A dash camera system from Westminster Speed and Sound is a great way to protect yourself from fraud while keeping an eye on your pride and joy. These self-contained digital video recording (DVR) solutions mount to the front window of your car or truck. As soon as you start the vehicle, the recording starts automatically. If there’s an emergency or an accident, or you happen to witness something unusual, you’ll have a high-resolution video that can be reviewed by police, insurance company adjusters or your friends.
Image Quality and Exposure Compensation Considerations
A blurry photograph doesn’t do anything to capture a critical moment. Likewise, the quality of the video created by a recording system is crucial. The majority of the dashcam solutions we offer include a high-definition Sony Exmor R 1920×1080 image sensor that captures impressive detail levels. If you need to read a license plate or see which way a driver is looking, you’ll have enough information. Likewise, proper image exposure, contrast and low-light performance are crucial to producing high-quality videos that aren’t washed out or under exposed. While the market is flooded with low-cost solutions, you only get one chance to capture the information you need. These low-quality units may not deliver when it’s crunch time.
Our DVR solutions come with a secondary camera that we can install in the rear window to monitor the area behind the vehicle or near the rear-view mirror to record your car or truck’s interior. Taxi operators and ride-share drivers often want to record passenger behavior in case there’s an incident.
A built-in three-axis accelerometer sensor detects braking and cornering forces and automatically marks the video footage when a significant impact occurs. Our recording solutions also feature an integrated GPS receiver that captures vehicle speed and location. Using the free playback software for your desktop computer or smartphone, you can see how fast the vehicle was traveling and where it was located. A unique feature built into top-model systems is a Wi-Fi hotspot. You can pair your smartphone directly and download a video file without the need for a laptop.
Why Invest in a Dashcam?
Every year, cases of insurance fraud and staged accidents cost insurers and insurance companies millions of dollars. Staged collisions are one of the most significant contributors. Imagine you are stopped at a red light, and the car in front of you backs up and collides with your vehicle. The driver will then claim that you failed to stop soon enough and hit them. If you had a dashcam in your car, you’d have indisputable evidence of what really happened.
Another convenient feature is Parking Mode. When activated, the recording system stays on after you turn off your vehicle’s ignition. Motion detection from the image sensor and the integrated accelerometer is used to determine when to capture video to the memory card. Impressively, it stores video from 15 seconds before the trigger event, so you can see who was near your car or truck. Parking Mode is like having a personal night watchman guarding your vehicle.
Expert Camera Installation Service
While many video recording systems are designed to mount to a windshield with a suction cup and plug into a cigarette lighter socket, we find that most of our clients prefer a more custom installation. We can route the wiring behind trim panels to a concealed power source. If there’s a rear camera intended to look out the back window, we’ll safely route the cabling and ensure that it’s hidden. Of course, we consider airbag systems during the installation process to make sure that their functionality won’t be affected by the upgrade. Custom installation reduces clutter while creating a system that’s ready to record every time you start the vehicle.
Let Westminster Speed and Sound Help Protect Your Vehicle
If you want a second set of eyes keeping track of everything that happens around your car or truck, drop by Westminster Speed and Sound and ask a member of our award-winning team about our dash cameras. We’d be happy to suggest and install a solution that works perfectly with your vehicle.