Dash camera group buy. Blackvue DR400-G HD

[Frankman]

A closer look at the rear view mirror revealed a plastic tunnel running from the mirror to the overhead panel where the OnStar/lights/HomeLink controls are. Inside the plastic tunnel is a black cable coming from the mirror I'm thinking that the Blackvue recorder wire could be routed through the plastic tunnel (it's plenty big enough) and into the overhead panel. Surely there must be several places inside the overhead panel to tap into 12v switched or unswitched power. Has anyone taken off the overhead panel and could share how it is done? I have replaced the 3 light bulbs with LEDs but that only involved prying off the clear light cover.

[doubledave]

I definitely want one. I assume the one sold at Amazon.com for $249.99 has the full warranty. I feel the need to find out if people are messing with my Volt when I am not around, plus it will definitely more than pay for itself many times over if I'm involved in a crash and it isn't my fault.

This morning at 4:00am, there was a vandalism attempt on my Volt. They unplugged the 120v charger from the car. It must have set off the alarm causing them to drop the plug next to the driver's door and leave, although I was sleeping and didn't hear the alarm, just found the charging interrupted SMS message on my cell phone 1.5 hours later. I'm guessing my 120v charger or extension cord would have been missing if it wasn't for the alarm.
Or it could have been neighborhood kids being mischievous, unplugging peoples' cars for the lulz.

The park mode of the DR400G-HD would have come in handy for just such an occasion.

[Frankman]

It looks like the Amazon product offering is shipped from South Korea where the manufacturer is located. I think this is the case because of the reference to Worldwide Express in the product title. There is also a seller on eBay that says that the product ships from Los Angeles for $249. I really dont know if these sellers are "authorized" sellers where the warranty would apply. But I would like to get one of these products if I could figure out how to direct wire it. I wouldn't want to have a wire hanging down to the 12 volt accessory port on the dash.

[KyleH]

FYI. The TSX forum is at $170 for the 380 version with a group buy. Right now, it is Korean firmware with english manuals and a free update to English firmware when release. The change was due to some reports of overheating on the 400 version. Major difference is that this is 720p not 1080.

As of today, 7/10, the group buy is on hold pending some more details.

I am interested in wiring too. The TSX guys said that they simply had to tap into the fuse line with no wire splicing or taping. (I don't know what that means in the volt because I have not seen the insides yet. Has anyone tried messing with the wirings to the rear view mirror or console on the roof? Do you have pics to share?)

-KyleH

[larry4pyro]

Pretty cheap insurance if you get in an accident and both sides claim they were not at fault. Just review the video and one side has to man-up and take responsibility.

[krusin_]

Bump.

Group buy is almost there. Head to the tsx forums abd get on the list if you're interested.

[doubledave]

The one that I ordered from Amazon.com arrived almost a week ago. It was $249.99, no tax no shipping charge. (now it is $259.99) I have been experimenting with g-force trigger thresholds, camera angle positions, and such. I really like it. It reads close up license plates well. The picture quality is usually acceptable at night and during rain.

For now, I have the power cord plugged into the dash outlet, so it doesn't yet record when the car is off. The cord is run out of sight across the top of the windshield, then the side, and across the bottom, and finally within plain sight over the dash to the power outlet compartment.

The camera is positioned behind the rearview mirror, barely visible from the viewpoint of the driver, just within the area of the windshield that the wiper covers. The passenger can see it plainly. I had to peel off my TxTag to get the BlackVUE into my preferred position, unfortunately, that ruined my TxTag so I ordered a replacement (free).

The adapters needed to connect the micro SD card to a computer's USB port are all included. The software is really neat; you can use any fast enough computer to play the .MP4 video files from the micro SD memory card, but to use the actual included software, you need a Windows PC or a fast enough Android phone/tablet with a micro SD slot. Software available for Android devices from the Google Play store "BlackVue from Pittasoft."

It came with an older English firmware preinstalled in the camera, and a blank unformatted Pittasoft branded 16 GB micro SD card and Pittasoft branded micro SD to SD adapter. Just by putting the memory card into the camera and powering it up, it formatted the card, loaded the default parameters to the card, and began recording.
The Windows application was put on the card by the camera, and when I ran it on my Windows PC, it let me set the parameters for future use of the camera.
When I later connected it to my Android phone, the BlackVue app automatically detected it was using an old firmware and automatically downloaded and updated it. The Windows app didn't check. To update firmware on a Windows PC you need to manually download the latest firmware updater from their website.

More information is in this helpful video review I found on youtube. I may make my own video review at a later time.

[doubledave]

I have not yet found a good way to wire it to a constantly powered 12v source, but I thought I'd show y'all the quality of my BlackVue camera.
Video that I posted to Youtube.
I recorded it at the full resolution 1920x1080 but have it set to half the normal framerate (15 fps) so that it doesn't fill the memory card so quickly. My 16 GB card almost full now after a little over 1 week of daily driving. I can also change to a 32 GB micro SD card.
I looked in the front and rear fuse boxes and do not see a good way to tap into 12v power. I want to avoid splicing into existing wires. I might run a pair of wires with battery clips to the actual 12v battery and put a cigarette lighter outlet on the other end of the wire and find a way to run it under the carpet and trim pieces.

[KyleH]

Thanks for the youtube shot. Looks like a great insurance if anyone needed it to dispute a traffic incident.

If you put in the 32gigs, do you think this would be something that you can set it and forget it? From the descriptions so far, it seems to have a way to roll off older recordings, so maybe if you have an incident, will you have a few days to take out the memory and copy it? How many hours of recording do you think you have with the 16gigs @ 15fps and 1920x1080?

-KyleH

[KyleH]

What are the legal implications of having evidence of your own accident or crime?

In a case where your dashcam recorded a negative proof of your guilt, and you happened to have conveniently "lost it", the memory card was not in, or coincidently, the memory card has obviously been secure-digitally erased that nothing can be recovered. Obviously, this looks bad on you.

And if you admit to it, could it be an obstruction crime / offense? But, what can the courts do against you if do you not admit to it?

-KyleH