A119 Mini Test & Review PP

[Chuck McCoy]

Right on Nigel,
Wait til you see my A229 test footage tomorrow.
With no moonlight the A229 front camera was able to capture clouds with only ambient ground lighting.

I prefer the narrow 140 degree FOV for increased license plate readability.
If I want to see more "side" I prefer to install two 2-channel dash cams to make a 4-channel system like this;

 

[Chuck McCoy]

I took some test footage with the A119 Mini on the REAR window, and the audio is so low you can barely hear my voice with the volume turned all the way up.
I hope this can get fixed with a firmware update since a lot of folks might want to run two separate A119 Mini's, (one on front window, one on rear window).

 

[Chuck McCoy]

More useless “gentle” heat testing.

The next 5 days are forecast to be 100℉ - 105℉ (37℃ - 40℃).
I thought I would take advantage, and do more “gentle” heat testing on my Viofo A119 Mini, Viofo A229 Duo, and Vantrue Element E1 that are installed in my car.

My car is parked in the garage out of direct sunlight, but ambient temperature of my garage is almost identical to outside weather conditions.
It does not simulate real world parking mode scenarios performed in direct sunlight.
But, it does offer insight how well the cameras dissipate heat, and how they compare to each other under identical test conditions.

I start the cameras at 6AM in normal recording mode, and let them run until 8PM non stop.
I monitor them throughout the day checking for signs of overheating like shutting down, or recording stoppages, or any other malfunctions.
5PM - 6PM is when the cameras really start to cook, and the highest camera temps can be measured.
I obtained the following temp measurements at 5:30PM.

Outside Temperature: 99℉ (37℃)
Ambient Garage Temp: 96℉ (36℃)
Garage Relative Humidity: 35%
A119 Mini: 145℉ (63℃)
A229 Front: 140℉ (60℃)
A229 Rear: 111℉ (44℃)
Element E1: 138℉ (59℃)

A119 Mini - Firmware V1.1 20220810
2560 x 1440P 60fps
High Bitrate
All other settings default.

A229 Duo - Firmware 1.0_0623
1440P 30 + 1440P 30
Maximum Bitrate
All other settings default.

Element E1 - Firmware EBH091 8/10/22
2560 x 1440P HDR 30fps
No bitrate options (16Mbps)
All other settings default.

 

[Karagandinez]

More useless “gentle” heat testing.

The next 5 days are forecast to be 100℉ - 105℉ (37℃ - 40℃).
I thought I would take advantage, and do more “gentle” heat testing on my Viofo A119 Mini, Viofo A229 Duo, and Vantrue Element E1 that are installed in my car.

My car is parked in the garage out of direct sunlight, but ambient temperature of my garage is almost identical to outside weather conditions.
It does not simulate real world parking mode scenarios performed in direct sunlight.
But, it does offer insight how well the cameras dissipate heat, and how they compare to each other under identical test conditions.

I start the cameras at 6AM in normal recording mode, and let them run until 8PM non stop.
I monitor them throughout the day checking for signs of overheating like shutting down, or recording stoppages, or any other malfunctions.
5PM - 6PM is when the cameras really start to cook, and the highest camera temps can be measured.
I obtained the following temp measurements at 5:30PM.

Outside Temperature: 99℉ (37℃)
Ambient Garage Temp: 96℉ (36℃)
Garage Relative Humidity: 35%
A119 Mini: 145℉ (63℃)
A229 Front: 140℉ (60℃)
A229 Rear: 111℉ (44℃)
Element E1: 138℉ (59℃)

A119 Mini - Firmware V1.1 20220810
2560 x 1440P 60fps
High Bitrate
All other settings default.

A229 Duo - Firmware 1.0_0623
1440P 30 + 1440P 30
Maximum Bitrate
All other settings default.

Element E1 - Firmware EBH091 8/10/22
2560 x 1440P HDR 30fps
No bitrate options (16Mbps)
All other settings default.

Perhaps the temperature of the Mini case is higher than that of the A229 due to the better heat dissipation from the processor in the Mini ...
Thanks to the work of user Dex_ , I am able to see the temperature of the processor in the Mini and A229.
I also carried out a temperature test of processors on the Mini and A229 Duo and under equal conditions the temperature of the A119 Mini processor is lower than the temperature of the A229 Duo processor.

 

[Chuck McCoy]

Perhaps the temperature of the Mini case is higher than that of the A229 due to the better heat dissipation from the processor in the Mini ...
I also carried out a temperature test of processors on the Mini and A229 Duo and under equal conditions the temperature of the A119 Mini processor is lower than the temperature of the A229 Duo processor.

Right on Alex,
I thought the A119 Mini & A229 Duo use the same processor, (Novatek 96580).
Am I wrong?

The first heat test I did on July 25, 2022 with the A229 Duo front camera was 120F / 48C.
You can see on the #1 post of this thread.
And the A119 Mini was 160F / 71C.
-Chuck

 

[Karagandinez]

I thought the A119 Mini & A229 Duo use the same processor, (Novatek 96580).
Am I wrong?

The processor for both models is identical, but the cooling may differ.
Although the A229 has a larger body than the Mini, the A229 Duo has more load due to the rear camera.

 

[Chuck McCoy]

Today was slightly warm so I performed another useless “gentle” heat test.

My car is parked in the garage out of direct sunlight, but weather temperature and my garage are almost identical. It does not simulate real world parking mode scenarios performed in direct sunlight, but it’s easier for me to test under controlled conditions to see how well cameras dissipate heat, and compare test data with other cameras in the future.

I start the cameras at 6AM in normal recording mode, and let them run until 8PM non stop. I monitor them throughout the day checking for signs of overheating like shutting down, or recording stoppages, or any other malfunctions.
5PM - 6PM is when the cameras really start to cook, and the highest temps can be measured. I obtained the following temp measurements at 5:30PM.

Outside Temperature: 106℉ (41℃)
Ambient Garage Temp: 100℉ (38℃)
Garage Relative Humidity: 28%
A119 Mini: 149℉ (65℃)
A229 Front: 146℉ (63℃)
A229 Rear: 117℉ (47℃)
Element E1: 142℉ (61℃)

A119 Mini - Firmware V1.1 20220810
2560 x 1440P 60fps
High Bitrate
All other settings default.

A229 Duo - Firmware 1.0_0623
1440P 30 + 1440P 30
Maximum Bitrate
All other settings default.

Element E1 - Firmware EBH091 8/10/22
2560 x 1440P HDR 30fps
No bitrate options (16Mbps)
All other settings default

-Chuck

 

[Karagandinez]

Screenshots from the night video on the new test firmware from Viofo with HDR_Auto.
View attachment 61097View attachment 61098View attachment 61099View attachment 61100View attachment 61101View attachment 61102View attachment 61103View attachment 61104View attachment 61105View attachment 61106

Screenshots taken from the night video on the latest firmware.
FW=V1.1_0817
Video resolution: 2560x1080
Bitrate=high
EV=-0,3
HDR=on
CPL=on

 

[Nigel]

Screenshots taken from the night video on the latest firmware.

That was a rather lucky set of plates, except one of the '6's is a zero!

 

[Karagandinez]

That was a rather lucky set of plates, except one of the '6's is a zero!

There are eight screenshots above and all license plates are readable.😉

 

[Nigel]

There are eight screenshots above and all license plates are readable.😉

No, the car following the hover car has an unreadable plate in this frame!

But it is a very good dash camera to catch all the rest 😎

 

[Karagandinez]

But it is a very good dash camera to catch all the rest

This is an old license plate.
Everything we need, we see.
C CX 43
If I don't forget, I'll take a picture of a similar one during the day and show you. 😉

 

[Dashmellow]

That was a rather lucky set of plates, except one of the '6's is a zero!

No, the car following the hover car has an unreadable plate in this frame!

Nigel, ever the house fussbudget !
Why be such a petty killjoy?

@Karagandinez's captures are impressive, some of the best examples of these type of plate captures that I've seen!

 

[Chuck McCoy]

Tomorrow should be slightly warmer 114°F / 45°C
Hooray for dash cam heat testing. lol
-Chuck

 

[Darren_L]

Tomorrow should be slightly warmer 114°F / 45°C
Hooray for dash cam heat testing. lol
-Chuck

That's awesome. What I'm worried about mini is overheating problem. Thanks a lot. By the way, is the new firmware0817 has some improvements on this hot issue?

 

[Chuck McCoy]

manual

VIOFO specializes in professional-grade dash cameras featuring Sony STARVIS 2 IMX sensors, 4K ultra-high-definition recording, and advanced multi-channel systems from 1CH to 4CH. Known for superior license plate capture — including dedicated telephoto dash cams for long-range identification.

viofo.com

 

[Karagandinez]

What I'm worried about mini is overheating problem.

One question:
Have you seen a lot of user reports about overheating of this DVR here?🤔

A119 Mini

dashcamtalk.com

There are enough users of this model there.😉

 

[Darren_L]

One question:
Have you seen a lot of user reports about overheating of this DVR here?🤔

A119 Mini

dashcamtalk.com

There are enough users of this model there.😉

Yes, you are right. Maybe that's because I worte one e-mail to the DashCamTalk. It repled as follow:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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I'm a bit of confused. LOL
So, I'm very interested in CHUCK's heat test.

 

[Chuck McCoy]

Heat test results: I’m a failure.

It’s so hot I can’t stand be my garage to monitor the dash cams.
This is the 4th or 5th heat wave we’ve had in the past two months. I’ve lived in this area my whole life, and when I was a kid in the 1980’s I only remember one heat wave per year.

I don’t think I have “heat sickness” but it’s definitely making it harder on my brain to focus, and concentrate. It’s like I’ve lost all patients, and all I want to do is seek cold, and lie down. Lol

The good news is @rcg530 lives just up the road from me, and he has a pair of A119 Mini’s, and a A229 that he is heat testing as well. I’m hoping he’ll succeed where I have failed. Lol
-Chuck

 

[Karagandinez]

Screenshots taken from the night video on the latest firmware.
FW=V1.1_0817
Video resolution: 2560x1080
Bitrate=high
EV=-0,3
HDR=on
CPL=on
View attachment 61666View attachment 61667View attachment 61668View attachment 61669View attachment 61670View attachment 61671View attachment 61672View attachment 61673

Several videos of Mini and V3 on the latest firmware.
Day

Almost night

Night