HDR question for the VIOFO A329

[Rollingrock]

I just joined this group and am thoroughly impressed with all the knowledge and reviews that led me to pick the A329. Especially helpful, in alphabetical order, was Panzer Platform, RGC530 and Vortex Radar's posts and info presented for the A329 along with a few others. Kudos and thanks for your efforts. I am a newbie regarding dashcams and have a question regarding the HDR on the A329. I know that you can't get HDR with 4K 60fps and also know that you can turn HDR on/off as well as set it to auto and input the start and end times. My understanding is that the A329 will not auto turn on HDR based on the surrounding light. I wish it did as there is about 3-4 hours of difference from summer to winter for the sunrise and sunset in SW Colorado! I apologize if my questions were answered before but I didn't see them as I've read many threads and comments. My questions are if I set the HDR on auto and then set the recording to 4K and 60fps, when the time to turn on the HDR on auto, will it simply revert to 4K at 30fps and then go back to 4K at 60fps when it auto shuts down HDR? Also I understand that you can turn the HDR on/off via the Bluetooth remote. Likewise if I have the recording set at 4K and 60fps and remotely turn HDR on, will it default to 4K at 30fps and again if I turn it off, will it go back to 4K 60fps? If not, what does the recording default to for both the A329 and the remote? Thanks!

 

[Nigel]

Yes 🙂

 

[Nigel]

P.S. Welcome to the forum.

 

[Rollingrock]

Thanks for the welcome! I assume from your answer of yes that it will return to 4K 60fps for both the dashcam and remote.

 

[Nigel]

Thanks for the welcome! I assume from your answer of yes that it will return to 4K 60fps for both the dashcam and remote.

I don't actually know that it will with the remote, but I would be very surprised if it didn't.
The HDR On overrides the 60fps only while it is On, it doesn't change the setting to 30fps.

 

[Chuck McCoy]

Welcome to the club.
I just got my A329 test unit two days ago, and my testing thread is here;

Thread 'A329 Test & Review PP'

Oct 29, 2024

How about a round of applause for Viofo, more like standing ovation.
They’re back with another industry first.
Let’s take a quick look back.
2019 first 4K Sony Exmor sensor (A129 Pro Duo)
2022 first 2K+2K Sony STARVIS IMX335 (A229 Duo)
2022 first 4K Sony STARVIS 2 IMX678 (A139 Pro)
2023 first 2K Sony STARVIS 2 IMX675 (A119 Mini 2)
2023 first 4K+2K Sony STARVIS 2 IMX678+IMX675 (A229 Pro)
2024 first 4K60fps+2K STARVIS 2 IMX678+IMX675 SSD, Wi-Fi 6 (A329)

If you’re new to DCT, or not familiar with my amateur attempts I recommend you see the testing threads, and YouTube channels of;
@Vortex...

• Chuck McCoy
• Replies: 344
• Forum: A329

• 

If you want anything else specifically tested let me know, and I’ll work it into my schedule.

My questions are if I set the HDR on auto and then set the recording to 4K and 60fps, when the time to turn on the HDR on auto, will it simply revert to 4K at 30fps and then go back to 4K at 60fps when it auto shuts down HDR? Also I understand that you can turn the HDR on/off via the Bluetooth remote. Likewise if I have the recording set at 4K and 60fps and remotely turn HDR on, will it default to 4K at 30fps and again if I turn it off, will it go back to 4K 60fps? If not, what does the recording default to for both the A329 and the remote?

Yes.
No.
It’s complicated. Lol

Just between you, me, and the fence post I do not recommend using AUTO HDR.
I only recommend HDR ON / HDR OFF.
I have been asking Viofo to add two Voice Commands;
1.) Turn On HDR
2.) Turn Off HDR
But, it’s really, really hard, and expensive. Lol
I myself enable / disable HDR manually using the LCD screen, or APP.
Another option is like you said to use the new 3-Button remote, and program one of the buttons for HDR On / Off.
But that will cost you an additional $20, and add the preventative maintenance of maintaining a battery in the thing.
-Chuck

 

[Rollingrock]

Welcome to the club.
I just got my A329 test unit two days ago, and my testing thread is here;

Thread 'A329 Test & Review PP'

Oct 29, 2024

How about a round of applause for Viofo, more like standing ovation.
They’re back with another industry first.
Let’s take a quick look back.
2019 first 4K Sony Exmor sensor (A129 Pro Duo)
2022 first 2K+2K Sony STARVIS IMX335 (A229 Duo)
2022 first 4K Sony STARVIS 2 IMX678 (A139 Pro)
2023 first 2K Sony STARVIS 2 IMX675 (A119 Mini 2)
2023 first 4K+2K Sony STARVIS 2 IMX678+IMX675 (A229 Pro)
2024 first 4K60fps+2K STARVIS 2 IMX678+IMX675 SSD, Wi-Fi 6 (A329)

If you’re new to DCT, or not familiar with my amateur attempts I recommend you see the testing threads, and YouTube channels of;
@Vortex...

• Chuck McCoy
• Replies: 344
• Forum: A329

• 

If you want anything else specifically tested let me know, and I’ll work it into my schedule.

Yes.
No.
It’s complicated. Lol

Just between you, me, and the fence post I do not recommend using AUTO HDR.
I only recommend HDR ON / HDR OFF.
I have been asking Viofo to add two Voice Commands;
1.) Turn On HDR
2.) Turn Off HDR
But, it’s really, really hard, and expensive. Lol
I myself enable / disable HDR manually using the LCD screen, or APP.
Another option is like you said to use the new 3-Button remote, and program one of the buttons for HDR On / Off.
But that will cost you an additional $20, and add the preventative maintenance of maintaining a battery in the thing.
-Chuck

Thanks for the welcome and response. Interesting that it will "downgrade" to 4K @ 30fps with HDR either turned on or in auto but not return to the previous record setting of 4K @ 60fps when HDR is turned off! Wow, that's interesting. Everything is always complicated in this day and age! Do you know use the remote to turn HDR off, whether it will return to the previous record setting @ 60fps? I assume that using the remote to turn HDR on will downgrade the recording to 30fps. Sorry for all the questions but I really don't want to be forced to go into the menu twice each day. Thanks!

 

[Rollingrock]

Welcome to the club.
I just got my A329 test unit two days ago, and my testing thread is here;

Thread 'A329 Test & Review PP'

Oct 29, 2024

How about a round of applause for Viofo, more like standing ovation.
They’re back with another industry first.
Let’s take a quick look back.
2019 first 4K Sony Exmor sensor (A129 Pro Duo)
2022 first 2K+2K Sony STARVIS IMX335 (A229 Duo)
2022 first 4K Sony STARVIS 2 IMX678 (A139 Pro)
2023 first 2K Sony STARVIS 2 IMX675 (A119 Mini 2)
2023 first 4K+2K Sony STARVIS 2 IMX678+IMX675 (A229 Pro)
2024 first 4K60fps+2K STARVIS 2 IMX678+IMX675 SSD, Wi-Fi 6 (A329)

If you’re new to DCT, or not familiar with my amateur attempts I recommend you see the testing threads, and YouTube channels of;
@Vortex...

• Chuck McCoy
• Replies: 344
• Forum: A329

• 

If you want anything else specifically tested let me know, and I’ll work it into my schedule.

Yes.
No.
It’s complicated. Lol

Just between you, me, and the fence post I do not recommend using AUTO HDR.
I only recommend HDR ON / HDR OFF.
I have been asking Viofo to add two Voice Commands;
1.) Turn On HDR
2.) Turn Off HDR
But, it’s really, really hard, and expensive. Lol
I myself enable / disable HDR manually using the LCD screen, or APP.
Another option is like you said to use the new 3-Button remote, and program one of the buttons for HDR On / Off.
But that will cost you an additional $20, and add the preventative maintenance of maintaining a battery in the thing.
-Chuck

I'd echo your option for Voice Commands as that would be much simpler and quicker.

 

[Rollingrock]

I don't actually know that it will with the remote, but I would be very surprised if it didn't.
The HDR On overrides the 60fps only while it is On, it doesn't change the setting to 30fps.

Ah so if it is simply overwritten with HDR on, it should go back to 60fps when you turn it off. Thanks

 

[TonyM]

Just between you, me, and the fence post I do not recommend using AUTO HDR.
I only recommend HDR ON / HDR OFF.
I have been asking Viofo to add two Voice Commands;
1.) Turn On HDR
2.) Turn Off HDR
But, it’s really, really hard, and expensive. Lol
I myself enable / disable HDR manually using the LCD screen, or APP.
Another option is like you said to use the new 3-Button remote, and program one of the buttons for HDR On / Off.

I would much prefer to push a button than try to give a dashcam voice commands.

Auto HDR based on time does need some maintenance as the seasons change, and also when daylight savings starts / ends. Or find some time settings that will work for most of the year and accept it won't always be in the ideal state.

 

[Nigel]

Auto HDR based on time does need some maintenance as the seasons change, and also when daylight savings starts / ends. Or find some time settings that will work for most of the year and accept it won't always be in the ideal state.

The ideal time can also depend on the weather, by a couple of hours. So the seasonal change is not needed very frequently, winter and summer will probably do if you commute at normal times.

It would be nice if it switched based on light levels, but I suspect many people wouldn’t be happy with that, especially if it switched when going into a tunnel, you don’t want it changing too often.

The best answer is to have an HDR that works 24 hours a day, but that seems to be a bit elusive at the moment.

 

[TonyM]

It would be nice if it switched based on light levels, but I suspect many people wouldn’t be happy with that, especially if it switched when going into a tunnel, you don’t want it changing too often.

I might not mind it switching based on light levels if there was no delay when switching between HDR on and off.

I prefer HDR on in a tunnel or an enclosed car park. But I suppose that's where the button is useful for the user to override the default setting on demand.

 

[Rollingrock]

I appreciate all the answers however, there doesn't seem to be a consensus from your gracious answers as to what the A329 will do if recording at 4K and 60fps and you turn on HDR, either manually or by remote means, and then HDR is turned off. Some say it will not revert to the original recording setting (4K @ 60fps) and others say it will. I'm still concerned as to what the A329 will do in this scenario. I'm just trying to find out whether enabling and disabling HDR is a one step process (HDR on/off) or a two step process (HDR on/off and setting the recording back to 4K at 60fps). My continued thanks.

 

[Chuck McCoy]

Interesting that it will "downgrade" to 4K @ 30fps with HDR

30fps with HDR is not a "downgrade"
60fps does not improve license plate capture.

I really don't want to be forced to go into the menu twice each day.

Worst case scenario, learn to love it. lol

I would much prefer to push a button than try to give a dashcam voice commands.

I agree but, not at the expense of an optional $20 accessory, and have to worry about a dead battery inside it.
Having to spend more money on an optional accessory to use the camera's features is like double billing the customer in my opinion.
Vantrue includes their Bluetooth lock button with the $120 E1.

I appreciate all the answers however, there doesn't seem to be a consensus from your gracious answers as to what the A329 will do if recording at 4K and 60fps and you turn on HDR, either manually or by remote means, and then HDR is turned off. Some say it will not revert to the original recording setting (4K @ 60fps) and others say it will. I'm still concerned as to what the A329 will do in this scenario. I'm just trying to find out whether enabling and disabling HDR is a one step process (HDR on/off) or a two step process (HDR on/off and setting the recording back to 4K at 60fps).

As we used to say in industry; "hurry up, and wait" lol
Do you have your an A329 in your possession, can you test it?
Right now, I'm pouring over test footage to confirm & verify improvements to NIGHT TIME HDR performance which is kind of the most important thing at this time.
That's why I told you to leave your test requests on my thread, and I will work them into my testing schedule.
Nigel does not have an A329 test unit to confirm verify.
-Chuck

 

[rcg530]

Assuming the Resolution setting for the front camera is 4K 60fps, the Auto HDR feature "should" transition the FPS from 60 to 30 when enabling HDR and transition the FPS from 30 to 60 FPS when disabling HDR. This was an issue for the A119 Mini 2 when operating in 60 FPS mode and then Auto HDR needed to maintain the HDR state. I believe that was resolved for the A119 Mini 2 long ago. When I stated the resolution setting for the A329 front camera was set to 4K 60fps, I mean it was actually recording at that resolution setting. Just selecting that resolution in the settings menu and then enabling the Auto HDR feature may not get the Auto HDR transition to work [set the correct FPS value with HDR off]. If HDR is enabled when you enter the Resolution settings screen, you won't even see the 4K 60fps selection available for the front camera.

I've had a problem with the last couple of A329 firmware versions not transitioning the FPS value correctly and not enabling/disabling the HDR feature due to the manner in which I use the A329. I use the power button to power down the A329 when I park my car inside of my garage. I also turn off the ACC and Constant power to the HK4 powering the A329 to preserve as much of the battery pack charge level while the vehicle is parked. My use case was causing an issue when the A329 was powered up again. The HDR state needed to be switched to either on or off based on the time of day it was powered up at. For example, HDR was off when powered down, but HDR should be turned on due to the time I powered up the A329 again (or the reverse situation on => off). The HDR state was not being set correctly for my use case nor was the FPS being set to 60 FPS when HDR was to have been turned off by the Auto HDR feature. I reported that problem to VIOFO a couple of weeks ago.

Yesterday, VIOFO provided an updated firmware for the A329. I'm going to see if the Auto HDR feature will properly restore the Resolution to 4K 60fps for daytime recording as it should do and properly toggle HDR feature on/off for my use case.

 

[Chuck McCoy]

Yesterday, VIOFO provided an updated firmware for the A329

They still haven't released a public version on the official website yet.
That's what I'm waiting for before I start testing things like this.

 

[Rollingrock]

30fps with HDR is not a "downgrade"
60fps does not improve license plate capture.

Worst case scenario, learn to love it. lol

I agree but, not at the expense of an optional $20 accessory, and have to worry about a dead battery inside it.
Having to spend more money on an optional accessory to use the camera's features is like double billing the customer in my opinion.
Vantrue includes their Bluetooth lock button with the $120 E1.

As we used to say in industry; "hurry up, and wait" lol
Do you have your an A329 in your possession, can you test it?
Right now, I'm pouring over test footage to confirm & verify improvements to NIGHT TIME HDR performance which is kind of the most important thing at this time.
That's why I told you to leave your test requests on my thread, and I will work them into my testing schedule.
Nigel does not have an A329 test unit to confirm verify.
-Chuck

I understand that 30fps is not an actual downgrade but in my mind I assume it is when you can have 60fps as an option. You know happens when you assume! Combined with Viofo touting the 60fps as essentially better than 30fps from my perspective by being the first 4K 60fps. I'm also basing my judgement from watching 60fps and 30fps on some of the videos everyone has posted.
No, I don't have the A329 in my possession as I was trying to determine how much of an effort it will be switching from HDR off and then on and potentially having to redo the recording setting as well before I pulled the trigger. I didn't leave a test request on your thread as I thought someone would know the answer from all the testing and reviews several have done and continue to do, like you and didn't want to potentially waste your time with testing if someone else already knew the answer.
Thanks for your input
-Art

 

[Rollingrock]

Assuming the Resolution setting for the front camera is 4K 60fps, the Auto HDR feature "should" transition the FPS from 60 to 30 when enabling HDR and transition the FPS from 30 to 60 FPS when disabling HDR. This was an issue for the A119 Mini 2 when operating in 60 FPS mode and then Auto HDR needed to maintain the HDR state. I believe that was resolved for the A119 Mini 2 long ago. When I stated the resolution setting for the A329 front camera was set to 4K 60fps, I mean it was actually recording at that resolution setting. Just selecting that resolution in the settings menu and then enabling the Auto HDR feature may not get the Auto HDR transition to work [set the correct FPS value with HDR off]. If HDR is enabled when you enter the Resolution settings screen, you won't even see the 4K 60fps selection available for the front camera.

I've had a problem with the last couple of A329 firmware versions not transitioning the FPS value correctly and not enabling/disabling the HDR feature due to the manner in which I use the A329. I use the power button to power down the A329 when I park my car inside of my garage. I also turn off the ACC and Constant power to the HK4 powering the A329 to preserve as much of the battery pack charge level while the vehicle is parked. My use case was causing an issue when the A329 was powered up again. The HDR state needed to be switched to either on or off based on the time of day it was powered up at. For example, HDR was off when powered down, but HDR should be turned on due to the time I powered up the A329 again (or the reverse situation on => off). The HDR state was not being set correctly for my use case nor was the FPS being set to 60 FPS when HDR was to have been turned off by the Auto HDR feature. I reported that problem to VIOFO a couple of weeks ago.

Yesterday, VIOFO provided an updated firmware for the A329. I'm going to see if the Auto HDR feature will properly restore the Resolution to 4K 60fps for daytime recording as it should do and properly toggle HDR feature on/off for my use case.

I didn't realize that I had asked a question about a scenario that hadn't been already answered! Appreciate the history lesson from a newbie's point of view as I had no idea this cropped up on the A119 Mini 2.
I plan on hard wiring it for the Parking Mode as well and was planning on simply disconnecting power or if I can get my USB c to get constant power, then simply pull the USB c out.
I didn't think about the scenario you just talked about with the unit being powered down during a HDR on or off time and then being powered back up during the opposite HDR time. I'll be curious to see what you find out with the updated firmware or if Viofo addresses it in a future firmware update. As well as if the Auto HDR feature will properly restore the previously selected 4K 60fps resolution.
Thanks for all the info!
-Art

 

[Chuck McCoy]

Combined with Viofo touting the 60fps as essentially better than 30fps from my perspective by being the first 4K 60fps.

It is better, but not for the reasons you're thinking.

didn't want to potentially waste your time with testing

Not a waste of timee at all.
I live to test these kind of things.
You just need to be patient. lol

I didn't realize that I had asked a question about a scenario that hadn't been already answered! Appreciate the history lesson from a newbie's point of view as I had no idea this cropped up on the A119 Mini 2.

This is why I said this;

Just between you, me, and the fence post I do not recommend using AUTO HDR.

 

[Rollingrock]

It is better, but not for the reasons you're thinking.

Not a waste of timee at all.
I live to test these kind of things.
You just need to be patient. lol

This is why I said this;

Got it. Do you have a remote control button? If so, I'd like to see if what the remote does to HDR under these same situations, at least for the manual mode. I'd like to add to your testing list the following:
Manual HDR-Set the recording to 4K @ 60fps and then turn the HDR on, it should default to 4K @ 30fps; then turn HDR off and see what the recording returns to. Same for the remote control button programmed to turn the HDR on and off.
Auto HDR (this has three parts) -
1) Set the time for HDR Auto turn on and off, then set the recording to 4K @ 60fps and see what the recording returns to once Auto HDR is off.
2) Like rgc530 said Does the Auto HDR keep track of time when it is off or do you need to constantly reset the time and date stamp for it to not only record the correct time and date but to make the HDR work as well? IF it does keep the correct time and date then how as it has a capacitor versus a battery? What does the recording return to under this scenario? 60 or 30fps?
3) Again like rgc530 said, if the HDR was off or on when the A329 was powered down, now the A329 is powered up during the time HDR should be automatically turned on or off due to the auto time set before. Does the HDR actually turn on or off and if so, does the A329 revert to recording at 60fps or 30fps? This can be the reverse as well, HDR on when A329 powered off and then HDR should be off when repowered. What is the recording situation then?
You've found the pitfalls to asking a retired engineer about what ifs! 😀
I know patience grasshopper! lol
Thanks for all your input and responses and let me know if you have any questions with my tests!
-Art