A229 Plus Test & Review PP

[DoubleDawg]

Or can it be forced into Low Bitrate Parking Mode with a settings/button?

Viofo with the Pro/Plus models did implement a button option for parking mode by long pressing the mic button. (Edit: As noted by @rcg530 below, this is actually to turn the setting option on/off rather than to force parking mode to begin/end)

 

[GPak]

Hi, i am new to dashcam world and i am interested in buying this A229 Plus. It seems to be a good budget 3 channel dash cam with starvis 2 sensor and decent low light performance. I would like to use the dash cam especially in parking mode. But i drive just a few kilometers per day, so i think that hardwiring is not a good choice because most of the time the car is stationary and the camera will be recording continously (even at night). I am thinking about buying 2 powerbank 20000mAh or more mAh. Do you think is it possible to record 12 hours during the night with one powerbank and 12 hours during the day with the other powerbank? I know that with USB powerbank, the dashcam can't detect when the engine power off. Does this dashcam can enter Parking Mode Low bitrate automatically based on GPS? Or can it be forced into Low Bitrate Parking Mode with a settings/button?

"Few kilometers" is not enough to charge/keep power bank full, so using two of them and swapping could be the way out.
Consider @Panzer Platform suggestions in previous post.

However if you still want to use power banks then:

Any Power Bank which can be charged and discharged at the same time will work as hard-wired setup, enabling parking mode.
You just need to modify HK4 hard-wire cable - literally cutting and twisting three wires together.
Problem solved!
Solution is in the link below, see posts #75, #10 and #8.

Parking Battery-Power Station, 3X capacity and 3X cheaper than dedicated options + extra functionality

First, thanks to the members of this forum for posting great reviews and comments to help people like me choose the DashCam that suits their specific needs. Now, I want to share my project here and maybe help people, who do not want to mess with a car battery and fuse box but are hesitant to...

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[Dashmellow]

I am thinking about buying 2 powerbank 20000mAh or more mAh. Do you think is it possible to record 12 hours during the night with one powerbank and 12 hours during the day with the other powerbank? I know that with USB powerbank, the dashcam can't detect when the engine power off.

These days you can buy 30,000 to 50,000 mAh portable power banks which should provide all the capacity you need. Some on the market are overstating their true capacity for marketing purposes but many are not or at least close their claimed capacity. Purchasing a well known reliable brand like Anker or RAVpower with a good warranty and customer support would probably be the way to go.

https://www.amazon.com/Portable-Battery-Charger-50000mAh/s?k=Portable+Battery+Charger+50000mAh

 

[fabri]

These days you can buy 30,000 to 50,000 mAh portable power banks which should provide all the capacity you need. Some on the market are overstating their true capacity for marketing purposes but many are not or at least close the their claimed capacity. Purchasing a well known reliable brand like Anker or RAVpower with a good warranty and customer support would probably be the way to go.

https://www.amazon.com/Portable-Battery-Charger-50000mAh/s?k=Portable+Battery+Charger+50000mAh

Yes, this is what i was thinking

 

[fabri]

Enabling Low Bitrate Parking Mode in the settings without using the Hardwire Kit will require 5 minutes of “no activity” to enter parking mode.

I read that in Plus/Pro model there is a button to force parking mode. Does this button enable parking mode instantly or require 5 minutes of no activity? I am thinking about low bitrate parking mode.

 

[rcg530]

I read that in Plus/Pro model there is a button to force parking mode. Does this button enable parking mode instantly or require 5 minutes of no activity? I am thinking about low bitrate parking mode.

That button (long press of the <MIC> button) does NOT cause the A229 Pro/Plus to enter/exit parking mode, it turns on/off the parking mode feature. I just tested this with my A229 Pro 3CH. I had low bitrate parking mode configured in the firmware settings. The low bitrate parking mode feature icon was present on the screen. When I long pressed the <MIC> button, the low bitrate parking mode feature icon turned off, but the A229 Pro remained in normal recording mode. Another long press of the <MIC> button re-enabled the parking mode feature (low bitrate) and the parking mode feature icon reappeared on the screen.

 

[Chuck McCoy]

Does this button enable parking mode instantly or require 5 minutes of no activity?

Hardwire Kit = Parking Mode will begin as soon as the car is turned off.

Without Hardwire Kit = Parking Mode will begin after 5 minutes of “no activity”.

That button (long press of the <MIC> button) does NOT cause the A229 Pro/Plus to enter/exit parking mode, it turns on/off the parking mode feature.

Correct, thanks for the confirmation.

 

[fabri]

Which dashcam do you think is better between Viofo A229 Plus, Vantrue E3, Vantrue N4? All of them has 3 channel, and in my country right now they cost more or less the same (200€).
The Viofo A229 Plus is certainly the newer one, so there are less reviews and the firmware can still have some bugs, but it seems to be the best value for money because it has the new starvis 2 sensor.
The other two are older and have only the sony starvis 1 sensor.

 

[fabri]

Hardwire Kit = Parking Mode will begin as soon as the car is turned off.

Without Hardwire Kit = Parking Mode will begin after 5 minutes of “no activity”.


Correct, thanks for the confirmation.

How inactivity is calculated? Based on GPS speed, so if the car is stationary, it goes parking mode after 5 minutes, or based on motion detection. In this case, if there are some movement in front of the car (other car or a street) this could be a problem.

 

[VIOFO-Support]

How inactivity is calculated? Based on GPS speed, so if the car is stationary, it goes parking mode after 5 minutes, or based on motion detection. In this case, if there are some movement in front of the car (other car or a street) this could be a problem.

Based on GPS speed. The camera will quit parking mode when the GPS speed reaches 8km/h.

 

[fabri]

Based on GPS speed. The camera will quit parking mode when the GPS speed reaches 8km/h.

So can you confirm that it is possible to use the parking mode even without the hardwire kit? I can use a powerbank with continous power and the dashcam switch automatically to parking mode based on GPS.

 

[ozguy]

So can you confirm that it is possible to use the parking mode even without the hardwire kit? I can use a powerbank with continous power and the dashcam switch automatically to parking mode based on GPS.

@VIOFO-Support I would like to know this as well...thanks.

 

[Karagandinez]

So can you confirm that it is possible to use the parking mode even without the hardwire kit? I can use a powerbank with continous power and the dashcam switch automatically to parking mode based on GPS.

I have not yet tested the operation of the parking mode with constant power on the A229 Plus,
but models such as the A119 V3, A119 Mini, A119 Mini 2 and WM1 work without problems.

 

[Valwit]

HORIZONTAL FOV - CONFIRM & VERIFY
The A229 Pro & A229 Plus FRONT cameras have the same 140° “Wide Viewing Angle” specification.

1st: you're test are awesome. I'm reading this forum since my first 20 bucks dashcams years ago, and people like you are the reason this place is so good.

2nd: did you measure the vertical angle by any chance? Back in the days, when digital cameras were becoming something, providing the diagonal angle was a very annoying marketing thing, so maybe that's the thing here?
personally i think that about 120° is perfect for me. so i what i see in your test and my recordings is fine.

another thing that i noticed and therefore decided to go for 2 channels instead of 3: bitrate and resolution may be the same, but what about the framerate? seems like while i have 2k 60fps in front with 1or 2 channels, adding the third reduces the max fps to 30. considering that the HDR is created by combining the exposure of 2 frames, and how the compression works, i think for the moment 2 will be fine. the option to upgrade is always there, if voifo or someone else will sort it out in the future.

and last: @voifo a small thing i'm missing is a possibility to change the SSID and key from the camera, without the app - would be less hassle. a bigger thing is that i cant figure out how to make the camera join an existing wlan. scenario: car parks in front of the house, connects to the house's router/AP/wlan and i can connect from the app to the car using the same network, but from the backyard/basement/toilet where i would not see the camera's wlan otherwise 🙂

 

[Chuck McCoy]

did you measure the vertical angle by any chance?

No.

 

[VIOFO-Support]

So can you confirm that it is possible to use the parking mode even without the hardwire kit? I can use a powerbank with continous power and the dashcam switch automatically to parking mode based on GPS.

It can enter parking mode with a power bank. But we do not suggest it as it is unstable. You can combine the hardwire kit with the external battery pack to enable the parking mode: https://support.viofo.com/support/s...se-an-external-battery-pack-for-parking-mode-

 

[Chuck McCoy]

It can enter parking mode with a power bank. But we do not suggest it as it is unstable.

Thank goodness.
I was waiting for you to reply before I answered. lol

can you confirm that it is possible to use the parking mode even without the hardwire kit?

Yes it is possible, but it is NOT reliable, and NOT recommended.
The Hardwire Kit is ALWAYS recomended for RELIABLE Parking Mode.

 

[fabri]

Does this dashcam has the option to record in H265/HEVC to save space?

 

[VIOFO-Support]

Does this dashcam has the option to record in H265/HEVC to save space?

So sorry that the H.265 option has been disabled on the A229 Plus/Pro.

 

[Chuck McCoy]

Does this dashcam has the option to record in H265/HEVC to save space?

H.265 only saved 11% more recording time on the A139 Pro;

A139 Pro Test & Review PP

But when I turn on the high beams it all goes to heck. Lol You don't often want to read a plate when you have your high beams on! Any accident would probably be your fault for blinding the other drivers. It seems like the A139 is winning just about every test too easily... you need to give it...

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