Thinking of buying - a few questions

[Yeshua]

So I've been thinking of replacing my BlackVue DR500GW-HD with a A129 Pro. A few questions:

1. I've read the DCT review. It mentions double beep and missing video as known problems. Did this get fixed in the latest firmware?
2. Exmor is better than STARVIS? (I don't want Duo, just one cam in the front.) I'm guessing yes, but what's the difference?
3. I'm planning on buying a 256 GB microSD. How many hours is that in 4k? I'll probably use 1440p @ 60fps. How many hours is that?
4. I'm planning on buying this microSD card (SanDisk High Endurance SDXC). Will it do? Are there better alternatives?
5. Which (free) viewer software can be used? Can it run under Windows 7? Dashcam Viewer doesn't seem to be free, but VIOFO's support mentions Registrator. I know what happened to the programmer, but can it still be used? I have version 6.0.0.22. (BlackVue comes with its own software which makes it very easy to select, cut and export files. I really want something similar.)
6. I read about some problems with heat. I'm not planning on using parking mode (or 4k). I know it can get up to 50°C in my car during a heat wave. Are there users on there that can confirm the cam can take this kind of heat?

Thanks!

 

[Nigel]

So I've been thinking of replacing my BlackVue DR500GW-HD with a A129 Pro. A few questions:

1. I've read the DCT review. It mentions double beep and missing video as known problems. Did this get fixed in the latest firmware?
2. Exmor is better than STARVIS? (I don't want Duo, just one cam in the front.) I'm guessing yes, but what's the difference?
3. I'm planning on buying a 256 GB microSD. How many hours is that in 4k? I'll probably use 1440p @ 60fps. How many hours is that?
4. I'm planning on buying this microSD card (SanDisk High Endurance SDXC). Will it do? Are there better alternatives?
5. Which (free) viewer software can be used? Can it run under Windows 7? Dashcam Viewer doesn't seem to be free, but VIOFO's support mentions Registrator. I know what happened to the programmer, but can it still be used? I have version 6.0.0.22. (BlackVue comes with its own software which makes it very easy to select, cut and export files. I really want something similar.)
6. I read about some problems with heat. I'm not planning on using parking mode (or 4k). I know it can get up to 50°C in my car during a heat wave. Are there users on there that can confirm the cam can take this kind of heat?

Thanks!

2. STARVIS just means that the sensor has a high sensitivity for night time use, so you could have an Exmor sensor which is also STARVIS. This one apparently doesn't quite qualify as STARVIS, although it seems to do a little better than some that do qualify! It is a good sensor, not the very best for night time, excellent in sunshine.

3. Depends which bitrate you select, at reasonable quality you can get 16 hours of 4K, most people go for high quality, so maybe 8 hours for single channel. Recommend using 4K rather than 2K60.

5. You are happy to pay for the hardware but want the software free?
I normally use the free MPC video player, but of course it is missing dashcam things compared to Dashcam Viewer.

6. If you are not using parking mode then no problems, if you are using parking mode then you have to accept that it will shutdown over mid day if left in the sun on hot days.

Other questions I am not sure of the current situation, so will leave for others.

 

[DAP]

This camera is very sensitive to voltage, and draws a lot of current, so be sure to use the shortest power cable you can with the smallest wire gauge number you can find (smaller numbers mean larger diameter wire).
I think marginal power supply voltage can be one of the causes of the double beep and missing video.

This camera can behave badly if you have the wrong setup. The most common error is enabling parking mode without hardwiring the camera for parking mode. This can result in the camera thinking the car is parked when you are driving and not capturing important data.

I currently have two of these installed in my Tesla Model 3. When the car is parked with sentry mode (a feature of the car) enabled, the 12V power stays on, and the camera goes into parking mode and records (a little late) when it sees motion. I'm do not have the cameras hard wired for parking mode. The parking mode switch is disabled and the motion detection is enabled. When parked at home, sentry mode is automatically disabled, so the 12V shuts down and turns off the cameras.
Here are the settings I have been happy with:

Menu​	Setting​	​
Resolution​	3840x2160p 30pfs​	​
Bitrate​	Maximum​	​
Live Video Source​	Front Camera​	​
Loop Recording​	5 Minutes​	​
WDR​	Off​	​
Exposure​	EV Front​	-1​
Parking Mode​	Off​	​
Enter Parking Mode Timer​	90 Seconds​	​
Parking Recording Timer​	24 Hours​	​
Parking G-Sensor​	High Sensitivity​	​
Parking Motion Detection​	Medium​	​
Time-Lapse Recording​	Off​	​
Motion Detection​	On​	​
GPS​	On​	​
Speed Unit​	MPH​	​
G-Sensor​	Off​	​
WiFi​	5GHz​	​
Date Stamp​	On​	​
GPS Info Stamp​	All Info​	​
Camera Model Stamp​	Off​	​
Record Audio​	On​	​
Screen Saver​	3 Minutes​	​
Boot Delay​	10 Seconds​	​
Date/Time​	YYYY-MM-DD​	​
Time Zone​	GMT-8​	​
Language​	English​	​
Beep Sound​	All On​	​
Frequency​	60 Hz​	​
TV Mode​	NTSC​	​
Image Rotation​	Off​	​
Rear Camera Mirror​	Off​	​
Format​	​	​
Format Warning​	Off​	​
Default Setting​	​	​
Car Number​	​	​
Custom Text Stamp​	​	​
Firmware Version​	A129Pro: V2.2 Build: 20210116​	​

I have also enable H265 compression (instructions stolen from elsewhere, edited to remove A119 v3 specific instructions):

How to Enable H.265

Press and hold the “Rec” button to stop recording
Press and hold the “Mic” button for 4 sec then let go

For those of you running the Viofo A129 Pro, you can follow the same process to enable H.265. You’ll know you did it right because once you exit the menu, there’ll be a memory card icon on the left side of the main screen.

 

[Yeshua]

@Nigel

3. I know 4k is supposed to be better, but it's 30fps against 2k@60fps. Is there much difference? I read the 4k settings could possibly cause the cam to get warmer (and overheat in hot weather).

5. What can I say, I'm a fan of freeware. Next to the hardware for my PC, I only paid for 3 things: Windows 7 Home Premium OEM, Nero Essentials 7 OEM and Forté Agent. Everything else is freeware.

But I appreciate your remark. Even with that software VIOFO is cheaper than BlackVue. I suppose the Plus ($35) version will do?

In any case, I'm going to order the A129 Pro with CPL filter and a 256 GB microSD tomorrow. Apparently there's as store in Holland, VIOFO Benelux, that ships to Belgium and it's a 2,5 hour drive from here if necessary.

 

[Yeshua]

@DAP

Thanks for the tip, but I won't be using parking mode. Also thanks for your settings. I will surely have a close look at them. The DCT review mentioned how to enable H.265, so I will try that.

 

[Nigel]

3. I know 4k is supposed to be better, but it's 30fps against 2k@60fps. Is there much difference? I read the 4k settings could possibly cause the cam to get warmer (and overheat in hot weather).

The only real advantage of 60fps is that it is smoother to watch, so if you are making movies then you may prefer it. It very rarely records anything extra as far as accident evidence is concerned. The 4K does record more detail, it can read a plate at extra distance, and in slightly lower light levels.

On the heat, I would expect that doubling the frames would cause more heat than doubling the resolution, but there will not be much difference. Heat is really only a problem in parking mode when the car gets very warm inside.

 

[xiongguoy]

60fps does make reading plates easier for moving vehicles, especially oncoming traffic, less blury.
I remember someone did a side by side still comparison between 60,30fps, 4k, 2k, FHD, aiming at car plates, can't find it now, but i remember the difference was significant, enough that you have to guess a letter or number in one, and significantly obvious in the other.

 

[Skylar132]

2. STARVIS just means that the sensor has a high sensitivity for night time use, so you could have an Exmor sensor which is also STARVIS. This one apparently doesn't quite qualify as STARVIS, although it seems to do a little better than some that do qualify! It is a good sensor, not the very best for night time, excellent in sunshine.

3. Depends which bitrate you select, at reasonable quality you can get 16 hours of 4K, most people go for high quality, so maybe 8 hours for single channel. Recommend using 4K rather than 2K60.

5. You are happy to pay for the hardware but want the software free?
I normally use the free MPC video player, but of course it is missing dashcam things compared to Dashcam Viewer.

6. If you are not using parking mode then no problems, if you are using parking mode then you have to accept that it will shutdown over mid day if left in the sun on hot days.

Other questions I am not sure of the current situation, so will leave for others.

would i need to disable parking mode on my a129 pro then? i live in the uk for context

 

[Nigel]

would i need to disable parking mode on my a129 pro then? i live in the uk for context

It should shut itself down over midday on hot summer days when parked, so no you do not need to disable it. Although doing so may extend its lifetime.

It also has options like the parking mode timer that you can use to maybe only record the first hour of parking to avoid getting excessively hot or draining the car battery.

 

[Skylar132]

It should shut itself down over midday on hot summer days when parked, so no you do not need to disable it. Although doing so may extend its lifetime.

It also has options like the parking mode timer that you can use to maybe only record the first hour of parking to avoid getting excessively hot or draining the car battery.

yeah im pretty sure the parking mode and the heat killed its speakers and im scrambling for a solution

 

[Yeshua]

@DAP

How can one generate a file with these settings?

- WDR - Why no WDR? I've read it does good things, but it appears most VIOFO users turn it off.
- Motion sensor - I suppose I can turn this off since I won't be using parking mode?
- G-sensor - You've turned it off? I set it to high, but the cam was going off all the time. The manual advises 'low' which is what I will do.
- Firmware - I found version 2.3, so I will be updating my firmware which is 2.1.
- Horizon - While my BlackVue was set up at 1/3 horizon and 2/3 road/dashoard I have been reading a lot of messages that nowadays the advice is fifty-fifty?

 

[DAP]

The way to generate that file is to go through the menu and write down each setting, then type it into your computer. There is no automated way to do it.

On a previous camera that had WDR forced on me, it did it in software, and the resulting video looked pretty bad with bad posterization. Reports from other users have not indicated there is much benefit from WDR on this camera, so I have not turned it on.
On some cameras, WDR is done by combining two successive frames, one short exposure and one long. Unfortunately, things move between frames, and the results end up looking bad. Others do it by doing software processing on the data to brighten the dark areas. That is what my previous camera did, and it did not help much.

I don't use the G-sensor for the same reason I don't ever hit the save button. I use memory cards that can hold more video time than I can stand to drive (at least 9 hours). I don't need to have the g-sensor lock any files since I won't be overwriting the whole card before I can stop and transfer the relevant data to my computer. (The Tesla on the other hand only loops over 1 hour of video, so I must hit the save button to protect events).

I have not upgraded my firmware to 2.3 mostly because I'm lazy, but I also have not heard what changed fro 2.2 to 2.3.

For the horizon, drive on a bright sunny day and check the recording. If parts of the image are under exposed and too dark, aim you camera to get less sky. I don't think a single rule will apply world wide.

 

[MiamiC70]

Where are you guys finding v2.3 firmware? V2.2 is all I see on Viofo website.

 

[Yeshua]

Where are you guys finding v2.3 firmware? V2.2 is all I see on Viofo website.

A129 Pro Firmware Links

Thread just for firmware links. Firmware links only, discussions here: A129 Pro Firmware I've got tired of going though other threads looking for links, so here is a thread just for links. Please post new links to new firmware, I will update the post whenever I can. *Since VIOFO deleted all...

dashcamtalk.com

 

[MiamiC70]

A129 Pro Firmware Links

Thread just for firmware links. Firmware links only, discussions here: A129 Pro Firmware I've got tired of going though other threads looking for links, so here is a thread just for links. Please post new links to new firmware, I will update the post whenever I can. *Since VIOFO deleted all...

dashcamtalk.com

Not on their official Viofo site

 

[Yeshua]

Have you read the thread? And the other thread about firmware? Apparently, it can take some time before the website is updated. But VIOFO posts (temporary) links of new firmware on their forum. User xiongguoy has collected several versions, so they can easily be downloaded.

 

[MiamiC70]

Yea, I did.
However, I am not normally inclined to download firmware or software form just any source especially "some guy" on a forum.
Call me crazy, I mean what could go wrong.

 

[Yeshua]

I understand you but guess I'm crazy then. I downloaded and installed 2.3. it's working fine now.

You could go to the VIOFO forum and ask viofo, the administrator. That is, if you trust some guy on that forum. (-;

Edit: He posts a link to 2.3 here. You need to register to download it.

 

[SWoMP]

This is going to sound a really trivial question but are the supplied adhesive pads black or white when used on the screen. I had a setup with white pads and when viewed from the outside it really drew attention to the unit....

 

[Nigel]

This is going to sound a really trivial question but are the supplied adhesive pads black or white when used on the screen. I had a setup with white pads and when viewed from the outside it really drew attention to the unit....

Dark gray, in some lighting they are a little dark and in others a little light, occasionally they are perfect!