BimmerTech Rear Camera Install w/ Dynamic Parking Lines

BzsBimmer · 06-01-2014, 11:43 AM

For some background. My car when purchased did not have PCD installed. I looked in to adding the PCD system in the rear mainly and found that the costs would be north of $1000 for coding, install, PDC sensors etc and so it kept me looking around.

Sure there were cheaper kits out there. I found large modules from well established companies out there but I had that option before when I had my first E90 325i in 2006. I'm sure that unit has refined since then but I was looking for something small and would just get the job done.

So after seeing Technic's thread on his rear view camera install, it piqued my interest.
http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=745727

The camera was a given standard but what really had me interested was the mention of dynamic parking lines in which the lines would curve with the steering wheel. I thought that this particular feature was cool. OK so I'm dating myself using the word "cool"... maybe I should say that the feature was the shnizzle, cracka lackn or swag.

Anyway, I hopped on to the BimmerTech website to see what damage this would do to my wallet and also searched the internet-thingy to see what the feature looked like in real world use and told myself this was going to be it.

I contacted Patryk (cool spelling btw) via e-mail and I got a response pretty quickly. I had originally thought that his store front was in Florida but all of my contact led me to find that he was actually overseas in Poland and that the unit would be shipping from Poland. Well that was alarm one for me because I was thinking ocean transit and 2-3 week delay. It was bad enough that e-mail communication was a 9 hour delay since they are in a different time zone.

This is where Patryk really shined. Sure e-mail communication was not West Coast time and immediate (you need to get over it if you expect IM level response time) but he would get right back to me later in my evening or early in the AM my time. I was assured that shipping would not be that long and coding is done via the internet.

I placed my order on the 5th of May and received acknowledgement and status as things moved around. Received the unit on the 13th and had it coded on the 21st and I installed it that night. I could have had it coded sooner but since I was at Bimmerfest, I needed to wait until I got back.

Here is basically what you get

Programming cable, wire harness, camera, RCA extension and additional wires. All install manuals and supporting manuals come via e-mail.

Package was fine. Nothing earth shattering there. Everything came to me fine and nothing broken.

You have to set up a coding session with BimmerTech. Patryk put me in contact (prior to my coding session) with Men via Skype IM. He and I set up a time to connect and being respectful and realistic with them being in Poland, I set it up for 10 AM my time (-8 GMT) but I was actually early so we did it around 9 AM.

Men had me install some software. I used a Mac running VMWare and had no issues. Coding time took all of 10-15 minutes. I was advised to code first and then install camera so that's what I did. The only issue with that is you don't know if it was coded correctly. When you put it in reverse without the camera installed, nothing comes up on screen so don't expect much. That night after work is when I did the physical install of the camera.

Install:
Install was pretty straightforward. The install manual that was provided wasn't too clear. If I hadn't had any mechanical or prior install knowledge of anything, I might have hit a roadblock. I did give Patryk this feedback and he agreed to work on it.

The two biggest challenges I had with the install
1. Running the cable through the trunk. I didn't have a wire puller so I had to improvise. The rubber hose that connects the trunk to the car was a PITA. What I ended up doing was grabbing a long thin zip tie and pushing it from the trunk to the car. I then made a loop and used electrical tape to close the loop shut. I took the small camera cable and looped it through the loop in the cable tie and then taped up the end so it wouldn't get damaged. I then pulled up on the zip tie and it pulled the cable right through with no damage to the micro connector.

2. The large radio connector and Bimmertech module needs to be shoved in corners so the radio will slip back in. The Bimmertech module was stowed on the right side and the connector on the left. The block is so big on the left that it was very hard to shove in the tight space. I ended up pulling a wire connector that is attached to the sheet metal to provide more space as well as pulling out the plastic bracket that holds the radio in so I can get more space. Once I did that, everything slipped in and the radio went all the way back as needed. Be careful as the wires are short on the radio and don't scratch your trim.

When everything was all plugged in, I tested it and

no parking lines.

This is where some install notes come in handy that weren't in the manual.
The BimmerTech box has two RCA female ends. Red and White.
The yellow female RCA on the main wire harness gets the short yellow male to male RCA jumper, and then that plugs in to the white RCA on the BimmerTech module
The yellow male RCA from the camera plugs in to the red female RCA on the BimmerTech module.

It seemed that my yellow short RCA extension was defective because it still didn't work. Patryk sent me another module and I found it odd that the new module still didn't work. Once I came to the realization that it wasn't the module, I used a RCA male to male I had laying around and success!

Now keep in mind that this picture is late at night so it looks bad. I assure you that at night and during the day, the picture is crisp and clear.
Note that the car without PCD will still show on the far right. You just won't have those light up.

Overall I'm happy with the customer service, support and product!

TexasSpartan · 06-02-2014, 08:59 AM

Patryk and BimmerTech = great service and products. Very happy with my back up cam.

grantmax · 06-05-2014, 03:44 PM

Congrats. As a fellow non-PDC owner, how much did this "hurt your wallet"?

GTMOT · 06-05-2014, 04:30 PM

I'm curious too. I back into spaces and always have a ton of room behind me. I'd actually love a split screen option with a front camera too. While I park too conservative when backing into a space I do the opposite when pulling into a space.

BzsBimmer · 06-05-2014, 06:01 PM

You can go to the BimmerTech site.
I didn't get any discount nor special service for writing this review so what I paid, should be what you pay. Note that you WILL get a bill from DHL to cover the customs invoice (IIRC the terminology) so add that to the total price.
http://www.bimmer-tech.net/shop/bmw-...em-integration

Still, when you consider the other options out there, this is still one of the cheapest but maintains the quality one would expect from a BMW integrated product.

330iToy · 07-31-2015, 07:02 PM

I just missed out on their sale price. I guess I will try to hold out for another sale. I have looked at about 4 different companies. Patryk seems the best. Thanks for the reviews and info guys. I am going for the front and rear cam kit. Did something change? I no longer see the option for a front camera? Is Alek the only one with front camera now?

Nelson@BimmerTech · 08-03-2015, 05:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 330iToy

I just missed out on their sale price. I guess I will try to hold out for another sale. I have looked at about 4 different companies. Patryk seems the best. Thanks for the reviews and info guys. I am going for the front and rear cam kit. Did something change? I no longer see the option for a front camera? Is Alek the only one with front camera now?

We still have the front camera option.

Ingenio · 08-04-2015, 06:30 AM

I'm interested in a front camera set up as I need to protect my front lip... :-( could you please PM a price?

ssshake · 09-02-2015, 07:57 AM

I'm happy with the product but their tech support and documentation sucks. This post saved me man, I was scratching my head about what was going on and didn't piece it together until I saw this post and this PDF http://carsystems.com.ua/uploads/pdf...ries_iss_1.pdf

Looks like the same module but not branded bimmer-tech

06-01-2014, 11:43 AM	#1
BzsBimmer Major General 3274 Rep 6,723 Posts Drives: '23 G80 FO M3, M3 & MY Tezzy's Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Nor. Cal iTrader: (32)	BimmerTech Rear Camera Install w/ Dynamic Parking Lines For some background. My car when purchased did not have PCD installed. I looked in to adding the PCD system in the rear mainly and found that the costs would be north of $1000 for coding, install, PDC sensors etc and so it kept me looking around. Sure there were cheaper kits out there. I found large modules from well established companies out there but I had that option before when I had my first E90 325i in 2006. I'm sure that unit has refined since then but I was looking for something small and would just get the job done. So after seeing Technic's thread on his rear view camera install, it piqued my interest. http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=745727 The camera was a given standard but what really had me interested was the mention of dynamic parking lines in which the lines would curve with the steering wheel. I thought that this particular feature was cool. OK so I'm dating myself using the word "cool"... maybe I should say that the feature was the shnizzle, cracka lackn or swag. Anyway, I hopped on to the BimmerTech website to see what damage this would do to my wallet and also searched the internet-thingy to see what the feature looked like in real world use and told myself this was going to be it. I contacted Patryk (cool spelling btw) via e-mail and I got a response pretty quickly. I had originally thought that his store front was in Florida but all of my contact led me to find that he was actually overseas in Poland and that the unit would be shipping from Poland. Well that was alarm one for me because I was thinking ocean transit and 2-3 week delay. It was bad enough that e-mail communication was a 9 hour delay since they are in a different time zone. This is where Patryk really shined. Sure e-mail communication was not West Coast time and immediate (you need to get over it if you expect IM level response time) but he would get right back to me later in my evening or early in the AM my time. I was assured that shipping would not be that long and coding is done via the internet. I placed my order on the 5th of May and received acknowledgement and status as things moved around. Received the unit on the 13th and had it coded on the 21st and I installed it that night. I could have had it coded sooner but since I was at Bimmerfest, I needed to wait until I got back. Here is basically what you get Programming cable, wire harness, camera, RCA extension and additional wires. All install manuals and supporting manuals come via e-mail. Package was fine. Nothing earth shattering there. Everything came to me fine and nothing broken. You have to set up a coding session with BimmerTech. Patryk put me in contact (prior to my coding session) with Men via Skype IM. He and I set up a time to connect and being respectful and realistic with them being in Poland, I set it up for 10 AM my time (-8 GMT) but I was actually early so we did it around 9 AM. Men had me install some software. I used a Mac running VMWare and had no issues. Coding time took all of 10-15 minutes. I was advised to code first and then install camera so that's what I did. The only issue with that is you don't know if it was coded correctly. When you put it in reverse without the camera installed, nothing comes up on screen so don't expect much. That night after work is when I did the physical install of the camera. Install: Install was pretty straightforward. The install manual that was provided wasn't too clear. If I hadn't had any mechanical or prior install knowledge of anything, I might have hit a roadblock. I did give Patryk this feedback and he agreed to work on it. The two biggest challenges I had with the install 1. Running the cable through the trunk. I didn't have a wire puller so I had to improvise. The rubber hose that connects the trunk to the car was a PITA. What I ended up doing was grabbing a long thin zip tie and pushing it from the trunk to the car. I then made a loop and used electrical tape to close the loop shut. I took the small camera cable and looped it through the loop in the cable tie and then taped up the end so it wouldn't get damaged. I then pulled up on the zip tie and it pulled the cable right through with no damage to the micro connector. 2. The large radio connector and Bimmertech module needs to be shoved in corners so the radio will slip back in. The Bimmertech module was stowed on the right side and the connector on the left. The block is so big on the left that it was very hard to shove in the tight space. I ended up pulling a wire connector that is attached to the sheet metal to provide more space as well as pulling out the plastic bracket that holds the radio in so I can get more space. Once I did that, everything slipped in and the radio went all the way back as needed. Be careful as the wires are short on the radio and don't scratch your trim. When everything was all plugged in, I tested it and no parking lines. This is where some install notes come in handy that weren't in the manual. The BimmerTech box has two RCA female ends. Red and White. The yellow female RCA on the main wire harness gets the short yellow male to male RCA jumper, and then that plugs in to the white RCA on the BimmerTech module The yellow male RCA from the camera plugs in to the red female RCA on the BimmerTech module. It seemed that my yellow short RCA extension was defective because it still didn't work. Patryk sent me another module and I found it odd that the new module still didn't work. Once I came to the realization that it wasn't the module, I used a RCA male to male I had laying around and success! Now keep in mind that this picture is late at night so it looks bad. I assure you that at night and during the day, the picture is crisp and clear. Note that the car without PCD will still show on the far right. You just won't have those light up. Overall I'm happy with the customer service, support and product! Last edited by BzsBimmer; 06-01-2014 at 11:53 AM..
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06-02-2014, 08:59 AM	#2
TexasSpartan Lieutenant 24 Rep 422 Posts Drives: '06 E85 3.0si Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Fulshear, TX iTrader: (0)	Patryk and BimmerTech = great service and products. Very happy with my back up cam. __________________ 2006 E85 Z4 3.0si 2015 F10 535i M Sport Sold 2011 E92 M3 Sold 2007 E90 335i Sold 2006 E90 330i Sold
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06-05-2014, 03:44 PM	#3
grantmax Lieutenant Colonel 142 Rep 1,637 Posts Drives: 2011 M3 ZCP Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: LA iTrader: (1)	Congrats. As a fellow non-PDC owner, how much did this "hurt your wallet"?
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06-05-2014, 04:30 PM	#4
GTMOT Enlisted Member 0 Rep 48 Posts Drives: 2010 SSII Convertible Join Date: May 2013 Location: Atlanta, Georgia iTrader: (0)	I'm curious too. I back into spaces and always have a ton of room behind me. I'd actually love a split screen option with a front camera too. While I park too conservative when backing into a space I do the opposite when pulling into a space.
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06-05-2014, 06:01 PM	#5
BzsBimmer Major General 3274 Rep 6,723 Posts Drives: '23 G80 FO M3, M3 & MY Tezzy's Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Nor. Cal iTrader: (32)	You can go to the BimmerTech site. I didn't get any discount nor special service for writing this review so what I paid, should be what you pay. Note that you WILL get a bill from DHL to cover the customs invoice (IIRC the terminology) so add that to the total price. http://www.bimmer-tech.net/shop/bmw-...em-integration Still, when you consider the other options out there, this is still one of the cheapest but maintains the quality one would expect from a BMW integrated product.
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07-31-2015, 07:02 PM	#6
330iToy First Lieutenant 71 Rep 391 Posts Drives: 2011.75 M3 Space Gray Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Jacksonville Florida iTrader: (1) Garage List 2011.75 BMW M3 [0.00]	I just missed out on their sale price. I guess I will try to hold out for another sale. I have looked at about 4 different companies. Patryk seems the best. Thanks for the reviews and info guys. I am going for the front and rear cam kit. Did something change? I no longer see the option for a front camera? Is Alek the only one with front camera now? __________________ 2011 M3 Space Gray Metallic, Silver Novillo Extended leather, M-DCT, ZCP, Prem Pkg 2, Conv Pkg, Sycamore Anthracite Wood Trim, BMW Apps, Moonroof, Split Fold Down rear seats, Enhanced Premium Sound
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08-04-2015, 06:30 AM	#8
Ingenio Major 180 Rep 1,171 Posts Drives: 2008 Space Grey E92 M3 (6MT) Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: Perth iTrader: (0)	I'm interested in a front camera set up as I need to protect my front lip... :-( could you please PM a price?
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09-02-2015, 07:57 AM	#9
ssshake Second Lieutenant 16 Rep 271 Posts Drives: 328i coupe 2009 Join Date: Aug 2014 Location: Waterloo iTrader: (0)	I'm happy with the product but their tech support and documentation sucks. This post saved me man, I was scratching my head about what was going on and didn't piece it together until I saw this post and this PDF http://carsystems.com.ua/uploads/pdf...ries_iss_1.pdf Looks like the same module but not branded bimmer-tech
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