DVR Stealth MFU 680 — the pros and cons of this device

This is a rule to which, of course, there are exceptions. An inconspicuous gadget with the telling name Stealth MFU 680 is not inferior to its competitors in terms of functionality and cost, however, it is quite small and, if desired, it can be safely placed behind the interior rear-view mirror. How did the developers achieve such compactness, and what did it cost them? — in our review.

Content

About Stealth MFU 680

Specifications

Completion had to sacrifice for the sake of … what?

Obviously, the cost of developing a DVR that stands out from other offers on the market needs to be increased, and in order to remain within the competitive price segment, the manufacturer had to make compromises.

The equipment of the device became such a “victim” — it is poor, there is no other term to pick up.

Inside the bright and promising box: the recorder itself with a radar detector, a bracket for mounting the device on the windshield, a power cable from the on-board network and a USB cable — that’s it. At the same time, if suddenly your suction cup becomes loose or fails, you won’t be able to buy the same one in a nearby auto shop, but more on that below …

There are no questions about the build quality. This is really good plastic, with glossy inserts in the places where the receiving antennas of the detectors are installed and a large widescreen screen with a diagonal of 2.7 inches. The device is made in strict black color, all control buttons are placed on the front side: three each — on the right and on the left. Pressing is carried out gently and at the same time clearly, with a pleasant return. There is a network of ventilation holes next to the lens for additional cooling of the gadget filling.

Ergonomics should be taken seriously

The Stealth MFU 680 video recorder belongs to the category of devices that can be used immediately after leaving the store, as they say, “out of the box”. All the necessary presets are done, you just need to insert a memory card into the slot.

But there are some obvious downsides as well.

• For example, when connecting, you should be careful and connect the power cable directly to the bracket on the glass, and not to the case. Otherwise, the portable GPS-receiver will not be powered and your gadget will lose one of the three functions assigned to it.
• Secondly, the same receiver, although it made it possible to reduce the dimensions of the main unit, now does not allow the screen to be rotated 360/180 degrees in the azimuthal plane — only slight deviations from the central position.
• And finally, there is a certain dissonance between the desire of the developers to make the recorder so small that it could be installed behind a mirror and the fact that information about the type of radar complex and the distance to it is displayed on the screen — then it will not be visible.

Full HD quality always!

Our hero is one of the few oversized devices that are capable of Full HD at 30 fps and HD at 60 FPS. The maximum resolution is 2560×1080 pixels, and in photography mode — 1920×1080 pixels.

Recording is carried out in a cycle, and the duration of the video can be selected in the menu. It is convenient that the MP4 / H.264 video codec is used — there is no need to install additional software to view files on a laptop or tablet.

Performance from Ambarella 7 Series

The device, as expected, uses the Ambarella A7LA50D processor — this is an excellent solution for small-sized devices, as it perfectly mates with the OmniVision 1/3” 4 million pixel sensor. In addition, Stealth MFU 680 supports microSD memory cards up to 128 GB, which is rare even for flagship gadgets.

Another significant «plus» in the DVR’s piggy bank is the HDR shooting mode, which allows you to present the picture as a superposition of two images with different filtering components — this allows you to get rid of bright glare and make night shooting clearer and more contrast.

The anti-radar works out for 5+

The recorder menu can be conditionally divided into 2 large blocks: Video Settings and Radar Settings, the second part is the most detailed. The detectors of laser radiation and radio bands are spatially separated and provide detection of road measuring systems several tens of meters before the direction finding of the car, which allows you to quickly adjust the speed limit.

Detection of K, Ka, Ku and X-band radars is possible even from the back of the car, when irradiated “in the back”. Among the complexes that are equally well detected both on the highway and in the metropolis mode: Strelka, Robot, Iskra, Cordon, Chris.

Good and reliable DVR

There is nothing strange in the fact that sales volumes of the Stealth MFU 680 have not decreased so far, although the release of the device took place almost a year ago. Yes, the gadget has obvious blunders and shortcomings, but there are incomparably fewer of them than the “pluses”. The most complete functionality, a balanced approach to development, pleasant design and quality are the key to successful promotion of the DVR on the market. The cost of such a gadget in a retail network will not drive any potential buyer crazy — buying 3 devices for the price of one is hard to refuse such an offer. If you want to have a high-quality Full HD picture and receive information about the installed radars on the road with a 99.9% probability, the Stealth MFU 680 is perfect for this!

pros

• Attractive price
• 360 degree detection
• Support 128GB memory cards
• HDMI connector
• Full HD quality
• HDR shooting mode

Minuses

• poor equipment
• Ill-conceived ergonomics
• Remote GPS module