A229 Pro testing notes

[Vortex Radar]

So my A229 Plus and Pro arrived a little while ago and I finally got a chance to toss the Pro onto the WS.



While I collect sample footage and play with the dashcams, I figure I’d join the party and share my notes during testing.



First things I notice.. The A229 is noticeably chunkier than the A119 Mini 2 I’ve been using recently.

The new settings menu with submenus is nice. I like it. The firmware upgrade progress bar is nice too.

There’s no longer a power port on the side of the dashcam since that’s now the rear cam port. The only power port is in the mount. The interior cam plugs into what would normally be on the mic input port. It’s a bit weird that rear and interior cams plug into opposite sides of the dashcam. I do like the wiring chart when you unbox that shows where each cable goes.

Even though I don’t use 60 fps, I was surprised to not see a 60 fps option even with a 1CH setup.

The polarizer seems harder to attach onto this model than other Viofo’s.

Video quality analysis is still tbd once I get more footage and time. I’ve collected some, but with older firmware that’s since been updated.

 

[Fragman]

Some notes regarding some of this from @viofo

We have noticed that color change issue and are working on this now.

Actually, this chipset is not powerful enough, it can not handle the 4K 60fps. Normally Sony 4K sensor doesn't support 2K resolution native, the 2K 60fps is a downscaled version of 4K.

We disabled the H.265 codec for some reason.

A 4K 60fps with a high bitrate option may be in the future dashcam.

Kinda disappointing tbh.

I've noticed the color changing frequently, and also that the GPS drops out at times. Hoping the forthcoming FW update fixes these cause it's promising. The rear camera quality is quite improved, and I think throwing a Thinkware CPL on there will make it even better.

The only thing I truly dislike is the non-option of using an external mic. The A139P with an external mic is worlds apart in sound quality from the internal mic, imo. And the A229P sounds rather... abysmal.
.

 

[Panzer Platform]

There’s no longer a power port on the side of the dashcam since that’s now the rear cam port. The only power port is in the mount.

In the name of science I plugged in a USB Type-C power cable into the REAR camera port on the A229 Pro & A229 Plus, and both powered up, and functioned like normal.
Thanks for bringing that up.

I do like the wiring chart when you unbox that shows where each cable goes.

Not only was this missing in my pre-production A229 Pro, I didn't even get a box sleeve.
Sad face. lol
It wasn't until the A229 Plus showed up I discovered the wedding invitation quality IKEA pictogram. lol

Have you noticed the increased boot up to record times, and sometimes laggy button presses?
Not a big deal, but my other Viofo's are snappy quick clicking through the menus.
My biggest complaint with image quality is non-functioning HDR on the rear cameras, (surprisingly the HDR on the interior camera works better than the front camera).
I have not checked the new 0928 firmware yet.
Oh yeah, have you discovered the Rear & Interior cameras have identical performance on the A229 Pro & A229 Plus?
Also have you noticed on the A229 Plus sometimes the files are out of order F / R /I or I / F / R?

 

[rcg530]

The polarizer seems harder to attach onto this model than other Viofo’s.

I too had a problem trying to get the CPL to fit on the lens of the A229 Pro. I've mentioned that to VIOFO, but I've not received any feedback from them about that issue. I eventually did get it to press onto the lens, but I wasn't sure it would for the first couple of minutes.

 

[Agie]

I too had a problem trying to get the CPL to fit on the lens of the A229 Pro. I've mentioned that to VIOFO, but I've not received any feedback from them about that issue. I eventually did get it to press onto the lens, but I wasn't sure it would for the first couple of minutes.

Same totally thought it was gonna turn and lock into place but just pressed it on and aligned the white line, hasn't fallen off so guessing it's done the trick

 

[Agie]

I do like the wiring chart when you unbox that shows where each cable goes.

That wiring chart piece of paper is a dead ringer for the one Vantrue gave in their Nexus 4 Pro box haha, even down to the material used. I mentioned that in my review, that I don't know who ripped off who first haha

 

[HFlor]

Hello,

where is the difference between the A229 Plus and A229 Pro, other than the resolution of the front camera?

Hardy

 

[VIOFO-Support]

I too had a problem trying to get the CPL to fit on the lens of the A229 Pro. I've mentioned that to VIOFO, but I've not received any feedback from them about that issue. I eventually did get it to press onto the lens, but I wasn't sure it would for the first couple of minutes.

The lens of the A229Pro bulges out a little, so it will be more tight than other models for the installation of CPL.

 

[viofo]

Some notes regarding some of this from @viofo


Kinda disappointing tbh.

I've noticed the color changing frequently, and also that the GPS drops out at times. Hoping the forthcoming FW update fixes these cause it's promising. The rear camera quality is quite improved, and I think throwing a Thinkware CPL on there will make it even better.

The only thing I truly dislike is the non-option of using an external mic. The A139P with an external mic is worlds apart in sound quality from the internal mic, imo. And the A229P sounds rather... abysmal.
.

We don't think supporting external MIC is so necessary on the dashcam, maybe less than 3% of users will use external MIC.

 

[Panzer Platform]

maybe less than 3% of users will use external MIC

I agree, but it sounds so good. lol

 

[Agie]

I agree, but it sounds so good. lol

The beard didn't get in the way thankfully

 

[Vortex Radar]

Alrighty, just shared an overview video of the A229 Plus & Pro, essentially going over some of the improvements over the original A229 and doing an unboxing before I get the Pro installed in my car and ready to go for testing.

 

[Panzer Platform]

This “unboxing” was more thorough than some “full reviews” I’ve seen. Lol
Fantastic job.

 

[Agie]

Alrighty, just shared an overview video of the A229 Plus & Pro, essentially going over some of the improvements over the original A229 and doing an unboxing before I get the Pro installed in my car and ready to go for testing.

Great job mate, looking forward to your final thoughts on these two new Viofo puppies!

 

[Deleted member 85644]

Nice review. As for the CPL, I must be odd man out because mine popped on without any real effort. Luck of the draw perhaps. I was concerned about microphone capability but the A229 Pro is very adapt at picking up interior and exterior sounds. It has even picked up sirens that were maybe a half mile away, of course the window was down. But still, that is impressive.

I am mounting one of my two A229 Pro on the rear of my Outback. The Outback has a boatload of small heating elements at the top of the glass that I would like to avoid, but I do not want to negatively affect the lens picking up plates, etc. at night time. Is there an optimal height to mount a rear camera at, if higher or lower, how does this affect glare from headlamps?

 

[Vortex Radar]

I'm working on a video quality comparison now between the A229 Pro, A139 Pro, U3000, and DR970X. Right now I'm collecting tons of video footage and as far as things I'm noticing...

Daytime quality looks pretty good. There are some weird color shifts at times. I think some newer testing firmware may help correct this? @rcg530 I'm running the current public firmware for all the dashcams including 1.0_230928 for the A229 Pro.

Nighttime I overall like it better than the A139 Pro. It fixes the weird exposure flicker effect and the HDR typically does a better job at grabbing plates.

Lots more to come once I start putting the video together.

 

[rcg530]

Daytime quality looks pretty good. There are some weird color shifts at times. I think some newer testing firmware may help correct this? @rcg530 I'm running the current public firmware for all the dashcams including 1.0_230928 for the A229 Pro.

I've been testing a few different versions of the firmware for the A229 Pro front camera. I started with the publicly available version of v1.0_230928 (front) and that had some color / white balance issues. I was given a v1.0_231009 test version and it was better than the v1.0_230928 version, but it still was hunting for the proper brightness setting too much. A couple of days ago, I was given another variant of the v1.0_230928 with additional image quality tweaks. I was given a debug/logging version and a normal/non-logging version. My recent video comparing the A229 Pro front / A119 Mini 2 was with the v1.0_230928 debug/logging variant installed. It was better, but the colors are still off during daylight hours. I'm not driving at night (for now) until I get a version that stabilizes the daytime video (HDR off). I've probably spent over $75 USD for gasoline testing all of the different versions of the A229 Pro front firmware. These "free" dash cameras are costing too much!

 

[Vortex Radar]

I've been testing a few different versions of the firmware for the A229 Pro front camera. I started with the publicly available version of v1.0_230928 (front) and that had some color / white balance issues. I was given a v1.0_231009 test version and it was better than the v1.0_230928 version, but it still was hunting for the proper brightness setting too much. A couple of days ago, I was given another variant of the v1.0_230928 with additional image quality tweaks. I was given a debug/logging version and a normal/non-logging version. My recent video comparing the A229 Pro front / A119 Mini 2 was with the v1.0_230928 debug/logging variant installed. It was better, but the colors are still off during daylight hours. I'm not driving at night (for now) until I get a version that stabilizes the daytime video (HDR off). I've probably spent over $75 USD for gasoline testing all of the different versions of the A229 Pro front firmware. These "free" dash cameras are costing too much!

lol thanks for the update! No kidding on all the gas. Even just sitting here compiling all the sample footage is itself an all day effort, much less editing it into a full video. "Free" dashcams are nice, but you do wind up paying in other ways, haha.

 

[Dashmellow]

Even just sitting here compiling all the sample footage is itself an all day effort, much less editing it into a full video. "Free" dashcams are nice, but you do wind up paying in other ways, haha.

As I mentioned in a post recently, anyone who does dash cam reviews professionally on an ongoing basis is self employed and is running a business and therefore required to pay taxes on your income which includes monetization along with the fair market value of all the "free" cameras, battery packs, memory cards, CPLs, hardwire kits and other merch you receive, as payment-in-kind barter exchange is considered income by the IRS. So, at the same time, the cost of gasoline for driving around to record footage of a particualr dash cam is only a fraction of the value of the "free" camera it is a legitimate business expense and therefore is deductible from your income taxes.

Of course, many, many thousands of individuals these days are engaged in doing online promotional reviews and acting as online influencers most are not paying any taxes. I mention all this because I read recently how the IRS is beginning to crack down on this phenomenon, especially now that they have become aware of the magnitude of the amount of money they are owed. They have been hiring new agents. This should be of special concern to those who post their real name and precise location with all their videos, even in one's garage with exact GPS coordinates.

As for burning up gasoline driving around for the sole purpose of capturing dash cam footage, there's the question of one's carbon footprint for those who might be concerned with such matters, but that's another discussion.

 

[Panzer Platform]

It fixes the weird exposure flicker effect

Yes! I knew you would like that. lol

HDR typically does a better job at grabbing plates.

I'm not seeing that with my A229 Pro.
My A139 Pro is better at plate grabbing at night with HDR enabled when the plate is under direct illumination from my headlights.
And the A119 Mini 2 is even better.
I went driving the other night, that's when I filmed this;

Check out the illuminated road sign at 0:28 not to mention all the headlights behind me.
I was going to upload some front camera comparisons of the A229 Pro vs. A139 Pro, but I forgot to install a piece of cardboard over my radio that blocks its reflection onto the windshield, and it interferes with both cameras.
Overall, I'm very impressed with the image quality from the A229 Pro, (except HDR performance at night) over the A139 Pro.
Once we get a firmware to fix the HDR at night, and all the other weird things Robert is seeing during the day, the A229 Pro is going to be my pick for "best" dash cam of 2024, (but only in 2-CH Rear configuration).
I can't stand that connecting the IR Interior camera cuts the Front camera's bitrate almost in half, (approximately 57 Mbps to 35 Mbps).
I really wish it would have just stayed a 2-CH so I could keep my beloved External Mic Jack. lol