Radar R4-RD review: dash cam and radar detector in one

UPDATE – You know those times. The times when someone cuts you off, or speeds past you, or flirts with you, or just drives like a crazy person. Having the REXING R4-RD 4-channel dash cam has all my bases covered. Be it recording a drive, proof of insurance, or another situation, the coverage of four cameras and IR night vision is high quality and reliable. Maybe one day we’ll live in a world where you won’t have to stress about other people’s driving skills, but for now, I’m glad I have this technology in case of emergencies.

⬇︎ Jump to summary (pros/cons)
PricePrice: $229.99
Where to buy: Rexing and Amazon website

What’s going on?

A comprehensive surveillance system that uses four cameras to give your vehicle a 360-degree view. All cameras record in 1080p, have a loop recording feature, connect to an OBD port and use USB-C.

What is included?

Technical details

• 1080p resolution
• 170 degree wide angle lens
• IR night vision for clear cabinet and outdoor recording
• Supports Micro SD cards (Class 10/UHS-3 or higher) up to 256GB
• Built-in Wi-Fi
• Internal GPS Logger
• It uses a supercapacitor instead of a battery, providing better heat resistance and longer life
• 2.7-inch LCD screen

Design and features

Sometimes gadgets and technology just feel overwhelming. Certain devices, like a dash-cam, are one of those things for me. It’s too scary to think about plugging into my car. I wanted something a little nicer that could be seen in many ways, but not too difficult to install or operate. Rexing R4-RD 4-channel dash cam has cameras all around, 360 degree parking monitor, wi-fi, GPS, IR night vision, and records in 1080p. And it’s easy to install and understand.

Camera installation was straightforward and easy. They give you sticky clips to manage your cable, a nice suction cup for the main camera, and a fixed rear camera. The main camera attaches to the car itself instead of a cigarette lighter. As I was reading the instruction manual for beginners, they had some videos on how to install it, but most of them were more involved than was really necessary for this particular model. You don’t need to worry about swapping fuses, or opening any kind of panels. It has a trapezoid-shaped plug that connects to the OBD port, and a USB-C that connects to the main camera. Make sure you clean your windshield to increase the amount of suction. There is also a twist-lock mechanism on the suction cup to secure it to the glass.

The OBD port has a built-in safety feature that turns off the camera if the car’s battery gets too low. So even though there are many times when the camera can record, I don’t feel like I have to worry about running out of my big car battery.

The side cameras are attached to the main body and are easily adjusted. Direct to Omni in any direction.

The display can show all cameras at once, or one at a time. If you don’t have a rear camera, the screen is divided into three parts.

The night display is clear. I really enjoyed the IR night vision, and it clicked a little on fine details. I feel confident that the images will be clear enough to be used in any situation.

The screen is not a touch screen. I think we’re so used to using a touch screen that it’s almost scary if it’s not a touch screen. The buttons are easy to use and understand. When my car is very cold, or hot, there are times when the touch screen becomes unresponsive. With physical buttons you don’t have to worry about temperature disturbances.

The battery can also be a problem with temperature changes and overheating. This dash cam is powered by a supercapacitor and you no longer have to worry about overheating or overheating.

There are date and time settings that will need to be set before you can start recording anything accurately. But I don’t see that other settings need to be adjusted. It’s always fun to see what’s available.

The left arrow button will start the locked recording, but if you do not need the video recording continuously, you can choose to connect the recorded video, and you will be given options for several minutes. I only have it on a two minute loop because most of my driving is very close, and it usually doesn’t take me long to get there.

There is a piece of GPS equipment installed, and if installed it can record speed and record coordinates. There is a G-sensor collision sensor feature that automatically locks and saves footage during a crash to prevent it from being overwritten by the loop feature.

There are Wi-Fi options available, but even without Wi-Fi the camera can work independently and record on a MicroSD card. You will need to buy a microSD card, no larger than 256 gb, and make sure it is U3 or higher. I had to do some googling to find out which cards would be better, but basically if you can write 30 MB per second or faster you are good to go.

Another major difference in this version is the RD difference. There’s a built-in motion sensor with constant power because it’s connected to the OBD plug, and it can automatically start recording if someone walks by your car while it’s parked.

Because there are four recording cameras, the microSD card will fill up very quickly, and the maximum you can store is 256g. The loop feature keeps it from filling up quickly, but it can be a problem if you have a lot of videos stored there.

Another challenge I found with this dash cam is the long cables. However this is a problem with many devices and there are no great ways around that. There are clips included, and you can always try to put the cables inside to reduce the amount of visible cable management.

Final thoughts

The Rexing R4-RD is a solid unit. I enjoy the simple setup and ease of use. There is a bit of cable management by adding GPS and a rear camera. The 1080p resolution is good quality, but not as clear as other cameras that specify 2k, or even 4k resolutions. I really like the supercapacitor instead of the traditional lithium battery, and knowing that the OBD port has an automatic shutdown if my car battery gets too low. Knowing that my car is being watched from all sides, while driving and parking, is amazing.

What I like about the Rexing R4-RD

• 360° Protection
• The OBD plug is used instead of going into the fuse box
• Supercapacitor design is much safer than lithium batteries

What needs to be improved?

• With four cameras, you have to be creative to hide the long cables
• Requires a specific high-speed card (U3) to handle 4-way recording. It’s not a bad thing, just something that needs more consideration.
• Although clear, 1080p resolution is not as high as 4K single-lens cameras.

PricePrice: $229.99
Where to buy: Rexing and Amazon website
The source: A sample of this product was provided free of charge by Rexing. Rexing did not have final say in the review and did not preview the review before it was published.