Thoughts on reliability of the Plus Duo?

[joe384]

I currently have a 4ch setup using 2 x Blackvue 590W-2CH. I have never had any reliability problems with them.
However there are a few things I don't like about the blackvues:

* Image quality is ok, night time quality is pretty poor
* Viewing the clips through wifi is really poor and slow
* No lowbitrate parking mode

As some of you remember I had the A129 Duo, but the issues got on my nerves after a while. Some of the issues were firmware related, others may have been due to the card.

I like the idea that the plus has a thinner rear cable (with a 4ch setup cable thickness starts to be an issue if you want a neat setup)

I'm kinda tempted to see if there are any discounts on the a129 Plus around amazon prime day or when black friday comes but if I started getting issues I would just send it back.
The blackvue 750S-2ch costs a fair amount more compared to the A129 Plus Duo

 

[Nigel]

After installing the A129 Plus, I don't recall the cable being any thinner! If it is then it is not a big difference.

What you want is the A139, now that does have thin cables, very thin, plus there are 3 channels on the one camera, plus there is really fast 5GHz wifi, plus low bitrate parking mode, plus one of the best front sensors for night time along with the best 1080 sensor for night time at the rear. Not sure there will be discounts by Black Friday, not sure it will even be released by then, but I suggest waiting, the A129 Plus Duo isn't much different to the A129 Duo except for the 2K front resolution.

 

[joe384]

Yeah, maybe wait then. The car is hardly used at the moment anyway

 

[smiley1081]

Out of curiosity, why do you need 4 cameras?

 

[Nigel]

Out of curiosity, why do you need 4 cameras?

Front, rear, left, right and interior - everything covered

(Might be a slight issue with the maths there!)

 

[SawMaster]

Only 4? I'm currently running 9 lenses in 6 different cams, and soon I'll be adding 2 or 3 more lenses in another cam

Several of my cams were sent to me for beta-testing, and I like to also give people the results I experience for long-term reliability, especially in the hottest summer heats which can mean waiting 6 or 7 months for the hot part of summer to arrive again Too much trouble putting them in and taking them out so I just leave them until I decide to remove them permanently. I am going to reconfigure things soon for a more 'permanent' installation of at least 6 lenses using 3 2-channel cams which is the minimum I need to achieve 360 degree coverage in my big old van but the test cams will remain somewhere in there, and I'm still not settled on my forward side-cam choices. The removed cams will go into a second vehicle which I should have road-worthy sometime this year or early next year.

Most folks will be well-served with one forward cam or a 2-channel cam of some sort- that's all you usually need to prove your innocence in a traffic incident My cams also act as security cams on the jobsite while I'm there and also because I simply like the extra coverage while I'm driving. Dashcams are something of a 'hobby' for many of us here on DCT and I'm just one of those.

Phil

 

[kamkar]

I just have 8 cameras going ATM, i feel naked and exposed.

2 X dual channel
1 X triple channel
1 single camera ( zoom )

Just kidding, but with the multi channel systems i have less camera units going on the glass, and the two dual systems the main unit are not even on the glass.
On my windscreen i just have 2 cameras, the triple system and the zoom camera, and i have had 4-5 camera main units there at times.

I dont count the remote cameras as systems, though they are not a lot smaller than a regular system ( okay the K2S remote cameras are very very small )

 

[joe384]

Well the Blackvue cameras are slightly cheaper in the sales, but I think I will wait for the A139 to come out.

Where I have been testing the A139 I realised how much I prefer low bitrate parking, I actually feel naked and worried now if I haven't got a camera constantly recording while parked. Motion detection doesn't always catch people walking past the car that could cause damage.

I have just purchased 2 x 256 Sandisk Cards in preparation, assuming no obvious issues are found I will probably buy one.

 

[kamkar]

Low bitrate constant recording are also my preferred parking mode, maybe tag on G-sensor to highlight events.

 

[joe384]

Low bitrate constant recording are also my preferred parking mode, maybe tag on G-sensor to highlight events.

I was going to ask about this actually... I believe the A129 would lock g-sensor events even in low-bitrate mode (at least in one version of the firmwares)

If this was available in the A139 that would be great

 

[SawMaster]

The A139 has low-bitrate and there are two separate g-sensor settings; one for driving and one for parking mode

Phil

 

[kamkar]

I wanted to test this on my SG9663DR, but then the way my main unit is "installed" i can kick and tilt my car and nothing happen, but ever so slightly tapping the main unit did set off a event ( warning triangle on screen as i recall )
Anyway i got sidetracked and forgot to take a look at how the event file was in relation to the parking mode, also i drove off my test location shortly after setting off the G-sensor and i would like to see it go back to regular parking mode.
I will have a look at this again shortly.