Top 10 video recorders with radar detector (2 in 1)

At first glance, the combo recorder’s impression is twofold: on the one hand, the bracket with a contact shoe for quick removal and convenient hidden cable laying of the power supply is definitely a plus, but this bracket is attached with an ordinary suction cup. But the recorder is very weighty: it uses a conventional horn antenna for radio link operation, which resulted in the characteristic shape of the case and its dimensions. But later, in the box, a non-conspicuous U-shaped bracket with a 3M scotch tape is also detected, so in fact you need not fear the need to catch the recorder all over the cabin on bumps.

As the Strugatskies wrote in their time, “she has a neon and a thinker inside.” In the role of the “thinker” is the well-known Ambarella A7LA50, in the role of the “neon”, obviously, the equally familiar OV4689 matrix. Therefore, we will not waste time on the description of the image quality - it is no different from other models on such a “stuffing”, and the level of distortion at the edges of the frame is more than satisfactory.

The anti-radar module, in addition to the radio path, has a laser receiver - again a standard set by modern standards.

With a reasonable price, this DVR with anti-radar is also well-conceived - for example, an external GPS antenna in it is located in the suction mount itself, connecting to the recorder with contacts in the mounting strip. Through the same block is served and power. The control buttons are located on the edges of the screen in a logical order, so it will be easy to deal with them, even without a lot of experience in communicating with DVRs. In addition, the buttons have a night light.

At the heart of the recorder - a bunch of matrix OV4689 for a six-lens and a processor Ambarella A7LA50. And this, by the way, promises us the possibility of video shooting in 1080p format without up-sampling (although you should not discard 720p - in this mode, the frame rate rises to 60, which is not superfluous when shooting fast moving objects). The only fly in the ointment here is that the lens gives a noticeable distortion and a decrease in sharpness around the edges ... but what should a compact model cost a little more than 7 thousand rubles?

The radar detector module copes with its work confidently enough, the voice and graphic alerts are perceived by the driver without any problems.

However, this model has its drawbacks, which should be mentioned (and not all of them pay off with price). First, the new model had problems with the build quality (alas, a common problem of the Chinese budget class) - it’s better to buy the recorder “live” and not order it online. Secondly, the unconventional L-shaped case makes carrying the recorder very uncomfortable: try to shove it in your pocket. And, finally, the recorder is too heavy for mounting-suckers, and it begins to shake on the bumps, smearing the image when shooting: I would like a stronger mount.

This model, like many DVRs with a radar detector, is made in the overgrown anti-radar format, which has got a 2.7-inch screen. Interesting in the purchase may be the availability of a parking camera in the kit: not all combo recorders, especially budget ones, offer this. The camera itself, however, is not very good in quality - this is the usual “cube” with four LED backlights. Image resolution is enough for parking assistance, but there is no special point in writing a video from it.

The video path in general should be recognized as rather weak: alas, it’s stupid to expect to get everything and immediately for this money. The maximum recording resolution is HD only, instead of FullHD that has already become familiar, and the video is saved in the simplest AVI format. Of course, the picture is clear and with normal detail, and the noise doesn’t really spoil the image at night, but agree: FullHD and H.264 codec have already entered the category must have!

Antiradar tract - combined, with a horn microwave antenna and a laser receiver. According to modern standards, its quality can also be considered average; it is no longer up to the new models with signature analysis because of the “long range” and filtering quality of false positives. But, nevertheless, this combo-recorder is quite suitable as an anti-radar detector, especially outside megacities.

GPS is supported, and with a funny chip in the settings: you can adjust the speed recorded overlay video. We are ready to argue that many will immediately twist the speed down - they say, in case of an accident, let me “go slower”.

The body format of this gadget is more familiar to radar detectors than to DVRs. This is due to the use of the classical horn antenna, and not the new-fashioned phased array: it “eats” dimensions decently.

It is a pity that the designers of the case regretted places for a more decent screen - you can “aim” the DVR, but nothing more. During the triggering of the radar detector, almost the entire space of the screen is occupied by alerts, there is little free space. In addition, in the delivery set there is only a sucker, which is attached to the very edge of the device - if the shaking does not interfere with the anti-radar, then the recorder will smear the picture noticeably.

In general, the impression is that this is not a recorder with a radar detector, but rather a radar detector with a DVR: there is almost nothing even in the video settings menu compared to the recorder settings. "Iron" also does not shine with novelty: iCatch SPCA6330M + OmniVision OV2710. Although not so long ago, this matrix was not uncommon in higher class recorders, it is now clearly outdated, although the 120-degree view of the optics preserves a decent image detailing. But, unlike the more recent OmniVision matrices, the physical pixels in the OV2710 are 3 microns in size - seemingly a little more than in modern ones (2.2 microns), but at the level of noise and overall legibility at twilight this has a noticeable effect, especially at the edges Images. So, the old matrix also has its advantages, although newer DVRs can support software quality by supporting WDR and HDR.

This combo recorder is of interest primarily to the capabilities of a radar detector: using a phased array as an antenna, the developers made the device very compact, its dimensions do not differ from the usual thin-case recorders. At the same time, the algorithm of signature analysis is responsible for signal processing, while until now many combo models of this extremely useful function, alas, are devoid of. As a result, it was possible to significantly reduce the number of false positives without undue desensitization.

The button on the body is only one - it serves to turn on the DVR, everything else is assigned to the touch screen. It is hard to say, plus or minus - the screen is too small for an average male finger, and conventional mechanical buttons would seem more comfortable to many. But the warning function of the road "surprises" on the GPS base is implemented here simply by five points - you can switch the screen to the perspective map display mode, on which marks will be displayed. Oh, here would be laying the route ...

The device of the registrar here is traditional for this price: the OV4689 matrix plus the Ambarella A12A35 ​​processor. SuperHD mode is supported, but it doesn’t make much sense: it’s better to put a smaller resolution, winning in the frame rate and saving space on the memory card. However, the maximum supported volume is as much as 256 GB.

For the price of a SilverStone video recorder with a radar detector, go head to head with Cenmax, but the difference is obvious: instead of a patch antenna, there is a horn, and instead of an Ambarella processor, the Taiwan AIT8328Q. But what is the difference in practice? Let's compare.

The delivery kit is absolutely identical, but a more dimensional recorder with a horn antenna would not be disturbed by a double-sided tape mount in addition to the suction cup. The quality of work (omissions and false positives) of the anti-radar gap is so miserable that in actual practice both “hybrids” can be considered identical: the “good old” horn antenna works no worse than the patch, its only drawback is the increase in size.Similarly, SilverStone has a smart mode that automatically changes the sensitivity and filter settings, but to disable signature analysis, you need to use for some reason, not the manual selection of “Trails”, but “City 3”. But what is expected of the "horn" pulled ahead, so it is in the detection range of the radar "in the forehead."

As for the video, the matrices of both models are the same, so the difference in quality is due to the somewhat larger viewing angle of the SilverStone lens and different processors. In the afternoon, according to the overall image quality, the little-known Taiwanese company AIT suddenly wipes the nose of the American Ambarella: there is less “soap”, the colors are richer. The advantage of the A12A20 appears only at night, when the Cenmax picture gets better. The maximum distance of readability of numbers at SilverStone is slightly less, but here it is worth remembering about a larger viewing angle: the same area of ​​the number has fewer physical pixels.

In general, we decided to assign the rating to both competing models the same: at equal prices, the Cenmax is more compact, more convenient as a recorder due to less shaking on the suction cup and better captures video with limited illumination, but SilverStone, although too big, detects radar earlier and gives a more pleasant eye image by day, but with less detail. What exactly to choose? Decide for yourself what is more important to you in the combo recorder.

Honestly, from the name of this brand, the author still jars: releasing at one time car alarms that externally copied the old Starlines even on the colors of wires in the harnesses, but disgustingly welded (crookedly solder ALL relays to the board? Yes Cenmax), they spoiled their reputation thoroughly. At one time, this “affiliated” brand Inspector was planned as lower price - lower quality, so now they have to diligently choose from the previously defined role.

Well, the Signature Alfa combo-recorder was able to calm down the author's idiosyncrasy a bit - it was already assembled decently, and not by Chinese children in labor classes, but on a normal line. I am glad that the brand starts working with quality. And with the filling too - as is clear from the name, the anti-radar uses signature signal analysis here, and the flat case clearly indicates the absence of a horn antenna: instead, a modern 18-element patch.

The delivery package is simple - the recorder itself, the suction bracket, the power adapter (without a built-in 5 V converter, so that it is easier to pull the wiring secretly, you can bump directly into the standard one, and not hide the splitter) and a compact USB 2.0 card reader. Okay, let's not quibble and move on to work.

In comparison with the usual middle-end anti-radars, the “signature” really gives less false positives, up to 20% according to different tests. Fine! Especially if we recall the presence of an “intelligent” mode that automatically determines the optimal settings depending on the speed of movement. But sometimes, although rarely, the radar skips past the attention of the signature detector, and here the speedometer comes to the rescue: don't forget to update the database, even the card reader is already bundled (updates are traditionally written on microSD). Since the radar detector does not differ from other signature-based models in this price category, we will not quibble. In addition, you can manually select the mode "Route", thereby disabling the signature filter.

For the quality of the video meet five-lens glass lens, the OV4689 matrix (where can I go without it) and the processor Ambarella A12A20.Although it is more modern than the line A7, but here is chosen the most budgetary chip from the new series. From here, the blurring of the image, characteristic of the younger dvenashek, is tolerable, but it could have been done better.

The novelty of the autumn of 2018 is a monoblock hybrid video recorder equipped with a radar detector module and a shielded radio path. What for? For Russia, this is (possibly so far) unimportant, but in Europe, the use of anti-anti-radar detectors that detect the radiation of a local oscillator in a radio module is already practiced. And this is relevant not only for Liechtenstein with its fines of 6,000 euros for using a radar detector, but also for the author’s neighbor for us (as it happened) in the Baltic States: in Estonia and Latvia you can also part with a radar detector in money. For complete confidence in which case the radio module in the 9100s can be turned off completely, by quickly pressing the two buttons on the side.

The developers are watching not only for the laws, but also for updating the traffic police arsenals: the radar detector supports the definition of all speed meters, including the latest ones. There is a signature analysis, and, like the cherry on the cake, it is possible to work from both “passenger” 12 volts and from “cargo” 24.

The processor here is the Ambarella 7 series, "old but daring". The clarity and detail of the picture is excellent, which is noticeable during the day, although SoC hardware obsolescence is already noticeable: the maximum resolution is FullHD at 30 frames per second, for A7 it is the ceiling of hardware capabilities.Fortunately, “losing face” with the video upscale software and even more so with a “pseudo-high” frame rate, when each frame is simply duplicated, the developers did not.