Haven
The concept of battery protection during parking mode recording has been initially introduced with the release of the parking mode accessory Power Magic Pro, also known as PMP (Discontinued as of January 2023).
Basically, this parking mode accessory was developed for the purpose of allowing continuous recording of the dashcam for a period of time while the car is off and parked. The length of the parking mode recording time depends on either of the two factors - time and voltage reading. PMP has dip switches to which the time and voltage limits can be configured into the following:
- Time Cut-off Setting: 6, 12, 24, 36, 48, 72, 120 hours or infinity
- Cut-off Voltage Setting: Regular cars (12 volts or 12.5 volts); For heavy vehicles (22.8 volts or 23.2 volts)
The Power Magic Pro will power your dashcam in parking mode until either your car battery voltage drops to the configured value or the configures timer elapses (whichever occurs first). This can also mean that the PMP will help in preventing your car's battery from draining completely.
This mechanism was adopted and integrated into the firmware of BlackVue dashcams when the X Series were released in October 2020. This firmware settings was then labeled as "Battery Protection". The power cables were changed from two-wire to three-wire cable type, just like the cables that connect the PMP to the car's fuse panel. Instead of dip switches, the time cut-off and cut-off voltage settings can be configured in the firmware settings of the camera.
Parking Mode can be activated/deactivated using the power switch of the PMP. However, if the switch is toggled to the ON position, the timer cut-off and cut-off voltage cannot be deactivated at the same time. The voltage-cutoff setting is always activated to prevent car battery drainage. Also, the minimum timer-cutoff value is 6 hours. If the PMP switch is toggled to the OFF position, then, the camera will not record anything right after turning off the car's engine.
In contrast, either the timer cut-off or the cut-off voltage can be deactivated at a time in the camera firmware "Battery Protection" settings. So, only one setting can work at the time, whichever is active. If the Battery Protection option altogether is deactivated, then the camera will not produce recordings after turning of the car's engine.