Car and Driver - Minio Pro CDC-628 Dash Cam - Silver

I've been looking for a "stealth" dash cam and the Car & Driver - Minio Pro CDC-628 fit the bill... small & mounted behind the rear view mirror, it offered the features of bigger & bulky dash cams on the market, but without being a distraction to the driver. Unfortunately, removing the camera from the packaging was impossible without using drastic measures (see other reviews). I used a 1/4" drill to bore 6 holes around the plastic base holding the camera to crack the base from the plastic cube, being careful to not damage the camera! The product manual didn't provide any instructions on removing the camera from the plastic cube. The manual is worthless, it doesn't provide any details about setup nor operation. These drawbacks will prevent this product from becoming a popular consumer dash cam choice. Through trial & error, I've used the Minio Pro for a recent 2,000 mile road trip. The image quality is excellent (day & night), but could have saved time & less aggravation if the product manager had written a better manual!

I have been looking for an affordable dashcam with GPS for a while. When this dashcam was listed as a Deal of the Day I thought I would take chance for $49. A common complaint relates to the packaging, and I will confirm this. It was not easy to get the dashcam out until I saw how it was actually attached. (Tip: The whole black piece doesn't come out...so pull from the base of the camera and it will detach from the black piece attached to the case.) I didn't have any problems with acquiring the android app or getting the camera up and running. Went for my first drive with it and then went to view the video. GPS was excellent feature. Video quality is average, similar to what you find in similar priced dashcams without GPS. Unfortunately in the upper left hand corner is a "Car and Driver" watermark. This watermark is not in the demonstration videos that Car and Driver has published, if it had been I wouldn't have ordered it. I could not figure out a way to remove the watermark. I reached out the Car and Driver customer support to see if there was a way to remove the watermark. Was curtlytold no. My impression was that the individual probably gets asked that question often because the response was short and without any compassion. End of story for me is without the watermark I would have absolutely kept the dashcam and been content. But since it cannot be removed, I will be returning the dashcam.

The camera seems to be working as it should and the pictures are sharp and clear. However, there were two big problems in setting it up. First - I couldn't get it out of the plastic container; so I took it to my BestBuy store and three of their strongest people including the head Geek couldn't get it out of the container. They finally just smashed the plastic container and the camera came out. Second - Back home I tried to follow the instructions to set it up, but could not find the "Bracket Socket" to insert the SD card. Finally I called the manufacturers tech support line. The support person helped me remove a "packing bracket" that was covering the "Bracket Socket". It took a large vise grip and a lot of strength to remove that bracket. Seems like Car and Driver could improve their packaging to be customer friendly and then explain that there is a "Packing Bracket" that also needs to be removed from the camera and put some lubrication on that bracket to allow it to come off without tools and a lot of effort.

for the $49 you get features you do not find on similar priced cams.. i bought three and came to the following conclusions using my iphone 8 plus pros - clear pictures--recording is date time and MPH stamped--loop recording--wifi connect to your phone using their app--parking mode--gps travel records. comes with a long enough wire to completely hide it from view cons - package removal process is complicated yet simple (slide it out)--app needs an update. yes it works but it is clunky, gps works but maps do not load, and there is a complicated connection process..after you connect for the first time via wifi you have to remove the app and reinstall it.. then turn voice recognition on.. she will tell you a code and you enter it.. done. if you do not do this process the app will continuously crash.. after i did that process, i have had no issues. so four stars based on having to figure out those issues.. update the app and you get five stars

Trying to get the camera out of the plastic case was a 2 hour waste of time. There were no instructions on how to get it out without breaking. I finally called the help line. Some guy named Willy said I’ll email a picture. You need a pin and a picture of how to break it free. No instructions came with this in the box. After getting it out the instructions for operating we’re very criptic. It was impossible to program it. I went to the ap and that wouldn’t work either. You can’t tell if it’s taking pics. I did one time see pics of my shoes but then couldn’t clear it. A total waste of 3 hours. I took it back and bought another product.

When in parking mode it takes 1 frame each second and does not sense motion. . I’m still giving it 5 stars, as it is a good dash cam and perhaps some people might prefer this 1 frame each second regardless of motion when in parking mode. For me, this means when parked and there is no motion you have too many files to look through to find a file with motion. I could not get the downloaded software to work on my Android Version 5.1.1 Samsung Tablet either. I’ve owned and used several dash cameras. This one takes good pictures and you can rotate it easy in the vehicle, very nice if the action is at the side of the vehicle. I will be purchasing a camera that senses motion when in parking mode.

Ok getting this out of the package. No instructions, one would think slide it right or left... nope. Slide it to the back. Unfortunately like others I had to drill it out because no instructions. The app will not work on my lg v20. I got a support email in but this puppy is going back if bb will take it considering I wreck the package getting it out. To bad too, updated app and this would be perfect for $50

Two months after installation the Car and Driver MinioPro CDC628 Dash Cam began to have problems connecting to our phones (androids) and now it will not connect at all rendering it useless. Best Buy will not replace it and the manufacturer wants it returned for them to evaluate. They do not state whether they will replace, repair or do nothing. Shipping of course will be at my expense. I do not recommend this product.