[exxxviii]

Given all the bad actors in the world and the limited usefulness of Drive Recorder, I am thinking about installing a front dashcam (and maybe a rear) in my car.

What is the current thinking on the best option for the iX. The BMW BMW Advanced Car Eye 3.0 and BMW Advanced Car Eye 3.0 Pro don't look well-integrated and have involved installation.

The FITCAMX looks great on paper. Almost invisible OE fit and taps into existing wiring behind the mirror.

Are there any others out there worth considering?

[VersatenBMW]

I have a very trustworthy high-end car electronics person/company. He recommends:

- Supply and install a Blackvue DR970X front and rear dash cam w/256gb micro SD card

1695.00 Parts and labor

I haven't pulled the trigger because I am scared of the install messing something up.

[marsb007]

VIOFO A139 Pro
Blackvue 970x
Thinkware U3000

There are a lot of great cameras out there using the Sony Starvis 2 sensor. VIOFO is fairly inexpensive and has great quality.

I’ve had Blackvue for 10+ years and they’ve been fine. I just recently installed both the Thinkware and VIOFO. VIOFO quality seems better to my eye but Thinkware has a nicer user experience and parking mode. Ultimately I could not justify 2x the price of the Thinkware for the radar parking mode.

I also didn’t like the real estate the Thinkware took up, so it was either VIOFO or Blackvue for me. At the time when I installed mine there was no 970x, so I went VIOFO. As I said, I’ve had Blackvue for a very long time and really like the ability to hide behind the mirror. On the iX the mirror housing has no room below it, so you must offset the camera slightly to the right (towards passenger). Unless you want it under mirror, but you’ll see wires and the camera.

Really depends on what you’ll be using it for. I don’t use the cloud functionality so I was ok with trying a sub-$300 VIOFO dual camera. Has worked fine in the FL heat for 6 months now…

Your biggest issue installing will be removing the center cover (below the center AC vents) as that’s where BMW decided to place the fuse box. From there it’s as easy as tapping 2 fuses, which we, myself included, have identified in other posts, and running/tucking a wire through the trim.

[marsb007]

And $1700 seems extremely high. Essentially it’s a $500-600 camera and $1000 of installation…

[grueber]

I have a Blackvue and Viofo in my two other cars. I thought about installing one in my iX but decided to stick with the limited drive recorder.

The Blackvue is smaller, good app, and good PC software to review any downloaded clips. It’s more expensive and video quality is ok. Reliable.

The VIOFO is bigger, meh app, and no PC software. Video quality is good. Reliable.

I would get the Blackvue again. Wish the video quality was better but I like everything else about it. I paid $200 labor for a car stereo shop to install my 2 cam version several years ago in my Acura. Get a micro SD card made for repeated video recording with any dashcam. The cheaper ones can become quickly corrupted. Bad time to find out the card is bad after an accident.

I would get a 2 cam over a 1 cam. I got rear ended. My wife got rear ended. My brother got rear ended. A lot of stupid distracted drivers. One thing in favor of the BMW drive recorder is you can play the video in your iX on the big displays. Police saw me reviewing the accident and eliminated any question who was at fault.

[marsb007]

Yes, get the Extreme /pro endurance/ high endurance SD cards.

You need to make sure they have very good temp resistance and reliable with the heat. They’re generally slightly more than regular SD cards but they work. They’re generally a fraction of the price of going through the manufacturer options.

There are several reviews on YouTube comparing all the major cameras in the premium segment. I’d check those out and pick something you like. All 3 are very good, so you’ll be happy no matter which you go with.

[VersatenBMW]

Originally Posted by marsb007

And $1700 seems extremely high. Essentially it’s a $500-600 camera and $1000 of installation…

This is somewhat of a long story. I originally had two ix on order. 1 had the car eye pro installed from the factory for an additional $850 from BMW. When that one arrived at the dealer, the rear hatch glass had been smashed, and there was no glass in the hatch whatsoever. I was only going to accept that car with a significant discount which I did not receive. So, I leased the other car that I had on order. The dealer for that second car quoted a price of $2200 installed for the car pro. That seemed ridiculous. my concern is not so much with respect to the install of the front dash cam, but the wiring run to get to the rear for the rear dash cam. Not sure if I can get a lower price quote or not for what everyone seems to be saying is a complicated install.

[marsb007]

It’s a very simple install. One wire that runs along the headliner in the front, and then along the seals all the way to the back. There’s 2 screws on the hinge that you can remove to expose the BMw wire bundle. Pass the wire through there and then out the middle of the back window trim. The trim is held together by 6-8 snaps. It may take 20 minutes if you take your time… the hardest part is removing the fuse box cover and tapping your fuses.

Best Buy can probably do it for less than $200.

[exxxviii]

Thanks a ton, VersatenBMW, marsb007, & grueber! VIFO, Blackvue, and Thinkware are brands I have never heard of before. I am new to this and this gives me a huge jump start on the research.

[ASG29E]

Ive used street Guardian on three current and previous vehicles. I've always gotten good res;ults and recording. Has anyone used one of these in the iX.

ASG29E
Blue Ridge Mountain blue with Mocha interior still sitting in garage after driving home from dealer.