How do we determine video quality on different dash cams?

[mollydog]

I still remember seeing "back to the future" in 1985 (or there about's) when Marty McFly went in to the future,

he went by a pawnshop, and in the window he saw an Apple Mac (those all in one 9" screen ones) and he (and me) couldn't believe this new cutting edge (in 1984) computer was in a pawnshop going for a few $$$, now you have more processing power and RAM in a $99 smart phone than you did with the over $2500.00 cutting edge computer of 1984. the same will be of these DVR's, its not that the ones we have now will not work, it will be that the newer ones will be better in many other ways and cost the same or even cheaper

I think it was 2 years ago now I saw a TV manufacturer's add advertising their latest TV, at the bottom of their add saying something like: they were starting work on the model that will supersede this one, (saying) if they didn't keep on enovating, we'd all still be watching a 19" B&W TV with no remote, and the same goes with everything else,

you say "10+ year life expectancy", it might still work if that's what you mean, but I'd be glad if what is/was top of the line/range DVR I bought today was still somewhere near the middle of the line/rage in 18 months thats if it was still available by then, example, my Blackvue DR500GW (mind you, it was an overpriced piece of s**t from day one, and in my opinion so is the company that makes them) is now in my daughters 15 year old Ford KA, the car's worth less then £150.00 and the Blackvue cost me nearly twice as much in 2013, thats how much value it now has

 

[country_hick]

It is reasonable to expect functional obsolescence is any electronic technology like computers and digital cameras in 3 years. That only means something with much better performance will be built in those 3 years at a similar or perhaps even cheaper price. I do not think it is reasonable to suggest in the same 3 years that any electronic equipment will physically fail to function. If I remember correctly desktop computers should have a 15 year service life. That refers to the quality of its components not its operating system or programs. Perhaps almost no one would want to use a 15 year old computer. However, if I buy a computer and keep it that long it should still function correctly after 10 years.

Perhaps another way to explain what I mean is to simply say this. If a circuit board and the rest of the tech is built well enough that the tech is horribly outdated and no one wants to use it and it still works correctly that is the kind of quality I want. Dash cam, computer, car, tv, radio, atari 2600, or vcr player I want it built so it lasts a long time. Failure should never be an option if at least a decade has not passed since manufacture.

 

[albertson]

Going back to your original question, and the early responses; identifying a good quality dash cam is not just the specs. Start with the specs and style, then filter out weak brands based on the reviews you find here. Add in preference for FW updates being provide and good distributor support. Dash Cam technology is changing rapidly and there are lots of competitors who have very different market strategies. It would be better to compare this to the 1920's - 30's car industry than the current television industry.

In some cases the same factory is selling the same camera HW to several different business that re-brand and add their own FW and warranty strategy. The HW specs look the same but there is a huge difference in how they perform. The better brands are basing their product on good HW with their own significant FW investment.
I would rate 3 areas equally important:

• HW (be careful as some brands overstate their specs)
• FW (must rely on the customer feedback in the forum, or video file examples)
• Brand and distributor support. Do they truly stand behind their product warranty and help the customer.

 

[russ331]

Are the "super capacitors" (especially mobius) expected to have a long life or are they a cheaper version that will have a much shorter life?

I installed capacitors in my two Mobius cams 12 months & 9 months ago, respectively.

I'm hoping they'll outlast the cameras. They're only $6 at Banggood, & may reflect what's available that will fit within the Mobius case, rather than the best quality.

Whatever will eventually replace my Mobius cams must have a capacitor option... batteries in DashCams are no longer acceptable to me.