Tipex Posted March 6, 2012 Report Share Posted March 6, 2012 The one Scotty linked to, the MiniDVR HD Bullet Camera, says it has a car mode that turns on and records in a loop fashion automatically, if you buy the additional £14.95 remote. Do you have to have the little screen plugged in all the time? that would be an issue for me, it needs to be as small and discreet as possible, as technically, I shouldn't have it in the car, although it will be recording what's going on ahead of the car so not actually breaking any rules, just don't need the hassle when the council licensing officer makes one of his random checks. The DogCam Bullet HD Wide that Biscuits posted looks perfect, if only had the loop function, and the price is more attractive too, don't really want to spend any more than that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarMad Posted March 6, 2012 Report Share Posted March 6, 2012 They are using these a lot in haulage industry as well so they can prove that it wasnt their driver that hit a car it was the car that cut the lorry up an all to common occurrence, it has saved some companies a fortune. Some companies are fitting them in company cars for the same reason, those ones typically record 20 seconds prior to detecting a jolt or when a button is presses and 10 seconds afterwards so the employee doesn't feel like they are getting monitored. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewNiceMrMe Posted March 6, 2012 Report Share Posted March 6, 2012 That intrigues me. How can they record 20 seconds 'prior' to detecting a jolt? Surely anything like that, especially at that length of time in advance, would be put to use in accident avoidance rather than recording? It must cost a fortune and be very clever indeed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarMad Posted March 6, 2012 Report Share Posted March 6, 2012 It records all the time but has a relatively small memory, when it detects an accident it records for an additional 10 after the incident but the prior 20 seconds it had already recorded, not that clever really. It can also be triggered by the driver as well and you can get these 30 second clips out of the unit later on to view if you wish but it isn't designed to record an entire journey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tipex Posted March 6, 2012 Report Share Posted March 6, 2012 It's constantly recording, but doesn't have a big memory, so when it detects something, it just saves the last 5 seconds footage, and the next 10 seconds or so, it's not psychic! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarMad Posted March 7, 2012 Report Share Posted March 7, 2012 This unit offers similar functionality, £200 for the entry level unit. http://www.roadhawk.co.uk/roadhawk-dc-1-car-black-box-camera/prod_18.html A bit about what it does. The DC-1 is a car black box video recorder. It records video and audio on a constant loop and stores it on a standard SD memory card. This camera is fitted with a 3D sensor which measures G-force and will detect an impact. In the event of a collision, harsh braking or acceleration the DC-1 will save a 20 second clip (10 seconds before and 10 seconds after the incident) as an "event". The supplied 4gb card can hold over 200 "events" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewNiceMrMe Posted March 7, 2012 Report Share Posted March 7, 2012 It records all the time Ahhhhhh, now I understand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewNiceMrMe Posted March 7, 2012 Report Share Posted March 7, 2012 (edited) Would this do if you put the bullet through the grill ? MiniDVR HD Bullet Camera System Well this got me interested so I've ordered one and it should be here tomorrow. I will do as requested and hook it up in the Z - but I can categorically assure you that unless it has a way of being welded to the chassis that it will not record for long before the camera is shaken to pieces and obliterated. In fact even if it was welded to chassis I suspect it'd fall off within a day or two. I'll take a couple of short clips so you can see just what I mean... I've stuck with the supplied 16gb card because 4 hours recording is more than ample (because of course the camera will be dead long before that). EDITED TO ADD: Great, I've fecked up. It doesn't come with a 16gb SD card at all, so I guess I'll be going off to find one now. FFS. EDITED AGAIN TO ADD: Amazon special, 32gb SANdisk Extreme 32gb with 30mb/s rate for £37 delivered on Prime. If they're telling the truth then that's good for 8 hours of HD recording, not that I'll ever do such a continuous journey in the pig car. Edited March 7, 2012 by MrMe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eldavo69 Posted March 7, 2012 Report Share Posted March 7, 2012 I've got a GoPro Wide you could've borrowed to test. Would be good to compare and contrast the two on a Northumberland run one Sunday morning Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tipex Posted March 7, 2012 Report Share Posted March 7, 2012 MrMe, did you order the additional remote for loop functionality? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewNiceMrMe Posted March 7, 2012 Report Share Posted March 7, 2012 No, just the standard thing. I spend as little time as possible in the car and I've got a few other uses connected to work in mind for this, so it's not something I'd really benefit from. It's unlikely to be recording for more than 2-3 hours at the very most. I've ordered a 32gb card anyway (just so I don't have to delete all the time), so I can't imagine my having to use a loop function too often. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewNiceMrMe Posted March 8, 2012 Report Share Posted March 8, 2012 Oooo, thing of interest arrived this morning. Build quality appears superb, very impressed indeed. There's about 5-6 different mounts in the box too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted March 8, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2012 I'm not surprised. I nearly responded to your comments before about shaking the camera to pieces. These things are fitted to motorbikes, out in all weathers and theres lots of footage of crashes from them i.e. they are built for tough environments. Then again maybe your Beemer could kill it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewNiceMrMe Posted March 8, 2012 Report Share Posted March 8, 2012 Well it's fully charged now so I have informed staff I have essential office work to do in my car this afternoon. I'll get it set up anyway, and see how it fares. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tipex Posted March 8, 2012 Report Share Posted March 8, 2012 So do you have to have the little screen plugged in? Or is that just to set up and review footage? Just one wire to keep it permanently charged in the car? Or do you have to recharge it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewNiceMrMe Posted March 8, 2012 Report Share Posted March 8, 2012 The little screen has to be plugged in because it's the main control unit from which power is drawn. However, you don't have to have the screen switched on (i.e. constantly showing what the camera sees). In fact it's default setting is to switch off after 30 seconds. The unit charges from the mains or from a 12v connection it comes with. On full charge they reckon it'll film for 8 hours but have much more standby time (so in reality I'd expect to have it charging only now and again as I won't have it switched on all the time). Or, you could leave the 12v charger in the car (it's quite neat actually) and have it charging constantly. I'm impressed, it's quite cleverly thought out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tipex Posted March 8, 2012 Report Share Posted March 8, 2012 Ahh right, no good for me then, don't want another box on the dash, I need it all to be self contained within the one unit, so it's more discreet, and with just a power cable that can be hidden behind the trim. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewNiceMrMe Posted March 8, 2012 Report Share Posted March 8, 2012 Ah well, actually I can give a bit more comment on that now. Firstly I have failed miserably. I had the camera delivered to the office....but the SD card delivered to home. That wasn't very clever was it. Anyway... The camera is now set up in the car. The mount is on the dash and the camera fits neatly and very firmly into that. Image came through onto screen straight away. However, like you (and especially with a small cabin like the Z) I didn't want the main unit taking up space and nor did I want to stick the bracket anywhere. So...the lead from the camera goes ever so neatly into the glovebox. Then, they supply you with a neat little red button on a velcro pad. That plugs into the main unit (in the glovebox and out of sight) but the lead feeds out of the glovebox about 2" and the button is position on the dash very neatly. You press the red button to record and it lights up so you know recording is on. You press it again to stop, and the light goes out. I have no need to see the mains unit or rewind or any of that rubbish. I just wanted the recording quality and the option of reviewing footage on the unit when I take it out of the car. That took 5 minutes to set up and makes it all very neat and unobstrusive. I'll take a picture and post it later or tomorrow. It also means minimal fuss when I get rid of this shitbox of a car in the summer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calm Chris Posted March 8, 2012 Report Share Posted March 8, 2012 I think you need to update us with why the car has become so loathed. I thought it was all good after the tyre issues were sorted? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewNiceMrMe Posted March 8, 2012 Report Share Posted March 8, 2012 You don't need the detail, trust me. Its very quick, the build quality is excellent, the interior is lovely, it looks great and it sticks to the road like glue. But it's a totally flawed and completely awful car that I hate driving. It has no suspension. It rides like a wooden pig on a wooden rollercoaster with inch high steel rivets on the track. It would be less painful to have pins stuck in your eyes all day long whilst sat on burning embers and being hung, drawn and quartered over a 3 month period. It absorbs the tiniest of surface imperfections with all the fluidity of a granite planet being hit by an asteroid. Except it makes more noise when you hit a pebble. It sends shockwaves through the cabin that make sonic booms sound like a harp melody by a naked supermodel. It is about as comforting to drive as trying to **** a bowling ball encrusted with diamonds. Hope that helps. Don't ever, ever, ever recommend a new Z4 to anyone. Oh and I am solely responsible for their cataclysmic depreciation over the last 6 months, apparently. I'm even banned from the Facebook walls of BMW in the UK and North America. That took some doing, I tell you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewNiceMrMe Posted March 8, 2012 Report Share Posted March 8, 2012 Well isn't that just great. For the first time in 3 years - Amazon Prime let's me down. Got home, no 32gb SD card. That said, their Chat support seems quite good and they've apologised and extended Prime membership by 1 month free. I'd have rather had the card today, but I guess it's a gesture that most others wouldn't offer. I'll give it a go with a 4gb card from my camera instead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calm Chris Posted March 8, 2012 Report Share Posted March 8, 2012 Oh and I am solely responsible for their cataclysmic depreciation over the last 6 months, apparently. I'm even banned from the Facebook walls of BMW in the UK and North America. That took some doing, I tell you. Sorry, but that (whole right) was funny as feck. Thanks for cheering me up. Do you have a linky for the threads on FB, or will those have magically melted away due to the negative remarks that I imagine you have made. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted March 8, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2012 The little screen has to be plugged in because it's the main control unit from which power is drawn. However, you don't have to have the screen switched on (i.e. constantly showing what the camera sees). In fact it's default setting is to switch off after 30 seconds.The unit charges from the mains or from a 12v connection it comes with. On full charge they reckon it'll film for 8 hours but have much more standby time (so in reality I'd expect to have it charging only now and again as I won't have it switched on all the time). Or, you could leave the 12v charger in the car (it's quite neat actually) and have it charging constantly. I'm impressed, it's quite cleverly thought out. Since it's being sold for m/bikes I assummed that I'd be able to wire it in, hide it away and forget about it. Is that not acheivable ... and what Tipex needs? I take the 12V charger is a ciggy lighter fitment? I was hopeing that it'd be 12V and ready to run straight off the battery Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eldavo69 Posted March 8, 2012 Report Share Posted March 8, 2012 Post up the comments that got you banned from BMW's FB pages. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewNiceMrMe Posted March 8, 2012 Report Share Posted March 8, 2012 Sorry, but that (whole right) was funny as feck. Thanks for cheering me up. Do you have a linky for the threads on FB, or will those have magically melted away due to the negative remarks that I imagine you have made. My posts were 'moderated' on their wall, or at least the most insulting ones were. I think some of them still exist on the BMW UK wall. Just look for posts that receive torrents of abuse from Z4 owners claiming their car is best thing since sliced bread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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