used the app with most of the default settings intact, except routing video storage to the SD card and tweaking video settings to a respectable HD720p@60fps in the interest of maximising recording quality and balancing space.

To complete the set up, I also bought a Stuff-cool magnetic dash/windshield suction mount (INR750) and a 1.5m USB charging cable (INR400-odd) to power the phone off the USB charger. Total spend: INR. 1647 (including the SD card at INR500-odd).

On a recent Pune - Mumbai run, I set it up and let it record throughout the drive. With the phone plugged into the USB charger, battery did not discharge at all right till destination. Caveat - I set the screen to dim automatically, so video recorded in the background without the phone display eating battery power and redundantly show on its display what was already visible through the windshield. (There isn't any SIM on this device, so perhaps power consumption was lesser as the S3 wasn't trying to hook to mobile networks all the time.) Other settings: Wifi was turned off, GPS was turned on. Although the app has an option to record sound, I turned it off as I didn't want the background score to document my un-parliamentary language interspersing Adam Levine's lyrics during the drive. :D

As the timing of the drive provided for varying daylight conditions (evening, twilight and night), I managed to sample recordings in varying light conditions. Please see the attached samples of the videos recorded (edited somewhat on the computer in the interest of saving to web, so original files are of slightly better resolution) for each light mode.

Evening 6pm-ish light conditions
https://youtu.be/wM9DpkfhP_w

Twilight 7:30pm-ish light conditions
https://youtu.be/pbUVxgeLUwU

Night 8pm-ish highway conditions
https://youtu.be/9JsROhhK90M


In terms of other operating results: the file size of saved videos varies from 450mb per five minutes for the daylight recordings to 250mb per five minutes in twilight and night recordings (resolution of 1280x720 in .mp4 format in five minute recordings). The app does a great job of seamlessly capturing video while automatically saving five-minute file clippings (you can set them for longer/shorter clips, the app beeps every five minutes when changing over one file to another while recording in the background mode, and the LED blinks to show its recording while the screen is turned off.). The entire sub-3-hour drive used about 8.7 GB on the SD Card. I presume it would be more if my drive had more daylight drive-time. The app lets you allocate the amount of space you want to use on your SD card for storing video clips and as I had set this to 15GB, I did not get to test the loop recording feature of the app since I used only 8.7GB and had space to spare on this particular drive.

Pros:
You can easily switch the entire setup between cars, or leave it plugged in forever (do remove your phone when parking in public places, temptation is best not offered!).
Provides for easy removal/re-installation and copying out the data onto your laptop, either via USB cable, Bluetooth or WiFi transfer.
It has some functionality wherein you can use it simultaneously with navigation/maps, but I haven't tried that yet. Multi-tasking is possible, you can check other apps / functions on the phone with this app recording in the background.
Recording Auto start and auto-off is easily configurable.
Automatic upload to YouTube is also possible (so be careful when setting this up, else it may eat data or auto-upload as soon as you get home to a WiFi network. I have this disabled.).
While recording, you can switch/toggle to the front-facing camera and capture what's happening inside the car as well, just in case you want your karaoke moment saved for posterity.
At the risk of testing its battery life, you can use this as a multi-function (a) in-car Bluetooth music player (b) navigation, and (c) Dash Cam, simultaneously.

Cons:
Can't think of any at this moment, am pretty satisfied with the setup. The only con I can think of is space running out on the 16GB, which would mean an upgrade to a 32GB SD card on this particular device. So while the current setup is great for everyday driving, longer highway runs may need more cards or a pit-stop to move data off to a laptop every two daylight hours or so if you want to capture the entire trip (unless you set it to lower resolution / tweak the configurations).
You would need a two-port charger to charge both your phone and run this setup on constant power simultaneously.

Concerns:
Phone overheating: This did not happen on this drive. Barring a little warmth (it wouldn't be uncomfortable to hold the phone in your palm), it didn't heat up. However, in the Indian Summer conditions with the phone mounted on the windshield and the sun beating down on it hard, I'm not sure if this would be a problem.

Conclusion: Its a decent use of old hardware that would otherwise get you about INR2k in the used-phone-market. Recordings are decent enough. The app records GPS coordinates and vehicle speed via a .srt file that displays as subtitles when you watch the video (I haven't uploaded these). Remember to not swear much at traffic if the mic is turned on!

Folks,
Had any one procured hard wrie kit for dashcam from Bangalore? If yes please share the details and cost.
Hard wire kit connects the camera directly to the fuse box under the dashboard for continuous power from the vehicle’s battery. This frees up the 12-volt power socket (the cigarette lighter) for other uses.



Thank you in advance!

I did not get them from Bangalore, but ordered the fuse tap from amazon India, 3 pieces for rs 620/-
The hardwire kit I ordered from Aliexpress. (US$ 5)
Just had to be wait nearly 45 days for the hardwire kit.
So was able to get the items to Bangalore and setup the wiring in my Creta.

Worth the wait, my entry level dashcam is working and the cigarette lighter socket is free for my mobile charger.

I need one, but looks like there are running out of stock. BTW, Why transcend cards are so expensive compared to other memory card?

I decided to buy it today, but the pricing comes out to be invariably higher than what it was a month ago.

Is it worth waiting for the price to come down or should I take a shot at it today?

I had ordered the same for the exact price as shown above, a couple of weeks back from Ali express which included CPS filter and 32GB Kingston Memory card.
It got delivered yesterday and there was no customs charged and infact tracking showed it was with customs for only a single day. Previously I had ordered the same without card or filter with Amazon India and the cheapest deal was around 11K. I cancelled it after a Week and luckily the amount was credited to my account within a week.

I got the dash cam connected to cigarette lighter with wire concealed all along its length.

Tried to view the sample video files, but alas the files can't be read by Mac :Frustrati

I just feel sad that I could've ordered it like a month ago when it was around 5.5 k. Will wait for another two weeks before taking the plunge

I guess as treadmark had posted earlier, the new model is Version 2, with improved GPS mount. The earlier one, which I too bought around 5.5k, is supposedly having issues with power going out whenever the car goes over bad roads. It has a simple and quick fix (some padding on the GPS mount) but then you can go ahead and buy the new costly option resting your mind that it is actually better (in some way) than the old cheaper option :)

I am facing a unique problem with dashcam installed in my civic. It's Viofo A118c dashcam, installed behind RVM. Unlike other cars, civic wipers move in opposite direction in scissor manner. Due to this area behind RVM does not get cleaned with wiper. 2 days it rained here in Pune, and all footage in rainy time was blurred.

How civic owners address this dashcam issue? should I move dashcam to driver side corner? (wipers reach there)
P.S. this image taken from internet, it's not my car

Its the same in my Hexa too. I just wipe that area clean which has the dirt of the previous day's rain. However, when it rains, there's nothing you can do other than changing its location.

I was driving in Mudigere last two days; and saw atleast 2 dozen bikers in the KTMs and the likes driving all geared up. Some of them were wearing helmets with a camera fixed on top of the helmet, while one biker in particular who had a camera fixed to his right side on (horizontally).

Are these similar to the dash-cams that are installed in the cars?

What is their charging point? Dont know if the new age helmets come with chargeable port for such cameras?

Many Dashcams sold come with certain basic accessories. A suction Mount, a sticker mount, charging cable etc.

Few also come with a plastic leak proof casing that can aide you to shoot underwater or outdoors when it rains.

So these can be used even for Cars and Bikes and mounted on the helmet.

Popular ones are GoPro that come with a suction mount that one can put on the helmet and even transparent casing.
Few cameras come sign Built in Battery that can last from 15m to 3 Hours as well. Else you need to use a charging Point.

For charging you with install an accessory socket like car for bikes as well and Plug the cable or you an pocket a Battery pack and plug the cable too.

Many easy options there. What maters most is the quality of mount and how good is the camera to withstand external elements like Heat and Rain.

They are called actioncams. Gopro and SJcam being the most famous. Many people use these actioncams as dashcams but they are not specifically built as dashcams. so some easy workarounds must be done.

Quite a unique predicament. If rain is your only enemy maybe applying some hydrophobic material - like RainX, may take care of repelling water from the windscreen. I hear that there are small irritants of using these hydrophobic material, like windscreen fogging up, etc. But if you only apply it in the area that is required for the camera, it shouldn't be a problem.

OT: I am jealous that you had 2 days of rain. Here in Hyd it is as hot as an oven!