Should VIOFO Introduce Built-In Cloud LTE Across Full Line Of Dash Cams?

I dont get VIOFO.
They made the A229 plus 3 ch but no SSD.
They make the A329 with external storage but no interior cam.
They make a MDVR box but for motorcycles
They make Vs1 but can't be daisy chained
It's like they have the technology to make the perfect product but they don't.
 
mentadent said:
Cloud connectivity could be added to VIOFO cams with no extra hardware.
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BlackVue is king of cloud.
They’ve been making cloud dash cams for 10 years.
They’re the best in the business, and they still don’t have it “right”.
What are the chances Viofo will have something acceptable / functional in the first production release?
Do you not remember the Dride 4K disaster, it bankrupted their company?
If Viofo ever makes cloud dash cams, I hope they market them under a different brand name like their Zenfox, and GitUp division that no longer exist.
So if it flops it will not tarnish the “Viofo” reputation.

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Super6ix said:
When you say added, do you mean from VIOFO or the end user via hotspot?
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Yes, via a hotspot, like Thinkware's approach. I think it would be better than their own LTE hardware, as it would avoid the maze of regional variations in bands etc.

They're clearly not a software company or good at software, so I agree it would probably tarnish their brand if they got it wrong.
 
Super6ix said:
...you have no idea on how pricing was generated...
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Wrong! I spent over 30 ears in 'Corporate America' and have been intimately involved in product placement and pricing.

The bean counters examine every penny that goes into a product as do the marketing folks and they having opposing views when it comes to pricing - it's a constant battle between them. If a feature is added the cost goes up and the marketing folks scream bloody murder because if they think is will affect market penetration. It may be different for iPhones because the 'iSheep' customers only want the 'latest and greatest' and will line up for a week in order to get the first of a new offering regardless of price.
 
DT MI said:
Wrong! I spent over 30 ears in 'Corporate America' and have been intimately involved in product placement and pricing.

The bean counters examine every penny that goes into a product as do the marketing folks and they having opposing views when it comes to pricing - it's a constant battle between them. If a feature is added the cost goes up and the marketing folks scream bloody murder because if they think is will affect market penetration. It may be different for iPhones because the 'iSheep' customers only want the 'latest and greatest' and will line up for a week in order to get the first of a new offering regardless of price.
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Again, what ever experience you have doesn't make you right about how any company makes their decisions. You proved my point w the iPhone, but car brands do it as well , most companies can and will do it. Greed wins the day. Profits wins the day.

But let's get back to the point of this thread and your opposition thereof. Cellular service is something that you choose to use or not. Choose to pay for or not. But it doesn't affect the overall product. But being that we're in a VIOFO recommendation thread, why deny others basic human innovation if God forbid your word meant something to VIOFO. Seems bit selfish and I'm not being demeaning in no way I promise, but aside from cellular and what comes with it, I think VIOFO has a camera for everyone.
 
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mentadent said:
Yes, via a hotspot, like Thinkware's approach. I think it would be better than their own LTE hardware, as it would avoid the maze of regional variations in bands etc.

They're clearly not a software company or good at software, so I agree it would probably tarnish their brand if they got it wrong.
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Ok so for clarity. I have a netgear nighthawk M1 mobile hotspot collecting dust somewhere in my home. You're saying i can currently use this with say a A229/ A329 i can get remote live view from anywhere in the world? Or it's in the works?
 
BV is proof of doing something wrong, year after year, and still not getting it right. In my view, poor management decisions and execution on their part. Any manufacturer that decides to own, maintain and operate a cloud service as a part of their business have really screwed up. The liability, responsibility and possibility for negative outcomes is extremely high.

All that any manufacturer needs to do add is the capability for a LTE hotspot on their DVR. All anyone needs is the ability to plug a LTE hotspot into the dashcam and let it connect to a cloud service of their choice. Of course, the manufacturer will need to provide the software hooks for the service but that is easily enough doable.

Drivers pay $40,000+ for a new SUV that is connected to the world, right out of the factory but they can't get a damn dash cam to do the same. It is not rocket science, nor is this something that is difficult to accomplish.

Panzer Platform said:
BlackVue is king of cloud.
They’ve been making cloud dash cams for 10 years.
They’re the best in the business, and they still don’t have it “right”.
What are the chances Viofo will have something acceptable / functional in the first production release?
Do you not remember the Dride 4K disaster, it bankrupted their company?
If Viofo ever makes cloud dash cams, I hope they market them under a different brand name like their Zenfox, and GitUp division that no longer exist.
So if it flops it will not tarnish the “Viofo” reputation.
Click to expand...
 
DT MI said:
Wrong! I spent over 30 ears in 'Corporate America' and have been intimately involved in product placement and pricing.

The bean counters examine every penny that goes into a product as do the marketing folks and they having opposing views when it comes to pricing - it's a constant battle between them. If a feature is added the cost goes up and the marketing folks scream bloody murder because if they think is will affect market penetration. It may be different for iPhones because the 'iSheep' customers only want the 'latest and greatest' and will line up for a week in order to get the first of a new offering regardless of price.
Click to expand...

I have seen a few of these fights, don't forget about the sales managers. :)

I have no clue how the DVR companies come up with their pricing but they all seem to fish shallow with a cast net in an attempt to get what they can see, or easily reach. That of course is the mid-tier to low-tier customer base. A lot of money there for certain. Apple figured out how to fish shallow and how to fish deep, and have been successful at it. There are a lot of big fish that are deep if one can get to them. DVR manufacturers have a boat that can only fish shallow, a dugout.

As for Apple, no doubt they have lost innovation under Tim Cook. They, along with others have reached just about the pinnacle of what can be done with a cell phone and now are adding senseless features and gadgets. Apple does well because their devices integrated near seamlessly in the Apple environment. However, there have been a number of Apple users who over the last several years have ceased to upgrade due to the useless new features, and in part, even the cost.
 
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Super6ix said:
Cellular service is something that you choose to use or not. Choose to pay for or not. But it doesn't affect the overall product.
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It has affected the overall product, Blackvue went the LTE way, as has Nextbase IQ, while Viofo didn't, and now they are quite different products, and I am quite pleased that we have the choice, because they went different paths.

These days, people have cars with built in Wifi from the car manufacturer, they can easily add a third party hotspot to their cars, they have phones with built in internet sharing, there is no need to put LTE inside the dashcam. Cloud is a different subject, you can use cloud over the car wifi, your wifi hotspot, your phone internet sharing, your home wifi network. Viofo can add cloud without LTE. It doesn't even need adding to the dashcam, some cloud functions are just as good if put in the phone app, depending on what you want it to do.

Super6ix said:
You're saying i can currently use this with say a A229/ A329 i can get remote live view from anywhere in the world?
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It does appear to be possible to get live view anywhere in the world via Viofo's mobile app, if you use a VPN to put the dashcam and phone on the same network, this also allows RTSP live view streaming to your media players on the same network.

I think Viofo should put/enable a VPN client in the dashcam, so that we can do this over a standard car wifi/phone internet sharing/LTE hotspot/home wifi.
 
Give them just a little more than their competitors, but dont give em all at once.

Looking at overall reviews on both Viofo and Blackvue on all sites, Viofo is winning hands down. Not even close. Viofo gets rave reviews on image quality, which is the most important feature. But I see a yearn for connectability . Blackvue, on the other hand, is fewer reviews of which are about their cloud and their image quality. While I don't have either, I've contributed over 20+ views, lol, to each of the main two YT reviewers every dashcam videos, and their reviews are consistent to consumer reviews EXCEPT the cloud part from Blackvue which they ( YT reviewers) say is pretty ok. Now maybe it's user error because nobody know the age demographics or the technical know how of the consumers who operate these things so they vent when it doesn't work as expected or they just can't figure it out.

And let's not be down on the chinese. It's because of them the dashcam market is where it is. Software is not a problem for them no more than it is for the big brands. They , the chinese, ie VIOFO are working with alot less than most of its competitors that are in the big box stores but somehow they VIOFO provides a superior product. I do believe they would release lte units in the near future because the technology is old technology. I've always said a dashcam should be just that. But the future in this business is LTE MDVR units with multi camera options. CCTV for cars in a nutshell. And with battery technology getting better and better , I can see a Tesla Sentry type aftermarket system soon. High model cars are already doing it.
 
Super6ix said:
I can see a Tesla Sentry type aftermarket system soon
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Tesla owners install Viofo dashcams to get decent image quality!
Tesla Sentry cameras are good because of their camera positioning and numbers, but the image quality is not good.
 
Super6ix said:
Ok so for clarity. I have a netgear nighthawk M1 mobile hotspot collecting dust somewhere in my home. You're saying i can currently use this with say a A229/ A329 i can get remote live view from anywhere in the world? Or it's in the works?
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Only if you make a DIY setup. I don't think there is anything in the works. VIOFO is the brand to go to for ultimate quality, but not for cloud.
 
lufa6977 said:
All anyone needs is the ability to plug a LTE hotspot into the dashcam and let it connect to a cloud service of their choice. Of course, the manufacturer will need to provide the software hooks for the service but that is easily enough doable.
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It's a bit more complicated than that, lol.

What features did you have in mind for the cloud functionality? It sounds like mostly just cloud backup for select clips like when an impact is detected or the user triggers a manual recording?

Most of the cloud features I use are for things like remote notifications in case my car is hit while parked or being able to livestream into the dashcam at any time. It's also nice to be able to update the firmware OTA as well. Cloud backup is nice, but secondary. Everyone has their own use case of course, but for the notifications and livestreaming, that's more about the manufacturer running their own servers and then creating an app that handles the notifications, image previews, UI for accessing video clips, etc.

If a manufacturer is going through the work to creating a server to let their user utilize the other cloud features, then adding some additional storage is a natural extension. If people want to have their own servers available or connect to Dropbox, their own NAS, etc., that's cool too, but I'd imagine a very small percentage of the population would want to do that, plus it'd mean a bunch of additional R&D and tech support needed to support each external cloud storage option. Again a manufacturer certainly could, but it would probably make more sense for them to keep things in house to simplify the product creation and support, plus they could also get another revenue stream by offering the option for paid cloud features.
 
Vortex Radar said:
It's a bit more complicated than that, lol.

What features did you have in mind for the cloud functionality? It sounds like mostly just cloud backup for select clips like when an impact is detected or the user triggers a manual recording?

Most of the cloud features I use are for things like remote notifications in case my car is hit while parked or being able to livestream into the dashcam at any time. It's also nice to be able to update the firmware OTA as well. Cloud backup is nice, but secondary. Everyone has their own use case of course, but for the notifications and livestreaming, that's more about the manufacturer running their own servers and then creating an app that handles the notifications, image previews, UI for accessing video clips, etc.
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Exactly. Exactly . Exactly. Cloud storage is secondary but live notifications is a must. Livestreaming is a must . Being able to secure footage is a must

Viofo is getting free promo from that attempted swoop and squat insurance job, but if that guy was crazy enough to grab that dashcam off the window , we would've never seen the video. Can't do that with a box series.
 
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