Viofo A329 (unboxing & first impressions) (Novatek NT98530, Sony IMX678/IMX675, Wi-Fi 6, SSD, USB 3.0, microHDMI, 4K60 front + 2K rear)

[Augustus]

Have had a leave of absence for a little while, and have not been able to get around to reviewing dashcams here on DCT. However, I'm back now with the Viofo A329, the direct follow-up to 2024's well-received @viofo @VIOFO-Support A229 Pro. This model builds upon the powerhouse that is the A229 Pro, with the addition of WiFi 6, extensive SSD support (various form factors such as USB sticks, portable SSD's and SSD's in enclosures), USB 3.0 transfer speeds to devices such as smartphones, and the addition of 4K60fps native recording. All this was made possible by the move to a more efficient processor from Novatek, enabling the increased frame rates, although it drops back down to 4K30 when recording in HDR. And did I forget we have microHDMI on board to mirror and playback your Viofo footage on the big screen. Phew, a lot of new features!

Although there was a move to black packaging with the Viofo VS1, we are back to the now-familiar white with red highlights packaging with the A329. Contained within the box is a plethora of materials; we have the front and rear units, front and rear unit cabling, car charger, CPL filter for the front camera, spare 3M VHB adhesive/electrostatic stickers and black pry tool. One reverted change this year is the move back to coaxial cabling for the rear camera module (which one can see as either a positive or negative, depending on your point of view). It is nice to see that the car charger has made the change to complete USB-C ports (instead of USB-A), and the spare charges other electronic devices you may have at up to 45W. I must note that although the CPL-500 is included in the below photos, this CPL filter for the rear camera is not included in the normal retail pack for the A329, and is available as a separate purchase. The other change present with the A329 is that there is no three-channel support like there was on the A229 Pro (as of yet - this may or may not change in the coming months).

When it comes to the physical build of the A329, we are once again greeted by a solid plastic housing. This time in response to heat concerns the A229 Pro had, we have extra ventilation holes on the left and right sides of the dashcam. It carries over the design of the A229 Pro - why mess with the wedge form factor that works well, when you can iterate and make improvements. The rear camera module inherits the design of the RTC300 telephoto camera that was released as an add-on for the A229 Pro; this also has a solid and quality feel in-hand. Moving onto the installation, installation is once again a relatively straightforward affair, with no major pain points. Coaxial cabling made installation easier in tucking the rear camera cable under the headliner and pillar trims in my vehicle, which was welcome.

Will be spending the following weeks here in the middle of summer here in Australia, to test the Viofo A329. Looking forward to also testing the dashcam with a Kingston external SSD, to see how it performs and if the internal changes (and increased ventilation), makes a difference to heat dissipation and overall dashcam performance. My full review on the A329, coming soon.



Some close-up photos of the Viofo A329 dashcam:

 

[Augustus]

A quick look here at the changes Viofo has made to the chargers between the A329 and the A229 Pro. The Viofo A329 uses a new model of car charger called the D6000 (in opposition to the A229 Pro's D5000).

This is a welcome change actually, as the increased power-draw leads to greater stability of the A329 hardware, compared to the A229 Pro last generation dashcam. There were some heat-related and power-draw issues documented for the A229 Pro, so a change to 5V3A (15W) rather than 5V2.4A (12W), in spite of there being a newer more efficient chipset, is the best thing Viofo could have done. Especially considering the fact that we are now recording at 4K 60 frames per second with the A329.

 

[Augustus]

I am also super-excited to try out the SSD support the A329 possesses. I have chosen the Kingston XS1000 to be the guinea pig for my testing, over the reliable and proven Samsung T7/T7 Shield (and much maligned and unreliable SanDisk Extreme Pro). The Viofo 1.8m cable is available for purchase separately to facilitate installation in a location such as the glovebox. There is also a 2.5m cable from Viofo that wasn't available at launch but now is.

 

[tonymy01]

So far so good for me for this in our hot Aussie (Sydney) sun, the 3 weeks before Christmas I was daily starting to drive the car after it was parked facing north in the full sun the entire morning & early afternoon in 30-33degC days we had then, driving for about 30-40mins after that heat soak at around ~3pm and it was performing fine. However since I have owned it I have heard it reboot once during normal operation, I don't think related to heat in that instance (as had air-conditioning on for a while when that happened). I didn't have parking mode running at that time as it was powered from the cigarette lighter plug until I could hard wire it just after Xmas.

Parking mode works reasonably well although I wish it had an extra motion sensor (G) only option as the video motion+G option means that parking it on a busy street it is esentially just recording fulltime. But having moved from a very old Blackvue with power-magic pro, the quality and abilty to download vids quickly, plus it seems more power efficient (power magic pro would kill parking mode fairly quickly due to battery drain to below 12.2v or whatever I had it set at). It is good to have the 90sec options for switching to parking mode, it means the brief dip in voltage when you lock the car doesn't trigger it to switch off (is also good for if you have an accident and/or switch off the engine to allow it to continue recording for a bit after the event). The delayed start option is also a good idea, I have had a cheapie Novatek based thing (Elinz DCMAX/LS03) in our other car have all sorts of issues dealing with not switching off properly and not switching to parking mode when it gets confused about the state it is in, presumably from voltage dips while starting or stopping? I gave up on parking mode completely for that unit, I was hoping the issue didn't carry over in all Novatek units and so far so good, the A329 is behaving reasonably in transitioning between parking mode and normal mode.

Small gripe- would be good to be able to easily enable wifi by a single quick button press, currently have to stop recording which I think is a long hold of one of the buttons, and again a long hold on the wifi button, it seems count-intutive for the button with wifi labelling to have a different function for short press (view change) vs long press! I haven't worked out exactly how the bluetooth button works either, it seems hit and miss (I can easily get it to mute and unmute, and the primary snapshot/locking function, but again with the wifi button it doesn't seem to do anything, perhaps as it is in recording mode?)

Edit: OK, it seems I was pushing the A329 wifi button too long, when pressed for a slightly shorter time it enables wifi even during recording. Would be nice to swap the short/long function of that button since once I set the live camera view, I don't need to change it as often as using wifi to transfer recordings. Bluetooth button is still hit and miss, it doesn't always light up the led when pressing side buttons or only briefly lights the red, it seems rare to get it to light red followed by blue to enable the unit wifi function.

Overall, I bought this because most comparison vids showed it really is better than the current Blackvue (and somewhat cheaper!), so far it is exceeding my (low) expectations of previous Novatek "quirkiness", and hopefully Viofo is constantly working on ironing out these quirks anyway based on the number of f/w releases they appear to have for previous models to fix issues.

 

[Karagandinez]

However since I have owned it I have heard it reboot once during normal operation, I don't think related to heat in that instance (as had air-conditioning on for a while when that happened).

Maybe it was HDR on/off...

Small gripe- would be good to be able to easily enable wifi by a single quick button press, currently have to stop recording which I think is a long hold of one of the buttons, and again a long hold on the wifi button, it seems count-intutive for the button with wifi labelling to have a different function for short press (view change) vs long press! I haven't worked out exactly how the bluetooth button works either, it seems hit and miss (I can easily get it to mute and unmute, and the primary snapshot/locking function, but again with the wifi button it doesn't seem to do anything, perhaps as it is in recording mode?)

One press of the Wi-Fi button turns on the screen, a second press turns on the Wi-Fi.
There is no need to stop recording.

If the second button on the Bluetooth remote control in the menu is set to turn on Wi-Fi,
then one press of this button is enough to turn on Wi-Fi.

 

[Augustus]

So far so good for me for this in our hot Aussie (Sydney) sun, the 3 weeks before Christmas I was daily starting to drive the car after it was parked facing north in the full sun the entire morning & early afternoon in 30-33degC days we had then, driving for about 30-40mins after that heat soak at around ~3pm and it was performing fine. However since I have owned it I have heard it reboot once during normal operation, I don't think related to heat in that instance (as had air-conditioning on for a while when that happened). I didn't have parking mode running at that time as it was powered from the cigarette lighter plug until I could hard wire it just after Xmas.

Parking mode works reasonably well although I wish it had an extra motion sensor (G) only option as the video motion+G option means that parking it on a busy street it is esentially just recording fulltime. But having moved from a very old Blackvue with power-magic pro, the quality and abilty to download vids quickly, plus it seems more power efficient (power magic pro would kill parking mode fairly quickly due to battery drain to below 12.2v or whatever I had it set at). It is good to have the 90sec options for switching to parking mode, it means the brief dip in voltage when you lock the car doesn't trigger it to switch off (is also good for if you have an accident and/or switch off the engine to allow it to continue recording for a bit after the event). The delayed start option is also a good idea, I have had a cheapie Novatek based thing (Elinz DCMAX/LS03) in our other car have all sorts of issues dealing with not switching off properly and not switching to parking mode when it gets confused about the state it is in, presumably from voltage dips while starting or stopping? I gave up on parking mode completely for that unit, I was hoping the issue didn't carry over in all Novatek units and so far so good, the A329 is behaving reasonably in transitioning between parking mode and normal mode.

Small gripe- would be good to be able to easily enable wifi by a single quick button press, currently have to stop recording which I think is a long hold of one of the buttons, and again a long hold on the wifi button, it seems count-intutive for the button with wifi labelling to have a different function for short press (view change) vs long press! I haven't worked out exactly how the bluetooth button works either, it seems hit and miss (I can easily get it to mute and unmute, and the primary snapshot/locking function, but again with the wifi button it doesn't seem to do anything, perhaps as it is in recording mode?)

Overall, I bought this because most comparison vids showed it really is better than the current Blackvue (and somewhat cheaper!), so far it is exceeding my (low) expectations of previous Novatek "quirkiness", and hopefully Viofo is constantly working on ironing out these quirks anyway based on the number of f/w releases they appear to have for previous models to fix issues.

Thanks for sharing your experience mate and glad to hear the A329 is working well for you and is a sizeable upgrade from what you had before.

I and a couple of others had heat issues with the previous A229 Pro that would reboot in the heat (we talking 38/39/40C kind of heat). Thankfully Viofo issued firmware update which then gave a warning before shutting down, and then shut down when it got too hot (not reboot behaviour). That was a welcome change.

Hoping that with the newer more efficient processor and increased ventilation, the A329 will perform better when it comes to heat. It should do better cos it will be a SSD install for me over microSD (which traditionally gets very hot in that spot writing to the memory card, compounding the heat issues). Fingers crossed...

 

[tonymy01]

One press of the Wi-Fi button turns on the screen, a second press turns on the WiFi

I tried to do this again today, and this isn't the behaviour for me, short pressing the WiFi button swaps the display camera view layout, it has to be long pressed. I just factory reset it a few days ago (after updating to a recent fw that Viofo published on the forums somewhere) and this is the default setting, perhaps it can be changed, still learning how to use this thing, it is well hidden behind my rear view mirror so can't really see the UI very well, preferring just to manage via app. Also it regularly beeps as from what I can tell, wifi enabled temporarily disables recording.

 

[Augustus]

I tried to do this again today, and this isn't the behaviour for me, short pressing the WiFi button swaps the display camera view layout, it has to be long pressed. I just factory reset it a few days ago (after updating to a recent fw that Viofo published on the forums somewhere) and this is the default setting, perhaps it can be changed, still learning how to use this thing, it is well hidden behind my rear view mirror so can't really see the UI very well, preferring just to manage via app. Also it regularly beeps as from what I can tell, wifi enabled temporarily disables recording.

This is correct, enabling WiFi stops recording - the behaviour is the same for me on the A229 Pro and VS1 that I have. And also pressing the WiFi button as a short press, switches between different views (picture in picture for either two or three channel, and also individual view of the camera too). Long pressing the WiFi button for about three seconds toggles WiFi on or off.

 

[Augustus]

Thought I would post some screen grabs of the Viofo app on Android, showing the layout of the app and the extended settings for the dashcam itself. This mirrors the options that are available in-camera on the dashcam itself.

 

[Karagandinez]

I tried to do this again today, and this isn't the behaviour for me, short pressing the WiFi button swaps the display camera view layout, it has to be long pressed.

I described to you the actions with the camera working and the screen off.

One press of the Wi-Fi button turns on the screen, a second press turns on the Wi-Fi.

Well, turning on Wi-Fi works great when using the Bluetooth remote control.
No need to look for the Wi-Fi button on the DVR.

 

[Augustus]

Showing the installation location of the Kingston XS1000 SSD in my vehicle (2020 Kia Cerato/Forte sedan). This was using the @viofo 1.8m SSD cable. I used 3M Command Picture Hanging strips (in black colourway) to secure the SSD to the inside of the glovebox.

I have to say that after wiring the SSD cable under the headliner and down the A-pillar and down into the glovebox, it was a tight fit.

I would recommend most users use the official Viofo 2.5m cable that's available, as this gives more room for installation in case it's required.

 

[Augustus]

As a follow-up to my SSD testing, encountered the "Slow External Storage" error today whilst driving around. Luckily it abated upon next vehicle start.

Hopefully these issues will be resolved in the final public v1.1 firmware release.

 

[Karagandinez]

As a follow-up to my SSD testing, encountered the "Slow External Storage" error today whilst driving around.

I wonder why this happened...

Hopefully these issues will be resolved in the final public v1.1 firmware release.

How can firmware fix this?

Did you check the speed of the Kingston XS1000 SSD with a 1.8m cable from Viofo on your computer before installing it?

 

[lufa6977]

I would give it a go with a short USB-C cable and see what happens. I would also ask VIOFO at what speed are they writing to the SSD. I have also found a variance in USB-C cable when it came to resistance, as well length. Longer cables induce higher resistance and potential to be affected by interference from surrounding equipment. Some cables are not made as well and have a higher resistance.


Here are the specs for the Kingston.

Interface	USB 3.2 Gen 2
Speed1	Up to 1,050MB/s read, 1,000MB/s write
NAND	3D
Capacities2	1TB, 2TB
Dimensions	69.54 x 32.58 x 13.5mm
Weight	28.7g
Casing Material	Metal + Plastic
Includes	12” USB Type-C (drive) to USB Type-A (host) cable USB Type-A to USB Type-C adapter
Operating temperature	0°C~40°C
Storage temperature	-20°C~85°C
Warranty/Support7	Limited 5-year warranty with free technical support
Compatible with6	Windows® 11, 10, macOS (v.10.15.x +), Linux (v. 4.4.x +), Chrome OS™, Android™, iOS/iPadOS® (v.13+)

 

[Karagandinez]

Here are the specs for the Kingston.

To be honest, I don't believe what's written on the boxes anymore.
Literally a month ago I bought several SSDs of different sizes and modifications and they all went back to the seller.
Because they were fakes.

 

[Augustus]

I would give it a go with a short USB-C cable and see what happens. I would also ask VIOFO at what speed are they writing to the SSD. I have also found a variance in USB-C cable when it came to resistance, as well length. Longer cables induce higher resistance and potential to be affected by interference from surrounding equipment. Some cables are not made as well and have a higher resistance.


Here are the specs for the Kingston.

Interface	USB 3.2 Gen 2
Speed1	Up to 1,050MB/s read, 1,000MB/s write
NAND	3D
Capacities2	1TB, 2TB
Dimensions	69.54 x 32.58 x 13.5mm
Weight	28.7g
Casing Material	Metal + Plastic
Includes	12” USB Type-C (drive) to USB Type-A (host) cable USB Type-A to USB Type-C adapter
Operating temperature	0°C~40°C
Storage temperature	-20°C~85°C
Warranty/Support7	Limited 5-year warranty with free technical support
Compatible with6	Windows® 11, 10, macOS (v.10.15.x +), Linux (v. 4.4.x +), Chrome OS™, Android™, iOS/iPadOS® (v.13+)

Yes I already knew those specs when I was cross shopping other external SSDs before i bought the Kingston (Crucial, silicon power), and tested it when I received it. Was getting around 900mb/sec writes.

I think another user on here was asking about the official Viofo 1.8m cable and why it wasn't getting decent write speeds, but they also determined it wasn't a USB 3.1 speed cable. It doesn't have to write at those speeds to the SSD anyway, so USB 2.0 would be plenty enough. Issue here is with the dashcam itself and it's stability with writing to the SSD.

 

[Chuck McCoy]

Kingston XS1000 SSD

 

[Augustus]

View attachment 77134

Lol Kingston is a big company in the PC world for decades with pretty decent performance and reliability. For those who don't really know much about PCs, they won't understand this.

Regardless, the dashcam is a device that should work with SSDs. It's not like I've chosen a crappy no-name/fake SSD out of the blue. That compatibility list is on point with Samsung, but the SanDisk isn't as that was a model that had issues with failing that are still in the process of lawsuits. Which no one here on the forums knew of until I told them, because well, they don't keep up to date with the PC world.

That is the exact reason I chose a Kingston SSD because others have already tried the A329 with Samsung SSDs, so I thought i would give the Kingston a try for something different.

 

[lufa6977]

View attachment 77134

Agree with Agie. The problem is with VIOFO and not with the manufacturers of a SSD. This is simple stuff and writing to any SSD should be a guarantee, other than black-market fakes, of course. There can be limitation imposed by cable length and quality, but basically, any SSD should work with this dash cam. Especially as this is a premier dash cam from a premier company.

 

[Julian23]

View attachment 77134

I use SD cards that aren't on the recommendation list either. They work absolutely flawlessly.
Why not try something different?