Hey, it's Andrew with Car Cam Central.
Today, we're looking at Blackvue DR650GW 2 Channel dash camera.
We're going to be seeing if it's worth $350 of your hard-earned money
Breaking it down, it's a two channel system which means there's a front
camera and a rear camera.
We're also reviewing the optional infrared camera which captures
what's happening inside your vehicle
This camera was released in late 2014
but has been recently updated with Blackvue's cloud software which allows your
camera to connect to the internet and send things like videos
GPS location to your smartphone.
We'll talk about that later
Before getting into the details
if you're in a rush you can go right into the summary. There's also a
written review which has raw videos and additional information. Links above
and in the description.
Looking at the camera itself Blackvue has been using a
cylindrical shaped camera since 2011. Fast forward to today the DR650GW is
larger than earlier cameras as it needs additional space for WiFi and dual
camera processing. The materials have also been changed to be more discreet
compared to previous versions the camera and mount is now molded in a black
plastic. The previous chrome lens has also been painted a black while keeping a
subtle blue stripe for style. I like the fact that it looks nothing like a regular
camera. Most people mistaken it for an air freshener. It also has a noLCD
screen. To control your device you must either use a desktop computer or an
Android iOS smartphone. Moving to one side of the camera we'll find the input ports
including micro sd, power and the coaxial connection for the rearview camera.
On the other side you find the proximity sensor which activate emergency
recording on the camera. It's hidden behind an elegant sheet of plastic. To my
knowledge Blackvue is the only company which has this feature. In the middle
there's a small cut out for the speaker. Beside it, there's two LEDs which indicate
recording status and GPS. On the front is a larger security LED which is supposed
to scare away potential vandals but nobody thinks it's effective except in
getting your items stolen.
For the rear camera it's much smaller than the main body. It has an LED light
facing inside your vehicle. It turns on when the camera is successfully recording.
If you look at the IR version it adds infrared lights on both sides of the
camera. There's also a light sensor which turns on the infrared lights when it's dark.
I would say all three cameras were well made. It also looks pretty cool.
Blackvue is often installed on high-end vehicles because it fits in better with
the decor compared to the pedestrian and brutalistic designs from other
companies. Moving to packaging Blackvue has had a fresh design for each version of
their camera. With the 650GW it's packaged in a double box. The outer shell
adds country-specific information and serves as protection for the thicker and
plainer inner box. Once you lift the lid you expose the front and rear cameras.
I enjoyed the presentation as it provides a striking first glimpse at the cameras
They are also securely held during shipping
Below you'll find a box with the acessories. Inside there's a power cable
which is especially long at 12 and a half feet which allows for installation in
larger vehicles. There are also a few extra accessories which include clips to
secure wiring, microSD reader and one set of mounting pads.
On the front camera Blackvue added a removable lens protector which is quite handy during installation
or transportation to make sure it remains in good condition
Once unpackaged you probably want to setup your camera. Now it'll work right out of
the box, but there are a few settings we recommend you change. We wrote up a few
suggestions on our written review
As mentioned before you will have to use your PC or smartphone app to change the
settings. Starting with the desktop software you can install it directly from
the SD card that's included. You can use the card reader which comes with your
camera. The DR650GW will also loads the software onto any card it formats by simply
holding the wifi button for 10 seconds. on that card
Formatting the SD card. Please do not turn off the power.
I was pleasantly impressed as most companies require you to find and
download their software. Once installed the desktop software acts both as a
video player and to modify settings on the camera. I thought it was well designed. Moving into the
settings area most aspects of the camera are customizable
You can change the different alerts, LEDs wifi settings and more
The smartphone app is more complicated but most people shouldn't have a
problem. The wifi mode allows you to change settings, view and download videos
once you connect to your cameras network.
Once inside the starting screen shows
your saved videos. Locked files display a thumbnail so you can easily find
important videos where they were manually saved or triggered by the
g-sensor. You can watch videos using the built in player. As well you can download
videos to your smartphone but it was rather slow taking around 25 seconds to
transfer. What's great is while viewing videos or downloading files, your camera
will continue to record. This is quite a technical achievement as many wifi
cameras require recording to be disabled first. This could come in handy
after an accident as you can keep your camera rolling while quietly reviewing what
happened. You can also change any of the camera settings. You have access to every
option including resolution
audible notifications and more.
Let's talk about the cloud which is the other feature
found in the app. It allows you to remotely connect to the camera over the internet.
This gives you additional features such as live GPS tracking, live video view
and video playback. We feel for most users it's not very useful since it
relies on internet access, if you don't have wifi where you park you will need a
mobile hotspot
In North America this can get expensive. In Europe and other locations with
cheaper data plans this can be more reasonable. As well you need to hardwire
to your camera and hotspot which means connecting directly to the camera's battery, most
likely through the fusebox. There are some solutions such as the Power Magic
Pro which prevents your battery from being drained.
but will requires additional time and knowledge to install. Speaking to other users we know
the difficulty of installing and setting up the cloud limits its appeal. So we'll make
a video in the future with more details. If you are interested
there are some resources that we link to in the description below.
Once setup we installed our camera. Compared to single dash cameras the DR650 was more
difficult because of the rear camera. While you don't need tools, you need to
hide your wiring if you don't want passengers to trip or damage your cables.
Each car's a little different but for most you can slip it into the headliner and
snake it around to your trunk. This added an extra twenty minutes for me but it
wasn't too complicated.
The benefits of Blackvue's dual camera system compared to buying two individual
cameras is the longer twenty-foot coaxial cable which increases
compatibility in trucks and vans. As well
the rear camera is smaller than most dash camera so it doesn't obstruct
you vision. I had a hatchback which makes it a bit more difficult as you have to account
for the moving door. I ended up with an exposed loop of wire because I didn't want to
tear apart my trunk to hide everything. Aside from cabling everything else was
simple. The front, rear and IR camera mounts are fixed in place using 3m tape
Just peel and press. The mounts quick release system requires just a push of a
button to remove and a simple press to replace.
The IR camera was installed beneath the rear view mirror but you can put it
anywhere that has a clear view of the passenger cabin. BlackboxMyCar has an
optional 2 foot cable which makes installation easier.
Everything was quickly cleaned up leaving your car looking tidy. Otherwise you
have to use the twenty foot cable and hide everything in your headliner. Once
finished we adjusted all the cameras. With the twist the camera is easily
turned and is held securely by either fiction on the smaller cameras or the
tongue and groove system on the front camera. In general I feel most users
shouldn't have any difficulties installing a camera. It just takes a little more
time and preparation. Next we looked at how easy it is to use the DR650GW on
a day-to-day basis. Like most dash cameras when it receives power it will
automatically turn on and start recording. When it loses power it'll save
and turn off. Unfortunately the startup time was extremely long at 35 seconds
While the DR650 is a complicated device it takes three to four times as long as
other cameras. We're often well on our way before the camera turned on. The
start-up and failure notifications are much better and will help you keep your
camera running. For example when the camera starts recording it will give you
a rather long message.
Blackvue for your safe driving...starting normal recording.
This length can be reduced or completely removed in the
settings if you find it irritating. For myself and other drivers we find this
message comforting. You subconsciously know that your camera is working. When there
is a problem, for example the sdcard has failed, it will continue to pester you
with a message until you stop and fix the issue.
Please check the SDcard.
So contrast this experience with most cameras on the market
First there's no spoken messages. It just beeps and chimes. When your camera
starts up you'll hear a friendly jingle even if there is a problem.
When there is an issue very few cameras have an alarm. Instead you'll get a warning message. On
most cameras this quickly disappears. Most likely you'll carry on driving and
not notice there's a problem. If you get into an accident or capture something
interesting only then will you realize your camera stopped working but it's too
late. We feel audible notifications are one of the most important features on a dash
cam and Blackvue has been doing a great job with the DR650 and all the
model since 2012 when we first reviewed the DR400-G. However if you don't like
notifications this camera may not be for you. The main LEDs are rather small and
don't use a traditional colour code. As well, many users like that the camera can
be hidden behind your rearview mirror, which will also hide the LED lights. You
would either have to crank your head under the mirror or install it so the
cameras is visible. There is one more LED light found on the rear camera. It glows
white when recording and is a good brightness day and night. There's no
setting to turn this off, you'll have to put tape on it if you don't like it
Moving on let's talk about the emergency record button. Most people use it to lock
accident footage or to save an interesting scene for later.
On most cameras this is a button. Blackvue uses a proximity sensor similar to your
smartphone. Putting your hand close to the sensor will save the prior five
seconds and the following 55 seconds of video from being overwritten.
Originally this button controlled the microphone but by popular demand it was
switched over to the emergency record . This isn't mentioned in your manual or online
as it's a recent change.
Looking at video quality the Blackvue DR650 was tested side by
side against a few cameras. One was the A118-C. It's our
recommendation for a budget all-around camera. Another was the Dome D201 which
has some of the best video quality on the market for only $100. Looking at the
video specs the front camera records at 1080p at 30 frames a second. Moving to
the rear camera it records at a lower 720p at 30 frames a second. I was fairly
disappointed with the quality. At $350 I was hoping for better sharpness and
dynamic range but sadly this wasn't the case. During the day, image quality is good.
You will miss out on some finer details such as road markings. I did find that
legibility on license plates was reduced on fast-moving objects. Here you can see
it's much more difficult to read this plate. This is because the bit rate is much
lower than most cameras. The cloud edition is 6 megabits per second for the
front camera which is much less than 15 to 20 on most single lens dash cameras. This can
result in severe pixelation when the scene changes rapidly. At night there's
a much bigger reduction in quality. The DR650GW missed capturing license
plates where cheaper cameras had no problems. In this case, passing under a
tunnel it's unreadable compared to the $80 A118-C. As well the reduced bit
rate can warp the letters. In this video you can see the D becoming a B which
could cause trouble if you need to identify a vehicle. On the plus side this
camera uses a Sony Exmor sensor which is known for light sensitivity. You pick up
more of the surroundings especially in less lit environments compared to cheaper
cameras. In this comparison against the A118-C you can clearly see the
pedestrian crossing the street. If you turn to the A118-C you won't see
them until the very last minute. If you end up in an accident you can capture
what happened in the moments before.
Maybe they intentionally threw themselves onto your vehicle. If you can't see what
happened you can't prove your side of the story. Let's move on to the rear camera.
We compared it against the Transcend 200 which is our budget heat
resistant camera recommendation. While we consider the video quality to be fair even
bad at night it still does much better than the DR650's rear camera. During
the day the rear camera is rather grainy and not very sharp. Even while it's bright outside
you'll have difficulty picking up license plates while moving. In comparison, the
Transcend has much better clarity and sharpness. You can easily read passing
vehicle license plates. At night quality is even worse. Looking around the
dynamic ranges is low which washes out part of the scene such as the gas station.
Still this poor video quality isn't a problem
the main camera handles liability. The rear camera adds context. Someone
who was aggressively tailgating or swerving or any other actions before an
accident you'll have additional evidence that their actions affected your
driving. The infrared camera is similar to the rear view camera except the IR
filter has been removed which allows it to pick up invisible infrared light
projected by the camera. During the day this produces a rather unflattering pink
tinted image and night you get an eerie glow but you can clearly see everyone
inside. So this would be a good feature for taxi, uber, and lyft drivers who may need footage of
their passengers for assaults, fair disputes, and other complaints.
Be sure to follow your local laws on privacy.
However the camera may be too expensive for most drivers as it adds another
$100-150 onto an already expensive camera. We'll look at the budget options at a
future date.
In general, video quality could be better but considering its processing two video feeds
and has to leave processing power to simultaneously send live videos onto the
cloud or WiFi, I think Blackvue has done a good job in getting everything to work
at a reasonable price. If you're interested in more you can download screenshots and
raw videos from our website
OK, so moving on I want to talk about parked recording. This is a special setting
which keeps the camera running but only writes the video to the memory card when
movement is detected or a shock is felt by the g-sensor. In cheaper cameras you have
to manually enable this feature through the menu. It's a pain in the butt and if you
forgot to turn it off, you can lose footage while driving. It's much easier on the
DR650GW as it can detect if you haven't moved using the GPS and g-sensor and
automatically enable parked recording. Blackvue did a good job it would
consistently activate when major objects such as people or vehicles came into view.
As well, keeping the g-sensor on the most sensitive setting it would detect even a slight bump. My
only concern is the lower 60°C 140°F operational limit.
More heat resisting cameras are rated at a higher 70°C, 158°F.
If you live somewhere very hot, it's not recommended you use this camera while parked.
Even though it uses capacitors which increase reliability under hotter weather.
Since we covered a lot of different issues,
here's a summary of the pros and cons on the Blackvue DR650GW-2CH.
Here's what good:
The body is compact, discreet and robust. The style fits in with many high-end vehicles.
It has excellent spoken notifications which alert you to problems
and keep your camera working.
Please check the SD card.
It's a great choice for parked recording as motion
detection is automatically activated by detecting movement using the GPS and g-sensor
When formatting, the camera automatically loads the PC playback and
settings program onto your SD card.
The desktop and smartphone apps are well designed and easy to use
You can download, view saved videos, and see a live feed while continuing to record on the camera.
It has premium packaging. It looks good and securely holds your cameras.
It's easy to activate emergency recording by waving your hand at the proximity sensor
The long power and coaxial cables increase installation compatibility in larger vehicles
and a quick release mount makes removing and
installing the camera easy
Now for a couple items which may cause problems.
It has generally good reliability but the lower 60°C 140°F
operating temperature limit may be a problem for parked recording in hotter environments
The optional IR module is useful for taxi drivers but the final
cost may be too expensive
and it also requires a smartphone or computer to
change settings and view videos
So now for the bad
The video quality is relatively poor
for the price. Day quality is good but moving objects decrease legibility. At
night sharpness is lower, license plates are harder to read but overall light
sensitivity is quite good
The cloud features such as viewing videos over the internet and live video feed
don't provide enough benefits to most consumers relative to the cost and difficulty of installation.
It has a long start-up time at 37 seconds nearly
four times longer than other cameras
You also can rotate the camera to face the
side windows which is helpful when recording police encounters.
Installation time and difficulty is increased to connect the rearview camera.
If you're looking for a premium camera the DR650GW two channel edition will be one of
our recommendations. We would like the video quality to be better but for the
price and features we think Blackvue has done a great job.
For other recommendations see our website.
As part of our ethical disclosures we purchased
these cameras from BlackboxMyCar at a discount. I rarely recommend retailers
but if you live in Canada or United States I would recommend you
buy from BlackboxMyCar. I've spoken to the owner, Alex since 2013 and I think
he's done a great job. He's been in the game for a while he has his own YouTube
video channel that produces some really good content.
Now with that, that's the end of this review if you liked it please
give it a thumbs up if you have questions or suggestions feel free to
leave it in the comments below
Thank you and see ya!