(UK) 'Prosecution Quality'

[ITFC_Alex]

When doing my research into Dash Cams before buying one (DOD LS460w) I frequently reading that in the UK the footage has to be 'prosecution quality' in order for the authorities (insurance company, police, magistrates) etc. to accept them as evidence in a case.

Thing is I haven't found any kind of standard or guide as to exactly what constitutes 'prosecution quality'. It seems to be a completely ambiguous term as far as I can gather.

Can anyone shed any light?

Thanks

 

[jokiin]

where did you read that?

 

[ITFC_Alex]

where did you read that?

I've read it in a couple of places a little while ago. Trouble is I now cant remember where and cant find the exact article I want.

The term is used on these two links...

http://blog.simonbbc.com/2014/06/04/why-do-you-need-a-dvr-in-car-dash-cam/

http://conversation.which.co.uk/transport-travel/dashboard-camera-dashcam-nextbase-in-car-cam/

The bottom link states 'if you can’t make out number plates in all conditions then your dashcam isn’t really fit for purpose'.

I've got a 1080p cam and can make out the plates in most cases but there are times when they cannot be read. Is there a certain distance from which they need to be legible?

 

[jokiin]

The cameras are fixed focus and there's always a sweet spot that will offer the best results, outside of those areas the focus will diminish, that's true of all cameras

 

[parklawn]

The bottom link states 'if you can’t make out number plates in all conditions then your dashcam isn’t really fit for purpose'

Don't believe everything that you read in newspapers. The comment above is the reporter's opinion and is garbage.

 

[Boxerman]

The bottom link is to a "Which" type report.
By co-incidence, a member of another forum told me that Which were testing dashcams and he let me have the outcome of their tests:

1 NextBase In Car Cam test score 70%
2 Gopro Hero3 test score 65%
3 Transcend Drive pro test score 61%
4 Mio MiVue 388 test score 58%
5 Roadhawk HD test score 58%
6 Blackvue DR550GW test score 57%
7 HP F-200 test score 56%
8 Garmin Dash Cam 20 test score 54%
9 Chillibongo CB-100HD test score52%
10 Nextbase In Car Cam 202 test score 49%
11 Mi-Witness HD AR-M150 test score 46%
12 Ipixi WinyCam V300HD test score 44%
13 Crashcatcher CC3 test score 34%
14 Super Legend HD Video test score 23%

I don't know what their criteria for scoring was, I fell out with Which and cancelled by subscription years ago when it dawned on me that their testing was done by people who very often knew nothing about the item they were supposed to be testing and reporting on.
Consequently, I have no faith in any info coming from "Which"

Frank

 

[sludgeguts]

A lot of the testing will be down to personal preference - "Oh look, it's a pretty colour".
"The manufacturer says it has night vision - so it must be good"
"Oh look, this one has GPS, G-sensor, loop recording, loads of pretty maps come up, a tiny compass is displayed & it even tells you how far you are to the next McDonalds"
"this one cost me £300 therefore it must be fantastic"
"this is the best camera on the market, it's completely invisible and it draws its power from subspace"
"my camera has 300,000x digital zoom and last week, the manufacturers discovered a new planet with it"

 

[parklawn]

Thanks for that info, Frank. Your conclusion pretty much says everything. I was going to sign up for a trial membership to Which just to see what criteria that used when rating dashcams but it was too much bother (being outside UK.) Maybe another poster can share some information on this.

 

[reverend]

Hmmm they accept CCTV evidence and it's used quite a lot in cases and a lot of that isn't as high quality as some of the dash cams that get slated on here!

Anyways from Which:
Nextbase 402G (DOD LS430 by another name)

NextBase may be a new name to you, but the company produces a range of dashboard cameras along with in-car DVD players. The 402G Professional is their most expensive dash cam. But does it offer the image quality to live up to the price tag?

The NextBase 402G shot to the top of the class as our highest-scoring dash cam. Thanks to its good quality in daylight and at night, this dash cam earns itself a Best Buy rating - and outperforms several models which cost twice as much. The NextBase is the best dash cam we've tested by quite a margin; if you can stretch to around £150 for a dash cam, this is the one to go for.

What is it?
The 402G Professional is NextBase's top of the range dash cam. This dash cam gives a wide 140 degree view of the road ahead and has a lens which lets lots of light in - meaning bright and clear footage during day and night.

The 402G is packed with useful features, such as GPS tracking (which shows your location should you need to prove where a collision took place), and it measures g force - automatically saving footage of collisions or moments of heavy braking. This device records high quality Full-HD video and has a large 2.7-inch screen for playing back footage in the car.

How good is video quality?
Video quality from the NextBase is excellent. In bright light footage is sharp, number plates and street signs are easily legible from more than 15m away, and you should have no trouble using footage to prove exactly what happened in the event of a collision.

The camera does struggle slightly in very bright direct sunlight and driving on unlit roads at night where there is a noticeable drop in detail, but overall quality is still better than any other device tested. The 402G shows a good level of detail even over longer distances and in our night test we could read number plates from around 10m away.

How easy is it to use?
The 402G is very easy to use once mounted. Plug the dash cam into your car's cigarette lighter or power point and the camera automatically starts recording when you switch on the car ignition. Should the memory card fill up the 402G automatically starts recording over the oldest footage.

This dash cam also registers g force and automatically saves footage of collisions or heavy braking. These are then protected from being overwritten, meaning that you can download footage straight to your computer when you get home. The 402G is compact enough to be positioned behind a rear view mirror, where it is only partially visible, making it far from intrusive.

Is there anything I should watch for?
While the 402G is easy to use and mount on your windscreen it is tricky to remove the camera from the mount. If you want to adjust any settings while on the move, the onscreen menus are a little difficult to navigate, thanks to odd button placement.

Is there anything else I should know?
This dash cam records crisp, clear audio and gives you the option of taking still photos; which may come in handy if you have a collision and need to take photos at the scene.

The power cable is long at nearly 4m, so you should be able to route it unobtrusively around the windscreen and down to the power outlet. The dash cam also has a parking mode, where as long as it's plugged in it should automatically start recording if someone drives into your car.

Should I buy it?
Yes. The NextBase is head and shoulders above all the other dash cams we've tested - even those that cost twice as much. Daylight quality is very good with number plates clearly legible most of the time. The camera also performed better than rivals at night and it is packed with useful features including GPS location tracking, a still camera option and event recording - where footage of collisions is automatically saved.

Take into account the price and we'd highly recommend this compact dash cam.

Pros: Good daylight quality, stronger low light performance than rivals. Many features. Good value.

Cons: Could show more details in low light. Tricky to remove camera from mount.

 

[reverend]

Blackvue 550

This Blackvue dash cam is a premium model which has both front and rear-facing cameras - so whether a crash happens in front or behind, you should have useful footage. But does this dash cam record high enough quality to warrant its huge price tag?

The Blackvue DR550 is the most expensive dash cam we've tested and justifies this by having front and rear-facing cameras. However, image quality from both cameras is not as strong as it could be - and the NextBase 402G Professional, our Best Buy dash cam, not only records higher quality video, but costs around half the price too. This makes the Blackvue hard to recommend; even if you really wanted to have a rear-facing camera you could afford to buy two of our Best Buy dash cams for the same price as this model.

What is it?
This Blackvue model is a twin-camera dash cam which can record the road ahead and behind you simultaneously. This premium dash cam is packed with features including GPS location tracking, a G-force sensor with event recording - where collisions or moments of heavy braking are automatically saved - plus wi-fi for connecting to your phone or smartphone.

How good is video quality?
The forward-facing camera records reasonable detail in daylight with a wide view of the road ahead. Video quality is a distinct step down from our Best Buy, with number plates only legible at distances of less than 10m. At night quality drops further, though it is still acceptable when there is a reasonable amount of street lighting around.

The rear camera has a lower specification than the front unit. Consequently footage from the rear camera is merely satisfactory and number plates are only legible at a reduced distance.

How easy is it to use?
This dash cam is full automatic once set up. However, the set-up process forces you to use slightly daunting PC software - you'll need to be PC literate to get this dash cam up and running. The instruction manual is supplied on an SD card, so you'll need to connect to a PC to view this too.

The Blackvue DR550 is easy to remove from the mount, though you'll need to carefully route the long cables for front and rear cameras around the car. The front-facing camera should fit neatly behind your rear view mirror.

Is there anything I should watch for?
The cameras are secured with double sided sticky tape, making them hard to reposition. With long cables for front and rear cameras, it may be timely process to feed these around car, so they're not in your way.

Is there anything else I should know?
We found the instruction manual nicely laid out, with clear step-by-step descriptions. Moments of high G-force, such as collisions, are saved in a separate folder on the memory card. The Blackvue also has a parking mode where it will start filming automatically if it senses movement - though it needs an external battery supply if your car's switched off, as most cars cut power to the cigarette lighter when the ignition's off.

Should I buy it?
No. This Blackvue includes many useful features plus front and rear-facing cameras. However, its high price and average video quality mean we'd recommend sticking to our Best Buy dash cam which costs about half as much and provides higher quality footage.

If you have to have two cameras, we'd be tempted to buy the Best Buy NextBase 402G Professional dash cam and the compact Transcend DrivePro 200 to fit to the rear windscreen; these two cameras together are still not far short of £100 cheaper than the Blackvue.

Pros: Reasonable quality at day and night. Front and rear-facing cameras. Wi-fi connection.

Cons: Extremely high price. Video quality lags behind best models. No still camera option.

 

[Boxerman]

Sounds very much like i'm being spoken down to. Doesn't tell you anything at all really does it, its all in their opinion. no facts or figures. What one person thinks is a good or acceptable image, another thinks is rubbish. That's where forums like this one come in, you can get a pretty good idea of what you're buying by looking at the footage people have posted.
Let's face it, you only have to go on ebay and look at some of the photos people advertise what they are trying to sell with to see what some folk think is acceptable.

Frank

 

[reverend]

Some of my ex-girlfriends were only acceptable after ten pints of lager

Here's the Transcend DrivePro 200 one:
The Transcend DrivePro 200 dashboard camera undercuts many rivals on price and offers good daytime video quality. But how does this dashboard camera fare when the sun sets? Read our full review to find out.

The DrivePro 200 is around half the price of our Best Buy dashboard camera, the NextBase 402G Professional, but it offers much more than half the video quality. Daylight images are relatively high quality and this model has lots of useful features - though GPS location tracking is notably absent. Video quality at night is a step below that of our Best Buy too, but if you don't do much driving in the dark the DrivePro 200 makes a very good value dash cam.

What is it?
This DrivePro 200 is a compact dash cam which includes a g force sensor with motion detection and wi-fi connectivity - letting you control the dash cam from your phone or tablet. It should fit neatly behind your rear view mirror and has a display screen, so you can check the camera is angled correctly to show most of the road ahead.

This Transcend does trip up when it comes to night footage, however, as video quality drops dramatically. If you're looking for a compact dash cam and aren't too concerned about absolute quality at night though, this model is a great value option.

How good is video quality?
The Transcend impressed us with relatively strong daylight quality. Detail levels are quite high, even over reasonable distances and it's easy to read most number plates and signs. In our lab tests number plates could be read up to a distance of around 15m in daylight.

Detail levels do drop noticeably at night though; our Best Buy dash cam produces much clearer footage once the sun had set. The Transcend is susceptible to glare from car headlights and streetlights too.

Audio recording is clear, however, and the camera automatically saves moments of heavy braking or collisions, preventing these from being overwritten.

How easy is it to use?
We found the Transcend mostly easy to use, with handy features such as auto-on - where the dash cam starts recording when you switch your car on - and loop recording which means it automatically writes over the oldest footage if the memory card fills up. Consequently, once you've put the DrivePro 200 in place you can leave it to its own devices and it should record automatically.

Scrolling through the menus on the device is simple, though the labelling of onscreen icons could be more intuitive. This dash cam should fit discreetly behind your rear view mirror, though it does require some dexterity to remove the camera from its mount. Viewing footage back, either on the dash cam or on your computer, is very simple.

Is there anything I should watch for?
Unlike many dashboard cameras, the DrivePro 200 does without GPS location tracking. This is forgivable for the price, but if you need GPS functionality, you're going to have to look elsewhere.

The double-sided sticky tape mount is also difficult to reposition and the initial fitting process is fiddly.

Is there anything else I should know?
This dash cam has a very clear, informative instruction manual which you can download from the internet. It also has a very wide 160 degree view of the road - this is wider than all other models tested.

Should I buy it?
Yes. If you're after a compact, affordable dash cam and aren't too concerned by the Transcend's poor quality at night or lack of GPS, this is a very good-value option. Daytime video quality is strong and number plates and road signs are mostly legible. The device is also small enough to fit unobtrusively behind your rear view mirror. Additionally this dash cam has wi-fi connectivity, so you can control it from your phone or tablet.

If you're looking for the highest quality dash cam and video quality at night is important to you, the NextBase In-Car Cam 402G Professional is a much better option, though it is approximately twice the price.

Pros: Reasonable daytime video quality, very good value, compact dimensions and wi-fi connectivity

Cons: Poor video quality at night. No GPS location tracking. Difficult to fit and remove from mount

 

[reverend]

Interestingly they gave the Transcend 2 stars for ease of fitting yet the Nextbase got 4 stars.

They use the same mounts, the only difference is that the Nextbase has a suction mount included which more people may prefer. I've got to admit when I had the Transcend (my first dash cam) I didn't realise you could get better mounts as easily as you could so maybe they need to chuck a suction cup in the box as well as the sticky mount.

 

[parklawn]

This fixation on being able to read license plates is astonishing. What you really need to know is who did what, and who was in the wrong, and that is all recorded. Look at a few videos of car crashes on YouTube and its crystal clear what happened, and you rarely get to see or make out the license plate numbers, but I'm sure that the police or insurance adjusters have no problem determining who was at fault.

 

[russ331]

Interestingly they gave the Transcend 2 stars for ease of fitting yet the Nextbase got 4 stars.

Thanks for posting these Which? reviews. Whether we like it or not, Which? has enormous influence in the UK, & a Which? 'Best Buy' award guarantees strong sales.

It's bound to raise the profile & sales figures of DashCams in the UK market, which is a good thing overall, even if the recommended cameras don't entirely correspond with DCT favourites.

Some of the observations are questionable. Transcend night video performance 'poor'? Not according to the Techmoan review, or Amazon customer reviews.

 

[mr_milo]

This fixation on being able to read license plates is astonishing. What you really need to know is who did what, and who was in the wrong, and that is all recorded. Look at a few videos of car crashes on YouTube and its crystal clear what happened, and you rarely get to see or make out the license plate numbers, but I'm sure that the police or insurance adjusters have no problem determining who was at fault.

Unless it's a hit and run. Then having a license plate becomes quite important. The hit & run scenario is exactly why I wanted a dash cam and why I'm looking for front and rear coverage via either one, or more likely, two cameras.

 

[jokiin]

Some of the observations are questionable. Transcend night video performance 'poor'? Not according to the Techmoan review, or Amazon customer reviews.

I think there's a natural bias toward video that looks more realistic rather than video that shows more detail, the best results don't always come from the most natural looking video as most here would know

 

[Boxerman]

Thanks for posting these Which? reviews. Whether we like it or not, Which? has enormous influence in the UK, & a Which? 'Best Buy' award guarantees strong sales.

It's bound to raise the profile & sales figures of DashCams in the UK market, which is a good thing overall, even if the recommended cameras don't entirely correspond with DCT favourites.

Yes I agree that many people are like sheep and if "Which" says its the best buy, then that is the one they'll buy. Personally, I want to be given the facts and make up my own mind from those, rather than be told " this is the best one because we say so".

Frank

 

[jokiin]

we have a publication called 'Choice' which is the same sort of thing

 

[reverend]

The Nextbase was the only camera they list as a Best Buy out of all the options they've reviewed!

They should probably pay Niko to do some proper reviews