Got my x2 last Friday. Jon the seller included his Tel and cell. I called him to ask if I could bother him with questions over the weekend. His reply was sure, call anytime. Thank you Jon, you stand behind your cam. Today I hardwired the X2 and finished with the front portion. The rear I will leave for another weekend. I wanted to share some of my first impressions and ask few questions;
First, I wired it to a booster battery in my kitchen and fiddled around with the setting. I think when all is installed, I will call Jon and go over the setting one by one with him, set it, and forget it. I have no intention to experiment on the cam to see what's works for me shy of checking it every week or so to make sure it works. Unlike other members here, I had 0 issues with memory cards. Got 2 Transcend 64GB that were recommended by Niko (thank you Niko!). In the parking mode setting there's an option to set parking time. What is it? Is that the duration of recording after the car is off? I wasn't sure about it and set it to 24Hrs (I want it to to continually record) . I love how you get an option to divide the memory card and choose the portion of memory you want to allocate to normal/parking/ and events. On the Video setting, I set the bit rate to "Low" (I think it was like that by default). Again, what is it? and how it effect the Video/memory usage/ etc.
Next I set in the car looking for the best location to mount the front box (That's what it look like...). I also had my son hold it against the windshield while I stood outside directing him to move in various directions to see what does the cam look like from the outside. I was looking for a good compromise between the best position to capture the road ahead, stealth, and minimum interference with driver visibility. At the end, I mounted it right behind the rear view mirror. It's very hard to play with the setting where it is, but this was the best location for my needs.
Next I covered every shining surface with electrical tape (thank you Niko. again!). I wish the manufacturer would have designed it like it right out of the factory. Who need all the blings and shining finishes on the cam??? The whole purpose I chose this cam is the parking mode. I have a Tesla and the first thing to meet a backing driver on my car is a cone (not a bumper), the damage would be catastrophic... I really wanted the cam to be stealthy. Same with the clear plastic bracket. It is too visible from the outside. I wish it was plain black, and I wish it was shorter so the cam would be closer to the glass. Also wish the USB cable to the "box", would end with 90° angle like the power cable. That would put less stress on the jack.
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At the end, I think the location works for me. I have to move the mirror to play with the setting, and even than, I can't reach the whole screen unless I use a thin object.
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Few more remarks, questions;
Why can't the screen go off at all? Even when it goes off, it doesn't. There's a date/time moving around like a screen saver. This shine on the back of my rear view mirror and doesn't make the cam that stealthy. It's also consume power (as little that it may be) and will shorten the screen life. This screen is going to be turned on infinitely, or for as long as it plugged in. Hope this is going to be corrected on later firmware. Same with the "back" arrow when reviewing videos on the camera. It doesn't take you to previous screen where you see the list of video segments you were on a moment ago, but to the beginning of the playback function where you need to choose card (front or back).
This is my immediate question/concerns I have. I know this is a new product with firmware upgrade soon to come. I researched for days before choosing the X2. So far it look like a quality device. I am writing this before even reviewing the video footage on my computer. I will write back with my impressions on the video quality.
