Nextbase 522GW with Alexa

Paul Iddon

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Dash Cam
Viofo A139 Pro 4K, A129 Pro Duo 4K, A229 Duo 2K, & NB 522GW
Nextbase have now released the Series 2 of their acclaimed dashcams.

This review is for the 522GW model.

I have included an unboxing video for you, and I will list the tech info below.


An important and new feature is the use of Alexa to give you voice control over some of the actions.

Product Features

1440p Quad HD recording at 30 fps.
Inbuilt polarising filter to reduce windscreen reflection and glare.
HD Touch Panel Display Bright, with a 3" screen with IPS technology.
Click & Go Pro Powered Mount.
Adhesive and suction fittings.
G Sensor / File Protection (In the event of an impact the device will automatically 'protect' the recording, stopping the file from being over-written).
GPS to keep track of your journeys.
Automatic Start / Stop Technology
Intelligent Parking Mode
Built-in Microphone & Speaker.
Nextbase Cloud™ Service.
MyNextbase Connect™
Alexa Voice Control. (You will need the Alexa app installed).
Nextbase accessories to enhance your recordings, including Rear Facing Cameras.
Amberalla chipset & Sony Starvis sensor.


Installation into the car is as always, straight forward. The dashcam can be hardwired or powered by the 12v socket. The range now uses Lithium Polymer batteries (3.7V/320mAh) and intelligent battery charging with thermal cut out in the circuity – this ensures the batteries now charge at the correct rate depending on their temperature and dramatically prolongs their life. I chose to use the 3M sticky mount - I find this to be more secure in my old Ford Focus, though you can instead use the supplied suction mount. The camera connects directly onto the mount using a very strong neodymium magnetic attachment. You will see that in the video above. This is the all new Click&GO Pro mount, and is really clever how it works. Remove the small door/cover located on the front of the camera and the mount snaps into place when offered up to it.

The 522GW features an IPS LCD touchscreen, which makes accessing the menus very easy. In these menus you can set all the usual things - video length, resolution, GPS on/off, G Sensor, Intelligent Parking mode, etc. Its around 35% smaller than its precursor (the 512GW) which makes for a more discrete install.

There are various resolutions - the native one being 1440p (2K) but you can reduce this, though for me there is no reason to do so. That is unless you add one of the rear view camers via the unique modular system - you can add a rear facing lens (there are 2 versions) to allow you to look into the interior of your vehicle, or through the rear window (using a zoomed lens). If you want though, you can connect a rear cam onto the back window independently which then needs to connect to the front camera. Note however, if you add a modular camera, the resolution of the forward facing camera will record in lower resolutions - you can choose from the following:

Front Camera Rear Camera (if connected)
1440P @ 30FPS 720P @ 30FPS
1080P @ 60FPS 720P @ 30FPS
1080P @ 30FPS 1080P @ 30FPS

The 522GW also has an inbuilt polarizer, - on mine it was set to the almost perfect position out of the box, but you need to check and rotate it as needed to reduce as much reflection off your front windscreen as you can.

The new app is available on Google Play for Android {HERE} called "My Nextbase Connect". This allows you to connect your mobile phone to the camera, just follow the prompts and it should take no time at all. You will also need to download the "Alexa" app {HERE}.

With Alexa you can ask to play music, make calls, get directions, find somewhere to park, and of course, control your dashcam.

Both these apps worked fine on my brief test, so give it a go.

A brand new unique feature of the Series 2 is Nextbase Emergency SOS. If you are involved in accident, this can alert emergency services to your location. This alert sends crucial medical details (make sure you input the details of things like blood group, allergies etc). Hopefully, I will not have a need to test this out! Should this happen though the Emergency SOS system will go through a number of things to check you're okay. This would include ringing your phone. When (hopefully) you answer, the emergency alert will be cancelled. If you have the Incident Aware active, the dash cam will lock the video file and send it to your smartphone.

The GPS has been improved dramatically too - connecting now 10 times a second for faster and more accurate location finding.

You can record audio - and I have to say the microphone is exceptional. Voices, music, and with windows open, passing vehicles are loud and clear with no distortion.

Nextbase have a very comprehensive manual that you can download from their website {HERE}.

It is important that you update the firmware by downloading the latest version [HERE}.

You should also download the desktop viewer for looking at your video files - this player is only compatible with the Series 2 dashcams {HERE}. With this application, you can edit your videos - joining more than one together, annotating them, you can add titles, and change the output of the files. You can even share videos onto social media by clicking the "share video" button. I do think this software is due a tweak though, so check for updates.

My first impressions are very positive. I will soon add some road footage, both day and night, for you too see the levels of recording.

The bonus 25% discount for cheaper insurance is still available if you insure vehicle through Surething Insurance.

The details for the 522GW are available {HERE} on the Nextbase website.

One thing I asked about pre-production with Nextbase, was the colour of the GPS Speed Display. On the 612GW (and other Series 1 models which had it, the speed readout was a rather obvious yellow, so I asked about options of different colours). I'm pleased to say that the readout of the speed on the screensaver is a comfortable blue, so my thanks to the developers if my idea was taken up on this. This updated speed display is better because the satellite locks more frequently, using 2 separate systems simultaneously, so it recalculates 10 times per second (way better than at the moment on the Series 1 cams), so its updating almost immediately now.


There is so much more to get out of this camera, which I will let you discover for yourself. Half the fun is in playing around with new technology, and this dashcam is no exception. There are loads of options to change and set up in the menu pages, there is the connectivity via hi-speed wi-fi and Alexa, and of course, owning a dashcam that not only records your journeys and incidents, but a dashcam that could potentially save your life!

Paul.

(Subject to editing as I find more to add!).
 
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I have added some videos below showing daylight and night time driving.

My apologies for the dirty windscreen - it has been a while, and you can see that more at night with the flaring of lights.... oh, and maybe a hint of singing along, my bad... :)

I think a new windscreen would be good, or even a new car but that's a thing that won't happen, so I'll get around to cleaning the glass more often I think! :)

Overall, I'm happy with the quality which compares well with Viofo A119, however please bear in mind that Viofo 2K dashcam is running under a highly improved modification which can be seen in that forum.

Nextbase will update the firmware I'm sure to tweak settings too for future improvements.








 
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Did you alter the exposure from 0
 
No, all set at default
 
A couple of examples of motorway video quality:


 
Would never recommend this camera I doesn’t do what it professes to do. Have been in touch twice regarding connecting Alexa still doesn’t work so will tell anyone I know to avoid
 
While driving, if I see a nice scenery that I want to record, can I press a button and record for any time duration I want? Let's say 20 min long recording which I don't want to lose. In a review, I read that there is a button, which once pressed, will save a recording which was 10 seconds prior and 20 seconds after the button was pressed. What if I want to have a longer recording saved?
 
Maximum save time is 3 minutes.

It's a dashcam not a camcorder.

The only way you can extend the time is if you capable of altering firmware, at your own risk, but then that may invalidate any warranty and may cause the unit to fail.
 
When I see people making hour long road videos, how do they do that? Do they stitch the dashcam videos or do they use camcorder? My primary reason for buying a better dashcam is to record the driving footage while also giving a benefits of recording accidents, etc.
 
You can join as many as you like if you have the patience and a PC that will do it.

Some cams , such as some of the Viofo ones, can do 10 minute files. Less editing, but harder to find an incident if one occurs.
 
Sorry, I am going on a tangent here but would you know if the driving videos we see online are made by combining smaller dashcam files or by using a proper video camera?
 
I expect they are compilations from dashcam files.
 
Sorry, I am going on a tangent here but would you know if the driving videos we see online are made by combining smaller dashcam files or by using a proper video camera?
Most dashcams record in a loop, they break the loop into short files so that they can use a standard format memory card and also for reliability, but you can still think of it as a continuous loop of tape. If you view the contents of the memory card with dashcam viewer software then it should display the video either as a continuous video, or broken into trips, the individual files that make up the trips don't really need to be displayed, you don't need to know they are there. If you export a video segment from a dashcam viewer then it will normally export it as a single video file without the breaks.

If you are watching a driving video, the wide angle views will normally be from a dashcam or maybe an action camera, a proper video camera will have a much narrower field of view, so if you see some zoomed in stuff showing a driver's face then that will probably be from a more normal video camera.

"proper video camera" - dashcams are proper video cameras, just designed for a specific task and so have much wider fields of view than most video cameras, along with a few other differences.
 
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