The latest All-in-one 5" Android Mirrors from China...Any Experience?

[Reyalp]

Hi Guys,

Please bare with me, i tend to rant on a bit...

I already have a Mini 0801 (front facing) which i'm very happy with now they've finally sorted out the firmware. Its been running perfectly for months now and has even seen me through an insurance claim (the insurance company jumped for joy when they saw the footage!) and has therefore paid for itself with no claims discount still intact less than a year after i bought it, couldn't be better. I've even ordered one of the new A7 chipped mini's in celebration!

Ongoing from the front facing camera's success i'd like to introduce a rear facing dvr camera along with the ability to use it for reverse parking. I could put my beloved old 0801 in the back window when my new A7 mini arrives (to go in the front) but there lies my problem. I have a honda civic, the spaceship version, and it doesn't have a rear wiper (or a spare tyre, but thats another story!) The rear view out of the civic is best described as "crap" in good conditions, and next to fxxking useless at all other times (and i live in scotland, guess the conditions i get most!) So camera viewing out the rear window is a no go for me.

So basically i need an external rear facing camera, of high res, that i can use as a reversing camera as needed that i can link to a display near to my driving position thats discrete. I thought of these rearview mirrors a few months back but to be honest the spec's and reviews were pretty poor. I had a look again recently and saw these android devices that look like they might fit the bill, they have a lot of "bells an whistles" on that i dont actually need but they looked quite promising. I was looking at "higher end" devices ( circa $200 range) that had 'auto-reverse-display' etc but can't find one that will do higher than VGA resolution.

Has anyone had any experience of these things? Are they any good?

Your thoughts and ideas would be appreciated.

regards

Mark

 

[Nigel]

Put the mini in the rear window, then get a separate cheap reversing camera system for the reversing. You don't need high resolution for reversing and you don't want the wide field of view of the mini either. You also want the reversing camera low down and the mini high up. It does help to have a rear wiper but a bit of dirt will be out of focus so wont cause too much of a problem. It's steam/condensation that is the real problem.

 

[Reyalp]

Exactly Nigel, the civic isn't great at defrosting either, i'm not sure the 0801 in the back will do much. I often drive away to work with next to no vision out the rear window (fortunately the civic by necessity i suspect, was fitted with excellent wing mirrors, so i can drive safely) so i'm not sure how much any camera could 'see' out of the rear window. Also, what camera viewing system would you recommend? I would like it to be discrete, i hate things stuck to my windscreen. I thought a replacement rearview mirror would fit the bill. Anyone tried these new mirrors?

 

[Reyalp]

BTW Nigel, I just ordered one of the new A7 mini's. Are they any better then the originals?

 

[petepete]

I stiill own a 57 plate 2.2 diesel civic.... fitted with reverse camera and 7 inch mirror mount display...

the camera is 120 degree but i would prefer wider and gives a perfect vision if you run the cable behind the top of the door rubbers and on to the rear boot door through the rubber grommet .

the camera is best mounted at the top of the perspex below the spoiler on the inside and it is a must to get a camera with the reverse lines on screen allowing you to park perfectly...

as i get in the car i instinctively wipe the perspex with my fingers if it has rained or frosted (it never mists on inside) and it stays clear whilst moving come rain or snow for the entire journey.....(only wipe 2 inch where camera is )

dipped lights on cars behind are below the camera....

as for the 7 inch screen, i have it on day and night and you dont even notice it there and boy does it look a part of the spaceship and i wouldnt want to drive a civic without one

 

[Reyalp]

That sounds great Petepete, I've not seen 7inch mirrors around, what model do you have?

My rear perspex always looks a bit cloudy even when cleaned so i didn't think it would work well with a camera.
But Nigel and yourself seem to think a camera would work fine so i think i'll give it a go.

I've seen the mirrors with the overlayed reverse lines, i wondered how accurate they were, you've answered that one.

I was also wondering about how wide these mirrors are, some people report not being able to fully deploy their sun visors,
i dont think this would be a major issue for me to be honest but it would be good to know if other people have had issues with it.

Also, many of these mirrors seem to come with a forward facing camera mounted to the offside of the mirror (ie for left hand drive cars), and when adjusted
for forward facing vision are blocked by the oem mirror mounting obscuring the view (techmoan had issues with this). Do you have one of these models?
Is it really an issue? I have a forward facing camera anyway, i could always not use the forward facing mirror camera, my mini0801 is doing a sterling job by itself, it doesn't need any help. I hate paying for stuff im not going to use though.

And lastly (honest!) I was thinking of using my old mini0801 rear facing (as Nigel suggested) and plugging it in to the mirror. I already realise this is gonna get real geeky! Do you have to use the rear camera that comes with the mirror or can you plug in a different one? If you can will it record correctly in 1080p or is the whole set-up geared for the supplied camera? I kinda know thats probably an impossible question to answer, just wondered if anybody has thought along those lines or indeed accomplished anything similar.

And yes the civic interior does lend itself very well to spaceship type gizmos, from the mirrors i've looked at so far it would defo look the part!

thanks all, you've been very helpful, any other ideas gratefully received...

 

[petepete]

funnily enough ...

I have decided to fit this in my megane cabrio as its kicking around doing nothing and has two av ins one for reverse camera and one for dashcam

http://screencast.com/t/cxlfMzHGkZo

it can be found on ebay here.. for $30

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/201079777226
your Perspex will be fine ..

 

[jokiin]

You can't plug the 0801 into the mirror as a rear can, use it as a standalone device only

 

[Reyalp]

Ok jokiin, i bow to your superior knowledge, i kinda figured as much (would need a major firmware upgrade).

 

[Reyalp]

Although im sure you could make the necessary firmware!!

 

[jokiin]

Not something you can just fix with firmware, wrong hardware for the task