I waited until the back-up guidelines were added to the app before buying it. It took less than 5 min to install (2014 BMW 328) with not problems. It took me another 5 min to download the app and set it up. I installed it on my old iPhone4 and my main iPhone6, but I leave the i4 in the car for just this use. I read all the reviews and watched the several online videos, so nothing surprised me about it's performance.
Pros
- yes, the image quality is very good
- the guidelines, initial 'ripple' alert and the final red alert work well (already saved me once)
- very high quality build - even the package opening experience suggests quality.
- it's great to have a backup camera without retrofitting a wired solution.
- the two supplied phone mount options are very good - I use the removable vent mounting
- I emailed Pearl support twice - got prompt and helpful responses.
- As Pearl improves the system, the app gets updated automatically
Cons
- the main 'con' is that, for my car, the license plate illumination lights cast their beam diagonally across the Pearl RearVision camera lenses. The little 'eyebrow' above the top 1/3 of each lens only stops half of this illumination, which causes quite a bright 'flare' in the viewing screen. I'm working on a 'hack' to fix this: I've played with sticking thin dark colored filters (blue and red work best) over the illumination lights, but they also 'color' the license plate - don't want to attract the police unnecessarily. I think a film of polarized window tint film will work. last ditch solution will be to glue extra 'eyebrows' to the sides of the camera lenses (but that'll resume some of their wide-angle view capacity). I'd love Pearl to give me their solution.
Other cons:
- yes, it's initially expensive, but you don't have to pay a shop to install a wired system, possibly messing up your carpets or the car's electrical error-sensing system in doing so, and the app is free.
- I occasionally have to turn the phone's Bluetooth off and back on to get the camera to connect to the phone.
- the auto-activation of the app when you put the phone on the mount has only been working half of the time.
- you have to activate the system (one click on the phone's screen) each time you need it - it doesn't automatically activate when you shift into reverse.
- I understand why the camera turns off at 10 mph, but I wish it would automatically turn back on when speed drops below the 10 mph cutoff (or perhaps when stopped) - that's an unnecessary extra click
| Manufacturer | Pearl Automation |
|---|---|
| Brand | Pearl Automation |
| Model | Euro License Plate Adapter for Pearl RearVision |
| Item Weight | 5.9 ounces |
| Package Dimensions | 12.4 x 5.6 x 1.2 inches |
| Item model number | PREA100US |
| Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | Yes |
| Manufacturer Part Number | PREA100US |
| Cover Included | Euro License Plate Adapter |
