A dashcam with GPS is a dashcam with GPS receiver that stores the locations of places filmed. A dashcam with GPS displays the speed in each video and the GPS coordinates can later be viewed along with the route taken. A dashcam with GPS can therefore be useful for insurance or police to determine where and under what circumstances certain footage was taken.
Some dashcams have the GPS receiver built in, others come with GPS receiver as an external and/or optional module. The advantage of a built-in GPS receiver is that it is less conspicuous and does not require additional cables. The advantage of an external module is that they are often slightly more accurate and faster.
Many dashcams today have a GPS function. A dashcam with GPS stores the coordinates of the places filmed. Sounds nice, but what good is GPS on your dashcam anyway? And what types of GPS dashcams are available?
GPS > Global Positioning System
The global positioning system, or GPS, is the commercial name for a satellite system set up by Americans to locate a place on Earth. It was launched in 1967 to help determine the locations of US military forces at the time. The entire system consists of 24 satellites that orbit the earth in a fixed orbit and broadcast signals at certain intervals. These signals can be picked up on Earth by a GPS receiver in order to determine the current location fairly accurately (2-10 meters, depending on the system used).
GPS stores the coordinates
A dashcam with GPS is thus able to determine where it is at any given moment. A dashcam with GPS receiver stores all the coordinates of the places filmed with the dashboard camera. This means that a special file is created on the MicroSD card where all coordinates are stored along with time and date. The GPS files can later be linked to the recorded videos because time and date are also stored. In this way, you know at which GPS locations certain dashboard camera videos were taken and the route taken can also be displayed. With specially developed software, all data can be easily played back.
GPS to track speed
Perhaps the most important benefit of a dashcam with GPS is the option to display speed. The speed is usually displayed in the bottom right or left corner of the image. The advantage of this is that in the event of an accident, the current speed can be displayed. This gives you valuable additional information if the other party claims you drove too fast when this may not have been the case.
Type of GPS on your dashcam
Basically, there are two different types of GPS modules for a dashcam; built-in GPS or external GPS. With built-in GPS, the GPS module is incorporated into the dashcam and is therefore not visible. With external GPS, the GPS module is separate from the car camera. In that case, it is often supplied separately and can be connected to the dashcam with a cable. Sometimes the external GPS module is attached to the holder and does not need to be installed separately. An external GPS module has the advantage that reception is generally better than with a built-in GPS. The external GPS module can often be attached to the front with an adhesive strip so that it can make good contact with a satellite.
GPS in your dashcam, convenient or unnecessary?
If you use a dashcam for safety and to record any incidents in traffic, the GPS is a very handy tool to be able to demonstrate speed. In addition, the GPS function can clearly show where a particular incident occurred. Most dashcams today are already equipped with GPS as standard, so you often do not need to include it in your consideration. Moreover, car cameras with GPS are often not even much more expensive than car cameras without GPS.
View GPS data with video on PC
Most dashcams with GPS from a well-known brand come with software developed specifically for that brand. The best free software for dashcams with GPS is Registrator viewer (DataKam player for Mac computers). Check out the download page to install the software.
