BlackVue - External or Internal LTE?

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newbieraf

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Hey Guys

This is my first post and I'm a newbie to the dashcam world. I have settled on getting a BlackVue Dashcam however I am not sure if I should go for the 750 LTE or 750X or 900X with an LTE Module? My thinking with going with an external module is, if in the future BlackVue start going 5G in theory I could just get the new 5G module pending its compatible etc. I'm trying to future proof myself within reason if you see what I mean. What do you guys recommend?

Thanks
Raf
 
No way to know if a 5G version will come or if it would be compatible, for the functionality they offer in the cloud based features LTE is plenty anyway, feedback I've seen from dealers here is that the built in version is better than the external model, not sure why but have heard the same from a few dealers now
 
Thank you @jokiin. I guess its because LTE is integrated. I would have liked 4K but then apparently the 750 is better in low light because of 1080p fewer pixels.
 
If future proofing is a priority, recommend getting the 900X and then installing a separate hotspot in the car. Actually, I'd wait a bit and see if they upgrade the 900X sensor like they just did the 750X, but your need may be more immediate...

Then whenever you upgrade one, you won't have to worry about the other.

Probably be less expensive in the long run that way too.
 
Thanks @KANNINA 2.0 my thoughts also but, I kinda need it sooner rather than later. I think the 750 LTE removes all the potential messing around with local connectivity and should just work provided there is a LTE signal. When 5G comes out I can always get a hotspot.

One question, does anyone know if you can configure blackview to connect to home wifi once within range?
 
newbieraf said:
Thanks @KANNINA 2.0 my thoughts also but, I kinda need it sooner rather than later. I think the 750 LTE removes all the potential messing around with local connectivity and should just work provided there is a LTE signal. When 5G comes out I can always get a hotspot.

One question, does anyone know if you can configure blackview to connect to home wifi once within range?
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Recommend you read up on experiences here, some people are having issues with the BV LTE module connectivity.

Yes, you can set up the BV cams to connect to your home wifi, I do with no problems.

The BV firmware will look for up to 3 wifi networks in priority order, and connect to whichever it finds first. You can download the manual and read about that feature if you like.

When I pull into my garage, the cam sees my home network, links up, and then I use a program called "BlackVue Downloader" to automatically download the day's vids to my computer. Leave it running on a PC in the house and it looks for your cam to pop up on the network, then automatically connects and downloads, hands-off. You can read about that program in the forums here. There are other ways to do that, but if you have a BV cam, this is the easiest.

Pretty handy, setup is pretty easy, have had no issues with cam, network connectivity, LTE connectivity, or video downloading so far.
 
awesome, thank you again sir. Even though not the best specs but think I will go for the 750 LTE unless anyone else has any other suggestions
 
newbieraf said:
awesome, thank you again sir. Even though not the best specs but think I will go for the 750 LTE unless anyone else has any other suggestions
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You're welcome. Do make sure you get the newest one, they literally just upgraded the 750X sensor a week or two ago.
 
newbieraf said:
This is the only one I see in the UK
newbieraf said:
This is the only one I see in the UK

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/B08GCH931R

DR750-2CH LTE Dash Cam | BlackVue UK

The new BlackVue DR750-2CH LTE is more than just a dash cam, it’s an always-on, 4G cloud-connected video surveillance system for your car.
blackvue.uk blackvue.uk
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Specs look like the new one, it's called the DR750X "Plus."

See here:

https://helpcenter.blackvue.com/hc/...us-Series-Full-HD-Cloud-Dashcam-Now-Available

and here:

 
ah yes Ive seen than already, but it uses the external LTE module
 
newbieraf said:
ah yes Ive seen than already, but it uses the external LTE module
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Yeah, I don't understand what they were thinking at BV.

They "upgraded" the DR750X, whose primary feature that made it different from the 900X was the built-in LTE (yes, there are other differences, but that was the big one), to the 750X "Plus" by adding a better sensor but REMOVING the built-in LTE.

Makes no sense. What they really did was create a new model in between the 750X and 900X.

They should have just upgraded the 750X sensor (which it needed) and left the rest alone.

I'm betting that a lot of people, like you, who were waiting for BV to get off their butts and upgrade the 750X and 900X sensors will now buy the 750X "Plus" and not realize that they're not getting built-in LTE until they unbox the thing.

IMO, BV just created confusion and will annoy more customers.
 
I couldnt agree more. I think they are struggling with the form factor of the camera plus the heat disipation as they simply cant fit all this tech into one package without temp becoming an issue
 
newbieraf said:
I couldn't agree more. I think they are struggling with the form factor of the camera plus the heat dissipation as they simply cant fit all this tech into one package without temp becoming an issue
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Yeah, the large size of the 750X to accomodate the built-in 4G was one of the things that steered me away from it.

The 750X and 900X both added significantly more heat dissipation venting over the "S" models of those cams. That additional heat tolerance and the built-in battery protection (vs. needing an external power-magic type device) were major factors in my selection of the 900X.

I live in Southern Arizona. My car is outside in the direct sun when parked all day, every weekday at a minimum, haven't had any problems yet. That said, the cam hasn't lived through the hottest part of a summer yet, so we'll see...
 
Assuming you also use the LTE module, have you experienced any issues with that such as connectivity?
 
newbieraf said:
Assuming you also use the LTE module, have you experienced any issues with that such as connectivity?
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I use a third-party (Verizon, in the US) USB-connected 4G LTE vehicle hotspot. The BV LTE module isn't compatible with my wireless provider, and I didn't care to create another account with a different provider just for that. Plus, I didn't want another large, unsightly, and expensive widget stuck to my windshield and baking in the Arizona sun.

No connectivity issues whatsoever with the cam or the hotspot, 4G or wifi. I love it.

YMMV, of course, due to environment, interference, signal strength, etc.
 
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Nice, I guess its a trade-off between better sensor or integrated LTE. Ive gone for the integrated LTE as its the main reason I've gone with BV
 
I would like to mention my recent experience with the DR750-2CH LTE for North America. This may very well be specific to my location on planet earth (Northern California, USA) and the T-Mobile network.

I reviewed a DR750-2CH LTE camera on my YouTube channel last year. I've had some LTE connectivity issues with that DR750-2CH LTE camera (first unit and replacement unit). The LTE connection would get established quickly after power up, but at random intervals the LTE connection and/or BlackVue Cloud service connection would be dropped. The connection would recover and reconnect most of the time, but after extended time periods of not being connected. I did have a few occasions where it disconnected from the BlackVue Cloud service and it stayed disconnected until I power cycled the DR750-2CH LTE camera.

I worked with Pittasoft's support group last year and I was told to look for a possible firmware fix for the issue. The latest version I tested was version 1.005 for the DR750-2CH LTE camera. There would be some days when I would take my car out on my weekly shopping trip (same route each week) that it worked perfectly and then there were weeks where it was having severe difficulty maintaining a connection to the BlackVue Cloud service.

After several months with no new firmware release, I contacted Pittasoft support again and asked about the issue. The support session started from scratch looking at my T-Mobile APN settings, possibly my T-Mobile SIM not being activated correctly (it was) and I even obtained a second T-Mobile SIM card for testing and it behaved the same.

Pittasoft was very nice and decided to replace the DR750-2CH LTE camera. When I received the replacement unit, I upgraded the firmware from version 1.002 to 1.005 and started my testing. Unfortunately, the behavior was the exact same as it was with the first DR750-2CH LTE [NA]. I tested firmware versions 1.002, 1.004 and 1.005 with the original DR750-2CH LTE camera.

I received a DR900X-2CH along with a CM100LTE [NA] to review on my YouTube channel. I configured the firmware settings on the DR900X-2CH and connected the CM100LTE module and activated the T-Mobile SIM card.

I ran a test with the DR750-2CH LTE and the DR900X-2CH w/CM100LTE both running at the same time on my test bench in my office [separated by a good distance to make sure they did not interfere with each other]. The DR750-2CH LTE continued to misbehave but the DR900X-2CH w/CM100LTE connectivity module worked perfectly. The CM100LTE stayed connected to the T-Mobile LTE network (2 to 4 signal strength bars) and the connection with the BlackVue Cloud service was rock solid. I ran both dash camera configurations for about 18 hours and the DR750-2CH LTE connected/disconnected over 10 times from the BlackVue Cloud service, but the DR900X-2CH has zero disconnects.

I was able to randomly try live view sessions and access video files on the DR900X-2CH camera's SD card without incident.

For right now, I've stopped using the DR750-2CH LTE. Pittasoft support said there are different LTE modems used in the DR750-2CH LTE [NA] and the CM100LTE [NA]. It appears the LTE modem in the CM100LTE [NA] is "more compatible" with the 4G LTE T-Mobile network in my area of Northern California, USA. I'm hoping there will be a resolution to the issue I've experienced with the DR750-2CH LTE [NA] with a new firmware release.

Pittasoft has been great through this entire process!
 
rcg530 said:
For right now, I've stopped using the DR750-2CH LTE. Pittasoft support said there are different LTE modems used in the DR750-2CH LTE [NA] and the CM100LTE [NA]. It appears the LTE modem in the CM100LTE [NA] is "more compatible" with the 4G LTE T-Mobile network in my area of Northern California, USA. I'm hoping there will be a resolution to the issue I've experienced with the DR750-2CH LTE [NA] with a new firmware release.
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regional differences maybe, perhaps that's something to do with dealers here preferring the built in LTE versus the external version
 
Thank you both, ive ordered the LTE from Amazon and it should arrive today. What ill do is temp wire it and try it out to make sure connectivity is solid before I run the cables through proper.
 
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