This is how much the rearview mirror obstructs my view (when in its highest position!). It obstructs a complete car coming from the right. And pedestrians. As you can see this isn't my original rearview mirror though, it's a dashcam/rearview camera LCD display unit placed in front of the original in the exact same position (for testing if this could work). You can see the original mirrors on/off button at the bottom behind the new one and it's frame sticking out on the left side.
Point is if I move the original mirror even further up with some bracket, due to the rear window being so far down I'll only see the tarmac behind the car and not very far behind the car at all. But with this camera/display mirror I can remove the original mirror completely and place this one as high up as I want, I'll have a perfect view behind me at all times regardless position.
Main test now is to see where to place the camera at the rear. When the rear window gets dirty you have a hard time seeing out with the original mirror, how bad does it get with the camera placed on the inside of the window? Will it get worse faster or slower when the dirt adds up? I only need to clean a small circle on the window for the camera to get a clean view though hehe. I'll also test placing the camera on the outside, right behind the shark fin on the roof. I'm pretty sure it will keep itself clean much much longer there! I'll keep you posted. Now I'll look at how to attach the display/mirror further up, right up against the plastic housing.
Some feedback on the quality of the display as a mirror. Main issue is the framerate at 30fps, there is a visible 30fps sort of stutter. For me personally it's okay but I'm guessing some would have a harder time with this. The resolution is absolutely good enough IMHO. The rear camera is 1080p but the display is only 320 pixels vertically but I have no problem, I feel I have a better detailed view than with the real mirror which is a bit odd. But my eyesight at the displays distance isn't perfect, my glasses are optimized for what is further away.
Point is if I move the original mirror even further up with some bracket, due to the rear window being so far down I'll only see the tarmac behind the car and not very far behind the car at all. But with this camera/display mirror I can remove the original mirror completely and place this one as high up as I want, I'll have a perfect view behind me at all times regardless position.
Main test now is to see where to place the camera at the rear. When the rear window gets dirty you have a hard time seeing out with the original mirror, how bad does it get with the camera placed on the inside of the window? Will it get worse faster or slower when the dirt adds up? I only need to clean a small circle on the window for the camera to get a clean view though hehe. I'll also test placing the camera on the outside, right behind the shark fin on the roof. I'm pretty sure it will keep itself clean much much longer there! I'll keep you posted. Now I'll look at how to attach the display/mirror further up, right up against the plastic housing.
Some feedback on the quality of the display as a mirror. Main issue is the framerate at 30fps, there is a visible 30fps sort of stutter. For me personally it's okay but I'm guessing some would have a harder time with this. The resolution is absolutely good enough IMHO. The rear camera is 1080p but the display is only 320 pixels vertically but I have no problem, I feel I have a better detailed view than with the real mirror which is a bit odd. But my eyesight at the displays distance isn't perfect, my glasses are optimized for what is further away.