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Porsche Dashcam First Impressions

Posted: Sun May 22, 2022 1:45 pm
by New User
I finally got to play with the dashcam yesterday on a reasonable trip and as there was some interest in this device I thought I would post some first impressions. This is not a review as there are other YouTube reviews around and I presume that you all know it has a radar and shock sensor in addition to the camera so it stays on when you park without high battery drain but will shut down if the battery voltage drops.

It ships with a 32GB MicroSD Card and when you are driving it records continuously, saving the files in 60 second chunks with the filename based on the date and time of each one. File format is MP4 and 60s of video takes 137MB so you can do the maths and you get about 4 hours of video before it starts overwriting the oldest files. If it gets an event due to shock or radar then it stores these in a separate 'Event' area so they are not overwritten. An 'event' only records 20s of video after the trigger, which seems a bit odd to me as I would like to see immediately what happened before the trigger (as you can do on most CCTV systems). The event video is in addition to the continuous video if you are driving so you can still go back and look prior to the trigger.

The most frustrating part is connecting your app to the dash cam. After a few factory resets and deletion and reinstall of the iPhone app I have now worked out that the most stable solution is to get both the Dashcam and phone paired to your vehicle hotspot rather than use the option to connect the phone directly to the dash cam. Perhaps you can do better but I lost 2 hours of my life on this discovery. If you do try to pair to the dash cam directly then make sure your phone is not connected to your car in any way (wifi,BT, hardwire) and do a factory reset of the dash cam and delete and reinstall the app. do not use the wifi to search for the dash cam but open the app and let it guide you and open the connection for you. This will save you at least an hour of wasted time doing it any other way.

This is the first dash cam for me so I don't have much to compare it to. The formats are as follows:
Video: 2560 × 1440 @30fps = 18Mbit/s (8 bit colour depth) HEVC
Audio: 48kHz AAC at 128kbit/s

There is a polarisation filter on the lens to help with glare and the low light performance of the sensor seemed reasonable - it gets a bit harder to read number plates and road signs compared to midday but I thought it was acceptable.

Screenshot below on the A281 to Guildford for those that know it...

166A66C7-F783-4E8A-A288-BEEA83FCF527.jpeg

I have chosen a clip which avoids me needing to worry about masking number plates/faces etc but trust me it is pretty sharp even with closing speed of 100Mph. The Audio quality is not very good at all and I will probably switch the mic off anyway.

You have the option to overlay date, time, speed and location information individually and you can see that I am running with them all for now.

I put the shock sensitivity up a bit and whilst driving it would trigger an audible warning when it went off and recorded an event so it works but I don't see any reason to play with the factory settings.

The device and the app clearly support the rear camera so no idea why it is not offered but having a rear camera doesn't really bother me that much.

Hope the above helps. It is not worth £880 (OPC fully installed price) but then again most of Porsche options are not worth the price. However it is well integrated and well fitted and there are no warranty worries. I also get about £40 a year off my LV insurance premium for having it.

Re: Porsche Dashcam First Impressions

Posted: Sun May 22, 2022 1:56 pm
by andreas
The resolution is good - just the same as my £140 Nextbase dashcam, which is simply plug-and-play, with no frustrating apps needed to make it work. Quite why the Porsche offering should cost over 6 times as much, I'm mystified.

Re: Porsche Dashcam First Impressions

Posted: Sun May 22, 2022 3:59 pm
by Paul1970
Firstly, would have to agree the set up was a nightmare and I lost hours uninstalling and reinstalling. What didn’t help was Porsches engineers have had little experience of them so it a) took ages and b) they couldn’t help much with the mechanics of how it worked.
Secondly, my PCM failed before I even left the dealer and it has had flickering moments since then which I presume is down to the Dashcam. I also have journeys where Waze via CarPlay simply will not work, and shows my position unchanged for my whole journey. Not sure if that’s a CarPlay issue or issue caused by the Dashcam.
The last point I’d make is that when you try to access footage, if you’re doing it on your driveway and the car is picking up your home wifi then it won’t connect to the Dashcam. So you need to park up somewhere where the Dashcam has no other options for connection.
Still happy to have it, and I can’t even see it from the driver seat.

Re: Porsche Dashcam First Impressions

Posted: Sun May 22, 2022 4:45 pm
by andreas
Paul1970 wrote: Sun May 22, 2022 3:59 pm Firstly, would have to agree the set up was a nightmare and I lost hours uninstalling and reinstalling. What didn’t help was Porsches engineers have had little experience of them so it a) took ages and b) they couldn’t help much with the mechanics of how it worked.
Secondly, my PCM failed before I even left the dealer and it has had flickering moments since then which I presume is down to the Dashcam. I also have journeys where Waze via CarPlay simply will not work, and shows my position unchanged for my whole journey. Not sure if that’s a CarPlay issue or issue caused by the Dashcam.
The last point I’d make is that when you try to access footage, if you’re doing it on your driveway and the car is picking up your home wifi then it won’t connect to the Dashcam. So you need to park up somewhere where the Dashcam has no other options for connection.
Still happy to have it, and I can’t even see it from the driver seat.
Way too complicated! And Porsche's implementation of digital tech is about as good as the level achieved by the NHS. If I'd , in a moment of madness, paid that much for a Porsche dashcam which didn't work properly, I'd be asking for a refund.

Re: Porsche Dashcam First Impressions

Posted: Sun May 22, 2022 5:02 pm
by New User
Paul1970 wrote: Sun May 22, 2022 3:59 pm The last point I’d make is that when you try to access footage, if you’re doing it on your driveway and the car is picking up your home wifi then it won’t connect to the Dashcam. So you need to park up somewhere where the Dashcam has no other options for connection.
This was my experience until I connected both the dashcam and the phone to the car hotspot and then all was fine. The car was connected to the home wifi at the same time with no issues (I switched the PCM Sim off to see if there was interference) and the phone was connected to the PCM Apps so it was a lot more solid than using the dashcam as its own hotspot.

Re: Porsche Dashcam First Impressions

Posted: Sun Jun 19, 2022 9:13 pm
by Skyway
Is anyone considering a front and rear dashcam installation into their Macan? Also, is the cost of the Porsche unit still as high now that the cars are pre wired at the factory?

Re: Porsche Dashcam First Impressions

Posted: Sun Jun 19, 2022 9:33 pm
by Lanmate
Skyway wrote: Sun Jun 19, 2022 9:13 pm Is anyone considering a front and rear dashcam installation into their Macan? Also, is the cost of the Porsche unit still as high now that the cars are pre wired at the factory?
That means it'll be cheaper to install = more profit! ;)

Re: Porsche Dashcam First Impressions

Posted: Fri Aug 04, 2023 9:43 am
by Skyway
Hi guys,

If you have the Front/Rear Porsche dashcam fitted as I do, just to let you know there is a new firmware update for it.

You need to connect to the dashcam using the Porsche dashcam app and it'll prompt you. Best way to connect is to place your phone into AIRPLANE mode with Wifi enabled. This is the fastest and most stable connection directly to the unit.

Following the update I've found connectivity easier and playback faster :)

Re: Porsche Dashcam First Impressions

Posted: Fri Aug 04, 2023 3:55 pm
by pstrat
Skyway wrote: Fri Aug 04, 2023 9:43 am Hi guys,

If you have the Front/Rear Porsche dashcam fitted as I do, just to let you know there is a new firmware update for it.

You need to connect to the dashcam using the Porsche dashcam app and it'll prompt you. Best way to connect is to place your phone into AIRPLANE mode with Wifi enabled. This is the fastest and most stable connection directly to the unit.

Following the update I've found connectivity easier and playback faster :)
Till this day i've been unable to connect to the App and have therefore never been able to view any footage. Annoys me greatly but spent ages try and not got anywhere.

I did try airplane mode previously but there was an issue with the password it gave you and just never worked. Any other tips to get it to work?

May try it again at the weekend.

Re: Porsche Dashcam First Impressions

Posted: Fri Aug 04, 2023 4:47 pm
by Skyway
I would RESET back to factory settings and follow the procedure to set up from scratch and connect to/from the camera only, i.e. don't try and use the cars hotspot.

Once you're then properly connected I would expect the firmware update to be offered. Once that starts running don't be tempted to do anything in the car or leave the cabin until you get the confirmation message back.

NOTE, After a factory reset you will need to reset the sensitivity values etc to avoid it alarming every time you drive over a small bump in the road.

This video is quite good