360 Driving Recorder 2nd Generation Car Experience: Become a Experienced Driver Who Dares to Drive at Night

A company that started out as a video website eventually built a car. Well-known mobile phone manufacturers also began to try various products such as rice cookers, water purifiers, and air purifiers. In today's world, cross-border brands seem to have become a trend. Just like last year's smart driving recorder market, the leading product came from 360, a security guard for mobile phones and computers.

The launch of 360 driving recorder is an important step for 360 to expand from a "network security company" to an all-round "security company". The sales volume on the first day was 100,000, and the sales volume on Double Eleven was 200,000 units. Therefore, it is reasonable that 360 driving recorder will usher in the newly upgraded second-generation product in 2016.

Sony camera-level design

As a product that focuses on functionality, the appearance design of dash cams is often not taken seriously by manufacturers. After being easy to use, the second generation of 360 dash cams also strives to make the appearance look good.

Compared with the previous generation of products, the design style of the second generation of 360 driving recorder is more rugged. Although it is not a metal body, the rounded rectangle with chamfered edges still reveals some of the craftsmanship of a smartphone. At the same time, the size of the whole machine has become larger, which increases the weight of the machine from the original 61g to 92g.

The large lens protrusion inevitably makes people associate the 360 ​​driving recorder 2nd generation with a camera at first glance, especially when we found a Sony RX100, even the position of the logo is exactly the same, which makes people suspect that there is some reference. However, I believe that most people still recognize this Japanese aesthetic that has stood the test of time.

The second generation of 360 driving recorder arranges the power button, data interface and TF card slot on both sides of the body. The front and back look very simple. The back has a larger 3-inch TFT display, and four physical buttons are symmetrically arranged below, including an emergency recording button with a special logo.

It is still powered by USB, and the second generation of 360 driving recorder still does not have the corresponding car charger as a random accessory. During the actual vehicle installation process, car owners who have used the first generation of 360 driving recorder said that the adsorption installation of the new product is more secure. Of course, the inevitable power wiring still seems to require some aesthetic layout techniques.

Efficient wireless connection and versatile APP

The most impressive feature of the first-generation 360 dash cam is its ability to quickly connect wirelessly to a mobile phone. For the second-generation product upgrade, interaction with the mobile phone APP is also a highlight.

Users can directly scan the QR code in the settings menu of the second generation 360 driving recorder and download the corresponding mobile APP, which supports Apple and Android phones.

The mobile phone and the driving recorder are connected via a wireless network. After the device is turned on, you can search for a Wi-Fi signal starting with "360 Driving Recorder" on the mobile phone. The pairing password is the last 10 digits of the machine's SN number.

Using this "360 Recorder" APP, the mobile phone can realize the real-time video transmission of the driving recorder with almost no delay, and perform video management, photo taking and driving recorder function settings. With the help of the network signal emitted by the recorder itself, there is no need to consume mobile phone data, which is consistent with the first generation of products.

What is different is that this mobile APP has undergone great changes compared to the pure tool software of the first generation. It has added many sections similar to the "Huajiao" live broadcast, especially the "accidents" and "exposure platform" closely related to daily traffic, targeting sudden hot events during normal driving, which can be seen as an amplification and extension of the use of the content of the dash cam.

When dashcam imaging meets HDR

Frankly speaking, from the perspective of shooting and imaging, the first generation of 360 driving recorders was already excellent, and today's second generation products have been enhanced and supplemented in a wider range of usage scenarios.

The second generation of 360 driving recorder adopts Aptina AR0238 full HD image sensor, with 3umX3um ultra-large pixel points, new 6 full HD spherical glass lenses, and 43 layers of coating process, which effectively reduce stray light reflection and improve light transmittance. It supports up to 1080P/60FPS shooting, and its specifications are comparable to those of sports cameras.

It is particularly worth mentioning that the second generation of 360 driving recorder is equipped with E-HDR real-time high dynamic range image technology. The principle is to use the Ambarella A12A55 chip with professional algorithms to synthesize the best LDR image in each exposure time into the final HDR image in real time.

HDR technology is very common in mobile phone photography nowadays. Its purpose is to improve the picture shooting quality in complex lighting environments such as backlight by synthesizing multiple photos. In the second generation of 360 driving recorder, HDR shooting options have been provided, but between HDR technology and 60FPS picture frame rate, users can only choose one for the time being.

In actual driving experience, the 165° ultra-wide-angle lens brings a visual space that covers more than 3 lanes. With the driving lane as the center, the license plates on the two surrounding lanes can be clearly recorded, and there is no problem of decreased picture resolution for the outlines of buildings on both sides of the road. Although the video clarity of the second-generation 360 dash cam has been reduced from 1290P to 1080P, 1080P is completely sufficient whether it is observing license plates and road signs or recording the scenery on the road.

Undoubtedly, the optimization and upgrade of the lens chip makes night scene shooting the best place for the 360 ​​driving recorder 2. The biggest difficulty in night scene shooting is the lack of ambient brightness, and single-point strong light sources such as street lights and car lights in the environment can easily cause the car picture to be overexposed and blurred, which is especially common during driving.

The night scene performance of the second generation of the 360 ​​driving recorder is satisfactory. When encountering street lights or even car lights on the opposite side when parking, it can still control the strong light source within an appropriate range, so as not to let the strong light cover the key recorded details such as license plates and road signs. Among them, the addition of HDR technology may have played a crucial role.

Finally, the second generation of the 360 ​​driving recorder has a built-in 500mAh battery and a parking monitoring function. That is, when the vehicle is turned off and the power is off, the recorder enters a sleep state. If the vehicle is hit, the recorder will start a one-minute surveillance video, realizing the "parking lot anti-scam" function.

After two generations, 360 driving recorder is more than just a driving recorder

When it comes to a functional product in the traditional sense, Internet manufacturers are always better at it than others. After the success of the first generation of products, the second generation of 360 driving recorders has undergone a comprehensive evolution from shooting to gameplay.

In terms of basic practicality, the second generation of the 360 ​​driving recorder is not afraid of complex shooting scenes during the day and at night. In addition to a bunch of APPs with fancy functions, the ADAS advanced intelligent driving assistance system uses artificial intelligence technology to provide real-time lane departure warnings and front vehicle collision reminders, which also makes us feel that 360 intends to use the driving recorder to challenge Tesla.

At present, the 360 ​​Dash Cam 2nd Generation Monkey King Edition, with a starting price of 399 yuan, has successfully completed crowdfunding, far exceeding the crowdfunding target by 7751%. Consumers' confidence in new products comes from the reputation of old products. From the actual experience, the 360 ​​Dash Cam 2nd Generation will not disappoint the old drivers who are looking forward to it.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.