At present, it is difficult to imagine a person who would not use the services of transport. It helps to make long journeys in a short time with convenience and comfort. Some people prefer to use public transport, while others prefer private. The latter, of course, receive great advantages over the former, since a personal car always copes better with the tasks of transportation. However, such conveniences are opposed by increased requirements for driving accuracy, because it often happens that the driver, feeling like a "master" of the road, forgets and gets into an accident. And indeed, having discarded the above, we must emphasize the important circumstance of automobile traffic: it always carries a certain risk, which must be reduced by all possible means. Therefore, DVRs come to our aid. They will be discussed today.
Car DVRs: concept and purpose
DVRs are small electronic devices capable of producing video and audio recordings. Since we are talking about car DVRs, we should mention their main specifics, which consists in fixing the environment surrounding the car during its movement and parking. The main task of the car DVR is to save in the form of video and audio traffic events, which sometimes are in the nature of negative incidents. Recording helps to solve many problematic issues during accidents. Due to their increasing number, people prefer installing car DVRs in order to feel protected before law enforcement in various traffic accidents.
Before buying, people try to choose the most suitable and convenient model for them. The device should not only cope well with its tasks, but also be as user-friendly as possible. The time has come to talk about how to properly and safely configure the DVR. But so that the upcoming instructions are understandable, let's say a few words about their functional features and characteristics.
Functional Features of Car DVRs
Like any other electronic device, the car DVR has a number of basic and additional functions, which together determine its operation.
- Display. Helps to perform settings, view footage, monitor the operation of the device during recording.
- Camera. Located at the back of the device, it performs the main task - fixing traffic events in the video.
- Battery. It is the power source for the operation of all components of the DVR.
- G-sensor (accelerometer). This is such a component that responds to sudden changes in the speed or position of the car and is allowed in these cases to include a special ("emergency") operating mode of the DVR. In this mode, the recorded video is protected from deletion.
- Date and time. Most devices overlay the date and time of recording on top of the video in a designated place. This is necessary when presenting evidence.
- Auto on and off. Modern models are able to independently start work when power is supplied from the vehicle's on-board network and stop it when the power is turned off.
Key Features of Car DVR
- Video resolution. This parameter determines the quality of the received video. The higher the value, the better the result. To achieve maximum quality, select 1280 × 720 or 1920 × 1080 pixels.
- Frame rate (FPS). Shows the number of frames captured by the camera in one second. The value can vary from 15 to 60. Increasing this value increases the smoothness of the video.
- Scan. The DVR camera can use two methods of processing the recorded image: interlaced and progressive scan. The latter gives higher quality.
- Viewing angle. A very important parameter, because it determines the width of the section that falls into the frame when recording. A large angle will capture a lot of additional information that occurs in front of the car.
- Stabilization. During movement, the car runs into bumps that cause shaking and “twitching” of the image. This parameter is intended to solve this problem.
Car DVR Setup: General
Before setting up, it is necessary to check the operation of the device with the factory parameters in order to verify the operability of the display, camera, battery, G-sensor, a system for superimposing the date and time on the video, and turning it on and off automatically. If the DVR did its job well and no marriage was found, then you can proceed to manual configuration. It should start with setting the video resolution: you need to set the maximum value so that you can see everything to the smallest detail. Then you need to pay attention to the frame rate. Often drivers are satisfied with a small FPS, however, if the DVR has a large amount of memory, then this value can be set above average. The same goes for sweep. The viewing angle and stabilization, as a rule, are set to the maximum values by default, therefore these parameters should not be changed. The devices are mounted on the windshield or rear walls of the rear-view mirror using special holders.
Now it is time to talk about the intricacies of tuning the most popular models of DVRs.
Car camcorder
This is one of the simplest devices, which is very suitable for those who are not particularly worried about design and versatility. Here's how to set up your Car Camcorder dashcam correctly.
- Battery installation. First you need to press the bottom of the compartment and slide it until it opens completely, then insert the battery.
- Turn on / off the DVR. Press the power button and hold it for a second to turn on the device. Do the same for shutdown.
- Set date and time. To do this, go to the "Menu" and select the "Date / Time" section, then click "OK" to start the settings and to complete it.
- Record, play and delete videos. These parameters can also be controlled using the "Menu" section and the corresponding subsections.
SHO ME
This solution is well suited for those who agree to purchase a Car Camcorder. This device is also quite simple, without additional "bells and whistles", well coping with its main tasks. There is no point in talking about how to properly configure the SHO ME dashcam, since its work is largely similar to Car Camcorder.
Trendvision MR 710GP
Stylish design with a mirror surface, high power and versatility. All this embodies the Trendvision MR 710GP DVR. How to properly configure this device:
- Turning on. To turn on the device, press and hold the Power button for 5 seconds. The DVR will immediately start recording video.
- Record Management. To stop it, hold down the Rec button for 3 seconds. If the display is off, the first press will turn it on. A single click on Rec mutes or unmutes the microphone. Pressing Power protects the recorded file, holding ends recording and turns off the device. The Mode button is for taking photographs during recording.
- Playback control. This mode is activated by holding the Rec button for 3 seconds and then pressing Mode at the same time. Use the Up and Down keys to select files, with one click on Rec you can start playing them.
When installing, you should once again look at the instructions and find out how to properly configure the mirror. The DVR has a special coating that acts as a rearview mirror.
Prestigio
This company produces DVRs in many versions. However, the principle of working with them is largely the same and similar to previous types of these devices. How to set up your Prestigio dashcam correctly:
- On / Off. This parameter is controlled by the "Power" button, which must be held for 3 seconds.
- Video and photo recording. The Record key adjusts this setting. It involves two modes: "Video" and "Photo". Pressing this key starts shooting and stops it, and also takes pictures.
Mystery MDR 892HD
This dashcam is an intermediate between simple Car Camcorder, SHO ME and more advanced Trendvision MR 710GP and Prestigio models. This device has good functionality and impressive design, so the "golden mean" is intended for those who have not decided on the choice of devices presented above. Here, we will not talk about how to correctly configure the Mystery MDR 892HD DVR, since its operation is almost completely identical to the Trendvision MR 710GP and Prestigio.
Summary
Above were listed the basic rules for setting up car DVRs, as well as features in setting parameters for popular models. However, it should be remembered that each device has a set of instructions that most fully reveals all the intricacies of operation.