Looking to upgrade and interested in some advice/input/experiences....

[StingrayJG]

Hello,
I'm looking to upgrade from the current dashcams we own now to a more updated model and I'm hoping this is the right section of the forum to get started. I'm looking for others advice/input/experiences to help with my decision.
I would be purchasing two of whatever model decided upon, one for my wife's vehicle as well as mine. Mine is a 2020 Honda Pilot and hers is a 2016 Nissan Rogue. I try whenever possible to update our technology together with the same model so we stay current together and it's also only one model that I have to become customer support on since my wife tends to lean on me for learning how to use gadgets and tech and then teaching her how to, she's not that "tech-y" and not a manual reader. So, this works better if we both have the same brand and model so once I learn everything about my model, it's the same as hers for all the inevitable questions I'll get from her.
We both currently have WheelWitness HD Pro dashcams (the 2017 release, not the 2021 upgraded Mark II release) so they are both pushing 6 years old and counting. It's no longer offered but here is the old Amazon page for it so you can see what we currently have now: https://www.amazon.com/gp/B00OTZWJE2 I'm not interested in staying with the WW brand when I upgrade. I attempted to upgrade to the WW Mark II model back in 2021 and had a rather negative experience with their customer support that forced me to return them and get fully refunded and I've been sticking with the 2017 originals since then, but it's time to upgrade now and get a different brand that's newer and better.

One model that I've had my eye on that looks like it might be a good fit for us is the VIOFO A129 Plus Duo

What I'm primarily looking for as far as must-have important features is:

• Less than $200 US for each cam (less than $150/each would be even better!).
• Front and rear cams.
• WiFi with good Android app that's user friendly and not too clunky to use.
• GPS capable with date/time stamp on recordings and ability to turn on/off vehicle speed on recordings.
• Would like it to work with "Dashcam Viewer" GPS mapping software which I'm already a registered user of.
• Parking mode settings (will probably not hard-wire right away but might in near-future to enable parking mode features).
• On/Off audio setting.
• Very good picture quality for our price-point, preferably at least 1440p, 60fps for the front and 1080p, 30fps for the rear cam. (Having HDR would be even better).
• Loop recording with options on file length (something like 3,5,7,10 minutes per clip or around there).
• Very high SD Card storage space support so plenty of highest quality recordings can be stored (I would guess support for at least 256GB USB storage would be wanted/required here).
• Good customer support that will actually answer the phone when you call or answer your emails same-day or at least within 24 hours and will reliably stand behind their product.

Like I said, based on the limited amount of research I've done so far, the one that's currently attracting my eye is the VIOFO A129 Plus Duo. It seems to check most if not all of the boxes with what we're looking to upgrade to.
I'm also hopeful that with Amazon Prime Day coming up next week that I might be able to get a really good deal on whatever we decide to purchase, so I'm very curious to hear what others might have to say or to suggest, so I'll be eager to hear any input you might have.
Thanks in advance,
Jimmy G.

 

[kamkar]

1440p are the new 1080p, and absolutely nothing wrong with that, all the cameras i have tested lately have been that setup at least on the front camera but also in some cases both cameras.
60 FPS though that you dont see often if both cameras record, also you dont really need it for a evidence recorder like a dashcam, all it do is to set a faster slowest exposure timing of 1:60 second VS 1:30 second for a 30 FPS camera, byt both are wayyyyyy too slow for anything that move faster than a baby can crawl.
Front & rear camera, O hell yes not least for Americans in 1 plate states.
Wifi. most now have well functioning 5 GHZ wifi, so it will just take seconds to DL a 3 minute long file, not long ago it would be 5 minutes to do that no matter if you was on 5 GHZ or not.
Personally i only use phone to do settings and i only do other stuff 2 times a year when i have to change time zone to accommodate for summer / winter time change.

GPS are now standard on worth while cameras, and it can most often also be turned off so its not watermarked in the footage.

If it dont work with dashcam viewer, just forward him a couple of files and he will have you covered soon, the guy that handle that player are top notch.

Parking mode are also standard these days, you need to hard wire to use it, also it might differ a little how the different brands handle it, i personally prefer to use low bitrate, this record all the time, and then i prefer to use a timer and have that turn off the camera after 3 hours.
3 hours cover all my shopping, and the few other places i come + at home, there is CCTV, so i keep the load on my small car / small battery light.

The different worth while brands are about the same on image quality as so are the hardware, i have never noticed any brand that jump out ahead on this parameter.

Loop recording also standard you most often have 1-2-3-5-10 minutes to choose from, i personally prefer to use 3 minute segments.
You should get a 256 GB memory card these days and the worth while systems will support that, it is almost also all i test with, i have 10 - 12 different ones ATM

I have no idea with the phone support, though some US retailers like blackbox my car and others are fine, the brands them self i am not so sure, youte a few of the brands now have regular appearances in here, so you can also go here with those before creating a ticket in the factory system, most i think are here daily.
Brands like Viofo - Vantrue ASO

You can always try their support phone line before you commit to a brand / seller

The A129 plus duo are a older system by now, for sure not obsolete ´but there is a reason it are selling cheap VS the newer stuff.

"Old " 1440p systems will be using the Somy IMX 335 sensor, the new stuff that are just now launching / have launched in the last few months, well they are using the new Sony Starvis 2 sensors, mainly in 1440p and 4K, but there are also a 1080p sensor in that Sony product range

 

[StingrayJG]

1440p are the new 1080p, and absolutely nothing wrong with that, all the cameras i have tested lately have been that setup at least on the front camera but also in some cases both cameras.
60 FPS though that you dont see often if both cameras record, also you dont really need it for a evidence recorder like a dashcam, all it do is to set a faster slowest exposure timing of 1:60 second VS 1:30 second for a 30 FPS camera, byt both are wayyyyyy too slow for anything that move faster than a baby can crawl.
Front & rear camera, O hell yes not least for Americans in 1 plate states.
Wifi. most now have well functioning 5 GHZ wifi, so it will just take seconds to DL a 3 minute long file, not long ago it would be 5 minutes to do that no matter if you was on 5 GHZ or not.
Personally i only use phone to do settings and i only do other stuff 2 times a year when i have to change time zone to accommodate for summer / winter time change.

GPS are now standard on worth while cameras, and it can most often also be turned off so its not watermarked in the footage.

If it dont work with dashcam viewer, just forward him a couple of files and he will have you covered soon, the guy that handle that player are top notch.

Parking mode are also standard these days, you need to hard wire to use it, also it might differ a little how the different brands handle it, i personally prefer to use low bitrate, this record all the time, and then i prefer to use a timer and have that turn off the camera after 3 hours.
3 hours cover all my shopping, and the few other places i come + at home, there is CCTV, so i keep the load on my small car / small battery light.

The different worth while brands are about the same on image quality as so are the hardware, i have never noticed any brand that jump out ahead on this parameter.

Loop recording also standard you most often have 1-2-3-5-10 minutes to choose from, i personally prefer to use 3 minute segments.
You should get a 256 GB memory card these days and the worth while systems will support that, it is almost also all i test with, i have 10 - 12 different ones ATM

I have no idea with the phone support, though some US retailers like blackbox my car and others are fine, the brands them self i am not so sure, youte a few of the brands now have regular appearances in here, so you can also go here with those before creating a ticket in the factory system, most i think are here daily.
Brands like Viofo - Vantrue ASO

You can always try their support phone line before you commit to a brand / seller

The A129 plus duo are a older system by now, for sure not obsolete ´but there is a reason it are selling cheap VS the newer stuff.

"Old " 1440p systems will be using the Somy IMX 335 sensor, the new stuff that are just now launching / have launched in the last few months, well they are using the new Sony Starvis 2 sensors, mainly in 1440p and 4K, but there are also a 1080p sensor in that Sony product range

Thanks for all the info here. Much appreciated.

 

[kamkar]

NP.
If Stingray refer to the corvettes, well i like me a C2 or C3 of those, from way back when i came into this world in 66

 

[StingrayJG]

NP.
If Stingray refer to the corvettes, well i like me a C2 or C3 of those, from way back when i came into this world in 66

You would be correct!
This is the 1978 I have in the garage, had it since 1990. And you can see our everyday vehicles in the background that I spoke of in my first post.

 

[kamkar]

Very nice.
Really they are not super handling cars, but i am sure my wrinkly old ass would look fine in one, and i finished my "racing " days in the 90ties.
My dream car though that is something entirely different, i would like to every day drive a 12 - 15 ton armoured personnel carrier.

 

[StingrayJG]

Very nice.
Really they are not super handling cars, but i am sure my wrinkly old ass would look fine in one, and i finished my "racing " days in the 90ties.
My dream car though that is something entirely different, i would like to every day drive a 12 - 15 ton armoured personnel carrier.

Hello, I ended up purchasing a VIOFO A229 Duo. I appreciate the advice you gave me, it was helpful towards my ultimate decision.
I just installed it today and everything seems to be going well (I did not hard-wire, may do it later but not yet for the parking features)
The only problem I'm having is that I can't get Dashcam Viewer software to display speed or map data with my video recordings. I've tried several things but so far no success. I made a post here in the VIOFO A229 Duo section to see if anyone can help or knows what the issue might be.
Anyway, just wanted to say thanks for the help. Except for this minor issue that can hopefully get solved, I really like the A229 Duo so far even though it's only been just for today.
Thanks again.

 

[kamkar]

It could be that the dashcam viewer dont support the A229 duo yet, though it sound strange to me, but hit traveler up CUZ he is the guy that make that piece of software.
A very helpful guy, so with a couple of raw files from the camera he will soon have it working.

https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/members/traveler.4689/

Personally i never really use dashcam players as i am mainly interested in the video

 

[StingrayJG]

It could be that the dashcam viewer dont support the A229 duo yet, though it sound strange to me, but hit traveler up CUZ he is the guy that make that piece of software.
A very helpful guy, so with a couple of raw files from the camera he will soon have it working.

https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/members/traveler.4689/

Personally i never really use dashcam players as i am mainly interested in the video

Thanks for the referral, I just sent him a message (conversation) to see if he can help.