Review of DVRs, comparison of DVRs of different models
The number of cars on the road is growing every year, the speed of traffic along the roadway is also increasing, and the number of road accidents (road accidents) is even faster. Technical progress does not stand still, not so long ago, manufacturers have pleased car enthusiasts with such a useful novelty as a car DVR. Its main task is to survey the traffic situation in the course of the movement of your car. This will help in resolving the disputed situation with the inspector of the traffic police, will prove the correctness in case of an accident, can serve as evidence in court. In addition to video recording, the DVR is increasingly endowed with additional useful functions, such as:
- loop record;
- Automatic inclusion
- Date and time overlay
- GPS logging (it is possible to overlay the video coordinates and speed of a moving car);
- Built-in rechargeable battery and recharging from cigarette lighter socket
- Built-in screen for viewing video without connecting to a computer
- an additional camera for viewing the rear view and many others.
Overview of DVRs
Specially for our customers, we made an overview of DVRs, which will help you to choose the most suitable model of the DVR. The following auto registrar models participated in the review:
- Gazer S510;
- Gazer H511;
- DOD F900LHD.
Comparison of DVRs was performed on the most significant parameter for this device — recording quality.
Each driver makes a choice of car registrar in accordance with their preferences and material capabilities. When deciding to buy a DVR, it is important not to go on about sellers who are forced to purchase the most expensive and multifunctional model. Here it is necessary to carefully familiarize yourself with the recording parameters that affect its quality. After all, only a clear video can reliably convey all the nuances of the traffic situation, such as the numbers of passing cars, their color and brand, road signs and markings, the location and maneuvers of road users. The quality of video recording is greatly influenced by such factors:
- The resolution of the video being shot (320x240, 640x480, 1280x720, 1920x1080 and other derived from the basic standards) determines the clarity of the transmitted image;
- the shooting speed should be at least 20-25 frames per second, determines the smoothness of the video stream;
- the viewing angle, usually indicated diagonally, should be within 100-140 degrees, the bigger it is, the more objects are captured on the sides of the car
- scan, allocate interlace (i) and progressive (index p), while a better image is obtained with progressive scan;
- video compression format, this depends on the algorithm of video and audio compression. At the moment, the most progressive format of H.264 (MPEG4 part 10), is a continuation of the development of MPEG4 format, the recorded information takes about half the memory size;
- the sensitivity of the matrix, affects the quality of the image in poor lighting, measured in lux, the smaller, the better.
DVR Resolutions
It should be noted that the car DVR with a resolution of 320x240 is the ancestor of modern models, the quality of the video is akin to shooting on a mobile phone camera. It is often used as a moment of intimidation when talking with an auto inspector, since the clarity of the image hardly allows you to view the numbers of the vehicles ahead.
The resolution of 640x480 is the minimum necessary for a modern device, it is often referred to as VGA. This DVR is suitable as a first experience. Not every car owner agrees to invest large sums of money for a similar car accessory, which later may not be used. For a better display of traffic conditions, it is better to choose models with a higher resolution.
The most popular is the resolution of HD or 1280x720. With an average price category, the quality of the survey allows us to clearly identify important details of the traffic situation.
The most progressive car recorders are filmed as Full HD (1920x1080). Such recorders are usually endowed with a high-quality receiving matrix and optics, which makes it possible to shoot with a higher clarity and color rendition. At the end of 2011, the price for this segment of autoregistrators ranges from 1500 hryvnia.
For more informative reasoning about choosing a car DVR, let's compare some of them with pretty similar parameters, but different resolution of video shooting. So, for example, take the models such as Gazer S510 (640x480, VGA), Gazer H511 (1280x720, HD) and DOD F900LHD (1920x1080, Full HD). The viewing angle of all provided devices is 120 degrees diagonally. The shooting speed is 30 frames per second. Note that the Gazer S510 has the MPEG-4 compression format, in contrast to the two other models considered with the MPEG-4 AVC / H.264 format. This means that the video recorded on the Gazer H511 and DOD F900LHD has improved clarity and color reproduction, while taking up half the space on the memory card, unlike the Gazer S510. For the final choice of the autoregistrator with a suitable recording quality for you, we suggest you familiarize yourself with the test video shot on the compared models. Viewing must be performed at the maximum resolution. With the delivery to Ukraine, the DVR can be purchased in Kiev, Kharkov, Odessa on 130.com.ua.
Overview of the Gazer S510 (video test drive) — use full screen in 480p mode
Overview of the Gazer H511 (video test drive) — use the full screen view in 720p mode
Overview of the DOD F900LHD (video test drive) — use full screen mode in 1080p mode
If you still have doubts about the choice of car registrar, 130.com.ua specialists will consult you in more detail on any submitted model.