Car cameras...

[ThaiSurfer]

Have the same unit. Decent and we got off Lazada.
https://goo.gl/4zgkhf

You hardwired. We run of the power plug or power bank, and latter being better.

[tamada]

The internal batteries on most dashcams are very small as standalone use is supposed to be quite short (see later). Assuming you disconnected and removed it from the car to check the settings, there's probably 5 minutes tops before low battery and not long after that it will shut off, as you experienced.

Most car 12V accessory outlets including cig lighter and USB outlets are switched in that power is off when the ignition is off. If you want to play around with the setup in the car, the ignition needs to be on (engine not running OK). If you want to do it in the house, then yes, the separate USB power cable that came with the camera can be used.

Looking at YouTube on your particular camera, it is a dual-camera unit so did the tech install a camera looking out the back window or mounted somewhere outside on the back of the car as well?

There may be an option to 'mute' the display if you find the live playback a distraction. However, you would need to ensure that there's some other way of knowing it's running, if there are no other status LED's visible.

My experience with my truck that has accessory outlets always live even with the key in my pocket, the dashcam is powered from the standard 12V cig lighter power and I have a dual outlet unit with a power switch that I got from Halfords in the UK (equivalent units can be had on lazada). So I manually turn off the camera after I park (also turns off the separate Garmin GPS). While it is plugged in and I am driving/recording, the dashcam battery is charging. When I turn it off, the small internal battery powers the G-Shock sensor which in the event of a bump, turns on the camera which records for about 30 seconds (programmable). That should record anything that hit from behind or backed into you and anything that did a side blow may be caught as well as they drove away ahead or behind.

[sometimewoodworker]

From the Prince Prajak monument/roundabout up from the University main campus, the place is about 250 metres up Srisuk Road on the right hand side. It's set back a little, but room to park out front, or drive right in.

Maybe I can ask a few more 'dinosaur' questions? I drove home with the new camera and all seemed fine. Incidentally, it was the camera offering driving advice, NOT my wife moaning away. The video was playing and I have to say that was distracting, although in time, I guess you get used to that. At home, wanting to check set up, menus etc. I pushed a few buttons and received almost an immediate "battery low" message and an icon, not normally there I think, appeared. Shortly after, I couldn't get anything to come up on the screen, although power light still showing. So, I presume the battery is 'dead'.

1. I've seen a lot of references about battery discharge. I presume these are referring to the camera's own battery, and NOT the car's?
2. Is it possible to recharge the camera battery outside of the car without causing a problem? e.g. connect to a computer USB port?
3. As above, driving home the video stayed on all the time, presumably using up more power. Is it usual to have the video on all the time, because really I've only a need to see that in the event of an incident? I think I understand the car's own battery should be charging the camera's battery at the same time. So. it's possible to turn off the actual video, whilst still recording?
4. I've also still to comprehend the protection offered when parked. So, with the ignition off, the system remains alive(using just the camera's own battery?) and recording would kick in, if someone came near, or tampered with the car? If you're off for a few hours, wouldn't that be a big drain on the camera battery alone? And worth it, if the camera only kicks in AFTER the event, may not catch the culprit, particularly at the side of the vehicle.

I think Youtube answers some of my other queries, otherwise I'll be back! Thanks.

0) on quite a few models the internal battery is generally just to preserve date and time not to run the camera, so the battery probably isn't dead.

1) it could be both the camera's battery and the car battery if the camera has been wired to be always on rather than switched with the ignition then it will be running the car battery down, you can buy an external battery for the camera that will usually give enough power for quite a few hours.

2) no real benefit to doing that, the battery is quite small. The only reason to o that is if you want to view the videos.

3) when the ignition is on the camera will use the vehicle power, if the display is bothersome you can probably turn it off but from a power usage it isn't using much power.

4) some cameras need to be powered on (vehicle power or external power) to record when the car is parked and go into a sleep mode, if the camera is woken by an impact it will record a few seconds before and after the impact.

[glalt]

If the display is distracting, there are number of high quality cameras that have no display. They are more compact and you use a smart phone to view the videos. Your rear view mirror hides the camera. I nearly bought one of those but finally decided on a camera with a display because just a glance tells me that the camera is properly aimed and recording. The no display cameras work well with capacitors because there is no power hungry display to use the power.

ADDED - I now have my new Yi Ultra Cam. I have it set up and in my wife's car. The resolution is outstanding. I was pleased to find out that a smart phone can view the video clips both in my truck and the car even though they are different model cams. The WIfI software is also easy to use.

[runrunshaw]

Just ordered the Rexing V1P 2.4" Dual cam unit. It's being shipped to a buddy in the States who is coming over in two weeks. That saved me 4000THB (!) from the Lazada price. (there were two sellers selling it much cheaper, but they have only been on Lazada a short time and have a low 'positive seller rating' so I don't consider them trustworthy.

Also got a Transcend 128gb Class 10 micro SD card for 1000THB. I noticed some selling on Lazada for as low as 400 THB. Sounds too low--and the product ratings by verified buyers were coming in at one star, so those Transcend cards quite likely are bootlegs.

Thanks to Glalt for his OP and to everyone for the good info and recommendations for dash cams. I studied every unit mentioned here, and many others. I decided to mount a cam on the rear windshield (considering how people drive around here, I should probably get a four cam unit!), so that narrowed it down considerably, and eliminated some dash cams I really would have liked to purchase.

I'm not a taxi or Uber driver, so getting a unit where the second cam only shows the "cabin" view, didn't make sense to me.

The only disappointment was not getting a unit that has WIFI. There are very few dash cams with two cams AND Wifi. The only ones I found in the States sell for about 13,500 THB---too expensive.

[Brian Davis]

Yes, thanks all for the replies. Sometimes people need a helping hand in their desire to understand and/or double-check. It's a lot clearer now with the information provided, but I will go back to the installer to ascertain just how he wired the thing. The camera appeared to be running ok today, but I've still to sit down and check settings, playback and try indoors with the computer. And yes, Tamada, a dual camera, the small one fitted in the rear window (I've a Honda B-RV, not pickup), which I would imagine is preferable to outside and subject to the elements and grime.

[glalt]

Double post deleted

[glalt]

The backup camera on my Isuzu is in the tail gate. Every time it rains, I have to clean the lens. It gets very dirty. Based on that, I sure wouldn't recommend a rear facing car cam outside the vehicle.

Just another idea. The first time I upgraded the camera in my wife's car I put the old one in the rear window. It worked OK but I had replaced it because it was no longer to be trusted. It worked for a while then it totally died. It seems like another stand alone camera for the rear may be better than worrying about the dual image on the main cam.

[runrunshaw]

Just another idea. The first time I upgraded the camera in my wife's car I put the old one in the rear window. It worked OK but I had replaced it because it was no longer to be trusted. It worked for a while then it totally died. It seems like another stand alone camera for the rear may be better than worrying about the dual image on the main cam.

I have an SUV. Not sure it would be very practical to put a stand alone cam on the rear door. With a dual cam, you can see both images on the screen in front of you at the same time and see the LED is on and it's recording. Without eyes in the back of my head, it would be a bit inconvenient to have to monitor the rear stand alone.

The second cam on dual units is always small, and generally, of a lower resolution (although there are some dash cams with both cams having the same resolution). Seems like twice as much trouble to have two units instead of one. Also, you'd need two SD cards, whereas the Rexing I bought only needs one. But if you have an extra camera lying around, then I guess, why not?

[glalt]

I have no experience with two channel cameras so I don't really know how they work. As for the second stand alone camera, I could see in the rear view mirror that the recording light was blinking along with the image. Of course I couldn't see the image other than to know that it was on. Whatever works for different people. Since my wife's accident, I wouldn't be without a good car cam.

[tamada]

I have an SUV. Not sure it would be very practical to put a stand alone cam on the rear door. With a dual cam, you can see both images on the screen in front of you at the same time and see the LED is on and it's recording. Without eyes in the back of my head, it would be a bit inconvenient to have to monitor the rear stand alone.

The second cam on dual units is always small, and generally, of a lower resolution (although there are some dash cams with both cams having the same resolution). Seems like twice as much trouble to have two units instead of one. Also, you'd need two SD cards, whereas the Rexing I bought only needs one. But if you have an extra camera lying around, then I guess, why not?

Outside lenses get dirty, especially at this time of year but the second dash cam lens can be mounted inside the back window instead. The problem with most SUV's is that although the rear door glass looks big, the glass available for lens mounting with a good, undistorted view from the inside is much smaller.

The second lens on a dual cam setup is low res but both video streams feed onto the same sd card on the one, front-mounted camera. The falling prices of high-speed/capacity sd cards made dual-lens dash cams cheaper and thus more common. The camera software writes the 2 separate video streams concurrently with a file for the front view and another file for the back view. Well that's how my current ~2300 baht one works.

I did have a Russian-made dual camera where the camera software formatted the sd card and also installed a bespoke video player on the sd card. If you placed the sd card in a computer, you only saw the executable and no video files. However, launch the inbuilt player and all the video files were there and the player was really quite good as it recorded g-forces on a rolling graph and mapped the gps info too. However, it was glitchy and after it irreparably screwed up a couple of sd cards, I ditched it.

[Faraday]

Thanks for all the useful information.

Still can't make my bloody mind up though!

I had an 'intimate moment' with Samlor last week. Me, stopped at the fire daeng for 10 seconds or more, then I heard the long squealing of brakes being applied.

He managed to avoid running right into the back of the p/u, & scraped the nearside wing, quite deep.

He was completely soused in lao, despite his 'my mau' protestations.

There were two witnesses, & after Mrs F bent his ear out of shape, I could see he would have no insurance, money or anything of value to offset the body repair.

Didn't call the police, didn't see what was to be gained, & in way, I felt some compassion for him & his miserable existence.

As I didn't make a police report, & didn't want my premium to rise, decided to pay for the repair myself.

Went to Ford later, 5000baht, 3 days repair time.

Yea, I know a camera wouldn't have changed anything, but at 05:42, the new bag of coffee I bought yesterday, has stimulated the few Neurons I have left.

Enjoy your day ....

[glalt]

I had a similar situation. A motorbike decided to pass me on the left. What he didn't see was a concrete abutment ahead. He made a good decision for him but bad for me. Rather that hit the abutment, he sideswiped me. The amazing thing was that he never went down. The abutment kept him up. Same deal, no money and no insurance. I too didn't bother with the police.

[mech_401]

oh , those tuktuk guys are at times frightening. reeking of rice whiskey. no working lights on
their vehicle. a child's bicycle could stop faster

[Brian Davis]

Two more near things driving the last two days. Morning journey to school on highway and a car with Laos plates (brown/copper SUV?, maybe others saw him?) absolutely roared down the road at a crazy speed behind me. Anyone would think it was a motor circuit, rather than morning rush hour. I was just about to move to overtake, when fortunately I saw him coming behind me. He swerved and chose to zoom by in the inside lane. Then again, on lesser road coming home evening, similar situation with two kids on a motorbike, who ‘came from nowhere’ and there was traffic coming the other way. Utter madness. One has to have eyes everywhere in this stupidity.
The point of above is to urge me more to understand my car cam. But I’m struggling still.
Any thoughts here?
I get nothing appearing on the computer when plugging in the USB lead from a switched-on camera. Usually, of course, there’s a message pop up to indicate an external connection. Dodgy USB lead?
A micro SD card adaptor and a separate slotted USB plug in works. The files are there (normal and incident) but MOST do not play (perhaps 30 files and perhaps one early, one late plays). Do I have a codec computer issue? (I haven’t yet mastered and it appears difficult to playback just on the camera itself).
The SD card appears to fill up quickly. Perhaps an hour and half return journey and it seems nearly full. A Kingston 16 Gb supplied by the shop. In the computer, it shows about 15 Gb capacity, but could that reading be misleading?
So, as I understand it, a smaller memory card would probably be fairly full all the time, but with looping, would still record the latest file, at the cost of deleting the earliest one? But most of my files aren’t playing – at least not on the computer. When looping occurs, does an older file get deleted, or the detail remain, but with the video element ’blanked’ – in effect, replaced by a later one.
And, maybe a further daft question! If one has a dual camera, the front capable of 1080P full HD, but the rear of only 720P, what setting should you set up on the camera? I’m presuming it should be 1080 (to make use of the superior quality on the front) and that he rear still functions, but at a lesser quality.
Sorry if this sounds so naïve. I was expecting to have an easy to use device. Perhaps it is and it’s just me! Any patient people out there?

[tamada]

Maybe the USB cable is only for charging and the dashcam doesn't have any ability to mount the SD card as an external storage device? Is this the USB lead that came with the camera? Otherwise try another cable.

There's a possibility that the media player on your laptop cannot handle the higher resolution of the dash cam data?

However, more likely the 16 Gb card may be limited with the dual-channel, highest resolution data as well as the record length. I always use a 32 Gb and select the shortest, reasonable loop length, say 3 minutes. Apart from C10, what other markings are on the supplied sd card? It may not be up to dual-channel, higher-resolution record/playback without buffering.

The image resolution setting on the setup menu will be for the front camera lens and the highest resolution should be selected. The rear view lens will always be a lower resolution and does not change regardless of what the front lens resolution is set at.

In my experience, the endless loop overwriting is only a feature of the high-end dash cams. All mid-range dashcams I have had ultimately had recording issues suggesting a full card. Put it this way, when your hard drive on your computer is full, it's red flagged and you can't overwrite data when it's full. I think I suggested earlier that a weekly review of files and a reformat of the sd card is recommended so you know it's still doing its job.

[LoneTraveler]

As far as the USB input for computer, I had the same problem no response, the computer alerted me to try another USB port, that worked. It appears some USB ports on computer are only for keyboard or mouse, not for reading SD cards or devices. I bought a Transend High endurance 64GB card works well when viewing on computer with adapter.

[Brian Davis]

Thank you for your bother in responding. I’ve taken heed of things said.
Still unable to connect dash direct to computers. I’ve tried several UBC cables. I was hoping I could more easily view/change? camera settings etc., as well as actual files from the SD card. As it is, I can do the latter on the computer screen by using the card adaptor and USB/card reader.
As suggested, maybe some of ‘problems’ (maybe me!) will disappear with a larger memory/better quality SD card. The camera spec says it can accept 64 GB. So, taking advice, I need to look for a Transcend SDHC 64GB, High Endurance. But where? I trawled around Central Saturday without finding much in the way of Transcend and not that type of card. Suggestions please as to where, a particular shop to look for in the hope of the card being genuine at fair price. What should I expect to pay?
In the interim….
Is it normal for the camera to save files BOTH in ‘normal’ and ‘event’, which seems the case with me? I would have thought that saving in ‘event’ would only occur if one has ‘locked’ any particular file to prevent deletion occurring.
Any idea how to rid the ‘warning’ voice? I see the camera has “Record/Voice” in its’ settings options, but that is presumably to pick up sounds in the car, possibly outside, in an ‘event’. What I want to stop is the lady coming through on the speaker giving me warnings - in Thai anyway, so I only recognize some words. She’s like a back seat driver!
And, what are these short green/red lines(parameters) which appear on screen? The up/down buttons move them, but I can’t see any guidance about their setting/function.

[glalt]

The only times my camera talks is to warn of a memory card problem or the ADM tells me I am too close to another car or out of my lane. I keep the Assisted Driving Mode turned off. You should be able to access all the settings through the camera itself especially the language setting and to turn off the ADM. The camera should also have a playback setting to see what is on the card.

[Brian Davis]

Thanks. I think it's the same with me on warnings but I seem to get a lot of them! Yesterday, think 'she' was warning me of being too close to an enormous vehicle in front, stopped at lights, but I was a very good distance back. I didn't notice an ADM setting, but perhaps it's within the language option. I'll check. If in English, perhaps not so annoying. Yup, found the play option. I just have preference to use a larger computer screen, if possible, than a gadget smaller than my hand.