Fancy new 'smart' Nextbase dash cam..

[Guest]

Looking up memory card specs for my dash cam today (we bought my mum one plus rear module, but funnily, the cheap Chinese one she was using's memory card somehow can't technically be written to fast enough so I need a U3 class one... interesting how the Chinese one worked this last year.. lol).

Came across this: 

https://nextbase.co.uk/smart-dash-cams/iq-smart-dash-cam/?int-area=uk_home_topduoleft&int-camp=IQ

I don't think I'll ever need one, but if I still had a more basic car perhaps I'd find a justification. From what I can gather: 

- 4G connected, meaning you can tune into its live view etc from anywhere with signal 

- Parking proximity (can sense what's around you and how fast other vehicles are going) 

- Live speech to your car.. to yell at whatever family member is speeding in your beloved car 

- Speed alerts in real time 

- 'Witness mode' to capture footage and send it to a trusted contact 

- Cloud storage to automatically sync / store your footage 

- Remote alarm

But some of these things need a subscription monthly to work... Meaning yet another drain on the bank account. After a hefty initial investment buying it. 

It's impressive and cool in my opinion, but whether or not it's worth buying, I can't say I'm convinced. 

What are your thoughts? Could you see yourself buying one? 

[Roy124]

Shane, it wasca few weeks back that I read about it.  IIRC the subscription was needed for Cloud but not for live view or SD Card storage.

One of my home Foscam works that way.  With subscription it can store for a specific time.  

[Roy124]

Would I buy one?

If I had a £60k+ car that I could comfortably afford then I think I would definitely get the top range model.

If I was even more of  junkie and had money to spare then I would get one, but I have other priorities. 

[Big_D]

It's amazing how everything nowadays seems to be wanting a subscription for something or other.

[Guest]

18 hours ago, Big_D said:

It's amazing how everything nowadays seems to be wanting a subscription for something or other.

I know, seems to be a popular business model in the tech world. Which I understand for things that require running of a server… But there are things as basic as journal notepad apps (needing no server or online connection) that are requiring monthly subscriptions these days. Terrible thing imo. 

[Rhymes with Paris]

20 hours ago, Big_D said:

It's amazing how everything nowadays seems to be wanting a subscription for something or other.

As soon as I read,or hear the words subscription, contract, sign up,plan, direct debit or anything else that might result in open day on my bank account,

That's me going in the other direction as fast as possible.

 

[Big_D]

I'm the same. 

[yossarian247]

I like technology if it noticeably improves my life in some way. However I increasingly feel like its often a case of technology for its own sake. Both of our cars have Nextbase dashcams fitted, but I deliberately chose their most basic model in both cases. Not just on cost grounds, but also the more features something has the more there is to go wrong IMHO. 

[AndyN01]

I have a simple and straightforward Nextbase Dashcam. A 212 I think.

The critical bit is the quality of the footage. Mine was able to capture a Reg No in the dark and pouring rain of a "hit and drive off" collision. All now resolved because of that quality.

So yes, I absolutely think you need a Dashcam - with a high quality card.

IMHO Everything else is window dressing or marketing drivel to extract extra cash. What are you actually going to do with all the "toys" that are there?

Just my twopenneth.

Andy.

 

[Big_D]

I used a Nextbase 412GW for a good few years. It has now been retired as my new C-HR was fitted with a Nextbase 322GW free of charge as part of the deal. Both cameras were what I consider to be base models. I found them both to be perfect for my application and use. They are able to record number plates at night and have the GPS stamp to show where the incident happened. 

[Shared]

"What are your thoughts? Could you see yourself buying one? "

No I wouldn't buy one for two reasons, More & more gadgets & gizmo's are being sold which come with subscriptions or "service packages" of some sort which turn something you've purchased into an ongoing commitment, financial commitment or otherwise, I can see where that might make sense for something like a home security system but not for something like a Dashcam, for me anyway.

Secondly I'm just not one that yearns for everything to be "connected" and I have even less yearning to be "connected" to everything else myself, I sometimes wonder whether we're too ready & willing to share stuff with huge companies & organisations, what we like, where we eat out,what we buy, who we visit, what temperature we set the thermostats too, etc etc etc, I find it almost insidious frankly.

 

I treated myself to this new laptop for Christmas, nothing fancy just a very basic £300 HP from Currys,  just something I can throw in the car when we go away etc, I bought it knowing it came with Windows 11, my god the stuff Microsoft wants to know about you before you can use the operating system you've paid for is shocking compared to say Windows 7, anyway I made some changes and now my laptop has this, no more Microsoft, no more incessant nagging prompts to buy their "services", no more spying and I can load almost whatever I want onto it and it didn't need to know my name my age my gender my phone number my physical location my email addy or what colour my shorts are and what we're having for tea. 

 

I'm the same with digital content, a fella I game with on the PS5 told me last month that a series of documentaries he'd bought & paid for were just removed from his account because Sony's relationship with the IP holder had terminated, if he'd purchased their physical equivalent he'd still have them of course but because they were stored digitally in "the cloud" they were gone,  no recompense of course. The cloud does have it's uses of course but I think some forget that the cloud is really just your/our stuff on someone else's computer, over which you have very limited control.

Now more on topic I think dashcams are brilliant, probably almost a necessity these days and I rarely venture out without mine, it records in 1080, it dates & timestamps and that's all I need it do, from memory it was about £20, no subscriptions of course and no company knowing what time I went to the Chinese takeaway and by which route.

 

I'm a huge fan of tech in general, I just think we can have a little too much of it, in particular "connected" tech.

[AndyN01]

Linux 😀 👍

[Cyker]

I'm also very skeptical of subscription things, especially if they were previously one-time payment.

If it's something that's updated regularly then I can understand, but I think a lot of companies are starting to think they can charge subscriptions as a free perpetual source of revenue that doesn't require they actually do any work for it.

 

[yossarian247]

4 hours ago, Big_D said:

I used a Nextbase 412GW for a good few years. It has now been retired as my new C-HR was fitted with a Nextbase 322GW free of charge as part of the deal. Both cameras were what I consider to be base models. I found them both to be perfect for my application and use. They are able to record number plates at night and have the GPS stamp to show where the incident happened. 

Ours are both 322GWs and they do the job very well. The only issue was an initial fault with the first one we had in the C-HR where it refused to connect to any phone to download the video files. After numerous support calls with Nextbase they eventually accepted it was faulty and sent a replacement which worked perfectly from the off. I was happy enough with the replacement to buy one for the Corolla too, which has been flawless.

[Rhymes with Paris]

6 minutes ago, Cyker said:

I'm also very skeptical of subscription things, especially if they were previously one-time payment.

If it's something that's updated regularly then I can understand, but I think a lot of companies are starting to think they can charge subscriptions as a free perpetual source of revenue that doesn't require they actually do any work for it.

 

Well my old friend,who I sometimes refer to as "Denzil" on account of him being a bit hard of thinking.

Often complains of his bank account being drained by online companies, scam artists, and charlatans, while at the same time signing up for more"free" trials and offers.

He somehow believes in the magical thinking that people who are out to make money, and line their own pockets, offer deals that benefit the dupe, sorry customer/client.

Incidentally, anyone who wants to make a lot of money very quickly, with no work or effort whatsoever, can email me on "areyoureallythatstupid.com @gmail"

[Guest]

18 hours ago, yossarian247 said:

it refused to connect to any phone to download the video files. After numerous support calls with Nextbase they eventually accepted it was faulty and sent a replacement which worked perfectly from the off.

My 522GW was pretty much like that from the start. I thought it was just the unreliability of using direct Wi-Fi connections between the cam and phone with app.  I never thought to take it up with them. So you get no issues now? 

I must try it with my replacement 322GW I got last year. Perhaps my 522 was dodgy.  Having seen a relative who got a very expensive drone recently be able to send files directly to the phone over Wi-Fi and it being incredibly stable, I was thinking about my experience with the Nextbase.. I must give it another chance. 

[Big_D]

Although my 322GW has the ability to connect to my phone, I am really not that interested in connecting my Dashcam to my phone. I personally don't see the point of this. If I need a file, I'll download this directly from the memory card to my PC. 

[yossarian247]

The first 322GW would not connect to a phone at all, ever. I was in two minds whether I was really bothered because, as mentioned above, I could have simply removed the memory card and plugged it into my laptop. My wife however was keen to be able to download footage direct to her phone, so I contacted Nextbase support. Initially they tried to blame my phone, so I called them back with two Samsungs and two borrowed iPhones in front of me. The Dashcam would not connect to any of them so in the end they were forced to accept that it was at fault, not all 4 phones! 

The replacement 322GW connected almost instantly to any phone I tested it with, so just confirmed that the original was clearly faulty. 

[Guest]

I've just been plugging it into the computer as well, direct from the microSD. Fastest method and non quality degrading.  But given it never worked great, I definitely would only care about the core features such as decent image quality and reliability over time. 

Notice that they're charging £170 for the same old 522GW I paid £150 for in 2020. Now £70 for the same rear camera I paid £50 for.  But somehow the hardwire kit remains at £25, though I see now it comes with 3 different fuse size piggyback options as I know my Toyota used a smaller strange kind that I hadn't seen before. Good on them for learning on that one. 

When my 522GW wore out, I genuinely went looking for other brands to try but all I could find were dreadful (clearly sponsored) videos on YouTube, and then those annoying AI bot generated slideshow like ads with stock photos and music and 'Eng-rish' titles on screen promoting how great these other brands were making bizarre claims with clearly false photos of 'night vision' etc.  I ended up just going for Nextbase again but a lower model. 

It's gotten really difficult now to know who to trust or what recommendations to take on. I see legitimately good / useful / entertaining YouTube channels who take on sponsors of crap products like particular VPNs or other health or home products that fall short of living up to the hype. 

I've gone full circle from never buying in-store because there's better prices and better options online, to reverting back now to buying more from Halfords or Argos simply because I know there's 0% chance I'll be buying a counterfeit SanDisk memory card (capable of performing like it says) or even buying my spares from the Toyota dealer to avoid the risk of counterfeit parts or fluids... even if it means paying a few £ more. 

 

Oh yeah,  that reminds me. I bought that AutoGlym Polar Blaster lately. And it's great. But upon watching some reviews I saw that it's the exact same as some other brand (or non brand) bottle. So clearly AutoGlym have sourced it from another company just changed the lid to purple and marked it with its branding / measurements for its products.  But I've basically paid more for that...  Weird one. You think you're getting their product, but you're just getting their version of it. 

[Cyker]

It's not as simple as that alas - There are a lot of things that are made in the same factories, or at least with similar dies/templates, but the difference is in things like QC, materials etc..

We had some components sourced for much cheaper which seemed identical, but something about the plastics caused them to embrittle very quickly and crack - By comparison, the original components we'd used would basically last forever.

The problem is when they're new it's really hard to tell; It's only once it starts degrading prematurely you find out!

[AndyN01]

@SB1500

I'll happily pay a few more £££'s to get something from a reliable, reputable and ideally small and local business selling quality British stuff (says the man who's bought a Toyota - note the word quality 😉) than wade through the mire of save a few quid and vanish overnight while sending you tat places.

I don't touch Amazon as I'm not supporting a company that makes obscene amounts of money while treating its workforce like medieval serfs.

I know it's a drop in the ocean but I feel better for supporting the "good guys" who, in turn, support me.

Andy.

 

[Cyker]

I will say, my experiences with Viofo have been very good; They are a chinese company, but have had unusually good customer service and deserve some recognition for that because smeg knows that's been a rare experience from sellers from that country!

Their dashcams generally use good quality components instead of totally cheap out on them, and where they do have problems, they usually rectify them and will exchange a faulty one with no fuss; e.g. one of their recent models used a plastic mounting for the lenses, but in hotter countries this was distorting and making it go out of focus. They switched to a metal one and offered a free exchange to anyone just for the asking. They've even occasionally offered replacements for things out of warranty if a flaw is discovered later. They're also very good with firmware updates - Whenever I've reported an issue, they've sent me an updated beta firmware within a week which usually fixes it, and gets rolled into the next formal update.

Nextbase also seem to have upped their customer service anecdotally - Initially their customer service was awful; e.g. There're lots of stories of their battery-equipped cameras failing very quickly because having a lithium Battery under the full glare of the summer sun, even in this country, is not conducive for long life. They initially took a tough luck, Battery is a consumable part, stance, and charged for a replacement, but supposedly they've been more sympathetic about that sort of thing in recent years and offered replacements free, at least within the warranty.

 

[Guest]

There are good Chinese companies out there. Lenovo comes to mind. I don't blame the people, I blame its government for what drags down the nation. The people are limited to extreme government control. Disappearing overnight and forever isn't out of the norm in CCP China. Sadly. 

Nextbase have definitely gotten better, I've noticed the improvement too. Although their mistake of telling me I couldn't avail of the Battery replacement mail in service due to being in NI (bc of air mail) led me to replace my 522 with a refurb 322... only for them to follow up a few days later and tell me that I was able to get the Battery replaced. That was a bit annoying.  I was also reading some info saying that part of the unreliability of my then 3 year old 522 wasn't just because of a dead Battery, but also likely some sort of no longer working 'super capacitor' that it runs from for things like park mode etc. Seemed a lot of doubt over keeping the 522. Though had I gotten the 5 years hoped from it I'd definitely replaced it with a 622 at least. 

[Cyker]

I've been using a Viofo A119v3 for ages - It's been through 4 different Yarisusieisieuees and 3 microSD cards so far and is still ticking!  

I'm tempted to try the new one, the A119 Mini2, as it's one of the first dashcams to have the new Sony Starvis 2 sensor, which is supposed to be the best sensor on the market for low-light, but my current one works pretty well so not sure if the improvement will be big enough to be worth the upgrade cost!

 

[Guest]

10 minutes ago, Cyker said:

I've been using a Viofo A119v3 for ages - It's been through 4 different Yarisusieisieuees and 3 microSD cards so far and is still ticking!  

 

Beats my Nextbase records anyway!   My first 522 lasted 3 cars but that was more poor buying and selling decisions on my part! hahaha