My user experience review:

iRoad V7

In-car cameras are the vogue now for any vehicle on the road. It seems a misnomer to term it as in-car when it’s commonly used not just in cars nowadays but their class 4 and 5 cousins as well. What is classified as an accessory is probably a necessity nowadays and videos of accidents and near-misses often go viral online in a matter of hours. Such cameras offer valuable video evidence in cases involving accidents and disputes, which is more than sufficient to justify investing in a reasonably good unit with above average video quality.
The iRoad V7 was recently launched last month. It replaces the previous flagship 3300 CH with significant improvements over the latter. One of the most noticeable change is the video quality which is much improved with a 2.3 megapixel CMOS sensor and HD 1280×720 / 30fps quality in both front and rear cameras. Compared to its predecessor, the new V7 comes with improved 132-degree wide lens which provide clearer video quality and a more powerful A20 dual core CPU. Not the best in the market but nonetheless still an improvement.

Bucking the trend of the cylindrical design, the V7 has taken on the conventional rectangular form. The front has a glossy surface which is a fingerprint magnet; not so much a problem as it would rarely be handled and the back surface is matte which gives the whole unit a rather sophisticated feel.

The rear camera remains a small cylindrical form able to rotate 360 degrees.

What you get out of the box:

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e34/emailbenlim/unpack2_zps801ff02c.jpg

Clockwise from left:

Wireless USB dongle

16 GB micro SD card

Rear Camera

Front Camera

Cigarette Charger

Uninterrupted fuse cable

Front and rear USB cable

Also included were transparent cradles and spare double sided tapes.

Setting up was a breeze, simply attach the wires, plug in the cigarette socket and you’re good to go. If you are a neat freak, go to a car audio workshop for hassle free installation and concealment of the wires for a small fee.

Front Cam mounted

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e34/emailbenlim/2014-11-16230753_zps62531f0e.jpg

Rear Cam:

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e34/emailbenlim/2014-11-16230654_zps83c937bd.jpg

From unpacking to actual utilisation, it took me about 30 minutes. Once powered up, you hear the voice guidance which ensures that the unit was working and when the unit started recording along with alerts during impact when you turn on the particular mode. There are the usual 3 recording modes:

Normal Recording- Uninterrupted recording is initiated once the engine is turned on.

Impact Recording- Recording initiated when the impact sensor detects any impact.

Motion Recording- Parking mode is initiated when a car is stationary for 10 minutes and return to driving mode once the car is on the move. Select motion detection on the settings if you want to record only when motion is detected while parking

Examples of front/ rear recordings from a variety of different driving environments

Daytime on the road

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e34/emailbenlim/day1_zps9e33fb85.png

Daytime with rain

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e34/emailbenlim/rain1_zpsb587e51e.png

Night driving

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e34/emailbenlim/night1_zpsd8983b9f.png

Links to some videos:

Daytime Driving: http://youtu.be/GI3mto9SLrg (front), http://youtu.be/EGKbNWhwSPU (rear)

Night Driving: http://youtu.be/WwJuUAztYD8 (front), http://youtu.be/ITKWFJ-I75A (rear)

Raing Driving: http://youtu.be/Eyd2dVSU_Xs (front), http://youtu.be/EecGfGqCtPM (rear)

A 16 GB micro SD card was supplied although the unit can support up to 64 GB. Live recordings can be viewed wirelessly via a smartphone app with internet connectivity. There is no need to remove the memory card or for an in-built LCD screen to watch the recorded video. The iRoad app allows easy viewing of images via your smartphone and is available on both Android and IOS platforms. Firmware upgrades are automatically done via Wifi.

Screenshots from my Android phone during Setup:

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e34/emailbenlim/2014-11-18180802_zps17a4f7b9.png

PC setup was just as easy. The micro SD card contained the installation file. Simply plug in and run .exe file. The dedicated PC viewer has plenty of functions which enable you to draw traffic lanes onto the videos, calibrate night recordings, play back video recordings in various forms.

Full Specifications

Model

IROAD V7 Wi-Fi

Image Sensor

2.3Mega Pixel CMOS Images Sensor

Resolution/Frame/Viewing angle

Front:1280×720 / 30fps , Rear:1280×720 / 30fps , 132Degrees

Wi-Fi

External WIFI supported – Smartphone playback and settings, firmware auto-update

Wi-Fi button

Smartphone registration standby mode On/Off, Voice recording On/Off

Audio Input

Microphone embedded

Video/Audio Compression

H.264 / ADPCM

Vibration sensor

3 axis acceleration sensor (recording initiated by external impact)

Voice Guidance(speaker)

Effect sound for informing operational status and voice guidance supported

External GPS Sensor

Synched with google map, keep track of location and travelling speed

Storage Medium

Micro SD 4GB ~ 64GB (recommended type MLC Class10)

Recording Modes

Uninterrupted(driving)mode, Event(impact)mode, Parking(motion detection) mode, Voice recording

Constant Power(low voltage cut-off)

Constant power(low voltage cut-off) : constant power(low voltage cut-off) function embedded

Power

DC 12V ~ 24V

Operating temperature/Humidity

-20 ~ 70 C (storage temperature : -20 ~ 90 C) / 10 ~ 95%

Viewer

IROAD V7 dedicated viewer: Windows Xp, VISTA, Win7, Win8 (32Bit ~ 64Bit supported)

Apps

IROAD App(Android 2.3 and higher version, iOS 5.0 and higher version)

The in car camera market is crowded with many models and one would be spoilt for choice.

Having gone through the spectrum of cheap China made ones costing less than $50 bucks, intermediate range (Marbella MX5), it was my first time using a rear camera. Daytime video quality was satisfactory while night quality was a tad below expectations. Still, the iRoad V7 at the current list price of $329 is value for money for a front/rear bundle compared to other similar offerings made in Korea. Corvit International will be appearing at booth 5E46 in SITEX 2014 happening at Expo from 27 – 30 November 2014. Look out for promotional pricing and for purchases made during the exhibition period, skilled Corvit technicians from Korea will be available on-site to install the car cameras.

Evaluation

Design: 8/10. I still prefer the cylindrical design for the smaller footprint

Specs: 8/10 it’s not exactly full HD resolution.

Installation: 9/10. Easy to set up

Ease of use: 9/10. Wi-Fi function which can control just about everything has user friendly interface

Video Quality: 7/10. Disappointed with night video quality especially from the rear cam.

Overall Experience: 8/10. Would consider this as a serious alternative over more expensive made in Korea competitors