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)

[Julian23]

Are you using two bluetooth buttons or voice control?
I'm thinking of using two cameras too.

It's not possible to pair one remote with 2 units.

 

[lufa6977]

Are you using two bluetooth buttons or voice control?
I'm thinking of using two cameras too.

Voice control has worked very well so far. You will have two WiFi ID's on your cell phone VIOFO app and you can accept the default identity for each dash cam or set your own such as 'Front' and 'Back'. I leave the passwords the same for both cameras. Car is a Subaru Outback and I never had an issue with the rear A229 Pro understanding me. At present, I did remove the A229 Pro due to wire breaking on SuperCap, and put in my A129 Pro which does not have voice control. A small bother to mess with the A129 Pro but I soldered the SuperCap back onto the board of my A229 Pro yesterday so soon the A229 Pro will be back in the Outback.

Incidentally, if anyone wants to know, the A229 Pro will operate quite well without the SuperCap attached. Power off and file closure are brutal but the dash cam will operate and record video.

 

[lufa6977]

Are the FCC reports not adequate? They do the tests with the rear cameras installed.

Essentially 'yes'. However, in the RC world we discovered a lot of flaky and noisy BNC/SMA and U.FL connections. We started checking our transmitters and receivers and took crimping actions (as a rule), or simply correctly seating the connector to clear up the noise.

 

[xenen]

Any chance the new interior camera will be backward compatible with A229?

 

[emperrorpenguin]

It's not possible to pair one remote with 2 units.

Ok, too bad, thanks.

Voice control has worked very well so far. You will have two WiFi ID's on your cell phone VIOFO app and you can accept the default identity for each dash cam or set your own such as 'Front' and 'Back'. I leave the passwords the same for both cameras. Car is a Subaru Outback and I never had an issue with the rear A229 Pro understanding me. At present, I did remove the A229 Pro due to wire breaking on SuperCap, and put in my A129 Pro which does not have voice control. A small bother to mess with the A129 Pro but I soldered the SuperCap back onto the board of my A229 Pro yesterday so soon the A229 Pro will be back in the Outback.

Incidentally, if anyone wants to know, the A229 Pro will operate quite well without the SuperCap attached. Power off and file closure are brutal but the dash cam will operate and record video.

Thanks.
First I would have to find a acc wire in the back of the car.
Would be nice to save the work of laying a cable from front to back.

 

[Augustus]

Any chance the new interior camera will be backward compatible with A229?

Guessing not, but I could be wrong. If it's using the usb-c port then perhaps but coaxial being used for a lot of stuff so who knows the exact cabling connection combinations

 

[lufa6977]

.
First I would have to find a acc wire in the back of the car.
Would be nice to save the work of laying a cable from front to back.

I would think it to be easier to find power in a SUV / UTE or something with a hatchback, especially if you do not plan on using Parking Mode. Remember all you need is 5 vdc and 1.5 to 2 amps. I decided to use parking mode so I took a VIOFO HK4-C and extended the power leads so I could mount the voltage step-down module at the rear of the car and then pulled the extended power leads to the front where the fuse box is. It was a little bit of effort but using 18/3 all copper wire kept voltage drop to the step-down module minimal which enabled the step down to work properly on sensing voltage from the battery and supplying voltage to the dash cam.

 

[Karagandinez]

First I would have to find a acc wire in the back of the car.
Would be nice to save the work of laying a cable from front to back.

I can't find a post where it was written that Viofo has a 6m long HK4.
But if you contact Viofo support, I think they will help you buy such an HK4.

 

[lufa6977]

I can't find a post where it was written that Viofo has a 6m long HK4.
But if you contact Viofo support, I think they will help you buy such an HK4.

VIOFO have been good about making custom cables for their customers, all it takes is a support ticket. I already had the HK4 on hand so I modified it, but, where I to do this again I would simply ask VIOFO to custom make me a cable.

 

[SafeDriveSolutions]

True, NDA's signed but I'm not that desperate to get back to that in tech haha

There are no NDA signed. Its called giving your word and not saying anything out of respect.

There are things Thinkware showed us on this trip they have never showed anyone non Thinkware employee. We gave our word we would not talk about it. Same as Vueroid did yesterday showed us very cool stuff that noone has seen who is not an employee.

Not 1 dash camera company has ever asked us to sign an NDA.

But respect and trust is a 2 way street.

 

[Augustus]

There are no NDA signed. Its called giving your word and not saying anything out of respect.

There are things Thinkware showed us on this trip they have never showed anyone non Thinkware employee. We gave our word we would not talk about it. Same as Vueroid did yesterday showed us very cool stuff that noone has seen who is not an employee.

Not 1 dash camera company has ever asked us to sign an NDA.

But respect and trust is a 2 way street.

Lol ok then, I was referring to NDAs nature in general because like @lufa6977 I've had to sign some before with other tech companies. That's the way It usually goes.

 

[Nigel]

I appreciate your integrity with verbal agreements; many people simply cannot keep something confidential.

Does signing a piece of paper make a difference to that?
Might depend on which country you are in, but when the piece of paper is signed by a foreigner, it is going to be pretty worthless!

 

[Augustus]

Does signing a piece of paper make a difference to that?
Might depend on which country you are in, but when the piece of paper is signed by a foreigner, it is going to be pretty worthless!

Lol have you ever signed a NDA yourself? Love how you're the expert on topics when you haven't even experienced it yourself.

If you don't know about the topic, leave it for someone else to answer.

 

[lufa6977]

Does signing a piece of paper make a difference to that?
Might depend on which country you are in, but when the piece of paper is signed by a foreigner, it is going to be pretty worthless!

Actually, it is quite binding regardless of country. A legally signed contract or agreement is valid regardless of residence, as long as the parties are of legal age to transact a contract or agreement, and legally permitted to do so.

If an influencer 'broke' an NDA and caused a company financial or public harm and the company chose to pursue the contract violation, it would likely destroy the trust in the influencer for any future NDA's from any company.

 

[Vortex Radar]

There are no NDA signed. Its called giving your word and not saying anything out of respect.

There are things Thinkware showed us on this trip they have never showed anyone non Thinkware employee. We gave our word we would not talk about it. Same as Vueroid did yesterday showed us very cool stuff that noone has seen who is not an employee.

Not 1 dash camera company has ever asked us to sign an NDA.

But respect and trust is a 2 way street.

That's largely been my experience as well. I've had companies ask to sign some in the past over the years, but it's exceedingly rare. If you have trust and respect, you don't need an NDA to keep your word. I figure they're just there when you're working with someone you don't know or if it's a really large company that has regulations and protocols to follow. In general though, just be cool, don't share private stuff publicly, and it's fine.

 

[Augustus]

That's largely been my experience as well. I've had companies ask to sign some in the past over the years, but it's exceedingly rare. If you have trust and respect, you don't need an NDA to keep your word. I figure they're just there when you're working with someone you don't know or if it's a really large company that has regulations and protocols to follow. In general though, just be cool, don't share private stuff publicly, and it's fine.

Makes sense as I presume dashcams are typically smaller companies than what we are used to on here. Some of us have had NDA's with much larger corporations

 

[jsmith]

@Augustus @Panzer Platform

I found a few posts referencing that the cable from the A139 Pro and A329 are incompatible and different. What exactly changed with the cable if anyone knows? Just curious as the A339 3 Channel launches soon.

 

[Augustus]

@Augustus @Panzer Platform

I found a few posts referencing that the cable from the A139 Pro and A339 are incompatible and different. What exactly changed with the cable if anyone knows? Just curious as the A339 3 Channel launches soon.

Don't think the A339 is releasing anytime soon, Viofo has made references here on the forums to models in the pipeline before but they have always been 9-12 months away.

A329S is the focus for now. That and the A139 Pro are both coaxial but unsure as to what's changed as information is light on the ground at the moment..

 

[Nigel]

@Augustus @Panzer Platform

I found a few posts referencing that the cable from the A139 Pro and A339 are incompatible and different. What exactly changed with the cable if anyone knows? Just curious as the A339 3 Channel launches soon.

Essentially, the connectors changed from MMCX to MCX, the next size up.

The cable also got slightly thicker, but I don’t think that is significant.

Potentially, you could use an adapter at each end.

 

[SafeDriveSolutions]

The A329 current cable coax will be the same as new A329 S. I can not see it being different in any way.
After all if your going to name it A329S you would assume it would be backwards compatible with A329 current model. Other wise if it has no compatibility you would steer away from A329 numbering as to not cause any confusion in parts.

Now however Viofo did have the Viofo A229 Duo and changed to USB C for A229 Plus and Pro. So I can see the confusion and speculation.

Maybe @viofo could put the cable debate to rest??