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Tech News and Commentary
Dave and the team discuss Musk becoming Twitter’s largest shareholder, Amazon’s content filters, Uber adding plans, trains, and rentals to their app, QR codes and consumers, more internet satellites being launched, and more.
Dug in Stevensville, Michigan listens to our Free Podcasts and is calling via the IT App and asked: “Lately, on my commute, there’s been a lot of crazy things happening in traffic, so I think it’s time to get a dash cam. So I’m looking for recommendations from you. I would like to to be able to at least recognize license plate numbers if the need arises and I’d also like to have a live view at any given moment when I login with my cell phone.”
Dug, neither one of those things will be easy.
To be able to read license plates you will need a high definition camera. There are plenty of those from well known and trusted big names. For example the Garmin Dash Cam Mini 2 is a 1080p camera that you can buy for around $130. Lesser known brand names that have been around for years, like Niteize, have even better deals. They sell 4K cameras like the Rover R2-4K for $120. But neither 1080p nor 4K will guarantee that youll be able to read a license plate moving at high speed in real world lighting. Theyll just make it possible, but not something you can truly rely on. Keep in mind that video resolution and video quality are two separate things, and most dash cams dont have the best optics.
Live video is tougher, you will need a camera that supports it but there also has to be a way for the camera to get online, that means either a monthly cellular plan for the camera or a hotspot of some kind.
On top of that, most cameras just dont support it at all and instead offer a parking mode that makes the camera turn on and record if the car is bumped while its not in motion.
For example, the BlackVue DR750S-2CH allows cloud storage and comes with a smartphone app for remote viewing, but that assumes a WiFi hotspot in the car and those hotspots are usually only on when the car itself is on, so at best you can stream your driving, but not what happens around the car when its parked.
You may have to pass on the remote viewing requirement at the moment, though its always been one of the promises of 5G so you may have the option to pay a monthly fee for a camera with 5G that allows remote viewing soon.
Rod in Pasco, Washington listens on KMAX 840 AM with a comment
“I work at a community college and we have been moving instructors over to Surface Pro setups with dual monitors and docking stations in order for them to utilize them in their office and be able to take their computer to the classroom to be able to draw on their Powerpoints or whatever they need to do to make a lesson more engaging, and then take it home and possibly do a Zoom lesson. So, we have been using tablets. Love them. Love the Surface Pro and what it does. Love the versatility. And so that’s what we’ve been doing.”
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