A229 Pro Test & Review PP

[ozguy]

Here’s my first night time “DRIVING” test footage.
I filmed this just a few hours ago, and I’m reviewing the footage now to pull out some screenshots for comparison.
This is my usual test loop I’ve used for every dash cam I’ve tested since 2019.
I upload all the test footage to my second YouTube channel, and categorize them into playlists so they can be easily found, and compared with new dash cams.
Shout out to @ozguy for requesting GNR just in time for the holidays, it’s a jungle out there.

Cameras & Firmware;
A139 Pro: 0629
A229 Pro: 1123
A119 Mini 2: 0912
A229 Plus: 1117
No CPL Filters
All Bitrates Max

License plate, and illuminated McDonald’s & Taco Bell sign best to worst;
1.) A119 Mini 2
2.) A229 Plus
3.) A229 Pro
4.) A139 Pro
It looks like the narrow FOV’s of the A119 Mini 2 & A229 Plus are more advantageous than the 4K resolution of the A229 Pro & A139 Pro.
What if the A229 Pro had a narrow FOV lens just like the 2K cameras?
I bet that would be awesome.

Subaru Brake Lights:
I’m seeing those vertical artifacts from the A229 Pro again.
I’ve never seen those before on any camera.
The A119 Mini 2 & A229 Plus have good HDR performance.
The A139 Pro doesn’t cope too well with the brake lights.
I just realized I screwed up the 50/50 road & sky lens alignment, and all the camera don’t match.

VERY interesting stuff.... The Mini2 stands out here...may just be the cam position too.

 

[efoo]

Thanks for those night video.

However just one irrelevant question from me: Not sure if the copyright rules have changed in YouTube. We can hear your car stereo was playing Welcome To The Jungle by GnR, do you have to specify a disclaimer in your description section on YouTube about the song name and the artist name? The reason is when I posted a car dash cam video a number of years ago and my car stereo was playing a Japanese song at the time of recording, later the audio of that video was muted by YouTube because I did not write a disclaimer.

 

[Panzer Platform]

night video.

Every dash cam on the market over $50 will provide “good enough” evidence during DAYTIME.
90% of those dash cams are “almost” useless at NIGHT TIME unless the thing you want to see is under direct illumination, (and without functional HDR it will be washed out).
What I’m trying to say is NIGHT TIME image quality separates the men from the boys.

copyright rules have changed in YouTube

This is a very good question.
I’ve been using “copywritten” songs in YouTube videos since 2015, and the rules are constantly changing.
I could go on for 30 minutes so I will keep it short as possible.
The biggest factor in how YouTube deals with copyright infringement is if the YouTube channel is monetized, or NOT monetized.
It also matters if the video is Public, Unlisted, or Private.
YouTube’s copyright rules, regulations, and corrective actions is different for every piece of copyright content, (music, TV, movies, etc).
The copyright owner has several different options / actions at their disposal.

Usually, if a monetized YouTube channel uses copyright content, and it’s detected, all the money earned from the video will go to the owner of the copyright material.
Another option is the owner of the song has the option to mute the audio, or they can block the entire video from being seen in many different countries, or all countries.
I’m in a very different position.
My YouTube channel is NOT monetized, so using songs has no effect on my channel.
I have never received disciplinary action, or a copyright strike.
If you get 3 copyright stikes your channel will be deleted.
Once in a blue moon I will use a song, and I’ll get a notification in my YouTube Studio saying;
“This video has been blocked in Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Romania, Pakistan, and Hungry”
It’s always eastern European countries. Lol
Here’s some screenshots of the song I used tonight.

 

[efoo]

I understand the concept of night video quality way back a number of years ago, it is not a new understanding that high quality dash cam can give you both good day and night video, while inferior quality dash cam only give you good daytime video. I have been a member of this forum for 10 years. Anyhow I just ordered a 2-channel VIOFO A229 Plus earlier today, to replace my current Street Guardian SGGCX2PRO+ which I suspect is having lens warping issue and giving out of focus images.

As for YouTube video being blocked with copyright music, my YouTube channel is not monetized, I only post video of my interest. However that one video with that Japanese song was still muted, possibly some viewer(s) reported to YouTube? So what I was trying to say earlier is if you want to prevent your YouTube videos being muted, then best to write a disclaimer on the video description section.

 

[Panzer Platform]

I think I found a moving front plate capture where the A229 pro did the best.






Here’s 2x zoom;






Here’s the videos;

Interesting side note this was when I was heading home, and you can see me manipulate my cardboard cover over my radio to block the windshield reflection that spoils my night time footage. lol

 

[ozguy]

Thanks for those night video.

However just one irrelevant question from me: Not sure if the copyright rules have changed in YouTube. We can hear your car stereo was playing Welcome To The Jungle by GnR, do you have to specify a disclaimer in your description section on YouTube about the song name and the artist name? The reason is when I posted a car dash cam video a number of years ago and my car stereo was playing a Japanese song at the time of recording, later the audio of that video was muted by YouTube because I did not write

I think I found a moving front plate capture where the A229 pro did the best.

View attachment 69406
View attachment 69407
View attachment 69408
View attachment 69409

Here’s 2x zoom;

View attachment 69410
View attachment 69411
View attachment 69412
View attachment 69413

Here’s the videos;

Interesting side note this was when I was heading home, and you can see me manipulate my cardboard cover over my radio to block the windshield reflection that spoils my night time footage. lol

View attachment 69414

Interesting that the A229 plus seems to be the worst performer here. As i said in my previous comment the A139 really holds its own here (Maybe due to software?) The Mini2 also impresses.
The A229pro is the best, but so it should be for the price.

 

[LateralNW]

I think I found a moving front plate capture where the A229 pro did the best.

View attachment 69406
View attachment 69407
View attachment 69408
View attachment 69409

Here’s 2x zoom;

View attachment 69410
View attachment 69411
View attachment 69412
View attachment 69413

Here’s the videos;

Interesting side note this was when I was heading home, and you can see me manipulate my cardboard cover over my radio to block the windshield reflection that spoils my night time footage. lol

View attachment 69414

Nice examples.

Mini 2 for the win. So much better.

The A229 Pro seems to have something pushed up to the max. In my night videos' I can see miles ahead but it struggles to read the road signs.
It is struggling to read number plates at night even going in the same direction.
I don't understand it.
And this is with the latest firmware applied. 231123

 

[SergiuC]

I confirm that A229Pro on my test, with the new firmware 231123 , on the night time with HDR, it"s struggling allot to catch the number plates even from oposite direction with enough light etc. The overall quality of image is the best from all camera from the market on the night side and of course on day, but on the night on the reading of number please perform worst than previous SW from September, November . When you put stop on the record to read the number plates now with the new sw is very blurry and numbers cannot be read.

This is it. But at least we have a good quality of image. For the number plates A119 Mini2 have a little more poor image than A229Pro front camera and also for the quality of image is situated a little under Rear Camera of A229Pro . Mini2 is the best for number plate reading, but the quality of image is over exposed, with gray background of entire image , not full black like it is on A229Pro ( like and LCD panel compared with the AMOLED) and different FOV is more directional - zoomed on Mini 2 , and on A229Pro is very very WIDE were I like allot but the conclusion is that 4k resolution and high quality of image camera came with some cons for a dashboard camera on the night side. For reading number plates Viofo apply in the past a image trick with HDR , but this comes with low quality of image and more grainy , noise on image. When Viofo changed that and reduce almost all noise , and improve quality of image on the night HDR record, that comes at package with more difficulty to read the car number plates during the night.

 

[Panzer Platform]

I confirm that A229Pro on my test, with the new firmware 231123

Thank you.

 

[ozguy]

Thank you.

@Panzer Platform So, if you could buy one, 2 channel Dashcam today, what would you buy?

 

[Panzer Platform]

Night Time Highway Test Footage

Overall I think the A229 Pro did the best in these lighting conditions.
2nd: A119 Mini 2
3rd: A139 Pro
4th A229 Plus
If you see flickering in the video it’s coming from the headlights of the white Toyota Camry behind me in lane #2.
You can see it in the A229 Pro Rear camera footage.
Also, I think something is wrong with the A229 Pro REAR camera with the new 1116 firmware.
I expect a little bit of flickering from certain car’s LED headlights, but this seems out of the ordinary.
Can you confirm @viofo @VIOFO-Support ?






Here’s the videos;

A229 Pro Rear;

 

[Nigel]

If you see flickering in the video it’s coming from the headlights of the white Toyota Camry behind me in lane #2.
You can see it in the A229 Pro Rear camera footage.
Also, I think something is wrong with the A229 Pro REAR camera with the new 1116 firmware.
I expect a little bit of flickering from certain car’s LED headlights, but this seems out of the ordinary.
Can you confirm @viofo @VIOFO-Support ?

I suspect there is something wrong with the Toyota headlamps, or maybe supply voltage too low due to alternator problems, or maybe he has fitted some nasty aftermarket LED headlamps. Just one car with flickering headlamps out of all the cars on the road suggests that it is that car rather than the camera that has the problem. The camera can see flicker that human eyes can't, doesn't mean it is faulty.

 

[Panzer Platform]

I suspect there is something wrong with the Toyota headlamps,

I think you might be right.

 

[Panzer Platform]

So, if you could buy one, 2 channel Dashcam today, what would you buy?

Ask me again in 30 days. Lol

 

[Panzer Platform]

Insta360 Ace Pro vs. VIOFO A229 Pro

 

[Panzer Platform]

New Firmware
Change Log Unknown

Rear camera video rotation issue

This bug is fixed in the latest version. https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1M0MJ7kOMNJxpDY9vUi04gJ-jDbdRAuwz?usp=sharing The FWA229P is for the A229 Pro front cam, and the FWA229S is for the A229 Plus front. The EthcamTxFW.bin is for the rear cam.

dashcamtalk.com

A229 Pro
Front V1.1_231208
Rear V1.0_231207

A229 Plus
Front V1.1_231208
Rear V1.0_231207

@viofo @VIOFO-Support
I noticed a new bug.
A229 Pro & A229 Plus: Resolution settings incorrectly displayed in APP
See attached screenshots

 

[rcg530]

New Firmware
Change Log Unknown

Rear camera video rotation issue

This bug is fixed in the latest version. https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1M0MJ7kOMNJxpDY9vUi04gJ-jDbdRAuwz?usp=sharing The FWA229P is for the A229 Pro front cam, and the FWA229S is for the A229 Plus front. The EthcamTxFW.bin is for the rear cam.

dashcamtalk.com

A229 Pro
Front V1.1_231208
Rear V1.0_231207

A229 Plus
Front V1.1_231208
Rear V1.0_231207

@viofo @VIOFO-Support
I noticed a new bug.
A229 Pro & A229 Plus: Resolution settings incorrectly displayed in APP
See attached screenshots

Chuck,

With the same firmware versions installed, I did not observe that behavior with the Android VIOFO app. I just tried iOS VIOFO app and yes, it's not reporting the correct resolutions for the dash camera model it's configuring.

 

[viofo]

New Firmware
Change Log Unknown

Rear camera video rotation issue

This bug is fixed in the latest version. https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1M0MJ7kOMNJxpDY9vUi04gJ-jDbdRAuwz?usp=sharing The FWA229P is for the A229 Pro front cam, and the FWA229S is for the A229 Plus front. The EthcamTxFW.bin is for the rear cam.

dashcamtalk.com

A229 Pro
Front V1.1_231208
Rear V1.0_231207

A229 Plus
Front V1.1_231208
Rear V1.0_231207

@viofo @VIOFO-Support
I noticed a new bug.
A229 Pro & A229 Plus: Resolution settings incorrectly displayed in APP
See attached screenshots

Is it the Android version, we have fixed this in the new app, and we will update the app while releasing the new firmware.

Also, we removed the stop recording prompt, you will be happy with this.

 

[Panzer Platform]

Also, we removed the stop recording prompt, you will be happy with this.

Not just me, everybody. lol
Thank you, thank you, thank you.

 

[ogzogz]

@Panzer Platform

Is there a time-lapse recording option in the main menu on the a229 pro/plus?
If so, can you check if there is a bug in the a229 Pro/Plus that is found in other cameras and is not fixed?

If the resolution other than 30 fps, that is, 24 or 60 and above is selected, can you check whether the video line in the time-lapse recording matches the compressed video?

According to my findings, if the resolution is 60 fps and the recording is accelerated recording, the video line ends but the video continues. like this.
Thank you.