VIOFO A329 2CH - Testing / Review - RCG

[vvs49]

My 329 supports 4K on the rear camera too!!
Interpolation

 

[Nigel]

Quite by accident I found the ragged edge of some a few years ago, written in Chinese for the most part.

Novatek is Korean, and I would expect the Chinese to use the English version.

 

[lufa6977]

Novatek is Korean, and I would expect the Chinese to use the English version.

Could have been Korean language then; not being Asian, I can only take a best guess. 🙂

But...Korea was not where the information was found, twas Taiwan as I recall which, as far as I know, is where Novatek is based. They have offices in China, Hong Kong, U.S. and Japan, but I am not aware of any in Korea.

Novatek

 

[rcg530]

I think I found the FCC ID# for the Miofive S1 Ultra.
Is this the correct model camera?

FCC ID 2A2Z5S1PROS1ULTRAS1 - Dash cam

FCC ID 2A2Z5S1PROS1ULTRAS1 application and certification details for Dash cam by Cruise Cloud Technology (Shenzhen) Corporation Limited.

fccid.io

The internal photos do not show what image sensor is used.
However it shows the processor is the Novatek NT96580BG, (see attached photos).
That’s the same processor as the;
A229 Duo IMX335 (2022)
A229 Plus IMX675 (2023)

Is the Miofive a Fake 4K camera?
Is the NT96580 capable of running two 4K image sensors (front & rear)?

Hey @Nigel how do I find the specs on the NT96580 to see if it’s capable of running two 4K image sensors?

The S1 Ultra's "About > Legal & Regulatory" screen shows that FCC ID. That FCC ID is used across three models [as the ID value suggests] of MIOFIVE dash cameras [S1, S1 Pro, S1 Ultra] and it's for the radio equipment in the dash camera. The pictures in the FCC documents are of the S1 Pro dash camera, not the S1 Ultra.

 

[Chuck McCoy]

The S1 Ultra's "About > Legal & Regulatory" screen shows that FCC ID. That FCC ID is used across three models [as the ID value suggests] of MIOFIVE dash cameras [S1, S1 Pro, S1 Ultra] and it's for the radio equipment in the dash camera. The pictures in the FCC documents are of the S1 Pro dash camera, not the S1 Ultra.

Right on, thanks for the clarification.
So this means we still don't know what processor is in the camera you are currently testing, (S1 Ultra)?
Do you have (2) test units so you can disassemble one for identification?

 

[Chuck McCoy]

They are also marked confidential, so even if I might have one, I couldn't post it, thus they are hard to find!

Do you mean like these?
-

NT96650-ES datasheet, processor equivalent, Novatek

NT96650-ES datasheet, NT96650-ES processor equivalent, Novatek, Features and benefits, Stock and price

www.datasheet4u.com

-

NT96655 datasheet, processor equivalent, Novatek

NT96655 datasheet, NT96655 processor equivalent, Novatek, Features and benefits, Stock and price

www.datasheet4u.com

-

NT96632BG datasheet, processor equivalent, Novatek

NT96632BG datasheet, NT96632BG processor equivalent, Novatek, Features and benefits, Stock and price

www.datasheet4u.com

-

NT96660 datasheet, processor equivalent, Novatek

NT96660 datasheet, NT96660 processor equivalent, Novatek, Features and benefits, Stock and price

www.datasheet4u.com

Also, most people are reasonably happy with 1080 video from the rear, 2K is plenty, so there isn't much demand for 4K

I’ve grown tired of hearing this since October 2019.
I want nothing but the best from every remote camera, (front, rear, left side, right side, interior).
They should all have identical image sensors, and Bitates, no compromise.
Let’s gooooooooooo!

I know, I know, hurry up, and wait. lol

 

[Nigel]

Do you mean like these?

Those are marked "No Disclosure" as well as "Confidential" - two different stamps!

They should all have identical image sensors, and Bitates, no compromise.
Let’s gooooooooooo!

Yes, someday we will have 4K on all channels, but not someday this year.
Might not get your 100Mb/s on all channels for a few years yet though.
But we might get an AV1 codec long before that, and not need 100mb/s anyway!

I want nothing but the best from every remote camera, (front, rear, left side, right side, interior).

Some people choose to compromise due to cost, you don't want to compromise on the HDR, but do you really need 4K for left and right?
Yes, there are people who would pay for your 16K 360° dashcam + 4K interior, but not many! (That is 4K + 4K + 4K + 4K, front + back + left + right = 360°, + 4K interior 110° separate.)

 

[Chuck McCoy]

do you really need 4K for left and right?

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

no compromise.

 

[rcg530]

Four 1-minute daytime sample videos [rainy day and sunny day] from the A329 2-channel dash camera with firmware v1.1_241227.

Firmware: v1.1_241227
Front: 4K 60 fps / CPL / EV 0.0
Rear: 2K 30 fps / No CPL / EV 0.0

Rainy Day:

Sunny Day:

 

[lufa6977]

I am still a fan of 4K60FPS; the day time vid really looks good, to me anyway. As for the sound quality, it sounds OK to me, but I don't buy a dash cam for audio fidelity. 🙂

 

[Chuck McCoy]

Firmware: v1.1_241227

Post in thread 'VIOFO A329 FIRMWARE'

Jan 1, 2025

This is the new V1.1 version, now ready for public testing.

Change Log:

1. Optimized 4K 60fps daytime video quality
2. Optimized external SSD support
3. Optimized audio quality
4. Fixed Auto HDR issue

• viofo

• 

Change Log:
1.) Optimized 4K 60fps daytime video quality
Can you see any improvements in Daytime 4K60fps?
I filmed some test footage, but I only have one A329 test unit, so I can't compare side by side.

Post in thread 'A329 2CH (2024) Test & Review PP'

Jan 2, 2025

“New” unofficial firmware V1.1 241227
4K60fps
1-CH configuration
97.5 Mbps Bitrate
CPL Filter On

• Chuck McCoy

 

[Predat0r]

How did you get 97.5 mbps bitrate? I have mine set at maximum quality and I'm getting 65.60 mbps.

 

[rcg530]

How did you get 97.5 mbps bitrate? I have mine set at maximum quality and I'm getting 65.60 mbps.

The A329 will record at 97.5 Mbps bitrate when it's running in a 1-channel configuration and the bitrate setting is at maximum.

 

[Predat0r]

Ahh! That makes sense.

 

[Hack_man]

A329 2CH Power Consumption Testing

Please keep in mind that the A329 2CH dash camera I used for my testing is a pre-production/prototype unit. There may be optimizations made in the hardware or firmware (after v1.0_240830) that may impact the power consumption test results.

The A329 supports writing new video files to an external USB-C memory device (primarily a Portable SSD). The A329 must provide power to the external storage device which of course will increase the power consumption of the A329 when configured in that manner. I have two rows for each video/test configuration so I show the "microSD only" power consumption and when a portable SSD device is configured as the primary storage destination for new video files. I used a SanDisk 1TB Extreme PRO Portable SSD during my power consumption testing with a SSD connected to the A329. Since the SSD draws power from the A329, parking mode times are reduced when compared to the microSD card parking mode time estimates.

Power Consumption Test Results [click on thumbnail to see]
View attachment 74154

Parking mode time estimates based on the power consumption test data [click on thumbnail to see]

View attachment 74155

One thing to note about AED parking mode when the SSD is the primary storage for the A329 is that the A329 does seem to reduce power to the SSD drive while the A329 is waiting for an impact or motion event. Since the A329 is buffering video/audio when the impact/motion event takes place, the A329 has some time to fully power up the SSD to begin writing the video to the SSD file system. Power consumption remains at motion/impact recording levels for approx 60 secs when first starting AED mode or an AED recording completes.

View attachment 74160

Maybe a silly question but I'm asking anyway:

1. Why are the Avg entries for mA@12.6 Volts and Watts equal to the Min data points as circled below from the Post #4 Power Consumption spreadsheet?

 

[rcg530]

Maybe a silly question but I'm asking anyway:

1. Why are the Avg entries for mA@12.6 Volts and Watts equal to the Min data points as circled below from the Post #4 Power Consumption spreadsheet?

View attachment 77211

Because I measure the power consumption over a minimum of 5-minutes [or longer]. For this particular test, the "max" mA value occurs immediately after powering off the dash camera with a long press of the <PWR> button. The power consumption value floats downward to the 7 mA value after a minute or so of being powered off. I use a Fluke 117 multimeter to measure the min, max and average power consumption values over the tested time period and this what it reported for those value after more than 5-minutes of being powered off.

 

[Trafik Gurmesi]

Is coaxial cable same with a139’s cable?

 

[Nigel]

Is coaxial cable same with a139’s cable?

No, the connectors are a size larger, the A139 connectors were too small for some people.
I believe the cable would work, but would need converting from MMCX to MCX connectors.