Vortex Radar:
Hey. What's up, guys? So, in this video, we're going to be taking
a look at the very best dash cams of 2020. To help me out, I've got a special guest here
with me today. Alex Jang:
Hi, guys. I'm Alex from BlackboxMyCar. I'm the Founder and Owner at BlackboxMyCar. Vortex Radar:
For those of you guys who don't know, BlackboxMyCar, they're the biggest distributor of dash cams
in North America. So, obviously, Alex is going to have a ton
of experience and awesome information to share with you guys. As you guys probably remember, last year around
this time, we did another video as well. It was about an hour long, where we went into
crazy amount of detail and discussion about all the different dash cams. Alex Jang:
We did, we did. Vortex Radar:
It was a lot of fun, but obviously, it was a pretty in-depth video. Alex Jang:
Yes. Vortex Radar:
So, I think in this video, we're going to try to simplify things and make it easier
to help determine which dash cam you should buy. In the video description, we'll link to last
year's video for sure. I guess maybe we've got a couple different
dash cams at different tiers and different price points. Maybe we can go over the different categories
of dash cams, and then we'll start diving into what dash cams are best for different
categories. So, I guess starting off, we've got our best
budget dash cam, around $100 price point or so. Vortex Radar:
We've also got the best two-channel budget dash cam. So, not just recording on the front, but also
front and rear. We've got the best premium dash cams for those
of you who want the ultimate level of video quality as well as features. There's also going to be the best dash cams
for rideshare drivers. So, those of you who drive for Uber or Lyft,
we're going to be addressing you guys as well. And then finally at the very end, we're also
going to be talking about the best accessories that are available that you can add to your
dash cam. Vortex Radar:
Now for all the dash cams, we're going to link to all of them down in the video description. There's also a coupon code that you can use
for any of these dash cams. Use the coupon code VORTEX25 and it'll save
you guys 5% off any dash cam you choose. Alright. So, starting off, let's start off talking
about the best budget and affordable dash cams. Alex Jang:
Right. So, we had this conversation for about close
to three hours this morning. So, we want to make this video really straightforward
for our viewers. We both came to conclusion that the budget
front-only dash cam would be Viofo A119 V3. There are many dash cams, especially around
under $100 region. But with Viofo A119 V3, they've been making
this dash cam for quite some time. As a result of that, the dash cam has been
optimized for good video quality both during daytime and nighttime. You seem to really like the nighttime video
quality of the A119 V3, especially. Vortex Radar:
Yeah, that's like one of the biggest updates with the new V3 over the V2 is they use a
new Sony Starvis sensor, much more sensitive. One of the two biggest differences is it's
much, much more sensitive in low light capabilities compared to the V2. It just does a much better job at night. Alex Jang:
For sure. Another thing about Viofo was that they now
have this buffered parking mode system. So, traditionally dash cams around under $100
or under $200 from, let's say, China didn't really come with true parking mode that BlackVue
or Thinkware, only any Korean dash cams used to offer. Vortex Radar:
Some of the premium dash cams. Alex Jang:
Yeah, the premium dash cams. Vortex Radar:
Kind of a premium dash cam feature which is now available in dash cam that's 100 bucks. Alex Jang:
That's true. Viofo has been working on this parking mode
for years now. Fun side fact, we've been working with Viofo
for the last four or five years now. I can tell that they've been really working
towards optimizing their system not only just on the good video quality, but reliability
side as well as parking mode. So, it's only been about, I'd say four or
five months or six months since they came out with this parking mode firmware update,
but so far, it seems to work well. Obviously, if we dive deeper into parking
mode, we still prefer BlackVue and Thinkware, Korean dash cams. They've been making dash cams with parking
mode for almost over a decade or a lot longer. Vortex Radar:
Yeah, they're still more advanced with the premium dash cams. But we're finally at the point where some
of the budget dash cams, at least in my opinion, I mean, it seems like it gives us the basic
core functionality we need. It may not be as fancy as some of the dash
cams that cost $300, $400 or $500, but it gives you the core features that you need. Alex Jang:
Exactly. Also, we like the fact that it's got GPS for
the price range. The GPS itself, it comes as a mount itself,
and therefore, it's not external in a way. It is external, but you're not necessarily
mounting somewhere else. Vortex Radar:
Yeah, it's nice. The GPS' mount- Alex Jang:
Exactly. Vortex Radar:
... it's built into the mount. So, it actually is nice and integrated. The GPS, it doesn't give you a turn-by-turn
navigation or anything. Alex Jang:
That's true, that's true. Vortex Radar:
But it gives you GPS information displayed on screen to show you where you were, your
speed. If you want, you can actually turn it off. It also has some nice things like it makes
it easier to remove the dash cam without having to unplug cables and the cable routing is
handled better and stuff. I guess the dash cam as a whole, you're looking
at great video quality, records at 1440p. So, even higher than full HD 1080p, great
low light sensitivity. The parking mode that you were mentioning,
like a lot of dash cams have parking mode capabilities, but usually they're pretty simplistic. Meaning they can do maybe motion detection
or time lapse recording. Vortex Radar:
But what I like about the new V3 version of the A119 is the parking mode gives you now
buffered parking, which what that means is normally dash cams are in like a sleep state. In case somebody hits your car, the dash cam
will take about a second or so to wake up and begin recording. You may actually record the car in front of
you driving away or something, but you're going to miss the actual impact. What the new dash cams can do with buffered
parked recording, it means that the dash cam is actually recording continuously. In case of an impact, it'll save a period
of time, let's say, 10, 15 seconds before the impact. So, that you actually get footage of the entire
thing. The person actually backing into your car,
you can see that hit your car and then drive away. So, if you're looking to capture the entire
event- Alex Jang:
That's right. Vortex Radar:
... that's where buffered parking recording comes into play. That's the big new... In addition to the low light capabilities,
the big new feature of the new V3 version of the A119. So, the dash cam is available, 120 bucks or
so for the dash cam. There's different accessories that you can
get, which we'll go into here at the end of the video. But for those of you looking for the best
inexpensive dash cam, again, there's a thousand and one dash cams available- Alex Jang:
That's true, that's true. Vortex Radar:
... at a low price point. Alex Jang:
Especially on marketplaces, you can see them a lot. We're going to talk about that later in this
video. Vortex Radar:
Yeah, we'll definitely talk about that, because again, there's a ton of other dash cams. But just to keep it simple, our best pick
at this price point is going to be A119 V3. All right, so now moving on to those of you
who want an inexpensive two-channel dash cam, meaning you want a dash cam that not only
records the front, but also records behind you. Our best pick for this is going to be the
Viofo A129 Duo. Alex Jang:
It's another beautiful dash cam, two-channel system of Viofo A119 essentially. It's a great bang for buck really. Vortex Radar:
That's the specialty, being a good bang for the buck. Alex Jang:
Exactly. Usually, this category is for the Chinese
dash cam manufacturers. But at the end of the day, Viofo for A129,
it's about $169 US for a really good video quality, capable dash cam at front and back. Reliability, from what we know so far, we've
been working with them for the last five years, the video quality is not only improving, but
also the reliability is also improving at the same time. We meet with them every year at the Hong Kong
Electronic Expo. They're always out there promoting their stuff. Their video quality seem to also get better
as well as the reliability. Therefore, for this price range, we both agree. Even though you're testing a lot more affordable
dash cams, you seem to really like the Viofo A129. Vortex Radar:
Yeah, the A129. To be honest, I actually prefer the A119 V3,
just because I find it records in 1440p. As supposed to A129, records in 1080p. So, the A129, the resolution is a little bit
lower. The low light sensitivity isn't quite as good,
but the case has been redesigned. So, it's got a better design and a better
case. It obviously adds the rear camera, so you
can record 1080p front rear. And then like the new V3 version of the A119,
it also adds a buffered parked recording. Alex Jang:
That's true. That's another one. For around under what? $200. Vortex Radar:
200 bucks, yeah, for front and rear. It's a great bang for the buck with tons of
features and good video quality as well. GPS is available. It also adds Wi-Fi, which is A119 does not
have. Alex Jang:
That's true. The Wi-Fi does actually help out if you want
to view your videos over the phone. Even though it's got its own LCD monitor. Vortex Radar:
Yeah, and the LCD in the back is convenient to change settings and view stuff. But I mean in case you get an accident, you're
able to just pull up the WiFi and just stream the video right to your phone. So, you've got it while you're standing on
the side of the road and not having to look at the dash cam in the car. You can just pull it right up on the phone. It makes it really convenient to transfer
the video footage to your phone to send to insurance or just watch whenever you need
or share with people, so. Alex Jang:
That's true. Another thing about A129 is that usually some
companies just offer LCD monitor, and they don't offer the WiFi as a result of the LCD
monitor. Vortex Radar:
Either or, yeah. Alex Jang:
But then the Viofo comes with both WiFi function and as well as the LCD. But the LCD is just too small. I don't think you would really use that to
review the videos. Vortex Radar:
It's more of just like initially when you're mounting the dash cam and you're aiming the
lens and whatnot just to make sure it's angled properly to go in and quickly change settings
and stuff. So, it's convenient on the fly. And then you can set the LCD to turn off after
the dash cam turns on just to keep it dark in your cabin. But yeah, it's nice to just use that for initial
setup and then the Wi-Fi for really going in and transferring footage and whatnot. Alex Jang:
Yeah, for sure. Vortex Radar:
So those are going to be our two picks for the more budget friendly options, under $200
or so. Now for those of you who want more of the
premium level dash cams, these are going to be giving you even better video quality plus
a lot of really nice bonus features that help create a better experience. So, as far as now moving into the premium
tier of dash cams, what would you say would be some of the top picks here? Alex Jang:
So again, we talked about this for hours this morning. Yeah, we chose what? A129- Vortex Radar:
The A129 Pro. Alex Jang:
... Pro. Vortex Radar:
Again, I guess another Viofo. Alex Jang:
Another Viofo. Vortex Radar:
This is the 4K version- Alex Jang:
That's true. Vortex Radar:
... of the A129 that we just talked about, as well as the new Thinkware U1000 that also
records in 4K. I guess maybe one of the big things that we
went back and forth on this for a while is this year, we're actually not including the
BlackVue DR900S, which feels weird to me because I'm a huge BlackVue fan. I run four BlackVue dash cams in my car. I've run them for years. They were the first 4K option but the new
4K dash scams that have recently come out, it's not that BlackVue is a bad option. It's just that the new 4K dash cams actually
have even better video quality. They have some nice improvements that we didn't
see from the BlackVue DR900S. Alex Jang:
But at the end of the day, we have to give it to BlackVue in a way that BlackVue released
the DR900S-2CH as a very first 4K dash cam to the market almost two years ago. Vortex Radar:
Yeah, year and a half, two years ago. Alex Jang:
Year and a half to two years ago. I mean, now Thinkware's cut up to 4K offer
for the front and 2K in the back, actually. Whatchamacallit, A129 Pro, Duo would be now
4K in the front and Full HD in the back. But again, BlackVue was the very first one
to do so. But as a result, these are the new offers,
new 4K, the latest 4K dash cam. Therefore, we're all over the new dash cams,
because obviously, they wanted to make something better than the DR900S. But we still like the DR900S. Vortex Radar:
I'm a fan of it, I still run it in my car. It's got a bunch of really cool features that
these other dash cams don't have. So, I definitely want to talk about it as
well. There's some key differences here that I've
noticed with the next generation of 4K dash cams. Compared to the previous ones, I'm noticing
even better detail and video quality. I'm noticing much better low light capability. It's more sensitive at night. I know one of the big issues before is a 4K
dash cams, the sensors inside, they generate a lot of heat. So, a lot of the 4K dash cams tend to overheat. So, the dash cams that are coming out now,
the companies have spent more time just making sure that they do better in really high heat
scenarios. Vortex Radar:
Now that said, a lot of these dash cams like the A129 Pro and the Thinkware U1000 just
recently came out and then coming out in fall or winter. So, we haven't had a chance to fully test
some of the high heat stuff, but I know you've got a little insight into that aspect of it
too. Alex Jang:
For sure, for sure. I mean, we keep in touch with our suppliers. So, we get to hear from their testing, any
new product to what's coming and why is it being delayed and whatnot. Actually, both companies, Viofo and Thinkware,
had to delay there for key products, because they wanted to make sure their products are
perfected before it gets released. I know for a fact that with Thinkware especially,
it was supposed to come out, I mean, Q1 of 2019, but they delayed it to make sure that
the heat issue is 100% fixed. At the same time, the U1000 actually offers
both 4K and 2K as the first dash cam to offer 4K in the front and 2K in the back. Vortex Radar:
2K. Most dash cams are only 1080p in the rear. Alex Jang:
Exactly. Vortex Radar:
This is now 1440p in the rear. Alex Jang:
So not only the heat issue, but also, they need to make sure that the video compression
is up to speed with processing power and the writing speed onto the micro SD card. This is where I give it to BlackVue first
just because and I think I also said this in our video, BlackVue has been an innovator
really in this market. They're the first one to create Full HD dash
cam like almost eight, nine years ago, and the Wi-Fi dash cam that was first ever and
parking mode and at the same time, the 4K. Actually, Full HD dual channel system was
actually also first by BlackVue. Vortex Radar:
Yeah, so there's been a lot of new stuff that's come out since the BlackVue was introduced
maybe a year and a half or two years ago. Maybe from the perspective of somebody who's
run a BlackVue dash cam for a while, it does have a couple advantages over the Thinkware
U1000. I find the Thinkware does have more advantages,
which I'll cover here in a second. But what I noticed is with the BlackVue, first
off, the cloud functionality is a lot better. So, if you want to pair with your phone and
in case you get into an accident, it can go out through the cloud to maybe send a notification
to the phone. Vortex Radar:
One of the things that I actually use it the most for is using my BlackVue dash cam as
a security camera. So, I actually put a WiFi hotspot in my car. So, even if my car is parked, whether I'm
driving or parked, the dash cam can always go out and send notifications to my phone
or I can check in remotely from anywhere and see how the camera is doing, which I love
that feature. It's not only a dash cam but it's like a security
camera. Vortex Radar:
Thinkware has cloud functionality too, but it's best suited to driving. There's a lot fewer features when you're parked. So, I love those extra features. There's also things like the BlackVue has
better parked impact notification. So, in case of a hit and run, the BlackVue
will ignore any impacts maybe three minutes recently like you getting back in your car
and closing the trunk or closing the door. The BlackVue will ignore that stuff and also
just tell you that something happened. Speaker 3:
An impact was detected during parking mode. Vortex Radar:
Whereas Thinkware where would say, "I saw two impacts or three impacts." You have to figure out was one new or not. Alex Jang:
That's right. Speaker 4:
Doing parking mode, event detection recording, two occurred. Continuous recording will now start, GPS connected. Vortex Radar:
There's also Little things like the cable that connects the front camera to the rear
is a lot thinner with the BlackVue. So, it's just easier to route when you're
wiring it into your car, especially doing a bunch of dash cams like I run. So, there's some advantages here with the
BlackVue. But when I started running the Thinkware,
it's only been out a few weeks or so, like not very long. Alex Jang:
Yeah, yeah, about a month now. A month and a half now, actually. Vortex Radar:
A month and a half. Yeah, I've only been running it for a short
period of time, but I'm actually finding a ton of advantages over the BlackVue. The biggest difference that I noticed is the
video quality is actually quite a bit better. If you try to zoom in and take a look at license
plates, they both record at 4K, but I find that the Thinkware does a much better job
of capturing any important details like license plates. Vortex Radar:
The Thinkware uses the new Sony Starvis sensor, which is much better when it comes to low
light sensitivity. For the rear camera, it records at now 2K
or 1440p instead of 1080p. So, again, you're going to have better detail
when it comes to the rear camera. Reliability has been a concern with the BlackVue
cameras, primarily like with the high heat issues. It sounds like that's something that's been
improved now with the Thinkwares. Alex Jang:
That's right. Vortex Radar:
I've heard people having some issues with the BlackVue dash cams, I've had some issues
myself. So, what about not necessarily heat stuff,
but overall reliability? What have you seen between the dash cam manufacturers? Alex Jang:
Well, the thing about dash cam is that they sit in your vehicle cold or hot inside your
vehicle, write video constantly. So, there are many moving parts, essentially. So, this is why reliability is something that
is very important. Yeah, that's why sometimes, "Why are dash
cams $400?" versus, "What can I buy dash cams for 50 bucks?" There are both options available. Therefore, premium dash cams tend to do better
in that case. I mean, to be very specific, I'd say Thinkware
dash cams seem to be a lot more reliable, just because they do basically from manufacturing
to business involvement to basically supplying to suppliers and so forth. They have their own factories. Alex Jang:
Perhaps because of that, their quality assurance is better than other dash cam brands perhaps. As a result of those reasons, we tend to highly
recommend and enjoy Thinkware dash cams just because their support is also there. They actually have two offices here in North
America, one in Canada, one in California. So, their support network is a lot faster
or better than any other suppliers from perhaps overseas. Having said that, those issues can all be
fixed as long as you're talking to suppliers and manufacturers or your vendors and so forth. Vortex Radar:
Yeah, cool. So, I guess that's a little bit more background
and context as far as reliability. Maybe coming back to the dash cams, I guess
a couple more advantages of things that I like with the Thinkware. It's got a red-light camera and speed camera
that's actually built into the dash cam, like Waze and different apps, but you've got it
just built into the dash cam. Alex Jang:
That's right. Vortex Radar:
There's some things like it has ADAS. Alex Jang:
We'll call it lane departure warning system, front collision warning system. The last one is let's say a car moves forward
and you are stopped, it will actually tell you to drive forward. I forget what the term was. Vortex Radar:
Yeah, it's like if you happen to be sitting at a red light staring at your phone and the
car ahead of you starts moving- Alex Jang:
Exactly, it tells you. Vortex Radar:
... the dash cam will give you a friendly reminder. So, I find that stuff to be annoying, to be
honest. So, I turn it off, but there are some cool
features like that that are available. Alex Jang:
Yeah, so I mean, I definitely enjoy using the red-light cam function and also the speed
cam function. Vortex Radar:
There's other things too, like the rear camera can be added at any time with the Thinkware. This was annoying when I upgraded from the
DR750S to the 900. I already had the rear camera and I just wanted
to add the newer high-resolution front camera. If I bought the single channel version only,
it didn't have a port to add in the rear camera. So, I had to buy an all new two-channel version
again. Whereas with the Thinkware, you can just easily
plug in a new rear camera, or even if you decide to buy just the front one out of the
gate, you can always buy the rear one later and add it in. So, that's a cool upgrade feature as well. Alex Jang:
Yup, yup. That's why our customers also like that. Sometimes buying two-channel from the get-go
is a big investment. We understand it and I think Thinkware seem
to understand that as well. Therefore, they offer one channel variant. One channel variant can expand it as a second
channel, I mean two-channel system overall. Vortex Radar:
Yeah, I know like the cable itself, it uses USB connectors on Thinkware. So, I know you mentioned before, it tends
to be more reliable than the BlackVue's connectors. Alex Jang:
Mm-hmm (affirmative). So, there's a pros and cons. I mean BlackVue connecting cable, it's a coaxial
cable, and therefore it's much thinner. Vortex Radar:
Much thinner, yeah. Alex Jang:
Much, much thinner. So, it's easier to connect these cables. I mean, hide these cables through your ABC
pillars. But if you're not careful enough, when you
unplug your dash cam time to time and if you want to plug it back in, the tiny pin in the
center can break or get bent. So, that's what we commonly see actually with
BlackVue. Whereas with Thinkware dash cams, they're
really thick cables. Vortex Radar:
Yeah, it's a thick cable. Alex Jang:
But there are reasons behind why it being thick. Vortex Radar:
USB specs for longest and some stuff, yeah. Alex Jang:
Exactly. At the same time, make sure that the video
get transferred onto the micro SD card. Because there are a lot of moving parts in
the vehicle, radio or satellite radio, sometimes it can create static noise on your speaker
and so forth. Therefore, these cables are much thicker and
will insulate it. So, to reduce that type of noise, having said
that, the cables won't get bent or there's no way you're going to break that cable. Vortex Radar:
Trade-off, yeah. I know, another big area of difference that
I found is the different parking mode features. So, I know Thinkware for example, they have
their energy saving parking mode. So, if you're running it for extended periods
of time, I think we can run at a much lower power level and record for much longer than
the BlackVue camera does. Plus, they have a new feature with the radar
module. Can you maybe tell us a little bit about all
this? Alex Jang:
Yeah, for sure. Thinkware as a company, they've always been
very careful about parking mode. Because of their domestic market in Korea,
people care so much about parking mode. People actually don't care if the dash cam
can read license plate or not, even the HD dash cams are still being sold. Whereas here, it's either got to be 4K. Vortex Radar:
You want license plate record, that's why you're buying a dash cam. Alex Jang:
Exactly. But I guess, pretty much 98% of the drivers
on the road have that chance. Therefore, it just needs to be covered when
it comes to an accident. Whereas, parking mode, that's an important
feature. Yeah, so Thinkware dash cams pay really huge
attention to energy consumption. Obviously, energy efficient it is, it can
last much longer. Especially if you pair that with a dash cam
battery pack like Cellink Neo or so. They also got their own battery pack. It can last much, much, much longer, right? So, starting with F770, they had time lapse
mode, so it would be constantly running. It can basically last for two to three more
days compared to the motion sensor. Because when it comes to motion buffer parking
mode, technically, it's still running- Vortex Radar:
Running constantly to get the buffered capability. So, it takes a lot of power. Alex Jang:
Exactly. Starting with F800 Pro and Q800 Pro, they've
integrated low energy saving mode, where basically when an impact gets detected, that's when
it starts literally writing videos. Vortex Radar:
So, it's a non-buffered parking. Alex Jang:
Exactly, non-buffered parking. Vortex Radar:
Also, much lower power recording than maybe some other non-buffered dash cams. Alex Jang:
Exactly. I know with the U1000, they got this radar
sensor. Obviously, radar tend to consume a lot less
energy. So, they can sense any movement around the
dash cam and around the vehicle. According to the power consumption chart,
it can last up to two to three days just by hardwiring into your vehicle's battery. But again, it depends on where you live and
what the condition of the battery is. If you pair that up with the Cellink Neo,
it can actually last up to six to seven days. Vortex Radar:
That's a long time. Alex Jang:
That's a long time. That is really long time. Vortex Radar:
That's a long time. Alex Jang:
It is. Vortex Radar:
You can go for a flight for a week. Once you come back, camera's recording the
whole time. Alex Jang:
It's true, true, true. So, yeah. So, that's what's unique about Thinkware U1000
and this is why I really like about Thinkware dash cams in a way that they're always trying
something new. Funnily enough, now that Thinkware's doing
this, BlackVue's also got time lapse mode, is it? Vortex Radar:
Yeah, they've got it. Alex Jang:
They've got the time lapse mode. But Thinkware is taking literally another
step forward by creating this radar module. Believe it or not, I mean, we've been selling
U1000 for about less than two months now, but almost 99% of customers that are ordering
U1000- Vortex Radar:
Really? Alex Jang:
... are buying radar. Vortex Radar:
Really? Alex Jang:
Yeah, they do care. They do care. Vortex Radar:
Okay, so let's, I guess, talk a little bit more about the radar modules. So, basically, what it is, it's like a mini
looking dash cam, essentially, that you plug into U1000. It connects next to the dash cam. It's an $89 accessory. The idea is that allows the dash cam to run
in a much low power state. The radar, it's actually tracking for people
coming by or cars driving by. When the radar senses something, it'll wake
up the dash cam, begin recording. And then if there's an impact or something
happens, it'll go ahead and save that clip. If not, then it just goes back to a really
low powered state. Vortex Radar:
Now, I tested it out. The radar module, it does transmit, caveat,
which means it will false alert any radar detector users driving by. I was really hoping they would use a different
frequency. So, yes, it will false alert other radar detectors,
unfortunate, I guess. But otherwise, yeah, it's a nice feature. If you don't mind spending the extra for the
radar module and having the extra device on your windshield and I guess falsing other
radar tester users isn't an issue, then yes, you can definitely get it. Vortex Radar:
It's a great way to get long-term buffered parking recording, which without this feature,
it's not something that's available. It's either non-buffered long-term recording
or buffered recording but for a short period of time. This is a way to get the best of both worlds
is getting this new accessory. Alex Jang:
True. True. Vortex Radar:
Now something that I just found out is it turns out the radar module is designed specifically
to only capture other cars in case of a hit and run. The radar module doesn't track smaller objects
such as people. So, if somebody comes up to your car and messes
with your car while you're parked, the radar module is not going to track them. So, the dash cam's impact detection is going
to fall back to non-buffered parking recording. So, it'll take about two and a half seconds
for the dash cam to then wake up and begin recording. So, for the radar module, it's best suited
to recording other vehicles in case of a hit and run. Alex Jang:
One thing to note about the Thinkware parking mode for a default mode, it's turned off. So, make sure when you install one, you purchase
one, you install it and make sure you go into the Wi-Fi app and enable the parking mode
that you want. So, it's either buffer mode, non-buffer mode,
time lapse mode and energy saving mode. So, it's got literally four modes, three or
four modes. Vortex Radar:
If you get the radar module, yeah, in order to get this feature, enable the energy saving
option. There's also another option in the app to
turn on the radar module, if you have that enabled. So, enable those two things and you'll have
it working for you. And then I guess maybe one last thing to mention
since we're speaking of parking mode, they also do it a little bit differently here than
BlackVue. With BlackVue, in order to get the park recording
capabilities, it uses the G sensor in the dash cam. Alex Jang:
That's true, that's true. Vortex Radar:
Whereas Thinkware, it does the recognition that you've parked your car by the power cable,
which has different advantages, right? So, tell me a little bit about the differences
there. Alex Jang:
For sure. So, BlackVue is activated by G sensor. What that means is let's say you park your
vehicle about 5 to 10 minutes, I mean, 10 minute, I think to be specific, it goes automatically
into parking mode, because it senses that you're not moving. I would say that's more traditional way of
kicking your dash cam into parking mode. However, with Thinkware or any other Korean
dash cams, usually, they rely on this power cable. So, you're hooking it up to ACC and BATT,
which is constant, nonconstant and the ground. Alex Jang:
As soon as you park your vehicle, ACC cable won't be receiving any power. So, the dash cam goes automatically go into
parking mode. So, that's also a fail proof way of kicking
yourself into parking mode. I mean, bringing your dash cam into the parking
mode. Whereas with the G sensor mode, let's say
if you're at a border stop or at a traffic stop, you're literally just jam packed and
you're not really moving, then it can actually go into parking mode. Vortex Radar:
When you don't necessarily want it to. Alex Jang:
Yeah, that's something that actually we do tend to hear here and there. Vortex Radar:
Yeah. So, it's nice. I mean, I actually recently had an issue with
my DR750S not switching into parking mode correctly in my garage. I'm not sure why. So, it's actually for repairs right now. One of the issues is if that doesn't happen,
then it just starts overriding all of your driving footage with parked footage because
it thinks it's driving and you wind up losing all the footage, it's now getting overwritten. So, I like having the failsafe of using the
cable. The one advantage I guess of BlackVue solution
is they have a different accessory for it like the Power Magic Pro. Alex Jang:
Power Magic Pro, yup. Vortex Radar:
The nice thing about that is if you're parked in your garage for a while and you're like,
"Hey, I don't need parked recording for now," you can just flip a switch and turn off parked
recording. Alex Jang:
That's right. Vortex Radar:
The dash cam will still record when you're driving. So, you don't have to worry about like, "Oh,
if I don't need it, I'm going to unplug my dash cam." Maybe I forgot to plug it back in next time
I drive. This I think is a little bit cleaner solution. Alex Jang:
It is. I think that's why BlackVue still prefers
Power Magic Pro method. Just because some people don't necessarily
want dash cams to be running even when the vehicle is parked. Even though the Power Magic Pro or the dash
cam sometimes, depending on a dash cam, it can actually cut the power off without killing
your battery. But some people just don't want that liability
to be there whatsoever. Whereas with the BlackVue Power Magic Pro,
it's got switches where you can make it into 12.8 or 12.1 or simply work when your vehicle
is only up and running without having to always flick it on and off or without having to always
unplug that cable out of the dash cam. So, I guess there's a pros and cons on both
ends here. Vortex Radar:
Yeah, I think where their voltage management as far as how far the battery voltage needs
to drop before the dash cam stops recording, that's actually built into the dash cam itself
versus BlackVue, it's an external accessory. So, I guess maybe to close that out, the BlackVue
itself is a couple dollars cheaper than the Thinkware. But if you want the park recording capability
and you add the Power Magic Pro, it evens out the price point, so they're going to be
roughly the same price. So, both of them definitely have their advantages. There's not a dash cam that's universally
better in every way, but I think overall right now, I would give the edge to the new Thinkware. Yeah, you as well? Alex Jang:
Yeah, yes, I think. Agreed. Vortex Radar:
Yeah. I guess now, another really good option is
the Viofo A129 Pro. This was surprising because I figured it's
half the price of the Thinkware U1000. It doesn't have some of the features like
the cloud capabilities, the really low powered energy saving park recording. There's no radar sensor. So, it's missing some of those advanced features,
but at half the price of the Thinkware U1000, the video quality is actually pretty comparable
if not, believe it or not a little bit better. It has a lot of the core key features that
most people need that you may not necessarily need to spring for the full U1000. Alex Jang:
100%. I mean the price point for... Again, just like the A119 and A129 Duo, it's
one of those best bang for buck. Vortex Radar:
Again, that's kind Viofo's- Alex Jang:
Exactly, specialty. What I like about the Viofo is they're two
brothers that are running the business. They're actually actively in development side,
because they have engineering backgrounds. So, they're the ones that are actually making
and perfecting and optimizing their dash cams. Again, I see them every year. It's just so nice how they're constantly just
in that zone to make sure their dash cam is constantly being optimized, where traditionally,
you don't really see that from a Chinese manufacturer. Alex Jang:
So, that's what I like about the Viofo as well. There's that brand ownership behind it. It's not just random, multi-billion, if not,
multi-million-dollar company simply sourcing a dash cam and making one, just slapping their
logo on it. Whereas with all these machines that we're
actually talking about, they have their own engineering team. They manufacture them themselves. They advertised them as well, the marketing
side as well. Vortex Radar:
Yeah. So, you'll notice that. Yeah, the dash cams continue to get better
and better. It's amazing. You're recording at 4K for the front and 1080p
for the rear. Although Thinkware is 2K, so it does have
higher resolution in the rear. But I do notice the Viofo has a little bit
better detail on the front, which is amazing. I wasn't expecting that until I started looking
at the video footage. Vortex Radar:
It also uses the Sony Starvis sensors. So, the low light capability is really good
here. It's also got buffered parked recording capabilities. It's got GPS. It's got Wi-Fi to transfer video footage. I mean, it's got like all the core key features
that most people need. If you don't need the cloud stuff, if you
don't necessarily need the super long-term park recording capabilities, I think this
is a great way to actually save some cash. It's like half the price to the Thinkware. Alex Jang:
That's true. That's true. Yup, it's a good bang for buck, for sure. Vortex Radar:
So, the final category that I want to ask you about is rideshare dash cam. So, people who drive for Uber or for Lyft. I don't actually know that much about the
different options here. So, out of all the different rideshare specific
dash cams, what would be your top pick? Alex Jang:
When it comes to rideshare, we highly recommend BlackVue dash cams. Just because from 590, 750, all the way up
to 900S, they got IR 2CH function, which means it can be mounted front and interior. Vortex Radar:
To record the inside of the car- Alex Jang:
Exactly. Vortex Radar:
... where the passengers and stuff. Alex Jang:
Exactly. BlackVue dash cams are relatively affordable
with the 590. So, rideshare drivers tend to really prefer
those. They want to buy something good. The fact that it's not built into one body
makes them easier to place wherever they want to place a secondary camera facing inside. Some people prefer making it really invisible
and hide them or versus someone really wants to just get a really good angle out of it. Vortex Radar:
Yeah, I know there's a number of options. Thinkware makes them with IR to help light
up the cabin at night. I know Vantrue makes some the unibody that
record front rear in one case. So, I actually want to do maybe a whole separate
video with you, just going into more detail- Alex Jang:
Sure. Vortex Radar:
... about the best rideshare options. But just to I guess maybe highlight what's
the very best options that are out there, in this case, you'd say it would be the BlackVue
IR specific- Alex Jang:
That's right. Vortex Radar:
... dash cams. Okay, cool. So, I guess then maybe to summarize our top
picks and all the different categories, for the best budget dash cam, we've got the Viofo
A119 V3. The best affordable two-channel option to
record front and at the rear of the car, we've got the Viofo A129 Duo. Moving on to your premium 4K dash cams for
the ultimate level of video quality and features, we've got the Thinkware U1000 as well as the
Viofo A129 Pro. And then when it comes to the rideshare dash
cams, Uber and Lyft, we've got the BlackVue dash cam specifically with the IR capabilities. Alex Jang:
Yup. Vortex Radar:
Cool. Okay, so that runs through the list. And then as far as different recommended accessories
that are available for the dash cams, what would be some of the accessories that you
would recommend? Alex Jang:
CPL Filters, do consider. Vortex Radar:
Circular polarizer. Alex Jang:
Exactly. I mean, Viofo offers that one, BlackVue as
well as Thinkware. Vortex Radar:
Yeah, pretty much everybody has it. Alex Jang:
It reduces glare on the windshield, any video basically. Vortex Radar:
So, you can better see through the windshield and setting conditions and stuff. Alex Jang:
Another one would be battery packs, Cellink Neo Battery pack. Vortex Radar:
Dedicated battery packs to power your dash cam. Alex Jang:
Exactly. It makes sense because it charges when your
vehicle is up and running. It supplies power and it lasts much, much
longer than tapping into your car's battery. This way, you're not putting any pressure
whatsoever, just because it's not pulling any power when your vehicle's parked. For let's say BMWs and Porsches, they are
very sensitive when it comes to using dash cams when the vehicle is parked. As a result, actually, Cellink Neo was invented,
Cellink B. Cellink Neo's new generation battery pack essentially. Vortex Radar:
Yeah, and we actually want to do another video sharing the dash cam setups that we run in
our car. I know you run a Cellink Neo in your car. I run three battery packs in my car. Alex Jang:
That's right. Vortex Radar:
BlackVue and Cellink and expansions and stuff so. We have them wired differently. So, we're going to do another video just start
showing you our personal setups as well. Alex Jang:
Sure. Vortex Radar:
But yeah, we definitely recommended the battery packs for those of you who want parking load
capabilities. And then I guess maybe finally the last thing
I want to mention is I know there's a million and one dash cams that are available in the
market. Alex Jang:
Yes, especially now. Vortex Radar:
Yeah, but for this, we've just focused on Viofo, Thinkware, BlackVue as our top picks. I know you guys might have a lot of favorites
from many other manufacturers. Why not those other ones? Why are we recommending these? Alex Jang:
For sure. At the end of the day, compared to last year's
video, we wanted to make sure this video is just specific in terms of which dash cam we
highly recommend rather than recommending three per category per se. We both came to conclusion that... I've been running BlackboxMyCar for quite
some time and we're going into eighth year. Alex Jang:
When we first introduced these premium dash cams, actually Thinkware even wasn't making
dash cams back then. BlackVue didn't even have any distribution
channels set up in North America whatsoever. Viofo, I don't think it was established. Amazon even wasn't selling dash cams back
then. It was really just eBay. We just came on board and we had to start
educating drivers as to why they should buy premium dash cams. Now fast forward eight years after, we see
now dash cams with different brands in Amazon. You go to Amazon, there's so many now. Vortex Radar:
So many dash cams, it's crazy. Alex Jang:
Exactly. With that said, dash cams that we are highly
recommending today, they're literally what? Godfather. Vortex Radar:
Yeah. Alex Jang:
OGs. OGs of the dash cam field, dash cam market. For a fact, BlackVue's been making dash cams
more than like a decade now. So, there's that brand ownership behind creating
their dash cam brands and lineups. We really like that. I've seen literally the evolution. You and I both actually seen evolution of
the dash cams going over and over now up to 4K. Who knows, 8K might even come in two years
or so. Vortex Radar:
Crazy. Alex Jang:
Exactly. But at the end of the day, from Viofo, I give
them big praise just because I know how Chinese market work. They seem to not really care about brand ownership. Whereas Viofo does, and as well as Thinkware
and BlackVue. They've been around for so long now. I mean, all these companies, they manufacture
to do their business development to marketing to manufacture them. Some have factories, like I said in the video. Therefore, they're more dedicated about making
dash cams compared to any other dash cam brands that are now available. They don't really either make them themselves
or they're just basically adding dash cams to their brand. Vortex Radar:
There's a lot of companies that just- Alex Jang:
Exactly. Vortex Radar:
... rename somebody else's dash cam as their own. Alex Jang:
Exactly. Exactly. So, because of that, I mean really, BlackVue,
Thinkware, Viofo, they really just focus on making dash cams. They're not making cables. They're not making any other things other
than dash cams. GoPros, I mean, action cams for Viofo, but
their bread and butter business is dash cams. That's why we chose and came to a mutual agreement
that these dash cams are the ones that we highly recommend for this video. Vortex Radar:
Yeah, and even if we ignore the past history and stuff, I've tested a lot of other brands
of dash cams, and there's a lot of great dash cams out there. The ones that we're talking about here, I
like their overall package. For example, if we take a look at the Viofo
A119 V3, there's a ton of dash cams around the $50 price point, $100 dollar price point. But this one, I like great video quality,
daytime and nighttime, uses capacitors instead of lithium ion batteries which are much better
when it comes to extreme temperatures. The mount is good, it's a lot better. Some of them are flimsy. Some are cheapy. The dash cam's form factor itself, the small
wedge-shaped design is really nice. The buttons are done really well. Vortex Radar:
It's easy to take the memory card in and out, which you won't always see with dash cams. There's a lot of little things like that that
you'll see some other dash cams may do really well, but they'll be missing some key features
where I like this one. It just does a good job all around. The Viofo A129 Pro, I've got five dash cams
on my windshield right now, all different 4K dash cams. The Vantrue X4 for example, that's another
$200 4K dash cam like the Viofo A129 Pro. Same price point, but the VFO has a better
low light performance, smaller form factor. The parking mode capability also supports
buffered parking. You can add a rear camera if you want for
another 50 bucks. Vortex Radar:
It has WiFi for easier file transfers. The mount itself is more solid, because it
connects directly to the windshield. Whereas the Vantrue uses a long suction cup
which then introduces a bunch of vibrations into the video footage or it may fall off
your window. Just because it's got similar feature set
or even if it doesn't, the dash cams that we're picking here, they do a great job overall
in terms of being a good package with things that we may not necessarily talk about in
this video, because this video is already long enough as it is. Vortex Radar:
So, yes, there's a ton of other great dash cams. We're of course testing other ones all the
time. Just to quickly summarize, these are our top
picks as an overall package despite the fact that there's many other great dash cams that
are available in the market. So, yeah, I guess if you guys are looking
for any good, inexpensive or premium level dash cams, we'll have links to all of the
dash cams that we talked about in the video description, as well as the coupon code that
you can use, VORTEX25, to save 5% off into the dash cams that you pick here. So, thanks so much, Alex, for helping me shoot
this video. Alex Jang:
Thanks for having me again. Vortex Radar:
Of course, yeah. Alex Jang:
It's nice seeing you again. Vortex Radar:
Always is. Alex Jang:
It's been about a year since we shot a video now, right? Vortex Radar:
Yeah, yeah. If you guys have any questions, you need help,
whether it's making a decision before you purchase or especially after, one of the things
that I really like about BlackboxMyCar is their customer service is really awesome. So, if you guys need help with wiring or issues
with the dash cam or if something goes wrong or whatever it is, you guys do a really great
job of actually supporting your customers. So, thank you. Alex Jang:
Thank you. Thanks. Yeah, so feel free to reach out to us at info@blackboxmycar.com
and just check out our website, blackboxmycar.com for US and blackboxmycar.ca for Canadians. Vortex Radar:
Great. Awesome. Well again, thanks so much. Thanks to all you guys. Alex Jang:
Bye now. Vortex Radar:
Bye. We haven't even started yet, alright. Alex Jang:
Hey, buddy.
