LG Innotek 2-Channel Full HD Front + Rear 1080p Dashcam with Wi-Fi, 32GB MicroSD (LGD521)

(original post: MARCH 2017)This is a good product (would be “great” were it not for the poor night view). Notwithstanding, how good is it? After installing one on my car I purchased another for my wife’s car. So yes, I RECOMMEND THIS PRODUCT. But WHY FOUR STARS you ask?I did my research against other “bullet type” dash cams (Thinkware and BlackVue) and thought the LGD521 would give me the best bang for the buck and the application I wanted (low-profile). I purchased both of my 64GB versions from JAVATEK because the cameras came with both a (manufacturer supplied) 32GB and an (vendor supplied) 64GB SD card, so I essentially got the 32GB SD card for free! The 64GB bundle also included the hardwiring kit and the GPS, which on LG Innotek website are listed as “optional” yet through JAVATEK (5 Stars!!!), these were included in the price! … I don’t know if all the “extras” are included with other vendors. If in doubt, ask before you buy, but I’d go with JAVATEK as long as supplies last.PROs:1. Excellent daylight recording2. Fairly easy DIY project. Can probably be completed in 2-4 hrs depending on your vehicle and application. I used the hardwiring kit (and GPS) so if you use the cigarette lighter setup, installation time will be considerably less. Note: if you want to use the “parking mode” the hardwired setup is required. I took ~4 hours for each vehicle (but I acknowledge being a slow and meticulous DIYer).3. Low-profile, high-def camera (does not obstruct driver’s view)4. Formatting of the SD card can be done at the camera (does not require removing the card and formatting on a PC like some other cameras)5. Integrated Wi-Fi for use with either IOS or Android app (at the scene of the accident)6. Camera orientation not a consideration. The PC app allows you to reverse the horizontal and vertical viewing, so if you install the camera upside down or reverse left-right; you can correct the view using the desktop app7. Parking mode. Requires using the hardwiring kit, which has the additional benefit of turning the camera off if the car’s battery voltage drops below a user-set limit8. Voice/sound recording9. High heat OFF function to protect the camera under extreme hot conditions (Summer)CONs:1. Fairly poor (dark) night vision recording. Caveat: the picture can be significantly improved using the PC app, which is of little value at the scene of a night accident2. HORRIBLE INSTRUCTIONS! And don’t even think about using the supplied User’s Manual. Instead go to the Innotek website to DOWNLOAD. Important: READ THE [downloaded] USER’S MANUAL BEFORE STARTING!!!3. Wi-Fi range is extremely limited. I can only view the video if I’m sitting in the front seat. This drawback can probably be overcome by purchasing a camera with a screen and playing video on the camera itself, but I wanted a low-profile camera and got what I paid for4. Owner’s Manual says SD card needs to be reformatted 1-2 times per month and the SD card needs to be replaced every 6 months. If the SD card does indeed have a short life span, I will reassess my rating (probably down to 1-star) as this will make maintaining this camera quite expensive! (Not True? See my DECEMBER 2017 UPDATE below).5. Non-integrated GPS (requires a separate module and connections). Included with JavaTek, but listed as optional (purchase separately) elsewhereINSTALLATION (for DIY):1. I used the hardwiring kit and GPS2. DOWNLOAD AND READ THE USER’S MANUAL BEFORE STARTING! I recommend having it on a tablet or phone so you can refer to it when needed3. Required: Voltmeter (unless you’re going with the cigarette lighter option for power)4. Recommended (will make the DIY much easier); cut and paste these for your search as I do not want to endorse any product or vendora. Auto Door Clip Panel Trim Removal Tool Kit. Get plastic; I have the 4-piece setb. Add a circuit fuse holder (2 required); I purchased these at my local auto parts store for ease of returns if needed. Recommend you FIRST find your car’s cabin fuse box to determine what size fuse holder you will need. You can also use the Hardwiring Kit’s recommendation, but I did not want to compromise my vehicle’s electrical system with a short and opted for a more sensible (and “do it right” solution). Note: Using a fuse from the engine compartment or trunk will make this DIY considerably more difficult and I wouldn’t recommend it5. I centered the rear camera on the glass, mounted it, and then routed the cable along the roof and side panel trim to the front windshield behind the rear view mirror. I then wrapped and tucked the excess under the roof lining6. DO NOT INSTALL/MOUNT THE FRONT CAMERA TO THE GLASS YET; just run the power cable for now starting from where you think the camera will be mounted. This will allow you to hide the excess cable in the space by the fuse box7. Run the power cable to the fuse box8. Using Hardwiring Kit instructions, the car’s Owner’s Manual, and voltmeter I found a circuit (fuse) that was always “hot” (even with the card turned off) and one which was “hot” only when the ignition was on, made the connections, and then wrapped and tucked the excess cable in the space by the fuse box. Note: hot = 12v DC (grounded)9. I placed the GPS receiver by the mirror post and tucked the excess cable under the roof trimNOTE: fortunately, both my cars had a lot of room to tuck excess cable under the front roof trim, but you should check if this will work for you as you may have to tuck excess cabling elsewhere. I DO NOT RECOMMEND CUTTING & SPLICING unless you absolutely have to and then do so at your own risk and peril of having camera and/or vehicle electrical problems/fireTESTING, FINAL INSTALLATION and OPERATION:1. With all cables routed and power connections made, it’s TIME TO TEST!2. Ensure SD card is installed3. Attach the 12V and rear camera cables to the front camera (GPS not required at this time). Note: DO NOT INSTALL/MOUNT THE FRONT CAMERA TO THE GLASS YET! You will do this later after determining the best mounting location4. Ensure the CAMERA is OFF5. Either turn on the engine or (better) use the Accessories position so you’re not breathing exhaust fumes (the entire dash, radio, and power windows should come to life if you are in the correct Accessory position)6. Turn the camera ON7. After a couple of seconds, if the camera’s lights come on, you’re done with the hard part! If no lights, check your connections at the camera and then the fuse box. Did you forget to ground/use the back wire? Are you in the correct Accessory position? If unsure, start the car.8. Once the camera is powered, it will probably be telling you to “Format SD Card”. Follow the downloaded Owner’s Manual Instructions to format. I went a step further and, using my PC, downloaded the latest firmware unto the SD card so I could have a formatted card along with the latest firmware9. Once the card is formatted, turn off the engine / Accessory mode. After a brief delay, the camera should tell you it is “entering parking mode”. If it does not, check the yellow wire’s connection10. Once the camera is operating correctly, it is time to determine the final mounting location, but first …11. Download and install the LGD 5 Series app onto your phone or tablet12. With the Camera ON, enable the camera’s Wi-Fi (default is always OFF so it must be manually turned ON every time you intend to use it; see User’s Manual)13. Using your phone’s settings, find and connect to the camera’s Wi-Fi (initial password: 00000000). Password can be changed for Android but not IOS. Once you see the “green” light the Wi-Fi is active. Note: If you can’t establish a connection power down the camera and phone/tablet and start again14. Once you’ve established a connection, start the app, then start the real-time view on your phone, and DETERMINE THE CAMERA’S BEST MOUNTING LOCATION. I placed mine behind the rear view mirror and had to ensure the mirror’s post did not obstruct the left front view of the car15. Once you’re satisfied with the location, mount the camera to the windshield. ENSURE the mounting bracket it oriented correctly! Although the camera will fit both ways, only one it the true mounting orientation as it allows you to “lock” the camera into place. If you place it backwards, the camera will still work, but it may get knocked off its mount in case of an accident16. Once the front camera is mounted, tuck any excess cable under the roof lining for a neat appearance17. Turn Accessories back ON to ensure camera is still working and then get out of the car and walk around it once or twice18. View the recording you just made (remember to turn on the Wi-Fi) and ensure all the cameras’ views are correct (the world is right side up and the direction you walked is accurate)19. If camera view/orientation is correct, you’re done! If the camera’s view is not correct, you will need to remove the SD card and correct the camera’s view using the desktop app (Windows or MAC). Note: ENSURE the camera is OFF before removing or installing the SD card or you may lose data, have to reformat, or corrupt the SD card!20. Reinstall card and now you’re really done!EVERYTHING YOU NEED (Owner’s Manual, PC app, and Firmware updates) can be found at: (url: lginnotek.com/customer/Dashcam.jsp)This may sound like a lot of work, but it really isn’t. And if you’re comfortable with minor DIYs, this one is fairly easy and straight forward. The real problem is the INSTRUCTIONS ARE AWFUL -- not helpful at all if you’re a beginner. Notwithstanding, even a beginner can do this! If you don’t know how to use a voltmeter or how to “ground” a circuit … You Tube! There may even be videos for installing this (or other cameras) and I presume the concept will be similar.I’m only 2 weeks into this product and am very happy (so far). I will be back in 6 months, if not sooner, to update this post. Both my cars are garaged, but I live in the South and both camera’s will be subjected to the sun’s punishing heat while we’re at work. Although the Owner’s Manual recommends NOT subjecting the camera to the Summer heat, removing and reinstalling the camera 5-days a week would be extremely inconvenient not to mention impractical since it defeats having a “parking mode”. Thus, I’m going to risk it by not removing the cameras. After doing my research and knowing they’re installed correctly, I have high expectations but time will tell how good this product really is!DECEMBER 2017 UPDATEAfter a Summer in the sun with several days of 100+ tempts, things went well. The camera does turn itself off if car gets hot but I haven't noticed any ill effects. Cameras still working without fail. Since instructions stated the cards needed to be reformatted often, I have viewed the camera's recordings on a monthly basis and am happy to report that I haven't had to reformat either card yet. After viewing I deleted all recording from the card (via my PC), so I don't know if that had anything to do with not needing reformatting (doubt it). In hindsight -- VERY PLEASED and I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS PRODUCT!Note: I exclusively use my PC to view the video files using the camera's PC-based viewer. There are some negative reviews regarding the video format and viewer. Although they may be justified compared to other cameras (I don't know), I did not buy these cameras to view my drives on a daily basis. I bought them for the safety aspect and to have a record of events should I or my wife ever be involved in a traffic accident or event. Thus, I will "need" to view a video seldom (if ever). If your intent is to view videos often with ease, get a GoPro! But for me, after a lot of research against other similar products, this seemed the best for my intended application. No regrets!

Quality of camera's seems very good. Brackets are good and adhesive tape works very well. Wifi works pretty good except I had to have my phone almost touching the camera to keep the connection. Don't expect to check the video from your living room. This made programming a bit of a challenge until I figured it out.Video quality is very good and user selectable to enable more recording space or higher quality.The parking mode is very handy although I think even in the least sensitive setting it will use a lot of SD card space.Install was very straight forward with only 3 wires to connect.My only other con would be that there is no option to turn off the rear LED in parking mode. (trying to catch a vandal without drawing his attention)With only a week since install I would recommend this to anyone wanting a 2 channel dash cam.

Decided to join the DashCam movement after an incident on the road I would have loved to have had footage of. After some research, and asking around and more hair pulling "i can't decide" moments, I bit the bullet and got this one. I'm not disappointed.I -DID NOT- get the GPS receiver, although I AM going to. I can see the benefit.Configuration:Front and Rear cameras mounted, Hardwired.Set to Record on Event Driving or Parked mode (No "Loop Record" but maybe I will do a run with that later)Rear Camera :UltraFront Camera :HighAll sensors (motion/movement) all on low.I like it. some of the beeps i can see getting a bit annoying. When you start your vehicle the unit states "Recording Driving Mode" which isn't bad. now, if you have events turned on, when you hit a bump in the road it will record and emit a "doorbell" chime to let you know. Also there is no "Record this event" button if you see something you want to save, but I did learn to just reach up and tap the camera and i hear the doorbell and I know its saved.When in parking mode, the rear camera flashes a blue LED. I may cover it. It will record on movement or if someone bumps the truck.It was very easy to install. I used the portable power adapter to line the front camera up with my phone and set it in place before hardwiring.Great Cam, easy to install, set up.. OH!When you are changing the configurations and have to reboot, or anytime the power gets cut completely to the unit, the WIFI shuts off, and you have to go to the camera and activate it. Wish there was a settings in the configurations to auto start the WIFI on power-up. That would make this the perfect unit.The doorbell chime. Although not enough to send it back for me. I can see for some this is going to be annoying. I have it set on the lowest setting and on a rough road. It's going off a lot. It's not obtrusive, but it's there. I'll post a video once I get some more footage.

Nice slimline camera. Front & Rear camera nice image quality. Installed into my vehicle within 24 hrs the camera wouldn't work/turn on. Fantastic response from the company (Greg with BlackBoxMyCar). tried several things suggested to try. ended up returning & re-purchasing another camera. BOUGHT 2 NOW the second one the WIFI doesn't work. The video footage on the SD Card is decent when viewed on the computer. Hardwired for continuous recording which works great.