Viofo A129 Pro Dual Dashcam - 4K Front + 1080 Rear

[Jeremy Wong]

I'll check tonight @Jeremy Wong

Thank you!

 

[Nigel]

I think Sweden also drove on the wrong side not too long ago ?

Yes, Sweden is a typical example of European democracy:

In 1955, the Swedish government held a referendum on the introduction of right-hand driving. Although no less than 82.9% voted “no” to the plebiscite, the Swedish parliament passed a law on the conversion to right-hand driving in 1963.

Only some that are odd in the sense they have never been occupied by the British, but still for some reason decided on driving on the "wrong" side.

That would be Japan, as about the only country without British links that has never decided to swap to the right.

There is quite a good and entertaining history here: https://www.worldstandards.eu/cars/driving-on-the-left/
Although it doesn't really manage to explain why 65% of the world's population have decided to swap to the right, seems like Russia and Denmark are responsible for creating the confusion!

 

[gabilondo77]

The cars are so ugly with the steering wheel on the right side

 

[Nigel]

The cars are so ugly with the steering wheel on the right side

"Up till the 1930s Spain lacked national traffic regulations. Some parts of the country drove on the right (e.g. Barcelona) and other parts drove on the left (e.g. Madrid)."

Spanish cars are so ugly with the exhaust pipe on the left

Much prefer my British car with the exhaust pipe on the right, makes stopping at the fuel station much more convenient, and means that I don't have to queue up with the BMWs etc. to get to the fuel pump, normally the pump for British cars has no queue!

 

[gabilondo77]

Spanish cars are so ugly with the exhaust pipe on the left

This is random,depends on the engine,for example I drive a 2018 Ford Focus ST Line with the exhaust pipe on the left and is not a Spanish car,there are Ford Focus cars same year different engine and the pipe is on the right side..I can't see them,so wrong..

 

[Nigel]

This is random,depends on the engine,for example I drive a 2018 Ford Focus ST Line with the exhaust pipe on the left and is not a Spanish car,there are Ford Focus cars same year different engine and the pipe is on the right side..I can't see them,so wrong..

With Ford, I think it depends on if the car was designed in UK, or Germany, or Japan (Mazda). UK and Japan put the steering wheel and exhaust on the right and the fuel filler on the left, while Germany will design it with the fuel filler on the right and the exhaust on the left! Don't think Ford design much in Spain?

 

[gabilondo77]

With Ford, I think it depends on if the car was designed in UK, or Germany, or Japan (Mazda). UK and Japan put the steering wheel and exhaust on the right and the fuel filler on the left, while Germany will design it with the fuel filler on the right and the exhaust on the left! Don't think Ford design much in Spain?

Mine is made in Koln Germany.There is a huge Ford factory in Valencia,Spain but the Focus are made in Germany now.In Spain they are making S-Max,C-Max,I think the Mondeo too and some vans..Some petrol Focus have the exhaust pipe on the right and the filler is on the right too,all of them have the filler on the right side..

 

[kamkar]

I have driven UK cars, quite easy to get use to drive, at least if we only talk regular driving along.
What bother me a lot more is driving over there, but as usual i am probably putting more into it, but right here and now i "fear" it

 

[TonyM]

A129 Pro 4K - Dynamic Range

When commenting on the brightness of the front and rear cameras, it is important to remember that the front and rear cameras of the A129 Pro are very different from each other. The 4K front camera has a high resolution IMX317 sensor which also has a very wide dynamic range (even without enabling WDR). The FHD rear camera has a high sensitivity IMX291 Starvis sensor with a lower dynamic range.

Driving around town early this morning in bright sunlight with strong shadows, the front camera with CPL fitted maintains a very good exposure, with detail in the shadows and limited areas of burnt out highlights. The rear camera (set to EV +1/3) also maintains a decent exposure, however the shadows are darker and there are more over-exposed highlights.

Front camera 4K 30fps / EV 0 / WDR off / CPL on

Rear camera FHD 30fps / EV+1/3 / WDR off / CPL off

 

[dunkdash]

Just tried to pull the footage from yesterday's commute and there isn't anything on the memory card...Not even footage from Wednesday (which I was able to view on my computer Wednesday evening). Any ideas on what would have completely reset the memory card? I properly ejected it from my computer - are there special instructions for ejecting from the dash cam?

 

[Nigel]

Just tried to pull the footage from yesterday's commute and there isn't anything on the memory card...Not even footage from Wednesday (which I was able to view on my computer Wednesday evening). Any ideas on what would have completely reset the memory card? I properly ejected it from my computer - are there special instructions for ejecting from the dash cam?

Try putting the card back in the camera and plugging the camera into the computer via USB...

 

[dunkdash]

Try putting the card back in the camera and plugging the camera into the computer via USB...

Still not showing any files. Using a Samsung Evo Select 128 GB card.

 

[Nigel]

Still not showing any files. Using a Samsung Evo Select 128 GB card.

Seems unlikely, what sort of computer are you using?
And can you try it in another computer?
Or can you connect using the wifi and app and see any videos on the playback screen?

Can you copy a file onto the card while it is in the camera?
And what happens if you put a different card in, just in case it is the card at fault.

Also, I guess you have the camera for high temperature testing, so what was the temperature during your test?

Just so that we know for sure, is it a U1 or a U3 card? (I would expect them both to work OK.)

Note: I currently have no idea what the issue is, not something I've encountered before, and I don't know how much you know about computers or dashcams, so I'm trying to ask all the silly questions just in case they are useful!

 

[dunkdash]

I just tried a test video and I can pull that file, though all the other files from yesterday and Wednesday are gone. Not sure what would have happened yesterday to not only miss 2 hours of footage, but also remove the ~20 minutes of footage from Wednesday.

Questions answered below in bold.

Seems unlikely, what sort of computer are you using?
And can you try it in another computer?
Or can you connect using the wifi and app and see any videos on the playback screen?
Tried pulling the video in 2 different laptops - Macbook Pro and Macbook Air. Still nothing.

Can you copy a file onto the card while it is in the camera?
And what happens if you put a different card in, just in case it is the card at fault.
I don't have another card available at the moment. Maybe this evening.

Also, I guess you have the camera for high temperature testing, so what was the temperature during your test?
It was a cooler day yesterday. Only a high of 85F/29C.

Just so that we know for sure, is it a U1 or a U3 card? (I would expect them both to work OK.)
U3 card.

Note: I currently have no idea what the issue is, not something I've encountered before, and I don't know how much you know about computers or dashcams, so I'm trying to ask all the silly questions just in case they are useful!

 

[Nigel]

Only explanation I can think of is that you accidently formatted the card!
Have you run the app at all? Maybe the app formatted it unintentionally...
I've never known any of Viofo's cams completely wipe a card without being told to do so.

Note that you should format the card in the camera before first use, if you haven't done so then I suggest you do before trying again. Maybe wise even if you have since something appears to be messed up.

Some people recommend formatting the card in the camera after every time you put it in an Apple computer since they are known to mess things up a bit!

Did it have any folders on the card, or was it completely blank?

 

[kamkar]

you need to turn off the dashcam to insert or pull out the memory card, if you dont do that it can cause problems for the memory card itself, the camera should be fine with this " hot pluggin" of the memory card.

 

[dunkdash]

Only explanation I can think of is that you accidently formatted the card!
Have you run the app at all? Maybe the app formatted it unintentionally...
I've never known any of Viofo's cams completely wipe a card without being told to do so.

Note that you should format the card in the camera before first use, if you haven't done so then I suggest you do before trying again. Maybe wise even if you have since something appears to be messed up.

Some people recommend formatting the card in the camera after every time you put it in an Apple computer since they are known to mess things up a bit!

Did it have any folders on the card, or was it completely blank?

I ran the app on Wednesday, but not yesterday. No folders on the memory card - completely blank. I will be going for a shorter drive this evening so I can test it then. Not ideal testing weather today as a storm rolled through, but a test nonetheless.

I appreciate your insight. I’ll post an update once I (hopefully) get some more footage.

 

[gabilondo77]

Maybe you didn't wait enough for the camera to shutdown when you extracted the memory card..

 

[dunkdash]

Maybe you didn't wait enough for the camera to shutdown when you extracted the memory card..

That's a possibility - it looked like the camera had powered down though. Could that wipe the entire memory card clean?

 

[Nigel]

That's a possibility - it looked like the camera had powered down though. Could that wipe the entire memory card clean?

Don't think so, if you don't stop recording then the last file, or pair of files, normally gets corrupted, but that is all that goes wrong.

you need to turn off the dashcam to insert or pull out the memory card, if you dont do that it can cause problems for the memory card itself, the camera should be fine with this " hot pluggin" of the memory card.

On Novatek cameras you just need to stop recording, no need to remove power. Some of them will detect the new card and reset, others will just accept the new card.