A139 Pro Test & Review PP

[reverend]

Here in the UK number plates are usually made of plastic (I think acrylic) with a reflective backing and the text is legally required to be larger than you have in the USA. Many a dashcam looked amazing in the South Korean or Chinese footage then didn't work as well in the USA due to the smaller sizes etc.

Displaying number plates

How to display number or licence plates, get plates made up, replace lost, damaged or stolen plates, and the national letters, flags and symbols you can display.

www.gov.uk

I don't see anything in the rules for the USA regarding reflectivity - aren't plates in the USA mate of metal as well?

Here's a video showing what we tend to have here these days and how they're quickly made:

Maybe there would need to be multiple firmware versions or just an option in the menus for country - one like @Mtz mentions which is optimised for the plates they have in Romania and which seems to work for those here in the UK too, and then a firmware with different parameters for the HDR exposure times which may work better for the USA style plates.

Maybe the plates over there just aren't reflective enough, throw in the different headlight types and you've got a lot of options that could be tested.

If it was as simple as different parameters for different countries @viofo could get really clever from that point and apply the settings based on GPS co-ordinates. A menu option may be the easiest as puts the control in the users hands and they can't blame the manufacturer if they don't set it right.

 

[kamkar]

EU plates, or at least Danish ones are stamped ALU with some reflective coating on it, the letters though i have no idea if they are painted on there or what,,,,,, i have never seen letters on a plate peel so i think they are painted, or at the very least baked on there good.

It would be a good idea to have specialized firmware for the people that want to use 1 front camera and 2 side cameras,,,,,, i can recall if the rear and Interior cameras on viofo 3CH systems have same bitrate, but i suspect they are a little different.
But for side use the cameras would need to be the same bitrate i think.

EDIT: just googled a few pictures, the numbers and letters on DK plates seem to be raised / embossed, and so also stamped on there

 

[Panzer Platform]

I don't see anything in the rules for the USA regarding reflectivity - aren't plates in the USA mate of metal as well?

The problem with the USA is we have 50 different sets of "rules".
In California you have the option to have your plate made of LCD screen. lol

 

[Panzer Platform]

OK guys, how about a palate cleanser after those last 6 ugly tests. Here’s one of my famous HDR demos, but this time in “real world” test conditions. All 3 cameras, (A129 Pro, A229, A139 Pro) do a good job of capturing the entire scene, (even the motorist in front of me checking his cell phone), but only the A139 Pro can actually “read” his plate. My headlights almost completely blowout the rear of the car on the A129 Pro & A229. Also take note how much brighter the overall picture is on the A229.

A139 Pro;
Firmware: V1.0_1115
Resolution: (3840 x 2160P) 30fps
Bitrate: Maximum
HDR: ON (default)
CPL Filter: OFF

A229;
Firmware: V1.1_1010
Resolution: (2560 x 1440P) 30fps
Bitrate: Maximum
WDR: OFF (default)
CPL Filter: OFF

A129 Pro;
Firmware: V2.9 20220902
Resolution: (3840 x 2160P) 30fps
Bitrate: Maximum
WDR: OFF (default)
CPL Filter: OFF

I ran the plate (CA# 2MOY179), and it came back 1989 Honda Civic 4WD Wagon. How is a 34 year old car still on the road, and still passing State Emission Inspections? I guess the don’t make them like they used to. lol

If you don’t remember the 4WD Civic Wagon, it was the best CR-V ever built. Lol

 

[TonyM]

All 3 cameras, (A129 Pro, A229, A139 Pro) do a good job of capturing the entire scene, (even the motorist in front of me checking his cell phone), but only the A139 Pro can actually “read” his plate.

If you were to zoom in, the A139 Pro is probably best at seeing what app the driver was using too!

I find HDR is good for situations like this. It's not all about catching plates of oncoming cars. I reckon you are more likely to be brake-checked by the driver in front, or maybe they accidentally roll back into you, than you are to be hit by an oncoming car that doesn't stop at the scene.

 

[Nigel]

How is a 34 year old car still on the road, and still passing State Emission Inspections? I guess the don’t make them like they used to. lol

Honda made some very good cars in that era, their engines had been computer controlled fuel injected for ages, with O2 sensors for perfect mixture and it probably had a catalytic converter by then, so as long as it has had the O2 sensor replaced at some point, there is no reason why it shouldn't still have almost perfect emissions.

And when it came to motorcycles, they were fuel injected and turbo charged:

 

[Deleted member 64174]

...

 

[Mtz]

All 3 cameras, (A129 Pro, A229, A139 Pro) do a good job of capturing the entire scene

I appreciate that your 3 dashcams are aligned OK, the A229 it is a little different compared to the others two but it is almost OK for a testing like that.
But a beta tester should not post a video which contain a such bad positioned lens. You have too much sky. At least beta testers always should have 50% sky and 50% road because in some way they are reflecting the brand. Such sky recording test is not acceptable even it can affect HDR or not.
So please align the lens as a pro and please try again the HDR recording at night.

You made me remember that I had 2 years of begging Viofo to add the Horizon Line Adjustment in the App, at least, so the user can properly align the camera lens. At some moment Viofo offered the HLA in an A119 V3 firmware but maybe some stupid moron complained about it so Viofo removed it in all next firmwares and dashcam. That was a great chance for Viofo to make users properly align their dashcams and make them stop complaining that their videos are not so good like the Pro users from YouTube. So because of some moron Viofo is wasting time to some buyers to explain them that the lens is not properly aligned and a dashcam was not created to record the sky but the road.
Most of the users are pointing the lens to the sky because they don't want their dashboard or motor hood to be recorded. Very stupid decision. A HLA could help them to not make such mistake.

 

[kamkar]

cars are taxed here on their mileage, but as soon as a car become a veteran car that is out the window,
So you can have a old American " ship" on wheels with a 500 CUI engine and it would be pretty cheap to own, but of course our not low gas prices here will make it a pain to gas up.

My little car cost me 120 USD or so every year in environmental tax, a gas guzzling newer V8 would be something else, though even here when you hit the max which i think are about 2500 USD a year, then again it dont matter how bad the mileage of your car are, so in theory you could have a car that do 1/4 mile to the gallon and it would still just be 2500 USD a year in environmental tax.

Just like you can buy a Italian sports car that are 128 DB loud from the factory,,,,,, thats okay, but put a new exhaust on your car and it cant not be louder than 90 DB,,,,, do not make sense in my world.

 

[Frederick]

Viofo just released firmware 1.0_1119. It mentions "fix double frame issue". I wonder if this has any effect on HDR image quality?

A139 PRO Support

viofo.com

 

[DAP]

California License Plates are all over the place: https://www.lamag.com/driver/the-colorful-history-of-california-license-plates/
That does not even cover the specialized plates ( https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/vehic...cense-plates/special-interest-license-plates/), the LCD plates, or the sticker license plates ( https://licenseplatewrap.com/ )

The worst are the motorcycle plates that are so small they can't be read unless you are within 10' of them.

 

[Deleted member 64174]

...

 

[Panzer Platform]

But a beta tester should not post a video which contain a such bad positioned lens.

1000 apologies MTZ.
I know I’m supposed to use 50/50.
I purposely re-adjusted all the cameras from the perfect 50/50 I used to collect daytime test footage.

I like adjusting to 70/30 for night time because without the CPL Filters my car has a lot of windshield glare.
Just showing the tip of my long hood reduces the windshield glare.
Okay, Okay. I will go back to 50/50. I want to be a good son. Lol
-Chuck

 

[Mtz]

At least when doing tests you should let at 50-50. If you will have windows glare also other people will have it so you are testing normal situation. The only thing you should not put regarding glare is something reflective on the dashboard. I still see cars with napkin boxes on the dashboard.
70-30 is not a normal situation.

For example I am testing all my dashcams without CPL but sometimes I think it is not correct at least for A139 because it have included the CPL and I expect all people to use the CPL. But I am not using CPL just to not affect in some way the firmware behavior because of some conflict with the CPL. After I consider the firmware is OK I put the CPL. For now I keep the A139 Pro without CPL because the HDR processing needs more tuning.

Maybe you should try the 119 firmware in the next tests.

 

[Lothar]

Here in the UK number plates are usually made of plastic (I think acrylic) with a reflective backing and the text is legally required to be larger than you have in the USA. Many a dashcam looked amazing in the South Korean or Chinese footage then didn't work as well in the USA due to the smaller sizes etc.

Displaying number plates

How to display number or licence plates, get plates made up, replace lost, damaged or stolen plates, and the national letters, flags and symbols you can display.

www.gov.uk

I don't see anything in the rules for the USA regarding reflectivity - aren't plates in the USA mate of metal as well?

Here's a video showing what we tend to have here these days and how they're quickly made:

Maybe there would need to be multiple firmware versions or just an option in the menus for country - one like @Mtz mentions which is optimised for the plates they have in Romania and which seems to work for those here in the UK too, and then a firmware with different parameters for the HDR exposure times which may work better for the USA style plates.

Maybe the plates over there just aren't reflective enough, throw in the different headlight types and you've got a lot of options that could be tested.

If it was as simple as different parameters for different countries @viofo could get really clever from that point and apply the settings based on GPS co-ordinates. A menu option may be the easiest as puts the control in the users hands and they can't blame the manufacturer if they don't set it right.

Or they can also aim for the lowest common denominator (US license plates) and not worry about the license place of other UK/European regions?
I can't really imagine a case where a dashcam would be able to see a US license plate but not an European, UK, Korean, or a Chinese one...

 

[Dashmellow]

I don't know why but for some reason everyone keeps referring to smaller license plates as "US license plates". There are even a couple of members (the usual suspects) here on the forum who look down their noses at "USA" license plates as if they are some sort of unfortunate anomaly unique to the United States. That is far from the truth and so I'd like to set the record straight.

Basically, smaller plates are primarily a Western Hemisphere phenomenon. "USA" size and style plates are the standard in Canada, the US, Mexico, Central America and most of South America. There are some variations in shape and size for some nations, especialy in South America but for the most part they are far smaller than European plates. These style plates are also in use in some locations in the Eastern Hemisphere such as Australia which are slightly larger than US plates but nowhere near the size of European plates. Australia is not the only country in that part of the world to use smaller plates.

The fact of the matter is that more of the world population of automobiles use smaller plates than larger plates.

A few examples:

Canada

Mexico


Panama


Australia


Columbia

 

[Mtz]

different parameters for different countries @viofo could get really clever from that point and apply the settings based on GPS co-ordinates

Not possible.

Or they can also aim for the lowest common denominator (US license plates) and not worry about the license place of other UK/European regions?

Not possible to tune the firmware for such details.

I don't know why but for some reason everyone keeps referring to smaller license plates as "US license plates".

The only reason is because the USA market is the most important market for any dashcam seller. Sometime ago was important also the russian market but because they want to buy almost only cheap models no matter the quality, the dashcams which are discussed in this forum are not best sellers in Russia. And I am almost sure that in Russia the best sales models are the ones made in China but with some russian logo printed on the case. Of course there are rare situations when russians buy better dashcams and one of them I expect to be the A119 V3 also because is the cheapest Viofo model. I don't expect in Russia to have good sales for the A139 Pro model and the future of Russia will be for even cheaper models because of less money and less dashcams to buy because of less drivers.

Back to USA discussion, nobody cares how are looking the plates in Panama or Guatemala or even in Mexico. Of course nobody cares how are looking the plates in Romania, Hungary or Bulgaria, but they are more close to EU models so they can be considered european license plates.

Another problem in USA are the 19 states which doesn't require front plate. So for about 120 millions americans, the Starvis 2 Clear HDR is not important at all. Just because the Clear HDR power is for incoming cars with front reflective license plates, at night. For the rear ones any HDR from any dashcam will do the job.

Sizes:
520 by 110 millimeters or 520 by 120 millimeters Most European countries, South Korea
305 by 152 millimeters or 305 by 160 millimeters Most of North and Central America as well as some portions of South America
372 by 135 millimeters – Many Pacific Rim countries

But not only the size of the plate is important but also the thickness of the characters. For example Switzerland or Italy. I observed that USA plates have a lot of other custom printings on the plates and not only the car numbers, so remain less space for characters.

I consider to be correct what are doing the europeans, this is helping them fight more easy against delinquents.

 

[Deleted member 64174]

....

 

[Nigel]

OK ... I got to ask why you think Russia will, in the future have less drivers? As for the dash cams used in Russia, I don't know all of them but Garmin and Thinkware I do know are popular. Most of the dash cam video I have seen from Russia is of good quality and could be used in a court of law in the U.S.

At the moment they need to drive more, because the trains and planes are going out of service due to lack of maintenance/replacement parts, so anyone that needs to travel increasingly needs to drive. It will take a lot longer before cars become impossible to keep going.

I think the lack of trains and planes is having more effect on amount of driving than the decrease in population is having in the opposite direction.

Once the war is over, car and dashcam sales are going to return a lot faster than aircraft and train sales, so I think dashcam sales are more likely to increase than decrease long term.

 

[Dashmellow]

The only reason is because the USA market is the most important market for any dashcam seller. Sometime ago was important also the russian market but because they want to buy almost only cheap models no matter the quality, the dashcams which are discussed in this forum are not best sellers in Russia. And I am almost sure that in Russia the best sales models are the ones made in China but with some russian logo printed on the case. Of course there are rare situations when russians buy better dashcams and one of them I expect to be the A119 V3 also because is the cheapest Viofo model. I don't expect in Russia to have good sales for the A139 Pro model and the future of Russia will be for even cheaper models because of less money and less dashcams to buy because of less drivers.

Back to USA discussion, nobody cares how are looking the plates in Panama or Guatemala or even in Mexico. Of course nobody cares how are looking the plates in Romania, Hungary or Bulgaria, but they are more close to EU models so they can be considered european license plates.

Another problem in USA are the 19 states which doesn't require front plate. So for about 120 millions americans, the Starvis 2 Clear HDR is not important at all. Just because the Clear HDR power is for incoming cars with front reflective license plates, at night. For the rear ones any HDR from any dashcam will do the job.

Sizes:
520 by 110 millimeters or 520 by 120 millimeters Most European countries, South Korea
305 by 152 millimeters or 305 by 160 millimeters Most of North and Central America as well as some portions of South America
372 by 135 millimeters – Many Pacific Rim countries

But not only the size of the plate is important but also the thickness of the characters. For example Switzerland or Italy. I observed that USA plates have a lot of other custom printings on the plates and not only the car numbers, so remain less space for characters.

I consider to be correct what are doing the europeans, this is helping them fight more easy against delinquents.

My post was merely pointing out that most license plates in the Western Hemisphere are the same size as US plates and much smaller than European plates so that members referring to this plate size as "US plates" are incorrect.

My post had NOTHING to do with dash cam sales in Russia, and NOTHING to do with what kind of cameras in Russian are most popular and NOTHING to do with whether the market in the USA is the "most important" for dash cam sellers - or not. (BTW, why did you not mention the Canadian dash cam market which is significant and quite similar to the US market?)..... and they also happen to have license plates that are pretty much the same as in the USA. My post had NOTHING to do with the idea of "who cares" about license plates in Mexico or Panama, it was simply to point out that they are the same size as US and Canadian plates, which was my point. And somehow, I do believe drivers in Mexico, Panama and elsewhere in Central and South America who may own dash cams care just as much about these things even if you don't. And what does the fact that some US states only require a rear license plate have to do with the size of license plates compared to European plates? NOTHING! Finally, Canadian and Mexican plates also have custom printings on the plates and not only the car numbers, just like some USA plates. Each US state designs and manufactures its own plates and these designs and colors change on a rotating periodic basis as do the materials and reflective coatings they may have. My post was about plate size ONLY and not any of these extraneous, unrelated factors.

I think you missed my point.