X3000

The X3000 Dual Lens DVR is one of the most popular dual lens cameras available today.  This camera has both lenses on the main unit which allows recording what is happening in front of your vehicle and inside the vehicle.  I consider these dash cams, “taxi cams” since recording the interior of the car makes sense for taxi drivers.  Most other users would be better off with a dual camera with a separate rear lens that can be mounted on the rear window.

The X3000 is a standard definition camera that can record 1280 x 480p at 30fps for both the front and rear camera.  The video quality of the front camera average for the day (at best) and below average at night.  Reading license plates is difficult.  However this has some of the better 480p quality when compared to other cameras.   The rear camera quality is ok during the day (you don’t really need more than 480p for recording the interior) but very poor at night.  Most of the complaints regarding this camera revolve around video quality.  The X3000 comes with a G-sensor and GPS as well.  The GPS requires an external antenna to be mounted.

X3000 Models

This camera, like many Chinese cameras, has a number of different names:

• X3000 (Most popular)
• CVWL-C143 (A popular model name)
• R300 (Less popular model name)
• xDevice Black Box-20 (Russian model)
• F50 (Non GPS version which claims 720p shooting for front and has 8 leds around the front lens – note the leds do not improve night quality)
• Separate Rear Lens (GPS version which claims 720p shooting for front and has a separate rear lens)

Known problems

Hidden Files

Unlike most dash cams that have the video and data files readily accessible on the SD card, this camera required the use of a proprietary player (which gets written to the SD card) to view the videos and data.  Some users complain of locked files and the inability to access them.

Sensor Fail

When you connect the charger when the dash cam is off, you will sometimes receive a SENSOR FAIL error.  You will need to reset the camera to get this working again.  There is no known solution to this problem.  This problem has been reported numerous times.

Speed Stamp on Video

There is no way to embed the speed stamp on the video.  The speed can only be viewed using the provided software.

Inaccurate GPS

Some users complain of an inaccurate GPS on this unit.  Usually the GPS is off by a few meters and it will show the car on the sidewalk.

View mode

For some X3000 models, while watching a clip during view mode, if you press the MENU button the camera will turn off.

Mounting the camera

Standard mount

PC Software

The PC player for the X3000 is called the X2Player can be downloaded here.  Note that some vendors indicate this camera comes with OS X software.  This is not true and only the PC software is available.

Sample Videos

Day Videos

Night Videos

Should I Purchase?

While the picture quality is not the greatest, this camera performs adequately for a dual lens camera particularly in the day.  Poor night quality and reliability problems are the biggest drawback.  If you are looking for a dual lens “taxi camera” with GPS and can live with the picture quality, this camera might be an option.  However we do not recommend this camera given the reliability and video quality.

Firmware

WARNING!  MAKING CHANGES TO YOUR FIRMWARE ARE PERFORMED AT YOUR OWN RISK.  WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE TO YOUR DASH CAM AS A RESULT OF THESE INSTRUCTIONS.

There are only a few publicly available firmwares for the X3000 DVR.

• S3000A_FW_V17_UI1.3_20121029.zip
• x3000Neoline X3000 2012-05.BIN From May 2012

Specifications