Accessories : Dashcam - DDPAI X5 Pro

In my search for a good Dashcam for my Scorpio-N, I decided to go with the DDPAI X5 Pro after a good amount of homework. 

Now, after a good 2 years of continuous usage in my Scorpio-N, I can safely say it was a good purchase with no regrets. 

Options to power your Dashcam:

There are quite a few ways to power your dashcam.
  • Connect Dashcam to the 12V Sockets in your car (I went with this option)
  • Connect Dashcam to the USB Sockets in your car
  • Connect Dashcam to the OBD port in your car (like these options)
  • Connect Dashcam directly to your car battery (this is called hardwiring and best done professionally with fuses and other safety measures taken into consideration)
  • Connect Dashcam to an auxiliary dashcam battery pack (i.e, power bank) which gets charged and in turn powers the dashcam (like these options)


My Requirements:

  • Front and Back dashcam recording
  • Should record without having me to check everyday if it is really recording or not
  • Withstand heat from front windshield on long drives
  • Should not restart/shutdown randomly
  • Good clarity (at least 4K for the front dashcam and 1080P for the rear dashcam)
  • DIY friendly (self installation should be possible and there should be no requirement to remove any biddings, door panels, roof panels and rear boot panels)
  • No requirement of park mode recording (and hence, no requirement of hardwiring kit)
  • Should connect to the rear 12V socket of Scorpio-N (I wanted to keep the front USB sockets free)
  • Dashcam should not draw small amounts of power from the 12V socket when parked. As far as I know, the Scorpio-N's 12V rear socket is not an active socket and shuts off when the car turns off. So far, I have never had my battery drain even when parked for many days due to any power leakage from the 12V rear socket. 
  • Mobile App Support (to download recordings via Wi-Fi directly to my phone)
  • No active battery inside the dashcam (to avoid fire risk)
  • Small in size (should fit snuggly behind the OVRM and also allow for installation of Fast Tag sticker at same location)
  • No need for a screen on the dashcam (this is an unwanted distraction)
  • Minimal glare from dashboard when recording

My Configuration:

  • Model details: DDPAI X5 Pro
  • Link: DDPAI X5 Pro
  • Dealer: Directly purchased from Nexdigitron who are the authorized reseller for India for 70MAI, DDPAI and other brands. 
  • Nexdigitron Contact: +91 7737373626 (WhatsApp enabled)

My Costs (as of Oct 2022): 
  • 20,999.00 - DDPAI X5Pro Dashcam (link)
  • 150.00 - Cable Management Clips (Set of 10) (link)
  • 1,299.00 - Samsung Evo Plus 128 GB Micro SD Card (link)
  • 500.00 - Custom extension cable to connect dashcam to the 12V rear socket in Scorpio-N
  • 1,000.00 - Rear Dashcam extension cable (this is different from the 12V extension cable)
  • 1,000.00 - CPL Filter for DDPAI X5 PRO (link)

Customization details: 

Out of the box, DDPAI X5 Pro comes with the hardwire kit which connects the dashcam to the car's fuse box.  If you do not want to connect it to the fuse box directly using the hardwiring kit, then, you need to get the power cable customized to enable it to draw power from some other source (like the rear 12V socket). 
  1. Customized extension chord to power the dashcam from the rear 12V Socket of the Scorpio-N: This was customized by Nexdigitron at their center and the length was about ~7 meters. The extension cannot be too long as that may result in drop in voltage. With the length provided by Nexdigitron, I was able to comfortably pull the wire from the front rear view mirror, along the driver side A-pillar, to below the right side front door and back door biddings, to under the 3rd row seats and finally plug it into the 12V socket at the rear of the Scorpio-N. 
    • Note: Nexdigitron will open your sealed dashcam box (they can record the unboxing if needed), modify the cable inside the box and repack it before sending it to you via courier. They will do some soldering to install the 12V connector extension joint and cover the soldered joint with a proper sleeve. 
  2. Extension cable for the rear dashcam: After installing the front and rear dashcams myself, I found that the length of the wire which goes till the rear dashcam was a little tight. It was not a deal breaker, but I feared the wire may get pulled over time. I asked Nexdigitron for an extension cable for the rear dashcam and they sent one for 1000/-. 
    • Note: This was plug and play and required no custom work by me or by them. 
  3. Cable Management Clips (Set of 10): This was useful in tucking the wires at few places. 
  4. CPL Filter (anti-glare): This is a very small piece of glass with a black frame around it. This must be fixed to the front of the dashcam and helps avoid the dashboard glare when recording. In my experience, this does not cut the dashboard glare 100% and I can still see the dashboard glare in some of the recordings. I will try to adjust the CPL filter and see if the glare goes away in the future. Note that this is a flimsy and delicate accessory and can get lost or broken easily when installing.  
  5. Book binders to wrap around the dashcam cables: Since I have installed the dashcam on my own, there are a few places where the wire is exposed. To avoid damage to the wires (due to pinching or pulling for example), I have covered them with book binders from amazon (link). You can check out the pictures of how these look below. If you are getting the dashcam installed by professional installers, this may not be needed.
  6. Dashcam wire tucking kit: A set of plastic tucking tools (link) which help in pushing the wires into crevices and tucking them inside easily. 

Dashcam Pros:

  • Clear video quality (front and back), can read number plates in all conditions (day, night, drizzle etc). 
  • Stable electronics, never got randomly shutoff or overheated or restarted during 15 hr+ long trips. 
  • It will record and you can safely assume its recording without checking every now and then if it has really recorded. 
  • Good Mobile App which gets updated frequently via the App store. 
  • Good firmware upgrade support via the Mobile App which helps upgrade the firmware of the dashcam frequently. 
  • Decent Mobile App experience to view recordings (go back and forth in time) and download small clips. 
  • The cables that connect to the front unit of the Dashcam have two screws that ensure that the cable will never come out on their own. 

Dashcam Cons:

  • A tad too expensive at almost 25K with all accessories and customization costs.
  • Mobile App on iOS is good, but it does consume a good amount of CPU and memory on the phone specially when saving clips as video processing is CPU and memory intensive. 
  • Short cables when purchased out of the box. Needs customizations to extend cables as explained earlier specially for the Scorpio-N.
  • Too many options and settings for the dashcam can confuse buyer. For example, whenever it detects a jolt, it takes pics. While this feature to capture an emergency is ok, whenever we connect the Mobile App to the Dashcam, it tries to download these emergency pics to the phone every time which causes the Mobile App to hang occasionally. 
  • Dashcam and the software comes with some form of ADAS which is not great. Its best to turn this off. For example, the ADAS system detects pedestrians a few seconds after they have crossed in front of the car and screams "Pedestrians in front of car" ;-) 

Installation Pics:

Pics of Dashcam units (front and rear) and wires tucked in 
































Binders around the cable to prevent pinching/cuts 




















Rear cable (self installed): 






































Recording Pics and Videos:

Note: The actual pictures and videos from the dashcam are of high quality, the blog does not do justice due to upload restrictions. 

Check this Youtube video to get a sense of the real video quality : link

Clear visibility of number plates 























Recording on a rainy day (slight dashboard glare even with the CPL filter installed)


Front cam recording on a bright sunny day 





Dashcam with Fast Tag side by side





That's all folks! 



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