BlackVue DR770X-2CH Truck Full HD Cloud Dash Cam vs. Nexar Fleet Dash Cam Review

When we opened the DR770X-2CH Truck Dash Cam box, we saw a dash cam that looked quite similar to the DR750X-2CH Truck Plus. Its front camera is shaped like a tube and is screenless, which is easy to install right behind the truck’s rear-view mirror, on the windshield. On the other hand, the rear camera is built to be waterproof, withstanding most weather conditions. This model also comes with a 15M/49ft high-quality waterproof coaxial cable, long enough for trucks, trailers, and most large vehicles. Overall, we can define the design of the DR770X-2CH Truck in three words: sleek, stealthy, and sturdy.

Nexar Fleet is more of a solution that is composed of the remote dashboard which gives access to the footage through a Nexar One head unit. Known as Nexar’s flagship dash cam, the Nexar One has a distinct industrial design and is modular, which means you may select the core unit first and then order the add-ons separately. A connectivity unit, when combined with an LTE subscription, provides the camera with remote streaming capabilities as well as other linked functions. The interior camera module is the second add-on.

We put the DR770X-2CH Truck Dash Cam and Nexar Fleet to the test, first, comparing footage of the DR770X-2CH and a Nexar One.

Checking out BlackVue’s entry, the DR770X-2CH Truck sports a 2.1MP Full HD Sony STARVIS image sensor at a wide 139° view angle, recording at a higher 60 frames per second to give the smoothest image quality under any light for its front camera. Its external waterproof rear camera of the BlackVue DR770X-2CH Truck has a 137° angle of view and 2.1MP Sony STARVIS CMOS sensor augmented by 6 IR LEDs. The luminosity sensor detects ambient brightness, automatically activating the IR lights for clarity in total darkness.

Best of all, it includes a new SigmaStar CPU and ISP Tuning software that increases white balance, dynamic range, and exposure for the road ahead and traffic behind, which is critical for recording footage for loading and unloading of products, particularly for transport vehicles.

Nexar Fleet dash cams use the Nexar One, which is Nexar’s flagship 4K dash cam. It records 1080P to 4K video resolution, viewable in an adaptive frame rate of 25 to 30 frames per second. While it has no rear camera that is crucial for trucks, it still has an interior camera that captures only 720P.

Based on our test, although we find Nexar One’s 4K video resolution impressive, we don’t think fleet vehicles would require crystal clear footage like that. What matters more is the smoothness of images, even when the trucks or vehicles around are speeding away, which you can get from the DR770X-2CH Truck’s frame rate for up to 60 frames per second. Another thing to note is when your dash cam captures higher resolution, the more storage space it eats up - and unfortunately, that’s the deal with Nexar’s 4K dash cam. For us, what fleet trucks should really focus on is the durability of the dash cam, especially for long haul driving across distances.

After the video resolution, we went over the convenience features of these two dash cams, especially those that are needed for the fleet.

The BlackVue DR770X-2CH Truck Dash Cam is a standalone dash cam, which can be connected to the BlackVue Cloud for free, when paired to a WiFi source. On the other hand, the Nexar Fleet Dash Cam is a dashboard fleet solution that comes with a Nexar One dash cam, whose Cloud capabilities can only be fully utilized if you sign up for a subscription.

Diving deeper into the BlackVue Cloud’s features, we are amazed with how the DR770X-2CH Truck can help fleet managers massively with its state-of-the-art fleet management features, though it’s worth noting that the fleet plans do require a subscription for the BlackVue Cloud, and the free plans would be for the consumers.

Want to check what’s happening to your vehicle or driver on the road real-time? There’s Remote Live View. Want to know their exact location, plus save time and fuel in finding the best route? Hello GPS Tracking. Want to talk to your driver without keeping him distracted? Two-way Voice Communication is the key! There’s also a Live Auto Upload and Video Backup feature that secures all your footage automatically to the Cloud, giving you the peace of mind that you have sufficient evidence in case the situation calls for it!

And here’s another cool feature we found - Event Map. We got the chance to see the other BlackVue users on the road, and helped us get notifications about what’s happening around - accidents or hard braking incidents - which are useful if you’re managing more than one vehicle. You can access everything through the BlackVue App available in iOS or Android, or the BlackVue Web Viewer.

Looking at the Nexar Fleet Dashboard and Nexar App, it also has remote vehicle tracking features, although not as advanced as the BlackVue Cloud. Unlike BlackVue, Nexar doesn’t have fleet manager/owner-to-driver solutions like Two Way Voice Communication, so when you have to contact your driver using Nexar, you will still have to call them through their phones which can cause distraction on the road! It doesn’t have an Event Map feature, so you can’t track what other dash cam powered trucks around you are up to. The Live Auto Upload is also a non-existent feature on Nexar, which we find really important in ensuring that we don’t lose a copy of our footage.

To be fair, the Nexar Fleet Dash Cam also has GPS tracking and real time event notifications to keep you informed of what’s happening on your vehicle, and where the location is. It also has a Remote Live View feature - which can be limited due to the road and cabin facing camera configuration available. All of these features are also present in the BlackVue Cloud, although the big difference here is that Nexar Fleet charges you per feature every month. No Event Map, no Two-Way Voice Communications, no Live Auto Upload, but with subscriptions. Yikes!

We find this feature crucial since fleet vehicles are expected to be operating the whole day, while also being assigned to some locations that may be unfamiliar for the driver. We wanted to know what other security features best for these situations, and we found out a few concerning issues that we think deserve attention.

https://www.trustpilot.com/review/getnexar.com?stars=1&stars=3

Here’s a review from Chris. He encountered a car crash and was hopeful that his Nexar dash cam could help him prove what happened. Unfortunately, that one time he needed it, the dash cam failed to boot up, even when the power lines, battery and all permissions were enabled. Therefore, it didn’t actually serve its purpose.

And checking the Nexar App, we also found out multiple issues from customers about the software, which can be a cause of inconvenience for your fleet management.

Going back to Parking Mode. It’s a good thing that both the DR770X-2CH Truck and Nexar Fleet Dash Cam are equipped with Parking Mode, although the DR770X-2CH already comes with a free BlackVue Hardwiring Kit so you can connect the dash cam to your car's fuse panel and your BlackVue will go into Parking Mode when you leave your vehicle, without the need for additional accessories.

With BlackVue, it’s not just an ordinary parking mode - it also offers time lapse and buffered recording that includes the few seconds before and after the triggered event, so you get the complete picture of an incident. Of course, for extended recording times we still strongly recommend using the PowerCell 8 Battery Pack, compatible for both. With Nexar Fleet Dash Cams, you still have to purchase a separate kit priced at an additional $25.