A119 Pre-production beta test, bugs, fixes, FW and suggestions

I also get the 'format card' menu every time I re-power the cam. I have the format prompt set to off.
have you set the time correctly, or changed the date/time instead of the default?
 
Have you tried to set a 30 day format reminder and see if that fixes the problem?
 
OK, it seems to only happen if power is interrupted?
Push the power button, camera seems to shut down, but the REC led still glows.
I assume this is just a partial shut down mode?

If I disconnect the power plug, the format warning pops up after the normal boot process.
 
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Hmmm...that is strange, I wonder why mine is not doing that. I will go over every setting I have to see if there is something different between yours and mine.
 
Sorry, was in the process of fumbling with the cam in mid-edit of the reply.
:)

The format prompt only seems to show up if you disconnect the power supply.

It looks like the power button only turns off the screen? The camera seems to keep recording if it has power.
 
Ok, well I have not played with the power button too much, just confirmed it did turn the screen on like the other buttons do. I never use it for anything else anyway.
 
OK turn off the format prompt first, then change the date/time, or date/time first?
 
OK turn off the format prompt first, then change the date/time, or date/time first?
While you powered the camera, if prompt to change the date/time, just change it, and then if remind format the card, just format it, so if restart the camera, you will not see prompt for date/time and format reminder.
 

3rd Firmware VS A261
 
i just got the format prompt every boot after upgrading to 0426. i let the camera format the card and it quit prompting me. if it matters, i had it set to 1080p60, and i am using a 16gb Sandisk Ultra (class 10/U1) card. i previously formatted it in the camera, and when i put the firmware update on the card, i DELETED all the existing files and folders rather than formatting it in windows. did something change in the formatting between firmware versions?

so anyway, i let it record for a few seconds, then put the card in my win10 laptop's sd card reader - had to use an adapter to make it a full size sd card. all i did was watch the 2 videos on the card, then safely remove it. put it back in the camera, and powered up, and immediately got the format warning again. windows doesn't write any hidden files to the card, so i'm not sure why it would prompt to format like this. only thing i can think of is it's comparing file creation date to last access date (like unix TOUCH command). yes, some people say you should format the card every time you take it out of your computer, and i can see how that can be useful (especially on mac and linux where it leaves .Trash and other hidden files/folders on the card) but for a windows user it's just annoying.

More thoughts:

GOOD:
- lights come on during bootup! now it doesn't look dead/broken anymore. :)
- i like the new lock symbol - big triangle and only 3 beeps. perfect! also noticed that if you happen to have two events back to back, it creates overlapping files in the EMR folder. this is not a problem and i don't see any reason to change it.

BAD:
- i think the buttons need a thicker coat of paint - when they are lit up by the white LEDs, they look old and cracked - see photo below.
- g-sensor isn't very sensitive. my other dashcam (blacksys ch-100b) is set to trigger at 0.9G because my truck has very stiff suspension, and it was locking files all the time. i left the a119 at medium sensitivity and it has never once been triggered by the g-sensor except when i hit it very hard with my hand at my desk - hard enough that it hurt my fingers. there was one instance where i was accelerating hard and when i went to second gear, i let the clutch out too fast which made the wheels spin and start hopping, making the whole truck shake. the ch-100b triggered and saved the file, but the a119 did not. i have the camera mounted with 3m double-lock, but it seems solid - i don't get vibrations during normal driving.
- audio seems low in the a119 compared to ch-100b. sort of muffled. can the mic sensitivity be made adjustable similar to the git1/2 cameras?

IMG_0117-small.jpg
 
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so anyway, i let it record for a few seconds, then put the card in my win10 laptop's sd card reader - had to use an adapter to make it a full size sd card. all i did was watch the 2 videos on the card, then safely remove it. put it back in the camera, and powered up, and immediately got the format warning again. windows doesn't write any hidden files to the card, so i'm not sure why it would prompt to format like this. only thing i can think of is it's comparing file creation date to last access date (like unix TOUCH command). yes, some people say you should format the card every time you take it out of your computer, and i can see how that can be useful (especially on mac and linux where it leaves .Trash and other hidden files/folders on the card) but for a windows user it's just annoying.

while I appreciate this could be annoying for someone that knows what they're doing I think it's a good thing overall, you'd be surprised at some of the junk I've seen copied to memory cards on cameras that I've had back as having 'problems' that a forced format would have easily prevented, some people are their own worst enemies
 
- audio seems low in the a119 compared to ch-100b. sort of muffled. can the mic sensitivity be made adjustable similar to the git1/2 cameras?
That would be nice, different cars have very different sound levels and dashcams always have a single volume level so only work well in some cars.

Love the crackled paint effect :D, but it would only look right in some cars!
 
BAD:
- i think the buttons need a thicker coat of paint - when they are lit up by the white LEDs, they look old and cracked - see photo below.
- g-sensor isn't very sensitive. my other dashcam (blacksys ch-100b) is set to trigger at 0.9G because my truck has very stiff suspension, and it was locking files all the time. i left the a119 at medium sensitivity and it has never once been triggered by the g-sensor except when i hit it very hard with my hand at my desk - hard enough that it hurt my fingers. there was one instance where i was accelerating hard and when i went to second gear, i let the clutch out too fast which made the wheels spin and start hopping, making the whole truck shake. the ch-100b triggered and saved the file, but the a119 did not. i have the camera mounted with 3m double-lock, but it seems solid - i don't get vibrations during normal driving.
- audio seems low in the a119 compared to ch-100b. sort of muffled. can the mic sensitivity be made adjustable similar to the git1/2 cameras?
]
If didn't looks closely, the cracked paint effect will be not so obvious.
I will check the G-sensor sensitivity.
I have checked some video recorded before, I can hear what I talked in the car, but maybe it is better if can implement the mic sensitivity adjustable.
 
while I appreciate this could be annoying for someone that knows what they're doing I think it's a good thing overall, you'd be surprised at some of the junk I've seen copied to memory cards on cameras that I've had back as having 'problems' that a forced format would have easily prevented, some people are their own worst enemies
Yeah I was kind of thinking that as I wrote it. Makes sense. I guess as long as they tell users to format the card after putting it in a computer or other device, in some documentation somewhere (which nobody will read) then viofo can at least say "hey, it's in the manual, didn't you read it?" :D
 
@Gibson99, you must have gotten a pre pre-production sample......my cameras buttons don't have that finish at all. Mine look perfectly fine, nice finish.

Power button turns screen on and off, which I think is a nice feature since any of the other buttons only wake the screen and then if you want to turn it off you can hit the power button. I'm happy with the way it is.

I just had a chance to review some samples with the new ( 160426) FW. For me the blue problem is gone, I believe the colors are very realistic now. The night quality is good but for some reason my hot pixel problem has returned, will see about that later.

As to the FORMAT warning, I just took the card out and with an adapter plugged in to my computer to review the files. When I re-installed it into the camera I do get the FORMAT warning, but it gives me the option to format or cancel. I can cancel and record normally, however the next time power is removed and re installed the warning comes again if you have not formatted the card. As jokiin mentions I also think this is a good idea and I'm happy with that feature.

I'm happy with the audio volume as well, conversations with my wife were very easily heard and were clear. If you review a previous sample I posted you can hear a parking lot attendant blowing a whistle outside while the car windows are closed, but if incorporating a user adjustable level is doable then I'm all for that.

@viofo, I know I complained before that the motion detect was not sensitive enough, but now it is too sensitive, it continues to record just about all night while the car sits in the driveway at home.

At this point, at least for my sample, the only issue I have now is the hot pixel at night issue, which is a calibration fix, and the motion sensitivity, but other than that I'm pretty happy with all the other features, functions.

Thanks for the quick FW updates Viofo.
 
@Gibson99, you must have gotten a pre pre-production sample......my cameras buttons don't have that finish at all. Mine look perfectly fine, nice finish.
Maybe the LEDs in mine (except the red REC light) are over clocked or something lol

I'm happy with the audio volume as well, conversations with my wife were very easily heard and were clear. If you review a previous sample I posted you can hear a parking lot attendant blowing a whistle outside while the car windows are closed, but if incorporating a user adjustable level is doable then I'm all for that.
My thought was, since it's pretty much the same chipset as the git 2, and gitup upstreamed the changes to allow mic sensitivity to novatek, maybe now it's in the novatek SDK for everyone to use.
 
(except the red REC light)

Actually yes, now that you mention it the red REC led could be a bit brighter....but now I'm just nit picking :D
 
Actually yes, now that you mention it the red REC led could be a bit brighter....but now I'm just nit picking :D
it's perfect at night, but invisible during the day. wonder if it can be programmed to be brighter during daylight hours (if the LED is capable of more output). no it wouldn't be perfect since the length of the day varies by location and time of year, but better than nothing. or get real fancy and use gps info to know when sunrise and sunset are. or just add a photosensor and if it's bright out, crank up the LED. or maybe look at the histogram of the upper part of the video to gauge the sky, and if it's mostly black or dark, then dim the led.

yeah, i know that's a crazy request and probably not feasible. but that's where my mind goes sometimes. and it reminds me of one of the sayings we had written on the wall at my old office:

"Just because you can doesn't mean you should."

which was right next to...

"Failure to plan on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part." :D
 
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