Dashcams Going High-Def, High-Tech

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Dashcams Going High-Def, High-Tech

Posted by Soulskill on Friday June 7, 2013 @05:01AM from the good-news-for-meteor-watchers dept.

An anonymous reader writes "The next time a bear hits a car on a Russian highway, the video might be in high definition. A new wave of dashcams, on show at this week's Computex expo in Taipei, feature multiple enhancements on first-generation models that will probably be welcomed by law enforcement, insurance companies and the millions of people who browse YouTube looking at some of the amazing scenes captured from the front of a car. One of the current popular videos is of a May 2013 collision between a bear and a car (video). The accident, reportedly in Russia, sees the bear hit the front of the car and bounce off the car's windscreen before rolling several times to the side of the road. The video, and thousands of others like it, are typically shot in 480-line 'standard resolution,' but most of the new dashcams on show in Taipei this week offer 720 and 1080-line high definition." It's also becoming more common to repurpose old smartphones as dashcams using software like DailyRoads Voyager. If you've done so, what's your setup?

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Will it be required? by Darkness404 · 2013-06-07 05:05 · Score: 5, Informative

The reason why we see so many dash-cam videos of Russia isn't because the Russians like recording their drives because they are so eventful, but rather insurance fraud is such a rampant problem that most insurance companies require them. So until the insurance companies start requiring HD dashcams, we might not see them since the demand for them nearly anywhere else is naturally going to be weak.

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Taxation is legalized theft, no more, no less.
1. Re:Will it be required? by K.+S.+Kyosuke · 2013-06-07 05:18 · Score: 2
  
  So until the insurance companies start requiring HD dashcams, we might not see them since the demand for them nearly anywhere else is naturally going to be weak.
  Or, the respective companies will simply stop making or selling the old models and you won't have any choice anyway.
  
  --
  Ezekiel 23:20
Raspberry Pi with camera by bfmorgan · 2013-06-07 05:07 · Score: 3, Interesting

I mounted the camera in front of the rear view mirror. The pi was in the overhead console with a 12 volt to USB converter supplying power from the overhead light. 64GB SD card allows for a lot of video to be stored. Cost less than $100. I'm sure there are cheaper ways, but this is what I had available.

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I hope this caused some synapses to fire.
1. Re:Raspberry Pi with camera by bfmorgan · 2013-06-07 05:30 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  The 12 volt to USB was just one I had laying around the parts box. The camera was from http://www.element14.com/community/groups/raspberry-pi-accessories The 64 GB card was bought at Costco. The instructions that I leveraged were from the installation instructions for the pi camera at http://www.element14.com/community/docs/DOC-54359?ICID=rasp-accessory-group I added a few scripts to manage the startup and storage of the video. When the unit powers up (when I start the car) it starts. When I shut the car down I press a button before shutting the car down that stops the recording and stores the video file and shutdowns the pi. Each time I run this in the car I have to park the car in the garage and transfer via wifi and ssh the video files. Its a hack at this point, but some of the video management stuff can be made better. The pi camera doesn't like the dark, but there are ways to make the pi camera IR sensitive by doing a little bit of surgery to remove the IR filter. I haven't tried it yet, but I'm sure that several others may be offering this version of the camera soon. Hope this helps,
  
  --
  I hope this caused some synapses to fire.
2. Re:Raspberry Pi with camera by g1zmo · 2013-06-07 09:05 · Score: 2
  
  WhoTF leverages instructions? What botfly with an MBA has crawled into your brain and taken over your speech center?
  
  --
  I have found there are just two ways to go.
  It all comes down to livin' fast or dyin' slow. -REK, Jr.
What about a GPS Nav system with a dashcam? by recoiledsnake · 2013-06-07 05:10 · Score: 3, Interesting

Are there any good GPS Nav systems with dashcam functionality? I think Garmin used to make one but can't find it.
It's such an obvious idea, not sure why we aren't seeing more of such models.

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This space for rent.
1. Re:What about a GPS Nav system with a dashcam? by serbanp · 2013-06-07 06:18 · Score: 2
  
  unfortunately, the Contour has very, very crappy low-light performance. Oh, and it does not work when charging, which means that you have to rely on its battery. Not a dashcam by any means.
Crypto? by xtal · 2013-06-07 05:14 · Score: 2, Interesting

One of the big problems with these devices is no encryption. I don't want to be compelled to bury myself depending on what legal situation one may become involved with.
I've been looking at homebrewing my own solution for awhile but haven't gotten around to it yet.
Has anyone solved this problem ?

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..don't panic
1. Re:Crypto? by Skater · 2013-06-07 05:32 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  My solution: If I screw up, I have the guts to admit it.
2. Re:Crypto? by mattiaza · 2013-06-07 05:51 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  He wants to hide the evidence if he was at fault in an accident.
3. Re:Crypto? by AmiMoJo · 2013-06-07 10:31 · Score: 2
  
  Not necessarily. Sometimes it can make you look at fault even if you are not, and so it is in your interest to control access to it. You have a right not to testify against yourself.
  
  --
  const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
  SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
In Russia even the bears are bad-ass by Spy+Handler · 2013-06-07 05:20 · Score: 4, Funny

get hit by a car, destroy its radiator, walk away like a boss.
If it was a EU bear it would be flopping on the ground like a soccer player.
1. Re:In Russia even the bears are bad-ass by Anonymous Coward · 2013-06-07 05:43 · Score: 2, Interesting
  
  You don't know if the bear died later. Probably injured. I had a coyote run in front of a car like that... broke its neck, and initially the car looked damaged, but the (plastic) fender popped out and I thought ...well thats not quite so bad... and then (there is a big shock behind the bumper) and it popped out. The signal light was behind the bumper and it was no longer solid, but it couldn't move anywhere, and it still worked. With a different car I hit a Moose. Hood and headlights were OK, but grill, bumper and right passenger side fender got creamed. When the bumper hit, the airbags went off, which took out the windshield. Luckily the beast tripped and I mostly went over top of it (somehow I had managed to slow down from 100 km/h to about 50 km/h). I drove the car home, but someone behind me had a cell phone with camera and they called the cops, and also gave me their number for the insurance company (they also told the cops what they saw). The moose died, and a tow truck picked it up off the road (they said between 750-800 pounds). They wanted it off the road right away as a semi trailer truck went over part of it and nearly flipped.
2. Re:In Russia even the bears are bad-ass by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · 2013-06-07 05:53 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  If it was a EU bear it would be flopping on the ground like a soccer player.
  Well, if it were an EU bear, it would qualify for healthcare and a generous period of sick leave, so that behavior would be totally adaptive. It's all about evolving to suit your ecological niche!
3. Re:In Russia even the bears are bad-ass by Anonymous Coward · 2013-06-07 06:01 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  If it was a EU bear it would be flopping on the ground like a soccer player.
  If it was a bear from the USA it would wear plastic armor because it can't take contact, use steroids like all pro "athletes" in the country, have fake degrees, organize illegal dog fighting and be too pussy to play a mans' sport like rugby. They'd also need 2 hours of advert breaks in a 60 minute game because they have zero staminal, and have to change players every change of direction of the ball due to them being too stupid to be able to play a flowing game.
4. Re:In Russia even the bears are bad-ass by SoTerrified · 2013-06-07 07:40 · Score: 2
  
  If it was a EU bear it would be flopping on the ground like a soccer player.
  If it was a bear from Canada, it would stop, spit out a few teeth, then get up, walk over to the car, pull the driver out the drivers side window and then, while holding the drivers shirt with one paw, he'd start beating the driver about the head with his other paw.
Re:Get off the road! by SJHillman · 2013-06-07 05:29 · Score: 2

"Where do these guys get their licenses"
I would guess Russia. Home of vodka, the AK-47, the Crazy Ivan and, if EA is to be believed, parachuting attack bears.
Re:WOW! by ChumpusRex2003 · 2013-06-07 05:35 · Score: 2

Indeed. I have had a 1080p 30fps dash cam with wide-angle lens, sound, GPS, accelerometers, etc. with sophisticated recording management for nearly 18 months.
In the last 12 months, cameras with wifi, android/ios apps, to view and manage video/records/configuration while the camera is still operating (e.g. following a collision, the video of teh incident can be shown to an attending police officer, without the need to switch off the camera and install the memory card in a reader) are now standard fayre - available off the shelf.
Re:WOW! by AmiMoJo · 2013-06-07 06:03 · Score: 3, Interesting

The most important feature is "parking mode". The camera goes into low power mode when the car is stopped and turned off, but starts recording again if there is any motion. That way if anyone hits your parked car and drives off the event is captured. Battery life only needs to be a few hours while you are shopping, and you can have CCTV at home.
Hopefully prices and sizes will come down to the point where you can have front, rear and side cameras to cover all impacts. Some bint hit my parked car a few months ago from the side but luckily I was in it at the time and took some photos. Her insurance is refusing to pay because she didn't own the car and thus wasn't insured on it, so mine is now suing her... If I hadn't been there video evidence would be all I had.

--
const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
Nice dash cam camera review site by Hoi+Polloi · 2013-06-07 07:31 · Score: 2

This website has nicely laid out specs and reviews of a wide range of dash cams
http://dashcamtalk.com/dash-cam-comparison/

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It is by the juice of the coffee bean that thoughts acquire speed, the teeth acquire stains. The stains become a warning