Transcend DrivePro 220 review

Evolution of cameras has been something that has been on the rise since the last decade. Lately, there has been a lot of variety coming in way of video recorders, for professionals as well as others, including driving enthusiasts. Wouldn’t it be nice to have memories of where all you have travelled in your car? The Transcend Drive Pro 220 car video recorder aims at accomplishing that and a lot more.

The Transcend Drive Pro 220 car video recorder is a device which can be mounted inside the car, connected via a cable to the 12V socket in the car and it can shoot continuously for hours together. The Drive Pro 220 also has a battery back up, which can manually be switched on and can record upto 30 minutes, without any power source. One thing pleasant about this recorder is that it has a F1.8 aperture lens and high-quality camera lens, due to which automatically adjusts to different lighting conditions and capture clear images. The camera also integrates a wide 130° viewing angle and a Full HD imaging sensor for clear and smooth 1080P (30fps) recordings. We shot long videos in both day and night conditions and found the results to be very good in the day and more than satisfactory during the night.

The Transcend Drive Pro 220 also is GPS enabled. It has a built-in GPS receiver that can log GPS coordinates, date and time into the recorded video footage. This can be of great help during an emergency such as a breakdown or an accident. The GPS coordinates can help emergency services to precisely locate where you may be stranded. By using Transcend’s DrivePro Toolbox on you laptop or computer, you can see the driving paths of your entire journey along with all the necessary information such as GPS coordinates, speeds, date and time. We found this t0 be a very useful feature.

Another feature that is helpful in urban conditions is the Lane Departure Warning System (LDWS). It is designed to prevent potential incidents by warning the driver when the vehicle begins to move out of its lane. The system monitors the lane markings on the roadway, and in event of straying away from its lane, shows an alert picture on the screen plus sends out a warning sound to alert the driver about the same.

The Transcend Drive Pro 220 has a built-in Wi-Fi Thanks which is supported by a free downloadable DrivePro App, available for both for Apple iOS and Android devices. The DrivePro 220 can be operated by any passenger. to view live video footage during recording, playback and also download videos, and easily adjust DrivePro 220’s settings directly from a tablet or smartphone. We were particularly impressed by this flexibility

The Transcend Drive Pro 220 also acts as an active safety device. It keeps a check on the safe distance to be maintained from the vehicle in front, while driving. The DrivePro 220’s Forward Collision Warning System (FCWS) warns the driver when the car gets too close to any vehicle ahead. In such cases, the system alerts the driver with a warning sound and warning sign on display. The DrivePro 220 also features a Speed Alarm, which sends out a warning when the driving speed limit exceeds the preset value.

The Drive Pro 220 also acts as a security camera. Armed with the latest motion detection technology, it can automatically start recording when the sensor detects a movement, when kept in the ‘Parking Mode’. However, this does drain the battery. The Drive Pro 220 also is useful as a post-incident evidence in case of a collision or accident. The camera continues to record for 30 seconds, even after the power is cut off.

The Drive Pro 220 includes a 16GB microSDHC memory card that can record up to 120 minutes of Full HD video. It also does not overwrite any footage. There is an option of two car mounts , which are a suction mount and an adhesive mount, as per preference.

We found the Drive Pro 220 to be an extremely useful device and if you are one that loves to travel and maintain your travelogue, this is one device that needs to be a part of your car for sure and can be obtained at approximately INR 12000. Apart from its core functionality, it also can do a host of other things like safeguarding the vehicle and keeping you alert while driving.

Specifications:

Dimensions

70.2mm × 63.1mm × 34.5mm (2.76 x 2.48 x 1.36 inches)

Weight

90 g (3.17 oz)

Display Type and Size

2.4″ color LCD

Image Sensor

Low-light sensitivity CMOS, 3 mega-pixel

Lens

F/1.8, 130° wide angle

G-Sensor

3-axis

Resolution/Frame rate

Full HD (1920×1080) 30FPS

HD (1280×720) 30FPS