Drive Recorder touts advanced safety combined with high-resolution recording and playback

LONG BEACH, CALIF. – June 13, 2016 (MEDIAWIRE) – KENWOOD USA is introducing its first advanced safety product for the North American aftermarket. Expected to ship this month with an MSRP of $250, the Drive Recorder (DRV-410) is a window-mounted, front-facing camera with recording capabilities and enhanced driver assistance features.

The Drive Recorder features a front-view, wide-angle camera that is designed to excel in nighttime and low-light situations. Its Super HD 2304x1296-pixel capability and High Dynamic Range (HDR) image processing result in video that shows details of an incident with pinpoint clarity. A built-in shock sensor allows the Drive Recorder to instantly begin storing video and audio from an impact or collision while the vehicle is parked, and incident locations are geotagged with onboard GPS.

The Drive Recorder can be set to continuously record video to a removable SD card. (An 8GB card is included, and it can accommodate up to a 32GB SD card.) Video can be viewed on the internal screen, or by downloading KENWOOD’s PC application and transferring the SD card to a computer. The unit turns on and off with vehicle ignition and can also record when the vehicle is parked thanks to its built-in rechargeable battery.
In its driver assistance package, the Drive Recorder includes lane departure warning, emitting a series of audible tones when the driver strays outside of road lane markers. Collision avoidance monitors the distance and speed of the car or object in front of the vehicle and sounds an alert if an impact is imminent. The sensor system also includes a distraction deterrent, which alerts the driver when stopped traffic ahead of the vehicle has started moving. Each of the driver assistance features can be selectively turned on or off to fit driver preference.

“Turn on the TV at any point in the day, and nearly every new car commercial is talking about the safety and driver assistance features of its new vehicle,” said Rob Sutton, director of sales. “We felt it was the right time to introduce our camera to the U.S. market. It’s been a proven winner in Japan for a number of years, so our dealers can be assured that it’s road-proven and reliable.”

The Drive Recorder should be hardwired into the vehicle ignition system as it comes with permanent mounting hardware. Professional installation is recommended. A cigarette lighter cord is also included. For more information, visit www.kenwood.com/usa.

Kenwood, K40 and iDatalink Maestro have partnered to announce the world’s first integration of a head unit and stealth installed radar detector.

The revolutionary new K40 radar detector will communicate with the Maestro RR integration module. When connected to a compatible Kenwood radio, the user will be able to see on screen radar alerts complete with signal strength, radar band and speed of the vehicle at time of detection. Setup and installation will be greatly simplified using on screen menus and the speaker of the audio system for the radar alerts. 

As a final touch, the driver will be able to silence alerts using steering wheel buttons and see real time status in the new Kenwood “widget” view. Shipping is scheduled to occur sometime in the second half of 2016.  

LAS VEGAS, January 5, 2017 (MEDIAWIRE) – KENWOOD is introducing its second dash camera at the 2017 CES. Joining the standalone, monitor-equipped DRV-410 is the DRV-N520, a smaller version that is intended to pair with the company’s new mech-less DMX7704S multimedia receiver.

“The DRV-410 surpassed our expectations in terms of its acceptance in the marketplace,” said Tony Mercado, marketing manager for KENWOOD. “Despite the plethora of inexpensive models on the market, many customers preferred the superior image quality and reliable operation of our unit. We’re very happy to pair these same features with an even better user experience in the DRV-N520.”

The DRV-N520 features a high-resolution, wide-angle camera that records a three-megapixel (photo quality) image. Its small footprint minimizes window blockage, and recordings are stored on a removable eight-gigabyte SD card. In addition to its recording capabilities, the camera also measures distance and velocity between it and cars or obstacles in its view. Based on circumstances, it can trigger a collision warning to the driver if it senses an imminent impact, or notify the driver in stopped traffic if the vehicle in front of it has started moving.

As the DRV-N520 is not a standalone dash camera, its control, notifications and camera view are processed on the connected DMX7704S receiver. By using the in-dash touch screen, users can change recording modes, turn collision warning and delay departure notifications on or off, and set the camera display duration. Notifications are displayed on the screen as well.

Like the DRV-410, the DRV-N520 includes an internal G sensor to detect impact, and can be set to begin recording if the vehicle is struck while parked or otherwise unoccupied. All recordings can be played back through the DMX7704S touch screen.

The suggested retail price of the DRV-N520, like the DRV-410, is $200. For more information, visit www.kenwood.com/usa.