Just ordered a Viofo A119 v3

[relu]

Maybe they want to make a v3 ultra low cost, to maximize their profits.

Maybe you have covered the microphone while holding the camera in your hand!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[ursamajor]

Or maybe not. Calm down, I'm not a newbie in dashcams and other gadgets.

 

[relu]

Nigel has told you to test the camera in the car.
It is not ok to acuse Viofo if you like to buy/send back cameras without test them correctly!
It is the second camera that you send back in few days.


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[ursamajor]

What? Lol, this one IS DEFECTIVE, dude, maybe you didn't read all my posts. The other one (70 mai) I sent it back for completely different reasons. But, of course, that's not your business.

 

[kamkar]

I think maybe a microphone shortage, and then someone at viofo got some other microphones,,,,,,, thats just not the right ones for the job.
This corona stuff have meant component shortages in many electronics industries, and other industries too i assume, for sure the mink fur market have now depleted all warehouse stock as Danish mine farms was all killed.

 

[ursamajor]

I think maybe a microphone shortage, and then someone at viofo got some other microphones,,,,,,, thats just not the right ones for the job.

I hope you are wrong and it's defective, otherwise it's a big problem. But it is a possibility, because, despite my willing to send me another camera, the reseller insists to send my money back...

 

[kamkar]

You will be amazed how many times some poor bastards intentions to do good have turned into a disaster, this is why it is very important to have a limit on how long people can serve their country in politics, cuz that is where it go really expensive and painful when some one screw up.
I assume there could also be the option for the microphones to have been installed wrong, like pressed into a dual sided tape to fix it in place, in which case the tape cover the microphone.

 

[ursamajor]

Is the Viofo CPL filter universal? For example, CPL for 119s fits to 119v3?

 

[ursamajor]

Reseller admitted that there is a problem with this batch: all DVRs have this problem. I accepted the money back and started to find another reseller having an old batch. Unfortunately all of them were "out of stock" and I'm affraid, in case of ordering another one, to not get another one defective.

My dialogue translation with reseller (mail screen capture attached):

Me: Please test one of the cameras you have from the new batch. If there are the same problems with almost non-existent sound and the whole batch is compromised, let me know and I will accept the money back. If the camera has a normal volume, then please send it.

Reseller: We have no way to sell you the DVR you want, they all have the same sound. Maybe in another batch we'll get next year things will be different. You can also find it on (beep! another reseller), they have them from another lot.

Me: OK, so the lot is all defective, I understand. Then I send you the account...

I hope my adventure will help another people who want to buy this camera. Beware of new batches!

 

[Mtz]

So you returned 2 cameras in few days: one because of some reason and another because of lower sound volume and from what I understand from your snapshot, the camera is not looking like you expect.
I listened your video in romanian language and your voice is very clear, speaking normally and the microphone hole was not covered by your hand because sound is clear. That microphone is good quality but the sound level is not what you are expecting. Because the microphone is recording OK this means the camera is not defective but the sound does not have the level you want. Small gadgets like dashcams can have some internal noise because of electronics so the firmware have lower volume to not hear that noise.

So your reasons to return cameras are not because are defective but because they are not what you expect. The same story for both cameras you returned.

As @Nigel suggested to you already the test should be done in car. The other videos you posted from another A119 V3 cameras are recording inside car and there the radio volume is much higher than your voice and it was covering the engine sound and the street noise.

I am keeping all my dashcams on Mute because I don't want that somebody, someday, in some situations, to hear what I am speaking inside car. If I want to turn on audio at some moment I just press the Mic button, but I never needed this.

enjoy,
Mtz

 

[Mtz]

I assume there could also be the option for the microphones to have been installed wrong, like pressed into a dual sided tape to fix it in place, in which case the tape cover the microphone.

I am romanian so I understand romanian language. The sound is very good quality but the level is not what ursamajor expect. For me that sound level is OK.

enjoy,
Mtz

 

[ursamajor]

Sorry, Mtz, you have no right. In that video I almost screamed in microphone. Look the RAW file with my wife talking normally voice. The sound IS NOT GOOD. Something's wrong with that camera and testing it in the car, will make NO DIFFERENCE. I like, I want one, but not one defective. It'r your business if you keep the mic on MUTE. And, sorry, I can distinguish between something functional and something defective. You seem to be friend with that guy from CT (I saw you tested some camera there), maybe you'll test the camera and you'll see I'm right.

I'll extract the sound of the video with my wife and I'll put here with the Normalized sound version in Audacity. Again, sorry, that's not a normal sound, you can repeat how many times you want...

EDIT: see in attachement the original and normalized sound. Oops, no RAR files, then I'll send link:

115.4 KB file on MEGA

mega.nz

 

[ursamajor]

I am romanian so I understand romanian language. The sound is very good quality but the level is not what ursamajor expect. For me that sound level is OK.

enjoy,
Mtz

There is NO LEVEL at all, pal. Watch that RAW file, the extracted audio, then we can talk.

If I want to turn on audio at some moment I just press the Mic button, but I never needed this.

I make the same when I want to Mute Mic.

PS: can you attach, for comparison, a fragment of RAW file when screaming in the microphone of your DVR? I posted proofs, you posted... opinions.

 

[kamkar]

Yeah if like you explained talk right into the camera, and the microphone barely pick that up, then thats no good.
Personally the audio are not a big problem of mine, for the most i have to remove it for copyright reasons on youtube, if to spare people from my foul mouth.

 

[ursamajor]

I attached that RAW fragment when my wife talk normally. Nothing hears. And I almost screamed directly in the Mic, in the other video.

Sometimes, I use sound, so I expect fully functionality.

 

[kamkar]

Yes it must work of course.

 

[Mtz]

I posted proofs, you posted... opinions.

A correct proof was if you posted 2 videos recorded at the same time, one by your LS camera and one by your Viofo camera. So make a side by side record, one with your LS and one with Viofo, both mounted in the car and show us both videos. Not necessary to upload on youtube, you can use mega, just to see the same image and hear the same sound.

I can buy a dashcam and record it during night and blame it is very poor camera because on the videos I don't see what I expect. When comparing cameras the only valid comparison is when is done side by side. Period! For example even when comparing 2 videos, if the horizont level is not at the same level, the comparison is not valid. I watched a lot of side by side videos and where I saw difference between horizon levels that comparison for me was zero. It is complicate to obtain same horizon level for 2 dashcams but who is not doing his best to obtain is doing a useless job, more than that it can be accused that is trying to make a favor for some dashcam,

On my youtube videos I posted many videos from many brands during last 5-6 years. At some moment I refused to receive cameras to test anymore because I have not so much time to test everything and many cameras were so poor so just wasted my time. I still receive requests to test some dashcams. And I don't want to become a hater for some brand after that brand sent me camera for test. So I decided to accept only dashcams from Viofo because they are making good cameras, but most important from everything, they accepted to implement firmware implementations which are requested by the users.
In all my Youtube activity I remained a correct person and this is why my videos are trusted by people, they know I am not doing tricks in favor to some dashcam. It is not easy to not make wrong steps so people can losing the truth in me. For me is more important the Mtz name compared to a dashcam manufacturer name. I will not throw away my work for any brand and this is important in a world where are smaller and smaller the chances to find a correct person.

enjoy,
Mtz

 

[Nigel]

Is the Viofo CPL filter universal? For example, CPL for 119s fits to 119v3?

The currently available CPL is universal up until the A139 which has a new type, although there are a few early Viofo cameras that don't take it.

I attached that RAW fragment when my wife talk normally. Nothing hears. And I almost screamed directly in the Mic, in the other video.

Sometimes, I use sound, so I expect fully functionality.

It would be interesting to know what was wrong, clearly the microphone worked to some extent, so it was connected. Maybe Kamkar is right about a different type being substituted, but Viofo are normally pretty good at testing things. A quick test of the microphone is not that easy once it is in the camera, and a test that takes more than a few seconds gets expensive, so maybe they don't bother with that since it almost always works well. However careful you are a few problems always get through.

 

[ursamajor]

Mtz,
OK, although it has absolutely no relevance for the A119V3 defect (because the manufacturer replaced the microphone with another one available in this pandemic, or from other causes, not my business), I'll post a video with another camera (this one is functional, LS650W has no accu) to see what's the difference. My business is to get a fully functional device. It's about a NEW product, for God sake!

File on MEGA

mega.nz

You can hear my voice exactly at the same level I talked on Viofo's Mic. And you can hear clearly the TV in background, though it is set at a lower sound level that in the recording of Viofo.

PS: look, pal, I'm not idiot. I know when a product IS defective. Period.

 

[kamkar]

Yeah.
But i am thinking someone noticed there was barely any microphones on the selves, so he ran down to the market and got some and then got the wrong one.
And while companies should have QI on things coming into the company, then even with a fancy ISO certificate on the wall, and lofty ambitions, these silly little things still happen it seem.

Anyway hopefully there have been things learned from this, and the guy that stepped into action are told that it is very good to do so, but just have to be 100% sure you do the right thing when you swing into action.
CUZ there are plenty of people out there on factory floors and in middle management, that just dont care,,,,,, and those are the big problem.