A229 Duo Test & Review PP

[Panzer Platform]

I wonder if the heat is more evenly distributed on the A229 vs the A119 Mini which may be coming out in one particular area/side or near where the a heat sensor is located if there is one located off-die. I don't have one of those fancy infrared thermometers that cost hundreds of dollars to find out.

Good point Lothar,
On my A229 Front, and A119 Mini the hottest part of the case is at the top.
The bottom, and sides are slightly cooler.
For comparison the Vantrue E1 I'm currently testing has no "hot spots".
It appears the heat is disappated evenly throuought the entire case.
Also, my Infrared Pyrometer was $19.99 on Amazon.
Are you possibly refering to a FLIR Thermal Camera?
See attached photos.
-Chuck

 

[Lothar]

Good point Lothar,
On my A229 Front, and A119 Mini the hottest part of the case is at the top.
The bottom, and sides are slightly cooler.
For comparison the Vantrue E1 I'm currently testing has no "hot spots".
It appears the heat is disappated evenly throuought the entire case.
Also, my Infrared Pyrometer was $19.99 on Amazon.
Are you possibly refering to a FLIR Thermal Camera?
See attached photos.
-Chuck

Yeah, I'm referring to something like any of these below that show a heat/temperature map of the entire case...They cost $300-500+:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/B08CGZKV5R
https://www.amazon.com/gp/B09FTFHTPR
https://www.amazon.com/gp/B07XH96SK4
https://www.amazon.com/gp/B07MGZP12J

 

[Karagandinez]

The reason I ask is that I could have sworn that I read a review/test from someone here(don't remember who?) stating that the A119 Mini shutdown while the A229 (or was it an A119 V3 comparison?) kept on recording...or maybe it's just me imagining things?

A119 Mini - Review / Testing

I recently received a VIOFO A119 Mini to test/review. Nice small single channel dash cam. I needed to get another VIOFO HK4 hardwiring kit since I now have 3 VIOFO dash cams that use that for their hardwiring kit. I just received the additional HK4 and another VIOFO 128 GB MLC microSD card to...

dashcamtalk.com

 

[rcg530]

The reason I ask is that I could have sworn that I read a review/test from someone here(don't remember who?) stating that the A119 Mini shutdown while the A229 (or was it an A119 V3 comparison?) kept on recording...or maybe it's just me imagining things?

That was my testing of the A119 Mini. I purchased a production A119 Mini from Amazon so I could complete my review with a production unit instead of a pre-production unit. That unit ran into problems with the speaker not working at times and it would abnormally shutdown while in normal recording mode. I returned that unit back to Amazon. VIOFO then sent me a production unit which is the unit I have in my car now. That unit seems to be working okay, but it still gets extremely hot while in parking mode with any amount of direct sunlight on it.

 

[Dex_]

Thermal monitoring that shown you Karagandinez use on-chip thermal sensor. No other external sensors present. Is this sensor use for decision to shutdown dashcam or not - I can't say. It is good question for Viofo support.

 

[Panzer Platform]

Today was slightly warm so I performed another useless “gentle” heat test.

My car is parked in the garage out of direct sunlight, but weather temperature and my garage are almost identical. It does not simulate real world parking mode scenarios performed in direct sunlight, but it’s easier for me to test under controlled conditions to see how well cameras dissipate heat, and compare test data with other cameras in the future.

I start the cameras at 6AM in normal recording mode, and let them run until 8PM non stop. I monitor them throughout the day checking for signs of overheating like shutting down, or recording stoppages, or any other malfunctions.
5PM - 6PM is when the cameras really start to cook, and the highest temps can be measured. I obtained the following temp measurements at 5:30PM.

Outside Temperature: 106℉ (41℃)
Ambient Garage Temp: 100℉ (38℃)
Garage Relative Humidity: 28%
A119 Mini: 149℉ (65℃)
A229 Front: 146℉ (63℃)
A229 Rear: 117℉ (47℃)
Element E1: 142℉ (61℃)

A119 Mini - Firmware V1.1 20220810
2560 x 1440P 60fps
High Bitrate
All other settings default.

A229 Duo - Firmware 1.0_0623
1440P 30 + 1440P 30
Maximum Bitrate
All other settings default.

Element E1 - Firmware EBH091 8/10/22
2560 x 1440P HDR 30fps
No bitrate options (16Mbps)
All other settings default

-Chuck

 

[Panzer Platform]

After 30 days of testing here's my review.
-Chuck

 

[Paul Iddon]

Thanks for the informative info Chuck - it'll be well received by the community.

Paul.

 

[Panzer Platform]

Right on Paul,
Thanks for the support.
The first version was 52 minutes long. lol
I whittled it down to 37 minutes by talking faster, and omiting the chapter about using a solar battery charger to run the camera during the day in lieu of buyin a dash cam battery pack. lol
-Chuck

 

[Panzer Platform]

Tomorrow should be slightly warmer 114°F / 45°C
Hooray for dash cam heat testing. lol
-Chuck

 

[Panzer Platform]

Heat test results: I’m a failure.

It’s so hot I can’t stand be my garage to monitor the dash cams.
This is the 4th or 5th heat wave we’ve had in the past two months. I’ve lived in this area my whole life, and when I was a kid in the 1980’s I only remember one heat wave per year.

I don’t think I have “heat sickness” but it’s definitely making it harder on my brain to focus, and concentrate. It’s like I’ve lost all patients, and all I want to do is seek cold, and lie down. Lol

The good news is @rcg530 lives just up the road from me, and he has a pair of A119 Mini’s, and a A229 that he is heat testing as well. I’m hoping he’ll succeed where I have failed. Lol
-Chuck

 

[rcg530]

The good news is @rcg530 lives just up the road from me, and he has a pair of A119 Mini’s, and a A229 that he is heat testing as well. I’m hoping he’ll succeed where I have failed. Lol

I will be taking my car out tomorrow morning to the local post office as I usually do on Tuesday mornings. It's currently 10:45 PM and the outside temperature is still 89 F. It will be a warm dat tomorrow. My drive to the post office will be a short one, but I'll try and leave the A119 Mini dash cameras running in low bitrate parking mode when I arrive home in the "hot" garage.

I had to remove the A229 Duo front dash camera to make room to have two Vantrue E1 dash cameras along with two VIOFO A119 Mini dash cameras on installed on my front windshield.

Tomorrow, I'll see what I can do to power the A229 Duo dash camera placing it in my hot garage.

 

[Panzer Platform]

Viofo Email Updates

On the Viofo official website at the bottom of the page you can enter your email address to receive updates. Over the past 3 years I’ve been signed up for the updates, and I get an email once every 3-6 months informing me of the latest dash cam model, or black friday sale.

I wish I could receive an email update to inform me a new firmware update is available for my dash cam, or a new version of the smartphone App is available for my iOS, or Android device.

Is this one of those things that will never work because it makes too much sense? lol
-Chuck

 

[Lothar]

Viofo Email Updates

On the Viofo official website at the bottom of the page you can enter your email address to receive updates. Over the past 3 years I’ve been signed up for the updates, and I get an email once every 3-6 months informing me of the latest dash cam model, or black friday sale.

I wish I could receive an email update to inform me a new firmware update is available for my dash cam, or a new version of the smartphone App is available for my iOS, or Android device.

Is this one of those things that will never work because it makes too much sense? lol
-Chuck

I do agree that there could be some sort of notification for new firmware updates.
I'm not so sure that email would the best method for that however as I would prefer to cut down on email noise unless it's a "major" update with new features (HDR, Bitrate optimization, etc...).
Maybe through the app? If the app can detect your firmware version, why should it not be able to tell you that there is a firmware update available? At the same time that will miss some people because many some don't use dashcam apps at all.

You don't get this from your phone?
I get notifications about updates to apps available from Google Play all the time.
If I'm lazy, I could check the box and have Google automatically update all apps. I don't do that however as I prefer to read the change log first before updating any app. I ignore all updates that say "No information provided by developer" or those that have a generic "bug fixes and performance improvements" change log unless I know specifically what was changed from the previous version.
I can't speak for Apple/iOS since I don't use their phones.

 

[Panzer Platform]

I received an email response from my contact at Viofo.
He said they are working to implement this.

Over the past 3 years using Viofo dash cams, never not once have I received an APP notification on my smartphone from Viofo.
I started with iPhone SE 2016, and currently have iPhone SE 2020.
Dreams do come true. lol
-Chuck

 

[Lothar]

Over the past 3 years using Viofo dash cams, never not once have I received an APP notification on my smartphone from Viofo.
I started with iPhone SE 2016, and currently have iPhone SE 2020.
Dreams do come true. lol
-Chuck

You sure about this?
Not sure if this is a Viofo(don't have their dashcam or their app) thing, or an Apple(don't own their phone or tablet) app store thing....
On Android, I'm used to the Play Store informing me via the notification bar that there are app updates available.


I'm not sure that it is the individual app's responsibility to announce to the user that there is an update to it's own app?
If every single app is announcing that there is an update to itself, then I will have 40 different notifications about an update from each app rather than only "1" notification from Google Play store like I have above?
They both achieve the same thing...Only difference is that one is notification spam, the other is not.
This must purely be an Apple thing...

 

[Dex_]

Notifications in-app for new FW updates - it is good feature. But release builds is not too often.
Most of us here interested in test firmware updates too. Now only one way to get test firmware - write PM directly to Viofo.
I think that Viofo may send test firmware updates automatically too for all users who helps with testing first batch and pre-sell samples. It can be some mailing-list of testers or via app - "get test FW updates" option.
I do not like to worry Viofo guys and Bill for every ~ 2 weeks request - "Do you have some news, guys?" I`m not a regular user and prefer be "in blade of development" and help made a better solutions in market.

 

[Panzer Platform]

Hey guys,
@BlackboxMyCar sent me a PowerCell 8 Dash Cam Battery Pack for test & review, and I performed a run time test in normal recording mode, and Low Bitrate Parking Mode.

Using the PC8’s Output Cable with CLA Socket, and Viofo original car charger, and USB Type-C cable, the A229 Duo had a “normal recording mode” runtime of;
21 Hours 23 Minutes

Using the PC8’s Output Cable “unspliced” with Viofo Hardwire Kit HK4, the A229 Duo had a “Low Bitrate Parking Mode” run time of;
21 Hours 25 Minutes

How can it be the A229 Parking Mode run time is only 2 minutes longer than normal recording mode. I don’t know but, I offer this observation. During the last few hours of the run time test start around the 20 hour mark, I used the Cell Link Neo Plus App to check the PC8’s battery life percentage, and the estimated time left, (because I’m too lazy to go out in the garage, and visually check the camera). At the 20 hour mark the reported battery life was 0%, however the Output Voltage / Amperage was 12.0 Volts / 0.4 Amps. This tells me the camera is still operating. After that I checked the APP every 15-30 minutes, and the reported Output was fluctuating between 11.6 - 11.7 Volts until 23 Hours 47 Minutes had elapse since the start of the test, at this point the APP was no longer able to connect indicating the PC8 had shut off.

I pulled the SD Card from the A229 to review the footage, and last time stamped file. The last file indicated the A229 shut down at the 21 Hours 25 Minute mark. So this means even though the PC8 had sufficient power to operate for an additional 2 Hours 12 Minutes, the Viofo Hardwire Kit low voltage shut off powered down the A229. I had the Viofo Hardwire Kit set at the lowest possible cut off point of 11.8 Volts. So this tells me the Viofo Hardwire Kit is “leaving money on the table” because the cut off voltage is “too high” and it prevents my PC8 from giving me its full available capacity. Maybe Viofo needs to add one more selection range of 11.6 Volts, or add a selection to completely disable voltage cut off so it can operate properly with dash cam battery packs. What do you guys think, did I screw this one up too?

Here is a link to my full testing of the PowerCell 8;

BlackboxMyCar PowerCell 8 Received For Test & Review

Hey guys once again I’m late to the party, but it still feels good to be invited. For the past couple months I’ve been begging Joseph from @BlackboxMyCar to send me a PowerCell 8 for test & review. I think I finally wore him down. Lol What can I say about the PC8 that’s already been reviewed...

dashcamtalk.com

Here is a link to my YouTube Review of the PowerCell 8;
-Chuck

 

[kalzan]

Why you use Hardwire Kit with PowerCell at all?

 

[Panzer Platform]

Why you use Hardwire Kit with PowerCell at all?

The hardwire kit is required to fully enable parking mode.