A229 Pro, when?

[Agie]

Looks like the A229 Plus and Pro are now available for preorder on Viofo's website! I'm pumped about these.

Reading over the specs, I have a couple questions for @viofo.

To confirm, the A229 Pro can do 4K on the front cam in a full 3CH setup, correct?

What are the front cam max bitrates for 1CH/2CH/3CH configurations?

I see the interior cam now has 4 IR LED's instead of 6 like the A139 Pro, and that the interior cam now adds HDR. The interior cam sensor has also changed from the IMX291 to the IMX307 What differences are there in terms of video quality with the new IR cam?

What are the advantages of the A139 Pro over the A229 Pro, especially given that it's listed for $40 more than the newer model?

All the hard hitting questions

 

[Panzer Platform]

Looks like the A229 Plus and Pro are now available for preorder on Viofo's website! I'm pumped about these.

Reading over the specs, I have a couple questions

Why am I always the last to hear about these things?
Here’s my best “Nigel Guess”

To confirm, the A229 Pro can do 4K on the front cam in a full 3CH setup, correct?

Yes. (3840x2160) all at 30fps

What are the front cam max bitrates for 1CH/2CH/3CH configurations?

Approximately;
1CH: 57 Mbps = 430MB 1 Minute File
2CH Rear: 57 Mbps = 430MB 1 Minute File
2CH IR: 34 Mbps = 260MB 1 Minute File
3CH: 34 Mbps = 260MB 1 Minute File

I see the interior cam now has 4 IR LED's instead of 6 like the A139 Pro, and that the interior cam now adds HDR. The interior cam sensor has also changed from the IMX291 to the IMX307 What differences are there in terms of video quality with the new IR cam?

LED emitters have been reduced from 6 to 4 to make room for a light sensor, and active IR filter.
The difference should be improved accuracy when using the AUTO function to switch between day / night (color / B&W).
Overall image quality differences still need to be tested.

What are the advantages of the A139 Pro over the A229 Pro, especially given that it's listed for $40 more than the newer model?

The extra $40 is so you can say; “I have screenless”. Lol
In terms of image quality, and everything else, not much.

Again, these are all guesses, and predictions.
-Chuck

 

[runtohell121]

Nice to see it being priced well and that the rear camera is stravis 2.

Will be interesting to see the bitrates on different configurations.

 

[LateralNW]

Could someone place an A129 or similar next to a A229

The 119 and 129 size i like as it is less obvious than others Dashcams and while i know the A229 is larger i assumed so it could handle heat better and perhaps larger caps i expect the A229 is still less obvious.
Is that right?

Thanks.

 

[kamkar]

Just got mail about pre-order of the A229 plus and pro.
Both mighty nice looking cameras in 2 or 3 channel flavors

I have forgotten how expensive a high end dashcam are.

 

[Panzer Platform]

Could someone place an A129 or similar next to a A229

I stole this photo from Nigel's post;

Viofo A229 - Dual channel 2K+2K dashcam with Wi-Fi

Following on from the Viofo A119 Mini, the Viofo A229 is now arriving with the testers and reviewers. While the Viofo A119 Mini is smaller than the normal Viofo wedge cameras, the Viofo A229 goes in the other direction. Here they are side by side, and a Micro SD card for scale: Being large...

dashcamtalk.com

 

[Agie]

Just got mail about pre-order of the A229 plus and pro.
Both mighty nice looking cameras in 2 or 3 channel flavors

I have forgotten how expensive a high end dashcam are.

I love how the video of the A139 Pro bit down the page starts autoplaying. 11,000 views in five months.

Gives you a bit of an idea how much traffic their website is getting...

 

[Panzer Platform]

11,000 views in five months

That’s funny you mention YouTube views.
8 months ago when I was testing the DR970X & B-130X for BlackVue I noticed their official release introduction videos would get 50K views in the first hour of being uploaded with zero comments, and zero thumbs up.
That usually indicates the YouTube views came from a Bot Click Farm.
I don’t think Viofo has the advertising budget to employ a Bot Click Farm just yet. Lol

Here’s an example;
1.9 Million Views
23 Thumbs Up
10 Comments
4 of the comments are “mine”. Lol
The view / comment / thumb up ratio does not “add up”.

 

[Agie]

That’s funny you mention YouTube views.
8 months ago when I was testing the DR970X & B-130X for BlackVue I noticed their official release introduction videos would get 50K views in the first hour of being uploaded with zero comments, and zero thumbs up.
That usually indicates the YouTube views came from a Bot Click Farm.
I don’t think Viofo has the advertising budget to employ a Bot Click Farm just yet. Lol

Here’s an example;
1.9 Million Views
23 Thumbs Up
10 Comments
4 of the comments are “mine”. Lol
The view / comment / thumb up ratio does not “add up”.

Oh definitely not with Viofo, I was just alluding to how little website hits they get. Good on them for being honest though.

Definitely a bot with Blackvue, as if it wasn't obvious to consumers haha. You should check out Singapore Airlines YouTube channel as well, just saw one with 2.8 million views and 17 comments and 76 likes

 

[Nigel]

The view / comment / thumb up ratio does not “add up”.

If you can recognise that, then Youtube/Google's algorithms can recognise it too, which means the person/bot who sat and viewed it 1.9 million times wasted all their time!

 

[LateralNW]

I stole this photo from Nigel's post;

Viofo A229 - Dual channel 2K+2K dashcam with Wi-Fi

Following on from the Viofo A119 Mini, the Viofo A229 is now arriving with the testers and reviewers. While the Viofo A119 Mini is smaller than the normal Viofo wedge cameras, the Viofo A229 goes in the other direction. Here they are side by side, and a Micro SD card for scale: Being large...

dashcamtalk.com

Thanks but that's a mini not a A129 however it gives me an idea of size.

 

[Nigel]

Thanks but that's a mini not a A129 however it gives me an idea of size.

I don't tend to notice the difference in size between A129 and A229 unless they are side by side, A229 is definitely bigger, A129 is I think closer to the Mini, but I put the Mini there rather than the A129 because the A229 next to the A129 didn't look much different in a 2D photo, which was a little misleading, this photo gives a better idea.

 

[wozzzzza]

Just got mail about pre-order of the A229 plus and pro.
Both mighty nice looking cameras in 2 or 3 channel flavors

I have forgotten how expensive a high end dashcam are.

A229 pro around third the price and 3 times better than https://streetguardian.info/product/sg9667dc2k/
wonder how streeguardian are going these days

 

[Agie]

A229 pro around third the price and 3 times better than https://streetguardian.info/product/sg9667dc2k/
wonder how streeguardian are going these days

Is Street Guardian even in the conversation at this point . Things have gone to crap since jokiin passed

 

[wozzzzza]

Is Street Guardian even in the conversation at this point . Things have gone to crap since jokiin passed

thing of the past, just reflecting on good times of the past for a minute there. just think where they would be at now if he was still around.

 

[ivoryarcher]

Is Street Guardian even in the conversation at this point . Things have gone to crap since jokiin passed

Other brands would have taken us for a ride for sure if it wasn't for Viofo and their competitive pricing.
Viofo pricing is too good when compared to BlackVue, Thinkware and other brands out there.

 

[ivoryarcher]

Australian Viofo website does not show any pre order or listing for A229 pro. Looking at other products it looks like it will be the same price as the US website (shipping is free and they are throwing in a free 256Gb card for pre orders).
I am thinking of pulling the trigger. Any thoughts ?

 

[Agie]

Other brands would have taken us for a ride for sure if it wasn't for Viofo and their competitive pricing.
Viofo pricing is too good when compared to BlackVue, Thinkware and other brands out there.

Definitely mate. I remember when Viofo were in the early days and they still had the high attention to detail and support they do now. They definitely stuck it to the bigger names.

Imho I think because there's a lot of no name brands around, there's room for Viofo to play with the big boys like Thinkware and Blackvue. I think those brands also may have a bigger presence in retail and car stereo/dashcam installers than say Viofo.

But I'd grab Viofo any day of the week purely on cost, and safe in the fact that I'll be supported with after sales support and firmware updates.

 

[Agie]

Australian Viofo website does not show any pre order or listing for A229 pro. Looking at other products it looks like it will be the same price as the US website (shipping is free and they are throwing in a free 256Gb card for pre orders).
I am thinking of pulling the trigger. Any thoughts ?

I checked today the normal .com site and it quoted 500-odd AUD for the A229 Pro 3CH and 400-odd AUD for the A229 Pro 2CH. Guessing that might be similar pricing for Australia too.

It's release isn't too far away and I'm anticipating reviews and testers of the device will appear here on DashcamTalk, and YouTube soon. After all, you might decide that the upgrades aren't worth it to you and you could settle on an existing 4k dashcam such as the A139 Pro to save yourself some dosh.

 

[Nigel]

thing of the past, just reflecting on good times of the past for a minute there. just think where they would be at now if he was still around.

They would probably still be on 2K resolution due to heat issues in hot places like Oz! Hopefully we will see 4K heat issues being resolved with the A229 Pro, but it might need some improvements from the memory cards too, they still seem to be getting hot and slowing down too much.