Vortex's Viofo A329 Review

gordon861 said:
moving the recorder from the screen to a separate box
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A few have made such a remote system, but they had a hard time selling them for some reason.
I would personally prefer that, even if i do not have a big use for parking guard or live in a really hot place that would benefit from having the main unit not sitting in direct sun.

Also in that case you can make the box as large as you please and so be able to have a SSD internally and / or a actual proper cooling solution.

I see nothing but benefits of having a remote main unit and cameras on a wire from that.
 
Panzer Platform said:
Would you be happy if you could select top, or bottom in the settings?
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100 % pro choice, and in this case i think it is a thing that would not slow down the programmers in a company.
 
kamkar said:
A few have made such a remote system, but they had a hard time selling them for some reason.
I would personally prefer that, even if i do not have a big use for parking guard or live in a really hot place that would benefit from having the main unit not sitting in direct sun.

Also in that case you can make the box as large as you please and so be able to have a SSD internally and / or a actual proper cooling solution.

I see nothing but benefits of having a remote main unit and cameras on a wire from that.
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Implementation is very important.
Controll buttons and LEDs must stay on windshield camera, and also may be a screen, not sure.

For the not so high end cameras the box is not really needed and people prefer a simple solutions, hence poor sales for the box design.
But for the modern high end and feature reach cameras the box makes a lot of sense.
 
The ones i tested ( 2 ) for instance had MIC on the wired event button, CUZ you can not have the microphone hidden under some seat and work good.
Both had all the buttons on the remote main unit, and also screen

The mistake both had, did not realize, with the main unit remote like that, if it is not rigid mounted, shocks have a harder time reaching the G-sensor in the main unit, this might be overcome by putting G-sensor in wired GPS antenna, CUZ you need a rigid connection.

The systems was:

Street guardian SG9663DR
Mini or camdii K2S

K2S had super small wedge shape remote cameras, so small they could not use 12 mm lenses like normal but had to use 8 mm diameter lenses, half the size of wedge shaped rear cameras of the time.

_dsc0570-jpg.44286


 
Panzer Platform said:
1.8 Meters is not long enough.
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Putting a SSD with your personal videos into the glovebox is the worst advice ever. But all people want this.
If I am a thief and I will break into a car, first I will look on the seats and then into the glovebox. If there will be a small thing with a blue LED I will steal it because maybe it can contain somethin valuable inside but also I think I can sell it. Looking at the videos from the SSD I can learn where the driver is going at what hours and plan a bigger strike.
I will be more tempted to steal a SSD instead of a dashcam which can contain a card inside it.
Don't tell me that you are keeping the glovebox closed with a key.

So you can put the SSD at the fusebox and that 1.8 meters can be enough.
I don't expect Viofo to release a 3m SSD cable.
 
I also suppose there is a limit on how long such a USB cable can be, at least if you want to sustain the MAX R & W speeds of your drive.
Normally on the PC i would think the cable are just 1 M long at the most.

I would want to stash my SSD in a safe place, where you aty least had to play follow the wire, or get extremely physical with the car interior.

Like the guy did 3 years ago when he broke into my car in search of a gass filling card i assume CUZ nothing was taken, but seeing the A 139 interior camera on the mirror, made him snap and tear the entire mirror off.
But no dashcam / memory card ASO was stolen,,,, just breaking in and searching for free gasoline card ( Danes are so stupid some will keep their gas card + code in the god damn car )

Sadly at the time my CCTV camera did not work, and this was way before i got to run parking guard
 
kamkar said:
I also suppose there is a limit on how long such a USB cable can be, at least if you want to sustain the MAX R & W speeds of your drive.
Normally on the PC i would think the cable are just 1 M long at the most.

I would want to stash my SSD in a safe place, where you aty least had to play follow the wire, or get extremely physical with the car interior.

Like the guy did 3 years ago when he broke into my car in search of a gass filling card i assume CUZ nothing was taken, but seeing the A 139 interior camera on the mirror, made him snap and tear the entire mirror off.
But no dashcam / memory card ASO was stolen,,,, just breaking in and searching for free gasoline card ( Danes are so stupid some will keep their gas card + code in the god damn car )

Sadly at the time my CCTV camera did not work, and this was way before i got to run parking guard
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My car was also stolen years back and taken for a joyride, nothing from the glovebox taken. I think it's a generalisation that thieves would go for the seats/glovebox first, no one knows that for sure.
 
Vortex Radar said:
I'm working on a quick followup video to the A329 discussing whether or not upgrading is worth it. Some people asked about using the HDMI port as a backup cam, and assuming you have a display for it, yeah it'd work for that.

View attachment 74242

The "Video OSD" option lets you choose whether or not you want all the same text displayed on the dashcam's display to also show up on the external display. I prefer it off to better use it as a backup cam.

View attachment 74241
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I just watched your video and you touch on some good points about upgrading or not but the most interesting point you made and I agree with is at the 8min mark about reliability, so true.

Regarding nothing much has changed eg res, Box cooling, i see what you mean but I personally think the ability to have high speed and large external storage at less cost compared to high capacity sdcards a huge advancement.
I also think the hdmi output will grab a new demographic.

The ability to just move the storage container straight to a computer is a huge win when you also consider speed transfer.

Of course my caveat is exactly your point at 8 mins, it has to be reliable.
Yes you're also right about wearing the sun glasses does make it feel you are connected with the audience. Nice technique.

I Don't know how you can handle all the comments you get on yt. It would do my head in.
Thanks for the video.
 
LateralNW said:
I also think the hdmi output will grab a new demographic.
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Yes.
I always see YouTube comments asking;
“Can I use the rear camera as a back up camera, and view the live feed on the 2.4” LCD screen on the main unit?”
Well now they can, they just need to purchase, and install a 7” monitor with micro HDMI cable, and mount it somewhere.
Oh yeah, and the guy that operates a tour bus company that was trying to connect monitors for people in the back of the bus to see the live feed from the front camera.
 
Mtz said:
If I am a thief and I will break into a car, first I will look on the seats and then into the glovebox. If there will be a small thing with a blue LED I will steal it because maybe it can contain somethin valuable inside but also I think I can sell it. Looking at the videos from the SSD I can learn where the driver is going at what hours and plan a bigger strike.
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I have to admit you are correct.
You’ve stolen my heart, and you have a rapist’s wit.
OK, so the glove box it out.
So I will just tuck it under the dash somewhere.
But 1.8 Meters is still not long enough to reach.

 
Mtz said:
Putting a SSD with your personal videos into the glovebox is the worst advice ever. But all people want this.
If I am a thief and I will break into a car, first I will look on the seats and then into the glovebox. If there will be a small thing with a blue LED I will steal it because maybe it can contain somethin valuable inside but also I think I can sell it. Looking at the videos from the SSD I can learn where the driver is going at what hours and plan a bigger strike.
I will be more tempted to steal a SSD instead of a dashcam which can contain a card inside it.
Don't tell me that you are keeping the glovebox closed with a key.

So you can put the SSD at the fusebox and that 1.8 meters can be enough.
I don't expect Viofo to release a 3m SSD cable.
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I actually installed mine in a side panel. I don't think any thief is looking for that. Same thing i will recommend to all my customers.

Here is a funny observation. You think Thieves are educated. The reason they are thieves is because they are not working. Not because they are some kind of organized crime syndicate that logs into YouTube and watches Vortex radar and Safe Drive Solutions videos. Then goes OMG. I better check the glovebox for an SSD because I saw a video 1 time saying it could be in the glovebox.

I will not dispute that thieves will check the glovebox. But typically thieves break into vehicles where you can see valuables of some kind. If you have a pretty clean car typically they leave you alone anyways.

In terms of length of cable.
On my VW ID4 I had tons of length leftover. I was actually surprised.

So my little unlisted video is to show you that 1.8 metres will be enough on most vehicles surprisingly.

Unlisted video for your enjoyment

 
safedrivesolutions said:
I actually installed mine in a side panel. I don't think any thief is looking for that. Same thing i will recommend to all my customers.

Here is a funny observation. You think Thieves are educated. The reason they are thieves is because they are not working. Not because they are some kind of organized crime syndicate that logs into YouTube and watches Vortex radar and Safe Drive Solutions videos. Then goes OMG. I better check the glovebox for an SSD because I saw a video 1 time saying it could be in the glovebox.

I will not dispute that thieves will check the glovebox. But typically thieves break into vehicles where you can see valuables of some kind. If you have a pretty clean car typically they leave you alone anyways.

In terms of length of cable.
On my VW ID4 I had tons of length leftover. I was actually surprised.

So my little unlisted video is to show you that 1.8 metres will be enough on most vehicles surprisingly.

Unlisted video for your enjoyment

Click to expand...
Good points, also thieves will break into cars just for joyrides (happened to me a few years ago and my car is a family sedan, nothing fast or powerful about it - they just took it cos it was a new car). I'd say that like what you're saying, the SSD installation location will come down to where it's convenient / practical.
 
You guys are right about the glove box. There’s definitely better places to stash the SSD somewhere hidden.
 
I wouldn't know how to run a cable into the glovebox anyway. It has a hinged door cover on the front that would snag the cable each time I open it.
 
TonyM said:
I wouldn't know how to run a cable into the glovebox anyway. It has a hinged door cover on the front that would snag the cable each time I open it.
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Most glove boxes have the plastic nubs on either side, it's not that hard to take them out and drop down the door. Sometimes need a screwdriver to access to remove the whole door but most of the time should be able to get around it.

If you've ever replaced the pollen filter in your car, that's practically the process.
 
Has anyone done a test on how long the SSD lead can be?

ie; start with a short lead (30cm) and confirm operation.
Try a 1m lead.
Try 2m lead.
Try 3m lead.
Try 5m lead.
At some point it will stop working reliably, and that length will dictate where the SSD could be located/hidden.

This will vary from cheap & nasty cables to decent ones, as it's the inter-conductor capacitance that will dictate maximum distance, but we'll get an idea.
 
5 meters for USB 2 and 2 meters for USB 3
 
oh no, they resumed the MCX coaxial connector!? I hoped that Viofo learned the lesson from the older A139 which had connection stability issues, which probably (according to my experience) they only managed to mitigate via a firmware update. There s no way I will buy again a devoce with a MCX coaxial connector
 
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