Initial Setup:

I don't want to go into too much detail on the actual installation in a vehicle since every vehicle will be different, with varying power supply and fuse box locations as well fixed rear glass or not. Also your own anal retentiveness will play a huge factor in how long this will take. Again there are just too many variations to adequately cover, but what I would like to address is the parts provided for installation.

First let's take a look at the Power Magic Pro. Since this device is designed for their own in house dashcam I would rather it came with a dedicated power connection than a 12V cigarette lighter socket. It would make the installation so much cleaner. Second, this device requires you to tap into your fuse box for a constant and switched 12V supply; their recommended way to wrap the wire around the fuse spade is sketchy. If you aren’t careful with your wires you could have a dead short to ground since the fuse is mounted in the dashcam’s 12V supply line. I would much prefer to have a fuse protect the circuit as close to the fuse box as possible. To accomplish this and make this an easier install it would have been nice if they included an add a circuit device like this one at Amazon. I realize they would have to supply two sizes but the cost couldn't be much when purchased in bulk and the time and energy it saves the end user is well worth it IMHO. However if you do follow their directions, please use a meter to confirm which side of the fuse gets power. You'll want to wrap the wire around the other terminal so the fuse will protect your circuit but you could overload the fuse and blow it in normal use. Note: Pittasoft has confirmed they are looking into adding these to a package but have decided not to make it part of the Power Magic Pro since the unused taps would only increase the price for the end user. But I am glad to hear they are looking to make this as turn key as possible.

DR650S-2CH on the other hand provided pretty much everything you would need. While I did not use the small cable straps since I decided to tuck the cables away behind pillar covers etc, they appear to be well made and plentiful enough to get the job done. Mounting the cameras can be as easy or hard as you want. Some may just stick them up and others may spend time trying to get them perfectly centered. Suffice it to say, whichever camp you fall in the cables provided should be of adequate length unless you have a stretch limo or pick some really convoluted path from front to rear. One thing I would have liked to have seen is what I will call a horizon pitch adjustment. The camera does offer you the ability to rotate the camera in the mount to adjust how much foreground versus sky you have but it does not have an adjustment for pitch. So if you mount the camera with the one side slightly higher than the other the image will be off too. To avoid this I used a level to ensure I got this as close as possible.

Once you get the system installed it is time to head over to the app store and get the BlackVue C app. After it is downloaded and installed you will need to create an account. The app is visually appealing and seems well laid out and responsive. The opening screen to the app allows you to select Cloud, Wi-Fi, Memory or Menu as you can see below.



Selecting the Menu will allow you login to your account, create an account, change app and account settings, add paid features etc. These options are available at any time, not just when you are connected to the dashcam. The app settings are rather simple and are limited to changing map service, which only needs to be done if you are in China. You can also change the units for the speed. The account settings allow you to change your password, enable dashcam alerts and news alerts. But most importantly under Account Info you can see your current Live View usage, next reset date, play/download counter and how much of the 5GB cloud storage you have used. Selecting Add paid features brings up another screen which will allow you to see what features come with the basic subscription which are 10 min of live view/day, 100 downloads or file plays per month, 5GB cloud storage and 1 dashcam slot. The next option allows you to add more Live viewing and the options are 120min for $0.99, 720min for $4.99 and 1440 min for $8.99. These minutes are used after you have used your allotted 10 minutes per day and are billed by the second. The final option allows you to add another camera slot for a $9.99 one time fee but you can only have 2 additional paid slots.




Selecting BlackVue Cloud allow you to register your new camera for use with the service by scanning the QR code on the camera. Then you need to agree to the GPS terms and then your dashcam is registered. Here you can change camera settings and privacy settings as shown below.




Selecting BlackVue Wi-Fi will allow you to directly connect the cameras Wi-Fi. To do this, use your mobile devices Wi-Fi settings and select the network that is something like DR650S-XXXXX; the initial password is blackvue. After logging in the app suggests you change it for security reasons. Once you are connected you will see the main screen which shows some of the recordings on the device. Selecting the Settings icon in the top right will bring up the following sub menus: Basic Settings, Sensitivity Settings, Other Settings, Wi-Fi and Cloud Settings.