Looking for a 4-channel dashcam setup for driving + multi-day parking in Austria

[Maximum]

Hi everyone,

I’m from Austria and currently doing my military service in Villach. My car may sometimes be parked in a public paid parking area from Monday to Friday, without CCTV/security.

I’m looking for a long-term dashcam setup, not a temporary solution.

What I want​

Preferably a true 4-channel setup:

• Front
• Rear
• Left side
• Right side

An interior camera would only be optional. Real side coverage is more important to me because I also want to capture parking damage and vandalism, e.g. someone scratching the side of the car.

I do not want a mirror-style dashcam.

Parking mode​

Main priority:

• Buffered parking recording
• Motion detection
• G-sensor / impact detection
• Optional time-lapse or low-bitrate mode

I do not want normal 24/7 full-frame recording for several days.

Power supply​

I would prefer a dedicated dashcam battery, not several days of parking mode from the starter battery.

Ideally:

• charges while driving
• powers the dashcam while parked
• preferably LiFePO4
• proper low-temperature charging protection
• correct ACC/parking-mode signalling

The camera must actually switch into its proper parking mode when powered by the external battery.

Runtime​

In the worst case I would like to cover roughly 4–5 days of parking.

I am therefore interested in real parking-mode power consumption, not only manufacturer runtime claims.

For reference, even an average consumption of 3 W would already require about:

• 72 Wh/day
• 360 Wh/5 days

So low standby consumption and/or an expandable battery system are important.

Normal driving​

Important features:

• good front, rear and side image quality
• good night performance
• HDR
• GPS
• accurate date/time
• optional speed overlay
• loop recording
• automatic event locking
• Wi-Fi/app
• easy clip download
• large High Endurance microSD support
• preferably a supercapacitor

Actual image quality and licence-plate readability are more important to me than simply having the highest advertised resolution.

Austria / data protection​

Because I am in Austria, I would prefer a setup that can be configured for:

• short loop recording
• automatic overwriting
• short buffered/event clips
• only relevant incidents being protected
• no unnecessary long-term archive of normal driving or public parking areas

Low priority​

I do not really care about:

• ADAS
• lane departure warnings
• blind-spot warnings
• voice control
• large displays

Systems considered so far​

I have looked at:

• Thinkware
• VIOFO
• BlackVue
• Vantrue

Thinkware + Multiplexer looks interesting for real multi-camera coverage, but I am open to other systems.

What I would like to know​

1. Which true 4-channel front/rear/left/right setup would you recommend?
2. Which systems have a good buffered parking mode + motion detection + impact detection?
3. What is the real parking-mode power consumption?
4. Which dedicated battery setup would you recommend?
5. Is 4–5 days of parking coverage realistically achievable without using the starter battery?
6. Any experience with good side-camera mounting positions and long-term reliability?

Budget is flexible if the system is reliable and worth keeping long term.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Chuck McCoy]

Welcome to the club @Maximum
What you want does not exist.
Come back to this thread October 1, 2026 and tag me @Chuck McCoy

I’m from Austria and currently doing my military service

Thank you for your service.
My favorite American was an Austrian Tank Commander.

 

[Maximum]

Ah, Arnold 😄 I actually live only about 20–25 minutes from his childhood home, and I used to drive past it every week.

 

[Maximum]

Thanks for the hint about October 1st — I’ll definitely come back and tag you.


In the meantime, could you maybe tell me which part of my requirements is currently the main problem? Is it the true 4-channel front/rear/left/right setup, the low-power buffered parking mode, or the 4–5 day battery runtime?


And without giving away anything you can’t talk about yet, what currently available setup would come closest to what I’m looking for?


Any other advice on what I should prioritise or avoid would also be appreciated.

 

[snowleopard]

Sounds like an exciting October!

Based on what I have encountered so far, for a 2-channel dashcam operating (in buffered recording) with an external battery probably last 2 or less days (let alone a 4-channel setup). Having a large capacity external battery (e.g. iRoad 15 PRO - 15,000mAh / 192Wh) also need to factor in the duration you drive daily to ensure full-charge.

I compromised on the buffer recording with my current setup using Blackvue Elite series power saving mode (no buffer recording and spring to recording upon impact within 1 sec). Tested 5 days of such parking mode with no issue using an external battery (7,800mAh / 99.84Wh).

 

[Chuck McCoy]

In the meantime, could you maybe tell me which part of my requirements is currently the main problem? Is it the true 4-channel front/rear/left/right setup, the low-power buffered parking mode, or the 4–5 day battery runtime?

 

[kamkar]

Herzlich willkommen an der forum Maximum.

You are asking quite a lot here.

First of all there are precious few 4 channel systems, and even fewer if you want 2 of the cameras to be film out the side of the car.
So the best thing would probably be to work with two dual channel systems, the people that have done so have often put the main box on the front and rear glass, and then put the two remote " rear " cameras on the sides.
But putting cameras on the side mean you are pretty much forced to have a fixed piece of glass ( this can often be on the rear doors ) or you will not be able to roll up / down windows where you might put it otherwise.

In general most systems can be set to either record in 1-2-3-5-10 minute segments, i have always preferred 3 minutes myself.
There are a few brands that do not allow for this.

Overwriting of stuff when full is a basic must have dashcam feature, but there are nuances to how it is done.
Some will assign a fixed amount of the memory card space for events, other will do the same but the space is dynamic.
I think these days it is not uncommon to also have these event memory allocations be overwritten if / when they fill up, this is of course done just like with normal footage, so the oldest files will be the first to go.
How the events are handled are also different in between the brands, and also the mode you use.
Many will have a pre buffed in memory so you can get a few seconds from before the trigger event, but this of course necessitate that the system are largely on and recording, so NOT a power saving parking guard mode.
Other will deal in the segment size you have chosen, so 3 minutes might be saved, once a brand even saved 2 segments, depending on where you was in the current recording, the previous or the following segment would also be locked.
I personally liked that very much for manual save events, CUZ you did not have to rush to the save button like you would if you have a little buffer of a few seconds.
But for parking guard it would not be good, also it too would demand the system to be on and recording, and so also not power saving in any meaningful way, though if you like me only use parking gor a few hours after you have parked it would be fine.
I prefer low bitrate myself on a 3 hour timer as at home i have CCTV from my apartment, and also most places i go to ( i am early retired so not working ) 3 hours easy cover my shopping and visits to my little sister ASO.

Motion detection are not really working, at least you risk little things setting it off for no reason, 70mai have done AI on this and testing some of their systems they indeed din not create very many results, due to the setup where a person would have to stand still in front of your vehicle for it to start recording, so generally that only gave me recordings of people filling their car at the gas station, and just one from where i shop as 2 people met right outside the door and stopped to talk, but otherwise people just walk by and the system would not react to that.
Also here not really a power saving mode as a lot of things have to be on.

You will need a BIG memory card, also bigger than the normal i recommend these days which is 256 Gb size, that will be fine for driving and light parking guard service.
Today most will handle a 512 Gb card, and some have also been known to want to work with a 1TB memory card, these just terrible expensive in this AI crisis / insanity.

The lowest power saving systems today, pretty much turn off completely, but then on a impact they wake up pretty fast and start to record, but in that case you do not have any footage from before.
As i recall the fastest systems is about a second in waking up, slower ones might be 2-3 seconds.
I also think this is fine for anything but a hit and run if you was parked curb side, CUZ that is a too fast event.

But these systems as everything but a little chip on the side is sleeping these will also be the ones with the minimal power use when parked.

Some will also have a radar on front / rear to wake up system, but this too have limitations as i understand it ( never been privy to test such a system )

Personally i have contemplated long duration parking guard as a mental exercise, and i came to the conclusion that if i got the need for that, i would go for 1 or 2 extra batteries insulated from the car battery so it would never be discharged by dashcams.
It is a similar setup to what campers might have to insulate the TV and what not power hogs in the back to work but not endanger your vehicle battery, these batteries should then be AGM type as they allow for a deeper discharge then regular lead acid batteries where 12.2 volts is seen as a 50% depleted battery.

But i am glad i do not have that need, it will not be cheap and would entail a lot of work even not factoring in my advanced age and physical decline.

You should probably also look at the Vueroid brand, even if they too don’t really have anything 4 channel to go.

 

[Maximum]

Thanks, that’s very helpful.

The 2×2CH approach is actually something I hadn’t considered seriously before, especially using the two remote rear cameras for the side views. The fixed-glass limitation makes sense as well.

The biggest trade-off seems to be exactly what you described: if I want buffered recording or useful motion detection, the system has to stay mostly awake, which makes 4–5 days of parking much harder. The ultra-low-power modes solve the runtime problem, but then I lose the footage from before the impact.

I’ll also have a look at Vueroid.

If you were building a setup like this today, which 2CH systems would you personally consider for the two-unit approach? And would you still recommend AGM for the auxiliary battery, or would a properly managed LiFePO4 setup also make sense in your opinion?

Thanks again for the detailed explanation.

 

[Chuck McCoy]

@Maximum
What kind of car do you have?
Can you put a solar panel on the roof?
A solar panel will give you “unlimited” parking mode operation.

 

[Maximum]

@Chuck McCoy

It’s a Citroën hatchback, so I don’t have roof rails like in your examples.


I’m not against the solar idea, but I wouldn’t want to drill into the roof or use a mounting method that could scratch or damage the paint. My other concern is how to route the cable into the car without compromising the factory seals.


If there’s a clean, fully reversible way to mount and wire a solar panel on a hatchback without damaging the car, I’d definitely consider it.

 

[GPak]

@Maximum
An alternative to a 4-channel dash cam is the Viofo A329S (3ch): 4K front, 2K rear, and 2K interior (with a fisheye lens).
The fisheye interior camera features a very wide angle of view (up to 210°), allowing it to capture the area through the front side windows (both left and right) as well as both rear windows. It effectively covers the A-pillars and even small sections of the windshield at the sides.
Low Bit Rate (LBR) mode is undoubtedly the most reliable, informative, and best of all parking recording modes.
Furthermore, LBR consumes slightly less power than any buffered mode.
The A329S (3ch) model consumes approximately 6.5 W in LBR mode.
Operating in LBR mode for 120 hours (5 days) requires a battery with a capacity of around 1000 Wh.
This capacity accounts for actual power consumption (6.5 W × 120 h = 780 Wh) plus self-discharge losses and system efficiency.

There are many Power Stations (using LFP batteries) with a 1000 Wh capacity; some of these could serve as a power source for parking mode.
Possible wiring diagram is shown here:
(also read the subsequent posts)
https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threads/ecoflow-and-viofo.51429/post-637041

Alternatively, if you are interested in DIY projects, here are a couple of links:
(also read the subsequent posts)
https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threa...ours-20-minute-quick-charge.61067/post-668208
https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threads/lto-lithium-titanate-oxide-–-the-ultimate-battery-for-dash-cam-parking-mode-diy.50484/post-658624

 

[Maximum]

Thanks, that makes the A329S 3CH more interesting.


I’m not particularly comfortable with recording myself inside the car while driving. Do you know if the interior/fisheye camera can be disabled during normal driving but automatically enabled in parking mode?


I know the interior camera can apparently be switched on/off manually, but an automatic driving/parking behaviour would make this setup much more attractive to me.


Also, just to confirm: the A329S has no built-in LTE/cellular connection, correct? I would prefer the footage to stay local on the camera/SD card unless I connect to it myself.

 

[GPak]

YES — The interior camera can be set to automatically operate only while parked, only while driving, or in both cases.

Viofo cameras do not have a built-in LTE function.

 

[Chuck McCoy]

I don’t have roof rails like in your examples

I've seen paper thin magnetic solar panels.
No drilling required.

My other concern is how to route the cable into the car without compromising the factory seals.

You can find the right location to "squeeze" the power wire in-between the rear hatch.
Last year I installed 2 external side cameras under my side view "wing mirrors".
It was just a temporary install to gather test footage so that's what I did.
A year later it's still the same.
I've driven in the rain, and still waterproof.

I’m not particularly comfortable with recording myself inside the car while driving.

In addition to setting when the IR Interior camera records, if you don't want it looking you in the face you, can mount it on the rear window looking forward.
It will come in handy in parking mode when you're not in the car.

 

[Maximum]

@GPak
Thanks, that’s exactly what I wanted to know.


Being able to have the interior camera automatically enabled only while parked makes the A329S 3CH much more interesting for me.


The lack of built-in LTE is fine as well. I’d rather keep everything local by default.


My main remaining questions are now the real side coverage through the windows and the power consumption for multi-day parking, but this setup definitely looks worth considering.

 

[Maximum]

@Chuck McCoy
That’s interesting, especially the external side cameras under the wing mirrors.


How did you route the cables from the mirrors into the cabin? Did you use the existing door wiring/grommets, or did you have to add a separate cable path?


That kind of side-camera setup would probably fit my use case better than relying on an interior fisheye camera.

 

[Chuck McCoy]

How did you route the cables from the mirrors into the cabin? Did you use the existing door wiring/grommets, or did you have to add a separate cable path?

This was my third attempt at Left + Right Side Cameras.
I have two cars.
1.) 2010 Mercury Grand Marquis
2.) 2004 Ford Crown Victoria
They’re basically the same thing with different badging.

The first was the Grand Marquis back in 2020.
I ran the wiring just as you said.
I ran the rear camera cables along side the OEM factory wiring through all original holes, grommets.
No cutting, or modifications were made.
However it was extremely difficult because the VIOFO A129 Plus Duo uses an “extremely” thick rear camera cable.
I literally had to use lubricant to pull, and slide it through all the nooks, and crannies.
The current / modern VIOFO A329S uses “super thin" yet durable MCX Coax Cable for all the remote cameras.
It’s a pleasure to work with, you can bend it however you like, and it will stay put.
This video explains the installation.

Here’s demos of the POV of the side view cameras;

I’ll put my second attempt in the next post.

 

[Chuck McCoy]

@Maximum

The reason I made a second attempt at Left + Right side view cameras, I was not happy with the POV.
The first side cameras were mounted on fixed windows so they looked straight out.
I wanted the cameras canted toward the rear to mimic Tesla side view POV.
Back in 2023 I used my 2004 Ford Crown Victoria with homemade camera mounts.
I mounted the side cameras to the headliner above the rear passenger window next to the B-Pillar.
I liked the POV better than the first attempt, but still not 100% happy.
That’s why I swapped to external waterproof cameras mounted under the side view “wing mirrors” in 2025.

 

[Maximum]

Thanks for the detailed explanation and the videos — that helps a lot.


I think I would still prefer to keep all cameras inside the car if possible. I’m not too keen on mounting cameras externally because of weather, car washes, possible damage/vandalism and the additional wiring through the doors/mirrors.


So the A329S 3CH with the interior camera enabled only while parked is currently looking more attractive as a compromise.


Have you found any interior mounting position for side coverage that came reasonably close to the external mirror-mounted cameras?

 

[kamkar]

My last 360 system i used a dual remote system for the side windows, back then most remote cameras was wedge shaped but on that side system they was only half the size of normal remote / rear cameras back then.
They was so small the lenses in them was the unusual 8 mm fine thread VS the norm for dash and action cameras which is 12 mm fine thread, or S mount as they are called in the CCTV world.

The dual remote system.

Thread 'K2S received'

Jan 25, 2019

And what a nice looking little camera it is, also nothing to blame on packaging though there was no protective film on cameras or the LCD, but it is also a pre - production sample i have received.
And it have put me in a damn dilemma, it is - 3 degrees outside and snow in the forecast for the evening / night and weekend, and really all i can think off right now are getting this camera installed in my car.

First of all some pictures for you guys, and later on i will do a video of the menus.

For now everything look and feel good, so i am...

• kamkar
• Replies: 251
• Forum: K2S

• 

A video i whipped up with footage demoing up close coverage.

The problem is nobody really make dual remote systems today, though i think many motorcycle systems are pretty much the same, a small main box and then two cameras on wires to put front and rear on the motorcycle.

I did not like the use of 2 identical systems and then using main units front and rear CUZ they are much larger systems and so more visible, then again back then with 2-3-4 cameras on the rear window so was they.
So more of a ethical principle for me.

It would of course be a big + to have two identical systems CUZ they they would boot at the same speed and so the footage should pretty much be in sync

Please note, this is on a small JAP 5 door hatchback, almost micro size ( Suzuki Splash ) with side cameras on rear door fixed glass.