What is it?

If you’ve been spending enough time on YouTube, there are a bunch of dash-cam videos that have gone viral and not without a reason. Whether it’s for showing you’re favourite set of roads or to be on the safe side in case the unexpected accident happens, dashboard cameras are the hottest selling accessory these days.

The latest model of the digital video recorder (DVR) from Blaupunkt is just that. This DVR 3.0 FHD features full HD 1080p recording and even boasts night vision capabilities. Like the 2.0 version, this one too gets an in-built microphone and speaker. In addition, you get more interesting features like a built-in GPS, loop recording and a G-Sensor.

As mentioned before, one of the main purpose of such DVRs is to record videos which will provide evidence in case of a road accident and help for insurance claims. This DVR 3.0 is additionally designed to begin recording as it detects movement. It can be further used to videotape the journey on a road trip.

What's in the box

This DVR 3.0 FHD kit contains a sleek and compact DVR with a vivid display, a glass suction mount, a CD for installation and the user manual. Also in the box is a cigarette lighter to USB power cable and a USB to USB mini cable for you to connect it to the computer. The DVR has a capability of supporting a micro SD HC memory card of up to 64GB. However, there's no internal memory and the SD card has to be purchased separately.

How to install?

Firstly, fixing the DVR on your windshield is pretty easy as you just have to fit the suction mount on the glass and then slide the DVR into the slot on the mount. It is important to select a proper mounting spot so that the device doesn't block your view of the road ahead. We recommend it to be mounted just behind the inside rear view mirror to reduce sight hindrance. The power cable is a nice and long wire, so if in case you install it on the rear windshield, connecting it to a 12V power socket in the front won't be a problem. However, routeing this dangling wire is tedious and it doesn't look neat.

How does it work?

Pretty much like any other digital video recorder. It records videos and captures images on the external memory card. Also, when it is connected to a laptop or computer, it works effortlessly like a plug-and-play device. Videos can be recorded in small intervals of 1, 3 or 5 minutes. We had installed a 32GB card and with the camera set at 1080p 30fps super fine mode, we opted to record 3-minute videos. Each high-resolution video is clear and is about 322MB. So ideally one can easily record more than 100 such videos. Since the DVR supports re-recording in a loop, old videos will be over written by a new video. This is a very important feature when one uses this DVR as a dashcam in a car. It reduces your effort to format/empty the card once the disk is full. All of this can be easily seen on the 2.7-inch TFT LCD display and preset through an easy go through menu.

Actual screengrab of the video from the DVR

The protruding lens in the front has an f/2.2 aperture and is 140 degrees wide. It covers more area than a normal cam would do and provides a good view of the road ahead. The built-in microphone enables sound to be recorded as well. And thanks to the in-built speakers, this audio is clearly audible on video playback on the DVR itself. Then the highest resolution in which images can be captured is 16mp. The images captured at night were pretty average, as against the ones captured in daylight. Nonetheless, the DVR provides good quality footage whether during the day or at night due to its night vision capability.

Actual screengrab of the video from the DVR

Now what distinguishes this DVR from other DVRs are features like built-in GPS, G-Sensor, motion sensor and parking monitoring. The latter function is to capture footage when the car is parked and the proximity sensors detect any movement. However, we were unable to capture any such movement. Plus this function isn't very useful as the DVR's battery backup isn't more than an hour. Alternately there is no option to give an external source of power to the cam. Nevertheless, the motion sensor worked perfectly by triggering the recording as soon as the car started moving. The built-in GPS also helped record the car's speed, which is displayed on the screen and also embedded on the footage.

How much does it cost?

At Rs 12,490, the DVR comes across as an expensive proposition given that other DVRs are available at one-third its price. However, there aren’t any other branded devices with so many new features. Plus, Blaupunkt has a service network in India unlike any other such products. Still, if you do not require the speeds to be recorded and are not going to use these motion detection features, the other inexpensive dash cams will cater to your needs of recording videos just fine.

Actual screengrab of the video from the DVR

Pros

-Sleek and compact device -Simple to use -Wide angle lens -Records speeds with the help of GPS -Starts recording videos when car starts moving

Cons

-Very delicate, build could have been sturdy - Mount lacks a DVR locking mechanism, DVR came off on rough roads - No internal memory -Low battery backup -Expensive

Pictures by Kapil Angane