maisi M20 Dashcam, Pro Uber Taxi Infrared Night Vision Full HD Dash Camera (2304x1296 1296p, 170-Degree True Wide Angle, Automatic Ignition/Motion/Crash Detection and Seamless Loop Recording)

For a video review visit YouTube and search: Grumpy Reviews Maisi*Update; Previously 1 star I have now raised my review to a 3 star due to the "above and beyond" customer service I have received since returning my camera that puts some other larger companies out there to shame, I would state that if you are as unfortunate as I was with the product, that the seller appears to care about their customers opinions and will help you however they canSo, as you're here, it either means you are in the market for a dash cam, specifically this particular model, you could just be curious as to what a dash cam does or the latter and worse of the three and that you've already taken the plunge, purchased this exact model and now its doing random unexplained things that even an experienced C++ computer coding engineer would struggle to fix.So what does this dash cam do better than all the others i hear you ask, well nothing, nothing at all.Why whats wrong with it?Well where do i startSo first off it comes in a little brown box that if you love spending your evenings squashing boxes and plastic bottles into a recycling bin then is will be right up your street, needless to say its a bit minimalistic on the print and if it was on the shelf in the local supermarket youd just pass it by unknowingly, however it's not like i feel ripped off to the tune of 80 of my hard earned pounds for it, as obviously materialistic things like fancy boxes attract dont me, but its not about the packaging its all about the device said no one in marketing ever.So with this lackluster, plain and boring box surely the device quality during the R&D phase has been focused on 100% and it must be an amazing piece of kit.Sadly no, at best its useless as a camera, even worse for use while driving if it stays on your windscreen with the provided suction cup youve really done well.But dont let me put you off for a moment, with its sleek but cumbersome exterior this dashcam serves only but one purpose, to make all other dash cams look, work and feel great by comparison.Most of us would buy a dash cam for one sole reason, to provide our insurance companies with hard evidence that in the event of a claim what you claim is indisputable, however even the intended basic function of this camera fails to meet basic expectations, in my experience multiple times has the camera failed to start, continue or even stop recording when required, in a nutshell i shall try and explain why.As you turn on the ignition, the power via your cigarette lighter socket comes alive and provides much sustinance in the form of current to your device, expecting inturn for the camera to start recording, however sometimes it just can't be bothered, maybe its male and it thinks your asking it to do some long overdue DIY, either way, somedays it just cant be bothered.So ok lets say somehow it did start recording first time and your on a motorway, driving to your parents, all of a sudden it just stops recording without warning or notice so youll never know, finally you get to the destination only to find out that when the moron driver in the BMW who made you so angry you started making it obvious you have a dash cam accompanied with a milking the cow gesture that when you finally get to your destination to review the footage you find the screen frozen in time without a single recording to show for it, leaving you reaching for the worlds smallest reset button underneath it that while driving is like threading a needle in a hurricane.Or even sometimes after you have parked and left the car it continues to record until its internal battery is flatter than the proverbial pancake, again forcing your hand to reach for the minute reset button that pappa smurfs little finger wouldnt operateI had thought it was something directly related to the settings but after trying every permutation of every available option known to mankind, i can confirm, that nothing will help you here other than claiming for a refund.So now onto the specs, apparently it records in ultra HD, so now i shall move onto my test to prove otherwise as I believe it is just an upscaled resolution corrected by onboard software,During my real world test, even with another vehicle just a mear cars length in front of the camera you still struggle to read any numberplates, if its in the dark the camera is next to useless in all aspects.The camera however also offers various lane departure and headlight warnings but these just serve as a distraction to the driver and only work on perfectly straight roads, also the camera does accept the micro sd card, but again your going to need some great luck finding one thats compatible with the device, apparently the primary reason it has so many recording issues is due to using an incompatible micro sd card, however as the manufacturer has no “reccomended” memory cards and i hadi tried and tested 4 major branded ones, all of which were not compatible with the camera, yet all of these work in every other device i had to test them in from kindles, gopros to various mobile phones, none of them complained once.So in summary if your after an expensive dashcam that wont stay on the windscreen, doesnt record properly, requires you to take your hands off the wheel to check its still recording every 5 minutes, doesn't save properly, doesnt like major brand SD cards, ignores your inputs or just acts as a backseat driver when your doing nothing out of the ordinary, then this must be the camera for you. If however you are stuck with it and ran out of time to return it, then it does serve as a fully functional paperweight.That said tho the GPS works well, even if it requires a ridiculous additional usb module that sticks out of the side.Overall in my opinion, stay clear as its awful.

Less stars for the imprecise seller statement, but it is still a good device.It is not a 170-degree, it is 104 degree, but it is still a good field of view. (I'm waiting for an explanation from the seller about this. Ehy seller! Come on I'm still waiting for your answer!)At a 16:9 aspect ratio, it results to have a 104,6° horizontal angle, 58,8° vertical angle, 120° diagonal angle. I'm pretty sure.Video definition is better in daytime, but it is still good at night.The device apparently is very well made.The screen is Plexiglas with a slight mounting issue.The plastic parts are made with highest precision.Rubber taps are too rigid, with arms that are too little and thin, which can break easily.The suction cup's connection to the device is difficult to use.Sometimes it produces some noise.The vertical regulation is not precise (steps too large).The suction cup is powerful.Commands through the software are not very user friendly.The display is nice.It is impossible to fast forward or rewind on the camera display.It's difficult to search through the files, you need a lot of practice to figure it out.Personal settings:I always have the camera set to ON. I bought an additional external battery in case I would need it for back up power.I prefer NO automatic shutdown, the camera is always on.No to the Motion detection because it is not so responsive.No to the line departure function, No to the light detection function too.Maybe they are useful for very long trips on the highway.Dimensions of the aspect ratio are set to the maximum for the horizontal axis.Each file is set to one minute/140Mb. HDMI might work on a tv but it does not work on my pc.The internal battery last 20 minutes, it was so, now after months it last just few minutes.GPS log is very fast, it takes just seconds to log.The GPS module is weird but effective.Booting it up is fast. It take just seconds, no need to wait.G Sensor, something seems to go crazy and cause some false alarms. For example when it is parked. It is evidently a rare malfunction.The automatic listing of more files into a virtual one is very useful.The maps match with the path.When fast forwarding on the GUI, it always loses synch with the audio.The mini USB is the old version and it's not so fast, but it works.I use the micro SD with the computer because the GUI is faster.There is some color irregularity close to the frame's border and on the edges.The max storage is 32Gb and lasts for 3h 45min with the largest ratio at 30fpsIn summery, it is a very good device for a reasonable price.An update, since November I got another issue,after almost one year the audio is gone.I'm having a polite discussion with the seller about the statement.It is not 170 degree, it is 110 degree diagonal field of view for all the image's aspect ratio.The best horizontal field of view is 105 degree. It is from the widest aspect ratio.So at this point they need the proof about the field of view.They don't want admit the error, so at this point it is a false statement.Here it is the proof. Check the pictures.Their explanation is that it is a my personal point of view. You judge!I'm a technician with geometries, I'm sure about my compliant.December 27 2016 UpdateI was happy with the item, really it is still a good item. But Maisi by Digital_Trends is still selling an item with incorrect information about the FOV. No others than me had notice about it. I gave evidences to the seller about the real FOV but it is still not useful for them. Finally they had to correct that information from 170 to 150 degree but it is not still the real FOV, the real angle it is 105 degree as horizontal angle or 110 degree as diagonal angle. I'm disappointed to see a new item, the same of this one, but it is with the wrong information as it was on this one before. This is why I reduce the star from three to one.