A129 Pro Extremely hot in parking mode

[bobcat]

So I recently received this dashcam and was expecting it to get somewhat hot during normal use while driving (4k, high bit rate etc...). I've hardwired it using hk3 kit and set it to auto event detection mode (buffered mode). When I've checked the camera the next morning after leaving it overnight - it was extremely hot, the metal pieces (usb plugs shields) were so hot it was impossible to touch even for a split second (probably 90+ C). I was expecting parking mode to be somewhat power-efficient mode, but firstly - if it gets soo hot it means the mode is super inefficient consumption wise, secondly I consider it being a fire hazard - why the hell would it get so hot sitting in relatively low activity mode on a cold night? I had A119 before and even though it was wired to power on run only, it would never get as hot running in southern summer heat. This thing was sitting overnight in cold weather and somehow heated up to a degree that it's impossible hold on to.

Is this normal? Should I return the camera and request refund since I don't believe this is OK? What bugs me is that I've already hardwired everything and hid all the wiring, otherwise camera would have been already on the way back to the seller.

 

[Nigel]

That is probably normal, but without actual measurements we can’t be sure! Certainly the USB connector does get too hot to hold.

It has twice the pixels on the front camera compared to the A119, plus another camera to power at the rear, and records both at high bitrate, so it should generate a lot more heat. Since its case is the same size, with no active cooling, it is bound to get much hotter.

It will shut itself down if it actually gets too hot, so should not be a fire risk.

 

[bobcat]

That all makes sense if it was not happening in parking mode which reads and processes data at lower resolution and bitrate, does not write anything to an SD card unless there is a recordable event and should overall be much more efficient in nature.

 

[CaptureYourAction]

What firmware version?

 

[bobcat]

What firmware version?

2.5

 

[CaptureYourAction]

2.5

Have you confirmed the camera is entering parking mode?

 

[bobcat]

Have you confirmed the camera is entering parking mode?

Yes, after engine gets turned off the icon on the upper left corner switches to indicate it is in park mode. Record button starts blinking until there is a disturber in front of the camera at which point it turns solid red. I have in fact tested the camera in timelapse mode and at 3fps it still gets warm. 3fps cameras-wise is nothing - there should be any heat at all. It is either bad firmware and programming or the camera is defect - don't know which one is the reason though and appreciate if someone could advise from own experience.

 

[DashCam1964]

Here is a good video to watch.

 

[Nigel]

That all makes sense if it was not happening in parking mode which reads and processes data at lower resolution and bitrate, does not write anything to an SD card unless there is a recordable event and should overall be much more efficient in nature.

It is still a 4K sensor, you still want to see the whole image, there is the extra processing cost of scaling the image down, and the result is that you save on the amount of data written to memory card. It is a power saving, but only a small one. Any dashcam that doesn't record all the video to memory buffer at least is very likely to fail to record a parking event until it is almost over and so lose the evidence that explains what happened.

 

[minc3]

It is normal and it will just shut down if it gets too hot. So I don’t think there’s any issue with fire hazard. However it is entirely personal preferences. You can return it if you are uncomfortable with it.

 

[SawMaster]

This and all other high-performance dashcams will get extremely warm in use due to the amount of work being done. Many would call it "hot" especially compared to older cams which did less work. It's normal and safe, and the only real concern is that the cam may shut down to protect itself if it gets too hot causing the loss of recording from that point on until it is restarted. With these high performance cams we're also getting close to the heat limitations of some SD cards. None of this has been an issue for me through several hot days of summer and through measured testing at 65C+ temps.

Phil

 

[HonestReview]

So I recently received this dashcam and was expecting it to get somewhat hot during normal use while driving (4k, high bit rate etc...). I've hardwired it using hk3 kit and set it to auto event detection mode (buffered mode). When I've checked the camera the next morning after leaving it overnight - it was extremely hot, the metal pieces (usb plugs shields) were so hot it was impossible to touch even for a split second (probably 90+ C). I was expecting parking mode to be somewhat power-efficient mode, but firstly - if it gets soo hot it means the mode is super inefficient consumption wise, secondly I consider it being a fire hazard - why the hell would it get so hot sitting in relatively low activity mode on a cold night? I had A119 before and even though it was wired to power on run only, it would never get as hot running in southern summer heat. This thing was sitting overnight in cold weather and somehow heated up to a degree that it's impossible hold on to.

Is this normal? Should I return the camera and request refund since I don't believe this is OK? What bugs me is that I've already hardwired everything and hid all the wiring, otherwise camera would have been already on the way back to the seller.

The Pro had reports of overheating in parking mode. You can find a long discussion about it on this forum. I believe this problem was in low bitrate (continuous parking mode). As these cameras have a 65C shutoff. And the 4K camera runs hot. You may or may not experience this thermal shutdown with event detection, since the camera isn't always "on" and recording unless motion triggers recording.

 

[minc3]

The Pro had reports of overheating in parking mode. You can find a long discussion about it on this forum. I believe this problem was in low bitrate (continuous parking mode). As these cameras have a 65C shutoff. And the 4K camera runs hot. You may or may not experience this thermal shutdown with event detection, since the camera isn't always "on" and recording unless motion triggers recording.

Yes. And that issue bugged me for awhile (Happened to me in Buffered Event detection) until Viofo changed the resolution of the parking mode to 1080P in one of their firmware updates. So far so good after the update. It does get super warm if you were to touch it but No more overheating in parking mode issue.

Not sure if there’s any changes in the latest v2.5 firmware but I noticed the parking mode is in 2K + FHD (display on the mini display) when I check it earlier today. Still works like charm.