Thinkware U1000 4K UHD Dual-Channel Dash Cam

Been great so far. The app is not the most optimized but it isn’t something you’re going to use a lot, except to download footage. Get the Install package and hardwire. I used all the tools and it made hardwiring (recommended) and installing much easier. Video quality after you download and view from your tv or larger screen comes out pretty good.

I bought this for a gift for my sister-in-law for Christmas. Based on my experience with my own U1000 it’s helps me feel comfortable driving the car having a silent witness. I recommend a dashcam to everybody out there. I think it should be standard equipment for cars just like a black box in a plane.

I was interested in installing two dash cams in my two vehicles and found Blackboxmycar online.  After studying the various technologies, manufacturers and videos I decided on the Thinkware U1000 (2-channel from and rear cameras) with the Radar module (for park mode) along with a Powercell 8 backup battery while the car is parked for longer periods of time.  

My concern was video quality and reliably capturing events while on the road and while away from the car. The Thinkware unit is definitely able to produce very clear and smooth videos at 60 FPS.  The unit itself is actually quite small and stealthy when mounted on the windshield so I really like that as well.  One of the deficiencies of most dash cams is there is no video event coverage for the two sides of your car. I recently learned that Thinkware does offer a multiplexor unit that allows for adding up to 5-channels (front, back, inside and the two sides). While using the multiplexor the video screen is split up into multi-views and saved in one file. I really like that they offer this but unfortunately Thinkware does not currently offer this on their highest end dash cam. I hope Thinkware realizes that this would be a great add on to the Thinkware U1000 for those that want full vehicle coverage. I have given this dashcam a rating of 4 stars due to this lack of support.

The optional extended wiring harness to accommodate the long power runs back to the battery in my car was a perfect length.  My biggest worry was dressing the data and power cables from the windshield to the back of the car. The numerous videos found on their site demonstrating how to dress the cables gave me the confidence to do it myself.  It was actually very easy and not scary to do so I would encourage anyone that is reasonably handy to go for it but to first watch some of the installation videos. I would also buy the inexpensive trim tool they sell to make dressing the cables much easier without damaging interior liners.  

I did have a bad backup battery upon arrival and the company was very good in getting another one sent right out to me.  They provided all the necessary paperwork and shipping label.

As a general approach dashcams are really designed to capture events and not to regularly review hundreds of generated files. This is a surveillance recorder and as such is meant to automatically provide proof of an event when required. There is also a manual button on the Thinkware U1000 allowing to manually record an event All of these event files are separated out and placed into a Manual Folder of the dash cam app making it easy to quickly retrieve and view. There are other event folders easily accessible which include both parking and motion events.

As a final note, I have connected this dash cam to a mobile phone hotspot to the cloud. It was not quite as intuitive as it could be but I did get it connected. Unless you have built in wifi in your car with a strong internet connection I am not sure this is the best approach to capturing and storing your files over the time proven SD Card. Though it sounds like a good security feature should someone break into the car and steals the dash cam I question its overall reliability.