Dash Cam for Taxi

[Damyan]

Hello,

I am a taxi driver and I want to improve my safety and security from criminals. I have already a DVR with 3 channels, but in my own opinion it is not enough.

In a bad scenario for me a criminal could grab the DVR and I will have no evidence. I am looking for a DVR could recorde directly to a hard disk or SSD which is hidden anywhere in the car. Even the DVR is stolen I wish the recorded to be safed. Also, I have looked for DVRs which work with a cloud, but I am not really sure how they work and is it possible the DVR to record on my PC via 5 G SIM card.

The last requirement could improve my safety is that the DVR to has a night vision cabin camera, because I work in the night.

Thank you in advance for helping me in improving of the safety

 

[kamkar]

Welcome to the forum Damyan.
There are a few dashcams that have all ( mostly 2 ) cameras remote on wires from the main unit, this mean you can put that in a hard to get to place, you could even put them in some sort of locked metal enclosure, though then the wifi will of course not be able to reach it.
The problem is none of these have the option for IR aided low light recordings, so in that case you will only have footage of the passenger when there is light in the cabin ( most likely when people enter the car )

The cloud enabled cameras are not able to upload to your home NAS or PC, they are relying on a host service set up by the brand, often this is also just event footage and not all recordings as that will fast burn a lot of mobile data, also ATM the cameras are just 4G there is no 5G cameras as far as i know, of some of the smart cameras that do have cloud access that via a mobile internet modem of your choice and this could of course be 5G

Otherwise there are a few 2 and even 3 channel cameras now, but as you say the offender can just run away with your main unit and the memory card in it, but these are pretty much the only option as far as IR light aided night recordings.

 

[Damyan]

Thank you very much for the information. Could you recommend a DVR which record to a hard disc.

 

[kamkar]

I am not into the more commercial systems, but there are some of those, no one here have mentioned using such a system.
I actually had such a system many years ago, 4 channels but all old low resolution, really today things should be 1080p.
My system back then also still recorded to a SD card but the DVR was remote and could be bolted in place anywhere in the car.

Today we have SSD hard drives that can deal with the bumps in the roads, so that is probably what is used in more modern systems.
Things to look out for:

1: all camera record in 1080p resolution and 30 FPS
2: cameras for cabin have IR aid for when dark.

 

[Nigel]

Take a look at the Viofo A139. It has an optional memory card lock so that the card can't easily be removed, and which also locks the cables into the camera. If someone has wire cutters with them they can still take the camera, but it is unlikely the people you want to record are going to be that prepared. Probably still removable with some violence too, but it is going to be a lot cheaper and produce much better video than anything I know of that records onto secure drives. Also has decent IR for the interior view.

Cloud recording isn't really a sensible option at the moment.

 

[Damyan]

Noo

Take a look at the Viofo A139. It has an optional memory card lock so that the card can't easily be removed, and which also locks the cables into the camera. If someone has wire cutters with them they can still take the camera, but it is unlikely the people you want to record are going to be that prepared. Probably still removable with some violence too, but it is going to be a lot cheaper and produce much better video than anything I know of that records onto secure drives. Also has decent IR for the interior view.

Cloud recording isn't really a sensible option at the moment.

A criminal couldn't look how to remove the SD card, he could directly grab the DVR. Also this DVR doesn't record inside the vehicle, so how could I proove who is the criminal?

 

[Nigel]

Noo

A criminal couldn't look how to remove the SD card, he could directly grab the DVR. Also this DVR doesn't record inside the vehicle, so how could I proove who is the criminal?

He could grab the DVR, but it is attached by cables, which can't be unplugged with the lock in place, so then he has an unexpected problem and leaves it behind. Probably. Yes it is a 3 channel with a interior IR camera with IR illumination.

 

[Damyan]

I am not into the more commercial systems, but there are some of those, no one here have mentioned using such a system.
I actually had such a system many years ago, 4 channels but all old low resolution, really today things should be 1080p.
My system back then also still recorded to a SD card but the DVR was remote and could be bolted in place anywhere in the car.

Today we have SSD hard drives that can deal with the bumps in the roads, so that is probably what is used in more modern systems.
Things to look out for:

1: all camera record in 1080p resolution and 30 FPS
2: cameras for cabin have IR aid for when dark.

Could you share what DVR have you used in the past and what do you use today?

 

[kamkar]

I dont even think they make that anymore, this was back in 2013 or something, and even back then with low resolution cameras it was pretty poor.
Here is some video of it, but i am talking in Danish, but i do film av out on my car radio the cameras and the unit itself.

Today i have a range of cameras in my car as a tester working with some brands.
My primary cameras are the SG9663DR for front and rear footage, and i have the K2S as side cameras in fixed glass on my rear doors.
360 degree view.

Install of side cameras.

Besides those i have a zoom camera ( dashcam with 12 mm lend that film thing further away in the front, and then i have the Viofo A139 i am currently testing ( 3 channel with IR cabin camera )

Actually not many cameras in my car at the moment ( 8 )

 

[SawMaster]

I'll ask for @viofo ior @VIOFO-Support to bring us an official answer, but it might be possible to use the interior cam of the A139 or A129 Duo IR (which has IR illumination) on the long cable normally used for the rear cam? The main unit could be stashed away somewhere.

Anyway the only other good choice would be an all-remote cam system and AFAIK none have IR equipped cam units going by a look at my usual info sources One of the secure commercial cam systems may have this but it would likely be far to expensive to consider.

An alternative approach could be to have someone build a substantial 'cage' or housing over the cam (remembering it needs ventilation) to make it impossible to simply grab and run, or to easily get the card out of. This would of course require solid mounting which would likely leave a couple screw holes in the car when time comes to sell or trade it. Done this way nearly any rideshare cam would work, or you could add it to the system you have now. I can see a couple ways to do this while not making it too hard for you to access the cam and card at home.

There's also 'security through obscurity'. I have a cheap G1W/HC visibly mounted on a bulkhead at the back of my van. I made a sign saying "Smile- you're on camera" as well as telling whoever reads it that they've "just been uploaded to the cloud" which is totally false but almost nobody around here knows enough about cams to know it's a lie, so they behave accordingly and that's all I need to have happen. You could post sings in your car saying something similar, or tell each customer that for their safety and yours, you are video recording the ride and it is being sent to the cloud or a server at your office.

I can see something of a market niche here for a company who already has a fully remote cam model- perhaps they could add an optional remote module with IR?

Phil