A229 Pro (2025) Improvement Wish List

[Nigel]

I can't agree with you, Nigel.
I may say that much less valuable info in stamp now is GPS coordinates - because nobody can't in own mind convert geo coords to geo location (country/city/street name) without some software or web service. And this coordinates also is stored additionally in MP4 tags inside each video file.

The coordinates could be useful evidence in a court, but I agree that they are not understandable without a lot of effort, and normally in a court case the location is not in doubt anyway. I normally turn the coordinates off because I don't think they are useful, but they should stay available for those who want them. The name of the location would be nice, but that is why we store the GPS data, so the video player in the app can display the names.

The MP4 tags, I assume you mean EXIF tags, are not so useful because you only have one set of GPS coordinates per video file, so if you are moving they are not accurate, although they would probably still be sufficient for a court case.

But HDR enabled/disabled state is not stored nowhere except stamp. And then someone post one of blurred license plate video/frame shot you may only assume that in was due HDR is ON at this moment. But you probably may be not right in your assumption. So I voted for HDR stamp info for all of cameras depend on current state. And also support @vvs49 in part that HDR should turn ON/OFF without delays and without stop rec current file and start record a new file.

You seem to be agreeing that it is diagnostic data.

I would support putting the HDR state in the EXIF tags in the file properties, I don't know if it ever changes mid file, but we really only need one update per file, it does not need to be on the status line and updated every frame.

I'll be really happy if I may get additional info for each video frame like other video parameters but I may only assume that it was (exposition time, ISO value, etc...) - that's all helps understand that was incorrect in internal algorithms at different conditions so we are able to help Viofo to fix it and improve video quality. I won't assume additionally about current HDR state. May be then HDR be work at any light conditions amazing like a charm I'll change my opinion but not now.

It might be nice to be able to turn on an extra status line full of exposure information, including HDR state. Currently Viofo build a special diagnostic version of the firmware when they want to see those diagnostics, it would be much easier to enter the setup to turn it on.

However that information is not easy to understand, it is never as easy as understanding the manual exposure settings on a photo camera, so I don't expect to see this added.

What I really want is the option to choose the text overlay be displayed at the top, or bottom of the recorded footage.

Let's just put it on the video subtitles, so that you can turn it on and off while playing the video.

Why can’t we have a single “modular” text overlay format that is identical on every camera.
It’s like every camera is a one-off specialty. Lol

Agreed, it is hard to understand why they don't use the same text overlay software for every camera!
We keep getting the same bugs that need to be sorted before release, so that there is no time to develop an auto-scale version that looks the same on every resolution.

 

[Dex_]

The MP4 tags, I assume you mean EXIF tags, are not so useful because you only have one set of GPS coordinates per video file, so if you are moving they are not accurate, although they would probably still be sufficient for a court case.

No I'm talking about GPS tags inside MP4 file with current coords, altitude, course, time and speed. This tags use software like dashcam viewer to show map position and speed. This tags update rate is 1 per second - same as video stamp info.

You seem to be agreeing that it is diagnostic data.

I would support putting the HDR state in the EXIF tags in the file properties, I don't know if it ever changes mid file, but we really only need one update per file, it does not need to be on the status line and updated every frame.

Everything that we cannot adjust or turn on/off via settings menu - it is additional diagnostic info, you right. But HDR can be switched by user.

HDR in EXIF tag can be useful only in current firmware state because at this time then HDR change its setting (manually from menu or automatically due HDR timer setting) A229Pro/Plus stop current recorded file and open new file with new HDR setting. So HDR value can be only in one state for whole video file now.
But this is incorrect and as I wrote before I support opinion that HDR should be switchable in one file recording period without such limitation - we loose some seconds on recorded video here and Loop Recording setting is ignored. Viofo already done this feature for A139. So I suppose it can be also improved here and HDR can be switched ON/OFF many times per one file so HDR state in EXIF tag is no more acceptable solution.

We discussing now additional 3 characters of text at bottom of video frame where car dashboard is located Many of us pinned long nicknames in custom text stamp. So I did not see any troubles here for anyone else to look into 3 chars of "HDR" text.

It might be nice to be able to turn on an extra status line full of exposure information, including HDR state. Currently Viofo build a special diagnostic version of the firmware when they want to see those diagnostics, it would be much easier to enter the setup to turn it on.

However that information is not easy to understand, it is never as easy as understanding the manual exposure settings on a photo camera, so I don't expect to see this added.

It can't be turned on if we use a regular firmware. And yes, nobody except Viofo did not know that kind of info is shown. So it is for internal debugging purpose only. Not really useful IMO - updates once per second that mean same values for every 30 frames. But exposure, ISO and many other params can be changed more rapidly. And this values can't be extracted from video to database to investigate or compare. Better write additional binary file in this case. But it is not my business of course.

 

[WheelsUp]

The latest firmware supports the OTA update, and the app is also supported, but we still need more testing.
We can offer testing for the Android app after the holiday.

For A229 Pro and Plus, the interior cam and rear cam HDR is enabled by default, there is no option to turn off, and no plan to add off option for the interior and rear.

For the text stamp, it depends on the resolution, if is 4K resolution, the text font size will be smaller than the 1080P resolution.

OTA firmware updates have been around for years. My Garmin dashcam did them five years ago, and my Vantrue did them two years ago. In 2024 it should be the de facto method of updating. Also, I would like to see h2.65 HEVC and 60 fps added to the feature list. Both features are fairly common in 2024. Thanks!

 

[remlemasi]

@viofo, super easy feature request: please add “power and rec only” for LED modes.

 

[forcefed]

Bigger heatsinks/cooling fan anyone?

 

[WheelsUp]

The ability to manually enter or exit parking mode through a dedicated button would be helpful. Also, make a parking mode wire kit that doesn’t have a ferrite core right next to the camera. It makes it challenging to hide wiring with the current placement of the ferrite core. If one is genuinely needed, place it on the other end of the wire.

Thanks!

 

[Karagandinez]

The ability to manually enter or exit parking mode through a dedicated button would be helpful.

Is the parking mode on/off button not enough?

MIC = Long press to enable / disable parking mode.

A229 PRO - USER MANUAL - Page number 5.

 

[WheelsUp]

Thank you, and yes, that works for me. I did not know it could be set that way.

 

[VIOFO-Support]

And the most important thing in HDR (229PRO, 139PRO) is that when switching modes, there should not be a pause of > 4 seconds, everything should be on the fly, like 139!!

Your concern has been forwarded to our engineer and they will confirm if this can be optimized.

 

[ogzogz]

Your concern has been forwarded to our engineer and they will confirm if this can be optimized.

@viofo @VIOFO-Support
Firstly A229 (non pro/plus), recording can continue without needing to stop when you enable wifi. I haven't been able to use pro and plus yet, but for example, on A119 mini 2, video recording stops and wifi is activated and recording starts again.

If possible, I think that recording should not stop as soon as wifi is turned on in all cameras, and if there is a decrease in recording quality due to wifi, this should affect the next video file.
The same may apply to automatic HDR switching.

 

[VIOFO-Support]

@viofo @VIOFO-Support
Firstly A229 (non pro/plus), recording can continue without needing to stop when you enable wifi. I haven't been able to use pro and plus yet, but for example, on A119 mini 2, video recording stops and wifi is activated and recording starts again.

If possible, I think that recording should not stop as soon as wifi is turned on in all cameras, and if there is a decrease in recording quality due to wifi, this should affect the next video file.
The same may apply to automatic HDR switching.

Those just can be realized based on the permission of both the hardware and firmware. In other words, not all the cameras' hardware can support this, hope you will understand.

 

[ductt]

Bigger heatsinks/cooling fan anyone?

Exposed heatsink for tropical countries, for external cooling . Internal heatsink is never enough for max settings.

 

[Grunta]

I am worried that frequent manual plugging and unplugging may affect the lifespan of the interface

Use magnetic connector / USB cable ‍

 

[Toxic]

I'd like to see some sort of support for DST built in automatically rather than twice a year having to change the time zone manually.

 

[Panzer Platform]

I'd like to see some sort of support for DST built in automatically rather than twice a year having to change the time zone manually.

Just in case Viofo does not see your post, you can submit your request directly to them here;

Submit a ticket

support.viofo.com

 

[Toxic]

Just in case Viofo does not see your post, you can submit your request directly to them here;

Submit a ticket

support.viofo.com

So submitted the feedback but got this:

Thank you for your suggestion.

Actually, the engineer realized the time zone issue.
But we're unable to consider Daylight Saving in firmware because our customers are from the global world.
Some countries don't have Daylight Saving.
It's suggested you correct the time zone manually when Daylight Saving is coming.
If there is a better solution to fix it, we will update the firmware.
We appreciate your understanding.

"Some countries don't have Daylight Saving." I guess the real reason is that "Japan, India, and China" dont have DST in their country. There is however 70 industrial countries world wide that DO have DST. I guess that's not enough countries to add DST to the Dashcam.

 

[Nigel]

So submitted the feedback but got this:



"Some countries don't have Daylight Saving." I guess the real reason is that "Japan, India, and China" dont have DST in their country. There is however 70 industrial countries world wide that DO have DST. I guess that's not enough countries to add DST to the Dashcam.

I just use UTC, then there is no issue, just leave all settings on default

If you use DST then you get the issue that on one day of the year, the time of 1:30AM arrives twice, and there is no good evidence for which file containing 1:30AM came first, although it is quite likely that the timestamp didn't actually update at the correct time anyway, because it doesn't update until you restart recording. Just using UTC is so much simpler, and always correct, and since you are in the UK, it also matches DST for half the year!

Automatic change of DST needs a cloud connection, since the rules are not fixed and change occasionally, so what you are asking for is not feasible on any current Viofo dashcam.

 

[DT MI]

So submitted the feedback but got this:



"Some countries don't have Daylight Saving." I guess the real reason is that "Japan, India, and China" dont have DST in their country. There is however 70 industrial countries world wide that DO have DST. I guess that's not enough countries to add DST to the Dashcam.

While I'm not a fan of the semi-annual time change I completely understand the reluctance of manufacturers to automate the process.

It's not just Japan, India and China: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daylight_saving_time_by_country

If DST was standardized around the globe it would be a relatively minor thing to implement but unfortunately it's not. There are many countries, or areas within some countries, that don't observe DST. To complicate that, within the areas that do there are inconsistencies with the implementation as to what day and/or time the change occurs, or in some cases adjust by other than 1 hour.

Further complicating the implementation of an automated process is the fact that any area can start, stop or change their observance at any time meaning what might be implemented today would have to be modified at some time in the future. This would require the manufacturer(s) to continually monitor, on a world wide basis, any possible changes to the DST programming and implement a method of promulgating those changes.

If I were tasked with incorporating DST adjustment in a dash cam I would approach it from a user setup option where, in addition to setting the time zone as is almost universal now, you could select whether or not to activate DST adjustment, on what dates/times to make the adjustment, and the adjustment time increment. I'm sure that solution would be met with howls of protest claiming the setup was too difficult and should be totally automated. It's a no-win and likely money losing proposition.

 

[Dashmellow]

Automatically attempting to program DST times all around the world into a dash cam would surely be a daunting task but it would also be impractical. An internal database of all the world time zones and all the places that use DST plus the processing power required to use the data to automatically adjust dash cam time zones and time changes on the fly would take up too much of the limited memory and other resources the camera otherwise needs for more important tasks.

I do not like Daylight savings time and wish we could all just go back to standard time. Unfortunately, there is a movement to make DST permanent, especially within the US government where legislation called The Sunshine Protection Act is being debated that would do just that !

According to medical science, DST time is unhealthful and should not be used for several reasons.

Why daylight saving time is unhealthy – a neurologist explains

By altering the body’s internal clock, ‘springing forward’ may contribute to an increase in heart attacks and strokes.

theconversation.com

7 Things to Know About Daylight Saving Time | Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

The daylight saving time transition causes more than grogginess and foul moods. Researchers say that the change has long-term negative consequences for our bodies and minds.

publichealth.jhu.edu

 

[TheSpanishInq]

Automatically attempting to program DST times all around the world into a dash cam would surely be a daunting task but it would also be impractical. An internal database of all the world time zones and all the places that use DST plus the processing power required to use the data to automatically adjust dash cam time zones and time changes on the fly would take up too much of the limited memory and other resources the camera otherwise needs for more important tasks.

Well...., that's just about what every operating system does. They can lend it from any linux distribution, the file is about 525KB in size, so that shouldn't kill the available storage. And they can update the file when a new firmware is released.
So, no, not that complicated. And as an extra bonus they can do it automatically, based on the current GPS coordinates.

Time Zone Database

www.iana.org