First impressions of N5S 4ch system.

[NotThatGuyThatOtherGuy]

I just had my installer install the Vantrue N5S 4CH system with the LTE module into my 2023 Suburban.

I do rideshare full time on the Las Vegas Strip, and my reason for purchasing the 4CH system is primarily to capture riders when they are on the side of the vehicle by using the rear cabin camera. This occasionally matters if I am having some issue with a rider that somehow comes back to me. Unfortunately, I planned poorly as the angle of the camera turns out to not be very good on this vehicle for capturing due to various obstructions between the camera and the front windows.

For the rear unit, the installer had to create an L-bracket and install it to the overhead plastic panel just inside of the rear window. This would be an issue no matter what camera system I chose, because the Suburban has a rear window that can be opened up, and is rather complex how it does that, so routing a cable onto the interior of the window, especially without a coiled cable as the defroster uses, is not a good idea. Maybe a coiled sheath could solve this problem, but the cable that came with the camera was only slightly longer than the length required, so I doubt there would be enough length for such a sheath, if they even exist.

So far, I've only had time to configure the basics for recording, but checking the 1TB SD card everything looks good enough for my job.

My previous camera was a COXPAL A11T, which I heartily recommend for basic dashcam usage as it has turned out to be a very reliable little unit, though I think is now discontinued. That said, this N5S is a huge upgrade, but one thing I don't really like is that it takes much longer for N5S to boot and start recording than the A11T required. This matters when I've been staging with everything turned off and a rider requests a ride from where I'm staging, so I end up loading up for a ride and have no footage of the event. Hopefully nothing bad ever happens. It's possible there is an option for me somewhere in the settings, as I also installed an LFP battery, so if the camera can be configured to continue recording even when the battery changes the signal to indicate the vehicle is shut off, I would configure this each morning and then back in the evening, but I have to admit I've not dug fully through those kinds of features.

The front unit is really quite large. In the past 4 years I have gone through various vehicles and their different generations starting with a 2008 model, and the trend is clearly ever-smaller front windshields. I like having a simple LCD that shows the cameras are working properly and allows me to quickly check status of settings, but I don't need such a large display - it could just cycle through each camera every few seconds so that the LCD and overall unit can be smaller in my windshield. Or the LCD could be on a hinge so I can flip it up when not needed.

I will update this thread as I slowly make use of the more advanced features of the system.

 

[kamkar]

I tested the N5 system back in the day when it came out, and i still think it is one of the best ride share cameras.
But i have never said the 2 interior cameras will give very much view out to the side, for that i feel you really need to put cameras on Fixed side glass like for instance some rear doors will have.
I did that years ago with a dual remote dashcam ( much akin to many dual MC " dash " cameras ) and it worked fine, though up very close to the car not so much as you would then need a even winder fiend of view lens.
And the lenses in these cameras was not the normal 12 mm fine thread you generally see in dash and action cameras, O no these was smaller 8 mm fine thread lenses i never even knew existed.

At distance though, there was overlap between the 4 cameras in my little JAP 5 door hatchback.

 

[Karagandinez]

That said, this N5S is a huge upgrade, but one thing I don't really like is that it takes much longer for N5S to boot and start recording than the A11T required. This matters when I've been staging with everything turned off and a rider requests a ride from where I'm staging, so I end up loading up for a ride and have no footage of the event. Hopefully nothing bad ever happens. It's possible there is an option for me somewhere in the settings, as I also installed an LFP battery, so if the camera can be configured to continue recording even when the battery changes the signal to indicate the vehicle is shut off, I would configure this each morning and then back in the evening, but I have to admit I've not dug fully through those kinds of features.

If you enable parking mode, you won't have this problem.
Recording will be continuous.