VIOFO Improvement Wish List 2023

[Nigel]

Viofo’s cards are also incredibly overpriced to be purchased individually.

They are supposed to be industrial grade cards, substantially better than maybe all the consumer cards, so I think they are worth the cost, if you do a lot of driving and are likely to wear a normal card out. Sounds like you don't give your cards that much use.

We don't see many problem reports for the Viofo cards, whereas there are plenty of problem reports for other cards, so I definitely recommend them for professional drivers.

To this day, the cards test and function perfectly fine with no reader right errors and still get full reading and right speeds after being used soley in the dash cam since 2016.

Don't throw them out, those old cards are good! Well, except the Sandisk ones, but they seem to have improved with their current ones.
Can't say the same for many of the modern cards, at least when recording 3 channels, most of them work OK with single channel video.
Best to stick to Viofo's list of recommended cards.

 

[speedingcheetah]

They are supposed to be industrial grade cards, substantially better than maybe all the consumer cards, so I think they are worth the cost, if you do a lot of driving and are likely to wear a normal card out. Sounds like you don't give your cards that much use.

We don't see many problem reports for the Viofo cards, whereas there are plenty of problem reports for other cards, so I definitely recommend them for professional drivers.


Don't throw them out, those old cards are good! Well, except the Sandisk ones, but they seem to have improved with their current ones.
Can't say the same for many of the modern cards, at least when recording 3 channels, most of them work OK with single channel video.
Best to stick to Viofo's list of recommended cards.

They’ve seen quite a bit of heavy use. Hour long commute each way for a few years, 45 minute lunch breaks for a few years. very hot and humid weather, super frigid cold. Is there a link to recommended cards because I would be pretty surprised if Samsung wasn’t among them. What really defines “industrial”? Cards that have been used in a raspberry pie for example, that have many random reads and rights, that has a operating system on them, I have seen even the Samsung pro cards and so called endurance cards burn out from that less than a year. in my experience, circular singular usage is far less strain on a memory card … but that is just my experience. Maybe I got some well made cards then…

 

[Panzer Platform]

But overall, I don’t subscribe to the idea that you absolutely have to have an endurance or specifically made microSD card to use in a dash cam. seven years using just normal cards as my personal experience.

I agree with you 99.99%.
My experience has been identical to yours.
However, you’re overlooking one issue.
As a gross oversimplification you can divide dash cams into 2 categories.
1.) Low Performance
2.) High Performance

A “low” performance dash cam, (1080p / 15 Mbps Bitrate / 1-CH / low heat) can use the lowest quality SD Card, and chug away for 20+ years with no recording malfunctions.

A “high” performance dash cam, (4K / 80 Mbps / 3-CH / high heat) is going to wear out an SD Card much faster.
High Bitrate, 3 channels of data, extreme high heat are going to push the SD Card to its limit, and will be more prone to recoding malfunctions, and wear & tear.

Viofo’s cards are also incredibly overpriced

Viofo SD cards are like Divorce;
They’re expensive because they’re worth it. Lol

 

[Nigel]

They’ve seen quite a bit of heavy use. Hour long commute each way for a few years, 45 minute lunch breaks for a few years. very hot and humid weather, super frigid cold. Is there a link to recommended cards because I would be pretty surprised if Samsung wasn’t among them. What really defines “industrial”? Cards that have been used in a raspberry pie for example, that have many random reads and rights, that has a operating system on them, I have seen even the Samsung pro cards and so called endurance cards burn out from that less than a year. in my experience, circular singular usage is far less strain on a memory card … but that is just my experience. Maybe I got some well made cards then…

Samsung used to make good cards, I think they still do, but for 3 channel dashcam recording their current cards seem to have some issues.
Not sure there is a definition of Industrial, it tends to mean a high write count, but also high temperature tolerance. I think it used to mean MLC cards rather than TLC, but with the 3D stacked cells in current cards it has got a lot more complex.

What memory card is recommended for a VIOFO dashcam?

Micro SD Cards play an important role in dashcams, but not all cards are suitable to be used in dashcams. The footage recorded by dash cams is saved on a micro SD card, which is an essential component of the dash cam setup. Here are some parame...

support.viofo.com

 

[speedingcheetah]

I agree with you 99.99%.
My experience has been identical to yours.
However, you’re overlooking one issue.
As a gross oversimplification you can divide dash cams into 2 categories.
1.) Low Performance
2.) High Performance

A “low” performance dash cam, (1080p / 15 Mbps Bitrate / 1-CH / low heat) can use the lowest quality SD Card, and chug away for 20+ years with no recording malfunctions.

A “high” performance dash cam, (4K / 80 Mbps / 3-CH / high heat) is going to wear out an SD Card much faster.
High Bitrate, 3 channels of data, extreme high heat are going to push the SD Card to its limit, and will be more prone to recoding malfunctions, and wear & tear.


Viofo SD cards are like Divorce;
They’re expensive because they’re worth it. Lol

Samsung used to make good cards, I think they still do, but for 3 channel dashcam recording their current cards seem to have some issues.
Not sure there is a definition of Industrial, it tends to mean a high write count, but also high temperature tolerance. I think it used to mean MLC cards rather than TLC, but with the 3D stacked cells in current cards it has got a lot more complex.

What memory card is recommended for a VIOFO dashcam?

Micro SD Cards play an important role in dashcams, but not all cards are suitable to be used in dashcams. The footage recorded by dash cams is saved on a micro SD card, which is an essential component of the dash cam setup. Here are some parame...

support.viofo.com

I guess i should be more specific then....
My use case, is 1 channel, single cam. Both were 1440P 30fps.
So would fall under your definition of "High performance " dash cam

Both cards, are Class 10.
The Samsung Pro+ (MB-MD128D) U3 card, the newest, and Read /write is about 95/85 MB/s.
The Samsung Evo (MB-MP128D) U1 card, the oldest, Read/write 45/30 MB/s.
Looking at old Newegg/Amazon listings, people have tagged "good in dash cams" even. lol And they were the ones people were using back then far as i recall.

Realistically though, there are only a few raw flash manufactures out there.
I highly doubt VIOFO actualy manufactures the raw flash used in their cards. And considering Samsung "High endurance" cards are less than half the price, probably use the same raw flash, and perform just as well, VIOFO cards are a luxury, not a necessity. They have their own "1st Party Brand" tax on them, imo.
The current model Samsung 256GB High Endurance card, is $19.99 (reg $24.99)on Amazon right now, VIOFO 256GB $51.19 (reg $63.99)

For the more heavy load cams, 3 channel etc, maybe there is more peace of mind factor to buying the "Certified/OEM" card.
I prefer having 2 independent cams though, more to mange, but if one cam goes out, the other still should be functioning, vs one main cam to run them all.
Also has the benefit of in the field swap, say if my front cam dies, can just grab my rear cam and stick it in front, since they are the same model.

 

[speedingcheetah]

Samsung used to make good cards, I think they still do, but for 3 channel dashcam recording their current cards seem to have some issues.
Not sure there is a definition of Industrial, it tends to mean a high write count, but also high temperature tolerance. I think it used to mean MLC cards rather than TLC, but with the 3D stacked cells in current cards it has got a lot more complex.

What memory card is recommended for a VIOFO dashcam?

Micro SD Cards play an important role in dashcams, but not all cards are suitable to be used in dashcams. The footage recorded by dash cams is saved on a micro SD card, which is an essential component of the dash cam setup. Here are some parame...

support.viofo.com

OK.. just looked at this Recommended list... and am dumbfounded.

They recommend certain Sandisk cards, but not others... and what is with ok, Extreme model, but not Extreme Plus?
They also say , no to Evo cards... but i have had zero issues with mine in dash cam use for years...

I have verry little faith in their testing/recommendations now... no way in hell would I EVER trust a Sandisk card anymore.
Sandisk cards are trash, every single card i have had over the years from them, has failed before, or shortly after their warranty period.
They currently have a class action law suit on them for certain model Extreme portable ssd/flash drives high failure rate/data loss.
In my several years working at a Tech Repair shop, as well as cell phone service, dealing with customers, Sandisk cards and ssds always bad, very very rare have seen Samsung cards fail.

Give me undeniable proof, data!, product data sheets, designs, endurance testing outcomes and testing methods, scope and length of testing etc, to justify VIOFO claims.... not just, "customer return rates".

EDIT: Also, VIOFO cards only have a 1yr warrenty??? Really?? For THAT cost??!! The Samsung Pro and Endurance cards had a 5yr warranty, and lower models, 3yrs!

 

[Panzer Platform]

@speedingcheetah
Please start your own thread, and have a direct conversation with Viofo by tagging them into you post.

 

[ozguy]

REPOSTED from another thread.
Well, Speaking for myself and my opinion only, I would pay up to $800 to $900 AU..($500 u.s).. IF..IF..IF...it was reliable and had extra heat management,
because lets face it...heat is what kills dash cams, especially in Australia hot summers. So solve that issue first.

WITH 3 YEAR WARRANTY, Like Blackvue. .

2. Give the option of moving the camera UP to remove the camera off the GPS mount (like old street guardians)
as there are things like rear view mirrors and rain sensors in the way that mean moving it to the right is a problem.
Can the GPS mount be made in 2 options? side dismount and top dismount? see picture below of obstructions on windscreen.

3. magnetic mount? like next base. How great would it be to be able to just grab the cam off the magnetic mount...or similar?

4a. Shorter rear cables as an option, EG 3 or 4 mtrs because I can feed the rear camera cable straight over the headlining to the rear and don't need extra cable and weight.

4b. Give people the option of right angle connectors or straight connectors...

5. starvis 2 sensor (Obviously)

6. voice commands (Definitely)

7. Please just include the CPL filter and SD card...you know people are going to buy it anyway.

8. Keep the GPS module the SAME across all cams. That way, you can just swap the old cam for a new cam, later on. Instead of having to take off the current GPS module.

9. Better stock availability for Australian buyers...from viofo.com.au site.
Ready to buy, but nothing in stock.

10. Is it possible to have a telescopic add on lens for people who want more of a telescopic view instead of a wide angle view? DUAL Lenses? Or optional lenses...140 degree and 100 degree but clearer far away images? hey not sure on the tech here?

ALSO, Blackview charge $900 for a camera that overheats and the image quality pretty much sux and is bad from examples on Youtube and the Blackview APP also apparently sux.
If people are willing to pay $900 for blackview, then why not Viofo? - Viofo seem to be innovating and have great image quality, Viofo can aim to knock blackview off their so called kings throne. Viofo should aim to get to the point that if someone asks "What dashcam should i get?" The automatic answer is always VIOFO of course.
What are other forum members thoughts on this?

Final thoughts... BLACKVIEW have phone support in Australia, would be great to have some form of phone support and worldwide phone support in top selling countries?

Regards,
Dave
@viofo

 

[Nigel]

ALSO, Blackview charge $900 for a camera that overheats and the image quality pretty much sux and is bad from examples on Youtube and the Blackview APP also apparently sux.
If people are willing to pay $900 for blackview, then why not Viofo? - Viofo seem to be innovating and have great image quality, Viofo can aim to knock blackview off their so called kings throne. Viofo should aim to get to the point that if someone asks "What dashcam should i get?" The automatic answer is always VIOFO of course.
What are other forum members thoughts on this?

I don't think we want Viofo selling cameras that overheat and have poor image quality and poor apps, not too keen on the $900 price either!
The people who want to repeatedly pay $900 for such cameras are Blackvue customers and will stay Blackvue customers, Viofo customers are far more sensible and would never buy such cameras, so there is no point in Viofo trying!

Maybe more significantly, the people who buy Blackvue cameras are the people who know that they need the cloud. Viofo customers are either people who know that they do not want the cloud, people who can't understand why a dashcam would need to be connected to the cloud, people who can understand that it is not very important to be connected to the cloud, or people who have actually read up on Blackvue cloud specifications and come to the conclusion that $900 for HD720 resolution @ 1Mbit/s is ridiculous and not worth the price when Viofo give 4K resolution (9x the pixels) @60Mbit/s (60 x the detail).

And then there are the people who read the review of Blackvue cloud video and discovered that it is in old CRT 4:3 format SD video at 10fps:

BLACKVUE CLOUD
...
Camera used: DR900X-2CH
AUTO INCIDENT UPLOAD

• 4MB file size for 1min of video
• 704 x 480 resolution
• 10 FPS
• H264
• 450kb/s approx

So,

if someone asks "What dashcam should i get?" The automatic answer

should be?

 

[ozguy]

I don't think we want Viofo selling cameras that overheat and have poor image quality and poor apps, not too keen on the $900 price either!
The people who want to repeatedly pay $900 for such cameras are Blackvue customers and will stay Blackvue customers, Viofo customers are far more sensible and would never buy such cameras, so there is no point in Viofo trying!

Maybe more significantly, the people who buy Blackvue cameras are the people who know that they need the cloud. Viofo customers are either people who know that they do not want the cloud, people who can't understand why a dashcam would need to be connected to the cloud, people who can understand that it is not very important to be connected to the cloud, or people who have actually read up on Blackvue cloud specifications and come to the conclusion that $900 for HD720 resolution @ 1Mbit/s is ridiculous and not worth the price when Viofo give 4K resolution (9x the pixels) @60Mbit/s (60 x the detail).

And then there are the people who read the review of Blackvue cloud video and discovered that it is in old CRT 4:3 format SD video at 10fps:

So,

should be?

Thanks for the input m8. Not sure about the UK, but in Australia people will pay for Great support and reliability. Yes, I agree...the cloud comments are spot on.
I am just saying, Myself and alot of others would pay $800 for a camera that is Great video quality, Great at handling heat, reliable, Optional accessories that should just come standard in the pack like a CPL filter and SD Card, Shorter rear cable choices, GREAT product support and a 3 year warranty. (If it is only 18 months warranty.., then I agree Nigel, not worth the $800 or $900)
People do not want to be jumping through hoops just to get good support. @VIOFO-Support
EG: If I purchased a Camera, I do not want to be back and forth, back and forth, sent another product to find it did not resolve any issues, back and forth again, postage there and back etc...
But I realise this is part of the resolution process...but this can be minimised by having a great reliable product, great FAST support and local stock available for purchase and warranty issues.
If people buy a Blackvue and something goes wrong, they walk into a store or phone support and it gets dealt with and replaced then and there.

Imagine if Viofo had there products in major retail outlets like Blackvue do. Even Nextbase are in major stores here in Australia.

I am in sales and ONE of the reasons my company does so well in return customers is the fact we offer such great product support in person, over the phone and Chat.
We also have a great product that is reliable with a great warranty and people keep coming back.
Hey, Not bagging Viofo, I think they are heading in a good direction, but they could be a lot more, especially with Blackvue charging so much for a sub par product....
and personally I think the reason people choose Blackview in Australia is the fact you can go into ANY store and grab one that is always in stock and they have a phone number you can call and speak to someone, even though there product is sub par. And yes, they get sucked into the cloud hysteria.

 

[Panzer Platform]

@viofo @VIOFO-Support
Dear Viofo,
I’m sure you, and the team are working very hard around the clock on important things like A229 Pro & A229 Plus firmware for the upcoming Amazon US release.
Thank you for that.
If you have a spare minute can you give us an estimated release date of the new Viofo Smartphone APP?

I’m looking forward to all the new features like the;
1.)
Superimposed alignment lines to ensure the lens has a 50/50 view of road & sky during Live View to ensure the camera’s metering has a chance to function properly.



2.) Removing the requirement of;
“Please Stop Recording Before Doing Other Operations!”
Having to press the Stop Recording button before accessing recorded footage, or changing settings is unnecessary.



3.) Adding “Available Recording Time” for cameras without an LCD Screen in addition to “Free Space On Card”.
See available recording time displayed in top right corner of LCD SCreen.




4.) Adding options to make text more legible on recorded footage;
a.) Different colors / shadow / outlining / background etc.
b.) Ability to place at both top & bottom of image.
Sometimes the combination of vehicle dashboard design, and windshield glare from the sun makes the text illegible.






5.) OTA Firmware Updates

 

[Dashcamuser007]

Optional 360 degree/fisheye camera for A229 instead of inside camera.

OR

Side (inside or outside) camera for A229 left and right on split screen to the internal (3th) channel like the Thinkware multiplexer box.

 

[Panzer Platform]

for A229

Hello,
The purpose of this thread is to request improvements that will affect ALL MODELS.
Please make your request in the thread specifically for the A229 Model.
So far there are 3 models of A229.
A229 Duo
A229 Plus
A229 Pro
-Chuck

 

[Dashcamuser007]

Ok, I would like to say an optional 360 degree or side (both side) cameras would be good for all of the Viofo models. T130 it's very good from this point of view, but it should also have a camera on the other side.

 

[ozguy]

Ok, I would like to say an optional 360 degree or side (both side) cameras would be good for all of the Viofo models. T130 it's very good from this point of view, but it should also have a camera on the other side.

As an OPTION yes, but I don't think they should be on ALL cameras. Most are happy with front and back and if so desired interior.

 

[Viofo129Plus]

OK, @viofo @VIOFO-Support
I think I got a good one this time.
On behalf of @Dimson75 I would like to request improvements to the readability of the text overlay on all Viofo dash cams both in APP, and recorded footage.

Dimson75 brings up a good point the white characters get washed out in various daytime situations;
https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threads/viofo-app-updates.49258/post-599451

Have a look at some recent footage from my A129 Plus before & after I head directly toward the sun.
For comparison I added a clip of my GNET G-ON2 showing their solution to this issue with yellow characters on a black background.
And a screenshot from FineVu’s solution, they put their text overlay at the top of the recorded footage.
I’ll put the videos these screenshots were taken from at the bottom so you can see the transition into the sun.

View attachment 66861
View attachment 66862
View attachment 66863
View attachment 66864
View attachment 66865
View attachment 66866
View attachment 66867
View attachment 66868

I request the engineers consider making two improvements to the text overlays for all Viofo models.
1.) A choice between the current white characters, and another color, (maybe yellow).
2.) A choice between have the text overlay appear at the top, or bottom of the recorded footage.
What do you think?
On a scale of 1-10 is this too difficult, too much work, or impossible? Lol
-Chuck

On a white bonnet the text completely washes out :

As suggested in https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threa...ext-for-speed-and-gps-info.50331/#post-610681 I will try to tilt the camera further down

 

[Panzer Platform]

@Viofo129Plus
Would you be so kind to adjust your camera lens with the “proper” 50/50 road & sky alignment, and provide a FULL screenshot like my example, (not partial like yours)?
The camera lens must be correctly adjusted 50/50 for the camera’s light metering to function so it can provide the best possible image quality.
This 50/50 adjustment will may put the camera’s text overlay in a position to be legible.
-Chuck

 

[Viofo129Plus]

@Panzer Platform
I dont have access to my car at the moment, but if I did what you suggest, then the lower half of the screen would capture more of the dashboard, and reading the text wouldn't be a problem - because the dashboard is not white.
May I ask, why is "proper" in quotes. Is this a recommendation by Viofo?

 

[Panzer Platform]

@viofo @VIOFO-Support
Can you answer this members question about 50/50 road & sky lens alignment?

May I ask, why is "proper" in quotes. Is this a recommendation by Viofo?

Also here is an example how incorrect lens alignment affects light metering;

 

[DT MI]

...May I ask, why is "proper" in quotes. Is this a recommendation by Viofo?

A number of factors affect the exposure and each camera is slightly different in how the exposure is determined. In my experience the 2 most significant variables are the sky and the car hood (bonnet) color. The 50% sky recommendation is generally considered to be a starting point and then make small adjustments to that to obtain the best overall exposure for the important portion of the video frame, which usually the environment around the vehicle excluding the vehicle itself and the sky.

There's not a lot that can be done about the sky itself as it continually changes from clear blue, to dark clouds, to bright clouds, etc. The hood/bonnet color affects exposure by altering the overall brightness. A dark hood will 'fool' the camera into thinking the overall exposure is too low and will increase it at the expense of overexposing the overall image. A white or light colored hood will have the opposite effect. Only trial and error with your specific car and camera will achieve the correct positioning for your installation.