Viofo A329T (unboxing & first impressions) (Sony Starvis 2 IMX678, Wi-Fi 6/GPS, HDR, Novatek NT98530, 4K front + 2.5K telephoto + 2.5K rear, HDR all)

[Mtz]

1. I am almost sure that the CMOS of A329S are the same as on A329
2. No. This means the cables for secondary cameras are coaxial and not USB. USB cable is needed when the encoding processor is on the secondary camera.
3. Yes.
4 & 5. The firmware is beta, the bitrate can be modified any time. Right now, maybe 80mbps (40+20+20). But my advice is to abandon the idea of asking about bitrates on Viofo dashcams because they are almost at the upper limit. More bitrate means more heat, means more returns for the manufacturer. There must be some balance. If setting 100mbps bitrate and no visible gain, then the result will be just more returned cameras. About returns because of heat, read my signature.
6 & 7. I don't know any prices. I am not asking about prices when receiving very early samples. But because of 3CH, I expect the A329S to be more expensive with at least 10% more than A329.
8. After HK5 was launched, I never used HK4. If a new hardwire kit will be launched it will be for more options for parking mode. I don't have any new hardwire kit in tests, I am still using the HK5 on all my dashcams. The HK5 has already improved power consumption in stand by mode, I don't know if a new hardwire kit will go even lower than HK5.

For me the best news regarding the parking mode is because of a much more sensitive G-Sensor setting in parking mode. If I am knocking with my finger on the front side window, the dashcam will start recording in parking mode because it will detect such shock. Until now I was not satisfied about the Viofo G-Sensor sensitivity in Parking Mode so I preferred Time-lapse 1FPS SNV. Because I am using a big battery pack, for me is not so important the low energy parking mode and I prefer to know what is happening around my car all the time when it is parked.
But of course, if my car will be parked a longer time, will be nice to have a combined parking mode of Low Bitrate or Time-lapse and after some time set by me or after some car battery voltage (ex. 12V), the parking mode to be switched to low energy parking mode with the highest sensitivity for G-Sensor.

Here you can see how quickly the camera starts to record in low energy parking mode after detecting a small hit from my finger. I think it is the fastest wake up from all dashcams from the market.

 

[lufa6977]

Of course it will have. Just the HDMI option was removed.

Thankfully VIOFO removed the HDMI port. Have you tried not-recommended SSD memory? I have a couple of Samsung and a couple of Crucial X10 I am eager to see if they work.

 

[indigo]

Thankfully VIOFO removed the HDMI port. Have you tried not-recommended SSD memory? I have a couple of Samsung and a couple of Crucial X10 I am eager to see if they work.

i think samsung and crucial can work

 

[Augustus]

i think samsung and crucial can work

Not sure about Crucial. My Kingston Xs1000 had problems so not having a good feeling about anything apart from Viofo recommended list

 

[indigo]

Not sure about Crucial. My Kingston Xs1000 had problems so not having a good feeling about anything apart from Viofo recommended list

maybe samsung and sandisk is more better

 

[Augustus]

maybe samsung and sandisk is more better

As brands, no. They're just as reliable as memory manufacturers

 

[Zerozee]

maybe samsung and sandisk is more better

Even samsung have multi series which is different price, not sure T9 work with A329

• T5
• T7
• T7 shield ( viofo recommended, different chip from T7)
• T9

 

[Augustus]

Even samsung have multi series which is different price, not sure T9 work with A329

• T5
• T7
• T7 shield ( viofo recommended, different chip from T7)
• T9

This is the exact problem I've been saying all along. Hopefully they can fix it with a firmware update to expand compatibility.

 

[ogzogz]

1. I am almost sure that the CMOS of A329S are the same as on A329
2. No. This means the cables for secondary cameras are coaxial and not USB. USB cable is needed when the encoding processor is on the secondary camera.
3. Yes.
4 & 5. The firmware is beta, the bitrate can be modified any time. Right now, maybe 80mbps (40+20+20). But my advice is to abandon the idea of asking about bitrates on Viofo dashcams because they are almost at the upper limit. More bitrate means more heat, means more returns for the manufacturer. There must be some balance. If setting 100mbps bitrate and no visible gain, then the result will be just more returned cameras. About returns because of heat, read my signature.
6 & 7. I don't know any prices. I am not asking about prices when receiving very early samples. But because of 3CH, I expect the A329S to be more expensive with at least 10% more than A329.
8. After HK5 was launched, I never used HK4. If a new hardwire kit will be launched it will be for more options for parking mode. I don't have any new hardwire kit in tests, I am still using the HK5 on all my dashcams. The HK5 has already improved power consumption in stand by mode, I don't know if a new hardwire kit will go even lower than HK5.

For me the best news regarding the parking mode is because of a much more sensitive G-Sensor setting in parking mode. If I am knocking with my finger on the front side window, the dashcam will start recording in parking mode because it will detect such shock. Until now I was not satisfied about the Viofo G-Sensor sensitivity in Parking Mode so I preferred Time-lapse 1FPS SNV. Because I am using a big battery pack, for me is not so important the low energy parking mode and I prefer to know what is happening around my car all the time when it is parked.
But of course, if my car will be parked a longer time, will be nice to have a combined parking mode of Low Bitrate or Time-lapse and after some time set by me or after some car battery voltage (ex. 12V), the parking mode to be switched to low energy parking mode with the highest sensitivity for G-Sensor.

Here you can see how quickly the camera starts to record in low energy parking mode after detecting a small hit from my finger. I think it is the fastest wake up from all dashcams from the market.

I have previously reported many times that parking modes should be adjusted and a mode should be added to record only at the moment of impact, as per the general request.

It seems to be a very good option. It will prevent constantly locked files in motion detection and will not reduce the data area. Most importantly, it will provide long-term safe parking with its efficiency in energy consumption after long-term parking.

 

[lufa6977]

.
.
For me the best news regarding the parking mode is because of a much more sensitive G-Sensor setting in parking mode. If I am knocking with my finger on the front side window, the dashcam will start recording in parking mode because it will detect such shock. Until now I was not satisfied about the Viofo G-Sensor sensitivity in Parking Mode so I preferred Time-lapse 1FPS SNV. Because I am using a big battery pack, for me is not so important the low energy parking mode and I prefer to know what is happening around my car all the time when it is parked.
But of course, if my car will be parked a longer time, will be nice to have a combined parking mode of Low Bitrate or Time-lapse and after some time set by me or after some car battery voltage (ex. 12V), the parking mode to be switched to low energy parking mode with the highest sensitivity for G-Sensor.

Here you can see how quickly the camera starts to record in low energy parking mode after detecting a small hit from my finger. I think it is the fastest wake up from all dashcams from the market.

The problem with that would be a car parked outside during high winds or a rain storm, I would think the dash cam would simply record all the time during a storm, or at least a continuous on/off pattern of recordings based on factory settings.

 

[lufa6977]

Not sure about Crucial. My Kingston Xs1000 had problems so not having a good feeling about anything apart from Viofo recommended list

I think somewhere you and I discussed the controller for Crucial and Kingston were the same, maybe it was a different brand? I also have a SanDisk Extreme Pro Portable 1TB and a SanDisk Extreme Portable 2TB drive I want to try. Both the SanDisk somehow escaped the FW debacle of a few years ago,well, SanDisk claims there is no issue with my model and SN range.

 

[Augustus]

I think somewhere you and I discussed the controller for Crucial and Kingston were the same, maybe it was a different brand? I also have a SanDisk Extreme Pro Portable 1TB and a SanDisk Extreme Portable 2TB drive I want to try. Both the SanDisk somehow escaped the FW debacle of a few years ago,well, SanDisk claims there is no issue with my model and SN range.

Think we did have that discussion and maybe still have issues with the brands even though same controller...

SanDisk has had issues over the years with overheating thumb drives, parent company western digital had issues with exploits with their hard drives, on and on. Latest this year was that certain SanDisk memory cards were recommended by Canon to be avoided too. The Extreme Pro SSDs were somewhat firmware but also hardware issues with the way they were assembled too. I wouldn't touch anything of theirs with a ten foot pole. Thankfully a lot of other people have cottoned onto this too.

 

[Nigel]

The problem with that would be a car parked outside during high winds or a rain storm, I would think the dash cam would simply record all the time during a storm, or at least a continuous on/off pattern of recordings based on factory settings.

A little bit of AI should be able to turn down the sensitivity if there are continuous triggers, so that the battery and memory card only get used for the higher impact events until things calm down again. The idea of this parking mode is that the battery can last for weeks, and clearly that is not going to happen with continuous triggering, so it needs better logic than the very basic.

 

[Mtz]

I have previously reported many times that parking modes should be adjusted and a mode should be added to record only at the moment of impact, as per the general request.

It seems to be a very good option. It will prevent constantly locked files in motion detection and will not reduce the data area. Most importantly, it will provide long-term safe parking with its efficiency in energy consumption after long-term parking.

For previous dashcams, using just the shock sensor when the camera was always on and consuming a lot of power, was not a good idea. The previous G-Sensor settings were too insensitive for my expectations and this could result in a dashcam depleting the car battery and recording nothing. Better to record something as Auto event or everything with Low bitrate or time-lapse by using the same power.
Few years ago there was a beta firmware for A129 Pro with a very sensitive setting for the G-Sensor for parking mode and it was working as expected. Unfortunately that firmware was not approved and the shock detection in parkin mode remained useless for me.

Now with the low energy parking mode the shock only detection make a sense not only because of minimal power consumption but also because the wake up is fantastic and people can not complain about missing footage. More than that, there is a G-Sensor sensitivity like I am expecting, but also the G-Sensor sensitivity standard as desired by some people which expect to find their car totaled in parking.

The problem with that would be a car parked outside during high winds or a rain storm, I would think the dash cam would simply record all the time during a storm, or at least a continuous on/off pattern of recordings based on factory settings.

If you are living in an area were are always high winds and rain storms you should not use a dashcam in parking mode because you will see nothing because of such conditions. The same in an area where it is always snowing.

 

[lufa6977]

A little bit of AI should be able to turn down the sensitivity if there are continuous triggers, so that the battery and memory card only get used for the higher impact events until things calm down again. The idea of this parking mode is that the battery can last for weeks, and clearly that is not going to happen with continuous triggering, so it needs better logic than the very basic.

I agree, no doubt, a good place to use AI. I would think that many users will grow weary of switching to a less sensitive parking mode every time there is a 2 or 3 day thunderstorm in the forecast, or parking on busy streets, and the such. It seems to me this highly sensitive mode is great if the car is in a parking garage, at night time in a quiet neighborhood, these sort of places.

 

[SafeDriveSolutions]

Can you tell us -- without citing details -- whether any new features were added in addition to the new cameras? I'll settle for yes or no.

Looks like a lot of info is being leaked on here. The amount of detail from people who are supposed to be trusted with information that are leaking info is quite interesting..

There are features that Bill and Leo showed me that nobody knows on here. Will be a great surprise for many. If that somehow gets leaked I will be very surprised @viofo specifically told me noone else knows.

Not going to comment until I have one in my hands in a few weeks.

 

[jsmith]

1. I am almost sure that the CMOS of A329S are the same as on A329
2. No. This means the cables for secondary cameras are coaxial and not USB. USB cable is needed when the encoding processor is on the secondary camera.
3. Yes.
4 & 5. The firmware is beta, the bitrate can be modified any time. Right now, maybe 80mbps (40+20+20). But my advice is to abandon the idea of asking about bitrates on Viofo dashcams because they are almost at the upper limit. More bitrate means more heat, means more returns for the manufacturer. There must be some balance. If setting 100mbps bitrate and no visible gain, then the result will be just more returned cameras. About returns because of heat, read my signature.
6 & 7. I don't know any prices. I am not asking about prices when receiving very early samples. But because of 3CH, I expect the A329S to be more expensive with at least 10% more than A329.
8. After HK5 was launched, I never used HK4. If a new hardwire kit will be launched it will be for more options for parking mode. I don't have any new hardwire kit in tests, I am still using the HK5 on all my dashcams. The HK5 has already improved power consumption in stand by mode, I don't know if a new hardwire kit will go even lower than HK5.

For me the best news regarding the parking mode is because of a much more sensitive G-Sensor setting in parking mode. If I am knocking with my finger on the front side window, the dashcam will start recording in parking mode because it will detect such shock. Until now I was not satisfied about the Viofo G-Sensor sensitivity in Parking Mode so I preferred Time-lapse 1FPS SNV. Because I am using a big battery pack, for me is not so important the low energy parking mode and I prefer to know what is happening around my car all the time when it is parked.
But of course, if my car will be parked a longer time, will be nice to have a combined parking mode of Low Bitrate or Time-lapse and after some time set by me or after some car battery voltage (ex. 12V), the parking mode to be switched to low energy parking mode with the highest sensitivity for G-Sensor.

Here you can see how quickly the camera starts to record in low energy parking mode after detecting a small hit from my finger. I think it is the fastest wake up from all dashcams from the market.

May I ask why you prefer shock detection over low bitrate? or Time Lapse?

I presume shock detection is still reliant upon the buffered parking mode where the camera must wake up to record the incident. I've always been skeptical of the camera turning fast enough and saving ample footage to capture the entire event.

Time Lapse isn't a great option. A lot can be missed at 1 FPS.

The most ideal method is still low bitrate parking mode.

 

[SafeDriveSolutions]

May I ask why you prefer shock detection over low bitrate? or Time Lapse?

I presume shock detection is still reliant upon the buffered parking mode where the camera must wake up to record the incident. I've always been skeptical of the camera turning fast enough and saving ample footage to capture the entire event.

Time Lapse isn't a great option. A lot can be missed at 1 FPS.

The most ideal method is still low bitrate parking mode.

The most ideal solution for you is low bitrate.

It is not the ideal solution for everyone.

 

[Nigel]

May I ask why you prefer shock detection over low bitrate? or Time Lapse?
Time Lapse isn't a great option. A lot can be missed at 1 FPS.

The most ideal method is still low bitrate parking mode.

I much prefer low bitrate when parked at the supermarket, however I don't need low bitrate when parked at home, so I am happy if it switches into impact detection, which uses so little power that I don't need a dashcam battery, it can simply run of the car battery all night, while parked in a pitch black garage, and it doesn't matter how many channels it has!

Low bitrate with 3 channels, even with a dedicated dashcam parking battery, will not run all weekend while the car is not in use. Using most of the dashcam battery for low bitrate, and then switching to impact detection before the battery is empty will allow it to give excellent protection for part of the weekend and good protection all weekend, and all week too if needed.

I presume shock detection is still reliant upon the buffered parking mode where the camera must wake up to record the incident. I've always been skeptical of the camera turning fast enough and saving ample footage to capture the entire event.

No buffering on the impact detection, it is sleeping, with all the image sensors turned off, that is how it uses so little power.

Until now, most dashcams have taken many seconds to wake up and start recording from sleep, which has not been much use, but with sub 1 second impact to recording, it is a good option for some people, as safedrivesolutions suggests, but you don't have to use it if it is not what you want. The A329S should start recording fast enough that safedrivesolutions with his basketball can't escape from the frame before he has been recorded! Not as good as low bitrate with a big enough battery, but it will work for much longer between charges, and doesn't actually require a dashcam battery.

 

[Mtz]

I would think that many users will grow weary of switching to a less sensitive parking mode every time there is a 2 or 3 day thunderstorm in the forecast, or parking on busy streets, and the such. It seems to me this highly sensitive mode is great if the car is in a parking garage, at night time in a quiet neighborhood, these sort of places.

From where do you know that a rain or thunderstorm will create parking files in low energy parking mode? And even they will trigger the G-Sensor, I consider is not a tragedy to have some parking videos on the card in a day when it is raining.

May I ask why you prefer shock detection over low bitrate? or Time Lapse?

I didn't write I prefer shock detection.

I presume shock detection is still reliant upon the buffered parking mode where the camera must wake up to record the incident. I've always been skeptical of the camera turning fast enough and saving ample footage to capture the entire event.

As Nigel wrote, there is no need for a video buffering. If you want to capture footage before the parking incident you can use Auto Event mode, but the power consumption will be much bigger. After you will see more videos about this low energy parking mode you will stop to be skeptical about the wake up time.

Time Lapse isn't a great option. A lot can be missed at 1 FPS.

As space used and because of the SNV feature the time-lapse 1FPS is a great feature. If an F35 will hit your car it is possible to miss something at 1FPS but in normal parking and traffic conditions you will miss nothing. You are just assuming that you can miss something at 1FPS and not speaking from reality.

The most ideal method is still low bitrate parking mode.

In my opinion is ideal only because it contains audio. If somebody consider that the audio is not important can chose time-lapse.

With all functions of Viofo parking mode you should be afraid only if somebody will come exactly from the side of the car, hit or scratch the car and leaving exactly from the side of the car. In that situation even you have front and rear cameras and the best parking mode, nothing of them will help. But it can help the interior camera of A329S which is wide angle and it can capture some details. Not perfect, but will be something.