Tag: #NEXTBASE #DASHCAM #MOTORING

I have been using the Nextbase 412GW   Dash cam for about a month now.  The first impression of The Nextbase 412GW Dash cam was the weight at 86g that’s light, this is a great bonus as mounted with a bracket on the windscreen, the weight does not pull it off over speed bumps. The 3” LED panel allows viewing easily. This is not a cheap budget device which can be observed from the packing, product feel with a variety of functions & connections.

The unit packaging was impressive, all the usual accessories cigarette charger, mounting bracket on the windscreen.

 

 

This came with older USB type cable with is a disadvantage as another cable in the car. The cigarette cable is extra-long which is a bonus having to run this over the vehicle to the dash mount location. There would be a   requirement for a dual charger to allow charging of your phone at the same time. This is my biggest critic of this unit, the power cable type, and the options left to charge another unit.

The instruction manual is supplied on a disk with additional information on www.nextbase.co.uk.

The unit came separate with a 32GB MicrosSD card for use with Nextbase cams, (Scan disk card), This supports SDHC and SDXC micro SD cards up to 32GB, giving up to 4 hour’s worth of footage before the product loops. Typically, a 16Gb card will store the last 2 hours of driving footage, then will record over the oldest footage, Interesting Nextbase advise Every 2-3 weeks “we recommend that you reformat the memory card. This will wipe any files from the card and set it up afresh for continued use with your iN-CAR CAM.”  This would involve taking the Card out of the Dashcam to format. I would recommend having a spare card in the event of incident, (You can save an incident / Dashcam will automatically save this)

The Dash Cam can feature QUAD HD 1440p footage at 30 frames per second. This is four times the number of pixels you would get on a standard HD panel (720p) as seen on your older plasma / LCD TV. Most files recorded are in the region under 500MB for a 3-minute clip. These are large files reflected by the quality of the footage. The footage has been checked on a standard Laptop and my own 46” LCD. The Quality was excellent on both when the card removed and placed into the Laptop / LCD TV.

Firstly, during installation start with the safety in mind, Next base recommended when fitting in the vehicle, a quick clean of the glass helps, then install the in-CAR CAM so it does NOT obstruct the drivers view of the road, preferably on the passenger side of the vehicle and behind the rear-view mirror. Recommended location fitting (as per the manual), one interesting thing on the location of the dash cam is the setup for a left-hand side of the road vehicle, i.e. UK car. Many Manufactures forget Ireland & the UK.  Next base has offices in Surrey & Wales which is always a positive in case on any issues.  When fitting the Dash, cam check the sun visor to ensure the Dash cam does not get knocked by the visor, that’s from experience!

 

 

This has a Click & Go Powered Magnetic Mount, ensuring removing from the vehicle is easy and quick. This feature is excellent if removing at night.  It would be great if the Charger plugged directly into the Magnetic Mount, as you must un-clip the Dashcam from the charger cable, and the Magnetic Mount,

There are 3 modes of camera operation – Video, Photo and Playback.

• Video Mode: The default mode when the camera is turned on, for video recording.
• Photo Mode: Allows you to take still photographs.
• Playback mode: Allows you to view recorded video or photographs up

Playback contains, longitude, latitude speed, date & time. This was interesting with the cam looking at the road at the speedometer, the car on cruise control at 49 MPH, stated on review on the Dash cam footage 46 MPH,

Some of the lower end units do not record the longitude, latitude and speed.

 

On the unit, there is a Reset button which is great in case there is a problem at any stage as there is no removable battery, this may sound trivial but try using a product that won’t power off, It has however a low battery warning..

Wi-Fi:

This has Inbuilt Wi-Fi which (if your inclined this way) to upload footage to social media / insurance company.  The Wi-Fi connects as a normal Wi-Fi router / dongle, search for the SSID, E.g. Nextbase 412GW Enter the password as given on the Dash cam,

On your smartphone Nextbase Cam Viewer App is available for free download from the Google Play Store (Android) approx. 26 M file with 10,000 – 50,000 Installs rated as 3 out of 5. There were a few occasions, I had to refer to the manual having to power off the Nextbase 412GW. Initially this would not connect to a smart phone, I tried with a Samsung smart phone worked straight away. Once working the video display was clearly visible which was easily played back. The play back initial buffer was slower than expected as I am used to instant playback from a Computer.  I found Video playback may pause while the video buffers as I wanted to quickly view 4 hours of footage quickly rather than a 3-minute clip. The video clips were clearly visible on a Samsung smart phone.

The Cam Viewer allowed Live View from the iN-Car Camera which was of great quality while a microsecond delay between footage on the Dashcam getting to android phone.

You can view video / photo files stored upon the camera and download to your connected device for viewing later.

 

 

 

Number Plate recognition.

A feature on the dashcam is the Number Plate recognition, Enter the registration number for your vehicle, this will then be shown on the video file. This is a feature on expensive / Business CCTV systems which is good to see on the dash cam.

Specification in more Detail.

• 140 degree wide angle view with QUAD 1440p High Definition recording at 30 fps
• High frame rate option of 60fps recording at FULL 1080p HD
• Inbuilt Wi-Fi to share your footage directly with your mobile via the Nextbase Cam Viewer app
• Ultra-clear 3.0” LED display for ease of playback and menu selection
• Improved night vision for clear footage in poor lighting conditions
• Exclusive Powered Magnetic Click & Go mount for easy installation in the vehicle
• Instant evidence to support insurance claims to help prove an incident was not your fault
• Super slimline design – Dimensions 10.9 x 5 x 1.8 cm (W x H x D) (37mm incl. lens)
• Six-Element Sharp Lenses made with 6 layers of glass to provide stunning clear images
• GPS receiver and G sensor to record location and force data
• Inbuilt battery with up to 30 minute backup in the event of an accident
• Easy to install with 4m 12v power cable and Click & Go powered window mount included
• SOS data protection prevents the impact/ event recording from being deleted
• Supports SDHC and SDXC Micro SD cards up to 32GB (class 10 recommended)

The Full Product specification.

This is an interesting point to be aware of in the event of an accident. I don’t know the legality of video footage in court / insurance but interesting to read. (Taken from the manual)

The video recordings made by this Digital Video Recorder are intended for personal use only. 8. Publication of the recordings on Youtube, the internet or other methods are subject to the Data Protection Act and the requirements thereof must be adhered to. If the Digital Video Recorder is to be used within a commercial environment, i.e. truck use, then the CCTV regulation apply also, in addition to the Data Protection Act regulations. This includes labelling to identify the use of CCTV is taking place, the omission of Audio recording and informing the relevant authorities of who controls the data. Video playback upon the device which is visible to the driver is prohibited or restricted in some countries or States

How difficult is the Dashcam to set up / Record?

Setting up the Dashcam physically in the car take a few minutes. Record can be automatically set up. Play back by removing the card and placing in a Laptop can take a few minutes, Dashcam playback took less than a minute. Setting up Wi-Fi and Playback does take a bit longer to setup, down load the app.

Would I recommend this Product?

If this is for a non-techie driving low millage, certainly not, but if you’re one of those people that often state, there is never a Policemen when you want one, or wait till I tell you what happened today on the road. (Have a look at the video of a cyclist going down the wrong way on the street.  branch of a tree been pulled down by a lorry, or Pedestrian crossing the road)

If you’re a serious driver on the road, then having this is your vehicle is great in case an accident happens. Should there be an incident with video footage you can clearly see who was at fault in the incident – whether it was day or night, saving in Insurance excess and split liability claims. I have noticed on occasions when the weather was freezing I unconsciously checked the operation of the dash cam expecting the potential of an incident. Another question I have been asked, is it worth paying extra for a good model, depending on a budget the quality is excellent, footage excellent, this model shows you location and speed.  If you drive a vehicle for hours per day than possible, this may be the route to go down! Any professional driver should have this as I suspect the bus companies have not put cameras on the buses for our safety, rather the safety of their insurance claims. I have now noticed Learner Driver vehicle instructors now have these in their vehicles. This would be great to allow driving instructors to give students an SD card, allowing them a second view of the road positioning and leanings.

 

I would like to thank Nextbase UK for sending this out, Initially I though a gimmick which I would be bored of after a week, Sorry Guys at Nextbase this is one product I am keeping in my car, Once I reviewed the footage and observed some of near incidents. 

You can head over to Nextbase UK for more details  https://www.nextbase.co.uk/dashcams/412gw-dash-cam/    RRP Price: Stg £129.99

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I have always said that this technology should be a standard on vehicles and with the ability to mass produce such items it would not be too much an effort to have this equipment installed on our vehicles as now they are now coming with more forms of wireless connectivity options as standard. Lots of cars today come with parking sensors,and with built in camera so what gives here with something like this preinstalled… Ireland has seen a massive hike in insurance premiums again this year and next year is set to rise again and this is certainly one way to deter fraudulent claims and therefore reducing insurance premiums and we are indeed inline with the UK here on this but prevention is better than cure and with a dash cam this is one simple way to decide a case,end of story, The camera never lies.

The Nextbase 112 dashcam is an affordable unit with 720p HD recording sporting a 2.0 LCD screen with a 120 degree wide angle lens. Not only that its got a parking mode feature built in. So lets take a look…

Packaging 

What do we get..

First off no SD card included although NextBase did supply us with one,But on a personal level like any other gadget requiring external storage it would be a nice sweetener to the product but you can understand why they are not included its simply another revenue stream..Another way you could look at it is to keep the cost down..There is the usual instruction manuals and surprisingly a CD ROM. I say surprisingly because its almost 2017 and people still rely on CD ROMS..

 

It comes with all the cables you need including a charger or you can just use the seperate cable for USB charging which is now becoming the norm but I find it slower. It does however use the older USB which I find odd when we are now moving to USB type C this is behind but todays standard Micro USB would have been better but having said that its not the only product I have tested in recent times to come with MINI USB.. Going forward dash cams should become wireless,Less hassle,less wires as most of us have a phone or similar charging already.

You will need to charge the unit first before usage for around two hours, This comes with a 30 min emergency battery should an incident occur so keep that in mind. What I do like about this is that its magnetic attachment is simple,given its holder is a typical suction cup you place on your windscreen the main hardwear is just a magnetic clip which works much better rather than having to remove the whole unit from the window when not in use.This is good because you should never leave it in your car unattended because there is smash and grab thieves out there who will just do exactly that, Smash a window just to rob it..

 

 

Installation is simple there is an instruction manual but for the most its easy and you can compare  it to a mobile phone holder that mounts to your windscreen just slightly wet the suction cup and stick it on and secure with the lock,after that you have a choice of two charging types be it the standalone charger or the extra cable provided for USB. Do note we can today buy USB adapters for charging and some that come with both and you can find these anywhere today mostly visible at our petrol stations here or electrical stores so you have choice..

 

CHECK OUT THE QUALITY TEST WHICH WAS RAN AT MORNING AND EVENING 

 

 

Set-up is easy from here with tactile buttons to select mode it is simple for one touch recording and then to stop it,When mounted to the window you would want to hold the device as it is rather free moving but you can lock it into position with the nut for a fixed position but for myself I was moving it around to get the best position and seeing what angles I could cover from where it was placed.. It never fell off once which was good,at times these can fall off depending on weight and so and and of course road conditions this is small and light and does not obstruct your viewing range nor will it distract you..

 

 

When you have finished or used up your card it is a simple process to transfer files to your PC then upload to whatever it is you might be using or the purpose its used for, Presuming its You Tube is like uploading any other file. You will connect your dashcam to laptop with cable provided and see the files but you would want to just view them first before you upload the correct files required.

 

FEATURES OVERVIEW

 

• Four Element Sharp Lenses made with 4 layers of glass to provide clear images
• Bright, clear 2” LED screen for easy viewing
• 120° wide angle view with up to 720p High Definition recording
• Powered Magnetic Click & Go mount to easily install in the car
• Instant evidence to support insurance claims in helping prove an incident was not your fault
• Photo mode allows you to take still images for further evidence
• Compact design makes this model ideal for mounting behind rear view mirror
• Easy to install with 4m 12v power cable
• Inbuilt battery with up to 30 minute backup in the event of an accident
• SOS data protection prevents the impact/event recording from being deleted
• Loop recording feature prevents recording from stopping when the SD card is full
• Dimensions: 5.7 x 5.8 x 3 cm (WxHxD)
• Supports SDHC and SDXC Micro SD cards up to 32GB (class 10 recommended)

 

Overall I was happy with the product and it worked flawlessly during the time I tested it and quality is good,it perhaps looks a bit better on You Tube than it does on the small screen but you can expect that, Its small,neat,works well and easy to set up and use and a must have today especially with the insurance premiums sky rocketing something like this could safe you a lot of hassle and money in the long run and you should see it as an investment rather than a cost. We would like to thank Nextbase UK for sending this out to us to check out and we have another review coming soon . You can head over to Nextbase UK for more and check out what they have to offer…..This model which is the 112 to will cost you just £49.99 which is cheap bearing in mind the quality..