[Pancham]

Your point on the adhesive pad is spot on. My 2017 viofo 119 is lying unused since 2021 since I sold my i20. I have run out of adhesive pads. Otherwise the dash cam is working fine. Another thing is the price. I bought my for around 5k and now these cost around 25k. Just insane.

[StableRide]

Originally Posted by batish

No wire cutting, no warranty issues, no alterations to your dashcam or your car. Plus, you get an addition USB socket for charging, as the dashcam only takes one port in the supplied charger.

Can you explain this part once again? With your way of charging, does it work in Parking Mode also (when ignition is OFF).

Also, the dealer Vijay told me about alternative of using external battery (similar to mobile powerbank), which will not use any fusetaps/hardwiring. Any opinion on the same?

[batish]

Originally Posted by StableRide

Can you explain this part once again? With your way of charging, does it work in Parking Mode also (when ignition is OFF).

Okay, let me explain again. The picture you're seeing, this one is of cigarette lighter 12v Port. It is just an extension of your regular socket which I've tapped to the fuse box.

No it does not work in Parking mode because the fuse I've tapped is of Power Windows. They lose power when you switch off the engine. Even if you tapped any fuse which has power all the time even then you won't be able to enter the parking mode with this method. You need a hardwire kit which is sold separately. It is manufactured by Viofo itself. IIRC, you need to tap 2-3 fuses for the same because it needs to know when to enter the parking mode, which cannot be known with my method as mine works just like your regular 12v Cigarette Lighter Port. Simple On/Off, nothing fancy.

Hardwiring kit also prevents your battery from discharging. See the image below, you'll see a switch on the right side. For example you choose 12.2V, your dashcam will automatically turn off when the battery reaches 12.2V, it is done to prevent discharge of your battery because you need a certain level of juice to start your vehicle.

Also, the dealer Vijay told me about alternative of using external battery (similar to mobile powerbank), which will not use any fusetaps/hardwiring. Any opinion on the same?

I am not really comfortable leaving anything with battery, after I leave the car. Temperatures here have been extreme in the past few months. See this thread (Insurance claim after Powerbank explodes inside a car?). One more point, do ask him, How will the Dashcam know when to power off and when to power on if you use this method? Won't it run till the battery is discharged?

Better would be to get a hardwire kit if you need parking mode, otherwise for regular usage the method I've listed is fine. It's concealed, does not alter any wiring, no scotch locks, nothing.

Originally Posted by Captain Slow

Does this cam support a parking mode? or some kind of sentry parking mode camera?

Here are the pictures from camera's menu:

[Roadistan]

Originally Posted by Pancham

Your point on the adhesive pad is spot on. My 2017 viofo 119 is lying unused since 2021 since I sold my i20. I have run out of adhesive pads. Otherwise the dash cam is working fine. Another thing is the price. I bought my for around 5k and now these cost around 25k. Just insane.

You can actually use 1inch think 3M double sided adhesive tape and this will do the job.All you need to do is place it vertically one after the other and this should cover the entire surface.

[rcg530]

Originally Posted by batish

Attachment 2340163

In excitement, forgot to capture image of box contents which I realized after installation, so this Image from Youtuber RetroCarGuy530.

Thanks for referencing my video and screenshot from within my video for the VIOFO A229 Duo dash camera.

I've only had one problem with the A229 Duo and that was the rear camera was out of focus after a couple of weeks. After being exposed to some direct sunlight and hot outdoor temps, it started to lose its focus sharpness. VIOFO sent me a replacement rear camera and so far that one is staying in focus.

The only other noteworthy behavior has been the front camera's screen will start to have one main/upper/center section stop working (blank out) when the camera is "hot" from direct sunlight exposure. When the camera cools off a bit, the screen returns to normal functionality.

[batish]

Originally Posted by rcg530

Thanks for referencing my video and screenshot from within my video for the VIOFO A229 Duo dash camera.

Welcome to the forum! I guess you got some views from this forum.

I've only had one problem with the A229 Duo and that was the rear camera was out of focus after a couple of weeks. After being exposed to some direct sunlight and hot outdoor temps, it started to lose its focus sharpness. VIOFO sent me a replacement rear camera and so far that one is staying in focus.

Oh man! I had postponed my plan to install rear camera as I had some other mod plans but with this, I should install the rear one before the warranty runs out.

The only other noteworthy behavior has been the front camera's screen will start to have one main/upper/center section stop working (blank out) when the camera is "hot" from direct sunlight exposure. When the camera cools off a bit, the screen returns to normal functionality.

What a bummer. I thought these issues were with 4k devices only. But even 2k suffers from this?

Viofo, if you're reading this - I bought the camera because of the RELIABILITY. Please don't make me question my own decision.
Our country would be the best one to test temperature issues, but fortunately summers are nearly over. Temperatures max at 35º these days. I'll have to wait for a few months to test this.

One more point, does your camera too suffers from little overexposure during night drives? Plates were overexposed in the videos when I checked last. I had also posted on DCT Forums about the same, then members suggested me to turn off WDR. Faced any similar issues? Could it be because of No CPL?

[rcg530]

Originally Posted by batish

Welcome to the forum! I guess you got some views from this forum.

Oh man! I had postponed my plan to install rear camera as I had some other mod plans but with this, I should install the rear one before the warranty runs out.

What a bummer. I thought these issues were with 4k devices only. But even 2k suffers from this?

Viofo, if you're reading this - I bought the camera because of the RELIABILITY. Please don't make me question my own decision.
Our country would be the best one to test temperature issues, but fortunately summers are nearly over. Temperatures max at 35º these days. I'll have to wait for a few months to test this.

One more point, does your camera too suffers from little overexposure during night drives? Plates were overexposed in the videos when I checked last. I had also posted on DCT Forums about the same, then members suggested me to turn off WDR. Faced any similar issues? Could it be because of No CPL?

Be aware that my A229 Duo is a preproduction unit. I've not heard of a lot of out of focus rear cameras, it just happened to occur with the one I was sent for the review.

The outdoor temps recently have been in the 30C to 38C range. The A229 Duo's front camera case can reach temps like these:

Top Left: 174F/78.9C
Top Right: 172F/77.8C
Bottom Left: 138F/58.9C
Bottom Right: 137F/58.3C

Here's a picture from my iPhone of when the A229 Duo front screen was "too hot".



I just checked my stored A229 Duo footage and at night license plates are a bit overexposed. At first I had WDR enabled, but I too received feedback on DCT about disabling that feature. That did help a bit to disable WDR.

Using the CPL at night doesn't seem to help readability. You can see the image sensor's ISO level is bumped up a bit to compensate for the CPL reducing the amount of light let into the image sensor.

When in motion it's difficult to read plates directly in front of my car. When sitting at a stop light/sign, the plates are definitely readable. Nighttime plate readability is a challenge for most dash cameras when the only light source is the headlights of your vehicle. When there's other sources of light, the A229 Duo/A119 Mini/T130 all do better in that situation.

[batish]

Originally Posted by rcg530

Be aware that my A229 Duo is a preproduction unit. I've not heard of a lot of out of focus rear cameras, it just happened to occur with the one I was sent for the review.

I hope mine does not fall into that category. Fingers crossed.

I just checked my stored A229 Duo footage and at night license plates are a bit overexposed. At first I had WDR enabled, but I too received feedback on DCT about disabling that feature.

Using the CPL at night doesn't seem to help readability. You can see the image sensor's ISO level is bumped up a bit to compensate for the CPL reducing the amount of light let into the image sensor.

See this screenshot from a recording, this was with WDR On. At some angles, plates of side vehicles are visible but for the front ones you can see below.



I think CPL would do the job. Just see my post #137 at DCT regarding the same. Problem I'm facing - the plates where my headlights focus, they are not readable, not even at the crawling speeds. I think CPL would definitely help there but can only be sure after using it. Even with the other sources of light, the immediate front plates which faces the headlights are overexposed. One of the DCT members also told me to reduce the exposure from settings but IMO if I do that it'd reduce the exposure overall, for the entire image whereas my peculiar problem is just the immediate front vehicle.

I suppose CPL would also reduce a bit of reflections I get from my dashboard during daytime.

Also changed the bit rate to highest, in case that helps but I'd have to check it again.

[rcg530]

If you want to see what the A229 front camera video looks like with a CPL filter installed, I have a video on my channel for the A229 Duo with a CPL filter installed.

I'm trying to be careful and not violate the no self promotion rules of this site.

[batish]

Originally Posted by rcg530

If you want to see what the A229 front camera video looks like with a CPL filter installed, I have a video on my channel for the A229 Duo with a CPL filter installed.

I watched the video. From what I observed, CPL reduces the dashboard reflections to a huge extent during daytime but could not figure out much during night time. I could have missed something as the screen I was watching on wasn't really large enough to figure out night time differences.

First, I'm hoping on the CPL. If it does make a difference in my case then good otherwise I'd be looking out for future firmware updates from Viofo.

[LokiPilaniya]

I've been using Viofo since 2016. First one was A119s with GPS and CPL then in 2020 just before the lockdown I got the A129 duo with 128GB Viofo card, GPS, 2 CPL filters(for both front and rear), Hard wire kit for parking mode from AliExpress. All for 17k (including 3k custom duty)
I did the installation myself, had a multimeter with me so checked the fuse box for tapping the right sockets.

It's been more than 2.5 years now, everything is working flawlessly. Front camera was replaced under warranty in Feb 2021 (AliExpress)
Luckily replacement came as whole (camera with all the accessories and GPS too which is an option)

CPL filter does make huge difference where sunlight is direct on the dashboard. The difference is like what you see with polarised sunglasses.

[batish]

Originally Posted by LokiPilaniya

Luckily replacement came as whole (camera with all the accessories and GPS too which is an option)

Damn! So you're the one who hit the jackpot, twice.

CPL filter does make huge difference where sunlight is direct on the dashboard. The difference is like what you see with polarised sunglasses.

Waiting for them. More than the reflections I'm concerned about the night time overexposure. Hope these filters make some difference there.

With more and more posts pouring in for hardwiring, It leaves me little desiring to experience the parking mode too.

[batish]

This is how it looks like from outside.





Note the CPL Filter installed. Also helps in covering the lens a little. Although the night quality hasn't improved much but daytime reflections have drastically reduced.

Daytime quality is really good. Plates are readable even at speed of 70 kmph.

[batish]

Finally, after quite some time A229 received firmware update. Usually the firmware updates are minor ones, but this one got few new settings. I jumped from 0511 to 1010.



Some settings I checked till now are change in resolution. Earlier the maximum was 1440P at 30 fps for both cameras, now they added 1944P at 24 fps. Let's see how it fares during night drives.


Old Resolutions


New Resolutions

G Sensor can now be switched off entirely.


New Settings


Old Settings

LED Lights too got new controls. Now they can be switched off always/On always/Power Button only.



P.S: Installed rear camera as well as hardwiring kit too a few days back. Will post an update about them too, soon.

Rear camera too can be configured as to how it displays in main camera's screen.

[LokiPilaniya]

Great choice!

I started my journey with Viofo back in March 2017, using A119s with GPS and CPL and then in Jan 2020 I got the A129 Duo with GPS, CPL and hardwire kit. Hardwired it myself and it works perfectly.