INTRODUCTION

   One of the few things i like to do when i have very little free time on my hands (it happens) is to watch exciting YouTube clips from dash cameras all over the world since first person is always something different. I also watch many YouTube clips from Nurburgring (mainly crashes since i never got the chance to really learn the track and i like to know where the dangerous parts are) ever since i was there back in late 2010 but unfortunately although there are some taken with dash cameras the majority is taken from exterior cameras positioned outside the track and that doesn't tell as much about what really happened. In any case dash cameras have many uses and as stated numerous times in the past not only can they provide an easy way for you to film a road trip but their recordings can also be used in case of an accident since in some countries they are considered as evidence by the court not to mention that they are also a valid way to reduce insurance fees for your car (some insurance companies offer such plans) and protect you against insurance fraud. Pittasoft is one of the only names in this particular market that we've come to trust over the years and today we're taking a look at their latest BlackVue DR650GW-2CH Car Dashcam.

   Pittasoft has set the standard in the car dashcam industry since it was established in 2007. Taking car dashboard camera technology to the next level with its groundbreaking Full-HD 1-channel and 2-channel cameras, Pittasoft has enabled global customers to maximize usability by connecting car dashcams to smart devices via Wi-Fi and BlackVue Cloud services. Anytime, anywhere, BlackVue Cloud provides comfort with instant access to playback, live view and video publishing to YouTube as well as peace of mind with emergency alarm, location tracking and backup of important footage.

   It's been over two and a half years since we reviewed the very good BlackVue DR550GW-2CH car dashcam by Pittasoft so when they contacted us asking if we'd like to take a look at the latest DR650GW-2CH model we were quite excited. No the new DR650GW-2CH doesn't land far away from the DR550GW-2CH in terms of specifications and features but according to Pittasoft it is improved in more than just one area. Now we do know that available MP and resolution are not two such areas since both the DR550GW-2CH and the DR650GW-2CH use 2.4MP SONY CMOS sensors for the front cameras and 1MP CMOS sensors for the rear ones which in turn offer Full HD (1920x1080 @ 30fps) and HD (1280x720 @ 30dps) recording (if you are after a 2k/4k dash camera this is obviously not it). However whereas the front camera of the DR550GW-2CH recorded at a diagonal angle of 137 degrees (horizontal 108 / vertical 80) and the rear at an angle of 139 degrees (horizontal 116 / vertical 61) the front camera of the DR650GW-2CH records at a diagonal angle of 129 degrees (horizontal 103 / vertical 77) while the rear camera also records at an diagonal angle of 129 degrees (horizontal 108 / vertical 57). The reason behind that slight change was to boost picture clarity at the cost of recording area. That's not however the only thing Pittasoft changed since the DR650GW-2CH is painted black to make it easier to "blend" (the grey of the DR550GW-2CH was more visible) and now consumers can use larger capacity microSD cards (128GB maximum compared to the 32GB of the DR550GW-2CH) and can also access the camera feed remotely via Cloud (requires registration). So does the new DR650GW-2CH have what it takes to successfully replace the old but still very good DR550GW-2CH?