V1.1 0605 Version, IQ Optimized

I wish you would have released this update last night.
I went and gathered test footage today for the Mini 2, Mini 1, A139 Pro, A229. lol
-Chuck
Installed just now.
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1 .png
 
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Awesome, thanks for the update! Do you have any additional details regarding specific improvements?

I'm also in the same boat as @Panzer Platform with wishing I got the update before collecting a bunch of comparison footage for the A119 Mini 2, lol, but updates are always welcome either way!

I just finished updating all my A139 Pro's and was pleasantly surprised that it kept all my dashcam's settings with this update instead of resetting everything back to factory default. Thank you for that. :)
 
Awesome, thanks for the update! Even better image quality?! Wow, VIOFO is already at the top of the tree and still improving, appreciate it greatly! :D
 
Vortex Radar said:
Do you have any additional details regarding specific improvements?
Click to expand...
Based on my experience, you're not allowed to ask those kinds of questions in public. LMAO
And even if they provide an answer, it may be difficult to confirm & verify claims as facts.
It's almost like they want us to figure it out on our own.
And if they do give us details, they think it might influence our observations like a placebo.
C'mon Ariel, where's your Cloak & Dagger spirit? lol
-Chuck
 
Panzer Platform said:
Based on my experience, you're not allowed to ask those kinds of questions in public. LMAO
And even if they provide an answer, it may be difficult to confirm & verify claims as facts.
It's almost like they want us to figure it out on our own.
And if they do give us details, they think it might influence our observations like a placebo.
C'mon Ariel, where's your Cloak & Dagger spirit? lol
-Chuck
Click to expand...
Some China users reported new version has better image quality, we'd like to hear more user's feedback.

We have done lots of work for testing the clear HDR from last year.
There are some disadvantages of clear HDR, that's why we didn't implement this yet.
1. It has more noise.
2. It uses the same exposure for one shot, so it can not capture the license plate clearly compared to DOL-HDR which can use a very short exposure. If you try to use a fixed short exposure, it may cause light flicking, and dark video.
We found that clear HDR can improve daytime video, but worse for night recording.
 
viofo said:
Some China users reported new version has better image quality, we'd like to hear more user's feedback.

We have done lots of work for testing the clear HDR from last year.
There are some disadvantages of clear HDR, that's why we didn't implement this yet.
1. It has more noise.
2. It uses the same exposure for one shot, so it can not capture the license plate clearly compared to DOL-HDR which can use a very short exposure. If you try to use a fixed short exposure, it may cause light flicking, and dark video.
We found that clear HDR can improve daytime video, but worse for night recording.
Click to expand...
Thank you for the explanation.
I appreciate the hard work you guys are doing to make the best image quality possible.
I think that’s what set you guys apart from the other dash cam manufacturers.
Keep up the good work.

It almost sounds like we need to install two A139 Pro units.
One optimized for daytime.
One optimized for night time.
I guess that would sell more cameras. lol
-Chuck
 
Vortex Radar said:
I just finished updating all my A139 Pro's and was pleasantly surprised that it kept all my dashcam's settings with this update instead of resetting everything back to factory default. Thank you for that. :)
Click to expand...
I suppose if all the changes are only related to IQ then this approach is OK, but I think I'll reset to default as a matter of course anyway.
 
I'm definitely resetting to factory settings and starting all over. Don't want any gremlins.

Speaking of gremlins, decided to use the high endurance sandisk to update the firmware. Wouldn't update. It would just delete the update file and pretend everything was normal. Ended using the sandisk extreme which started to update instantly. So head up on the recommended card section for the A139 Pro. It really does seem to matter for some strange reason.
 
viofo said:
We found that clear HDR can improve daytime video, but worse for night recording.
Click to expand...
Is it possible to implement Clear HDR during the day and DOL HDR at night, using the auto HDR timer option???
 
tchavei said:
I'm definitely resetting to factory settings and starting all over. Don't want any gremlins.

Speaking of gremlins, decided to use the high endurance sandisk to update the firmware. Wouldn't update. It would just delete the update file and pretend everything was normal. Ended using the sandisk extreme which started to update instantly. So head up on the recommended card section for the A139 Pro. It really does seem to matter for some strange reason.
Click to expand...
I normally use a small FAT32 card for updating the FW
 
The update to V1.1 0605 forced a reset to default settings on my device. I was updating from V1.0 0206.

In this static scene I can see a noticeable improvement in metering. I always thought the previous FW under-exposed when there were bright clouds in the sky. Same camera settings for both videos (4K30, Max bitrate, EV=0, HDR=OFF).

V1.0_0206.jpg V1.1_0605.jpg

Looking at both images side-by-side at 100%, apart from the enhancement to the shadows, I can see less noise and reduced sharpening artefacts. However, there is a slight loss of detail on textured surfaces, although I do not think this is an issue for a dashcam. Overall I think it is a decent improvement for this particular scene.

V1.0 vs V1.1.jpg
 
I got a few comments on my recent test footage saying my A139 Pro is out of focus. I received my A139 Pro back in November 2022, (6 months ago). I’ve never had a focus issue in that time. Is it possible my A139 Pro has somehow developed an out of focus issue over time?

Before the sun comes up, I thought I would get a jump on things, and and try out the newly released A139 Pro firmware (0605) with a combination indoor focus check & low light test. And also compare it with the A119 Mini 2.

Test Rig .jpg
Test Rig 2 .jpg

Here are the settings for both cameras;
A139 Pro: (3840 x 2160) 30fps Bitrate: Maximum 60Mbps HDR: On CPL Filter: Off
A119 Mini 2: (2560 x 1440) 30fps Bitrate: High 30Mbps HDR: On CPL Filter: Off

A139 Pro Firmware .jpg
Mini 2 Firmware .jpg

Interesting note:
The Mini 2’s variable / dynamic Bitrate was drastically reduced under these low light conditions. In good lighting it generates a 1 minute files size maximum of approximately 230 MB. In these test conditions it was only 160 MB.

File Size .png

Waiting for @viofo to send out a replacement A139 Pro takes 10-15 days for shipping. I wish I knew how to disassemble the camera and re-focus the lens myself. Does anybody have a YouTube video link they can share of the process on an A139?

A139 Pro Bright .png
A119 Mini 2 Bright .png

Check out how much better the Mini 2 does as resolving the image on the lowest brightness setting of my flashlight, (amazing).

A139 Pro Dim .png
A119 Mini 2 Dim .png

Here's the videos of me performing the low light test.

 
TonyM said:
this particular scene
Click to expand...

Is it just me ??
The motorcycle rear tire, it look as if there are a halo or optical distortion what ever you want to call it to the Left of the rear tire, sort of 1-2 mm out in the frame cuts.
But i dont see that as much if at all looking at the left side of other things in the picture.


Maybe its just me having soap in the eye, just got out of the bath.
 
kamkar said:
The motorcycle rear tire, it look as if there are a halo or optical distortion what ever you want to call it to the Left of the rear tire, sort of 1-2 mm out in the frame cuts.
But i dont see that as much if at all looking at the left side of other things in the picture.
Click to expand...
Yes, there is a bright halo to the left of the bike tyre, and also to the left of the car's front-right tyre. There are similar halos elsewhere if you look closely at the frames, in both FW versions.
 
@viofo
What I've noticed with this firmware update is that the overall exposure of video sunlight is what I would call 1/4 to 1/2 f-stop lighter. Before this update I felt that the videos (recorded in sunlight) played back in Dash Cam Viewer software on my Macbook Pro with an XDR display were just a little on the dark side. I had ascribed this to the CPL that I keep on all the time. On my display, I could get the videos to look more natural by manually increasing the display brightness to HDR 1000 nits. But with this update, the exposure seems to have been corrected... everything seems 1/4 f-stop lighter and the brightness of the videos looks more natural to me with the display set to normal brightness of 500 nits.
-Bob
 
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