FineVu GX1000

it keeps recording in every minute regardless, you can't turn if off by app – i don't like the default normal driving video recording in every minute, hardwired to fuse box, it just drains battery to flat. as long as you plug in the power, even the car key is removed, it just start recording in every minute, and generate video file in normal folder. i don't want it, you can't turn the normal recording off through app.… Read more

(driving recording: 15fps, parking recording: battery saver). you have to manually turn the physical side button off/on which is silly. i don't want it to record all the time when my engine is off. it just flattens the battery.

i just want it to record when there is motion or impact to the car while not driving.

it drops the rear cam sometimes even it is connected.

also when your phone is connected to the wifi of the dashcam, it cannot update the firmware because it has no internet.

It does the job with minimal fuss – Whilst thinking about the necessity to purchase a dash cam, my wife made the decision for me and gifted me a FineVu GX1000 2ch dash cam for Christmas. DESCRIPTION The dash cam came as a unit suitable for windscreen mounting. The mount attaches to the windscreen by supplied double sided tape and the dash cam clips onto the mount. Also included… Read more

was a smaller (physically sized) camera (with a 6 metre cable to join it) for the rear window. Additional inclusions in the box were a 128Gb Micro SD card, a “cigarette lighter” plug/cable and a cable suitable for if you want to “hard wire” the unit into the vehicle electrics. A couple of spare double sided tapes were included as well. See pictures below 6 - 8th from left

INSTALLATION While attaching the dash cam is very simple using the “cigarette lighter” cable, the downside is you are unable to put the unit into “Parking Mode” (to record incidents while the vehicle is parked). I chose to install the unit in “Hard wired Mode” which entails connecting it into the fusebox directly by using two wires ...one attaching to a circuit which is “live” while the car is running (driving) and another that remains “live” when the ignition is switched off (parked). This allows recording of footage while the vehicle is parked. The wires were attached into the fuse box using “Add a circuit fuse holders” (see picture below 5th from left) which allow you to tap into an existing fuse location. To avoid any issues you need to stay well away from fuses governing high priority items like ECU and air bag systems. For this reason I used the car “Driver Electric Seat” circuit for when the car is being driven and a circuit which only supplied electricity to the Hazard Warning lights for the “Parked" circuit. Supplying the connecting cable to the rear camera meant running it around interior linings and door seals. Again, you must be very careful not to install the cable over airbags mounted in the linings and side pillars (as I have seen others do in online videos). Apart from inhibiting airbag operation it could turn the dash cam unit into a missile inside your vehicle during an airbag deployment. To get around this problem, I ducted my cable across the front of the roof headlining and down the front of the A pillar cover onto the floor and ran it back through the doorsills. I was then able to feed it up through to my rear camera using the cable ducting for my rear wiper on the hatch. The downside to this is the cable run is longer and I had to purchase a 9 metre accessory cable to achieve this. When installing the cameras, try to keep them as central to the windscreen as possible and make sure they are within the sweep of the wiper blades to keep the windscreen clear and allow camera visibility during rain. With the unit physically installed, it just required setting up a link to my phone and installing the FineVu app. The phone connection is via an ad hoc wifi network it creates which is fairly reliable (connects within about 10-15 seconds 98% of the time). This allows you to set the various settings you want including ADAS (driver assistance functionality) etc

SETTING UP With your phone connected to the dash cam, you can access recorded video files, download a video to your phone for instant viewing, see an Event Summary or change Settings. Amongst other things, these settings include volumes of warning tones and voices, internal Mic. on/off, length of recording in Parking Mode, ADAS features etc

Regarding the ADAS and Safety features, these include; - FVMA (Front Vehicle Motion Alert) Alerting you if the vehicle in front of you (such as at traffic lights) moves off and you don’t - LDWS (Lane Departure Warning System) If it appears you are straying out of your lane. Adjustable to be active at different speed settings On-Time Notice – Announces the time for every hour on the hour Speed Camera Notification – Verbally announces a warning when approaching a speed camera (quarterly free updates). Often not only alerts me but states what my speed should be at that time Mobile Camera Alert – Not sure about this one as I haven't received any alerts about it as yet Driving Rest Notification – Supposed to alert you periodically to taking a break although I haven’t driven a long enough trip yet for it to inform me ...apparently?

See pictures below 1 - 4 from left

FUNCTIONALITY After starting the vehicle, the dash cam will verbally announce (female voice with American accent but no other options available) “Starting video recording”. If you are not in an underground carpark or similar, it will then announce that, “The GPS has been connected”. No further sounds are then heard apart from any of the ADAS warnings you have set.

Approximately one minute after turning off the ignition, it will then tell you that “Parking Mode” has been activated. I assume it gives you a minute to exit the vehicle as after that it is set to record impacts such as being hit by another vehicle etc. The sensitivity can be set but I still sometimes find it will record me closing the door or rear hatch if I am slow to exit before it activates. Also had it happen a couple of times when returning to the vehicle with groceries and closing the rear hatch. Events of this nature will be announced when starting it. Connecting your phone and opening the app will immediately show an overhead vehicle diagram and an indication of where the vehicle was hit and how many times. The impact location is supplied by built in artificial intelligence (AI) and is a “best guess” only. If you choose to, flashing warning lights can be turned on both cameras to alert passersby that they are being recorded. There is an external button on the unit you can press if an incident is occurring you wish to record. This will mark it to be kept as the recorded files get overwritten automatically after a period of time. Number of kept days of recordings varies depending on the size of your SD card and how much you were driving. This unit has 2K cameras (Sony Starvis models) so files can be a bit large. The unit has an in-built “super capacitor” to power it during an accident when power may be cut. While you will only get a short amount of recording, lithium batteries cannot be used due to the heat on the windscreen.

VIEWING FOOTAGE The videos recorded are stored as a number of individual one minute files named with a date/time stamp. You can directly view these using the FineVu app on your phone or you can remove the SD card and view these on your computer using the downloadable (free) FineVu app. If you only want to download a file onto your phone, you can do this but it is slow. I am experiencing times almost up to two minutes for a one minute file using a late model iPhone. Therefore, I prefer to use the app on my computer which displays all the files along with speed and location using a map.

BUGGY SOFTWARE I have experienced some issues with buggy software both in the computer app and the dash cam itself. Each time you attach your phone to the dash cam, if there is a software update it will let you know so you can download and install it. The Settings menu has a switch where you can turn on/off these alerts. First bug is despite turning it on, it never stays on. Returning to that page always finds it in the “off” position. However, despite that, it still automatically alerts me to new updates. I have alerted FineVu Australia tech support who have agreed with me that it is a problem and they will pass it “up the line”, but a couple of updates later, it is still there. The second buggy issue is with the computer app (being used on a Mac in case it is specific to macOS). When playing back files, often the file you select is not the footage shown (usually from a completely different day). When this occurs you have to select the file again to get the correct one. Also, when sequentially playing files back to back there is often a lag of of up to twenty seconds as one file finishes and the next starts. Again, this is on an M2 Mac so no speed slouch there. Since owning the dash cam, I have had to reboot it twice when, despite showing LDWS set to above 80km/hr, it alerts me when travelling at any speed. This is most annoying when crossing near lanes around the chicanes in my estate. Also, as the dash cam is not connected to your indicators (as it would be in a car installed version), it’s using AI to determine when you are straying out of your lane. I have found it will alert you sometimes when you are deliberately changing lanes ...hence my setting for above 80km/h. Sometimes, the only way to stop it seems to be to make a more “deliberate” lane change than is desirable.

CONCLUSION Overall I like the operation and functionality of this dash cam. I find the rear camera useful and the 2K (1440P QHD) Sony Starvis cameras in both give clear, stable footage. Night time footage is also great ...particularly when compared to footage I have seen from other model dash cams. I have turned off the FVMA feature as it really doesn’t give enough time between the car ahead moving and me responding. I wish there was an ability to alter the time delay on this.

As to whether I liked it enough that I would buy it again… Already have as have installed the same model on my wife's car. Despite some annoying aspects it does the job.

WHAT I LIKED * Sony Starvis 2K cameras (Front and Rear) with16Mb/sec Bit Rate for Enhanced Detail * Clear vision day and night (low light) * Switchable HDR * On/Off switch * Compact design for front and rear units * After impact camera will specifically store 10 seconds before and 20 seconds after event * 3 year Warranty

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE * Some ADAS features which can be more annoying than helpful (Ability to adjust sensitivity would be helpful) * Inability to change voice announcements away from “canned” American voice * Buggy software * Can move slightly on windscreen mount. Nb. Fixed this by wedging a small silicon “button” type desk protector between the cam and mount