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In the US in May of 2018, a federal law went into effect saying all new cars require a backup camera. This means that there needs to be an LCD screen visible to
by loudthing 5y ago
In the US in May of 2018, a federal law went into effect saying all new cars require a backup camera. This means that there needs to be an LCD screen visible to the driver for the camera. This is sort of a slippery slope as far as feature creep. Now that you have this screen, aren't drivers going to expect to see something on it 99% of the time when they aren't backing up?
Actually this leads me to realize why some automakers like Ford integrate the screen into the rear view mirror, so when it isn't on, it disappears behind a one way mirror.
- giantrobot 5y ago> In the US in May of 2018, a federal law went into effect saying all new cars require a backup camera. This law actually says that if a car can't meet a prescribed rear visibility threshold it needs a backup camera. Instead of make safer designs manufacturers just install cameras. But I don't disagree manufacturers are using screens as an excuse to add superfluous bullshit they'll then use for data mining. See USC 2342 Unintended Consequences, Law of. My favorite part of backup camera is manufacturers that put a warning overlay on the video telling you to watch your surroundings. An overlay that eats up some significant percentage of the screen occulting potential hazards you might otherwise see. I for one can't wait for the backup camera to display ads in the lower third. If they take up enough space manufacturers could make a mint selling personal injury and insurance ads.
- i_am_proteus 5y agonote: 'proscribe' means to prohibit and 'prescribe' means to require
- giantrobot 5y agoThanks, fixed it. Don't want a misspelling to affect the effect of my statement.
- matt-attack 5y agoNot enough humor on HN. Well done.
- waynesonfire 5y agoMy subaru has a tiny screen built in to the rear view. Its great. Anything else would be a downgrade.
- olyjohn 5y agoActual rear visibility would be an upgrade. Cars don't seem to come with that anymore.
- throwawayboise 5y agoWind tunnel engineering. Cars do not have large upright rear windows anymore because a sloping "fastback" design with a higher rear deck is more aerodynamic and gets an extra fraction of an MPG on the fuel economy rating.
- twobitshifter 5y agoI’m not so sure this is entirely due to fuel. A Volkswagen Golf with great fuel economy still has a big rear window and an FJ Cruiser has a tiny one and chugs gasoline. Many of the cars don’t actually have dramatic tapering roof lines, what they have is rising belt lines which cut into the window space.
- secabeen 5y agoLarge pillars to hold airbags are also a big consumer of window space.
- asdff 5y agoNot all cars have such high beltlines that make you feel like you are driving a sherman tank. American cars seem to have these issues more than imports. Maybe its a way to shirk around some crash testing metrics by deferring to less visibility than to offer more visibility and potentially spend more engineering something just as strong?
- zepto 5y agoMy 2012 volvo has a reasonably large LCD that is used for the backup camera, and infotainment etc. However, I have it set to screen saver mode, and it is completely powered down until I put the car in reverse. It also wakes for certain things like displaying the temperature if I change it with the real knobs. The Speedometer and Rev counter are physical needles. Newer models have replaced these with a central LCD, which means I will hang onto this one as long as I can. There is no reason a car can’t have a display and be humane, other than stupid corporate design sensibilities.
- julianz 5y agoYep, my 2009 Volvo has a popup screen that can be pushed down into the dash. I like it because I almost never use the reversing camera, but on the rare occasion I want to it's available. The rest of the car is all physical controls.
- zht 5y agoare you not worried about running over small children?
- cplusplusfellow 5y agoSerious question. Was there some epidemic of running over children that I missed in the 18 years of operating vehicles before I got one with a backup camera?
- zepto 5y agoIt’s not a serious question to ask if there was an ‘epidemic’. That is clearly a straw man. Backup cameras were mandated as a result of cases of children being run over, because mirrors are inadequate to detect their presence.
- matt-attack 5y agoMy Toyota has no LCD screen visible. Instead they makes the backup camera screen behind a partially silvered section of the rear view mirror. It’s quite nice. Not as big and bright as others but gets the job done and is super discreet.
- ctf1er 5y agoI bought an aftermarket camera that's like ford's, but it just slips over the old mirror. Thing is great, shoots 4k and is not integrated to the car's system. Also has voice commands, so its super easy to use the real mirror or any other functions. Screen in the mirror is the way.
- culopatin 5y agoAre you saying that you’re watching 4K video from your rear view camera in a 1.5in screen or it’s a dash cam?
- KMnO4 5y agoI’d rather have a nice bright (in the dark) camera with a wide field of view that’s only 480p.
- ctf1er 5y agoYeah it's a dashcam, records 4k in the front, and 2.5k the rear camera. I'm sure the screen is much less, but looks great on my tv.
- HNSucksAss 5y ago
- MonaroVXR 5y agoCan you show me the camera and how it's integrated in the car?
- ctf1er 5y agoIt's a Kingslim DL12 and is powered through the cigarette lighter or directly connected.
- andrei_says_ 5y agoDoes this mean you have a wire hanging from your mirror at all times? Also how is the back one connected?
- vb6sp6 5y ago
- garyfirestorm 5y agoIt’s being done by all big-3 automakers. It’s probably a supplier that supplies those mirrors.
- reassembled 5y agoMy mom’s Subaru has a backup camera that appears in the rear view mirror and then disappears when in drive.