A229 Pro Test & Review PP

Dashmellow said:
It is not clear why you are disagreeing with me since we seem to be saying basically the same thing.
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We understand the physical concepts the same. My point is that giving angle specs based solely based on the lens with no reference to sensor specs is an incorrect practice. If the source is Viofo's lens supplier, Viofo or dashcam industry wide practice, I do not know.
 
VVondervvall said:
We understand the physical concepts the same. My point is that giving angle specs based solely based on the lens with no reference to sensor specs is an incorrect practice. If the source is Viofo's lens supplier, Viofo or dashcam industry wide practice, I do not know.
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I would agree that dash camera manufacturers could do a better job here. As I often say, dash cams are really built more like consumer gadgets than "real" cameras and the results is that a lot of specs are geared more towards marketing than towards knowledgeable people who demand accurate information. A good example is how many dash cam manufacturers tout their lenses as having "7 glass elements" as if more elements are better. And the manufacturers who say that their lenses have 7 elements are using the IR-CUT filter as the 7th element which is bogus. Some of the finest lenses ever made have only four elements.

As for Panzer Platform, he doesn't seem to understand that regardless of which lens angle of coverage Viofo cites, the results will be different based on several factors even with the same lens, such as sensor size and aspect ratio.
 
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The only testing I can do is a stare and compare between my A129 Pro and the A229 Pro and at the moment, the A129 Pro has a better image and less jittery movement. With HDR off or on, bit rates at various settings, the image on my A229 Pro with the interior camera is crappy at best. Just too much detail is missing and the image has this jittery movement. On the other hand, the interior IR camera is producing an excellent image, at least for daytime. Trying to decide if I want to exchange the camera or wait for a FW release.
 
The jittery playback of the front/interior video is something I reported a few weeks ago to VIOFO. VIOFO has been working on correcting the dropped/duplicated frame issue that causes the jittery playback of the front/interior video along with fine tuning the HDR image quality at night. I have tested a few versions of firmware to address the "blue flash" issue during daytime recordings (front / HDR off), duplicated/dropped frames (front/interior) and HDR image quality (nighttime front). The latest private test version is much better in all ways. If it were me, I would wait for a public release of the front firmware for the A229 Pro and then make your decision. I don't believe the current public version of v1.0_230928 (front) firmware has all of the adjustments that are present in the private test versions I've been testing.
 
rcg530 said:
The jittery playback of the front/interior video is something I reported a few weeks ago to VIOFO. VIOFO has been working on correcting the dropped/duplicated frame issue that causes the jittery playback of the front/interior video along with fine tuning the HDR image quality at night. I have tested a few versions of firmware to address the "blue flash" issue during daytime recordings (front / HDR off), duplicated/dropped frames (front/interior) and HDR image quality (nighttime front). The latest private test version is much better in all ways. If it were me, I would wait for a public release of the front firmware for the A229 Pro and then make your decision. I don't believe the current public version of v1.0_230928 (front) firmware has all of the adjustments that are present in the private test versions I've been testing.
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Sounds like good advice. I just did a night time test drive, with and without CPL. The image is still jittery and definition is poor on road signs. I am getting some of the "edge shine" like was seen on seat piping, but on vertical and horizontal surfaces such as signs, poles, etc. Something else I noticed for day and night filming, when accelerating the car, the focus lags quite a bit. For a brief moment, the video looks like I am about to enter warp drive. :) I have noticed that blue flash as well.

It is good to know you have reported these to the developers. I would like to try the FW version you are on, if VIOFO permits it, if not then no problem as I understand. I knew there would be "teeth-cutting" on this pre-order so I am not sussed over the matter. If it is hardware related, then that will become obvious after a couple of FW fixes. I am sure VIOFO will take care of any hardware issues then.

I am having mental moments over the voice commands. Maybe its a senior moment. :) Too me to turn on wifi it should be "Turn WiFi On", whereas VIOFO has it "Turn On WiFi. That is really screwing with me. :LOL:

I would like to see them work with the Beep Sound. At present the only way you will hear the shutter sound is if you have Beep set to All. Setting to anything else you have to trust the snap shot/photo was taken. I don't care for all the beeping but, it is nice to have feedback on some activity like snap shots. All in all, I like the camera and it looks like it will be a big winner for VIOFO.
 
I'm checking with VIOFO on whether I can provide a link to the latest debug/test front firmware I've been testing with the A229 Pro. I'm hoping there will simply be a public release with all of the tweaks in the debug/test version of the firmware. The debug/test front firmware does not display a normal status line in the video being recorded. It has debug info displayed to help track/find/fix the daytime HDR off blue flash issue.
 
It would be interesting to know which FW has been installed on the purchased models?
 
Paul Iddon said:
It would be interesting to know which FW has been installed on the purchased models?
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I'm guessing V1.0_230928 that's what mine arrived with a week or so ago. They leaving that current firmware version up on the website in case folks need to reinstall perhaps?
 
Cheer Adrian.
 
Agie said:
I'm guessing V1.0_230928 that's what mine arrived with a week or so ago. They leaving that current firmware version up on the website in case folks need to reinstall perhaps?
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That is the same FW version on mine as well. It is also what is posted on the VIOFO site.
 
Edit:: deleted to appease ogzogz.
 
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Of course, it's nice to laugh and have fun, but when I receive notifications of topics that I follow with interest to see if there is a real problem, solution or suggestion, it is annoying to see posts that do not have any meaning.
I think you can also handle these via direct message.

This is entirely my opinion and of course I have the utmost respect for all those who share.
 
ogzogz said:
Of course, it's nice to laugh and have fun, but when I receive notifications of topics that I follow with interest to see if there is a real problem, solution or suggestion, it is annoying to see posts that do not have any meaning.
I think you can also handle these via direct message.

This is entirely my opinion and of course I have the utmost respect for all those who share.
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Not a problem. I will delete the post and add you to my ignore list. Please add me to your ignore list. It is a serious world, and certainly, dashcams are at the top of the serious list.
 
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rcg530 said:
I'm checking with VIOFO on whether I can provide a link to the latest debug/test front firmware I've been testing with the A229 Pro. I'm hoping there will simply be a public release with all of the tweaks in the debug/test version of the firmware. The debug/test front firmware does not display a normal status line in the video being recorded. It has debug info displayed to help track/find/fix the daytime HDR off blue flash issue.
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Any word on that? I am still using my A139P due to this horrible blue/green issue.
 
With respect to AOV measurements, the optimal location to place the protractor is the lens' focal point, somewhere inside the overall lens housing. The exact location will vary with the lens' focal length which we usually do know, but I'm not exactly sure how to measure this in practice, especially considering the overall lens is comprised of multiple individual lens elements and knowing the location of the front lens element isn't really indicative of where the focal point is located, not to mention dashcams usually don't have an external marking to denote the plane of the internal sensor.

lens-focal-length-mm-example.gif
 
Vortex Radar said:
With respect to AOV measurements, the optimal location to place the protractor is the lens' focal point, somewhere inside the overall lens housing.
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Yes! I was going to discuss putting the protractor at the focal point of the lens but I decided to keep things simple and just suggest placing the front element at the protractor axis point since the offset would be relatively minimal with an M12 lens. It would be several degrees off but more or less in the ballpark.
 
Panzer Platform said:
I was hoping you'd stop by. lol
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If you were trying to replicate the official specification for lens FoV (140 degrees) then Vortex is correct, but if you are measuring horizontal FoV of the recorded image, then I think it is fine to measure that from the front of the lens, at least then it is consistent between cameras with different lenses and other people can replicate the measurement.
 
One reason I didn't mention using the focal point of the lens is that it would be impossible to determine where it is within each lens and it would simply have to be estimated.

Either way, anything is better than measuring from six inches away from the lens to measure its AOV .:rolleyes:;)
 
In this post I would like to compare the Horizontal FOV of the Front, Rear, and Interior camera.
The A229 Pro 3-CH has a specification of 140° + 160° + 150° + FOV.

0.) A229 Pro .png
A229 Pro 3-CH Specifications .png
I updated my work bench with more wallpaper, and a ruler.
I’m hoping the additional wallpaper will help identify focus issues.
I’m hoping the ruler will make it easier taking measurements.
I adjusted the distance of my platform jig so the camera lens is 50 centimeters from the wall.
Shoutout to @Karagandinez and @gse for helping me with that.
I made a new platform jig because @Nigel suggested the camera lens should be the same height as the ruler.
The jig is now 11 inches tall, the same height as the bottom of the ruler.
The center of the lens is the same hight as the center of the ruler.
I made sure the jig was “square” with a level, if the image looks "tilted" it’s possible the lens in not “aligned”.

1.) Platform Jig .jpg

Here are the Horizontal measurements in the center of the recorded footage;
Front: 148.5cm
Rear: 143.5cm
Interior: 180cm
Interior LED’s On: 80cm
Shoutout to @DT MI for telling me about Right Triangle Calculator, and @rcg530 for helping me understand it.
Now that we know the Horizontal measurement, and the distance from the lens to the wall we can calculate each camera’s Horizontal AOV.

Here are the “true” Horizontal AOV’s;
Front: 112°
Rear: 110°
Interior: 122°
Interior LED’s On: 84°

Looking at the screenshots three things stand out to me;
1.) The Front camera is “wider” than the Rear camera despite their specifications.
2.) It looks like the Front camera might be out of focus on the far right side.
3.) When I turn off my garage lights, and the Interior IR LED emitters illuminate the AOV is reduced, and a lot of information is lost on the sides of the image.
I wonder how the A139 Pro IR Interior camera will compare since it has 6 IR LED emitters, instead of the 4 on the A229 Pro.
I guess I will test the A139 Pro 3-CH next.

2.) A229 Pro Front .png
3.) A229 Pro Rear .png
4.) A229 Pro Interior .png
5.) A229 Pro Interior IR LED's .png
 
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