Car DVR (dashcam) - as an practical car equipment which can provide the safe driving and effective video evidence, meanwhile, create a meaningful travelogue folder of trips for drivers, becomes more and more popular and essential. The car DVR can not only track your position at any time and find the best route to your destination but also record the everything while driving.

Even if your smartphone can be also used as a dashcam, but exposure to sunlight and heat degrades battery life and causes long-term damage to it. Plus, it’s better to have a dedicated recording device so you don’t have to interrupt to do other things (e.g. make a phone call).

Then, how to pick for a suitable car DVR which exactly meet your needs? Here are some tips that we have collected for you.

 

Before pick for a car DVR, you may need to know what is car DVR (also called dashcam) and what features they may have.

 

 

What is Car DVR (Dashcam)?

 

“A car DVR, dash cam, dashboard camera, or car black box is an onboard camera that continuously records the view through a vehicle's windscreen. It may be attached to the interior windscreen or to the top of the dashboard, by the suction cup or adhesive-tape mount. Dashcams may provide video evidence in the event of a road accident. During parking, some dashcams still can capture video evidence if vandalism is detected.”

The basic dash cam or car DVR is composed of a camera system that records continuously in a loop, a memory card and an LCD screen for viewing. Video cameras are usually classified according to the lens specifications and video quality, while the LCD screens vary in size, though 2.5 to 2.7 inches are the standard sizes. 

 

 

 

How to choose the car DVR (Dashcams) according to the specs and features?

 

All dashcams have pros and cons, and it’s hard to say whether one is better than another because it depends on what you need. Here are the most important considerations to make. If you want recommendations, you’ll find them at the end of this article.

 

Video Resolution

At the minimum, you’ll want HD 720p recording. This ensures that footage is sharp enough to make out license plates, car makes, models and faces. HD 1080p and 2K resolution dashcams are available too, but the trade-off is larger video files.

 

Storage Capacity

At the minimum, aim for 64 GB of storage. The higher the dashcam’s resolution, the more storage capacity you’ll need to record the same amount of footage. An hour of 720p footage might be 1 to 2 GB whereas an hour of 1080p footage might be upwards of 6 GB. Avoid these mistakes when buying microSD cards.

 

Night Vision

Night vision is crucial because you never know when an accident might occur. Headlights, city lights, and street lights can sometimes provide enough illumination that night vision isn’t necessary — but those lights won’t always be there. Don’t risk it.

 

Automatic on/off

Some dashcams have the ability to turn on with the car engine and turn off when the car engine shuts off. It’s a must-have feature because dashcams are only useful when they’re on — and according to Murphy’s Law, the one time you forget to turn it on will be the day you have an accident. Don’t risk it.

 

Camera Size

All view obstructions are dangerous when driving a car, so avoid large dashcams that may block line of sight. This is critical if you have other potential obstructions, like an EZ-Pass transponder or dangling air fresheners. In general, smaller is safer.

 

Loop Recording 

When a dashcam’s storage fills up, two things can happen: it stops recording, or it loops back and records over the oldest footage. The former prevents you from overriding crucial footage that you forgot to transfer out, but can leave you vulnerable if it stops recording in the middle of a long drive. Loop recording is less risky.

 

Impact Sensor

Some dashcams detect accidents, then automatically save footage starting from several minutes before impact. Some can also automatically turn on when an impact is detected, even if the dashcam was off, which comes in handy when parked.

 

GPS

GPS tracking can “prove” that an accident occurred where you said it occurred, in cases where the footage isn’t clear. GPS tracking can also record your speeds, which comes in handy for wrongful speeding tickets. And as a parent, GPS logging can be used to see where your children really went in the night.

 

Front and Back Camera

If you want full coverage, a front-facing dashcam won’t be enough. What happens if you get rear-ended? A front-facing dashcam can provide some evidence, but won’t capture the whole incident. Some dashcams come in pairs, the second one mounting to the rear windshield.

 

Built-in Mount

While most dashcam models come with a mounting mechanism, a few don’t. These are most likely designed to lay on your dashboard, but if the idea of that doesn’t sit well with you, you can always grab a universal dashcam mount separately.

 

 

 

Finally, we collect some practical and distinctive dashcams for you. Hope you can find a satisfying one.

 

 

Azdome A307 Car DVR WiFi Dashcam

 

Azdome A307 dashcam features the 1080P HD video and 150 degree wide angle lens design that can capture the high quality and full viewing picture for you. Built-in WiFi allows you to connect dashcam to the cellphone wirelessly, and you can download the HD recorded video anytime anywhere without using your mobile data. In addition, it supports automatic sensing shooting, loop recording, collision detection, motion activated, and WDR.

 

Azdome DAB211 Full HD Car DVR Dashcam

 

Azdome DAB211 dashcam is equipped with the 1440P resolution which can provide the super clear video and picture to you. It also comes with lots of function, such as GPS locator, G-sensor lock, night vision, WDR, parking monitor, loop recording, ADAS, etc. Besides, it supports 64GB TF card, effectively optimize the storage.

 

Azdome GS65H Mini Dual Lens Car DVR Dashcam

 

Azdome GS65H dashcam adopts Novatek 96655 chip and OV4689 image sensor, features with dual-lens recording, offers the no dead angle capturing which not only in the car but also the surroundings of the car. Meanwhile, it has a variety of functions such as GPS navigation, loop-cycle recording, motion detection, auto power on, and so on, provides you a more comfortable and worry-free driving environment.

 

G6 Smart Car DVR Full Angle Dashcam

 

G6 smart dashcam features 360 degree lens and 220 degree wide angle design which can roundly record every even driving at high speed. 270 degree maximum angle of rotation lens angle provides more optional to capture all the details and movement. Remote control switch allows one-key add-on, taking pictures as you want. In addition, it also supports WDR, loop recording, g-sensor, night vision, parking monitor, etc.