VIOFO WM1 Test & Review RCG

[rcg530]

Several months ago, I received an early test version of the WM1 dash camera. I did some initial testing and provided feedback to VIOFO. Today, I received a production VIOFO WM1 dash camera, a 64GB VIOFO microSD card, a HK4 hardwire kit and a wireless Bluetooth remote control.

I ran another set of power consumption tests with the production WM1. All of the active recording modes (normal and parking mode) used slightly less power than the preproduction WM1 and early firmware. The thing that surprised me a bit was the amount of power the WM1 consumed when powered off (long press of the <REC> button) actually went up. I also checked the power consumed by the HK4 hardwire kit (not connected to the WM1) and the included cigarette lighter adapter (CLA). The CLA consumed 26 mA / 0.33 Watts just being plugged into a 12.6 volt power supply (not connected to the WM1). The HK4 consumes 8 mA / 0.10 Watts by itself (not plugged into the WM1).

Being a 1-channel dash camera, the overall power consumption is quite low. I've included the estimated parking mode recording times based on the power consumption results from today's tests.

I found that the "Auto Event Detection" (AED) parking mode in the production WM1 and firmware V1.0_0206 is now a buffered parking mode. The AED implementation in the early test unit and firmware was an unbuffered implementation. AED parking mode now includes 3-to-4 seconds prior to the triggering motion event and the video file length is at least 35 seconds.

I'll do more testing with the WM1 after I finish up with the other dash cameras in my review queue.

** Updated 10-May-2023 - Tested Production WM1 with test firmware v1.0_0421 **

 

[Panzer Platform]

Right on Robert,
I love your color coded power consumption spreadsheets, they are a thing of beauty to me. Looking at my power consumption measurements I took on 2/26/23 (5 days ago) mine are just a bit higher.

WM1 - Firmware V1.0_0206
Normal Recording Mode, 2K30fps, Highest Bitrate, Wi-Fi Off
152mA @ 12.60V = 1.91 Watts
Low Bitrate Parking Mode, Wi-Fi Off
147mA @ 12.60V = 1.85 Watts

My measurements are;
8mA Higher - NR (WiFi Off)
7mA Higher - PM (WiFi Off) LBR

Do I have my Fluke “in circuit” in the same location as you?
I wish I could “calibrate” my power supply & Fluke to match yours. lol
-Chuck

 

[rcg530]

Right on Robert,
I love your color coded power consumption spreadsheets, they are a thing of beauty to me. Looking at my power consumption measurements I took on 2/26/23 (5 days ago) mine are just a bit higher.

WM1 - Firmware V1.0_0206
Normal Recording Mode, 2K30fps, Highest Bitrate, Wi-Fi Off
152mA @ 12.60V = 1.91 Watts
Low Bitrate Parking Mode, Wi-Fi Off
147mA @ 12.60V = 1.85 Watts

My measurements are;
8mA Higher - NR (WiFi Off)
7mA Higher - PM (WiFi Off) LBR

Do I have my Fluke “in circuit” in the same location as you?
I wish I could “calibrate” my power supply & Fluke to match yours. lol
-Chuck

View attachment 64350

I have my Fluke 117 on the positive power lead of the circuit instead of the ground side. The preproduction WM1 I tested several months ago did have slightly higher power readings than the unit I just received.

 

[rcg530]

Here are the feature comparison, Q&A and Pros & Cons pages from the review:

Feature Comparison



Q&A



Final Thoughts - Pros & Cons

 

[rcg530]

Here are a few thermal pics captured with a TOPDON TC004 thermal camera. The weather has been very warm for this time of year.

This is after three driving segments and at the end of the third parking session - about 2 hours into this trip. The front of the car was facing the sun. Outside temp was 80F/25.5C. Passenger compartment temp 100F/37.7C.

Production WM1 - Left of center rear view mirror. The left picture's hotspot is where the sunlight was shining directly on the WM1 case. The right picture's hotspot is located on a different dash camera (BlackVue DR900X-2CH Plus).


Pre-Production WM1 - Right of center rear view mirror. The hotspot is located at the slot for the microSD card.


These next thermal pics were taken at the end of the fourth parking session. The sun was shining on the rear of the car. Outside temp 82F/27.7C. Passenger compartment temp 102F/38.8C.

Production WM1 - Left of center rear view mirror. Hotspot is where a small amount of sunlight was shining on the upper section of the WM1 case.


Pre-Production WM1 - Right of center rear view mirror. Hotspot is where a small amount of sunlight was shining on the upper section of the WM1 case.

 

[rcg530]

I updated my previous post with a revised FAQ page. I wanted to document what all of the button presses do in more detail.

VIOFO WM1 Test & Review RCG

Several months ago, I received an early test version of the WM1 dash camera. I did some initial testing and provided feedback to VIOFO. Today, I received a production VIOFO WM1 dash camera, a 64GB VIOFO microSD card, a HK4 hardwire kit and a wireless Bluetooth remote control. I ran another...

dashcamtalk.com

 

[rcg530]

I created a short comparison video using two WM1 dash cameras (one is a production unit and one is a pre-production unit). The production unit has a CPL filter installed and the pre-production unit has no CPL filter installed. I point out a loss of three 3 audio frames at the end of each 1-minute video file created by the WM1 with firmware v1.0_0421.

 

[OldEastSider]

Thanks for the above test clip, rcg. I downloaded it in 2560x1440 and watched it on a 4K TV and noticed a lot of flicker and occasional judder, especially in the production unit. In fact, every clip from the WM1 I have viewed contains flickering of some degree, whether played back in its native resolution, 1080p or 720p across several TVs and devices. My A119 V3 produces no flickering whatsoever, and in my opinion, is clearly a superior camera. It seems the WM1 with the current firmware version needs further work, though the overall image quality is decent enough.

Has anyone else noticed the flickering with the WM1?

 

[rcg530]

Thanks for the above test clip, rcg. I downloaded it in 2560x1440 and watched it on a 4K TV and noticed a lot of flicker and occasional judder, especially in the production unit. In fact, every clip from the WM1 I have viewed contains flickering of some degree, whether played back in its native resolution, 1080p or 720p across several TVs and devices. My A119 V3 produces no flickering whatsoever, and in my opinion, is clearly a superior camera. It seems the WM1 with the current firmware version needs further work, though the overall image quality is decent enough.

Has anyone else noticed the flickering with the WM1?

I just watched the WM1 raw footage and the video i created with Adobe Premiere Pro that was uploaded to YouTube. If there was any judder during playback, I found it to be how the video was being cached by the video player. In addition, my current video editing laptop has an Intel video chipset for the main display and it doesn't do as well as my older (now failed) laptop when it comes to playing video (even in Adobe Premiere Pro).

Here's a Google Drive link to the raw footage from the two WM1 dash cameras. I've submitted a request to VIOFO to look at the missing audio frames at the end of each of the video files. There are two folders within that Google Drive folder (Production and Pre-Production)

v1.0_0421_Dropped_Audio_Frames - Google Drive

drive.google.com

 

[OldEastSider]

The raw video eliminates much of the flicker, but not all. I first notice it at 33 seconds in the upper 2/3 of the picture the moment you reverse out of your parking space. I'm wondering if it could be to do with the refresh rate of my TV which is 120Hz. Having said that I don't detect any flicker when viewing files from other Viofo cams.

What if you were to point the camera up a little more so that less of your car is in the frame? It could be that the (somewhat budget) processor is having difficulty with the exposure, trying to resolve the bright California sky with the dark hood and dash of your car.

Thanks for your efforts.

 

[rcg530]

The raw video eliminates much of the flicker, but not all. I first notice it at 33 seconds in the upper 2/3 of the picture the moment you reverse out of your parking space. I'm wondering if it could be to do with the refresh rate of my TV which is 120Hz. Having said that I don't detect any flicker when viewing files from other Viofo cams.

What if you were to point the camera up a little more so that less of your car is in the frame? It could be that the (somewhat budget) processor is having difficulty with the exposure, trying to resolve the bright California sky with the dark hood and dash of your car.

Thanks for your efforts.

I examined the up/down alignment across the five dash cameras I have installed right now. I found the two WM1 dash cameras were aimed about 10% lower than the other three dash cameras. I've just realigned the two WM1 dash cameras. I wish the VIOFO app had a set of alignment lines that could be turned on/off. The Vantrue app has that feature and it makes it much easier to aim the center point in the field of view rather than lines I'm envisioning in my mind of where that point is in the VIOFO app. I try to use objects on the side edge to align withing the VIOFO app but that can vary a bit depending on where the camera is located on the windshield and if the lens has a different field of view amount.

 

[rcg530]

I created an audio sample video using two WM1 dash cameras (one on the left side of the center rear view mirror and one on the right side of the center rear view mirror), a Vantrue E1 and a VIOFO A119 Mini. The WM1 dash cameras record audio at a good recording level, the Vantrue E1 records audio at a level that is too loud which results the audio getting clipped at times and the VIOFO A119 Mini records at a level that almost makes it impossible to hear what is being recorded.

 

[rcg530]

I updated post #1 of this thread with a new set of power consumption test results. I tested my second production WM1 dash camera with the latest firmware I have available to me (test version v1.0_0421).

The cigarette lighter adapter (CLA) provided with the WM1 by itself (not plugged into the WM1) consumes 27 mA @ 12.6 volts or 0.34 Watts. That is a higher power than any of the other VIOFO USB power adapters which consume 8 mA to 18 mA @ 12.6 volts or 0.10 to 0.23 Watts. If you power down the WM1 by a long press of the <REC> button, the combined power draw of the CLA and the WM1 in its "off" state is 39 mA @ 12.6 volts or 0.49 Watts.

The VIOFO HK4 hardwire kit consumes only 3 mA @ 12.6 volts or 0.04 Watts (not plugged into the WM1). While powered by the HK4, powering down the WM1 by a long press of the <REC> button results in an average power draw of 21 mA @ 12.6 volts or 0.27 Watts. The combined power draw of the powered down WM1 while being being powered by a HK4 hardwire kit is still less than the power draw of just the CLA.

 

[Panzer Platform]

I updated post #1 of this thread with a new set of power consumption test results. I tested my second production WM1 dash camera with the latest firmware I have available to me (test version v1.0_0421).

The cigarette lighter adapter (CLA) provided with the WM1 by itself (not plugged into the WM1) consumes 27 mA @ 12.6 volts or 0.34 Watts. That is a higher power than any of the other VIOFO USB power adapters which consume 8 mA to 18 mA @ 12.6 volts or 0.10 to 0.23 Watts. If you power down the WM1 by a long press of the <REC> button, the combined power draw of the CLA and the WM1 in its "off" state is 39 mA @ 12.6 volts or 0.49 Watts.

The VIOFO HK4 hardwire kit consumes only 3 mA @ 12.6 volts or 0.04 Watts (not plugged into the WM1). While powered by the HK4, powering down the WM1 by a long press of the <REC> button results in an average power draw of 21 mA @ 12.6 volts or 0.27 Watts. That combined power draw of the powered down WM1 while being being powered by a HK4 hardwire kit is still less than the power draw of just the CLA.

How much is the combined power draw if used with one of the usual included "Viofo Brand" dual slot USB charger CLA's?
Like this;


This is another reason I don't like the one piece power supply included with the WM1

 

[rcg530]

How much is the combined power draw if used with one of the usual included "Viofo Brand" dual slot USB charger CLA's?

A D3000 USB power adapter consumes 12 mA @ 12.6 volts or 0.15 Watts.

When a D3000 is used to power the WM1 and the WM1 is powered off via a long press of the <REC> button, the WM1 & D3000 combination consumes 24 mA @ 12.6 volts or 0.30 Watts.

 

[rcg530]

I released my review video of the VIOFO WM1 dash camera. I've created a review thread here: https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threads/viofo-wm1-1-channel-dash-camera-review-rcg.48954/

 

[OldEastSider]

I've had a WM1 for about three weeks now and have grown to rather like it, though overall image quality is not as refined as an A119V3. My internet connection is too slow to upload any clips so I've listed some pros and cons.

Pros:
Small form factor and easily hidden
WiFi app and connection always works very well
USB Type C connection
Decent enough daytime capture rendering mostly accurate colors.
Able to read US-size license plates on moving and stationary traffic (works better with WDR off on my unit).
Very good audio.

Cons:
Capture at dawn, dusk and night is dark and grainy presumably due to higher aperture F1.8 lens
Fish-eye effects at top half of image can be pronounced at times
Some "flickering" of the moving images when played back on TV
Fixed 12V car charger. The cable is barely long enough for a clean installation on a small SUV.
GPS speed and coordinates on my unit change only every 3 seconds, not in real time.

The WM1 is installed in a 2003 Subaru Forester which is a car used only at weekends for running errands. If it were just a bit better I would have no hesitation in purchasing a second unit for a daily driver. I am still using firmware V1.0_0206. Settings selected are 1440p, max bitrate, WDR off.

 

[OldEastSider]

As a quick follow-up, I was wondering if this cable from Viofo could be used for the WM1 instead of the supplied 12V charger. On our other car the 12V accessory sockets are always hot, but the 5V 2.1A USB Type-A sockets are switched with the ignition. It's a leased car, so I don't really want to do any hard wiring.

VIOFO Type-C Dual USB Cigarette Car Charger with Power Cable for A229 Series/T130/A139/A139PRO

The Standard camera box already comes with the car charger adapter and the 11.48 feet (3.5M) long power cable.

viofo.com

 

[rcg530]

As a quick follow-up, I was wondering if this cable from Viofo could be used for the WM1 instead of the supplied 12V charger. On our other car the 12V accessory sockets are always hot, but the 5V 2.1A USB Type-A sockets are switched with the ignition. It's a leased car, so I don't really want to do any hard wiring.

VIOFO Type-C Dual USB Cigarette Car Charger with Power Cable for A229 Series/T130/A139/A139PRO

The Standard camera box already comes with the car charger adapter and the 11.48 feet (3.5M) long power cable.

viofo.com

I believe that should work just fine with the WM1.