A139 2Ch, Miofive 4k Front&2K Rear or Other?

[Nizzle127]

Hi all,

Just wondering about opinions on the above two dashcams. They both sit around £220 local to me (excluding hard wiring kits etc) and both seem to have their own benefits.

I like the clarity on the Miofive cameras as well as the live view feature, however think the A139’s motion detection parking mode is a massive bonus.

Anybody have any experience with either of these and can recommend one?

More than happy to take recommendations around the £150-250 price point for a Front + Rear dashcam if anyone knows of anything better! Things that are most important to me are high quality and motion activated parking modes, the rest I can take or leave (don’t really need any fancy extras).

Thank you all for your help and time!!

 

[Panzer Platform]

Welcome to the club.
My vote is for the A229 Pro 2-CH Rear;

 

[Nizzle127]

Welcome to the club.
My vote is for the A229 Pro 2-CH Rear;

Thanks for the reply, I’ll certainly give it a look into!

 

[Panzer Platform]

Thanks for the reply, I’ll certainly give it a look into!

Whatever dash cam you buy shop specifications first.
In 2024 STARVIS 2 and HDR are minimum requirements in my opinion.
Without BOTH of those things you will be looking at image quality from 5 years ago.

 

[Nizzle127]

Whatever dash cam you buy shop specifications first.
In 2024 STARVIS 2 and HDR are minimum requirements in my opinion.
Without BOTH of those things you will be looking at image quality from 5 years ago.

Couple of questions for you if you don’t mind;
1) How does the parking mode work with stop/start engines? I’m reading online that with hardwiring the cameras it turns on once the engine stops, do start/stop engines cause any issues?
2) With the parking mode, what happens if your camera card memory reaches full? Does it record in a continuous loop overwriting the oldest data?

I watched your video and found it very helpful, thanks!

 

[Nigel]

1) How does the parking mode work with stop/start engines? I’m reading online that with hardwiring the cameras it turns on once the engine stops, do start/stop engines cause any issues?

If you use a hardwire kit, you connect to ground, battery (always on) and ACC (Accessory) which is only on when the ignition or accessory socket is on. Works fine with stop/start, since the ignition/accessory circuit never turns off.

If you use OBD for power then you could have issues, since they normally switch based on voltage, although they do normally have a delay built in, so should be OK with a basic stop start system. Some cars don't always charge the battery though, so can be problematic.

2) With the parking mode, what happens if your camera card memory reaches full? Does it record in a continuous loop overwriting the oldest data?

On the Viofo cameras, parking mode continues normal loop recording, locked files have a separate loop. It will never stop because the card is full.

 

[Nizzle127]

If you use a hardwire kit, you connect to ground, battery (always on) and ACC (Accessory) which is only on when the ignition or accessory socket is on. Works fine with stop/start, since the ignition/accessory circuit never turns off.

If you use OBD for power then you could have issues, since they normally switch based on voltage, although they do normally have a delay built in, so should be OK with a basic stop start system. Some cars don't always charge the battery though, so can be problematic.


On the Viofo cameras, parking mode continues normal loop recording, locked files have a separate loop. It will never stop because the card is full.

Thanks for the heads up.

I would love the A229 Pro but I think with all the extras, (SD cards and hardwiring kit) it’s come out to around £300-350 without installation. I just don’t think we can afford to pay that at the moment.

If anyone has any slightly cheaper options of up to £250 including hardwiring and SD card please let me know!

 

[Panzer Platform]

Couple of questions for you if you don’t mind;

I’ll be glad to muddy the water with any questions you have. lol

1) How does the parking mode work with stop/start engines? I’m reading online that with hardwiring the cameras it turns on once the engine stops, do start/stop engines cause any issues?

Unfortunately I have zero hands on experience with Start / Stop hardwire installations.
This is a question best for Viofo to answer directly.
You can ask your question by submitting a ticket here;

Submit a ticket

support.viofo.com

However, the reports from users on this forum experiencing this issue I have seen Viofo reply offering “custom firmware” to specifically address this issue.
If you submit this question to Viofo I would include the YEAR / MAKE / MODEL of your vehicle, identify it as start/stop equipped, and tell them what dash cams you’re interesting in buying.

2) With the parking mode, what happens if your camera card memory reaches full? Does it record in a continuous loop overwriting the oldest data?

This is why it’s important to buy the largest capacity SD Card you can afford, and know exactly how long your camera will record footage in Normal Recording Mode, and Parking Mode.
Viofo dash cams with an LCD screen indicate available recording time (Hours / Minutes / Seconds) in the top right corner when recording is stopped.
The Viofo Smartphone APP only displays “Free Space on Card” indicated in GB.
This makes it difficult to determine available recording time of Viofo’s SCREENLESS models (A139 Pro, WM1, VS1, T130, MT1, A159 Box), especially with multiple channels each with different Bitrates.
I requested Viofo add available recording time (Hours / Minutes / Seconds) to the APP in addition to “Free Space on Card” to make it easier for consumers.
Especially since we get this question from almost every new / prospective Viofo customer, but no dice yet.
A229 Pro 2-CH Rear (Max Bitrate) Normal Recording Mode = 13 Hours 5 Minutes
Tested with Viofo Brand 512GB SD Card
Parking Mode will offer considerably more recording capability because all cameras drop to 4 Mbps Bitrate.
Here is a link to DCT’s Recording Time Calculator;

Recording Time Calculator - DashCamTalk

Use our Recording Time Calculator to approximate how much video your SD card can hold.

dashcamtalk.com

I will let you make the calculation for Parking Mode.
Just plug in the size of the SD Card, and the combined Bitrate of all connected cameras, (1-CH 4 Mbps / 2-CH 8 Mbps / 3-CH 12 Mbps).

I watched your video and found it very helpful, thanks!

Don’t take my word for it.
Here are the “best” (my favorite) A229 Pro Review videos;