Trying to decide on which dash cam ...

[george88]

Hello guys,

new here, I was looking for some help in choosing a dash cam suitable for my needs. There are so many different options, I would like to get your recommendation if possible.

is it better only front facing? or front and in-cabin? Also how important is it really to go for a 4K one or not? HD should do just fine right?

I have found a few dash cams on Amazon ... is that a good option ? Amazon Dash Cameras

I also found another provider with a few options, Xenonpro Dash Cams... anyone has experience with them?

Thanks for your help

 

[jokiin]

better to read through some threads here for recommendations, nothing great among what you've linked

 

[dash riposki]

The stuff that is usually pimped on those 'best' sites and appear high in fake ratings are usually crap, or somewhat functional crap that there are much better alternatives to.

I can just whisper 'Apeman' to an acquaintance of mine and he will go into a tirade about that cam.



You'll avoid a lot of problems and time wasted on the learning curve by finding cams that are discussed on this site, and are proven. You still need to have realistic expectations, and some basic good habits to keep the cams functional over time. (memory card selection, and monitoring normal operation of the cam periodically)

 

[jokiin]

The stuff that is usually pimped on those 'best' sites and appear high in fake ratings are usually crap, or somewhat functional crap that there are much better alternatives to.

to a new user the lifetime warranty suggests that these are quality products, the reality is they sell products that cost $7 for over $100 they can afford to replace a lot of them

 

[dash riposki]

And where is the warranty serviced? I will spend $50 to return the cam to China, and wait a few months?

 

[Nigel]

to a new user the lifetime warranty suggests that these are quality products, the reality is they sell products that cost $7 for over $100 they can afford to replace a lot of them

Presumably the lifetime warranty, like most lifetime warranties, is of little use because the cameras generally die and come to the end of their lifetime before you can use the warranty, thus they don't actually have to replace any of them?

 

[DesertBike]

Depends on what you want it for, broadly.

At present, the premium for 4k is too much. I don't know that there exists a true 4k, dual-camera system. Seems the technology is just not there yet. All the "4k" dual-camera systems I can find, have a 4k cam in front, with the rear being 1080. And boy, do you pay for that 4k front cam. $400+ MSRP seems to be normal for these systems.

I see no use for a camera directed inside, unless you are getting this for Lyft/Uber. I wanted to have evidence of other drivers' stupidity, in the event I am ever involved in a collision. For such purposes, I need front and rear, outward views.

Yes, I think "only" 1080 HD is good enough. 1080 is usually clear enough to read license plates.

This reasoning, and a lot of forum-reading, lead me to choose a Viofo A129 Duo system this summer. It is working perfectly so far. It does lack some parking mode features of more expensive dual-camera systems, but is fine for my use. I mostly wanted video whilst moving, since I usually park in protected locations.

You can go with a front-only dashcam if money is really tight. However you won't have a direct view if someone rear-ends you, for example. But, a front-only dashcam is better than none

Hope this helps.

 

[SawMaster]

Welcome to DCT @george88

Lots of dashcam choices these days so you can definitely find one suitable, but same as ever it's a lot easier to choose based on what you want from it. Basic driving protection is handled well by a single front cam. It will show your lane position and movements as well as what's happening in front of you which is where most problems occur, so if you've done nothing wrong any fault must be on the other parties. A dual-cam showing the rear can show someone tailgating or driving erratically coming from behind you, and is great for helping with hit-and-runs happening from behind. Nice to have but not absolutely necessary.

Video quality is another important factor. A good 1080P-30fps cam is considered by most to be the minimum you need to capture the details, but much better can be had now. Most of the newer cams also use sensors which do well in low-light, the Sony IMX line have become common and are good with that, but if you rarely drive at night older sensors can do all you need. Based on your climate, if summers are not too hot you can use a battery-equipped cam, but super-caps are much better for hot locations and have become common because of their long-term reliability. Price is also a factor- for a decent card and cam you're going to spend around $50 and up; anything less is probably going to disappoint you in vid quality or life-span. $75 can set you up much better, but for really good cams $125 and up is where the performance is.

So consider your budget first, then what you need from a dashcam in video quality next. After that look at features and possibly a 2-channel cam. Doing it this way will make it a lot easier to choose and will likely get you a cam you'll be happy with for a long time. Share what those specifics are and we can give you some recommendations

Phil

 

[SR14626]

Depends on what you want it for, broadly.

At present, the premium for 4k is too much. I don't know that there exists a true 4k, dual-camera system. Seems the technology is just not there yet. All the "4k" dual-camera systems I can find, have a 4k cam in front, with the rear being 1080. And boy, do you pay for that 4k front cam. $400+ MSRP seems to be normal for these systems.

Hope this helps.

The VIOFO A129 Duo will cost about $250 and the A129 1 channel will cost about $200 for 4K. A very good unit as well. Just came out

 

[DesertBike]

Great, it's good that there are some lower-cost options now.

I don't own any 4k-capable displays. If/when that changes I may revisit.

It would be great if I could simply swap out the front cam for a 4k unit, while keeping the existing cable and 1080 rear cam. Maybe a worthwhile, eventual upgrade.

 

[Nigel]

I don't own any 4k-capable displays. If/when that changes I may revisit.

All you need is a video player with zoom function and you can see the full fantastic 4K detail on any size/resolution of display

 

[jokiin]

All you need is a video player with zoom function and you can see the full fantastic 4K detail on any size/resolution of display

sort of, a lot of computers choke on 4K video, harder to find the full fantastic 4k detail when it's a stuttering mess on playback

 

[Nigel]

sort of, a lot of computers choke on 4K video, harder to find the full fantastic 4k detail when it's a stuttering mess on playback

If you stick to H264 then most computers from the last 5 years should manage, main point was that a 4K display is not necessary, for a lot of people a 4K display isn't even desirable, especially if you don't have eyes that are better than average.

 

[jokiin]

If you stick to H264 then most computers from the last 5 years should manage, main point was that a 4K display is not necessary, for a lot of people a 4K display isn't even desirable, especially if you don't have eyes that are better than average.

4k video can struggle on computers with on board graphics, plenty of those in the market, best idea for anyone considering 4k cameras is to try some sample video first to make sure they can view it

 

[Nigel]

4k video can struggle on computers with on board graphics, plenty of those in the market, best idea for anyone considering 4k cameras is to try some sample video first to make sure they can view it

I imagine most have on board graphics, mine does, and it can play H264 4K onto a 1080 monitor OK, including zoomed in. Older computers will certainly have problems, but I think you need to go back quite a few years now. Even my cheapish and several years old tablet will play 4K videos, it doesn't take expensive hardware, just adequate hardware.

 

[jokiin]

I imagine most have on board graphics, mine does, and it can play H264 4K onto a 1080 monitor OK, including zoomed in. Older computers will certainly have problems, but I think you need to go back quite a few years now. Even my cheapish and several years old tablet will play 4K videos, it doesn't take expensive hardware, just adequate hardware.

tablets will generally play the video no problem, even entry level ones, I have a one year old computer with on board intel graphics that won't play 4k so it's not just older hardware, it's not the computer I use daily so not an issue, lot of cheap laptops will struggle also, trying a sample video beforehand is always a good idea

 

[Nigel]

tablets will generally play the video no problem, even entry level ones, I have a one year old computer with on board intel graphics that won't play 4k so it's not just older hardware, it's not the computer I use daily so not an issue, lot of cheap laptops will struggle also, trying a sample video beforehand is always a good idea

Not sure why a one year old computer wouldn't support 4K, Intel processors and integrated graphics have supported playing 4K to a 4K monitor since 2012. My computer also has Intel integrated graphics, and it is using a laptop (low power) chipset.

From Intel website:
"
Does my processor support 4K video?
For 4K video support, you need:

• 3rd Generation Intel® Core™ Processor or higher with Intel® HD Graphics and the latest Intel® HD Graphics driver.

"

 

[reverend]

From memory players like VLC ship with hardware acceleration disabled or at least it used too - 4k video is still very intensive for a lot of CPUs to handle so it's going to be pretty important a lot of people know to turn that on.

An old thread with how to turn it on here - https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threads/vlc-hardware-acceleration.8349/

If 4k SDR videos are causing problems now it's going to be even more fun when 4k HDR / WCG capable cameras arrive in the future.

The Intel drivers have had many buggy releases with issues and memory leaks / decoding & encoding issues - they're getting there but still a pain in the proverbial arse at times.

 

[Nigel]

If 4k SDR videos are causing problems now it's going to be even more fun when 4k HDR / WCG capable cameras arrive in the future.

The H264 videos should still work fine since they should remain unchanged, and the H265 videos already don't play on most computers so it's not going to make much difference there either!

I think even with an HDR capable computer and monitor, we will still need the equivalent of a zoom feature to examine the full brightness detail available in a good 10 bit video, in the same way that even with a 4K capable computer and monitor, to see the full resolution detail the zoom function is still desirable/necessary unless you have a very large monitor.

But by the time we have worthwhile HDR videos, they will probably be using the AV1 codec, so no chance of playing smoothly on today's hardware!