In-car video recorder
I bought an in-car digital video recorder (DVR) from Carrefour after seeing an advertisement for it. It costs only $138, much cheaper than most other in-car DVRs that I’ve seen. One that I’d been eyeing for the past half year costs almost $200.
The DVR I bought is an unbranded OEM – all it says is “Mini DV High-Definition Video Record” on the box, with no brand or model number. They are sold under different brands and models on Alibaba and elsewhere.
I mounted it beside the rear-view mirror, which gives a good angle of the front, but does not obstruct my view.
There are several things I like about this DVR. Of course, it’s cheap. It supports the latest SDHC cards (some DVRs I know do not support SDHC). I also like that it uses a Nokia compatible battery. One thing I do not like about built-in batteries is that they will go through wear and tear and the batteries will die off over time. The DVR I had been eyeing uses a built-in battery, so my concern was that the $200 gadget would be useless after, say, one year. This DVR I bought uses a rather common Nokia compatible battery, so if the battery dies, I know I can easily buy a replacement. I think this was what motivated me to actually buy the DVR. I thought the motion and audio sensing was pretty neat. What it does is that sound will activate video recording, while motion will activate photo taking. This is a nifty function if you want to record any criminal acts or vandalism to the car.
There’s only one main thing I don’t like about the DVR, and that is the video quality. You can see the videos that I recorded below. Not exactly fantastic video, though good enough for evidence in case of an accident. It’s also not exactly very discreet due to its saucer shape.
Plus points:
- Cheap
- Supports SHDC up to 32GB
- Auto overwrite
- Motion and audio sensing mode (pretty cool as a surveillance tool)
- Uses Nokia BL-5C compatible battery
- Other miscellaneous functions like photo mode, USB flash drive mode, PC webcam
Bad points:
- Not fantastic video quality
- Not very discreet (measures ~7.5cm or 3″ across)
Actual video sample (Day time)
Actual video sample (Night time)
DVR Features (lifted from here)
- The integrated design of ultra-small alloy body, to facilitate easy video recording and monitoring on various occasion
- Voice-activated trigger recording function to facilitate the deployment video, longer usage time and only record the image you want.
- With PC camera function, easily enjoy the network life
- AVI format of video recording, to facilitate PC to plug and place directly and to easily upload video website
- With low illumination, 5 million high-definition camera
- High-speed dynamic video recording, instant response to light environment
- Video output: 640 x 480 @ 20/30 frames / sec
- Photo output: 1600 x 1200
- Built-in lithium battery can last more than 10 hours at work, and sound recording can be used longer
- Equipped with SD memory card and support 32G memory cards at maximum
- Fool-type operation, integrated light-control indication
- AV-OUT video playback, synchronous display of time recording video
- Mini USB charging and video downloading and uploading to computer function
- Omni-directional small universal bracket, to reach the holistic view of recording / monitoring function
- Easy installation method, suitable for a variety of material carriers and complex occasions
- With pendant model, shooting anything anytime, anywhere
Other specs/features:
- Auto-split of video every 20 minutes
- ~780MB/20mins (an 8GB card will hold around 3 hours of video)
- Video codec: MJPEG @ 5Mbps
- Audio codec: PCM Audio @ 192kbps
- Auto-overwriting of old recordings