2011 135 Backup Camera?

[1N4ttro]

Originally Posted by Tuxedo

the pictures posted so far give nearly all the story
I think I'm gonna return and explore better options and here's why.
Cons: in this video Lookit shows a vivid picture to set an expectation I'll refer to as lies- http://lookitcam.com/EN/assets/Video...-PreComp-2.mp4 (this link only works in Safari and downloads for other browsers)
next con: had a buddy walk 3feet behind the car no image change, no image change poof he appears 2-3sec later. defeats the whole reason to have this technology installed with money invested in.
con #3: Looks and fits like poop, if motivated anyone grabs the bottom and pulls up it'll tear off the deck lid and leave damage.

This does have tons of pros.
Pro: Software and setup i'd give near perfect score, 5min setup user interface and user experience all intuitive.
Pro 2: holy shit easy install, zero swearword job! well one and that's Holy shit that was easy
Pro 3: knowing retail the packaging inside and out is deserving a marketing shout.
Pro 4: the bluetooth works well press the button phone asks to allow and you have back up camera on the phone, I have not figured how to permanently allow.

Conclusion: It's worth the money at $50-75 as I'll gladly pay the $150-250 if it could handle the video refresh rate needed to show a proper video like the web advertised gopro shot video. I think this product made custom or specific for a BMW plate bracket with more powerful guts and memory would win me over.

Good thorough review. I agree with everything here except the fitment. Camera sit almost against the top part of indented license plate section giving the impression of cam being installed to the trunk lid and looking legit to me. I am sure many others that do not know the setup would never guess from a few feet away what really is going on. I would give you the point of this cam being an easy target for thieves if this was installed in a yaris but on a premium brand like ours most people would write this off as being part of the car from the beginning and not even bother with curiosity. I do dislike that there is no bottom fasteners as well, I think they could have incorporate it somehow by shifting the battery or something but they got lazy there too. I do agree the refresh rate is definitely not like advertised. It could have been better but in my case I have experienced very few refresh delays on some occasions but only for the 1st 2 to 3 seconds after cam has launched and after that I get a decent stream. For the price and simplicity of the whole thing I can live with the few quirkiness that comes with this cheap set up. Try setting the app priority on your phone and clear background running apps regularly this might help you. Also add the cam as a trusted device in the security menu of your phone and it will launch with screen off or sleeping phone. I will later test on an i-device to see if that makes a difference performance wise since i-devices tend to pair accessories via WiFi which is ideal for video unlike BT paring on android.

[1N4ttro]

Originally Posted by Stubbie Blue

Ok I did a test fit of the Joying 8" single DIN with a Best Kits BKBMW3 dash kit and it fits fine. I'll start doing the wiring tomorrow, but I haven't received the backup camera yet.

Nice, keep us posted.

[Tuxedo]

Originally Posted by 1N4ttro

Good thorough review. I agree with everything here except the fitment. Camera sit almost against the top part of indented license plate section giving the impression of it being installed to the trunk lid looking legit. I do dislike that there is no bottom fasteners, I think they could have incorporate it somehow by shifting the battery but they got lazy. You said fitment design is poop but that is because you installed and know the set up. I would give you the point of easy target for thieves if this was installed in a yaris but on a premium brand like ours most people would think our cars must have came with a cam and not even bother with with curiosity.

So I have decided to keep Look-it for a year and hope a good Apple carplay/rear camera gives me a drop jaw gotta have it moment. One issue I've come across is either the plate holder or button crashes my iphone bluetooth about 10sec after each use. I need to turn bluetooth off then on and re-connect my phone to bmwvin# and tune2air audio.

the amount of play on the bottom side is about an inch and floppy, not tight fitment at all mainly bothers me when closing the deck lid. It's not zGerman spec gutentightn' at all, then again I'm the 4th owner of the babe and ain't gonna kick her out of bed for eating crackers... metaphorically.

[1N4ttro]

Originally Posted by Tuxedo

So I have decided to keep Look-it for a year and hope a good Apple carplay/rear camera gives me a drop jaw gotta have it moment. One issue I've come across is either the plate holder or button crashes my iphone bluetooth about 10sec after each use. I need to turn bluetooth off then on and re-connect my phone to bmwvin# and tune2air audio.

the amount of play on the bottom side is about an inch and floppy, not tight fitment at all mainly bothers me when closing the deck lid. It's not zGerman spec gutentightn' at all, then again I'm the 4th owner of the babe and ain't gonna kick her out of bed for eating crackers... metaphorically.

Yeah, the BT issues you are describing sounds like a pain. I would get rid of it if I had that going on and there was no fix. Anyway you can prioritize the BT devices connected to phone? I hated the flappy effect that not having bottom fasteners causes so I used 3M double sided and all better now.

[Stubbie Blue]

I've wired up the Joying head unit and it's pretty cool.
- It does Android Auto over USB, and apparently Apple CarPlay too but I don't have an iPhone.
- Has wi-fi so I can connect to the internet via my cell phone's hotspot.
- Has the Google Play store for apps.
- Has it's own GPS receiver.

One thing is I connected the PAC RadioPRO harness to the chime speaker under the steering wheel kick panel, and it keeps giving off a beep every minute or so, and the PDC doesn't work. So I might just disconnect the speaker.
UPDATE: I discovered that the solution was to downgrade the firmware to version 1.00.03 on the PAC website. PDC and chimes are now working with no more intermittent beep.

[Stubbie Blue]

Ok I put the backup camera in and it fits and works great! But I haven't done the wiring properly yet. I'm waiting for a relay and wire connectors.

Also I found out that the CAN bus reverse trigger output of the PAC RadioPRO RP4.2-BM21 doesn't work! So I have to use the reverse light to trigger the headunit to display the backup cam.

[Tuxedo]

Originally Posted by Stubbie Blue

Ok I put the backup camera in and it fits and works great!

Would this setup work for a convertible top down parked unattended?

Btw I returned the Look-it as the last straw was connectivity issues. so to summarize Look-it great setup. Poor interface, quality, processor speed and connectivity.

[Stubbie Blue]

Originally Posted by Tuxedo

Would this setup work for a convertible top down parked unattended?

Btw I returned the Look-it as the last straw was connectivity issues. so to summarize Look-it great setup. Poor interface, quality, processor speed and connectivity.

Well, the Joying headunit has a detachable screen. See this link:
https://www.joyingauto.com/joying-be...bluetooth.html

But I'm not sure if you would want to:
a) leave it there where someone might be tempted to steal it, even though the screen does not operate on its own, or
b) take it with you, but the connection doesn't look that durable.

At least there are many other headunits with fold-out screens or double DIN fixed screens to choose from. I can't think of any issues with a convertible and the backup camera itself.

[Stubbie Blue]

Originally Posted by zx10guy

It's been years since I did my backup camera install. But from what I remember, the connector for the Bimmer-Tech camera is much smaller than the one you linked to. I had some difficulty fishing the wiring harness through the wiring loom going to the trunk lid. It's definitely worth the effort running the wire this way but wanted to warn you about the possible increased effort.

I was able to get it through the wiring loom by removing both ends of the loom, and 'worming' the connector through. That is, pushing the connector through a bit while contracting the loom upstream of it, holding the connector from outside the loom, then pushing the loom downstream, and repeat.

[Stubbie Blue]

This is how I wired up the relay. You use a relay so that the camera doesn't draw current from the reverse lights.

[JimD]

Somebody asked about mounting a Garmin on the dash. I wrote this DIY several years ago. It starts talking about the Garmin on the right on a BMW bracket but there is also an attached file that talks about my current setup with the Garmin on the left. I had to make my own bracket for that but it was not hard. It is made of 16 gauge steel painted black. The file includes a scan of the pattern. http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showt...highlight=nuvi

I still don't love the fish eye lens that Garmin uses but it continues to work for me. It also has parking lines that you calibrate for your installation. I think it is a good low cost option if you like Garmin navigation units. I have one on the dash all the time. So using it for the backup camera display adds no clutter.

[litebulb]

I picked this BOSCAM K1 Wireless Backup Camera and Monitor Kit setup during Prime days. Hopefully it works out...

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0792TQLGK/...709270_TE_item

[1N4ttro]

Originally Posted by litebulb

I picked this BOSCAM K1 Wireless Backup Camera and Monitor Kit setup during Prime days. Hopefully it works out...

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0792TQLGK/...709270_TE_item

This looks promising and I am curious on its performance. Having a transmitter in between Display and Cam could possibly yield good video quality unlike the one I am using now that although very useful to me the video resolution sux. I wonder if this system could stream to phone? Let us know how it works.

[smrtypants44]

I installed bimmertech last night, install took about 2 hours and even though it was pricey I'm very happy with the oem integration of it.

[smrtypants44]

Originally Posted by Stubbie Blue

I was able to get it through the wiring loom by removing both ends of the loom, and 'worming' the connector through. That is, pushing the connector through a bit while contracting the loom upstream of it, holding the connector from outside the loom, then pushing the loom downstream, and repeat.

I used one of these:

https://www.toolexperts.com/pickup-t...All%20Products

Pushed it through the tube , grabbed the head of the wire and pulled it through to the other side.

[champignon]

Originally Posted by JimVonBaden

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I thought they would be ugly, but they blend nicely, and are adjustable. They work fantastic and are easy to get used to.

I've been physically separated from my 135is convertible for most of the last month since I got the little accessory mirrors. I finally was able to install them yesterday, and they are worth way more than they cost! They will take some getting used to, but I do think that they are very advantageous to 1-Series vert owners, especially those who don't have other options (e.g. having cars without iDrive).

Thanks again!

[JimVonBaden]

Originally Posted by champignon

I've been physically separated from my 135is convertible for most of the last month since I got the little accessory mirrors. I finally was able to install them yesterday, and they are worth way more than they cost! They will take some getting used to, but I do think that they are very advantageous to 1-Series vert owners, especially those who don't have other options (e.g. having cars without iDrive).

Thanks again!

The longer you have them, the more natural they become to use. Not pretty, but they blend well!

[champignon]

Originally Posted by JimVonBaden

The longer you have them, the more natural they become to use. Not pretty, but they blend well!

I would contest the "not pretty" part of this, although that is maybe your point. No one is going to notice them except the owner of the car. They are really small.

The one negative I can think of is that it will take extra effort to clean the side mirrors with these small mirrors installed, and the act of cleaning the side mirrors may change their orientation so they may need re-positioning each time you clean them. Otherwise, they are a cheap, useful, A++++ addition to the car.

[smrtypants44]

They make OEM blindspot mirrors but they are very pricey if you have auto-dip.

https://www.ecstuning.com/b-genuine-...1167158309310/

https://www.ecstuning.com/b-genuine-...16725289394kt/

[JimVonBaden]

Originally Posted by smrtypants44

They make OEM blindspot mirrors but they are very pricey if you have auto-dip.

https://www.ecstuning.com/b-genuine-...1167158309310/

https://www.ecstuning.com/b-genuine-...16725289394kt/

Damn! Pricey is true. I'll take a few extra seconds to clean mine.

[Stubbie Blue]

I got these blind spot mirrors:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CDDNTML/

- Frameless
- Long width gives more curvature for wider coverage
- Pivot is quite rigid so shouldn't move if you wash it lightly
- I prefer to put them in the top inside corner because that is the least useful space of the original mirror.
- Passenger side blind spot mirror is a bit too small and too far away to be useful, but the 1 series mirror is already quite small and doesn't cover much, so I added it anyway.

[1N4ttro]

I changed phones from S7 Edge to Pixel 2 XL and LookIt improved slightly with the change. Resolution is a little better but only by a very small margin so not impressed there. Refresh rate has improved and after a week of use I have yet to experience a stutter. With the previous setup I experienced seldom/random video stutter mainly within the 1st few seconds of starting camera. Video stream is good now and happy with results at price point and simplicity.

For anyone without iDrive and interested in an inexpensive semi-wireless solution check this article out that I ran across while getting my Tech fix. I personally hate the LEDs on this cam, wired repeater/transmitter and wished this would stream to phone so I would not consider this but this might work for some.
https://bgr.com/2018/08/15/backup-ca...azon-discount/