Systems and methods are provided for generating a rear view image display for a motor vehicle. A rear view system includes an optical sensor disposed at the motor vehicle and configured to capture image data, a computational unit coupled to the optical sensor by a cable connection and configured to execute program instructions stored on a computer-readable medium to modify the image data for presentation, and a display device coupled to the computational unit and configured to receive the modified image data from the computational unit and display the modified image data to a driver of the motor vehicle. The computational unit is further configured to receive software calibration to optimize modification of the image data.