Reviewing and Testing the 3-ch Viofo A329T

[ogzogz]

Ah, I was assuming this was an artifact of my screen resolution... I need to keep up with the other threads a bit better. Most of the time, I barely have time to add to my own thread 😉

If you reply, tag, quote, or like, I can keep you updated on your posts.

I asked about the resolution because I thought you misinterpreted it.

 

[lufa6977]

Telephoto lens resolution setting is 2K 16:9 2560x1440. Confirmed file resolution and aspect ratio with MediaInfo app. The problem is my laptop screen resolution maxes out at 1920x1200. I need to get a 4k display for my desktop computer...

Ah, I was assuming this was an artifact of my screen resolution... I need to keep up with the other threads a bit better. Most of the time, I barely have time to add to my own thread 😉

Using a true 4K or higher monitor makes a world of difference in video and static images. Look for something that is a true 10bit and not 8bit+FRC.

I have long been a fan of the telephoto lens; Viofo did a very nice implementation for telephoto.

 

[EricSan]

Using a true 4K or higher monitor makes a world of difference in video and static images. Look for something that is a true 10bit and not 8bit+FRC.

Yep, that's exactly what I'm looking for. Have a few options in mind. I don't do any gaming, so my requirements aren't super high. My present graphic card supports dual monitors at 4k and 60fps. Not super awesome, but it will mate with a good 4k monitor and not need an immediate upgrade.

 

[TonyM]

As I understand it, the resolution, previously 4K 21:9 + 2K (telephoto) 21:9, was later updated or added to 4K 21:9 + 2K (telephoto or rear) 16:9.

In the telephoto view you shared above, I see that the cropped area is actually 21:9. However, the frame was saved as 16:9.

In short, the cropped area is not 16:9. I see that it was cropped to 21:9 and then stretched and expanded to 16:9, which is why the vehicles appear narrower than their actual size.

This is a bug and needs to be fixed.

This was fixed in the latest V2.0 beta 1027 firmware update:

I can confirm the issue of the stretched video ratio (the rear and tele cam being 21:9 and stretched to 16:9) appears to be resolved in the newest beta firmware 1027.
Thank You!

 

[TonyM]

Ah, I was assuming this was an artifact of my screen resolution...

Do you take a screenshot of your video editor window? If you export the frame directly from the video editor it doesn't matter what resolution your monitor is.

I use the "Alt + I" command in MPC-BE to export a full 4K frame even though I'm using the 1080p screen on my laptop.

 

[ogzogz]

This was fixed in the latest V2.0 beta 1027 firmware update:

Yes, that's good to hear. An A329 hasn't arrived yet. @viofo @VIOFO-Support So, even though I don't have an A329 in hand, I'm still trying to report any bugs I see during my inspections and my suggestions.
@TonyM Thank you for your approval.

 

[EricSan]

I use the "Alt + I" command in MPC-BE to export a full 4K frame even though I'm using the 1080p screen on my laptop.

Well look at that - I've just learned about a feature that I didn't know existed! Now I feel silly 😉. I've been using MPC and VLC for quite a long time and never realized this feature is built into both of them. Duh... I'll go sit in the corner now...

 

[EricSan]

After some extended time using the A329T camera, I’ve finally filled a 512G SD card with parking mode recordings. I set the camera to record 2 channels (front + rear) during LBR parking mode. A full card holds about 6800 2min files. This works out to about 110 hours of parking mode footage from each of two cameras. Pretty impressive!

 

[Finnegan]

I have a 512gb SD card, and the A329S recording all 3 cams, and my park to drive ratio is probably 90% parking.
I have also set it for LBR but recently set up Geofencing so I don't record 36 straight hours of nothing while parked.
I still format the card once or twice per week and I'd like to reduce the frequency of formatting. I may inadvertently
erase something I later discover is needed, and twice/week really shouldn't be required.
Thanks for this statistic, I've been wondering about this recently.

 

[EricSan]

I may inadvertently erase something I later discover is needed

This was my concern as well. I do observe my car as I approach to get in at the end of the day, but I don't inspect closely, so I'd rather not discover a problem later only to realize that I no longer have the needed footage.

110 hours is just about 2.5 weeks of 8hrs daily parking mode. My challenge is that I only drive when the weather is bad, so it took me a long time to fill the card.

 

[EricSan]

I was just reviewing some footage from a few days ago and I came across an interesting observation when comparing the A329T main camera to the 4x telephoto camera. I was at a T intersection and a truck was passing by at about 30-35mph. When you look at a frame from the main camera, the truck looks normal. But, when you look at a frame from the 4x telephoto camera, the truck appears slanted in the direction it is traveling due to the way the shutter exposes the video sensor.

Has anyone else noticed this effect? I suppose this is a hardware artifact that cannot be corrected with a software tweak...

Frame from the main camera:

Frame from the 4x Telephoto Camera:

 

[speedingcheetah]

I was just reviewing some footage from a few days ago and I came across an interesting observation when comparing the A329T main camera to the 4x telephoto camera. I was at a T intersection and a truck was passing by at about 30-35mph. When you look at a frame from the main camera, the truck looks normal. But, when you look at a frame from the 4x telephoto camera, the truck appears slanted in the direction it is traveling due to the way the shutter exposes the video sensor.

Has anyone else noticed this effect? I suppose this is a hardware artifact that cannot be corrected with a software tweak...

Frame from the main camera:
View attachment 89447

Frame from the 4x Telephoto Camera:
View attachment 89448

What is your resolution setting?
Have you updated to the latest beta 2.0 firmware?
There was a issue with the aspect ratio being stretched, depending on your resolution setting in previous firmware

 

[Hack_man]

Unrelated question but why is the voltage stamp 15.38 V? Seems high.

 

[EricSan]

What is your resolution setting?
Have you updated to the latest beta 2.0 firmware?
There was a issue with the aspect ratio being stretched, depending on your resolution setting in previous firmware

Resolution for the 4x telephoto camera is 2560x1440.
Firmware is v2.0_251204 as shown in the stamp in the video. It's an older version, I need to update to the 260104 version.

I don't think this is a "stretch" issue with the video. I'm pretty certain this is a motion artifact resulting from the moving truck interacting with the manner in which the sensor is exposed - the bottom set of pixels on the sensor are exposed first (hence they are shifted further left) and the top set of pixels on the sensor are exposed last (and therefore are shifted further to the right in the direction of movement for the truck). This seems to indicate that the sensor is exposed with a rolling shutter from the bottom to the top of the frame. In the frame above, you can see that the fence post is indeed vertical and straight, not slanted like the side of the truck. I circled this fence post in red and re-posted the image above.

Here is a screen cap from two seconds earlier (timestamp in lower right corner), just before the truck passes by. There is no side to side motion, so the image is straight and true.

Unrelated question but why is the voltage stamp 15.38 V? Seems high.

My cameras are powered from my LTO battery, not directly from the car's electrical system. This battery will range from about 11.8v (fully depleted) to about 15.8v (fully charged).

As a side note, 9hours and 45min of 2-ch low bit rate parking mode (front + rear) from the A329T resulted in 582 two-minute videos that add up 35.2G of storage.

 

[TonyM]

I was just reviewing some footage from a few days ago and I came across an interesting observation when comparing the A329T main camera to the 4x telephoto camera. I was at a T intersection and a truck was passing by at about 30-35mph. When you look at a frame from the main camera, the truck looks normal. But, when you look at a frame from the 4x telephoto camera, the truck appears slanted in the direction it is traveling due to the way the shutter exposes the video sensor.

Has anyone else noticed this effect? I suppose this is a hardware artifact that cannot be corrected with a software tweak...

Frame from the main camera:
View attachment 89447

Frame from the 4x Telephoto Camera:
View attachment 89451

That's a normal rolling shutter effect, amplified by the slower exposure time of the telephoto compared to the main camera.

 

[EricSan]

That's a normal rolling shutter effect

That was kind of my assumption after comparing the front and the telephoto cameras. I was thinking either the effect is more apparent due to the magnification of the lens, or the processing for the telephoto camera is not quite the same as the processing that takes place with the main camera. It's also a challenging situation because the truck was very close to the front of my car, so the apparent speed was greater than it would be if the truck was further away. All in all, I'd call that one a worst-case scenario...

 

[ltmikepowell]

Just ordered A329T for my RAV4 (8m cable to the rear + and 0.5m to the tele). My whole car is tinted, so I shouldn't use the polarizer for any of the cams?

 

[speedingcheetah]

Just ordered A329T for my RAV4 (8m cable to the rear + and 0.5m to the tele). My whole car is tinted, so I shouldn't use the polarizer for any of the cams?

Front windshield is not supposed to be tinted, its illegal in the states (without a special exception thing).
Front is the main cam you need CPL for, to reduce dash refelctions.
With Telephoto though, do not think it needs it, as it is zoomed in and is no where near as affected by reflections as the wide angle front cam. (in my experince) It also would hurt it more at night.
I have rear cam, without the CPL on my back window, as it is aftermarket tinted (50% which is the darkest legal in my state) and the tint it self cuts back on reflection.

 

[ltmikepowell]

Front windshield is not supposed to be tinted, its illegal in the states (without a special exception thing).
Front is the main cam you need CPL for, to reduce dash refelctions.
With Telephoto though, do not think it needs it, as it is zoomed in and is no where near as affected by reflections as the wide angle front cam. (in my experince) It also would hurt it more at night.
I have rear cam, without the CPL on my back window, as it is aftermarket tinted (50% which is the darkest legal in my state) and the tint it self cuts back on reflection.

I'm in Southern California and even though the law said front windshield tint is illegal (I mean a lot of law is outdated), they rarely got enforced and it just doesn't make sense to tint everything else, and yet leave the front wide open for the heat to come in. Also, too many Tesla with super bright headlights, and windshield tint help so much with that.

I already tinted all my windows with the front is with XPEL XR+ 55%.

So I guess no CPL for any of the cam then. Because then it would introduce rainbow?

 

[EricSan]

It's easy enough to try both scenarios and see what you like best. The polarizer is only a $20 add on, so it's a low-risk experiment. I'm not sure if the rainbow effect is universal to all tinting methods, or if there are variations in what people experience. I've not seen enough detailed reports to understand the nuance of this impact. If you get the polarizer and it doesn't work well, you can return it to Amazon or offer it for sale here.