Viofo A129 Duo - my opinion

Paul Iddon

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Location
Preston
Country
United Kingdom
Dash Cam
Viofo A139 Pro 4K, A129 Pro Duo 4K, A229 Duo 2K, & NB 522GW
There are already plenty of other reviews around so it's worth a Google to see more about this dashcam.

Thank you to @viofo for the dashcam, much appreciated.


So lets start of with a few images from the day it arrived:

V_1-X2.jpg


V_3-X2.jpg


V_4-X2.jpg


V_5-X2.jpg


V_6-X3.jpg


My friend @c4rc4m has already uploaded an unboxing video that you can watch on this link >>> Unboxing <<<


And now my thoughts

First opinion is very impressive. The form factor is better than the A119 Pro and others from Viofo - but the first thing I noticed is how thick the cable is that runs to the rear camera - it really is very very thick! Tucking it out of sight wasn't any problem though.

There are the usual settings - video resolution, video length, G-Sensor, parking mode etc - all that you would expect. The video quality does exactly as expected, and the audio is very good (almost too good!). Reading of license plates is certainly good enough.

It all came nicely packaged up as you can see, and installation from start to finish was quick and easy - though I have done a few now so no surprise there.

The two cameras are both 1080p front and back - the front camera wedge shaped, the rear a little more discreet. I like what I see here and it is on sale at a great price point from Viofo direct or retailers online (such as Amazon and Ebay).

The video has of course got two files, and the audio is embedded in both but plays back singularly (I half thought there would be two tracks getting in each others way, if you know what I mean.

The cameras use the Novatek NT96663 and IMX291 (front and rear) and there's an optional bluetooth incident button for the dash (available soon) and the unit has WiFi (get the app from the usual places) which will come in useful for changing settings on your mobile phone instead of the unit and for watching and downloading captured files. It will take a 128Gb card, so I'm informed, though I have only tested with a 64Gb card.

One problem I found (not new) was interference with my Bluetooth DAB radio - apparently not uncommon where the signal kept dropping off - in the end, I had to reposition the DAB antenna (it's not a posh built in one, and the antenna sticks to your car). Now I have done that, things are better (I can listen to the footy on TalkSport!)

Video wise, no surprises - both front and rear perform as expected - clarity is fine, but the reflections on the glass of the windscreen and the rear window are evident. There will be a forthcoming CPL from Viofo (certainly for the front, not sure about the rear though). This will no doubt improve vision, so a performance increase to come then. The screen offers 4 different options for viewing - front, rear, front with rear PIP and rear with front PIP.

Freeze frame in the main, gives clear enough detail if you need to capture license plates (during the daytime is obviously giving a better hit rate) but at night, as you would expect, you would need to be driving slower or stopped to get the best chance. However - as for recording any incidents, the A129 will do admirably well.

The forthcoming bluetooth button will be a great addition - you can stick this anywhere you choose which will mean if you do need to grab some read-only captures, the need to reach the top of your dashcam will be gone and you'll be able to tap your dongle (you could stick it on the middle of your steering wheel or close by on the dashboard).

All the usual suspects appear via the simple menu interface and these too are available by connecting the A129 to the app on your smart phone, making things much easier to read because of the screen on your mobile will be bigger and clearer. Access to this is gained by holding the the PIP button (right hand side button on the dashcam) for about 5 seconds or so. Disable it the same way.

I'll add some video files below now so that you can have a look at the quality on YouTube.

This is a look at the front and rear edited together:


I started off with WDR turned on - but I didn't like it much...


So once I had seen that, WDR was turned off, and here is 18 minutes of driving at night (2 lots joined together) so try not to get too bored by it all - it is there to show you the lighting on the roads in my area to give you an idea of how the camera performs in darker and more urban & well lit places...


Here is a fun one from the city centre at night....


Here are more typical daytime videos, but not on split screens so you can see the full view:

Front & Rear cameras down a side street:



Front & Rear cameras through Preston:




Well there you have it - my first impressions of the new Viofo A129 Duo, and I have to say I'm really pleased with things - once again, Viofo have released a very decent piece of kit for you motorists to stick in the car!

With updates to the firmware in the pipeline, I expect some decent tweaks over time. Overall, a dashcam I would happily recommend. Just turn off WDR...


Paul.
 
Last edited:
Nice review, pretty much matches my experience.

Not sure about the sound being "too good", but it is the best dashcam sound I've encountered, surprisingly good at coping with both quiet and very loud.

Was wondering why on your map the red line goes through the centre of Ireland instead of around it like all the other countries - had to look it up, turns out that the Irish don't use Daylight Saving Time in the summer like everyone else! "Ireland therefore operates one hour behind standard time during the winter period, and reverts to standard time in the summer months. This is defined in contrast to the other states in the European Union, which operate one hour ahead of standard time during the summer period, but produces the same end result.", however it is not Winter Time, they officially change time zone in the winter so the map maker couldn't get it right whichever side they took the line :confused:
 
Hahah, the map is my mouse mat. Maybe the cartographer just liked to guess... :)
 
Nice review Paul. I haven't done a performance review myself because I prefer suction mounts and this new camera is adhesive mounts only. Just something to take note of if considering. Other than that, it appears a very well put together package.
 
There are already plenty of other reviews around so it's worth a Google to see more about this dashcam.

Thank you to @viofo for the dashcam, much appreciated.


So lets start of with a few images from the day it arrived:

V_1-X2.jpg


V_3-X2.jpg


V_4-X2.jpg


V_5-X2.jpg


V_6-X3.jpg


My friend @c4rc4m has already uploaded an unboxing video that you can watch on this link >>> Unboxing <<<


And now my thoughts

First opinion is very impressive. The form factor is better than the A119 Pro and others from Viofo - but the first thing I noticed is how thick the cable is that runs to the rear camera - it really is very very thick! Tucking it out of sight wasn't any problem though.

There are the usual settings - video resolution, video length, G-Sensor, parking mode etc - all that you would expect. The video quality does exactly as expected, and the audio is very good (almost too good!). Reading of license plates is certainly good enough.

It all came nicely packaged up as you can see, and installation from start to finish was quick and easy - though I have done a few now so no surprise there.

The two cameras are both 1080p front and back - the front camera wedge shaped, the rear a little more discreet. I like what I see here and it is on sale at a great price point from Viofo direct or retailers online (such as Amazon and Ebay).

The video has of course got two files, and the audio is embedded in both but plays back singularly (I half thought there would be two tracks getting in each others way, if you know what I mean.

The cameras use the Novatek NT96663 and IMX291 (front and rear) and there's an optional bluetooth incident button for the dash (available soon) and the unit has WiFi (get the app from the usual places) which will come in useful for changing settings on your mobile phone instead of the unit and for watching and downloading captured files. It will take a 128Gb card, so I'm informed, though I have only tested with a 64Gb card.

One problem I found (not new) was interference with my Bluetooth DAB radio - apparently not uncommon where the signal kept dropping off - in the end, I had to reposition the DAB antenna (it's not a posh built in one, and the antenna sticks to your car). Now I have done that, things are better (I can listen to the footy on TalkSport!)

Video wise, no surprises - both front and rear perform as expected - clarity is fine, but the reflections on the glass of the windscreen and the rear window are evident. There will be a forthcoming CPL from Viofo (certainly for the front, not sure about the rear though). This will no doubt improve vision, so a performance increase to come then. The screen offers 4 different options for viewing - front, rear, front with rear PIP and rear with front PIP.

Freeze frame in the main, gives clear enough detail if you need to capture license plates (during the daytime is obviously giving a better hit rate) but at night, as you would expect, you would need to be driving slower or stopped to get the best chance. However - as for recording any incidents, the A129 will do admirably well.

The forthcoming bluetooth button will be a great addition - you can stick this anywhere you choose which will mean if you do need to grab some read-only captures, the need to reach the top of your dashcam will be gone and you'll be able to tap your dongle (you could stick it on the middle of your steering wheel or close by on the dashboard).

All the usual suspects appear via the simple menu interface and these too are available by connecting the A129 to the app on your smart phone, making things much easier to read because of the screen on your mobile will be bigger and clearer. Access to this is gained by holding the the PIP button (right hand side button on the dashcam) for about 5 seconds or so. Disable it the same way.

I'll add some video files below now so that you can have a look at the quality on YouTube.

This is a look at the front and rear edited together:


I started off with WDR turned on - but I didn't like it much...


So once I had seen that, WDR was turned off, and here is 18 minutes of driving at night (2 lots joined together) so try not to get too bored by it all - it is there to show you the lighting on the roads in my area to give you an idea of how the camera performs in darker and more urban & well lit places...


Here is a fun one from the city centre at night....


Here are more typical daytime videos, but not on split screens so you can see the full view:

Front & Rear cameras down a side street:



Front & Rear cameras through Preston:




Well there you have it - my first impressions of the new Viofo A129 Duo, and I have to say I'm really pleased with things - once again, Viofo have released a very decent piece of kit for you motorists to stick in the car!

With updates to the firmware in the pipeline, I expect some decent tweaks over time. Overall, a dashcam I would happily recommend. Just turn off WDR...


Paul.

Thank you for the review. Looks like a great duo cam to have.
 
thanks for review Paul, does anyone here think it's a step up in video quality from the A119?
 
The 119 Pro is 2K so that will be better in daylight.
 
Nice review Paul. I haven't done a performance review myself because I prefer suction mounts and this new camera is adhesive mounts only. Just something to take note of if considering. Other than that, it appears a very well put together package.

They have a suction cup mount available for the A119 series. I'm sure there will be one released for the A129, if the one currently out doesn't fit it.
 
The current one won't fit as the GPS module goes onto A129 body and then the windscreen side of this, is just a flat smooth surface that accepts the sticky pad. It would probably take a suction pad that adhered to the GPS unit, to add a suction pad, or one that fitted between the GPS unit and camera with a wiring pass through. (Saying all of this from memory as I've given the A129 away due to the lack of a suction option - a real shame as I'd have liked to have done quality testing as well as unboxing).
 
People have been using this suction mount for the A119 series so I would think it would work for the A129 as well.
 
That probably could have worked or been made to work. Unfortunately, I no longer own the camera.
 
Can we download the videos via Wi-Fi to a PC directly, for example when the car is within the range of Wi-Fi? Or does it only work with the app and can only download them to the phone?
 
Can we download the videos via Wi-Fi to a PC directly, for example when the car is within the range of Wi-Fi? Or does it only work with the app and can only download them to the phone?
Yes, they can be downloaded to PC, but there is no app for the PC so you need to use your web browser and put the camera's IP address in it - connect to the network and then click: http://192.168.1.254

Note that the video files are big and the wifi is not fast, it will take nearly 2 minutes to download a 3 minute video, similar to all other current wifi cameras.
 
Yes, they can be downloaded to PC, but there is no app for the PC so you need to use your web browser and put the camera's IP address in it - connect to the network and then click: http://192.168.1.254

Note that the video files are big and the wifi is not fast, it will take nearly 2 minutes to download a 3 minute video, similar to all other current wifi cameras.
Cool.

Wonder if I can auto download the files to my NAS when the car returns home. That would be great!
 
not practical, camera would need to be powered for hours at a time to download footage
But what if it is being powered by a portable power charger? Or the issue is that it stops recording when connected to Wi-Fi?
 
you'll need to power it, if it's powered from something portable then you'd need that to be recharged, reality is 99% of what people record is pointless in the end and backing up multiple GB's on a daily basis has a poor ROI, if it was something that just backed up event files I could see that being a worthwhile exercise, to do all recordings is very hard to justify
 
you'll need to power it, if it's powered from something portable then you'd need that to be recharged, reality is 99% of what people record is pointless in the end and backing up multiple GB's on a daily basis has a poor ROI, if it was something that just backed up event files I could see that being a worthwhile exercise, to do all recordings is very hard to justify
Fair enough.
 
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