In-car NVR? (network video recorder)

[tingRe]

Has anyone installed a mobile NVR (network video recorder) and IP cameras in a vehicle?

For years I have used the little self-contained in-car DVRs to record as I drive. The videos have saved my butt more than once when the other guy lied about a wreck.

The problem with them is that they are really limited. I want a DVR that would let me plug in 6 high resolution cameras (front, back, left, right, instruments, driver) that would record to an internal SSD. Mobile DVRs that took remote cameras were expensive, low resolution, and lacked SSDs. Even cheap NVRs seemed to be hundreds of dollars the last time I checked (1-2 years ago.)

I just found out that small, cheap NVRs are available for $30 direct from China.

If anyone has any experience with these, I have some questions:

Which of the cheap NVRs can be configured to start automatically when power is applied? Where do you live and how long did they survive the temperature extremes in a vehicle?

I have tried to find IP cameras suitable for mounting in a car, but unfortunately it seems that "IP" is a common keyword for composite cameras. Are there any IP cameras that seem easy to mount in a vehicle?

12V power is run almost everywhere on vehicles, but data cables are not pre-run. Has anyone used Wi-Fi to connect IP cameras in a vehicle?

Is there a kit out there at a reasonable price ($300 plus SSD) that includes a NVR and several car-mountable IP cameras?

 

[jaged]

This isn't really an answer to your direct questions but I have experience in general with mobile recorders in school buses, surveillance vehicles, city transit buses etc. & I can say that many of the manufacturers I've dealt with over the years have retired the models that I used to sell. They don't hold up generally. With that being said, if you can find one online(I haven't looked lately) that has an SSD in it instead of a regular hard drive, I think you'd have much better success with it dealing with the shock/movement and also with the temperature fluctuations.

Personally though, I would just buy a dash cam. They are meant for this application and the storage onto SD/Micro SD is much easier to deal with.
Here is one I have some experience with, it's forward and rear facing http://www.vupro.com/products/vupro-vehicle-video-recorder/ur-008/

If you find a full kit that satisfies all your requirements, post it up, I'd be interested in seeing in what you got sorted.

Thanks.

J

 

[JeffDaemon]

I think any solution that will connect multiple cameras to a single HUD unit with a single storage will fall into 2 catagories, you go the cheap route and attempt to use hardware in a way it was not ment to (wireless camera, home security, your quality will probably suck), and specialised solutions for commercial vehicles that will be expensive to buy and service.

Just get multiple dash cams.

 

[tingRe]

An interesting point has come up: Home/Office NVRs lack the software to record in a moving vehicle. Police cars have in-vehicle NVRs, as do commericial trucks, so it is possible. Software is cheap, so it may be that a company will put that software on a $40 NVR soon.

On a side note: My first dash cams failed miserably because it had a "motion detect" feature that led to jerky recording when driving and video of the scene after someone walked past in a parking lot. I wish I could find a dash cam that would record continuously when the vehicle is running or in motion (either one,) but would switch to motion detection when the vehicle is stopped with the engine off.

 

[TexNolan]

This feed is from 2016... it is now 2018
Did anyone come up with a 6 camera recorder for vehicles, and features of continues recording while engine is on and motion sensor when engine is off?

Looking for follow up... Thanks

 

[jaged]

I don't have specific examples because I'm pressed for time right now so I can't look at all the results but a quick search did yield some sites that sell multi cam mobile setups. It looks like there may be options now, 2 years later.

 

[USAFRet]

I don't have specific examples because I'm pressed for time right now so I can't look at all the results but a quick search did yield some sites that sell multi cam mobile setups. It looks like there may be options now, 2 years later.

I now have a $40 dash cam that does simultaneous front and rear. Clips over and becomes the rear view mirror for the front camera, waterproof module for the rear, bolted to the license plate or nearby.
32GB microSD card gets a little over 3 hours continuous recording.

There are a few others that are not clipons, at a similar price.
3 of those would get 6 camera coverage, for under $200 including microSD cards.

And the picture quality is not as terrible as you might think for $40.

 

[jaged]

$40 dashcam, that's a good deal. do you have the model so I can have a look?

Thanks.

 

[USAFRet]

$40 dashcam, that's a good deal. do you have the model so I can have a look?

Thanks.

They seem to have changed from when I bought it, but this is the same company and price:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071KC51PY

This is the one I bought:

 

[jaged]

$40 dashcam, that's a good deal. do you have the model so I can have a look?

Thanks.

They seem to have changed from when I bought it, but this is the same company and price:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071KC51PY

This is the one I bought:

Excellent.

Thanks.