can two v3 be wired for parking mode?

sltwtr

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Hi,
I'm looking for a 2 cameras setup (two v3 or 129+ duo). I understood that 129+ doesnt have buffered parking modr, so i was wondering if i can wire two v3 for this porpuse?
I want to be covered in case of an accident/someone hitting the car, and i'm not sure if itll be better to go for two v3 with buffered PM and 30 fps or to go for the 129+ with 60 fps (to my understanding higher fps goes for better licence plates capture ability).
Thanks
 
I answered the plate capture in the other thread. You can use multiple cams- sometimes it's easier to wire up and install and sometimes not. The main advantage of a multi-channel cam is there;s just one card to access and it's easier to do versus crawling into the back for a separate rear cam. It does add a level of redundancy but the Viofo Duo series of cams are very reliable so that probably doesn't matter. One issue you need to consider is heat, and in that regard the hi8gh-performance multi-channel cams do tend to run hotter and therefore may shut down in less heat than two single-channel cams would.

Phil
 
Hi,
I'm looking for a 2 cameras setup (two v3 or 129+ duo). I understood that 129+ doesnt have buffered parking modr, so i was wondering if i can wire two v3 for this porpuse?
I want to be covered in case of an accident/someone hitting the car, and i'm not sure if itll be better to go for two v3 with buffered PM and 30 fps or to go for the 129+ with 60 fps (to my understanding higher fps goes for better licence plates capture ability).
Thanks
Over the past year I have tested a lot of parking mode on V3 and I would advise you to choose low bitrate shooting. Then you will have all the events that took place in the parking lot on the memory card.
In the buffer parking mode, there is a chance to miss some event.
 
The main advantage of a multi-channel cam is there;s just one card to access and it's easier to do versus crawling into the back for a separate rear cam.
This is true. But recording from two cameras reduces the number of incidents that will fit on the memory card. And in case of a problem with the memory card, there is a chance to be left with nothing.
 
60fps can reduce motion blur daytime to help with plate capture but the difference isn't large, and 30fps usually gives better nighttime images. The most certain way to 'capture' plate numbers is still to read the plate and say the number aloud, letting the audio recording save it. Both the V3 and the Duo will do about all that can be done with video plate capture- no dashcam will get them all.

Phil
@SawMaster thank you. So i guess its only a matter of buffered parking mode (i learned it isnt available in the 129+).
So its possible to wire two v3 to the car's battery, also for it's buffered parking mode feature? Wont it kill the battery? Is there a way to know in advance that the installation will go smoothly?

@Karagandinez thanks. Are there any disadvantages to bitrate parking mode?
 
Are there any disadvantages to bitrate parking mode?
Only that on the memory card there will be all the events that happened in the parking lot and, if necessary, you will have to look through all the videos to find the desired video.
It suits me completely.
 
Only that on the memory card there will be all the events that happened in the parking lot and, if necessary, you will have to look through all the videos to find the desired video.
It suits me completely.
@Karagandinez isnt there an option to run motion detction to help with that?
I cant really think of a situation in which buffered mode isnt enough (15 sec before and 30 sec after). What do you think?
 
So i guess its only a matter of buffered parking mode (i learned it isnt available in the 129+).
Is it possible to wire two v3 to the car's battery, also for it's buffered parking mode feature? Wont it kill the battery? And if so, is there a cheap external power source alternative?
You can use power banks to monitor parking for long-term parking. Nothing will happen to the car's battery overnight.
 
You can use power banks to monitor parking for long-term parking. Nothing will happen to the car's battery overnight.
@Karagandinez i usually park outside for a few hours a day at most. So you say i should connect one cam to a power bank on day time? Is a power bank an expensive option?
 
The hardwire kits for these cams have an adjustable low-voltage shut-off, so it won't leave you with a dead battery. How much extra wear occurs on the battery will also be affected by that setting, and that also affects how long recording will occur during parking. With an average sized car battery in good condition a setting of 12.2V will get you 2 to 4 hours of parking recording with only very slight extra wear on the battery. A setting of 12.0V might as much as double recording time but you'll lose maybe 15% to 20% of the battery's service life. It's not a huge issue with a cheap car battery but some cars have rather expensive batteries now, so no exact figures can be posted.
My cheap large battery costs me about $0.75 per day to have a cam constantly recording, and I'm happy to pay that for the peace of mind I get.

Using a powerbank eliminates this issue but you'll have to remember to keep it charged, Most using this method have 2 units with one charging as the other is in the car, swapping them out daily. Or you can invest in a cam battery system like the Cellink Neo which charges the powerbank as you drive, but you may not drive enough to keep it fully charged, and they are rather expensive for what you get. Simpler to just use the hardwire kit.

Phil
 
Or you can invest in a cam battery system like the Cellink Neo
For two A119 V3 Cellink can offer parking mode less than 20 hours. So even you will charge it to full, is possible its power to not be enough especially in weekends.t
If you are afraid about the car battery is very possible that buying 2 car batteries in 6 years to be cheaper than buying 1 Cellink but more than that, the Parking Mode offered by car battery is always longer than Cellink power.

enjoy,
Mtz
 
The hardwire kits for these cams have an adjustable low-voltage shut-off, so it won't leave you with a dead battery. How much extra wear occurs on the battery will also be affected by that setting, and that also affects how long recording will occur during parking. With an average sized car battery in good condition a setting of 12.2V will get you 2 to 4 hours of parking recording with only very slight extra wear on the battery. A setting of 12.0V might as much as double recording time but you'll lose maybe 15% to 20% of the battery's service life. It's not a huge issue with a cheap car battery
Thanks, are referring to the optional setup of two 119 V3? Do i need to adjustable the low voltage shut off limit the same in the two seperate units? (12.2) and it will apply for both?
 
For two A119 V3 Cellink can offer parking mode less than 20 hours. So even you will charge it to full, is possible its power to not be enough especially in weekends.t
If you are afraid about the car battery is very possible that buying 2 car batteries in 6 years to be cheaper than buying 1 Cellink but more than that, the Parking Mode offered by car battery is always longer than Cellink power.

enjoy,
Mtz
Thanks, i need it mostly for a few hours a day and i cant invest in external power supply, so if what sawmaster said is true and i can only get 2-4 hours of buffered parking mode in two units of v3 when both connected to the battery, then it will be best to go for 129+ with low bitrate parking mode, so it might last more hours? (overall cheaper aswell)
 
Thanks, i need it mostly for a few hours a day and i cant invest in external power supply, so if what sawmaster said is true and i can only get 2-4 hours of buffered parking mode in two units of v3 when both connected to the battery, then it will be best to go for 129+ with low bitrate parking mode, so it might last more hours? (overall cheaper aswell)
The car battery will easily withstand 2 DVRs V3, even in the buffer, even in the recording mode with a low bit rate, with both recording 2-4 hours in the parking lot.
 
Each cam would need it's own HWK; one for each V3 (two HWK's) or one HWK for A129.

Most dashcams use between 500mA and 650mA for active parking modes. 1000mA = 1A, so from there you can figure out roughly what size battery you need to achieve a given number of hours use. Powerbanks and other Lithium technology batteries can be discharged to their specified rating. Lead-Acid batteries such as your car has (including AGM, SLA, and deep-cycle types) should not be discharged to more than about 50% of their rated capacity. So the advantage here is with a 2-channel cam which will go twice as long as two single cams, or give twice the recording time for a given battery size.

Worth mentioning here is the B1W, an older single-channel 1080p cam with the IMX 323 sensor. It does good day and night, and uses less power than any other dashcam made today. Not sure if it does motion-detect, most who use it for parking use it's low-bitrate FW. Also there's the Vantrue T2, which has an effective 'radar' type motion detection and in parking mode the cam "goes to sleep" using almost no power at all. With no triggering events this cam can give parking protection for at least a couple weeks without stressing your car battery. Unfortunately it takes a very long time to "wake up" when it detect something; 20 seconds plus, by which time whoever you wanted to capture may be long gone. For the right situation it could make a good choice but only then.

There are threads here about using LiFePO4 batteries and charging systems for dashcams and more. With these having power for a weeks parking time is no problem, but they are DIY completely and need good mechanical, electrical, and some engineering skills to use and the cost is high. Nothing to compare with these and you can get 10 years+ use from good components so they're actually a good value in the long run.

And motion detection. TBH it only works well in a few cans and few experienced dashcammers use it. Most of us prefer low-bitrate for parking protection as it is a far more certain method albeit more troublesome to find the clip you want should you need that. But at least you'll have something for sure, whereas with motion detection you might not have anything. In the dozen plus different cam's I've used, motion detect has worked well in only one and some others with the same cam who tried it didn't all have equally good results.

Parking protection with dashcams has always had issues attached and likely always will. It's better than nothing though.

Phil
 
USB port is rated at max of 500mA.
That is the required spec, but as we all know it can do at least 4X this and more- it just doesn't have to overperform like that. At least USB-C allows turning a right-angle connector either direction so that's an improvement, and though my experience is very limited it seems the connection is more robust than USB Mini and MIcro.

Phil
 
@SawMaster thank you very much. so how much recording and parking time would I get from a 55-60 ampere battery? (not sure I understood how to calcute it, sorry). I'm confused. if money was not an issue and you had to choose between both, would you go for a set up of two viofo v3 or a129 plus duo? I know that both setups won't give me cinematic qualities, but I look for the best balance between functional (for accidents and such) and image quality (although its ability to help in case of an accident comes first). (i saw comparison videos and the a129 is sometimes very noisy/dirty at the bottom of the picture when in motion. I'm especially concerned since 129 plus duo will work in 30fps while two v3 will work in 60fps)
 
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Tough to say on the cam choice. I very much like the V3 so I'm biased toward it but the A129plus is no slouch either. And the one dual-channel cam should get you some more parking time as it will draw less power than 2 cams. Coverage time will also vary according to where the low-voltage cut-off is set, but I think you can get at least 8+ hours safely and maybe 12 hours if you push the limits hard with a newer battery. 60fps can help some daytime in bright light but otherwise may work against you. Many discussions on that subject but I think most of us use 30fps though as cams improve more are using 60. Just have to play with things and see what works best for you.

Phil
 
@SawMaster thank you, you mean that i might get 8 hours of driving + parking? per what?... a day? can i easily choose when it will work in parking mode? (it doesn't need to be in parking mode when parked at home).
so generally with the v3 the best setup is to use it on 30fps anyway?
 
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