Viofo A139 Pro - 1|2|3 Channel 4K STARVIS-2 HDR + FHD dashcam

IMHO, to make conclusion, need to see evening and night photos/video.
 
LOL!
I’m doing the same thing. These guys are dang geniuses! Great information and kudos to them for the in depth analysis. I’m just waiting for any last bit of information before I place my order and before the end of the month deal on the free 128G sd card.

I’ve got my cart ready to go. Doubled up on the hardwire kit, remote, front camera gps mount, and rear camera so I can move the front camera between vehicles. Hopefully I’ll never need the camera footage due to an accident. All in all, pretty cheap insurance if you do have a mishap. Or maybe I’m just watching too many YouTube videos.
 
72guy said:
I’m just waiting for any last bit of information before I place my order and before the end of the month deal on the free 128G sd card.
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The reason for there being not much footage posted at present is that it is still being worked on, and footage posted now may not match the production hardware/firmware. There have been some hardware modifications for the production units that should improve the night time footage, which has been a bit noisy on the pre-production units. There have also been modifications to the HDR related firmware, again we are not quite sure how good it will end up.

However production units should now have been shipped, with production firmware, so I expect some new footage, including nighttime will be posted in the next day or two.

I don't think the engineers have finished with the firmware yet though, so there may be additional improvements over the next few months, as has happened with previous cameras.

Is it better than the DR900? Yes, definitely, the sensor is a significant step forward. The main issue at the moment is that the sensor is sensitive enough to see a lot of flicker in sodium lamps and fluorescent tubes that flicker at 50/60Hz, plus LED traffic lights and tail lights that flicker at a few hundred Hz. To avoid seeing this flicker it is necessary to extend the exposure time, which in turn causes quite a lot of motion blur, so the results are not as good as hoped for, and not as good as they could be if we didn't have to record flickering LED lamps, it is in some ways a bit disappointing! But it is definitely an improvement in many ways over previous cameras. Another issue is that the HDR works great if your headlights are illuminating the reflective number plate/road sign that you want to read, but it doesn't work for plates that are out of the headlamp beam, so the results depend on the beam produced by your headlamps, and different people are getting different results. It will be interesting to see what people make of the production units, I expect some people to be happier than others.


72guy said:
I’ve got my cart ready to go. Doubled up on the hardwire kit, remote, front camera gps mount, and rear camera so I can move the front camera between vehicles.
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Well don't miss any special offers! I don't think you are going to be able to buy a better dashcam anytime soon.

KoSoVaR said:
Any other gotchas before I ship it? Thanks for the entertainment!
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Just be aware that it is a new camera, just released, so you are taking a little extra risk over the more established dashcams. It is based on the standard A139 that has been very reliable though, so I don't think there is much reason to be worried.

72guy said:
Hopefully I’ll never need the camera footage due to an accident. All in all, pretty cheap insurance if you do have a mishap. Or maybe I’m just watching too many YouTube videos.
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Chances are that your insurance would sort everything out anyway, but it can save a lot of hassle if you do have an accident, hassle that can sometimes last for years and may require lawyers if there is an argument about what happened , it is definitely worth it for that.

In some countries it is also well worth having so that you can report dangerous driving to the police and so make our roads safer for everyone. A 4K dashcam that can read speeding number plates at a bit of distance is a big advantage for that since our police will only take an interest if they can read the plates.
 
Nigel said:
Just be aware that it is a new camera, just released, so you are taking a little extra risk over the more established dashcams. It is based on the standard A139 that has been very reliable though, so I don't think there is much reason to be worried.
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Has there been any chatter about BlackVue using the starvis 2 on their next gen cameras? Isn’t their release cycle usually around November time frames and is the 900X Plus that release for 2022?

I had the original 900 in my Tesla before they released their dashcam features. Now I’m in the market for a dashcam for my new car.

@Nigel is there any “future proofing” when wiring that I should do so that I can interchange cameras ? From the looks at the marketing material the new a139 pro has a slimmer, but proprietary connector?
 
KoSoVaR said:
Has there been any chatter about BlackVue using the starvis 2 on their next gen cameras? Isn’t their release cycle usually around November time frames and is the 900X Plus that release for 2022?
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I've not heard any about Blackvue...

Other manufacturers will join in before long, the Starvis-2 sensors are significantly better, but I doubt that many will want to go for this large 4K sensor, most will want to use a size smaller, and currently that means 2K resolution. The HDR on the A139 Pro tends to work much better with 4K resolution because the plate has to be lit by your headlamp beams, which tends to happen at distance but not close to; so until Sony release a smaller 4K Starvis-2, the A139 Pro is likely to have a very significant advantage over most, though there will likely be some competition fairly soon.

KoSoVaR said:
@Nigel is there any “future proofing” when wiring that I should do so that I can interchange cameras ? From the looks at the marketing material the new a139 pro has a slimmer, but proprietary connector?
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Power is from USB-C, but I recommend the appropriate Viofo hardwire kit, otherwise you probably won't have parking mode and may not have sufficient power.

The cable to the rear camera is a standard mini coax, but it uses smaller connectors than any other camera, only thing it is compatible with is the standard A139.

If you are routing a cable through your headliner, make sure you can either use it to pull another through, or leave some string in there to pull another through, then it is normally pretty quick to install cables through the headliner. Depending on the car of course!
 
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Well at least for your hallmark models you will probably want starvis 2 in them soon, and i would be okay with lesser sensors ( resolution ) was not starvis 2, but for 4K it do make insanely good sense to me.

Mind you, i do have a very relaxed expectations to dashcams performance not least in low light.
What i really would like to see are cameras using a higher bitrate, CUZ having tested a lot of cameras on the IMX 335 sensor lately, it is clear that they would do well with more bitrate as it would probably double the number of frames where you have a actual chance of a plate capture.
CUZ looking close at footage i feel that while the plate are within optical range, blocking in the footage make it impossible to read, and so you have to skip more frames ahead to when it is very close and then you have your 1 - 2 chances.
But 8 chances would be so much better.

BUT ! i dont want high bitrate files on measly memory cards.
 
KoSoVaR said:
Has there been any chatter about BlackVue using the starvis 2 on their next gen cameras? Isn’t their release cycle usually around November time frames and is the 900X Plus that release for 2022?
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The "DR900X Plus" dash camera was released in September 2021. So far, I've not heard anything from Pittasoft about any upcoming BlackVue models, but maybe they're just not including me in any testing of newer models. IDK.

New BlackVue DR900X Plus Series 4K Dashcam Available Now - September 6, 2021
 
KoSoVaR said:
Has there been any chatter about BlackVue using the starvis 2 on their next gen cameras?
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For sure BlackVue will not release a dashcam with Starvis 2 in 2022. Companies like Blackvue are moving slower with the new technology. If they will use IMX678 I expect this after the spring of 2023.
Nigel said:
Power is from USB-C, but I recommend the appropriate Viofo hardwire kit, otherwise you probably won't have parking mode and may not have sufficient power.
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The A139 Pro will need the most power from all Viofo dashcams and they must be powered only with original car charger or only with the HK4 sent by the seller when buying A139 Pro. It is not recommended to use an already installed HK4.

Another issue is that the HDR works great if your headlights are illuminating the reflective number plate/road sign that you want to read, but it doesn't work for plates that are out of the headlamp beam, so the results depend on the beam produced by your headlamps, and different people are getting different results.
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I have good LED headlights, the car license numbers in my country are very visible, with big characters, so my car license snapshots will be better than others and much better than USA.
 
Mtz said:
The A139 Pro will need the most power from all Viofo dashcams and they must be powered only with original car charger or only with the HK4 sent by the seller when buying A139 Pro. It is not recommended to use an already installed HK4.
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Mtz, the A139 Pro ships with the HK3 ( straight power plug ) vs the HK4 which has the 90* power plug. However, I would think that either one would work? Also, you seem to indicate that an identical HK4 power plug is not recommended if it’s not the power plug that came with the original dashcam.

I’m curious where that information comes from. The reason being, I wouldn’t think Viofo would sell the HK3 and 4 as accessories if they weren’t going to work with cameras they’ve already sold. Also, I’m buying a second HK3 power cord for another vehicle so I can easily transfer the dashcam from one vehicle to another. I think I might be misunderstanding what you’re saying.
 
72guy said:
Mtz, the A139 Pro ships with the HK3 ( straight power plug ) vs the HK4 which has the 90* power plug. However, I would think that either one would work? Also, you seem to indicate that an identical HK4 power plug is not recommended if it’s not the power plug that came with the original dashcam.

I’m curious where that information comes from. The reason being, I wouldn’t think Viofo would sell the HK3 and 4 as accessories if they weren’t going to work with cameras they’ve already sold. Also, I’m buying a second HK3 power cord for another vehicle so I can easily transfer the dashcam from one vehicle to another. I think I might be misunderstanding what you’re saying.
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Both HK3 and HK4 can work with A139 Pro. The HK3 or HK4 sold with A139 Pro is an optimized version.
 
KoSoVaR said:
It looks like the Porsche Taycan uses ATO fuses (https://www.taycanforum.com/forum/threads/dash-cams.816/page-7#post-98833). Would you mind confirming your understanding and also just to make sure, you don’t have an option to order ATO fuses with the a139 pro, right ?
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You can pick up a couple of add-a-fuse, along with fuses, at Auto Zone or any other auto parts store. The prices on Amazon are cheap and everyone seems to use them with no issues. But I was unsure of the quality and amp ratings. The same could be said about the add-a-fuse that you can order through Viofo. However, I wouldn’t think Viofo would make them an available option if they were of an inferior quality. The ATC fuses are interchangeable with the ATO. At least that’s what they say online and we know that has to be true.

I’m familiar with Littelfuse and Bussmann/Eaton. They also list the amp specs for their fuse taps. The Bussmann BP/HHA-RP is the tap you need for ATO which is a Standard size fuse same as the ATC. Only difference is closed plastic housing ( C ) vs open element housing ( O ). Here are the amp specs on the tap.
ATC fuse; main fuse at specified circuit rating up to 40A max. Additional circuit up to 10A max.
Here’s some information on the Bussmann website

Littelfuse

ATO - Littelfuse

m.littelfuse.com m.littelfuse.com

ATO Add-A-Circuit

Wikipedia
  • Regular (APR / ATC / ATO / ATS) blade-type fuses, also known as standard, were developed in 1976 as ATO by Littelfuse[2] for low voltage use in motor vehicles. Bussmann makes the ATC[3] that also complies with the same ISO 8820-3 and SAE J1284 standards. OptiFuse, a newer entrant in the market, makes regular (APR / ATC / ATO) fuses that meet the same standards.[4]
Also, if you’re wondering about the load capacity of the 16AWG wire that is used on most of these add-a-fuse. From Google
Based on Table 310.16 of the NEC, 16 AWG copper wires are suitable for up to 18 amps in standard circuits with insulation and terminations rated for 90°C. Continuous loads used with this size should not exceed 8 amps.Oct 31, 2022
 
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I use add a fuse adapters in my car, with a 5 A fuse for the new circuit established, this have at times been driving 2 dashcam systems for a total of 5 cameras ( 3 + 2 )
 
72guy said:
Mtz, the A139 Pro ships with the HK3 ( straight power plug ) vs the HK4 which has the 90* power plug.
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I’m curious where that information comes from.
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I am using HK4 just because I have installed in car about 5 dashcams for my tests, 4 of them are with USB-C and only one it is using HK3-C so was no reason for me to install also a HK3-C when I can use HK4 also for A139.
But for A139 series the correct hardwire kit version is HK3-C and not HK3. You can use HK4 instead of HK3-C but you cannot use HK3 instead of HK3-C.
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As you seen, Viofo confirmed my information. It is your choice what to do your HK3-C, if you want to move in another car, to change the HK3-C with another. Compared to others which will do mistakes you received the information and you should follow it to not make mistakes.
 
Thanks, Mtz. I think I’m following what you’re saying. I wasn’t aware that there was an HK3 and HK4 power cable vs the HK3-C and HK4-C. I was just trying to be brief ( stating HK3/4 ) in my post when I was actually making reference to the “ C “ versions of the cables.

Anyway, I am ordering two of the HK3-C direct wire kits and I should be good. Thanks again for the clarification.
 
There is no HK4-C and will not be.
 
Probably why Viofo doesn’t show it on their website ;-)
 
kamkar said:
i forgot the memory card for the vantrue E2 in the rush to get out of the door.
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Thanks for the reminder Nigel, I took the card out of my SG9665GC V2 last Wednesday and have forgotten to put it back in the dashcam. Bash Head.gif
 
Thats a big problem with older cameras, at least new one will sound a alarm.
 
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