Street Guardian SG9665XS Video Review

[USDashCamera]

I also talk about alternative mounts for it, check it out.

 

[russ331]

This video review will be seen on YouTube by many people who are unaware of Street Guardian's reputation for 24/7/365 support, & for going above & beyond their legal obligations to help customers resolve issues.

This review omits commentary that might assist buyers to factor-in the value of after sales support when choosing between this SG or, say, a G1W-C from Banggood.

 

[USDashCamera]

This video review will be seen on YouTube by many people who are unaware of Street Guardian's reputation for 24/7/365 support, & for going above & beyond their legal obligations to help customers resolve issues.

This review omits commentary that might assist buyers to factor-in the value of after sales support when choosing between this SG or, say, a G1W-C from Banggood.

well i did say at 12:50 that street guardian has been very reliable and they back their products very well.

In the internet age it's different from the 80s of 90s when there weren't forums like this for plenty of technical support from users for even generic products like the g1w.

Neither their main site or USA site even list support hours let alone claim 24/7/365 support unless we are counting posting on this forum and getting a response within a few hours or less. I think claiming that is misleading unless they really do have someone 24/7 live ready to chat privately to resolve your issues not just a forum they are on most of the day.

"above and beyond" is pretty subjective and would come off as marketing statements while I'm supposed to be as unbiased as I can reviewing. I thought saying their products have been reliable and backed well was fair enough. If Jon from @Street Guardian USA wants to chime in on their level of support that'd be great.

I also don't want to imply to people that they'll likely need support. if I am seeking technical support that could mean something is wrong with the product or its not easy to use.

 

[russ331]

well i did say at 12:50 that street guardian has been very reliable and they back their products very well.

I know, however, you failed to adequately convey what differentiates SG from the general standard of dashcam mediocrity, in terms of quality of manufacture & proven after sales service, & what little you did say on the subject won't be noticed by the average YouTube viewer, who doesn't know of this website, & is unaware of the regular praise heaped on SG here by satisfied customers, something you appear curiously unwilling to acknowledge.

The least you can do is to update your video with additional text explaining that the SG9665XS justifies it's price due to build quality, expected durability & market-leading after sales service.

 

[USDashCamera]

I know, however, you failed to adequately convey what differentiates SG from the general standard of dashcam mediocrity, in terms of quality of manufacture & proven after sales service, & what little you did say on the subject won't be noticed by the average YouTube viewer, who doesn't know of this website, & is unaware of the regular praise heaped on SG here by satisfied customers, something you appear curiously unwilling to acknowledge.

The least you can do is to update your video with additional text explaining that the SG9665XS justifies it's price due to build quality, expected durability & market-leading after sales service.

Sorry but I believe my review's message was fine as it was. I did say it felt sturdy, and at 13:15 I said its a "budget camera from street guardian, and there is a reason why they made a name for themselves" and that their "history and reliability adds value to the product", but not everyone values the same thing. A lot of people are gonna hear "market leading after sales service" and see that as marketing fluff.

And "market leading after sales service" is subjective and all based on opinion, even if it is a popular opinion by many satisfied customers around here. But how is that quantified? just by their posts around here? I have loved street guardians products and the interaction they have with the community but that is not a statement I would say with certainty is true. I look at thinkware's website and their support page lists 11 different countries with emails and phone numbers for all 11 countries you can call including the hours they are available. (http://www.thinkware.com/Support/Contact?page=Qna) I just called the north american support line and was talking to a real person within 30 seconds (told them I was just calling to see if they offered live tech support), now I assume that would be the same case with Street Guardian USA since they also have a phone number to call but what about Brazil? Japan? Singapore? The UK? Do I contact HiNiko for SG support in the UK? The main SG website seems to only list AU support, is HiNiko the official SG distributor in the UK? If i was a new customer that didn't know Niko from the forums already I would ask who the hell is Niko? What is HiNiko? Where is street guardians UK website? Is dashcamtalk the official support page for SG? That's what it seems like. but this all comes down to how can i really quantify what "market leading after sales service" is. Thinkware seems to offer great "world wide" product support but nobody asked me to mention that in the review. I am not trying to rip on street guardian but your insistence that I need to update my review to tell people SG has "market leading after sales support" seems pushy to me.

I was as honest as I could be, pushing so hard on this "sales support" starts to come off as suggesting you are going to need support as if they have a high need for tech support. Their AU site says on their about page:

"At Street Guardian we’re focused on providing a selection of vehicle safety and security products that offer the simplicity a novice desires without feeling overwhelmed, while still being able to provide the performance an enthusiast demands, high quality product with an exceptional out of box experience"

which sounds like a great statement, I like the idea that out of the box I am going to get a great product that is simple enough even if I am a novice. I honestly do not personally want to hear about how easily it will be to contact them when I have problems, that would turn me off a bit if I am shopping. I would rather they tell me its so easy to use you'll have it up and running in minutes.

It was a tough review for me because I do like the cam, and of course everything that comes along with a street guardian product, but in the end I am reviewing it not trying to sell it. I do not necessarily think the support SG offers objectively out weighs its dated specs, but I leave the consumers to decide if the good reputation behind Street Guardian is enough to warrant it but I'm not gonna say they have market leading support when I don't know that to be true. For me personally as I said in the review, I would get the A119 if I had to choose. Some consumers may still opt for the cheaper G1W which may not be as reliable but is much cheaper for the same chipset (even better firmware or lens of another camera is not going to suddenly transform it into something leagues better, and consumers will just see the same CPU and CMOS sensor in the specs regardless). Similarly, I bought a oneplus 3T phone recently over a google pixel because it was so much cheaper for the same CPU but with 50% more ram while only really sacrificing a higher res screen i didn't feel I needed. I feel obligated to compare it to similarly priced cameras just like a sony action cam review would likely mention gopro.

 

[USDashCamera]

Sorry if my long winded rant came off as aggressive or if I seemed upset, I did not mean for it to come off like that.

 

[jokiin]

Sorry if my long winded rant came off as aggressive or if I seemed upset, I did not mean for it to come off like that.

I know where you're coming from, while I appreciate the kind words from @russ331 I don't really like to promote the after sales service side of things, in an ideal world we'd never need to be giving service as things would just work as expected, unfortunately when we're talking about electronics that's very hard to achieve, even the richest tech company in the world (Apple) aren't able to make a failproof product so I'd say our chances are pretty slim, when things do go wrong though I'd rather we were under promising and over delivering wherever possible, we don't get a second chance to make a first impression so we will always work hard to make things right for any customer that has problems

 

[SawMaster]

Not tough to say "While it's unlikely that you'll ever need help with this cam, if you do the manufacturer and many of their sellers who are very knowledgeable about all aspects of it frequent the Dash Can Talk forum where you will likely have the answers or assistance you need in minutes or at worst within a few hours, versus having to send an email to someone who may not be there to answer you on the weekends or who may not have that kind of depth of knowledge about their products."

Doing reviews is something akin to being a story-teller and both require that you be able to craft your words in such a way as to get the intended message across clearly with the least chance of someone misunderstanding that message. It's a skill that that makes certain writers rich while the others saying the same thing differently go hungry

I didn't watch the vid so don't take what I've said as personal criticism, rather just general advice from someone who has been published nationally and was received well in the doing a few times on a very small scale. Unlike most folks today I prefer to do my 'learning' via text where I can scan quickly through those parts I'm not deeply interested in and focus on what means the most to me without missing anything in the process. I can easily go back and re-read anything I need to. You can't do that with a vid because you don't know what is being said unless you listen to the whole thing, and 'rewinding' greatly disrupts the process. A vid requires an investment of time- nothing irks me more than spending my precious free time watching a review only to find info given near the end which makes it a 'no-go' for me. With text I can look for that specific info and find it quickly making better use of my limited time, allowing me to spend more time looking for and at other items which better meet my needs. Nobody knows better than me what I'm looking for and text lets me flind that quickly while no vid ever can Yeah, that's not how most people operate today but that's me.

Phil

 

[Agie]

Good job on the video review mate, loving seeing these reviews pop up on your YouTube