A139 Pro Test & Review PP

Raaz said:
Yeah it's a bit weird and tricky over here.. We are allowed to film the public, as long as no individual can be seen as individuals. It's a bit tricky, but basically you can film a busy park, but you can not film a group of 3 people directly.
Filming passing cars is "okay", but filming 10 minutes of driving behind a single car is not really.
The issue is, like I wrote earlier, that cars are similar to "private property", so filming someone inside their car is like filming your neighbour in their living room.
Click to expand...
The UK runs common law (everything is legal unless it is specified as being illegal) and Europe runs civil law (everything is illegal unless it is permitted as being legal). It goes back to the days when monarchs were constitutional (ie UK) or absolute ("chosen by God" - ie Europe). It really is a very profound distinction that is seldom referred to. Who would have thought that it would manifest itself so clearly on what one would assume to be a mundane question about dashcams? In the UK, if you can see it from public land, then you can film it.
 
Raaz said:
Makes sense. I guess it's a Germany specific issue with the restrictions on how much recording time is allowed.
Other dashcams with Germany as one of their main markets have settings to only record 30s loops without anything being stored on the sd card as long as no accident happens or the button is pressed.
In that case, these will still write 30s before and after the trigger though.

But I want the image quality and there's no real match out there in the same price range :D

My plan is to make only a small partition with only space for 3x 1 min in maximum quality.
So basically only space for one accident per drive plus one loop extra.

That means if I press the button manually, I only have 1-2 minutes to stop the recording to keep the previous/next video from being overwritten.


If I'd make the whole 128 GB available, I'd have more than plenty of time to get the right videos.
But I'd also risk paying 500+ €, if I'm offering my video as a witness while the police is still there.

Sorry for sounding like a pita. It's just that stupid over here because recording cars is similar to recording someone inside their private property.
Multiple laws clash together, since you're also allowed to record the public, as long you're not recording "single persons" and you're also allowed to record for self protection.

And making a setting available to do exactly the same for manual button press & g-sensor events would solve these issues completely and probably would make you sell a few more viofo dashcams in Germany :)
Click to expand...
The minimum time setting you can choose is 1 minute in loop recording. Then you will get locked videos in two minutes in total if the G-sensor is triggered at the start or end of 15 seconds of that loop. If the G-sensor is triggered in the middle time of that loop, then you will just get a locked video in 1 minute.
 
Panzer Platform said:
I tested the maximum power output of the new & improved Hardwire Kit specifically designed for the A139 Pro.
In this post I will attempt to confirm & verify the listed power output specifications of hardwire kits that were sent with the following cameras, see attached photos;
6/14/22 A119 Mini 1
7/23/22 A229
11/29/22 A139 Pro
5/12/23 A119 Mini 2

All three HK4 kits have an identical UPC code of 94044-00061.
The HK3-C that was sent with the A139 Pro has a UPC code of 94044-00048.
All hardwire kits have a listed power output specification of 5V2A MAX.
All hardwire kits have a “Quality Control” date code sticker indicating when it was manufactured.
The indicated dates of manufacturer correspond when I received the cameras.
The HK4 kits I received with the A119 Mini 1 & A229 are constructed using 24AWG gauge wire.
The HK3-C & HK4 kits I received with the A139 Pro & A119 Mini 2 are constructed using “20AWG+24AWG” gauge wire, (see attached photos).
The diameter of the 24AWG gauge wire is 4.11mm.
The diameter of the 20AWG+24AWG gauge wire is 4.31mm.

To obtain the maximum power output of each hardwire kit I’ll be using my;
1.) WANPTEK Power Supply set at 12.60 Volts @ 5 Amps.
2.) DROK USB Load Tester set at 5.00 Volts, and I will crank up the Amperage Load to obtain the max power output.
Both 24AWG kits have an identical maximum power output of 2.3 Amps @ 5.0 Volts = 11.5 Watts
Both 20AWG+24AWG kits have an identical maximum power output of 3.5 Amps @ 5.0 Volts = 17.5 Watts, (an increase of 6 Watts).
The maximum power consumption of the A139 Pro in 3-channel configuration is approximately 11 Watts. Shoutout to @rcg530 for making these beautiful color coded spreadsheets documenting his power consumption testing, (see attached screenshot).

What does this mean?
1.)
If a consumer already had an existing A139, A139 2-channel, A139 3-channel installed in their car with the “old” hardwire kit, and upgraded the front main camera to the A139 Pro they may experience malfunctions due to power starvation from the old hardwire kit being unable to supply sufficient power to the camera.
Endless boot loop (start up & shut down).
Recording malfunctions
Dropping 2nd & 3rd channels
SD Card data writing malfunction.
2.)
If a new first time buyer purchased an A139 Pro, A139 Pro 2-channel, A139 Pro 3-channel from a retailer other than the Official Viofo website like Amazon, and also purchased a hardwire kit, they may have been shipped the “old” 24AWG hardwire kit.

Q:How does a consumer identify if they have an “old” 24AWG hardwire kit only capable of 11.5 Watts max output, or the “upgraded” 20AWG+24AWG kit capable of 17.5 Watts max output?
A: Check the writing on the hardwire cable, (Type-C connector end).
24AWG = Old
20AWG+24AWG = Upgraded

@viofo
@VIOFO-Support
@rcg530
@Vortex Radar
@safedrivesolutions
-Chuck

Here’s videos performing the power output tests;
Click to expand...
I'm a bit late to this post and you may already be aware of this but for others it may help them realise that wire gauge eg AWG is measured at the conductor.

Different wires can have different insulation thickness.

Measuring the outside of the insulation in this case may be ok as a ready reckoner.

Enjoy your posts.

Cheers.
 
Little report after another few drives (and tests):
I'm wondering why nobody told me, that the +/- 15s range should also work for the manual button press.
I wanted to test if the A139 Pro would keep my small custom partition, if I'd format the card via the dashcam.

1. Yes, it stays the same size, rest of the card stays unformatted, so it doesn't record "too much" for our stupid laws.

2. Now it protects the previous/next video, if I press the button within 15s close to the video start/end.

I feel kinda stupid now after "pledging my case" multiple times, although it already works exactly like I want/need it.
Apparently, the dashcam does something different, than the Windows 11 FAT32 formatting.
(no new initialization though, just a quick format by the cam)

Anyway, very happy about the purchase! Thanks to everyone replying. It's great to get so many replies, when being new to these things :)
Me and my partner already had some fun watching our footage. She's a very calm person, but as soon as she's in a car and knows I can hear her, she's swearing at everyone :ROFLMAO:

Only thing that feels a bit strange:
I set the G-Sensor sensitivity for driving to the highest and tried getting it triggered.
Braked 5x from 50 km/h to full stop, slamming the brakes (they could use some cleaning after never braking that hard in months anyway):
-> No video locking.
I drove through some normal potholes, that I'd normally dodge:
->No video locking -> Happy about that!

The only way I could get it to trigger 3/5 times was when leaning to the very left and then almost slamming the door, while grabbing the handle and swinging myself to the right.
One big motion with my 105kg shaking the car quite a bit + the 'impact' from the door.
It wasn't anywhere close to risk damaging the car, but I'm not sure if small hits, hitting a bike etc. would trigger the G-Sensor even at the most sensitive setting.

But that's fine too, the BT button is next to the warning lights button, so I should manage to press it in case of an accident.
If I can't press that button anymore, I'm sure the G-Sensor would trigger o_O
 
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Raaz said:
Me and my partner already had some fun watching our footage. She's a very calm person, but as soon as she's in a car and knows I can hear her, she's swearing at everyone :ROFLMAO:
Click to expand...
Please make a YouTube Account, it will make it much easier to share these swearing videos.
I would love to watch that. lol
Like this;
 
Raaz said:
1. Yes, it stays the same size, rest of the card stays unformatted, so it doesn't record "too much" for our stupid laws.
Click to expand...

Btw, how do you use the parking mode with our data protection laws?
AFAIK there's no parking mode that only records when the G Sensor triggers, so you either have to disable it completely or break the law by recording continuously in parking mode.
 
Ousayo said:
Btw, how do you use the parking mode with our data protection laws?
AFAIK there's no parking mode that only records when the G Sensor triggers, so you either have to disable it completely or break the law by recording continuously in parking mode.
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I set it up with 90s delay (no idea what this does, but it works) and 1 hour (for when shopping groceries etc).
Lowest movement detection, highest G-sensor sensitivity.

Within the first few days now with the camera, I only had short videos in the parking folder, whenever something moved and only until that movement stopped.

But since I have always-on power without the hardwire kit, I guess the camera takes a bit until changing into parking mode and if something happens before that, these videos would get overwritten.

But directly to your question:
I'm not sure how the parking mode exactly works.. If you could restore the non-protected parking mode videos or so.
And I'm also not sure if you're allowed to record anything while not inside the car...
 
Panzer Platform said:
swearing videos
Click to expand...
I turn to German when i am really mad, but i cant recall traffic made me that mad, but otherwise, when my face turn purple (adn my nose might start to bleed too ) and all manner of German words most probably will not know as they dont speak the language.
Well by then it is time to put " them" up or walk / run away.
PS. In that state well i might also have spewed a few "German" words i have invented myself, CUZ my brain playing with words, that is not just in the Danish / English language, its all of the languages i know, even the ones where i just know a few words.

Okay maybe not languages like the inuit language they speak on Greenland, that in itself are just a load of WTF, i remember as i kid there was the news in Greenlandish every evening on the radio, i loved to listen to that and just LOL big time over that very different language with a Danish word thrown in at random.
I did learn a little when i worked up there, but no more than enough to embarrass myself.

I wish i knew more Japanese, not least swear words and insults, i find it the worlds most excellent language for angry sounding people.
 
Raaz said:
I set it up with 90s delay (no idea what this does, but it works) and 1 hour (for when shopping groceries etc).
Lowest movement detection, highest G-sensor sensitivity.

Within the first few days now with the camera, I only had short videos in the parking folder, whenever something moved and only until that movement stopped.

But since I have always-on power without the hardwire kit, I guess the camera takes a bit until changing into parking mode and if something happens before that, these videos would get overwritten.

But directly to your question:
I'm not sure how the parking mode exactly works.. If you could restore the non-protected parking mode videos or so.
And I'm also not sure if you're allowed to record anything while not inside the car...
Click to expand...

You're definitely not allowed to record someone next to your car in the public, because the same law applies.
Even the door cameras at your home aren't allowed to record even the tiniest bit outside your property.
The 90s delay means the cam enters parking mode 90s after turning off ignition.
 
Ousayo said:
You're definitely not allowed to record someone next to your car in the public, because the same law applies.
Even the door cameras at your home aren't allowed to record even the tiniest bit outside your property.
The 90s delay means the cam enters parking mode 90s after turning off ignition.
Click to expand...
Guess I'll disable the parking mode then. (not sure right now, if you can disable the motion detection completely?)
Good call!

The 90s delay is a bit weird in my case, since the camera has no clue about the ignition. It simply always has power.
But somehow it recognises that the car is standing still and isn't vibrating, so it enters parking mode.
 
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Search&Rescue said:
Hmm, and I always thought that the German nation - sane people.
Judging by your statements, this is not true at all ... :(
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Well, we are also very private and care about data protection.
The criminal rate is so low, that we barely have surveillance cameras anywhere and if there are cameras, clearly visible signs are needed.
The issue for traffic is that someone who walks close to a building with cameras, sees the signs and can keep his distance to that building.
But even if you'd put clear signs around your car, you can't expect others to take a different route to dodge your camera.

As long as you're inside the car, it's gray area.

But hey, there are other European countries where you're not allowed to use a dashcam at all, like Portugal, Luxembourg, Switzerland.
Hungary and a few others want your dashcam to have poor resolution, easily detachable and data overwritten after max. 5 days.
German car club ADAC also states quite a few countries, one of them being UK, wouldn't accept dashcam footage as proof in case of an accident and only allow you to record for private usage.
However the laws for the recording itself are more lenient.

So I'm quite okay with our gray area laws :)
 
I wonder how @tchavei is working around the strict laws in Portugal using the dashcam for driving and parking surveillance.
Or he just has balls of steel :ROFLMAO:
 
@Raaz @Ousayo
Given there is a large factory in Germany that builds Tesla's what rules do those cars adhere to?
In Australia cop's encourage motorists to supply dash cam footage when they are working on a crime not just car related.

In our casinos they have facial recognition so they can throw out the smart players that they refer to as cheats!

A large hardware store called Bunnings was also using face recognition with telling anyone. I think they stopped doing it but personally I doubt it.

In Australia i don't think we understand the importance of privacy, to our peril i suppose.
 
LateralNW said:
@Raaz @Ousayo
Given there is a large factory in Germany that builds Tesla's what rules do those cars adhere to?
In Australia cop's encourage motorists to supply dash cam footage when they are working on a crime not just car related.
Click to expand...

I don't think OEMs are prohibited from manufacturing these features, since it's the user's responsibility to disable them in the corresponding countries.

The Federation of German Consumer Organisations even sued Tesla for this.

Here's an article about a Tesla owner in Berlin getting a warning from the police to not use the cameras in a place where people can be seen.

"The legal classification of dashcams in Germany is already difficult, and as a Berlin Tesla owner has now come to feel, this applies no less to the Guard Mode function on his electric car. Dashcams are, according to most, retrofitted cameras pointed at the road in front of one's own car that record traffic events - Tesla also introduced this function for all of its electric cars some time ago, based on the Autopilot cameras that are available anyway. In guard mode, on the other hand, the cameras run along while the car is stationary, and if something gets very close to the Tesla or it is shaken, their all-around images are recorded.

Office informed data protection authority
And that is forbidden in Germany, or at least in the state of Berlin, according to a video report from the electric car rental company nextmove. A Tesla owner had received mail from the state's commissioner for data protection and freedom of information, it says. From the Ordnungsamt her authority had been informed about his use of the Tesla guard and informed that a permanent operation of the cameras without a reason is "in any case inadmissible under data protection law".

The Tesla owner is not currently facing a fine. The data protection authority let him know that it certainly assumes that he will only use the guard mode in the future where no "uninvolved passers-by" can be recorded, nextmove quotes from the letter. One therefore considers the remoteness as completed.



That Tesla's guardian or also dashcam has its difficulties with German law, data protectionists had already emphasized before. In September 2020, the TV magazine Kontraste reported on the issue, quoting the data protection commissioner of Baden-Württemberg on the matter, who said that "constant" recording of traffic events was impermissible. In the same month, Tesla also received Germany's Big Brother Award because of its cameras.

What is new, however, is that a German authority has specifically written to a Tesla owner to point out what it considers to be unlawful Guardian use. Why the regulatory agency called in the data protection authorities was left open in the nextmove article. To see that the Tesla guard is activated, you have to approach the car - then a large notice with an eye appears on the screen.

Tesla training for law enforcement?
From then on, even the last few minutes of video images are no longer overwritten as usual, but saved as guard events that can be viewed later. In this way, several intentional or accidental destructions of Teslas and other cars in their vicinity have already been cleared up. Opposed to this are the privacy rights of all other people in the camera's field of view, and according to the Berlin authority, these "interests worthy of protection" are to be valued higher than the Tesla driver's desire for video security when parking."
 
Little report of an "issue" after another round of playing around:
@VIOFO-Support
After everything was perfectly running, while using a ~12GB FAT32 partition to make sure I could test everything without constant overwrites, and doing a fresh formatting via the dashcam, I went ahead and shrunk the partition to my planned 2.5GB.
I then put the card into the dashcam and did a format like the last time.

Result:
When pressing the button once, it works correctly but when pressing it for a second time (a few minutes later), it will DELETE the first protected video(s) and only protect the second video from the second button press.
So instead of 4 locked videos, if within the 15s both times, and a full sd card, it deletes 3 of the protected videos, keeps only the latest and keeps recording.

I then did another format via the dashcam, drove for 15 minutes => identical behaviour!

I could restore most of them by using QPhotoRec from "TestDisk", since the card-controller uses every sector, before starting to write into them again for increased life-span of the card. But a few where broken and I couldn't play them back.
I don't think this is the planned behaviour?!

Do your engineers know how big the partition would need to be to get it working, like it should?
I'm testing 5GB next..

And I'd very much like to get the GPS Coordinates written into the meta-data, like others requested too.
Should I create a ticket for these 2 things?
 
Search&Rescue said:
Hmm, and I always thought that the German nation - sane people.
Judging by your statements, this is not true at all ... :(
Click to expand...
It's the legal system. Continental Europe operates under civil law, whereby you can't do anything unless it is permitted. The UK and the USA operate under common law, where you can do whatever you like unless it is illegal. It amazes me how little understood this is, given the enormous difference in perspective it generates in the people affected. To a Brit, not being allowed to photograph what is visible to everyone in a public place is absurd.
 
Panzer Platform said:
Next I powered down the camera, and disconnected both IR & Rear cameras to measure power consumption in 1-Channel configuration. In Normal Recording Mode I measured approximately;
313mAh @ 12.60 Volts = 3.9438 Watts.

Next I enabled Low Bitrate Parking Mode and measured;
250mAh @ 12.60 Volts = 3.15 Watts.
Click to expand...
This is really helpful.

I'd like to maximise the run time available in parking mode, so do you have power measurements for the settings of event detection or time lapse (1 fps)? Or if there is a known answer, can you let me know? Many thanks.
 
majones said:
This is really helpful.

I'd like to maximise the run time available in parking mode, so do you have power measurements for the settings of event detection or time lapse (1 fps)? Or if there is a known answer, can you let me know? Many thanks.
Click to expand...
I posted power consumption charts for the various channel configurations and various parking modes in this post:

VIOFO A139 Pro - Testing / Review Info

I've been a tester of the VIOFO A139 Pro 3-channel dash camera for the past couple of months. A139 Pro Features The A139 Pro will be offered in a 1, 2 or 3-channel configuration. If you currently have a VIOFO A139 dash camera and want to upgrade to a A139 Pro, you can purchase the A139 Pro...
dashcamtalk.com dashcamtalk.com
 
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