The Mio brand was one of the first to successfully enter the domestic market of car registrars with a one-piece form factor. Experts in this area consider the company's products to be ambiguous: on the one hand, it copies some details of their gadgets from competing and more venerable manufacturers, and on the other, individual Mio models themselves are the target of plagiarism, and due to the success of the latter, the design and functionality are duplicated completely "masters" from the Middle Kingdom.
You can blame the company for a long time that it brazenly copies some elements of successful devices from the premium segment, but its merit for the Russian consumer is unequivocal and extremely important - the price. The most popular from this manufacturer was the flagship five hundredth series. 568 and 588 models are in the list of sales leaders throughout Russia. We will consider a more affordable device with the number 518 with the most affordable price tag for our segment.
So, the hero of today's review is the Mio MiVue 518. The user reviews, characteristics of the gadget, as well as its advantages, along with the shortcomings will be discussed later.
Equipment
The device comes in an attractive and brand-specific orange box. On the front part, the recorder itself and its name are depicted. On the back you can see a brief specification, which shows the most “delicious” characteristics of the gadget, as well as award icons received at some exhibitions. The side faces are occupied by barcodes, labels, stickers and other dealer surroundings inherent in the goods in the store on the shelf. The manufacturer did not save on packaging, it is felt that the box is made of thick cardboard and honestly.
Contents of delivery:
- the device itself Mio MiVue 518;
- owner reviews, various “reminders” and other advertising on a bundle of booklets;
- classic bracket with suction cup;
- power adapter for car cigarette lighter;
- disk with software and drivers for PC;
- user's manual;
- warranty obligations.
The delivery set can be called ascetic, but the Mio brand has never been generous in this regard. The only thing that is very lacking, and this is evident from the numerous reviews of the Mio MiVue 518, is the cable for synchronizing with a PC. Almost any, even “no-name” registrar from the budget segment is necessarily equipped with this cable (if communication with a PC is provided in principle), but “Mio” for some reason stubbornly ignores the wishes of users, as well as common sense, and does not want to equip its gadgets with this accessory.
Appearance and assembly
The design of the model can be called successful: a nice and small streamlined “cube” evokes only pleasant emotions among owners, and orange inserts add a device to style and originality.
As for the build quality and materials used, everything is fine here as well. The manufacturer uses the same high-quality components in the entire five-hundredth series. Judging by the reviews of the Mio MiVue 518 dashcam, users did not notice any backlashes, creaks, gaps or crunches, that is, all that the budget segment is rich in.
Mount
The manufacturer did not begin to somehow change the mounting system and left it similar to the flagship models, that is, here we have already known advantages and disadvantages. The bracket holds the device in a T-shaped latch on hinges with a clamping nut. The fastening structure itself is quite compact; it is easy to hide it somewhere behind the rear-view mirror.
It is also worth noting that the bracket allows you to rotate the device along the entire axis 360 degrees, that is, if you want, you can shoot both on the side fronts and in the cabin, which is very convenient when meeting with the traffic police.
As mentioned above, the shortcomings also migrated from older models, and the owners in their reviews of the Mio MiVue 518 car DVR complain about the fastidiousness of the latch. To remove the device from the bracket, you need to make a certain effort in a certain place, otherwise you risk damaging the fasteners. And this “certainty” greatly annoys users, especially those who are used to removing the recorder every time they leave the car.
Work
It’s very easy and simple to work with the recorder: large controls are clearly visible, as well as perfectly detected by touch. All kinds of prompts on the display help you quickly navigate and delve into the nuances of the menu.
In general, all settings branches are correctly laid out, and the management process itself is intuitive and simple. Even a primary school student can cope with the management of the gadget, not to mention the avid drivers. In their reviews of the Mio MiVue 518 dashcam, users also note the simplicity of controlling the device, and a good half of the owners did not need a manual at all.
Video
One of the most important parameters for this kind of technology turned out to be almost identical to the capabilities of the flagship models of the series. Reviews about the Mio MiVue 518 in this regard are entirely positive: the sharpness is perfectly maintained, the output image is clear and understandable (Full HD), and the video stream is devoid of “snow” and other artifacts.
The only thing is, with a large speed difference, dynamic blurring appears, so the numbers of oncoming cars on the highway differ with great difficulty or are not fixed at all. There are no problems with state signs ahead of going cars: at a distance of up to 10 meters everything is visible to the smallest detail.
As for the night shooting, here the reviews about the Mio MiVue 518 are not so flattering. The model is significantly inferior in this regard to the flagship: there are noises and numerous "highlights" from headlights of oncoming cars. Nevertheless, the detail and sharpness of the picture remains at a quite acceptable level, so on night roads not loaded with cars, the quality of night shooting can be called good.
Summarizing
Despite its low cost, which is five and a half thousand rubles, the model looks pretty attractive. Of course, it is somewhat inferior to the flagship device, but the gadget compensates for all the shortcomings with a more than affordable price tag for its segment.
In addition, thanks to many positive reviews, the Mio MiVue 518 has earned a reputation as a kind of high-quality middle peasant who can be presented and put in your car. So if you do not need extra "bells and whistles", and you just need an intelligent gadget that can conduct normal shooting, then you can look at the younger model "Myo" of the five hundredth series.