Itronics ITB-250HD

The Itronics ITB-250HD DVR is a cam that records 720p at 30fps, one of the only 720p cams with WiFi.  This a compact Korean built dash cam with very good picture quality during the day and average picture quality at night.  The bitrate is relatively low at 6,000 kbps, but it is adequate to produce good video quality.  This camera does not come with GPS but it does come with a G-sensor and parking mode.  If you are using parking mode, you may want to consider a Battery Discharge Prevention Device.

This is currently the only Itronics camera with WiFi capability, an attractive feature for many users.  We expect many more WiFi enabled cameras to be released in 2013.

We would like to thank our member Mtz, who provided  the information for this review.  You can read his original thread in our forum.

Why WiFi?

Some people may question the need for a WiFi camera.  However, there are numerous advantages that are typically available if you have a WiFi dash cam:

• Recordings can be viewed on a smartphone (Android Phone or IPhone), inside the car or even nearby
• Can backup any interesting video files to a smartphone (i.e. if you need to give the SD card to the police, you will have a backup)
• Could delete any video files from the camera using a smartphone
• Can configure any setting for the camera using a smartphone
• Can watch live streaming video from the camera at home depending on distance or record to a home PC
• Can utilize smart phone applications to record the live video stream to a smartphone

ITB-250HD WiFi Capability

The ITB-250HD uses a standard Mini USB wireless dongle and a Realtek RTL8188CU wireless chipset.  If there are no obstacles, WiFi distance can reach up to 100 meters.  In theory, improved wireless performance could be achieved with a higher quality dongle, perhaps the RTL8192CU.

The following video shows the WiFi in action.

Known problems

This camera is not available from too many sources hence it hasn’t been that popular.  There is little information on known problems.  The biggest issue is the lack of an English manual and the lack of English Smartphone support.  Perhaps Itronics will rectify this situation in the future with an official release of the manual and application.

No MPH Setting

The speed setting in this camera is only in kilometers per hour (when “Display Speed” is set to on and speed is embedded on video file).  There is no way of changing this to miles per hour at this time.

Power Cable Length

The included power cable is approximately 3M long.  This is just enough to wrap around the windshield, A-pillar and under the dash for many cars.  However, larger vehicles may find that this length is too short for a clean install.

AV Port

The AVt port is the same as the Itronics ITB-100HD and it provides live video. If you want to playback recorded files from the camera, you must use the Smartphone application.

Be careful to not plug the power supply into the AV port.  Doing this may destroy the camera.  Unfortunately the power port and AV port are roughly the same size.  If you will not be using the AV port, it may make sense to cover it with a small piece of tape.

Disassembling the dash cam

ITB-250HD PC Player

Itronics has developed one PC player for the following models:

ITB-1000HD, ITB-100HD, ITB-100HD SP, ITB-200HD, ITB-250HD

The latest version is v.1.3.4

Sample Videos

Day Video

Night Video

Should I Purchase?

If you are looking for a Wi-Fi enabled camera, this one should be on your shortlist.  It’s main competition is the BlackVue DR500GW-HD.  It is a bit cheaper than the BlackVue but you get less features (no GPS and no 1080p).  Even though the DR500GW-HD is 1080p, many users complain of macroblocks / pixelation with the standard firmware.  The ITB-250HD does not suffer from this problem.

Unfortunately very few vendors are selling this camera.  If you do find someone selling it, make sure they provide the English manual and English Android application.

Firmware

WARNING!  MAKING CHANGES TO YOUR FIRMWARE ARE PERFORMED AT YOUR OWN RISK.  WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE TO YOUR DASH CAM AS A RESULT OF THESE INSTRUCTIONS.

Firmware Update Instructions

1. Download the latest firmware.
2. Extract the zip file and copy the bin file to a blank SD card.
3. Insert the SD card into the dash cam and turn on the cam
4. The dash cam will perform a sequence of beeps, wait for the process to complete (less than 5min)
5. When done it will give the regular power on triple beep.

Latest Firmware

The latest firmware version is v1.2

Specifications

Last Updated: April 8, 2013