MEGATech Reviews: The Thinkware U1000 4K Dash Cam

Driving Around Town and Parking

I was delighted with how the installation itself turned out with the Thinkware U1000 system. The entire system, front and back, looked like it belonged there. You wouldn’t notice the rear camera unless you were tailgating. And as soon as someone realized that the camera was running, their behaviour changed. They even let you in at a merge. The recording light can be disabled for front or rear cameras if you want more of a sneak attack, but I feel that having it on the rear camera is a bit of a safety/warning feature. The U1000 central unit was ready to pounce, hidden behind the rearview mirror.

We spoke about the advanced driver assistance features or ADAS that include lane departure, forward collision, front vehicle departure. Rather than taking control of the vehicle by braking for you or taking the wheel, It gives you gentle beeps, noises, and chimes. Once you know what these are, they can be useful to warn you of an issue on the road. There is a bit of leeway to tune their sensitivity and frequency within the app, preventing them from being too annoying and potentially ignored or turned off completely. I set mine up to be least sensitive so that I know that if they have to come on, I should do something. Now, when a car has done an emergency stop, I know for sure because that’s when it kicks in, and I have a few more seconds to prevent running into them. I feel the front vehicle departure is a function that only exists because people are still looking at their phones when they shouldn’t. It tells you when the vehicle in front starts to move. Lane departure was probably the most varied in terms of performance as it did try to use the lines in the road for guidance. When it snows in Canada, what lines?

As for parking warnings, you’ll have to play with the varying levels of sensitivity. I can tell you that setting it to the highest sensitivity isn’t a great way to conserve storage or get useful footage. The radar module is excellent because it only activates the camera when something is approaching that is worth the U1000s attention. Switching between the low energy mode, which takes advantage of the radar module, I was finding way fewer clips in the folder that were a waste of my time. With the help of the radar module and a hard-wire installation, the camera will pre-record the first 10 seconds before and after impact.

In contrast, non-radar modes only trigger the camera to record after something has happened. Rather than a he-said/she-said situation, you’ve caught everything leading up to the parking incident. Keep in mind; the radar module only works when it is front-facing, so you’ll need to back into your spots, which, in itself, is also safer, as you can see what’s in front of you when you pull out of a spot.

Verbal cues for when the camera has entered parking mode (when you’ve not moved in some time, like in heavy traffic) and when you re-enter the vehicle after parking it, to let you know there are clips to review, are all helpful, and make the U1000 system a little more interactive. You’re less likely to forget to review the video clips if you do it right when you get in the car.

The Power of the Cloud or a Puff or Smoke?

Select Thinkware dashcams, including the U1000, have access to something called Thinkware Cloud, which sets up within the app. It features remote monitoring if there is an active Internet connection present. This feature was not as useful as it seems because it relies on an active Internet connection. Usually, one that leaves with me when I leave the car because my smartphone never leaves my side. Since my Chevy Bolt EV does (did) have a data plan, I also know that the active connection shuts off when I turn off the vehicle. That means that all this monitoring, like the parking incident notifications, or the vehicle location tracking, is pretty much useless. If Thinkware was somehow able to integrate a cellular modem into the camera, this might give me a different impression. But, nonetheless. I gave it 30 minutes, and that’s all the attention I’ll give it. If Thinkware makes their cloud service more practical, I’d be happy to revisit.

Video Quality – Day Time

The overall video quality of the front 4K camera was similar to what you might get in a GoPro. The wide 150 degrees gave a nice broad view of the road ahead, but with the usual distortion of such a broad view. In ideal lighting conditions, the image was clear, allowing you to spot license plates reasonably easily. That’s par for the course for any modern camera, but there is a very noticeable sharpness, clarity and contrast in the image that less expensive cameras cannot achieve.  The extra pixels are worth it, allowing you to punch into details.

The rear camera, even though it is only a 2K unit, provides a good picture, but not nearly as sharp as the 4K image of the front camera, of course. The broad 156-degree view gives good coverage to both lanes behind you, as well as a decent view of the street beside you. As noted, having your rear windshield covered in grime won’t be very helpful, so it’s essential to keep the glass clean. RainX should help the water bead easier if you don’t have a rear wiper. On both cameras, motion blur wasn’t much of an issue in well-lit conditions.