New Dash Cam: Street Guardian SG9663DC

The original quality is better than the Vimeo clip. Probably it's not done processing yet.

Rich
 
I couldn't watch it all. Did you at least stop for beer or pizza?
 
RJM62 said:
I think so. Just be aware that they can be a two-edged sword. If you're in the wrong, they document that, too.

Rich
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That SD card just fell out and accidentally landed under my foot and was ground to dust. Haha. Kidding. Of course.

Curiosity question, did you consider any of the dual camera front and rear cameras? Some have fallen enough in price they look compelling against the single forward facing camera options now.

I’ve never really had any problem knowing it was my fault when it was, or saying so. It’s the front camera for the idiot who cuts you off with a foot of clearance who claims you “ran into them”and the rear camera to get a plate number of the person who rear ended and hit and run that I’d be most interested in, both of which I’ve had happen.

The front one actually drove OVER my fender at highway speeds and was clearly drunk, but that’s a long story. Amazed we survived it.

Not that new cars need any more gadgets, but I’m surprised with the backup cameras headed for being mandated, that they just don’t add an SD slot and record to it all the time on those. Add a front camera and charge $2000 for the camera recording package. Lol.
 
denverpilot said:
That SD card just fell out and accidentally landed under my foot and was ground to dust. Haha. Kidding. Of course.

Curiosity question, did you consider any of the dual camera front and rear cameras? Some have fallen enough in price they look compelling against the single forward facing camera options now.
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The one I just bought is a dual-cam. It's this one. I wouldn't consider a camera without the rear cam. I did a little PIP starting at 5:22 in the first video to show the rear cam video.

Unlike my previous dash cam, this one records the front and rear video in two separate sets of files. The files are the same length, start and stop at the same points, and have sequential file names. The last digit before the extension is A or a B: A is front and B is rear. So if you want to mix the two views into one file using PIP, split-screen, cuts, fades, overlays, or whatever, you just line up the A and B segments in the editor timeline and they'll be synchronized.

The biggest traffic hazards where I live are suicidal deer in front, and tailgating tourists in the rear. They conspire against you. The deer leaps out in front of you, and the tailgating idiot rear-ends you when you hit the brakes to try to avoid the deer. This camera catches them both.

The problem with the tourists is that most of them are from the NYC Metro Area, and they're accustomed to tailgating. It's not that they're necessarily bad drivers. It's that if you try to back off to leave the recommended three seconds of distance between yourself and the vehicle in front of you on, for example, the Long Island Expressway, two or three cars will immediately fill in the gap. So tailgating becomes a habit, and they bring that habit with them when they come up here.

denverpilot said:
I’ve never really had any problem knowing it was my fault when it was, or saying so. It’s the front camera for the idiot who cuts you off with a foot of clearance who claims you “ran into them”and the rear camera to get a plate number of the person who rear ended and hit and run that I’d be most interested in, both of which I’ve had happen.

The front one actually drove OVER my fender at highway speeds and was clearly drunk, but that’s a long story. Amazed we survived it
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The last at-fault accident I had was about ten years ago in Queens. It was a minor fender bender precipitated by an old lady pushing a shopping cart stacked ten feet high (seriously) with soda and beer cans. She walked in front of the guy in front of me at the very moment that I glanced left for some reason, and I hit his left rear quarter panel. There wasn't much damage, but I was clearly at fault.

My then 10-year-old goddaughter was in the car with me, and wanting to set a good example, I immediately apologized to the guy and took responsibility. It turns out he was an insurance adjuster for another company. I think he talked to the adjuster for my company because he authorized replacement of stuff that had nothing to do with the accident, like a wheel and wheel cover that I'd scuffed up against a curb.

denverpilot said:
Not that new cars need any more gadgets, but I’m surprised with the backup cameras headed for being mandated, that they just don’t add an SD slot and record to it all the time on those. Add a front camera and charge $2000 for the camera recording package. Lol.
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I really don't like built-in electronics beyond a radio because the car manufacturers' versions are overpriced, obsolesce quickly, and sometimes require pricy updates (like map updates for in-car navigation). I almost never replace OEM radios because they don't change very much and have no ongoing costs beyond the SiriusXM subscription. But beyond that, I'd rather install my own aftermarket gadgets.

Rich
 
Looks cold in Sparrow Fart!
 
If you're gong to put up movies at least do something exciting or illegal in them!
 
Joey4420 said:
I have a dual camera model... I purchased this one a little over a year ago. https://www.amazon.com/UPGRADED-N2-Cam-1080P-Dashboard-Recorder/dp/B073WQ7K6C?ref=ast_p_ei

I even use it in my Ercoupe while flying.
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That model was one of the finalists in my decision. I thought the video in the Street Guardian was a little better, though. The reviews also were consistently excellent, and the company is extremely responsive. If you post on the forum (yeah, they have a forum for dash cams), typically you'll get an answer from the manufacturer within minutes.

I also decided that I didn't want to video record the inside of the cabin so some lawyer could try to claim that I was at fault for an accident because I picked my nose at the wrong moment. If I were an Uber driver or had some other reason why I wanted to record the cabin and pax, then I would probably have chosen the one you did.

Rich
 
steingar said:
If you're gong to put up movies at least do something exciting or illegal in them!
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They're just test / demo videos, Michael. Maybe we'll get lucky someday and I'll witness a pileup! :p

Rich
 
RJM62 said:
I think so. Just be aware that they can be a two-edged sword. If you're in the wrong, they document that, too.

Rich
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I'd add a "Flash" button to instantly erase the memory if need be.
 
Got it on the dual camera Rich. I went to look at the specs and Amazon locked up solid so I just closed it and assumed from the video preview. Sorry.

I want one with the crash sensor stuff but I’m afraid the washboards will just set it off constantly. Never seen any reviews on how well or poorly the accelerometers work on badly washboarded roads, but I doubt they’re as smart as say, the airbag system in the car.

Which is probably the only “engineering” reason I can think of for a built in. Trigger crash recording off of the car’s better crash sensors instead of a $.50 accelerometer hanging from the windshield. :)

I agree I’d rather put in my own toys for the most part, other than the whole washboard/sensor thing. Certainly stereos.

I recently heard a consumer help show call in where some dude replaced the stereo in a VW. That’s a no-no on those without a special airing harness. VW stupidly made the stereo the hub for all sorts of other data comm in their vehicles. Annoyingly.

We learned that with Karen’s VW piece of crap, and left the stock stereo in it. But since the thing lost both manifolds, the transmission, and the motor mounts were toast after four and a half years from new, it was a goner anyway once the extended warranty was up. Total POS.
 
denverpilot said:
...

We learned that with Karen’s VW piece of crap, and left the stock stereo in it. But since the thing lost both manifolds, the transmission, and the motor mounts were toast after four and a half years from new, it was a goner anyway once the extended warranty was up. Total POS.
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had a Jetta, 2003 - great fun to drive, but the best way I can describe its reliability is, at around 75,000 miles, it started to dissolve. And yes: intake manifold (rubberized plastic, for goodness' sake!), transmission (solenoids control everything, and they're INSIDE, where the heat lives) and plastic coolant fittings (really - thin-walled).

The car was built in Mexico, and the Mexican parts were solid, tight as a drum. The engine (Germany) and the transmission (Japan) were both elaborate, tightly-packed junque.
 
denverpilot said:
Got it on the dual camera Rich. I went to look at the specs and Amazon locked up solid so I just closed it and assumed from the video preview. Sorry.

I want one with the crash sensor stuff but I’m afraid the washboards will just set it off constantly. Never seen any reviews on how well or poorly the accelerometers work on badly washboarded roads, but I doubt they’re as smart as say, the airbag system in the car.

Which is probably the only “engineering” reason I can think of for a built in. Trigger crash recording off of the car’s better crash sensors instead of a $.50 accelerometer hanging from the windshield. :)

I agree I’d rather put in my own toys for the most part, other than the whole washboard/sensor thing. Certainly stereos.

I recently heard a consumer help show call in where some dude replaced the stereo in a VW. That’s a no-no on those without a special airing harness. VW stupidly made the stereo the hub for all sorts of other data comm in their vehicles. Annoyingly.

We learned that with Karen’s VW piece of crap, and left the stock stereo in it. But since the thing lost both manifolds, the transmission, and the motor mounts were toast after four and a half years from new, it was a goner anyway once the extended warranty was up. Total POS.
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The camera I bought has four settings for the accelerometer: High, Medium, Low, and Off. All it does is lock the file if it thinks you got into an accident so it's not overwritten.

It also has parking mode motion detection in the current firmware, but it requires a hardwire cable that's not available yet. To the manufacturer's credit, they found some problems with the test batch and are reworking them. It's not as simple a thing as it seems because of the need to isolate the device to prevent interference with other electronics or depleting the battery through the always-hot lead.

Street Guardian itself seems to be an exceptional outfit. They have a guy in China who practically lives on the dash cam forum and responds in minutes to any concerns posted there, from installation, to firmware updates, to upcoming new features that will be enabled with the firmware updates. That's probably his full-time job. Their warranty service is also rumored to be superb. They strike me as one of the growing number of Chinese companies who are trying to change that country's reputation as purveyors of cheap ****.

Rich
 
Now you need to start learning swear words in Russian. Pizdez blyat tvoyu mat. Suka bunnywrote.
 
A few questions:

1) How easy is it to install one of these without wires hanging everywhere? Can you hard wire them?
2) I can't find any installed photos. How big is it hanging on the dash? Will it block your view?
3) It's at least double the cost of competitors. Aside from good support, is it worth the extra $$?
 
Brad Z said:
A few questions:

1) How easy is it to install one of these without wires hanging everywhere? Can you hard wire them?
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That depends on the car. I slipped the cigarette lighter-type power wire behind the dash and up behind the trim for now so only the plug and a few inches of the cord are sticking out by the accessory outlet. The rest of the wiring for both front and rear are hidden under the plastic trim except where they run to the cameras themselves. It took me a bit over an hour and required no tools other than a screwdriver and the trim tool that's included with the camera.

There will be a hardwire kit that will enable motion detection and parking mode. They actually had one out for testing, but there were problems with it, so they're reworking it before they release it to market. Personally, I think that's a good thing. A delay is better than knowingly putting out a faulty product.

Brad Z said:
2) I can't find any installed photos. How big is it hanging on the dash? Will it block your view?
Click to expand...

Front and rear cameras:

front-camera.jpg


rear-camera.jpg


Brad Z said:
3) It's at least double the cost of competitors. Aside from good support, is it worth the extra $$?
Click to expand...

I thought it was. There's only one other dual-lens camera I looked at that could capture 1920x1080 at a bitrate > 18 mbps, and that was the Aukey DR02. It also made it to my finalist list. But it doesn't include the GPS antenna or the Mini-SD card, which bring the price closer to that of the SG9663DC if purchased separately; the reviews aren't quite as good; the sample videos I looked at weren't as good (especially from the rear camera); and my impression is that the support isn't as good. Street Guardian also extends the warranty to two years if you register it.

Still, I think the Aukey DR02 is a worthy competitor. It made it as far as my final three. After all the money factors were considered, Street Guardian's support and reputation and the better video quality in the videos I looked at edged my decision in favor of the SG9663DC. The extra year of warranty didn't hurt, either.

Rich
 
I probably should have mounted the front camera a little higher. I may do it when it gets warmer. It doesn't block my view when seated, though.

There also are cameras that don't have built-in screens if you want minimal obstruction. You generally aim them using a smartphone app and never touch them again.

Rich
 
My Son set me up with a ‘dash cam’ in my truck. It was about $100 or less on Amazon. When I see craziness going on I can now point the truck at them and be a good witness.
 
sourdough44 said:
My Son set me up with a ‘dash cam’ in my truck. It was about $100 or less on Amazon. When I see craziness going on I can now point the truck at them and be a good witness.
Click to expand...

There could be money in that...

Rich
 
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