Losing 20 seconds between recordings

[xavwoo]

My A129 is setup to record in I think 5 min lengths. I had an encounter with a crazy bicycle guy over the weekend and wanted to check out the footage. I've noticed, that I'm losing about 20 seconds between the recordings, and in this case I missed a crucial part where the guy hit a car on purpose.

Has anyone else got this issue? I have A119s also, and I never encountered this issue.

 

[kamkar]

It is probably a issue with the memory card, i would test all of it with h2testw and then if it pass i would do a in camera format, and then do a test drive to see if it is still the same.
And if it work i would still be suspicious of that memory card.

 

[xavwoo]

It is probably a issue with the memory card, i would test all of it with h2testw and then if it pass i would do a in camera format, and then do a test drive to see if it is still the same.
And if it work i would still be suspicious of that memory card.

I'll give that a go today. I was wondering if the issue is due to firmware, but what you said makes more sense.

 

[kamkar]

you can always try and reload firmware, but i cant say this behavior are something i have heard about in regard to factory or modified firmwares for the A 129

 

[jokiin]

you can always try and reload firmware, but i cant say this behavior are something i have heard about in regard to factory or modified firmwares for the A 129

it is what happens with bad or poor quality memory cards though, current model Transcend cards are bad for this

 

[TonyM]

it is what happens with bad or poor quality memory cards though, current model Transcend cards are bad for this

Can it help if a shorter loop duration is used?

 

[jokiin]

Can it help if a shorter loop duration is used?

not something I've tested but I suspect that would still have the same problem

 

[xavwoo]

Hi all, an update from me, I have tried new firmware and that didn't help me, but disconnecting the rear camera helped. I am using Transcend High Endurance class 10 so the write speed should be more then applicable for 1080p videos.

 

[CaptureYourAction]

Your rear camera could be losing connection due to bad cable or defective rear camera. This would cause the recording to stop, then start again when connection is made. Watch the LCD screen and see if the camera is losing connection to the rear camera. You will see 1080p + 1080p switch to just 1080p, then back again.

How are you powering the camera, as poor power could cause similar issue.

Still worth trying another memory card or at the very least test the card you have with the free program h2testw. Be sure card is empty before testing.

Download H2testw 1.4

Download H2testw - Get detailed info on how well various storage devices perform at reading and writing data with the help of this lightweight application

www.softpedia.com

 

[SawMaster]

Hi all, an update from me, I have tried new firmware and that didn't help me, but disconnecting the rear camera helped. I am using Transcend High Endurance class 10 so the write speed should be more then applicable for 1080p videos.

It that's the silver Transcend card, it will be your problem. Dashcams are picky about which cards work well in them, and just because the manufacturer's specs seem adequate is no indication of how they will function here. The older Transcend cards were one of the best for dashcams but they changed something and now they don't work well in dashcams even though they work fine for other uses. The list of good cards is ever-changing but right now Samsung EVO Plus (or EVO Select- same card) or better does well, as do the new Sandisk Endurance cards (which did not work well in the past). Viofo offers good cards which are actually tested in his cams by the card manufacturers. And there's always the odd bad card which gets past QC and onto the marketplace.

All this is why trying a known good and currently recommended card is the first step of diagnosing problems like you're experiencing. Cards are cheap right now too.

Phil

 

[SamK]

I experienced a similar issue recently when I wanted to review footage of some dangerous driving the other day. I couldn't find the clip of the incident, and realised that approx 20 seconds of footage was missing. I then started to check all of the other clips and found that some were OK, but a number of them had a gap of up to 20 seconds of missing footage from 1 file to the next.

I've been using a Samsung Evo U3 128gb card in my A129 DUO since last August, and admittedly, I don't think I've formatted it in that time. So I formatted the card and also ran H2testw on it - no issues were found. Put the card back into the dashcam and it had to be formatted again. Went on a 3 hour drive today and it now seems fine.

Will stick in a reminder to check the card on a regular basis, and also a format.

 

[joe384]

I have this problem again. The camera will do a single beep around the same time the footage is missing.
Viofo branded 64gb. Passed h2testw and did a reset and format 10 days ago and now its started up again.

I checked the display when it beeped and both front and rear were displaying. Front and rear clips are always the same size.

 

[valkyrie]

I have this problem again. The camera will do a single beep around the same time the footage is missing.
Viofo branded 64gb. Passed h2testw and did a reset and format 10 days ago and now its started up again.

I checked the display when it beeped and both front and rear were displaying. Front and rear clips are always the same size.

I don't know if this is related to your problem or not but last night after I changed my Parking mode from Auto Event detection to Low Bit Rate recording mode on my A119 V3 the first time out driving I was hearing random beeps. Sometimes 3 sometimes 1. At first I didn't know where it was coming from or if it were my wife's phone or another cam. When I reviewed the video's some had 6-8 seconds missing between the next and others had 20 sec missing. Files were irregular duration's 42 sec, 54 sec etc.. rather than the normal 2 min it's set for. I've never experienced the beeps while driving previously so this is new behavior. I've also never noticed missing video before so I have more testing to do. But since the only thing I had changed was the Parking mode that's where I'm going to start looking first.

 

[StrayCam]

I don't know if this is related to your problem or not but last night after I changed my Parking mode from Auto Event detection to Low Bit Rate recording mode on my A119 V3 the first time out driving I was hearing random beeps. Sometimes 3 sometimes 1. At first I didn't know where it was coming from or if it were my wife's phone or another cam. When I reviewed the video's some had 6-8 seconds missing between the next and others had 20 sec missing. Files were irregular duration's 42 sec, 54 sec etc.. rather than the normal 2 min it's set for. I've never experienced the beeps while driving previously so this is new behavior. I've also never noticed missing video before so I have more testing to do. But since the only thing I had changed was the Parking mode that's where I'm going to start looking first.

Valkyrie-

Your symptoms are of course the same as all of ours. - - I never had my a129 in low bitrate parking, but always in auto-detection. So, I don't think the issue is caused by switching from Auto-detection to low-bitrate parking mode.

From posts here, the conjecture is of course the problem is with the rear camera connection or with the SD card. Since Joe384 has a Viofo Card, you "normally" wouldn't expect that to be the problem. So, he'll probably need to focus on rear camera trouble shooting.

As I said long ago, this problem is probably more widespread than reported. And of course, Viofo has offered absolutely no information or help with this situation. They clearly know it's an issue with our cams... Yet, they remain silent!

Here are two other threads covering the same topic:

Viofo A129 - Are You Getting Single-Beeps While Driving?

Joe384 and I have been discussing this issue on the "Buffered Parking Mode" thread. TonyM suggested a new thread, so here it is... The attached pic describes the situation: single beeps are heard once in a while during driving mode - The camera is cutting the videos short when this happens...

dashcamtalk.com

A129 Duo Front Cam Beep

This is the first time I've encountered this and I hope there's an explanation to it (not an issue). So basically I was driving earlier and the front camera just gives me an short audible notification beep which I don't know what it was for. At first I though it was the G-sensor activating...

dashcamtalk.com

 

[valkyrie]

Your symptoms are of course the same as all of ours. - - I never had my a129 in low bitrate parking, but always in auto-detection. So, I don't think the issue is caused by switching from Auto-detection to low-bitrate parking mode.

I would not think it to be the problem either, however since nothing else changed that's where I'll focus initially. The cam kinda flaked out when I put it into Low bit recording mode, turning itself off initially instead of dropping to a constant low bit rate recording. So IDK.

From posts here, the conjecture is of course the problem is with the rear camera connection or with the SD card. Since Joe384 has a Viofo Card, you "normally" wouldn't expect that to be the problem. So, he'll probably need to focus on rear camera trouble shooting.

In my case, obviously not a rear camera issue as the A119 V3 does not have rear cam. And my SD card is brand new 128 GB SanDisk High Endurance C10 that tests fine. I'll probably be out and about later today & this evening to get more recordings / testing to see if it continues this behavior.

 

[BCHobbyist]

My A129 is setup to record in I think 5 min lengths. I had an encounter with a crazy bicycle guy over the weekend and wanted to check out the footage. I've noticed, that I'm losing about 20 seconds between the recordings, and in this case I missed a crucial part where the guy hit a car on purpose.
Has anyone else got this issue? I have A119s also, and I never encountered this issue.

The only Transcend card I've used with reliable results is the expensive MLC NAND chip = gold & black Transcend Ultamite 64 GB MicroSDXC Class 10 U3 Memory Card with 85 MB/s burst write speed.
When using slow U1 write speed memory cards always reduce loop recording to 2mins or less for more reliability. Can also test current slow memory card performance by reducing video Bitrate setting.
Always buy memory cards with faster U3 write speeds for maximum stability and reliability regardless of 1080p or 4K resolution.
I prefer Samsung 64 GB EVO Plus TLC C10 U3 red/white memory cards.
Consider ordering Viofo MLC cards > https://www.viofo.com/en/14-accessories

 

[BCHobbyist]

I would not think it to be the problem either, however since nothing else changed that's where I'll focus initially. The cam kinda flaked out when I put it into Low bit recording mode, turning itself off initially instead of dropping to a constant low bit rate recording. So IDK.
In my case, obviously not a rear camera issue as the A119 V3 does not have rear cam. And my SD card is brand new 128 GB SanDisk High Endurance C10 that tests fine. I'll probably be out and about later today & this evening to get more recordings / testing to see if it continues this behavior.

If the A119V3 is causing random recording issues in normal driving mode suggest troubleshooting issue by reducing Bitrate to Medium or Low setting. If recording has no issues buy a faster U3 write speed memory card with burst of 70 MB/s or higher or a different brand card.

 

[valkyrie]

If the A119V3 is causing random recording issues in normal driving mode suggest troubleshooting issue by reducing Bitrate to Medium or Low setting. If recording has no issues buy a faster U3 write speed memory card with burst of 70 MB/s or higher or a different brand card.

Thanks that's a good suggestion I'll try if I notice it again. Was out driving for an hour or so this evening and all recordings were normally closed with the correct duration, no beeps at all and no missing times. I don't believe it to be a SD card problem at all though since it's been working fine for a few weeks. And assuming the normal recordings are synchronously recorded I would not think it would need anything close to the 40 MB/s of this card. https://www.amazon.com/gp/B07NY23WBG

 

[Devashis]

I had the same issue. Though i have corrected it, i am still confused what exactly worked coz i went for 3 things all together.
1. Format the memory card in computer first than in the camera when prompted.
2. Recheck the hird wire fuse connections, in my case i just pushed the fuse to for reconfirmation.
3. I took off the camera from the gps module and refitted it firmly assuming it was not a tight fit.
It worked anyways !!!