V1.3 beta firmware for A229Pro/Plus

[Dashmellow]

Am I recalling correctly that someone said older computers struggle to render H265 so the user base may not favour it?

Yes, that's been discussed on DCT many times. Even now here in 2024, there are still older computers and operating systems in use in such places as insurance companies, courts and courtrooms, law enforcement bureaucracies, law offices, etc., that can't display H.265 video. H.265 is still not as ubiquitous as it was expected it to be by now.

There are circumstances where you may be required to submit original copies of your dash cam videos to some agency or company where it goes through a chain of custody in the adjudication of your matter and it could land on the desk of someone who finds the H.265 video unplayable. In many cases, the person dealing with this won't know why they can't view it and they won't even know what the term H.265 even means or that that is the problem. They will only know that they can't view it and they might just move on to their next case during the course of a busy day.

Having been a member here on DCT for a long time I've noticed that some members forget that the primary purpose of dash cams is to capture actionable legal evidence they might need to submit if misfortune strikes when out driving. It is less about having the absolute latest and greatest technology. I can tell you from my own personal experience submitting dash cam evidence to police, prosecutors and attorneys in a legal matter that it is vital to be able to hand off footage that is as easy and idiot proof for literally anyone to view or you can risk not getting the kind of attention you want for your matter or claim or any attention at all. Once you hand off your video into a formal chain of custody you have no idea or control over who is going to view it (or try to view it), what kind or vintage computer or OS or media player will be used or the knowledge and computer skills of the person who receives your footage to view.

For this reason, I never use H.265 even if it is available to me. I'd rather just use a larger capacity memory card knowing it will be more likely to be easily watchable for whomever may need to see my footage.

 

[Dex_]

@camtalkatnight,
1) AutoExposure table can be customized.
2) This mod is based on latest official V1.3_240612.
3) I`m always contacted with Viofo, from time then it was a GitUp company aroud a 7 years ago. You be able to do this too if you have some requests, Viofo support is always great.
4) H265 coding is a part of Novatek SDK but it is not used in official firmware due to license payments. Implementing is required some hard modifications. if you think that is 1 byte patch you are not right.

 

[camtalkatnight]

Yes, that's been discussed on DCT many times. Even now here in 2024, there are still older computers and operating systems in use in such places as insurance companies, courts and courtrooms, law enforcement bureaucracies, law offices, etc., that can't display H.265 video. H.265 is still not as ubiquitous as it was expected it to be by now.

There are circumstances where you may be required to submit original copies of your dash cam videos to some agency or company where it goes through a chain of custody in the adjudication of your matter and it could land on the desk of someone who finds the H.265 video unplayable. In many cases, the person dealing with this won't know why they can't view it and they won't even know what the term H.256 even means or that that is the problem. They will only know that they can't view it and they might just move on to their next case during the course of a busy day.

Having been a member here on DCT for a long time I've noticed that some members forget that the primary purpose of dash cams is to capture actionable legal evidence they might need to submit if misfortune strikes when out driving. It is less about having the absolute latest and greatest technology. I can tell you from my own personal experience submitting dash cam evidence to police, prosecutors and attorneys in a legal matter that it is vital to be able to hand off footage that is as easy and idiot proof for literally anyone to view or you can risk not getting the kind of attention you want for your matter or claim or any attention at all. Once you hand off your video into a formal chain of custody you have no idea or control over who is going to view it (or try to view it), what kind or vintage computer or OS or media player will be used or the knowledge and computer skills of the person who receives your footage to view.

For this reason, I never use H.265 even if it is available to me. I'd rather just use a larger capacity memory card knowing it will be more likely to be easily watchable for whomever may need to see my footage.

Your example is one of why there is less of a need to move forward for the companies.

 

[camtalkatnight]

@camtalkatnight,
1) AutoExposure table can be customized.
2) This mod is based on latest official V1.3_240612.
3) I`m always contacted with Viofo. You be able to do this too if you have some requests, Viofo support is always great.
4) H265 coding is a part of Novatek SDK but it is not used in official firmware due to license payments. Implementing is required some hard modifications. if you think that is 1 byte patch you are not right.

I get what you mean, must be tons of line of code . What is the correct way/platform to request, is it email or on here by tagging them as that is really lackluster results so far for me. You are much better on here so far . I notice how many areas are staying in the past here and people backing it up but then there are you and myself that want to progress it. I am thinking about leaving the forum due to idea I keep reading of keeping things how they are. I tend to stick with progressive companies more. I know Viofo has great hardware in thier gear, that is without question. The ole how its running is a different story, but overall its a great product, and the perfectionist in me always looks for ways to improve and there are ways to do that but if it isn't implemented at company level it comes down to the people pushing forward, you lol .

 

[Dashmellow]

Your example is one of why there is less of a need to move forward for the companies.

You make a good point but I think we do see manufacturers continuing to push the technological boundaries. This has a lot to do with marketing which can be in conflict with what is the most practical thing for people using dash cams to capture usable evidence. Still, progress happens and eventually everyone catches up, even bureaucrats on tight budgets delaying their upgrade cycles for as long as possible.

 

[camtalkatnight]

You make a good point but I think we do see manufacturers continuing to push the technological boundaries. This has a lot to do with marketing which can be in conflict with what is the most practical thing for people using dash cams to capture usable evidence. Still, progress happens and eventually everyone catches up, even bureaucrats on tight budgets delaying their upgrade cycles for as long as possible.

Agreed. Definitely a very very hard market to code a product for, like the issue I have with my louvers and the rear cam (specifically light metering), and not being able to really use an exterior cam due to road grime. I am not the normal use case and I totally accept that. I do know that there are programming ways around it, just that I do not possess those skills. I would bet that most people aren't running 4K monitors at those offices either unless they are high up cases, seeing 1080p unless zooming in to get the extra pixels into view. There are more reasons to not use 4K over 1080P but I would still choose 4K, and I would personally skip HDR in a 10 bit container, as that is definitely not as important as getting a high pixel count. One could state that I argue against progression of HDR when I actually LOVE proper HDR but yeah, for legal reasons I do not see how it is helping yet and much more of a hindrance at this moment and that is one that me myself could accept being less adopted. If a company cannot agree what is a good free media player safe for downloading on thier companies computers that supports H.265 for free, I am blown away, even if it has to be played back frame by frame, which can be done if it cannot play it fast enough. There are gobs of free video players out there. MPC-BC/VLC/MPV. If they are trying to run the file right in windows 11 without third party software, you do have to pay for the ability to play it back, it is. If an insurance company cannot afford that at the least, or the free alternative, then there should be a discussion globally on that. The native ability to play back HEVC/H.265 in windows 11 is 99 cents per microsoft account as of this post. https://apps.microsoft.com/detail/9nmzlz57r3t7?hl=en-us&gl=US I would imagine that one could ask Microsoft to buy in bulk or a single rate for all devices in thier company, but that would be up to microsoft. Honestly 99 cents is not much, to me that is.

 

[Dex_]

I can tell you from my own personal experience submitting dash cam evidence to police

I have a evidence experience too. I send a video file with car crash at parking to the victim man. Later this man at police station show this video directly on his smartphone and send it to officer`s email. It was enough to start justice process. And a most important thing was a video quality and license plate readability - that is why I personally use as much as possible resolution and bitrate settings. H265 or H264, MOV or MP4 container - it is nobody cares, victim person be able to show this video from any cloud hosting or personal computer at home. Only video quality make sense. So if I can a bit increase it using H265 codec - I`ll do it.

 

[Dashmellow]

I have a evidence experience too. I send a video file with car crash at parking to the victim man. Later this man at police station show this video directly on his smartphone and send it to officer`s email. It was enough to start justice process. And a most important thing was a video quality and license plate readability - that is why I personally use as much as possible resolution and bitrate settings. H265 or H264, MOV or MP4 container - it is nobody cares, victim person be able to show this video from any cloud hosting or personal computer at home. Only video quality make sense. So if I can a bit increase it using H265 codec - I`ll do it.

Many jurisdictions (depending on what country you may live in) do not not accept this process, especially if you have a formal, legal matter that goes to to court. Nobody is going to pass a smartphone around in a court of law in a legal matter or at an insurance company that is reviewing your claim. In many lawsuits and criminal cases it is required to submit an original copy of your footage from the camera for forensic analysis.

 

[camtalkatnight]

Many jurisdictions (depending on what country you may live in) do not not accept this process, especially if you have a formal, legal matter that goes to to court. Nobody is going to pass a smartphone around in a court of law in a legal matter ot at an insurance company that is reviewing your claim. In many lawsuits and criminal cases it is required to submit an original copy of your footage from the camera for forensic analysis.

99 cents is the biggest hurdle next to free software, or am I wrong? That is the only thing keeping it held back outside of 10 years plus tech. I can get a new phone at the store downtown for under $20 bucks that can play this stuff back quad core processor and all.

 

[camtalkatnight]

I did not realise that there is an official firmware release after this beta. Viofo mentioned it was coming soon (in this thread) but did anybody know it was out and if you did, how did you find out other than manually going to look? It isn't on the blog page, yet the beta is lol.

 

[Dex_]

@Dashmellow , I`m truly agree with you. This is depend on police officer at your location. And insurance company never been on your side as it is business - save money but not send it back to you. So it is not a financing problem of purchase a new equipment but people problem in place.

 

[Dashmellow]

99 cents is the biggest hurdle next to free software, or am I wrong? That is the only thing keeping it held back outside of 10 years plus tech. I can get a new phone at the store downtown for under $20 bucks that can play this stuff back quad core processor and all.

It's not so simple. Buying multiple computers and IT services to upgrade and outfit an agency or whatever is a lot more complex and expensive than an individual merely buying a cheap smartphone. No law enforcement agency, law office or insurance company is going to use smartphones for official purposes when handling, viewing or analyzing video within a formal chain of custody in a legal matter. In fact, when I needed to work with the State Police in my matter, they explained that they have very specific requirements about how to submit digital media. Everything you submit must be on physical media that can be scanned for malware before they will even look at it. They do not accept anything posted or linked online. You can show a smartphone video to a cop in a traffic situation by the side of the road but as evidence it's a different matter altogether. This is where I learned about the "chain of custody" thing.

 

[camtalkatnight]

It's not so simple. Buying multiple computers and IT services to upgrade and outfit an agency or whatever is a lot more complex and expensive than an individual merely buying a cheap smartphone. No law enforcement agency, law office or insurance company is going to use smartphones for official purposes when handling, viewing or analyzing video within a formal chain of custody in a legal matter. In fact, when I needed to work with the State Police in my matter, they explained that they have very specific requirements about how to submit digital media. Everything you submit must be on physical media that can be scanned for malware before they will even look at it. They do not accept anything posted or linked online. You can show a smartphone video to a cop in a traffic situation by the side of the road but as evidence it's a different mater altogether. This is where I learned about the "chain of custody" thing.

The software to play it back is free. It ends where it lacks implementation by companies, it is that simple when it is free. I understand fully what you mean about having physical media and so forth, that makes complete sense for not infecting an infrastructure that is networked, as long as it is on an isolated and non networked system. I can help come up with more reasons why they cannot do it or haven't, but it doesn't make sense to, nor help the end result of it all working out better for all people including for forensics use. There is no simple reason other than as it was stated earlier about "people problem in place" which was well stated and on point by "Dex_". I have been using computers since 88' and building them since 99'. These things do not require new computers to view unless it is at full speed, or maybe if the computers are still using Windows Vista or other end of life Operating Systems. I had a computer that would be able to play it back frame by frame back in 2006 without hardware encoding, if I was to take todays software to it (not 30fps 4K, but frame by frame). That is around 18 years ago. I am moving on to other things that are getting traction and progress. Looking forward to your work Dex_, making things happen <3.

 

[Dashmellow]

The software to play it back is free. It ends where it lacks implementation by companies, it is that simple when it is free. I understand fully what you mean about having physical media and so forth, that makes complete sense for not infecting an infrastructure that is networked, as long as it is on an isolated and non networked system. I can help come up with more reasons why they cannot do it or haven't, but it doesn't make sense to, nor help the end result of it all working out better for all people including for forensics use. There is no simple reason other than as it was stated earlier about "people problem in place" which was well stated and on point by "Dex_". I have been using computers since 88' and building them since 99'. These things do not require new computers to view unless it is at full speed, or maybe if the computers are still using Windows Vista or other end of life Operating Systems.

Things are changing and computers are getting upgraded but it can be more than just free software. My situation was several years ago but still, I was surprised to discover how often certain offices in some municipal bureaucracies , agencies and at some insurance companies are still running older hardware. This older hardware will simply not work for H.265. This issue of upgrades has come a long way but the issue still exists in some cash strapped municipalities.

 

[ogzogz]

The a229 pro and Plus have gotten good specs lately.
However, accessory options are also developing.

Considering the telephoto camera option, it is confusing that the rear camera option uses the rear camera input as the connection.
This requires extending the internal camera cable and using an a229 plus/pro compatible FHD rear camera for the rear camera.
Thus, further recording will be possible with front, rear and telephoto.
My guess is that the pro and plus models in the a229 series will win the award for the model with the most accessories. @viofo @VIOFO-Support

 

[camtalkatnight]

Things are changing and computers are getting upgraded but it can be more than just free software. My situation was several years ago but still, I was surprised to discover how often certain offices in some municipal bureaucracies , agencies and at some insurance companies are still running older hardware. This older hardware will simply not work for H.265. This issue of upgrades has come a long way but the issue still exists in some cash strapped municipalities.

Software decoder. Nuggets of truth.

 

[Karagandinez]

I did not realise that there is an official firmware release after this beta. Viofo mentioned it was coming soon (in this thread) but did anybody know it was out and if you did, how did you find out other than manually going to look? It isn't on the blog page, yet the beta is lol.

VIOFO A229 Pro Dash Cam Support

viofo.com

VIOFO A229 Pro FIRMWARE

What format are you using 21.9? No, 16:9 I probably didn't understand you, that’s what the translator said!! Yes, 21:9 doesn't work on my iPhone either, only on Android in GU Auto!! Viofo has not yet updated the iPhone application!

dashcamtalk.com

 

[camtalkatnight]

VIOFO A229 Pro Dash Cam Support

viofo.com

VIOFO A229 Pro FIRMWARE

What format are you using 21.9? No, 16:9 I probably didn't understand you, that’s what the translator said!! Yes, 21:9 doesn't work on my iPhone either, only on Android in GU Auto!! Viofo has not yet updated the iPhone application!

dashcamtalk.com

Thank you. So it appears they did "forget" to follow up here that it officially was released after letting us know it was coming soon. I am not part of that thread yet.
They should have added it to the blog too. https://viofo.com/blog.html

 

[Karagandinez]

Thank you. So it appears they did "forget" to follow up here that it officially was released after letting us know it was coming soon. I am not part of that thread yet.
They should have added it to the blog too. https://viofo.com/blog.html

There is an official website for firmware for all Viofo models. I gave you a link to it.
Check there often and you will know when new firmware will be released.

 

[ogzogz]

There is an official website for firmware for all Viofo models. I gave you a link to it.
Check there often and you will know when new firmware will be released.

On the update page, an information area is needed on the screen where all cameras are listed. Here, the camera that was last updated should be listed and each camera model that received a new update should be above.
Thus, control will be easier and understandable by everyone. @VIOFO-Support