Portable HD DVR Dash Cam

To begin with, its handy to have a dash cam in your car for a few reasons. Firstly, your driving standard is good, right? Then with a dash cam you can use the evidence in an insurance claim.

Obviously, you are not going to be the one to blame. Secondly, you can record your trips and commentate as you are driving. Indeed, a dash cam is a wonderful tool which all cars should have installed at factory level. So, lets review the Portable HD DVR Dash Cam and see what its all about.

Portable HD DVR Dash Cam Pro - generic and cheap

Furthermore, this particular dash cam appears to be unbranded and generic. But, we have saw it advertised with names such as AZ Link. Indeed, it is the same as the Pama Plug N Go Drive 1 Automated Driving Recorder. However, being generic if it looks like the images here then it will be the same unit. Be that as it may, how does it perform?

In The Box

An SD card does not come with this unit so you will need to buy one. But it will not accept cards over 32GB.

Package Includes one each of the following:
HD DVR
A Li-ion battery (200mah approx. 30 minutes)
Windscreen sucker mount
USB Cable
Car Charger
Instruction manual

The box is approximately 5.5 x 4.5 x 3.5 inches and looks very decent indeed. In fact, the price is reasonable and the whole deal would be great to give someone as a gift.

Portable HD DVR Dash Cam cheapest recorder

More Details

HD Portable DVR Security Camera with 2.5 inch TFT LCD Screen
Mode: Video Recorder / Camera
Supports real time and date display on video
Image Sensor: 1/4 Color CMOS HD Sensor
Recording resolution: 1280×960 / 720×480 / 640×480
Support SD/MMC Cards: upto 32GB
Power input: DC5V
Power supplied by car charger or AC100~240v (optional)

Operating The Unit

The menu can be difficult to use until you get familiar with it. For example, if you accidentally switch to a different language, its difficult to get back to English. However, after a bit fiddling with the small amount of functions, you learn another lesson!

The Portable HD DVR Dash Cam will record in a loop so there’s no need to wipe the SD card. In other words, once you set the unit up, just leave it to record. Then, when the SD card is full, it will record over previous footage. Obviously, if you have some valuable footage, stop the unit and replace the SD card. This is because on a long journey it may record over the valuable stuff you just recorded. This is especially more important should you use a small capacity SD card. Once you have your recordings back home, transfer them to your PC or other storage devices.

There is the ability to record in increments so set this to your needs. For example, you can set it to record in chunks of 2 minutes or 15 minutes etc. Also remember to mind your language because it does record sound. However, you can turn off the sound via the menu.

Just to point out that the battery we got with our sample was useless from the beginning. In fact, it never charged and there are many complaints from others who say the same. So, it looks like you will need to keep this plugged in to your power outlet in the car. However, despite the niggles, this portable dash cam recorder has proved to be reliable for years.

Night Vision

In essence, we found that the video from the Portable HD DVR Dash Cam was acceptable in daylight hours. However, despite the unit boasting LED Infrared Night Vision, we found recording in the dark unacceptable. You will get something decent where there are bright street lamps, but otherwise it is pretty useless in the dark.

To Sum Up

The Portable HD DVR Dash Cam sometimes called Portable HD DVR Dash Cam Pro is cheap and cheerful. Indeed, it is the most basic entry level dash cam. However, in dark conditions you will not get much detail. But, its a perfect choice for a first dash cam. Indeed, it makes an ideal gift and its serious business, not just a gimmick!

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