Kenwood DVR-410 Integrated GPS HD Dashcam Review

For years Kenwood has been known for providing great car stereo components. Then GPS became a feature found in some of their receivers. Now they have expanded their products. The Kenwood DVR-410 Integrated GPS HD Dashcam is one of these products. It’s an HD dashcam to bring additional security for your vehicle.

Features and specs:

Feature Highlights:    Full HD video recording is available in a compact design to document any occurrence or disturbance you may come across while driving your vehicle. With HDR (High Dynamic Range) technology, it can record video at dark and bright locations, without underexposing or overexposing the image. A gyro sensor will automatically detect when there is an event and separate a portion of memory within the 8GB SD card for viewing. Additional safety and warning features will detect and alert you of a possible forward collision or as lane departure begins to occur.

Full HD Recording:   Record high-resolution smooth videos at Full HD (1920 x 1080) while keeping the file size small with H.264 technology.

Built-In GPS:   Check your location wherever you go. The built-in, highly sensitive GPS receiver automatically records driving information in the video such as speed, altitude, longitude, latitude & heading. Display your location on Google Maps™ with a link to web when you play the video on “KENWOOD DRIVE REVIEW".

HDR For Backlighting:   Thanks to HDR (High Dynamic Range) technology, DRV-410 can record video at dark and bright locations, without underexposing or overexposing the image.

Smooth Recording:   Recording at 27 frames a second creates a natural and progressively smooth video.

Extensive Recording Function:   With latest motion detection technology and its own internal battery, DRV-410 automatically activates and records video when motion is detected near the front of the vehicle. During parking mode, the security indicator will have a deterrent effect against car theft or vandalism.

Kenwood Drive Reviewer:   KENWOOD DRIVE REVIEWER is a PC application for displaying video recorded with the device. The application can be downloaded from the JVC KENWOOD website.
http://www.kenwood.com/cs/ce/

The Kenwood DVR-410 Integrated GPS HD Dashcam came in a nice looking color printed box with photos and features of the product. Opening the box revealed a dashcam well protected by bubble wrap. Materials used in the construction was mostly plastic. Quality of materials used was very good. The quality of construction and fit and finish was also very good. While small, it still felt well made in hand. Also included were the owner’s manual, 8 GB micro SD card, windshield mount, and power cables.

I liked the fact that they included two different power cords. One for if you wanted to hard wire it, and a 2^nd one for just a simple plug it into the cars cigarette lighter. Getting the dashcam mounted was simple. It was just a matter of running the power cable around the top of the windshield, pillar and bottom of the dashboard for a clean install and not seeing the cable. The windshield mount held the Kenwood DVR-410 HD Integrated GPS Dashcam in place very well.

Now that it is installed, it was time to get the Kenwood DVR-410 set-up. That was easy to do by going into settings. But it did require a tape measure. I had to know the mounting height of the Kenwood DVR-410 in relation to the road. Then of course there was also setting up the time. 

After the Kenwood DVR-410 Integrated GPS HD Dashcam was properly installed, the time has come to see how well it performs.  I was glad to see in Kenwood fashion it perform very well.  The image quality was very good.  I would have no problems or concerns over the Kenwood DVR-410 providing a sufficient image quality if an incident were to happen.  And the HDR worked well, not only at dusk, but also at night. I was skeptical about the quality of image I would get at night. But again the Kenwood DVR-410 worked very well and provided a night image I would still be confident with. Fortunately no incident came up where I needed to test the front collision feature. The lane detection worked ok, as it seemed to be a little more hit and miss than I would like. It detected the lane deviance a majority of the time, but there were times when I went over the divider and did not get an audible warning. I wasn’t in the other lane long, so maybe if I waited just a second longer I would have gotten the audible warning. But I didn’t want to have to explain to a police officer what it was I was doing, and that I indeed was not drunk. LOL. I was also able to hear the audible warning, but if I was driving and falling asleep at the wheel, I don’t think it will be loud enough. The Kenwood DVR-410 is at least a good start with the lane detection features, and I’m sure it will get better with next year’s model as the technology improves.

For the parking mode feature I turned the sensitivity all the way up. I then tried to shake the car, but that was not enough to get the Kenwood DRV-410 to turn on. I then tried knocking the car with my hand, and then tried kicking the bumper. Neither of these was enough to set off the sensor and start recording. This doesn’t mean that someone hitting my car in a parking lot wouldn’t be able to trigger the sensor and start recording. I just was unable to test the feature.

I really liked the Kenwood DVR-410 Integrated GPS HD Dashcam. The image quality was very good both day and night. It is very small in size, so it won’t obstruct your view. But the Kenwood PC App also makes it easy to view and use your video on your laptop or PC. With manual options, you can actually take a photo or record a video when you need to. I loved the wide angle lens and unique wiring options. It does everything that you need, and does a good job doing it. Based on its design, features, quality and performance, the Kenwood DVR-410 Integrated GPS HD Dashcam has earned our Highly Recommended Award. For more info and complete specs, check out their website at www.Kenwood.com/usa/car/.