BlackVue DR900X-2CH Dash Camera / BlackVue Cloud CM100LTE - Reviews

rcg530

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 23, 2021
Messages
1,515
Reaction score
2,557
Location
California
Country
United States
Dash Cam
BlackVue, Thinkware, VIOFO, Vantrue, Blueskysea, FineVu
A three video series where I review the BlackVue DR900X 2-channel dash camera along with the BlackVue Cloud CM100LTE 4G LTE connectivity module for North America.

Pittasoft provided the BlackVue DR900X-2CH dash camera and BlackVue Cloud CM100LTE 4G LTE connectivity module for free to review, but I express my true findings and opinions in the videos.

Video 1: BlackVue DR900X-2CH Camera Review
Video 2: BlackVue Cloud CM100LTE 4G LTE Connectivity Module Review
Video 3: BlackVue X Series Battery Protection Feature Testing & Wiring Modifications

 
Looks like my B4K wins for a better footage quality for the night recording!
 
Looks like my B4K wins for a better footage quality for the night recording!
I have to agree that the B4K front camera even with a CPL filter installed produced nighttime video footage with an overall brighter image especially on the left/right sides. It looks like the ISO is being bumped up by the sensor in the B4K camera to get that brighter video with a slight increase in noise level in the video footage. I didn't want to alter the DR900X front camera's brightness setting to try and increase the brightness of the nighttime footage, because it may have been too bright for daytime video.
 
Blackvue and Thinkware have always been more about features than video quality. I prefer video quality be as good as I can get because if something bad does happen, it's the video you're going to need- not features. But to each their own...

Phil
 
The reality, based on everything I've read and seen, is that higher resolution video quality, ie, 4k is no advantage at all. In low light scenarios (nighttime) you will see more with 1080 or 1440 resolution dash cams, not to mention that 4k dashcams will run much hotter!

Also, If you are unable to read a license plate with a 1080/1440 dashcam, you most likely will not be able to read it with a 4k dsshcam either. So, going for "video quality" might sound good, but prove to be not much good at all.

As for the "features" that Blackvue and Thinkware provides, i would much prefer those over "video quality". Seeing a great pic of a guy in a hoody which obscures his face while he smashes your car will not do you much good 8-20 hours after the event; i personally would rather know exactly when the damage is occurring... then something could possibly be done to actually deter the criminal act.

Blackvue and Thinkware dashcams will provide that kind of information. To me, that's much more valuable than a "possibly better video" during daylight hours.
 
The reality, based on everything I've read and seen, is that higher resolution video quality, ie, 4k is no advantage at all. In low light scenarios (nighttime) you will see more with 1080 or 1440 resolution dash cams, not to mention that 4k dashcams will run much hotter!

Also, If you are unable to read a license plate with a 1080/1440 dashcam, you most likely will not be able to read it with a 4k dsshcam either. So, going for "video quality" might sound good, but prove to be not much good at all.

As for the "features" that Blackvue and Thinkware provides, i would much prefer those over "video quality". Seeing a great pic of a guy in a hoody which obscures his face while he smashes your car will not do you much good 8-20 hours after the event; i personally would rather know exactly when the damage is occurring... then something could possibly be done to actually deter the criminal act.

Blackvue and Thinkware dashcams will provide that kind of information. To me, that's much more valuable than a "possibly better video" during daylight hours.
The work product of a dashcam (mainly video) is ignored 99.9% of the time until something happens when you hope the captured video will show you the necessary information for the incident that occurred. The work product of a dashcam can include notifications when an event occurs assuming the dashcam has a cloud connectivity feature, it works reliably and the LTE connectivity is available and stable in the areas the vehicle is driven / parked.

Right now, I'm reviewing two different 3-channel dashcams. I have four dashcams in my car ranging from two recording 1080p video, one recording 2K/1440p video and the last one recording 4K/2160p video. All four the dashcams record video that has decent enough video clarity for plates that are directly in front of my car. All four dashcams struggle with plates on vehicles in motion (in the opposite direction that my car is traveling), but the 1440p/2160p dashcams at least capture enough to give you a chance to figure out the plate info, while the plate info in the 1080p video is just a blurry mess for that moving plate.

4K dashcams at night can struggle in low light situations, but not all 4k dashcams are bad. Some of the inexpensive 4K dashcams I've reviewed actually produce decent low light video.

My "perfect" dashcam feature set would be a 2K/1440p capable front dashcam with a 2K/1440p rear camera, cloud connectivity and decent cloud features (notifications mainly). The 2K/1440p video seems to be the sweet spot for better daytime video quality but still recording decent nighttime video.

I like the BlackVue products for their cloud features. I've only owned one Thinkware product the F800 Pro. So, I don't know how well the Thinkware cloud features work. I agree having a dashcam with cloud connectivity is a must have feature assuming the cost of the feature itself in dashcam hardware (LTE connectivity) and the ongoing service cost for the LTE connectivity is affordable to the vehicle owner.
 
The work product of a dashcam (mainly video) is ignored 99.9% of the time until something happens when you hope the captured video will show you the necessary information for the incident that occurred. The work product of a dashcam can include notifications when an event occurs assuming the dashcam has a cloud connectivity feature, it works reliably and the LTE connectivity is available and stable in the areas the vehicle is driven / parked.

Right now, I'm reviewing two different 3-channel dashcams. I have four dashcams in my car ranging from two recording 1080p video, one recording 2K/1440p video and the last one recording 4K/2160p video. All four the dashcams record video that has decent enough video clarity for plates that are directly in front of my car. All four dashcams struggle with plates on vehicles in motion (in the opposite direction that my car is traveling), but the 1440p/2160p dashcams at least capture enough to give you a chance to figure out the plate info, while the plate info in the 1080p video is just a blurry mess for that moving plate.

4K dashcams at night can struggle in low light situations, but not all 4k dashcams are bad. Some of the inexpensive 4K dashcams I've reviewed actually produce decent low light video.

My "perfect" dashcam feature set would be a 2K/1440p capable front dashcam with a 2K/1440p rear camera, cloud connectivity and decent cloud features (notifications mainly). The 2K/1440p video seems to be the sweet spot for better daytime video quality but still recording decent nighttime video.

I like the BlackVue products for their cloud features. I've only owned one Thinkware product the F800 Pro. So, I don't know how well the Thinkware cloud features work. I agree having a dashcam with cloud connectivity is a must have feature assuming the cost of the feature itself in dashcam hardware (LTE connectivity) and the ongoing service cost for the LTE connectivity is affordable to the vehicle owner.
Well said. 4k is not the holy grail of dashcams; maybe in the future, but not right now.

Most everyone would like to receive immediate notification of anything happening to their car while parked; since there are presently only two Companies (Blackvue & Thinkware) that provide that feature (cloud/parking mode), those dashcams are not cheap. Everyone needs to decide if it's worth paying for. To me, it's definitely worth it.
 
There are other brands, but just not ones you hear much about.
 
Well, "if," there are other brands that are competing with the likes of Blackview or Thinkware, they ought to be able to provide the marketing to let consumers know about their products. If they can't afford to pay for marketing, they probably can't afford "customer service" either... so probably not good companies to choose for your family's safety.

And we all know how many paying customers have been dragged through dashcam-hell because they cannot get customer support. - - Unfortunately too many!

Customers are more than willing to pay for dashcam reliability and customer support. Unfortunately, even when paying high
costs, those qualities can sometimes remain very elusive.
 
Back
Top