MSRP: $999
Boyo's VTR1000 is a four-camera system for monitoring your car-an interesting concept for a 12-volt application. It can record car accidents as well as provide surveillance. Since this is for a passenger vehicle, I expected a small James Bond-like camera system and DVR unit. In actuality, I found the interior cameras to be not much smaller than the local warehouse store's four-camera home setup.
The dome camera required a 2 31/48" cutout and sat about 1.5" behind the mounted panel and about 1" in front of the panel. The IR camera for the passenger compartment was a standard off-the-shelf 2" x 3" x 3" box with a built-in microphone. The units are too big to stealthily conceal and correctly position. On the plus side, wrongdoers would think twice before breaking into a vehicle with such visible security measures. Happily, the front and rear exterior cameras are sleek little guys that were easy to mount inside the front bumper and under the rear bumper of our fullsize crew cab truck.
Installation
Starting with the easy stuff, I tucked the external cameras neatly away and routed the cable with no issue. Next, the IR camera was mounted under the dash to gain a clear view at the driver's seat where a would-be thief would likely force entry. For the remainder of the interior coverage, the 360-degree dome camera was temporarily mounted in the factory dome light location on a false panel.
Lastly, the VTR1000 itself was simply laid down on the floor of the back seat. Since the DVR measures 7" x 10" x 1", with an audio system already installed in the cab of the truck, I had no place to mount it. I also had issues with the IR camera getting kicked repeatedly once mounted.
The manual wasn't laid out very well, so in typical installer haste I must have passed over the information I needed for the alarm and reverse input information a minimum of three times. The tag on the wires would lead you to believe that the inputs should be negative, but we know that reverse wire should be positive so I needed confirmation before busting out a relay.
The Test
First on the agenda was to check camera angles. I switched to the aux input on my in-dash unit and was greeted by the familiar split-screen we see on most home security camera systems. The dome itself was off to a slight angle so it was readjusted as was the IR camera. Next was that pesky reverse wire. When switched in reverse, the split screen was replaced with a full-screen view of the rear camera.
The VTR100 includes an IR eye and a wireless remote, so I was able to see all four different camera views on full-screen, switch back to split-screen, start recording at the push of a button and stop with the push of another button-all pretty easy so far. I used the handy-dandy supplied key to open up the main panel on the unit and found the four basic Menu, Enter, Play and Stop/Record buttons as well as the SD card and USB slots. Once there, I got into the menu and found a straightforward GUI. Upon selecting any of the options, a simple screen, reminiscent of a digital camera, appeared that led to more selections.
I selected the play option and checked my test scenarios. The play menu is pretty cool, labeled by a time/date stamp, event (i.e., sensor, impact or normal [in which I hit record myself]), and an active mini screen of the monitored event. The security input will store 30 seconds on all four cameras after the input has been triggered. The collision detection works in one of two ways:
1) With the key off it will store 30 seconds after the impact.
2) With the key on the unit will store the 30 seconds before and the 30 seconds after the impact.
The unit has an onboard sensor so mounting the main unit is important; otherwise you will have a series of stored events all stemming from that bumpy road on the way to work.
Conclusion
Given the size and the $1,899 price tag (with cameras) the VTR1000 has a specific clientele. While I didn't appreciate the bulkiness of the system and its install challenges, it was straightforward and easy to use. If you have the room, the VTR1000 makes for an interesting add-on to an existing security system and has the potential to catch a robber on camera. And as a video recorder for car accidents it may be critical as an objective "eyewitness" that helps you to resolve matters with the other party.