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The vast majority of our reviews come from verified purchases. Reviews from customers may include My Best Buy members, employees, and Tech Insider Network members (as tagged). Select reviewers may receive discounted products, promotional considerations or entries into drawings for honest, helpful reviews.

• Rated 5 out of 5 stars

  TW U3000-PRO = AWESOME , amazing features

  • Top 500 Contributor
  • Tech Insider Network Member

  This is just the 2nd dash cam I’ve owned. My previous unit is a 3-cam system, front, rear and cabin, has a screen which is super helpful and convenient, and I felt a non-starter necessity. I was reluctant in justifying the non-screen U3000Pro but there are a plethora of hardware upgrades, 3 years newer technology, dual radar, and dual Sony Starvis HDR sensors 4k30 2k30. Boy was this upgrade worth it, AWESOME. My wife is primary driver of the vehicle, and works in busy office park, where many an accident has been noted in the tight deck. Originally we had considered a Tesla , largely for the sentry parking record mode, but she chose Polestar 2 EV instead, with NO sentry mode which she’d been asking for about 3 years now. I had secretly hoped one of these primary dash cams first mfgs would integrate detection of police radar into the same device, (don’t ask) but Escort, Whistler and Cobra are radar detect first mfgs, with dash cam an oversight, and the roadmaps I’ve seen do not look to change that model. Installation is not as daunting as first worried. Our other dash cam takes up the cigarette lighter or the USB-C slot, here the inclusion of OBD-II is much preferred. Lack of a viewable screen does require that that you connect U3000 Pro and external mobile device to same Wi-Fi network (5 GHz and 2.4 GHz) since it’s needed to modify setup variables. Viewing on in-vehicle mounted iPhone or iPad, or pc via microSD is where superior video is immediately evident and clearly exploits weaknesses of the other vehicle dash cam. While a screen would be nice, this design is much more minimalist and sleek. I will say the ThinkWare app has a way to go, random disconnects prove quite frustrating among other idiosyncrasies. The best feature imho (ok, my wife’s humble opinion) is the sentry mode. She parks in her parking deck at a busy business park with tight spaces in an urban area. The ability to see events is invaluable, and 12v battery drain minimal. we leaned the U3000 pro does NOT keep cameras hot the whole time, instead it uses low-power radar instead and only triggers cameras to buffers recording 10 seconds before and after noteworthy subject is in proximity. SPECS: *Sony Starvis 2 sensors *4K 30 UHd front cam *2k 30 QHd rear cam *on-board dual-radar *HDR range on both cams *USB-C port for accessories *MicroSD up tp 512 GB (64 Gb incl) *wide 147 degree FOV *time-lapsed recording *dual band 5 GHz / 2.4 GHz PROS: +Sleek design +Dual Radar +ODB-II power +Parking Sentry cam +clear video with less grain +HDR reduces headlight “halo” glare +low-light exposure much better >U3000 +minimal battery drain, low-power mode +ADAS Adv Driver Assistamce System = safety CONS: -price premium -NO Screen, argh -most features off by default -no interior cabin cam (add-on) -ThinkWare app needs maturity -sentry mode requires said app, -(no in-car infotainment integration) -no radar detection so drive safely CONCLUSION: If you’re in the market for dash cam, and had been waiting for a premium top-notch product, give the ThinkWare U3000 Pro a hard look. While the non-pro model is steeply discounted now, I would not suggest sacrificing HDR in BOTH cameras, helpful in low-light and also to reduce headlight glare. I do wish it had a screen, but if video quality is your goal, you’re unlikely to do better than dual Sony Starvis sensors. Dual-radar parking assist and sentry mode are an easy sell !! RECOMMEND: Strong Buy

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  Posted 1 month ago by TechReviews

• Rated 5 out of 5 stars

  Great dash cam with excellent video quality

  • Tech Insider Network Member
  • Top 250 Contributor

  Thinkware's U3000 Pro is a most welcome addition to my vehicle's security and the image quality is what stands out the most. I replaced the current dash cam I had in my daily driver with this U3000 Pro and feel like it was worth the switch. In the box is a plethora of items that might seem scary for a 1st time do it yourselfer, but once you sort it all out, it isn't that bad. You get the front and rear cams, OBD2 power cable (love this vs the 12V if you don't hardwire), a super long connecting cable for the rear and front cams, lens filter, 64GB micro SDXC card, quick start guide and a TON of mounting hardware/pads. I would recommend a professional or Best Buy installing it for you, unless you are comfortable with wiring, panel removement and cable management. After taking about 20 minutes to remove my old camera, I prepped and mapped the area where I wanted Thinkware's cams to go. Having already ran and cables from the front to the rear, this part was a lot easier for me. This time around though, I love the power option Thinkware has given us. Instead of a normal 12V connector that plugs into the old school cig lighter port, you have the OBDII cable that plugs into the area where mechanics use to get car diagnostics. With the power cable, you can choose (after selecting what type (EV/Fuel Combustion) of car you have, to use the Parking option or not. What this does is if on, you get power even if the car is off so that you can still have monitoring if you are not around and the onbard radar I believe is amazing so you get less false positives. This also is used to save battery life too. If off, then the cams are only running when your car is too. One hiccup I ran into is completely my own fault. When everything was being powered on for the 1st time and setting up with the App, I had an infinite loop of the camera asking for an SD card, formatting required, formatting complete and restarting. This was on me, as I tried to go all out and use a legit 1TB card, but it turned out to be incompatible. I ended up switching to 512GB instead and it worked perfectly and setup was able to continue. Sorry, but 64GB for me personally is too small of a capacity. Now on to where the U3000 Pro shines, video performance. In the daytime, video quality lives up to Thinkware's claim and is super crystal clear. 4K front and 2K rear is a major upgrade I was used to from my previous cams of 1440P front and 108-P rear. This alone helps justifies the price tag (though currently on sale at time of review) and makes it worth it. I got to really try out the video quality all week as my trip to and from work require me to leave the house when the sun isn't out yet and leave when the sun is shining at full brightness. Light or Darkness the clarity is stunning. I can see when reviewing footage license plate numbers and distant signs/exits in great detail. During the dark, as long as a headlight wasn't shining directly to my face, the low-light image clarity is perfect. I could see while in traffic again license plates with no issues. The app itself is meh at best. You would think with such a high quality camera line up, the App would look polished as well. When you 1st use it, setup is great, going one step at a time to make sure all the kinks are worked out. Even there is a nice calibrating feature where the perfect spot for the cam can go. But that's about that. Menu is clunky and it's an adventure when trying to find or watching camera footage. It's very convoluted.

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  Posted 1 month ago by Woo151

• Rated 5 out of 5 stars

  Packed with safety features

  • Tech Insider Network Member
  • Top 50 Contributor

  I have used different brands of dashcams over the past 8 years, while each of these dashcams had its pros and cons, none of them was 100% the ultimate solution. Because I work in a very busy area and I park my car in a very tight parking lot where cars often bump into each other. I needed a camera with certain features that can serve the purpose such as high resolution, intuitive and fast connection, compact size, and ease of installation. After using this Thinkware U3000 Pro, I can confidently say it is one of the best options available on the market. The box comes with everything I needed to set it up: (Front camera, rear camera, rear-camera connection cable, OBD-II power cable for power + parking mode, windshield mount with 3M adhesive, heat blocking film, CPL polarized filter, cable clips / holders, microSD card 64 GB. I decided to use the OBD-II power cable because my car’s 12 V cigarette lighter outlet is inside the center console, which makes my wiring process nearly impossible. The OBD-II option, on the other hand, is also a peace of mind since the cable can be tucked alongside the windshield and down the door and then straight to the power port. After plugging everything in, I opened the Thinkware app and connected the camera using the on-screen prompts which were super easy and hassle free. Then I opened camera live-view and enabled the guidelines option (in green) to adjust and choose the best location of the camera before applying the 3m adhesive pad and the placing the mounting bracket, which is helpful. Once the front camera was mounted and everything was good, I ran the rear camera micro-USB cable (making sure to follow the labels). “F” end for the front unit and “R” end for the rear). Once connected, an audible prompt is played notifying me that the camera is restarting to apply the new setting. My first impression of this dashcam was excellent. The dashcam is well-built and feels premium. The main camera records in 4K and equipped with Sony STARVIS 2 sensors, which deliver sharp and clear footage in low-light conditions. In addition to HDR, that makes night vision super clear to the extent license plates are cleared captured. I went through every single section in the setting menu because most of the important features were turned off by default such as advanced parking alert, traffic light change alert, potential collision warning. These features are part of this Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS), which delivers real-time safety alerts. Overall, the dashcam performs well and intuitively. When I park, the camera plays audible prompt to let me know that it entered parking mode and begin monitoring for motion or impact. The camera handles glare and bright lights better than any model I used before, especially with the help of the CPL filter. The camera has built in GPS and the fast 5 GHz Wi Fi makes connection between the dashcam and the smartphone noticeably fast. This Thinkware provides full safety, and protection features more than what I expected. The only drawback of this dashcam is the remote live-viewing feature that requires a separate purchase of LTE module, which means the only way to view live and access the recoded clips is by connecting the smartphone to the dashcam. This makes access less convenient compared to cloud features. Aside from that, this dashcam is excellent and performs exactly as needed. I think after using it for few days now, this Thinkware U3000 Pro is a powerful and dependable dashcam.

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  Posted 1 month ago by Zaid