Useless dashcam...

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vessk0

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Hello,

I'm using A129 Pro Duo with the latest firmware and I use it mainly as a security cam in the parking lot. I have 2 memory cards - once I park I take out the card with the recorded footage for evaluation purposes and replace it with the other one. When I lock the car I expect the camera to record all the events around the vehicle. However, from time to time I find the card to be empty (the dashcam hasn't initiated recording at all).
Yesterday someone has scratched both my left doors and needless to say that now when I need it the most, there are NO RECORDINGS AT ALL !!!
In conclusion, you cannot count on this camera and it is rather pointless!
 
vessk0 said:
Hello,

I'm using A129 Pro Duo with the latest firmware and I use it mainly as a security cam in the parking lot. I have 2 memory cards - once I park I take out the card with the recorded footage for evaluation purposes and replace it with the other one. When I lock the car I expect the camera to record all the events around the vehicle. However, from time to time I find the card to be empty (the dashcam hasn't initiated recording at all).
Yesterday someone has scratched both my left doors and needless to say that now when I need it the most, there are NO RECORDINGS AT ALL !!!
In conclusion, you cannot count on this camera and it is rather pointless!
Click to expand...


It is not a good thing to constantly remove and insert cards.
If there is a stain on one of the contact areas on the card, the recording will not start.
and the constant card change may be confused in the number and sequence of cycles.

So in summary, if you changed the card, you had to make sure that it was formatting and recording the card.

It would not be appropriate to generalize in terms of reliability or functionality without being used in this ranking.

Get well soon.
 
Switching cards shouldn't create any issues. Formatting each time it's inserted back into the camera, though unnecessary, I would term as good practice.

@vessk0

Unless you have the lenses pointing out the sides of the car, can't really expect a front and rear dual cam to capture someone keying the doors or "record all the events around the vehicle".

Are you using Parking mode or leaving the camera recording 24/7? How are you powering the camera?
 
vessk0 said:
When I lock the car I expect the camera to record all the events around the vehicle. However, from time to time I find the card to be empty (the dashcam hasn't initiated recording at all).
Yesterday someone has scratched both my left doors and needless to say that now when I need it the most, there are NO RECORDINGS AT ALL !!!
Click to expand...
From your description I assume you are using motion detection. Have you tested that the camera will start recording when you walk near the car? At night and in the daytime?
 
Harsh said:
Unless you have the lenses pointing out the sides of the car, can't really expect a front and rear dual cam to capture someone keying the doors or "record all the events around the vehicle".
Click to expand...

That's absolutely true, of course, but your comment jogged my memory about an old post and video on the forum where someone captured a guy walking towards and right past his car in an underground parking garage with motion detection. Suddenly, you could hear the surprisingly loud sound of his car getting keyed as the guy walked by even though you couldn't see it happening. Nevertheless, even though the video was very dim he recognized the guy approaching his car as one of his neighbors in the apartment building he lived in and this had been happening to other cars in the same garage. The cops busted him!
 
I have two trail cameras on my property that I swap the memory cards on weekly. I have found that I must verify that the memory cards are recognized after they are inserted, or I will end up with a blank card at the end of the week. Sometimes it takes removing and replacing the card several times before it is recognized.
 
If you have time to switch the cards everytime you surely have time to verify it was recognized and recording properly afterwards, don't you?
And if parking protection is what you are after primarily, then do not rely on flimsy motion detection, and rather use the constant recording in parking mode (can't remember now how it's called). That way you make sure you capture everything, provided you have enough battery capacity.
 
Teflon490 said:
And if parking protection is what you are after primarily, then do not rely on flimsy motion detection, and rather use the constant recording in parking mode (can't remember now how it's called). That way you make sure you capture everything, provided you have enough battery capacity.
Click to expand...
Yes, continuous low bitrate recording is much more reliable than motion detection for parking mode on a dashcam like the A129. Proper cctv cameras are better at motion detection.

Continuous low bitrate recording does not use much more power than motion detection anyway. The sensor and processor are still active to detect motion - only the recording is not happening.
 
I have tried a few times to have a card i have just put in the camera not work, in these cases it have just been a matter of ejecting it and putting it back in.
This have been happening in a few cameras,,,,,,, though thinking about it i dont think it have ever happened in a Viofo camera i have tested, but if they keep sending cameras to me now and then i am sure it will happen sooner or later.

Most often the memory card are actually the weak link in dashcam systems, no matter its brand and model.
 
I had the same problem with the A129 Pro Duo! I didn't like her either!
 
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