Why Stealth?

[JimSar]

Our community finds stealth or stealthiness a desirable form factor. We even go through great lengths to make our existing cameras less obvious (I spray painted the front cover of one of my dash cameras flat black.)

On the other hand, residential / commercial building CCTVs tend to go the other way. Signs advertise their presence, one building I used to work in even had fake cameras installed to discourage unwanted behavior. This made me wonder, what are the advantages/disadvantages of stealth on car cameras? I've seen car alarm systems that have blinking lights to discourage break-ins and sound system theft. What makes our cameras different? Are we afraid they'd be stolen?

Your thoughts?

My home CCTV sign:

 

[niko]

There is a difference in Car DVRs and Home / building DVR / CCTVs.

Home CCTV can record on in-house hidden hard-drive or even to the remoe server, so even if bad guy enters premises and brakes camera or steals DVR, - then you still have a chance of recorded videos to be on remote ( cloud ) server. But with present technology cars DVR-s, all info is on car DVR memory card. So, if bad guy brakes car windshield and steals dashcamera along with memory card, - there is no proof of violation. If future dashcams would allow video recordings to remote server, lets say via GSM network, then of course exposing dashcams , making them more attractive in the vehicles with blinking LEDs etc. would be a good point. Until then, - stealth is the the best solution.

 

[CheckYourLights]

What makes our cameras different? Are we afraid they'd be stolen?

I think part of it is this.
When you have a CCTV camera it's up somewhere. Someone has to really go out of their way to snatch it or break it, and even if they do the video is stored remotely so if a CCTV camera was wireless and taken or wired and broken you still have video.
You can go here look some one about 6 foot wearing X outfit came in and took or trashed my camera. Here is some evidence go work with it and find the guy.
When you have a DashCam that is easily noticeable it can be a smash and grab. Unless you have some kind of remote system if the camera it self is stolen so is the evidence of who took it.

Car alarm systems that have blinking lights work as a detrant because that lets the person know if they break in there will be a lot of noise, and unless they are a professional car booster they won't be able to turn it off before they draw to much heat.

It's all in the convince factor.
It's how bad a thief wants whatever they are looking to snatch vs how easy it is to take it.

 

[Nigel]

If future dashcams would allow video recordings to remote server, lets say via GSM network, then of course exposing dashcams , making them more attractive in the vehicles with blinking LEDs etc. would be a good point. Until then, - stealth is the the best solution.

My car does store data on a cloud server right now, I can also talk to it via wifi if it's parked near my house which it often is, of course this could allow me to pick up video and store it securely right now. Thieves already need to be careful, but of course most thieves don't mind taking a bit of a risk, in fact without the risk factor many wouldn't thieve!

 

[niko]

My car does store data on a cloud server right now, I can also talk to it via wifi if it's parked near my house which it often is, of course this could allow me to pick up video and store it securely right now. Thieves already need to be careful, but of course most thieves don't mind taking a bit of a risk, in fact without the risk factor many wouldn't thieve!

"Home WiFi- Cloud" storage Car DVR solutions are out for few years. I was pointing to scene when car is parked not at home. Then we need some other than WiFi data transfer, like GSM or any other mobile network data transfer, which at present time is very expensive to handle. 4G would do the job for 1080p/30Fps, but it would cost a fortune to pay the bills.
Besides, if car parked at home, - usually many houses have home CCTV camera pointing to garage or car driveway. So, myself personally not worried about car security when parked at home. I am more worried about car parked outside house / home.

 

[CheckYourLights]

I just wanted to add that that is a neat sign. I wouldn't mind if DashCams came with stickers that said something like By entering vehicle you agree to be recorded.

 

[Dionic90]

public at large is not used to cams in cars, but are used to cctv/security cams at homes and businesses. its easy to peek in the window and see what is in there. the more dolled up the car, the more its noticed. so it makes sense not to attract attention to the car especially if its in a secluded area. no matter how many signs or cams in the car, if the cam is taken/destroyed, the evidence is lost, so stealth is a good idea in those situations. Cloud storage is a good idea because even if the cam is destroyed the video evidence is offsite separate from the cam. Most thieves wont know this.

as more and more and more car cams become more in the news, you will certainly see signs stating there are cams in cars.. you will also probably see stickers suggesting a cam is in the car even though one is not in there.. simple deterrent.

 

[JimSar]

I just wanted to add that that is a neat sign. I wouldn't mind if DashCams came with stickers that said something like By entering vehicle you agree to be recorded.

I bought this sign on eBay for $8.95 with free shipping. I believe it addresses a legal issue here in California regarding recording of conversations. My home CCTV has mics by the front door and in front of the garage. Amazing what these mics pick up; bird calls, dogs barking, train whistles in the middle of the night, etc.

By the way, early one morning last July, a couple of girls broke into my unlocked truck. Someone must have tipped them off that it was unlocked, because they drove right next to my truck and without hesitation entered the vehicle like they owned it. They took the ash tray which had a handful of coins, and the owners manual which was in a leatherette case the resembles a tablet's. They tossed the case down the street, and a neighbor promptly returned it a few hours later. The truck was parked on the street, and this was captured by my driveway camera. However, it was still dark and too far to get their license number. Here's the kicker: they didn't touch the dash cam which was plugged into the cigarette lighter power port.

 

[Dionic90]

a couple of girls broke into my unlocked truck

if its unlocked, they did not technically break into it. Best case is unauthorized entry.

goes to show, even if you have signs posted, people will still attempt theft if they feel they can get away with it.

no one ever said criminals are smart...

 

[JimSar]

if its unlocked, they did not technically break into it. Best case is unauthorized entry.

You're right. That incident was what prompted me to order two different signs on eBay. Also motivated me to build a bird house with a "stealth" camera inside at the end of our cul-de-sac. It is on top of a pole near some trees. Hardest part was running / hiding the 100 ft cable to the house.

 

[Dionic90]

off topic: good stuff bro. what part of cali? northern? southern?

EDIT: I see you have an 8000L and a G also. how do you like it? you can message me offline if you dont want to take this convo off topic...

 

[BobDiaz]

In the USA when you are in a public place, there's no right to privacy, no right to stop someone from recording you. However, some people become really uptight when they know they are being recorded. Having a stealth like dash cam avoids the potential problem of someone getting in my face about the recording. The video I recorded in 2012 talks about that issue:

 

[sludgeguts]

Why Stealth?
The best mounting solution for a dashcam is as high as possible in the screen so that the cam is pointing down - more road, less sky.
When you look at many of the cams out there, it's not the gaudy trim that bothers me so much as the huge plastic box stuck to my windscreen.
My rear mirror is high up out of the way, tax disk in the bottom corner - it only obstructs a view of the bonnet, my phone is in the other corner, again, only obstructing the view of the bonnet. All done to maximise my view of the road - so why on earth would I blank out part of the road intentionally?
I cannot believe how some drivers get away with mounting their satnavs slap bang in front of their eyes.
Stealth - firstly to not block my view & secondly so it's not so obvious to the opportunist thief.

 

[JimSar]

off topic: good stuff bro. what part of cali? northern? southern?

EDIT: I see you have an 8000L and a G also. how do you like it? you can message me offline if you dont want to take this convo off topic...

PM sent.

 

[JimSar]

In the USA when you are in a public place, there's no right to privacy, no right to stop someone from recording you. ...

Generally true, but with lots of "ifs" depending on the particular State law. Here's a link to what's relevant in California and I think 11 other states with "all party consent" laws.
http://www.dmlp.org/legal-guide/california-recording-law

Disclaimer: I'm not a lawyer nor do I play one on TV, so don't take this as legal advise.

 

[Street Guardian USA]

Stealthy = less visible = less "smash and grab friendly" while parked out in public.

 

[niko]

As per reliable stickers regarding dashcam in car I might think of this wording:
" Car CCTV Remote Monitoring & Recording", or any other more correct english language wording ( sorry for my english ) that would show my point: where Dashcam recorded videos are instantly recorded to remote ( cloud ) storage. This would stop some bad guys from stealing a dashcam.

 

[reverend]

I'm assuming you folks have seen these various ones on Amazon on eBay? I guess it's playing devils advocate though - if someone sees that more obviously than the dashcam these would only get the wrong sort of people intrigued.

 

[CheckYourLights]

How'd that get there? is that the one on your car reverend? Heh Makes it a little more funny to me because for some reason lately I have been seeing cars (at least 4 or 5) that seem like the trunk or lift gate went four wheeling, but the rest of the car was just at the car wash.

I have seen a few on Amazon but none that you posted. There are some on cafepress as well.

 

[reverend]

It must have slipped in there somehow

I'm guessing at some point it will be a legal requirement that we have to display something saying that we're recording in the UK - but for now it appears we're fine (I think anyway!)

Yeah I noticed we have a lot of cars over here in the UK which seem to have cleaned everywhere - apart from the rear numberplate which is that caked up in dirt you can't hardly read it. I really am surprised more of them don't get pulled over for a warning.

I've been pulled over in the past to try and give me a ticket for having a small numberplate - but at the time I had a Japanese import car with a small plate space, so legally it was ok. I did have to carry the paperwork proving this though and everytime after I'd produced it they'd do a thorough check of the car to see if there was anything else they could give me a ticket for. It was too much hassle in the end so I was quite glad to be rid of it and have a normal sized numberplate!