Does it exist?

[AceEngineer]

I've had a Chinese dash cam in my Honda now for over a year. I just love it. The unit I have is a small recording traffic camera with no display, so it is close to invisible mounted way up in the windshield. It is completely automatic once it is hooked to power and accessories. It also has a raw video out RCA plug which I can view via an auxiliary input on the Chinese Android head unit in the dash. The camera has buttons for selecting menu settings viewed via the raw video output and records on a micro SD in the camera. I love the arrangement because it results in a tiny camera, mine is about 2 inches by 1 inch in diameter and virtually unnoticeable. Now to the question I have. I just bought the wife a BMW and it already has way to much neat stuff in the dash that I do not want to mess with it and it has no suitable input for the RAW video like the camera in my car. What I want to find is a camera for her car that is real small, which means no screen like mine, but is viewable or preferably controllable with an app for her phone via Bluetooth. The view on the phone app need not be high resolution or even video, it is mostly for menu selection feedback but the recordings in the unit should be high resolution wide screen (my Chinese unit's raw video is low res, but the recordings are 1080p). Has anybody out there seen any cameras that fit this description? I think it is a logical solution for anybody that wants a small no display tiny traffic cam, using a smart phone as the screen. The unit need not even have selection buttons on the camera like mine, the Bluetooth link could do all the control and selection on the phone. That said, my ideal solution would be a tiny no display camera that records in high res to an onboard micro SD with the controls all done via a Bluetooth phone app.
Anybody seen anything suitable for my application?

AceEngineer

 

[Lola]

I've had a Chinese dash cam in my Honda now for over a year. I just love it. The unit I have is a small recording traffic camera with no display, so it is close to invisible mounted way up in the windshield. It is completely automatic once it is hooked to power and accessories. It also has a raw video out RCA plug which I can view via an auxiliary input on the Chinese Android head unit in the dash. The camera has buttons for selecting menu settings viewed via the raw video output and records on a micro SD in the camera. I love the arrangement because it results in a tiny camera, mine is about 2 inches by 1 inch in diameter and virtually unnoticeable. Now to the question I have. I just bought the wife a BMW and it already has way to much neat stuff in the dash that I do not want to mess with it and it has no suitable input for the RAW video like the camera in my car. What I want to find is a camera for her car that is real small, which means no screen like mine, but is viewable or preferably controllable with an app for her phone via Bluetooth. The view on the phone app need not be high resolution or even video, it is mostly for menu selection feedback but the recordings in the unit should be high resolution wide screen (my Chinese unit's raw video is low res, but the recordings are 1080p). Has anybody out there seen any cameras that fit this description? I think it is a logical solution for anybody that wants a small no display tiny traffic cam, using a smart phone as the screen. The unit need not even have selection buttons on the camera like mine, the Bluetooth link could do all the control and selection on the phone. That said, my ideal solution would be a tiny no display camera that records in high res to an onboard micro SD with the controls all done via a Bluetooth phone app.
Anybody seen anything suitable for my application?

AceEngineer

You're driving a Honda with a Camera that you love called a Chinese dash cam, and you bought your wife a new BMW and want to know a good camera for her. I think the perfect dash camera for her would be a Chinese dash cam! It is completely automatic once set up. Does this sound about right for her.

 

[kamkar]

If you have a dotted area on top of your windscreen then the wedge shaped cameras often install well as most of the camera will be obscured by the dots and only the bottom with the lens will peek out below the dots.

Many dashcams have a AV out, but this are a low resolution feed, similar to TV resolutions a couple of decades ago. Others have HDMI that are full HD, but they you need a screen with HDMI in.

It also seem most current dashcams with wifi for settings and DL of footage give people a lot of grief so i would any day take a little screen on the camera, but for doing settings 1 - 1/2 inch screen are fine.

Welcome to the forum AceEngineer.

 

[AceEngineer]

kamkar1,
That is exactly what I have in my Honda, a dash cam with a low res feed like a TV, but it's output is a raw video signal, which in my made in china head unit has no problem with. But in my wife's Beamer, I don't want to mess with the installed electronics and there is no RAW video input available. So the next best thing I thought of was, control it with a phone. I found one that has a WIFI link to a phone, but I am looking for one with a Bluetooth link. Your comment about WIFI just reinforces desire for Bluetooth.

AceEngineer

 

[Nigel]

I can't think of any German made dashcams, so it will have to be Chinese!

Viofo WR1,
Blueskysea B1W.

Both no screen with Wi-Fi to phone and 1080 resolution with a sensor that is reasonably good in low light. Bluetooth is not fast enough for video, they all use Wi-Fi. The B1W is new and not yet proven but it looks OK for a cheap camera. The WR1 is also fairly new but there are plenty of posts about it to read.

 

[Deleted member 46308]

Welcome to DCT @AceEngineer

 

[AceEngineer]

Thanks for the welcomes guys.
Nigel,
I know Bluetooth is to slow for video, the link only has to carry menus, commands and maybe occasional low quality video or stills. The reason I am looking for a Bluetooth controlled camera over a WIFI camera is the power consumption of the link. The WIFI hotspot in my phone kills the battery in less than a day, Bluetooth uses much less power. The Android head unit in my car has its own 4G cell link for internet, so my phone is only linked to it by Bluetooth for hands free operation. That way I don't have to hook my phone to a charger every time I get in my car. Also there is no WIFI in the car that way.
AceEngineer

 

[Nigel]

Thanks for the welcomes guys.
Nigel,
I know Bluetooth is to slow for video, the link only has to carry menus, commands and maybe occasional low quality video or stills. The reason I am looking for a Bluetooth controlled camera over a WIFI camera is the power consumption of the link. The WIFI hotspot in my phone kills the battery in less than a day, Bluetooth uses much less power. The Android head unit in my car has its own 4G cell link for internet, so my phone is only linked to it by Bluetooth for hands free operation. That way I don't have to hook my phone to a charger every time I get in my car. Also there is no WIFI in the car that way.
AceEngineer

The wifi is normally only used for setup, so there is no issue with power consumption of the phone.
Normally the dashcam will be left for many weeks to look after itself.

 

[kamkar]

Steaming over wifi normally comes with a lag in the footage, at least a half second.
For slow parking you dont really notice it, though i would not recommend using a dashcam for reverse cam as they lack several features of true reversing cameras.
Driving at highway speeds the lag get quite easy to spot and quite annoying if you ask me, its like then the oncoming car pass buy you you can count, " 1 case of cold beer - 2 cases of cold beer - 3 cases of cold beer" before the car pass out of view on the phone or tablet.
But why have a screen going with what you see out of the windscreen anyway, it might even be illegal to have, i know here you cant have a movie or TV program going on a screen the driver can see.

Most wifi cameras seem to have some issues, some get fixed some dont and some times fixing one problem just make a new pop up, at least that's my experience dealing with wifi cameras in the past years.

You can make up the delay in this video where i document for Sjcam some issues with the camera and app at the time.

I think all dash and action cameras use wifi for the phone tablet connection, but some new cameras do have a BT remote button for manual event file creation, but otherwise doing settings and file transfer + what ever makers try to cram in to generate sales are all wifi, and often less than successful wifi.

 

[AceEngineer]

The wifi is normally only used for setup, so there is no issue with power consumption of the phone.

Nigel,
That is a very good point, I hadn't looked at it that way. Thanks for the reminder. The WIFI model is looking better and better especially when I remembered that with WIFI, my house network will be able to access the unit as long as the car is in the driveway and is turned on. This will greatly facilitate downloads, but I usually just pull the memory chip and take it in the house to look for and copy specific files. Now my other requirement is that it be powered by BATT and ACC not USB. The good dash cams need the BATT (not switched) connection to finish handling the last file storage and the ACC (switched) connection is to auto turn on/off. In my Honda I have the cameras on a time delay relay so they continue for 30 minutes after I lock the car or the alarm goes off, for strange parking lots.
Thanks,
AceEngineer

 

[jokiin]

Nigel,
That is a very good point, I hadn't looked at it that way. Thanks for the reminder. The WIFI model is looking better and better especially when I remembered that with WIFI, my house network will be able to access the unit as long as the car is in the driveway and is turned on. This will greatly facilitate downloads, but I usually just pull the memory chip and take it in the house to look for and copy specific files. Now my other requirement is that it be powered by BATT and ACC not USB. The good dash cams need the BATT (not switched) connection to finish handling the last file storage and the ACC (switched) connection is to auto turn on/off. In my Honda I have the cameras on a time delay relay so they continue for 30 minutes after I lock the car or the alarm goes off, for strange parking lots.
Thanks,
AceEngineer

wifi is ok for setup and limited file access, trying to download large files on a regular basis would become frustrating quickly, far better to take the memory card out and copy files in minutes rather than hours, accessing from your home network is unlikely on most models also

 

[AceEngineer]

Like I said, "I usually just pull the memory chip" so it would fit well with my habits. The hookup to the home network would only be used to view what files are available (they are usually date and time coded). I'm not sure why you said most models wouldn't be accessible with my home network?
AceEngineer

 

[jokiin]

I'm not sure why you said most models wouldn't be accessible with my home network?
AceEngineer

most cameras with WiFi are only accessible via an app, there are a few that you can get access via a URL and ftp the files off, range is an issue for a lot of them, the camera needs to stay powered obviously as well, the majority of cameras are not setup for the type of usage scenario you'd like, I do know one manufacturer that is working on something that could auto sync to a network when in range to offload files, have no idea where they're at with it and how long before it might become available though

 

[kamkar]

I think it have something to do with the protocols used for the wifi connection between camera and phone / tablet, but some have been able to modify action cameras so you can make a rtp or whatever its called connection to them ( total networking noob here )
SO its not like a camera just show up like any other wifi accesspoint you can then connect to, and get files off like FTP or something from your home NAS server.

 

[kamkar]

Yes also remember the wifi TX of a dashcam are pretty weak and it is sitting inside a metal box, i live in a 2 floor apartment and can barely see my home router in the street side living room when i am down in the back yard where my car are parked,

No camera i have will be able to punch thru the car - brick walls and the 40 M or so to my router. its barely wifi action cameras work from my living room and into my bedroom, and that's 1 wall / wood door and 10 M distance.

If you have your wifi router in the same end of your house as the garage it might work in regard to signal reception, otherwise you might have to get a wifi repeater.
And thats still limited if your camera support direct wifi with computer, which i doubt as it is a rare thing they can do that.

 

[kamkar]

Auto offloading of file to NAS would be so good for the people with a fleet of cars, and i suspect some regular users too, but i dont know anyone that have a NAS, and i dont know anyone that would like to save all those gigabytes of information, it is after all 300 - 400 Mb a dashcam generate for each 3 minutes of recording, so if you drive a lot and want to save it all then you better be prepared to buy hard drives for the NAS often.

 

[SawMaster]

In 1987 the Dead Kennedys released their compilation album "Give Me Convenience Or Give Me Death"; so prophetic and only 30 years ahead of it's time Dashcams are already pretty darn convenient now and some offer great performance for the price. If you can't be troubled to pull the card and take it inside to retrieve recordings maybe you need a "Holiday in Cambodia"

Within the next 10-15 years wifi will become nearly useless from overcrowded frequencies and interference in urban areas. It will be slower than it is now, not faster, as systems struggle to capture and use only the intended signals. It was never meant to support everyone's desire for maximum convenience and it is not designed to be expandable to cover that. You can't always want what you get, and those wanting maximum convenience will be the ones causing their own lack of that While they're waiting for their download I'll already have my whole card saved manually and be sitting back enjoying my cup of coffee and some 80s music while the geeky kid next door hacks their convenient IOT devices causing them even more troubles. Maybe that kid will even hack their cam's signal and load some nasty vids onto their computer while he's at it, so now they'll need to actually view each file to be sure he didn't, and that's going to take them quite some time. Oh how inconvenient their convenient life has become

Seen correctly some things can be rather amusing

Phil

 

[Nigel]

most cameras with WiFi are only accessible via an app, there are a few that you can get access via a URL and ftp the files off, range is an issue for a lot of them, the camera needs to stay powered obviously as well, the majority of cameras are not setup for the type of usage scenario you'd like, I do know one manufacturer that is working on something that could auto sync to a network when in range to offload files, have no idea where they're at with it and how long before it might become available though

The Gitup cameras will connect to a local hub, but their range is a few meters, especially if there is some glass in the way, so it would need to connect to your car hub and your car hub could then forward to your home network when in range, assuming you leave the keys in the car so that it is turned on! Should be able to work fairly well except that the cameras contain a very slow wifi transceiver that can only just transmit low bitrate live video, transferring large high bitrate files is impractical.

The next generation of cameras will have faster wifi, but video bitrates, numbers of video channels and memory card sizes are also going up so I think it is going to remain impractical to download video in bulk. Maybe the manufacturers can implement a low bitrate preview function so that you can look through recorded video via wifi and then just download the one file you need, or 4 files you need if it is a 4 channel dashcam...

 

[jokiin]

Double NAT is a hassle to get working reliably at the best of times, take the card out and be done with it

 

[AceEngineer]

My home network stays connected to my Chinese car head unit until I am down at the end of the block, so signal strength is not a problem. My home net work is as fast as is possible and my IT guy (my son) says the bottle neck in any connection to our home network would be the read/write and WIFI speed of the camera itself. My son who lives with me has a computer business and as part of his business, my home contains a massive server farm ($400 electric bills) and has the very latest networking equipment. The WIFI antenna is mounted in the garage specifically to talk to my Honda for programming. My son also tells me that if the camera has WIFI he can make it work. Our server is the home for quite a few virtual machines running different operating systems for his business, so I bet he can emulate what is required.

AceEngineer