>Ideally like a front and rear camera that's quality will not let me down day/night if I need vehicle registrations.
Marketing lies. Registrations are hot and miss outside of ideal conditions.
>I want this to be a one time purchase, install setup and forget, so long term reliability is paramount.
Blackvue DR 970x plus ii is going to be your best option. Thinkware U3000 or Viofo would be second and 3rdm
Ideally I'd like it hardwired so it starts with my car (I'd have no clue how to do this, so guides would be essential or direction to installers near to Crawley, UK).
Buy the ODB2 kit, and it's plug and play.
>I don't want my battery dying on me so how do you avoid this?
You set the voltage cut off to 12.4 when it's below freezing and 12.0 when it's above.
>Are there wireless rear cameras?
Nope.
Thinkware U3000 with ODB2 power kit is likely your best option.
Blackvue DR970x plus ii with ODB2 power kit would be a strong alternative.
No modifications to the vehicle. High quality. Easy to install and remove without a trace.
Blackvue LTE cams are the best option, and a range of plans for access if you are looking for live view anywhere.
If you just want to view in the car anything of their cams other than the 5 series.
I get family who need help Blackvue cloud cams, and they them up to connect to the hotspot on their phones.
When there's an issue I just need to walk them through enabling the hotspot on their phone, then I can access the camera remotely to help them.
They have their pros and cons.
Viofo dashcams like A329S tend to come with the latest tech which results in the best image quality. They are also affordable (~$600 for a front & rear dashcam) for what you get but their app is pretty barebones.
Blackvue dashcams are pricier but come with optional cellular connectivity (for remote viewing, etc) and box dashcam options where the processor can be hidden out of the sun and only have the camera itself on the windshield. For their latest dashcams like the DR970X Plus II, it’s about 1.5x-2x the price of Viofo’s alternative depending if you want LTE or not.
Thinkware dashcams also come with optional cellular connectivity and have the smartest parking mode of the three as they use radar to detect impacts during parking mode but both Viofo and Blackvue units can record constantly during parking mode so its not a massive difference. The Thinkware U3000 Pro is also one of the priciest at $1300 just for the dashcam without an installation.
The hardest part of any dashcam install is removing the A-pillar trim to run the cables behind it, and snaking the cable through the headliner for the rear camera. It’s not really dependent on which camera/brand you buy as it’s car-dependent how difficult that would be.
Any dashcam can be powered by a hardwire kit to the fusebox or USB power (like from the 12v outlet), that’s not dependent on brand either.
I really like my BlackVue. I have an older 750 and a newer 950, not sure what models they have now. I don't mess with the cloud storage or the batteries, I run off the car battery. They record 24/7 to the front and I added my own storage, were easy enough to install myself if you know how to watch some youtube.
I went with a blackvue 970x lte.
Had a nextbase fitted when I brought the car by the dealer, got it removed after I was hit in a car park and the footage started about 8 seconds after impact… just getting the footage off was annoying.
a1n3
