angloman

Hi all,

Was thinking about getting a dash cam, and then I thought about how my GLK 250 has the surround view with tons of cameras already built-in. Why do I need to install more cameras when I could just record the feed from the ones that are already perfectly installed in the car.

I searched online quite but didn't find much info on the subject. Wondering if anyone here has tried anything like this? Also wondering if the car stores any video data in the event of a crash?

mjhawkins2346

I was looking at the Surround View option and noticed it isn't available if you get the trailer hitch! Is that crazy or what. The user with a trailer in tow can use Surround View more than any other driver. I wonder what the conflict is?

Benzman33

Best bet would be to get a Dash Cam, I wouldn't try and hack those Cameras into recording 24/7

AvWuff

I got the factory trailer hitch and my car has Surround View, so I'm not sure what you mean... 2014 model.

AvWuff

I haven't tried this yet, but all four cameras feed into a box in the back of the car, in the cargo area, left side (when facing front of vehicle), behind a panel.

They appear to be coaxial video cables, meaning the video may be analog. Since it is a German car, I wouldn't be surprised if it was PAL video being sent, but it may also be another standard such as SDI.

You could unplug one of the cameras and connect it to a recorder and see if you get an image. By using a splitter cable, it may be possible to connect a recorder and also allow the Surround View to continue working.

Even if it was possible to record the "surround view", it wouldn't make a great dashcam as it provides a "top-down" view. But you could probably record from the front camera.

However, since the camera is outside the car, and not behind the windshield as most dashcams are, the video is always going to be dirty.