Does anyone know of a car "DVR solution?" Basically something that will continually record video of everything happening in front of the car while it receives power? I'd like something small and easy to conceal.

Basically I'm looking for something like what you see on the video below but something I can have professionally installed so it is completely concealed. Any ideas for any products? It is a real shame the "Go Pro" cameras don't support continuous recording where it deletes the old video to make room for new when the card fills up...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8o2P_mxRWiY

 

If you find anything I'd be interested in hearing the details. The way people drive and sue these days, I can't imagine a good reason not to have one of these.

 

My thoughts exactly. It's something I want to install and forget about... All the technology needed to do this is available now. Just that no one has put all the pieces together and if they have, I don;t know about it. The Go Pro 2 camera would be ideal for this as it offers crystal clear 1080p recording but it lacks a perpetual record mode...

I can imagine it coming quite handy in certain situations where you'd need to prove something happened the way you say it did. I can remember this one incident where someone was driving in a parking lot and some kid was driving doughnuts and stunt-driving all across the parking lot and slammed into this poor guys car who was driving on his own lane minding his own business. Luckily I saw what happened and dialed 911 and when the kid tried to get away after inspecting the damage I told him I had his tag number and the police is on the way. When the police showed up he tried telling them he was just minding his own business when the other car crashed into him. Yeah right. Good thing I was there, as the the other guy's car was totaled...

 

I bought one of these last September:
http://www.amazon.com/DOD-GS600-Logg...111111&sr=8-11

- Records forward vision, along with GPS coordinates, speed, and G forces.
- Can be set to continuously loop record
- High resolution, but the optics are not quite up to it - but still very good.
- Best feature is that it has a little battery onboard so that it gracefully shuts down and starts up again. I have it permanently wired to switched power.
- Worst feature is there's no way to permanently shut off the built-in microphone. As a result it's always recording conversation, me singing, etc. I guess I could disable it by poking it out, or something.
- The included software is just "OK" - it works and will allow you to review video and see your car's travel on google maps.
- The 32gb microSD card I have in it, loops about ~8.5 hours of video.
- It's not "concealed" but behind the rear view mirror, it's not /too/ obvious.
- This model also does the "file to file" recording, but is configurable to do it every 5, 10, 15 minutes. In the 10 minute setting I have it on, I have not noticed any missing seconds in between clips. Other users have stated that buy using a fast microSD card, the "gap" is eliminated.

Here a sample I recorded in real-time:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-MktGSLW6o
(make sure you watch it in high resolution)

 

What a nice clear picture incl. the cross hair in the front to aim at pedestrians (j/k, it's an age old German joke about the star on the hood of a MB)

 

Thank you so much! This is perfect and just what I was looking for. The ONLY thing I don't like about this is the speed stamp Is there any way just to disable the speed stamp and keep the other settings on? Ideally I'd like to just keep the time and date or time and date + GPS coordinates only.

From where did you get power for this? I'd like to have this professionally installed behind the rear view mirror so it is not really visible. It would be awesome if you could post some photos of your installation along with some guidance on how you hid the wires and from where you got power.

Thanks again! This could really come in handy one day not just for myself but if i witness something and need to provide a record of it later.

Thanks again!

 

I designed a cable that you can use to power 12V devices from your OCP (Overhead Control Panel). I'm selling them right now for $39 + shipping. It uses switched power. So ignition off, device off.

 

Sweet! So it gets power from the OCP so when I have the the camera installed they don't have to run wires all over the headliner?

 

I believe that the Speed, date, time, and GPS display are "all in one", and can only be displayed as is, or shutoff completely. I also note that the manufacturer has released a new model that they describe as the successor to the DODGS600.....the new GSE550
http://dod-tec.us/products/dod-gse55...-with-gps.html
This apparently DOES give you the ability to manually shut off the built in sound recording, and has the benefit of a little screen. Not sure about being able to not record speed however. The built-in screen is a huge plus IMO, because otherwise to fully configure the device you have to connect it up to a display via mini HDMI to see the on-screen menus.

Also, I would highly consider Mackhack's 12v cable from the OCP. I had to run the power cable across the headliner, down the A pillar, under the carpet, and to the center console. Adding a cable down the A pillar is also dangerous as it may interfere with proper deployment of the curtain airbags. I had made the front cigarette lighter "always on", so I could not use that, and I was forced to remove the entire cupholder/storage compartment, and tap in to the rear power point which remains switched. Separating interior panels and forcing even a thin cable in to gaps is VERY difficult in a Mercedes possibly because of the very close manufacturing tolerances (as compared to a SAAB and Volvo I had previously). The good news is that the device I have takes 12 volts directly in, with no DC-DC voltage adapter. I just cut the end off the supplied cigarette lighter plug, and spliced it in, along with an in-line fuse.

Enjoy!

 

I'm offering the cable on my website soon. If someone is interested in it already a PM to me is all you need. The end where devices can be hooked up are open so you can configure it to work with whatever device you want (i.e. radar detector, cameras, etc.).

 

Whoa....am I glad I came across this thread!! What a great little product and very reasonably priced.

@ apl175, thanks for both the links. I assume you'd buy the newer version as it doesn't look much bigger than yours ? The video is terrific.

The only question I have is re the 30fps frame rate. No tv that I know of, in the U.S., supports it, so how did you do that youtube vid ?

 

Youtube does the conversion for you. Also from the research I've done, the newer version allows you to turn off the speed display. I definitely don't want my speed displayed all over the place on the videos so the ability turn that off is a must.

 

Why is it such a deal with the speed display? On one hand you guys want to record whats going on in case of an accident but then wanna hide that you most likely drove too fast and whole advantage would be gone or even reversed.

Sorry I can't agree...

 

+1, what Mackhack said.

 

If you have only the time and GPS coordinates displayed, speed can still be calculated. Speed can be calculated from the video alone. You can always edit the video to not include you speeding, tailgating, drive by shooting, etc.

 

Who said anything about going too fast? The answer is that it could be absolutely irrelevant to what might needed to be proved. What if you were the witness to something that happens in front of you? If you were driving 5mph over the limit and someone runs a red light and slams into you it is still the fault of the person who did not stop at a red light and the fact that you might have gone 5mph over the limit is irrelevant. What you don't want is for your speed (which is calculated by GPS and could be quite off from the real number) be displayed as a matter of fact in situations when it is not relevant.

Seriously, who here does not go 5-10 or so over the limit? Last thing you want if you are the witness to a crash is to submit a piece of evidence that incriminates yourself even by 5 or 10 mph. If someone wants to go to the trouble of calculating your speed from the video let them do it. I don't want the speed permanently etched on the video. Also from the research I've done, sometimes the speed calculation of the unit is way off and that's another reason why you don't want possibly erroneous information on there. I'd just want the time and date and that is it.

FWIW apparently the company heard and understood this concern loud and clear. From the research I've done, I found out that the later units of the model recommended was shipped with a firmware update to turn off the speed and GPS coordinates and I believe the new unit that supersedes the one recommended also has this capability.

With the ability to turn off the information I have no need for I am happy that I found a solution to record a video of what happens in front of my car, nothing more, nothing less...

apl175: Thank you so much for the great recommendation!

 

You just said it yourself man. You r goig over the speed limit and you don't want that anyone can see this on a video!

You can't have both as someone said it already. The speed can be calculated regardless. But guess what. Your airbag control unit has a memory inside which records about 5 to 20 seconds and overrides the data constantly as they become available. I don't know the exact time frame but a buddy of mine got in an accident and the court wanted the data to be extracted and presented. That's why I know. So everyone stay safe and watch your speed. It might be recorded someone and used against you if you don't expect it the least.

I'm pro camera for the last year or so and will put on in my car myself. We have 2 intersections where you see at least one car every single day of the week running a red light. Having this on tape might help one day someone innocent. And running redlights became a normal thing on our roads in the last few years. It's almost like it's optional to stop at red if you want but you don't have to. Many get killed by these recless drivers

 

I am going over the speed limit? What like 99% of the other drivers who drive and go over the limit every now and then? I am sorry but what is the point of your rant? I had a simple request to record the video in front of me and someone was gracious enough to help and I can do without the third degree and all the judging. I do not want any extraneous information on my video and thankfully the manufacturer has heard the concerns of other customers and added a feature to eliminate this "feature." Case closed and everyone is happy.

By the way I don't think anyone is going to install this in their car (myself included) because they speed excessively or drive recklessly. If anything it is to simply document what happens in front of their car.

Respectfully.

 

Relax. I speed all the time bc US speed limits are a ****ing joke to be honest! We can drive as fast as we want at home in Germany (which is 25 x smaller than the US) and we don't waste time on the roads like we do here where we drive in snail speed! I never said anything against speeding! I said why does one disable the speed display on a video but at the same time wants a camera to proof anything and perhaps has the very same video being used against him!

I made thus very clear but if you want to interpret my text differently then oh well so ve it!

 

This looks great, I'm interested to see how the cable works as well (how much work to install, etc).

What does the camera mount to? does anyone have pictures of their setup?

 

It does look like a nice product. I think it mounts to the inside of the windshield by looking at the picture.

 

I'm about to get this and I might have this in both my cars. I'd install this behind the rear-view mirror so it is not visible in the cabin... The wide angle lens should also get the area to the side of the car as well. If you are getting this, make sure you get the newer version...

http://dod-tec.us/dod-gse550-car-dvr...-with-gps.html

More details...

http://dod-tec.us/support/

 

Post some samples, and make sure you get a decently fast memory card for it too!

I've had mine since early September, and I hardly notice/remember it's there unless I see something interesting that I want to review....

 

apl175
How does the video look when driving at night?

 

For any of you guys interested in a little more system... we have a full DVR that can take four camera inputs (we have some that are smaller than a dime). It can therefore record both sides, front and back and interior of the car. It has GPS and It can be set to go off at certain G levels, also be triggered by alarm, car start, and even a proximity sensor if someone comes close to the car in a parking lot.