ITRONICS New ITB-100HD SP "Smart Plus" 30 FPS 1080p HD Car DVR "Black Box" Recorder with GPS

This product works really well. Video footage is clear and quality of the audio is good. Video is clear enough to read license plates. I gave this product 4 stars because it failed to recognize the SD card the first time I formatted it and I have some concern about the heat during the recording process because I noticed that the SD card is really hot when I ejected it after about 1 hour of use. When used with the ITB 100HD Player, this product functions as detailed in the manual. The camera mount attaches firmly to the windscreen and there is no shake.

I received this as a birthday present about a year ago. It works great, the quality of the video is outstanding. It is a great unit! This time I bought it as a present for somebody else who wanted it because he saw mine in action

Good choice, prompt delivery.

Just an FYI, I didn't purchase this here, so I won't comment on sellers or prices.Short review:+ Full HD! - can read license plates and see details clearly in daylight+ Built-in GPS is surprisingly accurate with both location and speed.+ Built-in accelometer records any bumps or "shocks" the vehicle receives.+ Good quality mounting sticker+ Several configuration options+ Updateable firmware - if you can find it+ Automatically over-writes oldest files when card is full+ Small and semi-inconspicuous+ Automatically saves video when unplugged+-Parking mode option if camera is powered+-Default configuration options don't work well, but are changed easily.+-Included 8GB card is only 4 hours of HD video. Easily upgradeable to 32GB card though.- Not so great at night - this is where the 5th star went.- Expect broken English, as this is a Korean product.- Quick start guide only Korean - English manual is on the SD card.- Software tends to crash/lock up fairly often- I believe there is no manufacturer warranty for the US.- No button to permanently keep a recording- Built-in mic records quiet and muffled.Details:Only 1 button on camera: Microphone toggle on or off.List of configurable options for the CAMERA from within the SOFTWARE:* Only one physical button: Microphone on or off.* Speed toggle in Kilometers/hour (KPH): on or off.* Recording quality: 1080p@24fps; 1080p@15fps; 720p@30fps; 720p@15fps; 480p@30fps; 480p@15fps.* Brightness: Standard & Bright. Literally just makes the recording brighter - doesn't seem to improve quality at all.* Shock sensitivity when driving: Off; insensitive; normal; sensitive. Normal picks up every single bump. I keep at insensitive.* Parking Mode: Off (stops recording); Record for Shock only; Record for Shock or motion.* Shock sensitivity when parking: Insensitive; normal; sensitive.* Motion sensitivity when parking: Insensitive; normal; sensitive.* Shock alarm: On or Off. Camera beeps when it senses a shock.* File delete method: By time or by file type. Overwrites oldest file first, or lets you set percentage of each type of file to keep.* Time Zone: For the date/time overlay on recordings.List of configurable options for the SOFTWARE:* Speed toggle: Kilometers/hour (KPH) or Miles/hour (MPH)* Brightness* Contrast* Night mode: On or off. Same thing as brightness control, just simpler.* Rotate recording* Capture image. Saves current frame as image.* Play Speed: 0.4x; 0.6x; 0.8x; 1x; 2x* VolumeParking mode details:Parking mode is supposed to be a low-power mode that is activated after the camera is stationary for 5 minutes. Of course, this will only matter if you keep the camera plugged in and if your car provides power when off. The camera stays on the entire time, it just doesn't write the video to the card unless it detects shock or motion, which I assume uses less power. Yes, this could drain your battery anyways, but the camera uses such little power this is not likely unless you rarely/never drive the car.Note on motion: The manual doesn't clarify this at all, so I had to test for myself. The camera actually does "see" motion - not just "feel" it. In other words, if motion is turned on for parking mode it will record someone walking in front of your car/camera, not just pushing on the car.Other notes:* You need a windows computer to install the software, change settings, or view GPS data. However, raw video is stored as standard AVI files, so you will still be able to view video with any computer.* This camera has no night vision whatsoever. There needs to be some source of relatively bright light to see anything clearly.* I forgot to measure the length of the 12v adapter cord before installing, but I was able to route the cord all the way around my windshield, out and around the dashboard, and to the middle outlet with about a foot to spare. It may have been 10-12ft long.* The camera saves a video file to the card every 1-2 minutes OR when power is disconnected.* Camera takes about 30 seconds after power is applied to begin recording, and averages about 1-2 minutes to obtain a GPS signal.* To reiterate, if speed overlay is enabled, you will only see KPH in the video. MPH is only viewable in the software.*Update: There is an English version software update available that works for me on Windows 8 x64, so I assume it should work on Windows 7 as well. It is located on the original manufacturer's "mall" site, which is totally in Korean. Link below if it will allow: ipassmall.co.kr/ipassblack/down_proc.asp?filename=PC+Player%28ver+1%2E3%2E2%29%5FITB%2D100HD%2EzipUpdate 6/1/14: Just wanted to update, that this camera is still going. I honestly didn't expect it to last this long. However, after a firmware update (sorry, can't remember which version), the fairly new battery on my car started to die overnight - except only randomly every couple of weeks. Finally figured out it was due to the camera. Ended up having to re-wire my outlet to only run when the car is on, and so I only get video when driving now.Also, in the newer version of the software, they added a few more options for audio/video - none of which seem to change anything that I can tell.

This is a great camera, for what it is.With accelerometers (to sense crashes, jolts or sudden acceleration/braking) and embedded GPS metadata, this is much more than just a souped-up GoPro camera.The camera records audio and video continuously on the included full-size 8Gb SDHC card, but I would recommend buying a 32Gb card or two. It's a good idea to have a spare on hand in case you need to remove the card to view or preserve its contents.Most cameras in this price range dont even record audio, the ITB100HD does.Camera settings are done within the (Windows only) player application, which are then transferred via the SDHC card to the camera. The camera itself has one control: A single push button that toggles the internal microphone on and off, and to format the memory card. Worked fine with 64-bit Windows 7.Settings include choices of frame-rate and resolution, whether or not the camera records continuously (or simply responds to motion or jolts), whether the camera overwrites older files, and in what order event-associated files are over-written.You can also choose how sensitive the shock sensing and motion detection is -- to a point. I have found there are too few steps of resolution to choose from, and the camera is often sensitive even at its most insensitive settings. There are also presets for brightness, time zone, and the ability to export still frames or whole clips to your computer's hard drive.When the camera experiences shock or jolt, it tags a clip as an 'event'. Likewise, if it records motion while in 'Parking mode' (when it senses you haven't moved for five minutes), it tags those just as distinctly. This is useful when sorting thru files to distinguish travel time from time parked.The on-screen speed overlay is in Kilometers/hour, requiring a 3rd-party firmware hack to correct it to mph.Time-stamp information comes from GPS, so that is not only a convenience but essential if you need to use this video in court.There is a 'Video Out' connector you can use to assist aiming during installation, and later to provide sound and picture if you want to live-stream your dashcam to UStream, Skype, etc. This is an essential option if you need to preserve your video remotely, to protect evidence from theft or confiscation.The videos are divided into one or two-minute timestamped clips (depending on the frame-rate you choose) and are standard H.264 video playable on any modern computer.In the event of a crash or power loss, the camera has enough internal reserve power to do a proper shut-down, preserving the video.At the highest quality setting, the frame-rate is 24fps (rather than 30fps) but is more than adequate. Even the 15fps option performs well, and may actually be a better choice for night driving and economizing memory.The 'Parking' setting appears to be more for saving recording space than battery power, so if you have a weak car battery you may not want to leave this operating for days without charging your battery.The pinhole opening for the microphone can be enlarged to improve audio, which comes from the factory somewhat muffled.The mounting kit is for adhering the camera to the windshield glass. In my vehicle, however, I get better performance mounting the camera to the rear-view mirror, so you may wish to obtain a hefty piece of Velcro. Mirror-mounting also better conceals the camera from theft, and newer vehicles have continuous power available at the mirror so you dont have visible wires and clutter.Each time you insert the SDHC card, you need to push the 'format' button to get the camera to recognize it. If you forget, the camera will sound an 'SD card error' (4 beeps that repeat) after the camera has been operating for several minutes.There is an essentially useless LED that faces the front, and flashes when in the 'Parking mode'. I call it the "steal me" light, and you can cover it with black tape.The oddest thing about this camera is how it is marketed.iTronics has apparently had issues with some sellers, and honoring the warranty seems to depend on where you bought it.The manual is broken English, so it would be worthwhile to consult some online forums dedicated to this camera.The English portion of iTronics website is completely unintelligible, so firmware and software updates are often found on independent forums like dashcamtalk.com or radardetectorforum.org.Even with the English-language software version, iTronics seems to assume most users will be in Korea. That's unfortunate, because they are underestimating the value of their own product, and missing bigger markets.You can find the English manual on-line, search for ITB100HD_English Manual.pdfYou can also download and install the player application, by searching for ITB-100HDE PC Player.zipThere are other versions of this camera from iTronics, some have substituted the GPS module for Wi-Fi (so you dont have to fetch the SDHC card) and even one with a voice module (sadly, only in Korean). The ITB-100HD has the better CMOS imager and performs better at night, so beware if you are considering other models.If you are a good driver, and are ever in the position where you need to prove it, this under-$200 "black box" is a good investment.If you would like a rock-steady record of a road trip matched with a GPS map, you are also in luck.One last thought: Using this camera at night will definitely illustrate the value of keeping your windshield clean.