Does it exist?

[kamkar]

Sounds like you have the ground works covered with that kid
The transfer speed are really slow, i think like first generation wifi.
A few months ago i recorded about 1 Gb og video with my SJ9 Star action camera, so i wanted to DL it to my phone so my nice could see it ( house-sitting a house with no computer )
So i cranked my phone up and started the download, and good thing i remembered to plug the camera into a USB charger cuz the DL of that single file took a very long time.
It was so slow i just left the phone and camera on the kitchen table and went in the living room and watched some TV.

I havent tried to go on my home wifi ( closed non connected loop just used for my CCTV to be monitored on my tablet ) to see if i can see the cameras there as access points, i sort of think i can but with my skill set that's also as far as i would get.

 

[AceEngineer]

Yea, having a son like him is like having my own IT expert on 24 hr. call. Believe me I appreciate what I have.
As it turns out, I am already in the habit of pulling the micro SD's from my Honda and bringing them in the house, so the WIFI speed wouldn't matter, I'll just do the same with the Beamer. The only thing the link might have been used for is to browse for and possibly view files in lower res to verify I captured a particular event.
But!!! Cast aside that idea, here's a new direction!
My son just found via the internet, a beautiful system custom engineered to plug and play in my Beamer that comes with 4 cameras. The system from NavTool offers the 360 degree parking assist overhead view, auto backup function and traffic cam style recording of all 4 cameras to a removable chip in the integration box. Looks like the price is a bit steep, but plug and play means a lot as does the integration directly into the dash display. I will probably abandon the Chinese route and just blow the money.

AceEngineer

 

[Nigel]

But!!! Cast aside that idea, here's a new direction!
My son just found via the internet, a beautiful system custom engineered to plug and play in my Beamer that comes with 4 cameras. The system from NavTool offers the 360 degree parking assist overhead view, auto backup function and traffic cam style recording of all 4 cameras to a removable chip in the integration box. Looks like the price is a bit steep, but plug and play means a lot as does the integration directly into the dash display. I will probably abandon the Chinese route and just blow the money.

AceEngineer

What resolution are the cameras?

 

[jokiin]

What resolution are the cameras?

all SD

 

[AceEngineer]

They just say "HD" in the ad, so I have emailed and asked for more about the cameras, that could mean only 720p. They probably won't answer till Monday.
The 4 cameras plug into a box with one micro SD slot as far as I know, there were no pictures in the ad. The recorder box must contain the software to produce the overhead panoramic parking assist view. The second box I will need from the seller is the box that integrates the video into my dash display, a BMW specific box as near as I can tell that the ad claims is plug and play.
I definitely need more information and will have to wait until I hear back from the seller.

AceEngineer

 

[SawMaster]

Not knowing these folks I Googled "NavvTool reviews" I'd very highly suggest you do some deep research before ordering. I'm the worlds biggest skeptic regarding reviews but for me there's a lot of red flags showing- a commonality of complaints, their claims of never having sold one single unit needing an RMA, and even the good reviews mention very poor customer relation skills. There's only love and hate showing, nothing in between, and my real-world experiences tell me that this is not the norm for anyone at all.

Your money and your choice- I just don't like seeing anybody having a bad experience with any dashcam.

Phil

 

[Nigel]

all SD

A 360 degree video created from 4K sensors is low enough resolution, from 720 HD sensors is close to useless, but SD?
Must be about 2 pixels per number plate!

 

[jokiin]

Haven't seen one of these 360 parking systems yet that uses anything other than analogue cameras, that's limited to SD resolutions

 

[AceEngineer]

First of all, nobody said anything about 4k sensors, I have asked for more info on the cameras and I'm not stupid. To me it would be useless as a recording dash cam with any thing less than 1080p's and I don't know anything about the cameras yet. I'll wait till I have more info. As far as the reviews go, they don't look too bad, some people have had trouble returning defective units but the majority experienced plug and play so they are happy as clams. I appreciate the heads up, but I won't discount this solution until I know a lot more. I''ll get back to you.

AceEngineer

 

[kamkar]

I think what Nigel say is 360 VR footage from a single 4K sensor are pretty meaningless as its so much area for a single sensor that it dont look good, and i have to agree on that i think you need at least two 4K sensors to make up a decent 360 degree VR footage.

The BMW system are pretty nifty i have to say, but i would feel like i was selling my good driver integrity if i got one, so i will not go down that line even if i could convince myself to buy any BMW model and even if i had more 10.000 dollar bills than i have hairs on my body.

 

[Nigel]

The BMW system are pretty nifty i have to say, but i would feel like i was selling my good driver integrity if i got one, so i will not go down that line even if i could convince myself to buy any BMW model and even if i had more 10.000 dollar bills than i have hairs on my body.

That is about the amount of dollars that Bill Gates has, and he doesn't drive BMWs either!

 

[kamkar]

Bill gates, the one super rich person i respect the most.

But i am still as apprehensive about widows as i am google - facetwitt - fruit company and many more, it do seem to me getting big automatic = evil to a large degree.
Us 99% ters really should get our act together.

 

[AceEngineer]

The car was bought to be my wife's daily driver, so the more parking assistance I can add to the car the better. To alleviate every ones fears about resolution, I will reiterate, it gets the 360 degree overhead view by stitching together the input from four HD (not sure how high yet) cameras, not a single 4K 360 camera. The system records automatically and continuously (each channel separately) as long as the car is on for the traffic cam mode. Another indication in favor of it being good high resolution is that the integration box has an HDMI input for the recorder box output. Info about the cameras is coming.

AceEngineer

 

[SawMaster]

This does sound like an interesting system and whatever you can share about what you find out about it will be a nice contribution to DCT We do get a fair number of requests for info on multi-channel cams and it would be nice to be able to provide those folks with solid info

Phil

 

[jokiin]

To alleviate every ones fears about resolution, I will reiterate, it gets the 360 degree overhead view by stitching together the input from four HD (not sure how high yet) cameras

must be something new if it is, until now the only ones of these I've seen previously used analogue cameras which were limited to SD resolutions, the marketing was often deceptive as you would see mention of 720 listed in the resolution but that was actually the horizontal resolution rather the vertical resolution of the video signal, eg 480p x 720 rather than 720p x 1280

there are 4 channel full HD recording systems available but theses are larger systems intended for commercial (truck/bus) use, haven't seen anyone squeeze this tech into the birds eye parking systems as yet

 

[AceEngineer]

Jokin,
This is the system I'm looking at: http://www.navtool.com/360-degree-surround-view-camera.aspx
How do you read the ad?
I have asked for more info but haven't heard back yet.

AceEngineer

 

[M Basta]

I’d strongly recommend you call and speak with George (owner) at NavTool. I spoke to him a few months ago about one of their products and my conversation with him told me everything I needed to know about whether or not I wanted to do business with him. One of the first things he’ll stress, and often thereafter (in a very heavy Russian accent, no less), is how all of his stuff is “made in the USA” and everyone else’s is “Chinese crap”. Take that for what it’s worth. I have no idea if he’s trying to ride some “patriotic” themed marketing trend or if he’s being genuine.

There are many competitors in this space that specialize in BMW mods — from Naviks, to Bimmertech, to Avin. Most of them use components made in China or Korea (sometimes the exact same stuff just rebranded), and in some cases genuine German products pulled out of real BMWs (from damaged vehicles and/or other sources I’m not clear about). Do your own research. Go to any plethora of BMW forums and search and ask. Truths will emerge pretty quickly.

 

[AceEngineer]

Thanks for the tip and the names of some competition. I will look to see if any of them can supply something I can use. I won't discount NavTool just yet because the owner is a jerk. I'm not dealing with him yet. I know exactly what he means by Chinese crap, I have all Chinese gear in my Honda. It is not as finished as higher end names, but it is dirt cheap. If you have any kind of Android skills and can pull the lid off a piece of gear and add some heat sinks, the Chinese units are dirt cheap and workable. I've got my Honda system working perfectly and only have $300 in the head unit and $75 in the cameras, $50 in the cell phone modem and that gives me an Android computer in the dash of my 15 year old Honda. The head unit drives the stereo, surveillance gear, has navigation by any software, WIFI, it is automatically BlueToothed to my phone, talks to the OBDII port in the car and has a 4G data only cell modem connection to the internet. It has 2Gig of internal RAM, a seven inch touch screen, two micro SD slots and USB ports to which I added a powered hub that I brought out to the dash. Neat system and it was cheap, but it required some brains and effort to get working correctly, so yes, for the average buyer who wants plug and play it is truly crap.

AceEngineer

 

[M Basta]

Yeah, the Android stuff is everywhere. Often it’s rebranded then re-rebranded from the same original Chinese supplier and marketed with layers of indecipherable babble. Take the video below, for example (not exactly what you’re looking for your car but similar concept). The guy making the video (a Canadian company) is upset with Avin for stealing some of his marketing stuff. He also tries to distinguish his product as being “different” when in reality they’re really the same thing at the core. You can find the exact same stuff on eBay or Aliespress or Banggood under three or four different names you’ve never heard of. Where does this stuff really originate? The system is slick, no question. It emulates the NBT in brand new 2017 BMWs in an impressive way. I’m wowed by what they’ve done. But there are risks.

I’ve been planning on retrofitting one of my cars, an older BMW, for a couple months now and have done a ton of research in this realm. One of the biggest issues I have with ANY of these Android systems is the fact that they are internet connected devices with direct access to your CANbus. Technically, there’s a lot that someone skilled and nefarious enough could do to mess with your car, especially when you’re updating the software from an unknown Chinese coder somewhere. Wifi root exploits, botnet, malicious APKs are all realities in the very vulnerable Android platform, especially older versions (like Android 4.4 which most of these systems use). The worst I’ve heard so far is someone installing malware that occasionally blasted your stereo or changed stations, but how easily can throttle or braking functions be manipulated? I don’t plan to find out. In the end, the solution I go with will consist of multiple different pieces (including my own dash cams that I tested and trust ... they just need to have an AV OUT) and no layered software. I’m just waiting for Black Friday so I can catch a lot of the stuff on sale.

EDIT: Btw, I wasn’t alluding to the idea that George was so much of a “jerk” as you put it (hard to tell something like that from just one conversation). It’s that he was VERY elusive with his answers to my specific questions. Instead he spent the majority of the conversation deriding his competitors (which I didn’t even bring up; he did) and being unnecessarily defensive about his product. Put simply: I didn’t trust him.

 

[jokiin]

How do you read the ad?
I have asked for more info but haven't heard back yet.

it's very light on detail, I'd be hanging out for that extra info I think

as to being made in the USA as someone else mentioned, I find that extremely unlikely