Dash Cam Rant

canalrun

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I posted a similar thread about a year ago.

Does anybody know of a Dash Cam with some or most of the following features? I can't believe I can't find something like this and/or nobody produces it.

I think the real purpose of a Dash Cam is strictly to document events. For example, it documents who ran the red light, the hit and run vehicle, or the person rifling through your glove box at night.

You don't need super high definition video and you don't need 60 frames per second.

You do need 360° coverage – front, back, both sides. The mounted camera unit should be as small as possible. The receiver unit with storage should be somewhat hidden – maybe in the trunk. It has to be hardwired. It must have night vision. You need a "parking mode" with a 30 second or so running preamble that is pre-pended to any motion detection event before the wires are cut or camera ripped away.

It would be so much easier if auto manufacturers would offer something like this as a new car option. It will cost several hundred bucks, but would alleviate a lot of nonsense.

Does anyone know of something like this?

Thanks,
Barry.
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LegendaryElite

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Cadillac CT 6 is the only car I've seen has this function integrated with their 360 degree camera.


But it's killed by GM, so sadly there are no cars left with this feature.
 
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canalrun

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Yes. New cars are getting cameras all over the place. I hope they start to add dash cam and monitoring features. If you ever need it, a video is worth 10 thousand words.
 

87elco

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I have a dash cam made by roav it's good at night and day resolution wise.. I have it mounted in front of my rearview mirror and hid all the wires...garmin makes a nice one too.. very good for accidents when you're not at fault
 

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I have to admit I have not done a research across many brands, but after using a cheap one off eBay I realized I want to take it more serious, I want something that I can trust on instead of dying expectedly.
So I go with brand names, and came across Thinkware, made in Korea, I picked the F70 (and the F50 when I was in my older car), because it has the most basic functions and not too expensive,
it has parking mode (so I hard wired it nicely :)), shock sensor in both driving and parking mode, and motion detection in parking mode,
angle is wide enough,
resolution is good,
overall the build quality is really good that I know this thing will last.

Bundle with the hardwire kit
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07DLTFRTP/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I've also added this suction cup mount, the device itself come with 3M stick on mount, though people argue it is the better way, I prefer being flexible
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06X9B7KQD/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
The device also come with a 8GB micro SD card, and that size can hold footage of 1 to 2 days, and that's not enough for me, so I have expanded to 32GB
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07B98GXQT/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Hard wired it to the fuse box, used the Smart Entry (should be slot 30) for constant power, and the Accessory (should be slot 1) for the car turned on signal.
 


NHCivicGuy

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Sorry, not a 360 with what you're look for, but I do have a Thinkware F770D dual camera setup for sale (have it listed in the classifieds here, too). Selling it since I am selling my Lexus it is coming out of. Has 24/7 recording with motion detection, wifi so you can view the footage on your phone, etc. It comes with both front and rear cameras, a hardwire kit and a 64gb SD card. PM if you're interested.

Here's a link to the manufacturers site: https://www.us.thinkware.com/products-f770
 
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canalrun

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I must be in the minority.

I look at dash cams and most only have cameras pointing out the front. To me this is almost worthless.

I saw one that allowed you to rotate the head 360°, but what if it's pointing out the front when someone breaks your side window?

Most have a single unit that can just be ripped off the windshield – no more video.

One advertised how you can share and upload videos to the cloud – does anybody actually do this? I can't imagine using a dash cam to take videos of the scenery.

It seems so obvious to me, but I must be in the minority because everybody produces this other nonsense.

I think a dash cam is meant to be used as a tool to document events – nothing else.

I have never seen anything that meets the above few basic requirements. They all seem to be oversized units that advertise ridiculous bells and whistles.

Should I be looking for something called something else like a Car Security Camera, Truck Camera, Fleet Camera, or something else?

Barry.
 

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I must be in the minority.

I look at dash cams and most only have cameras pointing out the front. To me this is almost worthless.
Not worthless at all. You just don't know why they exist.

I saw one that allowed you to rotate the head 360°, but what if it's pointing out the front when someone breaks your side window?

Most have a single unit that can just be ripped off the windshield – no more video.

One advertised how you can share and upload videos to the cloud – does anybody actually do this? I can't imagine using a dash cam to take videos of the scenery.

It seems so obvious to me, but I must be in the minority because everybody produces this other nonsense.
Because dash cams are useful for what they do. Just because they don't do what YOU want them to do, doesn't make them useless.

I think a dash cam is meant to be used as a tool to document events – nothing else.
Well, DUH.

I have never seen anything that meets the above few basic requirements. They all seem to be oversized units that advertise ridiculous bells and whistles.

Should I be looking for something called something else like a Car Security Camera, Truck Camera, Fleet Camera, or something else?

Barry.
Dashcams are useful when driving. They help document collisions, which can often come down to a dispute between two or more drivers on what happened. What you are looking for is a security system, which is not what a dashcam is for. Security systems are made for a car that is unattended, which by definition (until autonomous vehicles come to market) means the car is standing still. At that point, there is usually no issue of who is at fault. So what is the point of having security cameras in the car? They can still be stolen. They are useless unless they can get a clear picture of the perpetrator (or the vehicle license plate in case of a hit and run). But since you don't care about resolution, all you will get is a grainy, low-res video of someone or some car damaging your car. That won't help police. And even if it does capture the event clearly enough, most police departments aren't going to put a ton of resources into such minor crimes.

So that leaves insurance. Since the car wasn't in motion, any damage would be covered by comprehensive. There is no issue about determining fault (unless they suspect you of fraud.) It might help them in a case of hit-and-run if you get a clear-enough picture of the license plate, but mostly it won't make any difference to them whether you have video or not.

So in the end, what is this system going to do for you? Your car will still be damaged. You have a video of what happened, which you can share on youtube, but will not matter to anyone else. If your car was hit while parked, it will only matter to the police and/or insurance if you get a clear picture of the plate, which you probably won't.) If it is a break-in, even if you get a good picture of the perp, the police probably won't spend too much time looking for him or her. In the end, you still have a damaged car and stuff stolen from your car. You still have to deal with your insurance company and they won't really care if you have a video of the incident.
 
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canalrun

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Not worthless at all. You just don't know why they exist.
Because dash cams are useful for what they do. Just because they don't do what YOU want them to do, doesn't make them useless.
I basically agree with everything you said, there are scenarios where a front facing dash cam could be useful. But, I can think of many scenarios were taking a picture out front is not gonna solve anything.

My sister had her car totaled when she was rear-ended. The girl who hit her said my sister stopped short. The truth is the girl was probably playing a game on her cell phone – not talking, not texting. There was no way to prove this. Luckily nothing came of it, but it could've been really bad.

Three college students were killed recently at a stoplight when their car was T-boned. The DA says the other guy likely ran a red light, but it was 4 AM and there are no witnesses.
A front view dash cam would show the traffic light state, but only a side view would show what the other driver was doing when he T-boned the car (Was he trying to beat the light?)

A neighbor had his car hit from the right rear recently. The person ran off, but something on the car was red. I'm sure the police are looking for who did this.

My neighbors bike was stolen. Security camera video from my house 200 yards away captured somebody entering the garage and riding off on something. It's far too grainy to see any details, but it was enough proof for the insurance company and to file a police report.

This is why I think 360° view is necessary. I don't think the resolution or frame rate has to be super. Video bandwidth and storage size will be a problem if you have four cameras.

I wouldn't want anything huge stuck on my windshield and it shouldn't be possible for the person breaking into your car to just rip the dash cam off your windshield and steal all the video evidence. I would like to see the four camera video unit stuck to the windshield be as small as possible and the electronics in a separate box that can be hidden under the dashboard or maybe even in the trunk.

Barry.
 

Donuyen18

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I basically agree with everything you said, there are scenarios where a front facing dash cam could be useful. But, I can think of many scenarios were taking a picture out front is not gonna solve anything.

My sister had her car totaled when she was rear-ended. The girl who hit her said my sister stopped short. The truth is the girl was probably playing a game on her cell phone – not talking, not texting. There was no way to prove this. Luckily nothing came of it, but it could've been really bad.

Three college students were killed recently at a stoplight when their car was T-boned. The DA says the other guy likely ran a red light, but it was 4 AM and there are no witnesses.
A front view dash cam would show the traffic light state, but only a side view would show what the other driver was doing when he T-boned the car (Was he trying to beat the light?)

A neighbor had his car hit from the right rear recently. The person ran off, but something on the car was red. I'm sure the police are looking for who did this.

My neighbors bike was stolen. Security camera video from my house 200 yards away captured somebody entering the garage and riding off on something. It's far too grainy to see any details, but it was enough proof for the insurance company and to file a police report.

This is why I think 360° view is necessary. I don't think the resolution or frame rate has to be super. Video bandwidth and storage size will be a problem if you have four cameras.

I wouldn't want anything huge stuck on my windshield and it shouldn't be possible for the person breaking into your car to just rip the dash cam off your windshield and steal all the video evidence. I would like to see the four camera video unit stuck to the windshield be as small as possible and the electronics in a separate box that can be hidden under the dashboard or maybe even in the trunk.

Barry.
Excuse me Barry but, if your sister's vehicle was rear ended, the other person being at fault should have been automatic unless the other driver has video of your sister reversing into their car. Even if your sister stopped short, the other driver should not have been following so close. If a person sticks at a green light and does move, that doesn't give me the right to smash into their bumper
 


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canalrun

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... Even if your sister stopped short, the other driver should not have been following so close. ...
That's right, we can dream up millions of scenarios.

I think it would always be better to have a 360° view than just a front or front and back view.

People in my neighborhood have reported their cars are being ransacked at night. The thief enters via the passenger door - a front view camera won't capture this. The thief could just rip a mounted unit off the windshield taking the video evidence. That's why I believe a somewhat hidden electronics and storage unit is necessary. I also believe a 30 second preamble to an event should be stored to document whether the thief simply opened the door or somehow defeated the lock. Things can get nasty if something very expensive is taken.

In the case of the three college student deaths, the other driver can only be charged with traffic violations (such as speeding and leaving the scene of an accident) because there is no evidence. If negligence can be proven, he may be charged with vehicular manslaughter.

I think it would be worth spending a few hundred bucks to get a really comprehensive system, but I just can't find anything that addresses these needs.

Barry.
 

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My sister had her car totaled when she was rear-ended. The girl who hit her said my sister stopped short. The truth is the girl was probably playing a game on her cell phone – not talking, not texting. There was no way to prove this. Luckily nothing came of it, but it could've been really bad.
I mean... If this was the case, your sister having video of her car not stopping short would in fact be enough to prove she did not do as such. This is assuming a front camera only. In a front/rear camera setup this is a non issue as you'd be able to see if this driver was distracted or not.

Also a front and rear facing camera is enough to document almost all incidents. If for instance you get t-boned going through an intersection, you are going to be able to see if the light was green for you. Also you should be able to see the driver who is running their red light just before they reach the intersection. Also if you do get hit like described, almost always the car will spin, this of course would make it easy to see who hit you. Lets use another example of getting side swiped. Even if you and that person were going the exact same speed for the same distance (meaning the car was never visible on your cameras) at point of contact one of the two drivers is going to slow down or speed up causing the other car to come into frame. More importantly than that though is you can still see in the cameras if it is your fault or not... if you are maintaining your speed and lane then get hit... it is clearly not your fault.

There is almost no scenario where side cameras are needed to prove fault/innocence of a collision.
 
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canalrun

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... If this was the case, your sister having video of her car not stopping short would in fact be enough to prove she did not do as such. ...
True. I'm guessing 75% of the time a front facing dash cam will be able to document a collision and 95% of the time a front and rear facing dash cam set up will document a collision.

For the parking scenario when somebody rifles your car you'll wish you had side facing cameras. Showing a video of a thief taking that expensive item will go a long way. Front and rear cameras won't help.

Technically it's very feasible. Unless you use lower resolution cameras, you'll run into video bandwidth and storage requirement issues. For most people professional installation will be necessary. Low resolution video camera integrated circuits are cheap and there are plenty of off-the-shelf microprocessors and software platforms available. Having a small, four camera mounted unit with an external electronics, storage, and power box should not be a problem.

But then, viewing some of these reality shows on TV, you see that a guy with a tow truck can repossess a car in a few seconds.

Why doesn't the thief just tow the car away - video camera problem solved.

I see units that try to combat this by uploading real-time video to the cloud over 4G. The video evidence cannot be stolen, but 4G is not available everywhere, and all the thief needs to do is have a 4G jammer in the tow truck.

I guess it never ends.

Barry.
 

MavicTB

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True. I'm guessing 75% of the time a front facing dash cam will be able to document a collision and 95% of the time a front and rear facing dash cam set up will document a collision.

For the parking scenario when somebody rifles your car you'll wish you had side facing cameras. Showing a video of a thief taking that expensive item will go a long way. Front and rear cameras won't help.

Technically it's very feasible. Unless you use lower resolution cameras, you'll run into video bandwidth and storage requirement issues. For most people professional installation will be necessary. Low resolution video camera integrated circuits are cheap and there are plenty of off-the-shelf microprocessors and software platforms available. Having a small, four camera mounted unit with an external electronics, storage, and power box should not be a problem.

But then, viewing some of these reality shows on TV, you see that a guy with a tow truck can repossess a car in a few seconds.

Why doesn't the thief just tow the car away - video camera problem solved.

I see units that try to combat this by uploading real-time video to the cloud over 4G. The video evidence cannot be stolen, but 4G is not available everywhere, and all the thief needs to do is have a 4G jammer in the tow truck.

I guess it never ends.

Barry.
Yeah I am personally not sold on using dash cams as a means to document theft... If a thief wants to steal your $#!+ they will. No camera will stop it. BUT the mere presence of one could be a deterrent which is better than nothing. IMO its a trade off, how involved do you want your security system to be before its not worth the effort/cost. If my car gets stolen I have insurance with a 200 dollar deductible. What would a 4g lte 360 camera cost me per year? What are the chances the criminal would be caught or even charged/convicted? It would be more than 200 I am sure and more still than what my rate would go up to assuming a claim. For me a $100 wide angle 1440p hdr front facing dash cam is good enough. Any more spent is a waste. Then again... everyone's use case is unique to them.
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