HD Black Box Car DVR Review – A Nice Dashcam on a Budget

The HD Black Box Car DVR is a nifty little dashcam that’s a great budget pick for those looking for good quality video recording at a budget-friendly price.  It comes with a suction cup mount and cigarette lighter adapter for easy installation.  You can order your 1080P HD Black Box Car DVR today for around $79.95.

HD Black Box Car DVR Cover

The Black Box Car DVR is in itself a simple device; it’s got a lens and microphone on the front, LCD screen, on the back, and camera mount on the top.  However, this simple device is able to record 1080P quality video at 30 frames per second with its 3M CMOS sensor.  You can also adjust the resolution to 720p and record up to 60 frames per second.  This dash cam can also take photos at 5 megapixels resolution and zoom up to 4x digitally.

1-HD Black Box Car DVR Gear Diary

The Black Box Car DVR supports microSD cards up to 32GB in size, which can hold about 6 hours worth of video footage so there’s no concern over running out of space during your trip.  The camera has an HDMI-out jack, AV-out jack, as well as the USB jack, which is used for powering the device.

2-HD Black Box Car DVR Gear Diary-001

The back of the camera has a 1.5-inch TFT LCD screen, which is very clear and you can easily see what you’re recording through it.  There are also mode, record, and navigation buttons on the rear of the camera.  The front of the camera is home to the lens and IR light, which is supposed to provide supplemental light at night, though I have no idea how that works.  The top of the camera is where the suction cup mount connects to the camera and holds it steady.  The top of the camera also houses the power button, menu button, AV-out jack, and USB jack.  The sides of the camera house the microSD slot and HDMI-out jack.

3-HD Black Box Car DVR Gear Diary-002

The lens of the camera is a 120-degree wide-angle lens and you can really see how well it covers the road.  The video quality is very good, as you can see in the sample footage, below.  The camera even has a motion detection function that can detect G-forces and display them on the video footage.

Although the build quality and feel of this device and its suction cup mount will not win any awards, I was pleasantly surprised at how well the video footage came out.  If you’re looking for a no-frills dashcam on a budget, I sense that the HD Black Box Car DVR will be your gadget of choice.

4-HD Black Box Car DVR Gear Diary-003

Check out the surprisingly good photo quality in the two photos below:

NOVATEK CAMERA

NOVATEK CAMERA

You can purchase the HD Black Box Car DVR for $57.95 from Spy Tec, Inc.

Source: The HD Black Box Car DVR was provided to me as a review sample by the manufacturer.

What I Like: Good video quality; Good photo quality; Quick and easy setup and installation; Supports up to 32GB microSD.

What Needs Improvement: Build quality could use improvement.

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About the Author

Perry Brauner
I'm an architect by trade, but the overarching theme of my life has always been trying to keep up with the newest, coolest technology. Ever since I picked up an NES controller, I've been hooked on the latest and greatest gadgets, gizmos, and toys. Whether it's gaming, mobile phones, and accessories, or PCs and Apple products, I'm interested. I use many Apple products in my daily life, such as the iPhone, iPad, and my MacBook Pro. I've also built a few PCs in my day, so I'd like to say that I'm a pretty well-rounded techie.