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   Consumer Reviews of PLK Optian
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4.0
 
1 Consumer Reviews
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7hm
7hm
Turbocharged
4 reviews
11,823 points
4569 forum posts Joined on 09-Apr-2015
Unexpectedly good, stylish and reliable driving assistant!  Posted on 12 Sep 2015
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Features 5 Performance 4
Design 4 Price 3
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I installed this on
Ford Mondeo

Review
PLK claims it is a supplier to Hyundai-KIA for "ADAS" (Advanced Driver Assistance System) cameras and markets the Roadscope series (OPTIAN being the range-topper) as aftermarket consumer products.

After actually using this camera for a while, I am fairly impressed with it.
Features include ADAS functionality - Forward Collision Warning (FCW), Lane Departure Warning (LDW) and Beep&Watch (moving off alert, MOA) - a Full HD 1080p front sensor with support for a rear VGA cam, VEDR (impact event recording) and parking mode with voltage cut-off. Also equipped is a GPS transceiver for time, location(?) and speed.

The OPTIAN has a very unique look versus its competitors - a swept-back, sleek body in a discreet all-black color scheme with a single chrome lens ring. It looks like part of any modern car, while the green LED makes it even more distinct. Volume controls are on the side and there's a big REC button.
The rear camera however is a more typical cylindrical design.

Video quality is reasonably good, perhaps on par with its competition such as the popular DR600GW. Field of view is also decently wide, I'd peg it about 115 degrees or more. License plates are visible at up to around 15m (less at night). Color reproduction could be better but overall clarity and resolution is good. Video is saved in 12~13Mbps files of 30 seconds each.
The letdown is the low frame rate of 27fps which causes some above-average motion blurring.
Rear video quality is okay, but resolution is crap - just VGA.
The onboard screen is small with crappy quality and has fiddly menus which also obscure video quality controls (I can't find them), but you can also access ADAS menus here. Voltage cut off also can be set.

The ADAS features on the other hand exceeded my expectations and all work well. FCW is reasonably sensitive ("Watch out!") and LDW is also more sensitive than my car, but it cannot distuinguish intentional (or gradual) lane changes. The feature I like most is Beep&Watch, which relies on the tail-lights of the car in front and alerts you when it begins to move. The only thing the camera can't warn you of is the blindspot, which is to be expected.
The voice warnings can be disabled, thankfully, leaving just beeps.

What I like
Good video quality with clarity and resolution, but not the best.
Modern, sleek, unique design.
ADAS functions that work well.
Doesn't have overheating issues.
Voltage cutoff function.
Voice warnings can be disabled.
Uncommon model!

What I do not like
Oversensitive impact detection - speed humps & getting in the car can trigger it.
Motion blur on video.
No WiFi.
Greens reproduction.
Poor screen quality & VGA rear cam.
LDW can't tell what's intentional.

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