Hello everyone,
Thank you in advance for reading this review on the Infiray NV2 automotive thermal camera system.
Back in April I reached out to Infiray directly to see if they would be willing to send me an NV2 unit to do some thorough testing on to which they agreed. Only a few days later a brown box with Infiray branded on the side arrived at my residence. I was extremely excited to have received the unit so quickly that I dropped a few of my plans to get it set up quickly to see how it compared to an old used Cadillac system I had during COVID.
I've always been a fan of electronics and with the amount of driving I do, I wanted to add another layer of information/defence to my car. A radar detector, scanners, ham radio, dual dash cam and more were already in my car and having a new gadget was always exciting. For years I always wanted to have a thermal camera after seeing videos of Alex Roy and his BMW E39 M5 outfitted with one. Being able to see things that weren't readily available to the eye was very interesting so I began my hunt at that time. The only options that I could find was from a well known company called FLIR, which to this day does a great job with their products and provides a lot of thermal options to law enforcement, fire and military. Their Pathfindir and Pathfindir II units were available at around $2,400 USD. This was a bit out of my price range so I settled for a used Cadillac thermal camera and connected it to an aftermarket screen. With a broken germanium filter the video quality was not that great so I sold it and shelved the idea of a thermal camera.
In late 2023 I began the hunt again to see many more options, which included the Night Owl Speedir ($1,900), Hudway ($1,500), Night Ride Trailblazer Ranger ($1,900) and Seek Thermal (no price point). Each company had their own pros and cons which included replaceable lenses, mounting solutions, in-house screens or ones that allowed for aftermarket screens and the specifications for each camera. Some cameras had bigger sensors and some had a few variants that changed the prices respectively. With life getting in the way I put a pause on it until March where someone on my radar forum mentioned the Infiray NV2. This unit was completely different from the others with the actual camera being extremely small and not to mention a price point of $600. It did come with a lower spec'd camera but with their AI technology it would equate to the quality of a bigger lensed system.
PACKAGING:
The system came very well packed in the typical brown box and upon lifting up the flaps of the box there was a sleek matte black box with a simple, eye-catching design. Lifting up the top of the box you see what looks like a computer graphics card design. Streaks of silver and an electric component schematic surround the primary display/control box. Under that flap you have the camera and all of the other accessories. Everything is packed in nice and tidy with no complaints.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS:
As previously mentioned, the camera is small.. Off the top of my head it's about an inch and a half wide and an inch tall and inch deep. The display has nice feedback to it and holds in place very well. All of the other components seem sturdy and well made.
Starting up the unit after just connecting everything together, you get a splash screen and that beautiful image you have been waiting for. After panning the front of the house I move it towards the street where my neighbor is walking his dog to which the unit alerts with a human icon on the street followed by that colored thermal image and box over them. So much excitement channeling through my body.
INSTALLATION:
Installation can vary greatly depending on your vehicle and how particular you want to be about getting everything organized. You can do anything from installing the camera onto the front plate, running the wire along the fender into the cabin and slapping the display onto the day all the way to mounting the camera onto the front grill using Sugru, etc, running the wire through the cabin firewall and finding a nice home for the display.
You might need to get different screws/bolts if you plan to install above your license plate so it can reach into the plate holder. Otherwise just make sure that your plate is perpendicular to the road so you can see down the road better and to see the opposite side of travel. In my case I did a temporary installation of using a claw mount that was onto a suction cup ball mount.
PERFORMANCE/REAL WORLD USE:
After speaking with my contact at Infiray, they are planning to do software updates to help with the false alerts. I had the system alert to a human a few times when it was boxing over mailboxes. During the times that I did encounter deer off to the side of the road it did miss them because trees/shrubs blocked them until you were almost on top of them. After my unit failed (in detail in the bad section) I saw a lot of wildlife that I wish I had the system up because it would have put it to the test.
For lower speeds up to 40 mph or so it gives you time to monitor the system and react better. At highway speeds you will not get anything unless you are glued to the display to monitor what it's viewing. For seeing if there is police parked on the side of the road ahead this system does a good job at that to see the thermal signature on a nice dark road (ie the NJ Turnpike at 2am).
The system did an incredible job at picking up vehicles ahead, identifying them and putting distance based boxes over them. Sometimes the system picked them up so well that I was left extremely surprised by the detection.
THOUGHTS/VALUE:
For the price of $600 (less if on sale or through other means) I think to get into the thermal camera world it's a great buy. The small size of the camera allows for a vast array of installing and the display/control unit allows for various installation methods. Not only that, but having the license plate bracket and the display that can be moved easily, it allows for extremely easy transfer between vehicles either at home or for travel. Please see the below after some emailing between myself and the contract at Infiray. If they do not address the power plug port on the control box or have a better cutout for the cable to be fed straight I think it will lead to the power having fatigue/stress failure with time. Also a longer run on the coax connector on the camera side can hinder quick installs as it will be visible by others on the road/street.
"I sent this to him:
1. Any plans for a model with a bigger sensor and bigger screen? Any plans for just a bigger sensor? Any plans for a way to interface the unit to any monitor (any monitor that has an AV input)?
2. Any plans for a program or an online based configuration/firmware tool to update the unit in the future? (as in for improved sensor dynamics, etc)
The following questions are relevant to updating/configuring the system;
3. Being able to use the online tool to enable/disable warning sounds (ie you can have only human/animal sounds on and disable the car/too close alerts). If you look at this site;
https://alpupdate.com/ConfigureNewIt is for a laser jammer system. When you click on CONFIGURE, region set to NORTH AMERICA for example, you can see how you can change a lot of configs that will save to a file and can be transferred to the CPU via a usb stick. That is what I'm referring to with an online config tool.
4. Being able to adjust display brightness? I read a lot of comments on youtube and a few did say that the screen is way too bright at night. I would have to agree so I bought a static cling tint film to darken it which is perfect so it's easy on the eyes and the driver can still look at the dark roads ahead without major adjustments.
5. Any plans to improve human detection? I was getting a lot of mailboxes being flagged as a human and twice on the highway a tree.
6. Being able to keep the screen on when folded down. This will allow users to keep the system vertical in case placement in a car is difficult. That would have been my case but I was able to squeeze it in front of the cluster. Having another way to mount the interface would be great.
Other questions on the hardware;
7. Waterproofing the coax connector from the sensor and extending it another 12-16 inches or so. I noticed that the plug that goes to the sensor from the interface (the blue female plug and the metal plug) do not look weatherproof. I didn't see any o-rings/gaskets/etc. I did not run the camera a few times due to forecasted rain and did not want water egress into the connector. In regards to extending the coax connection point, this will allow the plug to be hidden in the car's body for cars that need a little more give for cable routing.
8. For the interface unit where the power plug and coax go. I noticed that the power plug is slightly bent due to where the opening is for the two cables to go out back. Can you just keep the entire back ridge a solid piece and just cut in two grooves for each cable? This will keep them going out straight. There can also be some rubber grommet that can be popped in so the cables don't make their way out. I attached a very very basic drawing on what I mean.
9. In regards to question 1. If there would be a product with just the sensor and a decoder that would be great. I attached another basic drawing on this as well.
His reply:
Thank you for reaching out with your insightful queries regarding our upcoming product features and enhancements. We appreciate your detailed feedback as it is invaluable in helping us improve our offerings. Here are responses to each of your concerns and suggestions:
Future Models and Features: We are planning to introduce models with enhanced sensor resolutions and larger screens based on market feedback. The timeline for these releases will depend on continued customer input and development schedules. The idea of a model with just an enhanced sensor is also under consideration.
Online Configuration/Firmware Updates: The upcoming NV2 Pro app will address the ability to update unit settings via an online platform similar to the example you provided. Users will be able to write configuration files to a TF card, offering flexibility in updates. We understand there are complexities in developing such a tool and are scheduling it accordingly.
Adjusting Display Brightness and Warning Sounds: These features will indeed be configurable in the NV2 Pro app. We appreciate your suggestion regarding the use of static cling tint film and will consider incorporating a more flexible brightness setting directly within the product's software.
Improvements in Human Detection: We are actively seeking to refine our human detection algorithms. Gathering more data from diverse geographical regions will be crucial, and we hope to collaborate with our users internationally to enhance accuracy.
Physical Design Adjustments: We acknowledge your concerns about the waterproofing and cable management in our current models. The connectors are designed to be water-resistant with internal sealing that may not be visible from the outside. Regarding the extension of the coax cable and redesigning the cable exit points, we are taking these suggestions seriously and will consider them in future design updates.
Additional Mounting Options and Screen Functionality: Keeping the screen operational when folded down is an excellent suggestion and is being evaluated for practical implementation in future versions to enhance adaptability.
We're dedicated to improving our products continually and genuinely value your input as it directly influences our development process. Please feel free to reach out if you have more suggestions or need further information."
THE GOOD:
- Very small camera- System is relatively easy to relocate car to car- Display/control unit can be installed in many places in the cabin- All hardware needed for installation for beginners- Price for value- Fast shipping at the time of receipt- Plenty of cabling for installation
THE BAD:
- Screen is too bright at night. I had to get some static cling tint to darken it for the night as it would impede with my ability to drive- Power plug/port angle can lead to failure at the port due to bending- Coax connection on the camera side is too close to the camera making installation messy- Display turns off when folded closed so mounting options in some cars might be difficult- Lack of communication after the unit failed leaving me with a dead device- Objects in the distant are not that clear- Incorrect alerts to non-organic items and missed alerts to deer
*** As of June 27th I have not received a reply from Infiray regarding replacement for the camera after it failed over a month ago. If this is the level of communication for a paying customer then I would be extremely frustrated as it seems that $600 would have gone down the drain and a complaint to the credit card company would have to be filed. ***
This is the email chain regarding the failure.
Jake <jakubxxxxxxxxxxxxx@gmail.com> Wed, Apr 24, 4:46 PM to deryck.jiang Good afternoon
The unit is showing me no signal on the main display with no changes whatsoever to the setup.
deryckxxxxxxxxxx@xinfrared.comWed, Apr 24, 9:47 PM to me Hi Jake, Please unplug and replug the camera to see if it can work. Moreover, could you please provide me with the SN under the housing unit? Best,Deryck
Jake <jakubxxxxxxxxxxxxx@gmail.com>Thu, Apr 25, 8:50 AM to deryck.jiang Thank you so much for the replies regarding improvements/firmwares/etc. That really helps a lot and I love that you guys are very open to making your products better.
As for the no signal, I did that. System off, cables out then in, turned on to no signal. Unplugged the camera and also tried on the interface side and the same thing unfortunately.
HOUSING SN: CBXXXXXXX
Jake <jakubxxxxxxxxxxxxx@gmail.com>May 3, 2024, 3:30 AM to deryck.jiang Good morning/afternoon,
Is there any update? I have a large portion of the review done and need a bit more testing against wildlife. Thank you.
deryckxxxxxxxxxx@xinfrared.comMay 5, 2024, 11:23 PM to me Hi Jake, We just got back office from our Labor Day holiday. I will send you a brand new unit for replacement and call for the UPS curbside pick-up service to take back the unit. However, we now encountered some serious shipping problems and they will be fixed within 7 business days. I appreciate your patience and I will keep you updated. Best,Deryck Deryck JiangOverseas Senior Sales Manager
Jake <jakubxxxxxxxxxxxxx@gmail.com> May 6, 2024, 4:16 PM to deryck.jiang Thank you so much for the reply and no patience needed whenever you reply it's all good. I just appreciate all of the opportunities you're giving.
All box up the first camera system and have it ready. Do you want to provide me with a UPS label? I can throw it on and I can drop it off at a UPS office. It's not a problem. There is one that is close by to me.
Have a great rest of your week and once I get the camera I'll throw it on. And try to spend some time looking for some deer. One attachment • Scanned by Gmail
deryckxxxxxxxxxx@xinfrared.comMay 6, 2024, 9:16 PM to me Evening, Yes, I will arrange the return label for you. Please notice that as of now we have encountered some problems with the shipping system. I will offer you everything no later than Thursday. Best,Deryck
Jake <jakubxxxxxxxxxxxxx@gmail.com> May 22, 2024, 11:42 AM to deryck.jiang Hi good afternoon, hope everything is well and just checking in to see if the camera has been shipped out so I can continue testing. Thank you so much. Have a good day.
deryckxxxxxxxxxx@xinfrared.comMay 23, 2024, 1:23 AM Right now we are still under shipping system upgrade since we no longer work with DHL or UPS anymore.
Jake <jakubxxxxxxxxxxxxx@gmail.com>Jun 3, 2024, 8:54 PM to deryck.jiang Good morning,
I know since your last email you're undergoing shipping provider changes. Has there been any update to that? I appreciate your time. Thank you.
Jake <jakubxxxxxxxxxxxxx@gmail.com>Jun 23, 2024, 3:07 PM (4 days ago) to deryck.jiang Good afternoon
Is there any update on a shipping provider? If I don't hear back in two days I will be posting my review on all forums including issues with shipping and the unit failing. Thank you.
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