Parking Mode G-Sensor sensitivity setting and notification

[Str8shooter]

Since I just installed the HK3 hardwire kit I do not have much parking mode experience for this Dashcam. I have firmware version 2.6 20211217 that came with the Dashcam when I bought it last week in case that matters.

Background:
My dashcam (Thinkware F800) in my other car that I purchased in 2017 drives me crazy because every time I close the door it triggers a parking event. False parking events like recording door closing prevents me in putting any faith in and reviewing parking events. My main reason for not purchasing Thinkware again for my new car I just bought recently was because it talks way too much, told me things I did not care about, and had a poor wireless interface. Other than that, the Thinkware F800 still serves me well.

Questions about Viofo Pro Duo Parking Mode G-Sensor sensitivity and notification:
I set my parking sensitivity setting for the G-Sensor to High as per the Viofo A129 Pro Duo user manual. Do you think that high setting for G-Sensor for parking mode is a good choice? Also, if there is a parking event recorded how are notifications provided and false alarms filtered out? BTW, I have low bitrate also set for my parking mode recording option.

In other words how smart and informative is this Dashcam in parking mode?

Appreciate any input.

 

[Karagandinez]

You need to set the G-Sensor individually. Its sensitivity varies from device to device, and also depends on the firmware.
The DVR will not tell you any warnings when recording in a parking lot.
To find the desired event that occurred during the parking, you will have to review all the video files recorded in the parking lot.

 

[kamkar]

It is unfortunate in some sense that many dashcams do not tell if there have been a event while parked, then again if you use motion detect, and you get back to your car and get told " there have been 372 events" you probably soon start to ignore that or turn that notification off.
Granted G sensor events are something all together different and i am not aware of any dashcam that create too many of those / are so sensitive that it would do that.
So on those cameras that do not have a audio notification of past events, you pretty much have to detect the problem yourself, and then go to the camera to find it there, which are a problem not least if you are alone and it is the passenger side of the car that have been dinged up, CUZ chance then are you will not notice the damage, maybe not even before it is too late ( another good reason to have a plenty large memory card )

The only smart dashcams is the ones with a SIM card / option to go online and send notifications to your phone, parking guard alone i dont really take as a smart feature on its own.

Setting your parking guard G - sensor to the highest sensitivity should not be a problem.
Personally i would like G - sensors to be so sensitive that if you are parked curbside and a semi or bus go by that might actually trigger a event, that way you might also catch the small parking lot door dings, hell maybe even a keying event which in its nature are not really a G shock event.
I have also argued if glass break sensor or even a audio sensor might be a good thing to have in a dashcam, for instance have the audio sensor and G - sensor work together, so a event is only created if both have detected something at the same time.

I am getting my first chance at a truly smart dashcam soon, so will need to get a SIM card to be able to test that in its entirety,,,,, though chance are after a while i will probably cancel the SIM card again and proceed with the system in "smart" mode / wifi, even if i normally do not have wifi / BT or for that matter the GPS on in my phone, those are all things i turn on if i need them, and for BT and WIFI that is pretty rare.

Some cameras today you have a delay in handover to parking guard, so you can exit the car and slam the door, and not have that trigger a event, but of course getting back to the car and into it & closing the door, that will trigger a event.
Problem is can you then get used to start the car before you close the door ? which i see as the only option ATM to get around that problem. ( assuming sitting down in the car do not trigger G - sensor )
Otherwise then you are back to remote start, which should take camera out of parking guard mode and into regular mode,,,, where you should not have G- sensor going,,,, at least i never have / wouldn't do that.

 

[Str8shooter]

It is unfortunate in some sense that many dashcams do not tell if there have been a event while parked, then again if you use motion detect, and you get back to your car and get told " there have been 372 events" you probably soon start to ignore that or turn that notification off.

That is the problem with the Thinkware F800 that I have. It is set to motion detect and tells me the number of motion events. I'd rather know just the number of G-Sensor events that happened for each time I'm in parking mode.

Granted G sensor events are something all together different and i am not aware of any dashcam that create too many of those / are so sensitive that it would do that.
So on those cameras that do not have a audio notification of past events, you pretty much have to detect the problem yourself, and then go to the camera to find it there, which are a problem not least if you are alone and it is the passenger side of the car that have been dinged up, CUZ chance then are you will not notice the damage, maybe not even before it is too late ( another good reason to have a plenty large memory card )

The only smart dashcams is the ones with a SIM card / option to go online and send notifications to your phone, parking guard alone i dont really take as a smart feature on its own.

I'd think the Dashcam would be smart enough if it just used its speaker and stated the number of G-Sensor events that occurred since format and/or since the last time I started my vehicle. Of course there should be a setting in my opinion to mute that too if you wanted.

Setting your parking guard G - sensor to the highest sensitivity should not be a problem.
Personally i would like G - sensors to be so sensitive that if you are parked curbside and a semi or bus go by that might actually trigger a event, that way you might also catch the small parking lot door dings, hell maybe even a keying event which in its nature are not really a G shock event.
I have also argued if glass break sensor or even a audio sensor might be a good thing to have in a dashcam, for instance have the audio sensor and G - sensor work together, so a event is only created if both have detected something at the same time.

It almost seems that your argument to have a glass break/audio sensor justifies a high Dashcam G-Sensor setting that goes off every time the door is closed. A thief will often break the glass so they can open the door to steal. It would be my luck though that a thief would break the glass, open the door, steal what they want, and then not even have the courtesy of slamming the door shut. LOL BTW, I usually do not worry about door dings...my truck has step bars that do a good job of blocking most doors hitting my truck.

I am getting my first chance at a truly smart dashcam soon, so will need to get a SIM card to be able to test that in its entirety,,,,, though chance are after a while i will probably cancel the SIM card again and proceed with the system in "smart" mode / wifi, even if i normally do not have wifi / BT or for that matter the GPS on in my phone, those are all things i turn on if i need them, and for BT and WIFI that is pretty rare.

Some cameras today you have a delay in handover to parking guard, so you can exit the car and slam the door, and not have that trigger a event, but of course getting back to the car and into it & closing the door, that will trigger a event.
Problem is can you then get used to start the car before you close the door ? which i see as the only option ATM to get around that problem. ( assuming sitting down in the car do not trigger G - sensor )
Otherwise then you are back to remote start, which should take camera out of parking guard mode and into regular mode,,,, where you should not have G- sensor going,,,, at least i never have / wouldn't do that.

I noticed in the user manual mention of parking mode timer. I think it has a setting for 90 seconds - mine is set as off. I'm guessing the reason why there is a parking timer is like you said, to prevent a parking event when the door is closed. So, I'm glad that you brought up the mention of delay parking guard....I think I probably should turn this delay on if it will eliminate at least one false alarm. Also, that is a great point about remote starting to get around another potential false alarm. I have the G-sensor set for "Low" for non parking. Truth is that I probably will not use the remote start method to avoid the get in the car false alarm....I'd rather have the dashcam be smarter - maybe dashcams need door sensor switches.

Concerning turning on WIFI/BT/GPS on phone when needed, mine are always on. Problem is that need WIFI to wirelessly project Android Auto. I know if I want to view my Dashcam footage I have to disable Android Auto so that I can connect to the dashcam 5G WIFI. I also have a SIM built into my 2021 F-150 in case I wanted to pay every month to make my truck a WIFI hotspot, which I have no desire to use...the WIFI hot spot turns off anyway when the truck is turned off. Personally, my next dashcam purchase will be a dashcam that is smart enough to use the speaker and not use the cloud with SIM card.

 

[kamkar]

Yes a verbal notification when you turn on the car would be plenty smart for this old dog.
I am not familiar with the thinkware cameras, i would assume if parking guard was set to only use G-sensor, those would also be the only events the camera will mention when you start the car.
Motion detect have generally been too sensitive in cameras in the past decade, so a cat on a fence on the other side of the street can often set it off, or just a bird or leaf "flying" by.

Using parking guard are fairly new to me, first got it with the SG9663DR i was sent to beat on a good year ago, and since then 2 Viofo cameras too, but i have always used low bitrate recording always, though this is flawed too as you might have had a event but get no notification, though i do still have G-sensor on while parked to lock any actual / significant events, even if with my driving i have footage going back weeks on the 256GB memory cards i use, only drive like 15 - 20 min daily on average.
Also only use parking guard on a 1 hour timer as at home i have CCTV on the parked car in the back yard ( from my 2 floor balcony door and the IP camera mounted there ) the back yard are too dark to get any use of parking guard in a dashcam, there is a PIR light there, but it will only backlight anyone approaching my car )
The 1 hour cover all my shopping needs, otherwise i dont park out and about much, but i can always up the timer if i feel like needing it.
My little bottom of the barrel almost micro size Suzuki car, the smartest in it is the ABS brakes,,,, and me if i dare say so myself and i am a avid phone and wifi hater, got the phone on account of my old sick mother, and at home for the computer and CCTV cameras i use network cables )

The new smart camera i get, it actually use wifi to connect the rear camera to the front, and BT to sync up and wake up the two, cuz the camera ( front ) also have radar build in.
Of course the rear camera still need to get power from a wire, so might as well be wired for data transfer too.

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