My 4K Face-off: Viofo vs. Thinkware

[Kicker0927]

First off, I'm just a regular guy and not a professional reviewer by any means. I've been searching for a dash cam for a couple months and narrowed it down to the U1000 and A129 Pro. I received both the Viofo A129 Pro 4K Duo and the Thinkware U1000 Duo this week. I must return one of them in the next few days. Again, I am just a regular guy looking for a user-friendly device. I'm not going to throw a bunch of numbers out there. Most of my info was deduced from online reviews, videos, dash cam pros, and the little time I've played with each device.

I've seen enough comparison of image quality online to know that the U1000 has slightly less image quality from the front cam, but also has a 10 degree wider view than the A129 Pro. The big difference the rear cam image quality. The U1000's 2K rear cam with super night vision blows away the A129 Pro's 1080p rear cam which has shown poor day quality and terrible night quality.
Image quality of front and rear: U1000

I was really excited about the U1000 as I read all the reviews mentioning parking mode notifications, mobile live cam viewing, cloud storage, and the plethora of other options. I was sold right away. However, the more I read and thought about it, the more I realized all those features require a constant internet connection. Then I started researching way to add a hotspot to my vehicle and the costs of doing so. I talked to my mobile carrier to see what it would cost a month and of course every plan has very low limits of gb data usage which means you either pay more a month or you have to really watch the amount of data you are using. As we all know, 4K video data is quite heavy in size so you could potentially rack up quite the amount of data via a hotspot plan. I would like to be able access my video while at work and would love to receive parking mode notifications, but what is that worth $$$ to me? The A129 Pro does not have any of these features and it has the option of adding a convenient little Bluetooth button you can hit whenever you would like to record footage. I like being able to record erratic drivers and share them with friends for ****s and giggles and I live in a city where the erratic drivers are plentiful to say the least. I really liked the option of the Bluetooth button to lock a video, however the A129 records in set increments so if you are 2min and 50sec into a 3min increment and you hit the button to save/lock that video, it will only be saving those 10sec of video till the next 3min increment starts. The transfer of files was also simpler involving 2 options which include by wifi while sitting next to the unit or removing the card to connect to a computer. Whereas the U1000 can transfer video automatically after auto-connecting via hotspot, wifi, or removing the card to connect to computer.
Ease of use: TIED Initially I would have said the A129 due to the Bluetooth button and old-school file transfer methods, but I feel like with the U1000's cloud features and transferring video via hotspot they even out.

My next concern was overheating as I live in a hot/humid climate and my vehicle sits in the sun a lot. I haven't been able to test this between the 2 models because it is not the summer months where I live right now. We are averaging in the 80's each day and neither cam has shutoff. However, I also have a windshield UV-blocking tint applied which may help a little. I plan to also install my device behind the windshield frit. From the reviews I've read, both devices have shut off. I'm told the A129 Pro has a cooling type fan inside of it. Both devices have plenty of housing vents. Of course Thinkware and Viofo have both told me they have received no complaints of overheating.... I did speak to one guy who tested each unit together in the heat and the A129 Pro shut off 30+ minutes before the U1000 at approx. 101 degrees F.
Less risk of overheating: TIED I believe it is really too early to honestly tell and this is just based on the little info I've been able to gather

Memory card storage was also another concern of mine as I learned the U1000 only takes a 128gb sd card, whereas the A129 Pro takes a 256gb. Upon speaking to a couple dash cam pros who use the U1000 in their daily drivers I found out that the U1000 does such a great job of partitioning its memory and separating files that the 128gb capacity didn't bother them a bit. The A129 Pro does not partition files like the U1000 so you get the extra storage capacity in the A129 Pro, but you take the risk of overwriting footage you didn't intend to.
Memory card storage: TIED this was a tough one to decide, but each unit has their advantages

One of the final things I looked at were parking mode features as I would like a device which offers great parking mode features. As said before, many of the premium features of the U1000 require an in-car constant hotspot connection which I do not have. I ordered the radar module for the U1000 and returned it. I was not happy with the radar module at all. I did not know that radar can only point in one direction! So you're instructed to point it at the front of the vehicle which means when you're in parking mode only the front of your car is protected by video...and that is only if the radar module picks up movement from another vehicle. People are not detected. To me, this rendered the radar module worthless for my needs. So comparing the two devices I found that the U1000 still had better features than the A129 Pro in parking mode. The A129 parking mode features buffered recording, but I didn't think the sensors were as functional as the U1000. Side note, I also purchased a Cellink Neo battery to prevent damage to my car battery. I also received feedback from others about 50/50 on the accuracy of the A129 Pro HK3 wiring kit...some say its extremely accurate at the set voltage detection and others say the HK3 kit has allowed their battery to drop well below the set voltage detection on warm days.
Parking mode features: U1000

In the end, the other aspects I looked at were the aesthetics of each device and the U1000 clearly wins that matchup. I will say the A129 Pro wasn't as bad as I originally thought it would look. It was much smaller than in the pictures online. The A129 Pro isn't terrible, but I don't have much need for a screen on a cam and the U1000 definitely looks like a much classier, more well made device than the A129 Pro. I have also been told both Thinkware and Viofo tend to keep their firmware updated in a timely manner. According to one of the dash cam pros I spoke to they believe Thinkware will hold their U1000 as their flagship device for some time to come so support for the device should be plentiful in the future.

The total in USD I paid for each cam was Viofo A129 Pro duo with 256 sdcard and install kit: $375 / Thinkware U1000 with 128 sdcard and install kit: $569. So I suppose the $200 difference would be up to the individual if it's worth it in the long run. I personally feel like it is, but I haven't made my decision on which device to keep yet. I'd love to hear any feedback anyone has...if you agree or disagree with the information I've dug up. It seems there are a lot of variables in cams and I feel like I learn something new each day.

 

[CaptureYourAction]

Just curious why the A129 Pro DUO with 256GB card and 3-wire kit cost $375. The A129 Pro DUO is $250, 256GB is about $50 (depending on card - I'm assuming you bought a High Endurance card) and the 3-wire kit is about $15-20. That's about $320. I'm sure there was some tax in there.

 

[Kicker0927]

Just curious why the A129 Pro DUO with 256GB card and 3-wire kit cost $375. The A129 Pro DUO is $250, 256GB is about $50 (depending on card - I'm assuming you bought a High Endurance card) and the 3-wire kit is about $15-20. That's about $320. I'm sure there was some tax in there.

Good question. I actually got the whole setup from BBMC, which I realize they are a little pricy on their sd cards. The total price was $371 and included 256gb sd card, wiring kit, $20 rush shipping and a CPL filter. The card was more than $50.

 

[Nigel]

however the A129 records in set increments so if you are 2min and 50sec into a 3min increment and you hit the button to save/lock that video, it will only be saving those 10sec of video till the next 3min increment starts.

If you are within 30 seconds of the end of the section then the adjacent section will also get saved so instead of saving only 10 seconds it actually saves 3 minutes 10 seconds, and in buffered mode it has a 50% longer pre-buffer and records for longer after.

 

[Nigel]

The A129 Pro does not partition files like the U1000

It may not do it in the same way as the U1000, but there is partitioning and this should not be a concern.

 

[Nigel]

I also purchased a Cellink Neo battery

The Neo can be used with both cameras.

 

[Butterfly]

Tough choice. I guess if you park more than drive around then Thinkware U1000.

If we are talking about temperature inside the vehicles while parked it is always depending on the type of vehicle. I've been to vehicles where it is soo hot inside because of the materials used, it's like worse then an oven. Other vehicles similar shape with better materials makes that feeling better. There is also the color. If it's black then it's a lot hotter then if it's white. Modern vehicles like the one I have does keep the inside cool for a certain period of time even if it's roasting outside. All honest, I think these companies are doing really good for the temperature range. They can't cater every single vehicle, climate, humidity. They just do the best for overall type of temperatures., keeping the costs low. If we expect some military grade materials for better handling temperatures, then I hope everyone has deep pockets to pay for that.

 

[Kicker0927]

If you are within 30 seconds of the end of the section then the adjacent section will also get saved so instead of saving only 10 seconds it actually saves 3 minutes 10 seconds, and in buffered mode it has a 50% longer pre-buffer and records for longer after.

Hey Nigel! Thanks for the replies. This is a very confusing point, so I could be wrong. This is what Viofo said..."if you set the Loop Recording to 3 minutes and hit the Bluetooth button at 2min 50sec (over 45sec), then only the current 3 min will be locked. If you hit the button at and before 15sec, the current and the previous videos both will be locked. 15sec and 45sec are the points."

 

[Kicker0927]

Tough choice. I guess if you park more than drive around then Thinkware U1000.

If we are talking about temperature inside the vehicles while parked it is always depending on the type of vehicle. I've been to vehicles where it is soo hot inside because of the materials used, it's like worse then an oven. Other vehicles similar shape with better materials makes that feeling better. There is also the color. If it's black then it's a lot hotter then if it's white. Modern vehicles like the one I have does keep the inside cool for a certain period of time even if it's roasting outside. All honest, I think these companies are doing really good for the temperature range. They can't cater every single vehicle, climate, humidity. They just do the best for overall type of temperatures., keeping the costs low. If we expect some military grade materials for better handling temperatures, then I hope everyone has deep pockets to pay for that.

Great points! Thanks! I drive a 2019 Mazda CX-5, white with tinted windows and a tinted/UV blocking windshield. It still gets HOT as I live in southwest FL. It will be interesting to see what happens during summer months after installation!

 

[Kicker0927]

It may not do it in the same way as the U1000, but there is partitioning and this should not be a concern.

Yea, that's what one of the dash cam pros told me. I am in now way an expert on the partitioning of sd cards, but I understand the concept. I was told due to the U1000's process of partitioning the files is much more secured and streamlined and the 128gb card wasn't a concern to them.

 

[Kicker0927]

The Neo can be used with both cameras.

Yep! I bought it because I figured no matter which system I choose I can use it in the future as well without having to worry about my battery. I figured if my battery every croaked on me due to dash cam use or wear and tear, I would end up buying a $150 battery and an $80 jump box...so why not just prevent all that bs and get the darn battery for another $100.

 

[Nigel]

Yea, that's what one of the dash cam pros told me. I am in now way an expert on the partitioning of sd cards, but I understand the concept. I was told due to the U1000's process of partitioning the files is much more secured and streamlined and the 128gb card wasn't a concern to them.

The record time for a 128GB card on the thinkware will be similar to the record time for a 256GB card in the A129 since it records twice the detail!

It will be big enough for a lot of people, but some people want a full week of recording so that they can go back and find things if a complaint comes in a few days after an event. Difficult to get that from the U1000, the A129 if using a 512GB card and set to a lower bitrate can get a lot closer. (Officially it only goes to 256 but 512 seems to work OK.)

 

[Kicker0927]

The record time for a 128GB card on the thinkware will be similar to the record time for a 256GB card in the A129 since it records twice the detail!

It will be big enough for a lot of people, but some people want a full week of recording so that they can go back and find things if a complaint comes in a few days after an event. Difficult to get that from the U1000, the A129 if using a 512GB card and set to a lower bitrate can get a lot closer. (Officially it only goes to 256 but 512 seems to work OK.)

So from many of your posts, I am getting the feeling that you’re more into the Viofo than you are the ThinkWare?

 

[Nigel]

So from many of your posts, I am getting the feeling that you’re more into the Viofo than you are the ThinkWare?

Depends if you want the cloud or not, the Viofo has a wifi app but no cloud functions. But it is a lot extra to pay to get it so even if you want the cloud functions, the Thinkware will still not be for everyone. Not sure I've ever heard of an incident where cloud functions were actually important other than in allowing the police to track and recover the car, and a properly hidden GPS tracker would be a better and much cheaper option for that.

The extra cost of the Thinkware would be better if it had the better image quality, but overall it doesn't, and I tend to go for image quality over most things other than reliability.

Everyone has different requirements though, so everyone should make their own minds up. I was just correcting some of the details, and maybe not getting them totally correct if the A129 Pro is actually 15 seconds and not 30 like the standard A129! It's not so quick to do a test to confirm that detail is accurate.

 

[Kicker0927]

Depends if you want the cloud or not, the Viofo has a wifi app but no cloud functions. But it is a lot extra to pay to get it so even if you want the cloud functions, the Thinkware will still not be for everyone. Not sure I've ever heard of an incident where cloud functions were actually important other than in allowing the police to track and recover the car, and a properly hidden GPS tracker would be a better and much cheaper option for that.

The extra cost of the Thinkware would be better if it had the better image quality, but overall it doesn't, and I tend to go for image quality over most things other than reliability.

Everyone has different requirements though, so everyone should make their own minds up. I was just correcting some of the details, and maybe not getting them totally correct if the A129 Pro is actually 15 seconds and not 30 like the standard A129! It's not so quick to do a test to confirm that detail is accurate.

Understood. I don't have a need for a screen on the device as I wouldn't use it and I would stream most video files to my phone or computer. The video quality on the front Viofo cam is slightly better, but its really splitting hairs in comparison to the U1000 front cam. The U1000's rear cam at 2K is a huge step up from the rear cam of the Viofo's 1080p. The U1000's super night vision is also a pretty big difference I thought in the comparison videos at night. Also the Viofo is only a 130 degree FOV whereas the U1000 is 150 degrees. The cloud functions I'm still on the fence about. I understand most people saying they wouldn't use them, but as more and more cams move in that direction I feel like there are a lot of capabilities out there that I might not be considering or things I may be able to do with the U1000 that I'll find are not possible with the Viofo. I'm still not fully comfortable with all the functions of the cloud-based cams and I have a lot of questions. I would love to have a cam connected to the cloud, to be able to pull up video from inside my home or work, or to receive notifications. However, I do not have a mobile hotspot in my car. So I wonder if my wifi at home will reach to where my car is parked and connect that way? I wonder if my cam will connect to xfinity hotspots around town automatically? We will see...

 

[joe384]

I'm still not fully comfortable with all the functions of the cloud-based cams and I have a lot of questions. I would love to have a cam connected to the cloud, to be able to pull up video from inside my home or work, or to receive notifications. However, I do not have a mobile hotspot in my car. So I wonder if my wifi at home will reach to where my car is parked and connect that way? I wonder if my cam will connect to xfinity hotspots around town automatically? We will see...

I likely won't be getting a cloud dashcam anytime soon as the expense of a data plan just for the dashcam is a bit much. I did do a scan for wifi hotspots while parked up at the work carpark the other day, but they were all private. A lot of wifi cameras allow you to download videos by connecting to the dashcams wifi and using some http requests. Some people in the forums have written scripts to connect and download videos.

Potentially if the signals were strong enough you could have a setup that downloads the videos while the car is parked outside your house.

 

[dave567]

I just installed both cameras in two separate cars and agree with the OP's assessments.

The U1000 has superior video at night and rear. The Viofo's rear cam at night is poor when recording in dark (no street lights) areas.
Some other thoughts.
The U1000 is VERY sensitive with motion detection and G sensor. I've set them on the Lowest sensitivity settings to avoid false incidents (after lots of testing and adjustments to the config settings).
Whereas the Viofo is pretty much install and go. Very little tinkering needed with the configuration settings.
The U1000 does have an annoying tendency to drop Wifi connection to your smartphone randomly (and sometimes frequently) but I suspect they will fix that with firmware in the near future.

I got the U1000 because of the need to cover parking in airports for 5 days at a time, and to do this, the radar is the best option (I typically back the car into a parking space where the trunk has a concrete wall behind it to avoid people walking by the car and scratching the side with their luggage...which has happened to me before). It also has a cellink Neo.

The Viofo was for my daughter's car and really is good value for the money for good front video quality, decent rear video, and good (not great) parking mode. I set her parking mode to time lapse at 5fps as she uses the car everyday and this works well.

The other big consideration as mentioned is cloud storage. Parking garages where I Park don't have open wifi, and the cost of a hotspot is an additional $30 / month on my cell plan...but that requires powering the hotspot for 5 days (another battery problem). My opinion is for long-term (multi-day) parking cameras, they need an built-in LTE powered by the camera (and an unlimited data plan). So, that's starting to get very expensive for cloud coverage, which really isn't going to help in a multi-day parking situation where you are far away from your vehicle.

For basic driving needs (daily drivers) I think the Viofo Pro Duo is the best choice. You get an easy setup, good video (including rear), good heat protection (capacitor) and decent parking protection.
For long-term parking the game changes...and the U1000's radar, combined with an external battery is the only feasible way to do this today. That's an extra $200 (difference in dash cam) + $300 for the battery.

Cloud is a nice-to-have feature for me, but I'm not going to deal with the hassle and cost of a mobile hotspot for it.