BlackVue DR750X 2-CH Truck Plus vs. Lytx DriveCam
Review

Based in San Diego, Lytx provides fleet management systems, primarily video telematics products such as the DriveCam.

The Lytx Drive Cam event recorder is equipped with dual lenses: one facing the road ahead and another facing the inside of the vehicle at 128° interior and 76° exterior field of view. These lenses capture 1280 x 800 video resolution @ 10 frames per second, powered by an Advanced Machine Vision and Artificial Intelligence.

With this technology, the DriveCam devices provide audio and visual alerts to help deter risky driving habits in the moment by prompting drivers to immediately correct risky behaviors, including cell phone use, general inattentiveness, eating or drinking, smoking, seat belt use, speeding, failure to stop at intersections, lane departure, and following distances.

The Lytx DriveCam has numerous sensors that can detect potentially unsafe actions such as collisions, hard braking and sudden swerving. When these incidents happen, the event recorder captures a 12 second video clip of the event - usually eight seconds before the event plus four seconds after.

You also have the option to press a button on the recorder to manually record an event. This can be helpful when you want to capture an event that you would like to share with your manager such as third-party collisions or unsafe behavior by passengers, pedestrians or other drivers.

24/7, but only limited to a number of days. The DriveCam event recorder has been configured to continually record and store up to 200 hours of road facing video.

The DriveCam can passively record in a short, constant loop, but only save footage when triggered by an incident. When triggered, the DriveCam device saves a short video clip that includes footage immediately before, during, and after the event.

Although Lytx claims it can continually record up to 200 hours of driving, the DriveCam itself only has an internal storage capacity of 16GB. Yes, it's expandable up to 128 GB, but it doesn't have a loop recording feature to maximize your DriveCam's space.

These clips are available on the Lytx website which you will have access to once you've signed up. Apart from viewing videos, this interface also offers live streaming options.

The Lytx DriveCam system is relatively simple to install. The unit itself mounts easily to either the windshield or the rearview mirror. A wire leads from the unit along the windshield, down the door frame, and to a USB hub, itself connected to a power source provided by the vehicle.

However, Lytx confirms that the DriveCam is not a dash cam, but a fleet event recording technology. Therefore, you have to purchase the entire fleet management service before having access to the DriveCam - which Lytx also recommends to be installed by their professional installers.

Similar to the Lytx Drive Cam's mission to provide fleet management solutions, renowned dash cam manufacturer BlackVue also designed a dedicated dash cam for fleet and commercial trucks - the DR750X-2CH Truck Plus.

Maximizing this dash cam's capabilities for fleet, BlackVue equipped the DR750X-2CH Truck Plus with BlackVue Over the Cloud. This is a suite of innovative connected features that unlocks the true power of your DR750X Truck Plus and remotely connects you with your vehicle which is very useful for the fleet.

With this connectivity, you have an instant companion that can watch over your car, inform you immediately of incidents such as impacts through Push Notifications to your Apple or Android phone. That saves you time, and manpower as well.

If you want to check on your drivers’ location and activity, you just have to connect to your DR750X Truck Plus dash camera anytime, from anywhere, and check on your vehicle with Remote Live View.

Recently, BlackVue also added the New Event Map feature in its cloud. While Lytx only records the actual detection of events, BlackVue takes it a step higher by recording, and also overlaying Event (Impact, Hard Braking, etc.) statistics and playable videos on a map.

Moreover, this BlackVue dash camera features two-way communication for both the fleet manager and driver. You can talk with your driver from your smartphone, and your driver can speak while keeping hands on the wheel.

With the BlackVue DR750-2CH Truck Plus, you can actually monitor progress and access location data, GPS logs and Driving Reports courtesy of the dash cam’s real time Live Tracking feature. Moreover, you can also play recorded video clips remotely and back-up important ones to the Cloud or your phone. Want to share it with your team? Your video recording can even be broadcasted Live on Facebook and YouTube!

Again, the Lytx Drive Cam is not a dash cam - so we wouldn't expect much from its video quality. However, we think that monitoring your fleet can be done efficiently if you have good footage - which we can't get from a 1280 x 800 video resolution @ 10 frames per second.

With an upgraded Full HD Sony STARVIS image sensor, the DR750X Truck Plus dual dash cam records excellent video quality for fleet at a wide 139° view angle at a higher 60 frames per second to give you the smoothest video quality under any light. With twice the number of frames per second, motion blur is greatly reduced, giving you important license plate detail even in fast-moving objects.

The external rear camera has a 120° angle of view and 2.1MP CMOS sensor augmented by 6 IR LEDs. The luminosity sensor detects ambient brightness, activating automatically the IR lights for clarity in total darkness.

BlackVue understands the role of commercial vehicles for the fleet - it’s to stay on the go, whatever the weather conditions and setting may be. Because of this, they built this dashboard camera with a rugged metal waterproof casing to increase resistance.

The external rear camera is built to withstand most weather conditions as well. This model also comes with a 15m high-quality waterproof coaxial cable, long enough for trucks, trailers, and most large vehicles.

Unlike the Lytx Drive Cam which doesn’t have 24/7 parking monitoring, this front and rear dash cam guards your fleet vehicles even when they are unattended. It’s not just an ordinary parking mode - it also offers buffered recording that includes the few seconds before and after the triggered event, so you get the complete picture of an incident.

This DR750X-2CH Plus comes with the BlackVue Hardwiring Kit so you can connect the dash cam to your car's fuse panel and your BlackVue will go into Parking Mode when you leave your vehicle, without the need for additional accessories. Of course, for extended recording times we still strongly recommend using the Power Magic Ultra Battery B-130X or the PowerCell 8 Battery Pack.

With ultra fast dual-band built-in Wi-Fi & GPS, you can access and download your footage to your phone at blazing speed. You can also get location data right through your desktop or smartphone app viewer, all at the touch of a button.

What’s even more exciting is that you can connect to the free BlackVue Over the Cloud account via a third-party wireless WiFi hotspot of the dedicated LTE Connectivity Module (CM100LTE) to enjoy great features. All you need is a nano SIM card - it is compatible with SIM cards from AT&T, T-Mobile, Telus, Rogers and Bell, including their MVNOs.

Lytx has stressed that the DriveCam is not a dash cam, but more of an event recorder. When we checked its specifications and performance, it is more focused on managing the drivers than keeping your car protected - evident in its low quality surveillance camera resolution.

With the BlackVue DR750-2CH Truck Plus, you can have the best of both worlds without spending much.

We said spending much because Lytx is subscription based - you will be charged by every single service you acquire depending on the plan you signed up for. In BlackVue's case, it's a one-time payment, and you can already have the features of a full HD dash cam and the management system of a fleet with the BlackVue Cloud.

Another thing is that Lytx is more applicable to larger fleets. The backbone of Lytx is in the software rather than the hardware, making Lytx scale well but not a solution for smaller fleets or independent drivers and carriers. On the other hand, BlackVue can cater from one up to 999 trucks - targeting all fleet types regardless of how small or big the business is.

Lastly, BlackVue's extra features like Advanced Parking Mode, Full HD Capacity, Weather Resistance, and 4G + LTE Connectivity can make the entire management and user experience ever more efficient.