VIOFO A229 Pro - Testing / Review - RCG

[LateralNW]

One of my channel viewers was asking if I had tested 2K resolution setting for the A229 Pro. They observed the 2K video quality issue noted in my recent post and video. I too use the full video resolution available for the image sensor when I purchase a dash camera, but it's worth checking out the other video resolutions supported in the firmware resolution setting.

Yeah yeah I new that. Lol
I was referring to the comments after your post.

You have highlighted something Viofo might be better off not doing and that is to try to get a resolution out of the chip that isn't native.

As admirable as it is, trying to please everyone never works.

About 2K I'd like to see 4K nailed down first.

 

[Panzer Platform]

Viofo might be better off not doing and that is to try to get a resolution out of the chip that isn't native.

About 2K I'd like to see 4K nailed down first.

Let me guess.
The 9 different resolution settings for the A119 Mini 2 are 7 too many. LMAO
Just give me 2K30 & 2K60, do we really need the other 7? lol

 

[Dex_]

So this mean lower IQ in parking mode because the front camera will automatically drop to 2K resolution when in parking mode? And also a lower bitrates + downscale image to 2K issue and may be better leave selected in menu resolutions for parking modes?

 

[LateralNW]

Let me guess.
The 9 different resolution settings for the A119 Mini 2 are 7 too many. LMAO
Just give me 2K30 & 2K60, do we really need the other 7? lol

You understood that jumbled mess of a sentence lol.
So many options makes it hard to decide and gives me a headache

 

[Deleted member 85644]

Let me guess.
The 9 different resolution settings for the A119 Mini 2 are 7 too many. LMAO
Just give me 2K30 & 2K60, do we really need the other 7? lol

Apparently so. The A229 on its public and private FW release is coming up short in several areas. Having 9 rates with most, or perhaps all of them failing is not good, especially if some of those rates are not supported natively by Sony design.

 

[speedingcheetah]

Let me guess.
The 9 different resolution settings for the A119 Mini 2 are 7 too many. LMAO
Just give me 2K30 & 2K60, do we really need the other 7? lol

Yes, Cause the manufacture determine there is reason for each?
The max sensor resolution is there, cause that is what it natively outputs. It is 4:3 but it is there.
The others, users want choices. 16:9 since that is what tv and monitors are. Ultrawide to crop out the sky and dash. etc.
Save on file size, cpu useage? could be many reasons. Ask Viofo?

 

[Mtz]

@rcg530 can clarify, but I don’t believe “log” in this context refers to a color profile. In the past, Viofo’s test firmware has added extra debug text stamped onto the video footage that effectively logs additional data for Viofo to decode.

Normally, the videos which are containing that data (log) should be never public, they are only for the tester and manufacturer. I had a lot of videos with log but never made them public, or snapshots from them.

 

[Mtz]

@Agie why is that Haha emoticon regarding my post? I didn't want to tell a joke in this thread.
And this is not the only post of mine where you have such interaction. If I am doing something funny I will look to become a comedian.

 

[Deleted member 85644]

That is interesting and concerning. I messaged VIOFO and asked if the second HK4 USB-C I needed for my second A229 Pro would be the optimised one and, they responded yes it would.
When placing the order I did select the Accessories for the A229 Pro and selected the HK4 USB-C cable that was identified for the A229 Pro. The order shipped today, so it will be another ten to
fifteen days before I know which one I receive.

Before ordering from VIOFO I did try BBMC but they indicated to me they do not have the optimised HK4 yet.

Thanks for confirming! Guess I won’t proceed with the purchase then.

Was contemplating direct Viofo and risk of local support in future or wait for my local distributor which gonna take another month or two and might not bring in due to heat (should it fail the heat test like 3ch a139 pro).

To follow up, I received the correct HK4 for my A229 Pro from VIOFO, it took 11 days from door to door via 4PX to USPS. Descent ship time from China to the east coast of America. Your ship time I would think would be quicker.

I did order the HK4 from the specific product page/accessories for the A229 Pro. I also emailed VIOFO to ensure I got the correct cable. As always, VIOFO was fast to reply and assure me of the correct cable being ordered.

 

[rcg530]

I have two A229 Pro front cameras with v1.0_231024 firmware. One of them is from the early marketing sample batch and the second is from a recent production batch. VIOFO wanted me to see if the production unit worked any better than the early marketing sample unit with regard to the color flashing issue. The production unit doesn't seem to suffer from the same color flashing issue (so far). The location during my Friday drives which was provoking the red color changes/flashes did not cause the issue with either camera. There weren't any vehicles pulling into the parking lot this time and that appears to be a factor in the issue for the specific location / time of day. I did find an example of the early marketing unit video footage causing a road color change, but the production unit did not do that. The production unit is configured as a 1CH dash camera and the early marketing unit is configured as a 3CH dash camera. I'll have to gather more footage over the next couple of weeks to see if there is a true and lasting difference between the two units.

The A229 Pro (left) is the production unit and the A229 Pro on the right is the early marketing sample unit. You can see the road surface color change in the footage from the early marketing unit.

 

[rcg530]

Today, I was on a short drive through my local town. I found some A229 Pro front camera footage (production unit, maximum bitrate, CPL installed, HDR off, firmware v1.0_231024) where I observed the "blue flash" issue again. I sending these frame grabs and raw video footage to VIOFO.

Normal / Blue Flash / Normal

 

[rcg530]

If you're considering the purchase of a VIOFO A229 Pro 2CH/3CH dash camera, you might want to check out my blog post on my company website. I have a discount code that will save you an additional 5% off the Amazon (US) price and $10 USD off the purchase price if you purchase it on the VIOFO website.

RetroCarGuy530, LLC - Blog Post - Save Money On Your VIOFO A229 Pro/Plus 2CH/3CH Purchase

 

[rcg530]

I was going to include a video sample segment in my upcoming review video of the A229 Pro / Plus dash cameras, but it kind of took on a life of its own over the past few days. I've broken out the video samples part of the review into my already available sample videos along with this new one that contains day, night, clear and cloudy skies video samples from the VIOFO A229 Pro, VIOFO A229 Plus and VIOFO A229 Duo. I drive one of the routes I use to capture video footage in a nearby town and switch between the various lighting conditions to show you have the cameras handle those conditions.

 

[Agie]

I was going to include a video sample segment in my upcoming review video of the A229 Pro / Plus dash cameras, but it kind of took on a life of its own over the past few days. I've broken out the video samples part of the review into my already available sample videos along with this new one that contains day, night, clear and cloudy skies video samples from the VIOFO A229 Pro, VIOFO A229 Plus and VIOFO A229 Duo. I drive one of the routes I use to capture video footage in a nearby town and switch between the various lighting conditions to show you have the cameras handle those conditions.

Firmware changes by the week almost

 

[Karagandinez]

Firmwares are changed for a reason, errors are eliminated.
But no one is forcing anyone to update.
The firmware does not need to be changed for the entire service life of the DVR if it works normally.

 

[Agie]

Firmwares are changed for a reason, errors are eliminated.
But no one is forcing anyone to update.
The firmware does not need to be changed for the entire service life of the DVR if it works normally.

I know all that.

Firmwares are usually recommended, just about all devices in tech these days are so complicated in nature that it's not really advisable to remain on the day one firmware.

Just wondering when it will be considered stable enough for a public release.

 

[Karagandinez]

Firmwares are usually recommended, just about all devices in tech these days are so complicated in nature that it's not really advisable to remain on the day one firmware.

I have one DVR on which the firmware was installed by the manufacturer and has never been updated.
The DVR was purchased in 2013 and still works in a friend’s work car.

Just wondering when it will be considered stable enough for a public release.

It is still stable enough for public release.

 

[Agie]

I have one DVR on which the firmware was installed by the manufacturer and has never been updated.
The DVR was purchased in 2013 and still works in a friend’s work car.

It is still stable enough for public release.

That's nice, but still plenty of examples in the tech world where is not.

Not published on the Viofo website so obviously they don't think it's ready for public release.

 

[Karagandinez]

Not published on the Viofo website so obviously they don't think it's ready for public release.

I thought that we were talking about the A229 Pro itself, and not about the firmware.
The firmware can take a long time to perfect. An example of this is A119V3:
On the Viofo website there was firmware V2.5_20210715 followed by firmware V2.6_20220808
and between them there were 5 firmware V2.6T, which were not posted on the Viofo website.

 

[ductt]

Not sure that the geofencing for parking mode can be implemented into A229 Pro?