Every car manufacturer should Pre-wired usb-c type plug from factory front and rear windshield rear view mirror

Thank you so much for a thorough, thoughtful and succinct video. I am in the market, found this one and didn’t know what to expect. I appreciate you taking the time to go through all the steps and specs.

Keep the good reviews coming, and muchas gracias!

The motion blur you were seeing was likely due to the fact that you had HDR enabled. VIOFO has the HDR "Auto" setting which allows you to turn on HDR at night and off during the day based on a time schedule in the firmware settings.

@LifeHackster

6 ай бұрын

Do you think it was ON during that time of day or off? Also, the settings on the Rove and the Vantrue have their WDR and HDR to ON respectively also.

@RetroCarGuy530

6 ай бұрын

@@LifeHacksterthe VIOFO A229 Pro status line shows "HDR" when the HDR feature is enabled. The footage you included in your video shows "HDR" in the status line. VIOFO tends to recommend HDR only for nighttime recording, but I've viewed other reviews that tend to have it on during the daylight hours too. VIOFO added the HDR "Auto" setting to many of its recent dash camera models which uses the HDR Timer to turn HDR on/off based on a time schedule that you define in the firmware settings.

@LifeHackster

6 ай бұрын

@@RetroCarGuy530 I’m going to do some more testing on it and have it off and see.

@bv9735

5 ай бұрын

Please keep us posted on what you find

@carolinalobato645

Ай бұрын

@@LifeHacksterupdate??

1st dash cam review video that makes suggestions on how to run the wiring for those weary of doing the wiring themselves, thumbs up just for that alone!

Very Good and Professional Review 👍 Thank You Very Much! I like your honesty and sincerity. Your videos helped me to choose security cameras for my place. And now for my car.

Your the best at this dude... Tks for sharing.

@LifeHackster

6 ай бұрын

Thanks for watching!

from saudi arbai nice Very Good and Professional Review

Great video. Can you plug the cameras in a power bank instead of car battery?

Thank you for a good and informative review video. I’ve heard from a few users of the Dongar adapters, that sometimes there have been problems in vehicles that use the Canbus wiring system, as well as being unable to provide adequate power. Can you comment on that? Thank you. My choice will be to stick with the Viofo 4K camera but in 2 channel only in order to get the higher bit rate capture on the front camera. License plate capture details are most important hence my reasons why. I’m trying to decide on the best way to run the rear camera wiring on my 2024 Honda CRV Hybrid as I’ve been told that I could create problems with the front & side curtains air bags if I’m careful just where the wiring is run. I see you doing the same aiming of the rear camera which in your case, makes it look as though the camera lens is looking through a rear defroster line. IF this is the case, can the camera even see it?

Which memory card are you using with it? And what size? Also, is it working well with the camera?

Viofo can fix that in firmware if they wanted. Just adjust the exposure algorithm to use a higher iso during daytime, which will allow a faster shutter speed so no blur. If not, you'll have to remove the filter in low light daytime or even night time

Thanks a lot for this review and the comparison section you did. I just bought the Vantrue n4 pro but have not installed it yet (waiting on the 512gb Vantrue card and hardwire kit which won't arrive for another week or two, sadly). How did the audio compare between the Vantrue n4 pro and Viofo A229 pro? I know on another youtube review I saw the guy said the audio was bad on the Vantrue but the Viofo audio was a lot better. I drive Uber so audio is really important. Just wondered if there was a huge difference in audio between these two, in your opinion.

@LifeHackster

6 ай бұрын

I didn’t hear any difference between the 2. Both are pretty good. Thanks for watching!

It’s possible the motion blur you’re seeing is due to having HDR enabled during the daytime. HDR on Viofo dash cams works best at night time, not so much during the daytime. You can confirm this with your A119 Mini 2, and A139 Pro.

@LifeHackster

6 ай бұрын

Second comment on this.. thanks I’ll test it but just FYI the comparison with the Rove has its WDR enabled and the Vantrue has its HDR ON also during testing.

@PanzerPlatform

6 ай бұрын

@@LifeHackster Thank you for the reply. Viofo recommends lens adjustment should be 50% road / 50% sky for proper light metering. Your test footage shows it to be closer to 75% road / 25% sky. Viofo is working on adding an alignment line to the live preview in APP to help users align the lens to 50/50. Also there is a new A229 Pro firmware; V1.0 231123 Front V1.0 231116 Rear

Great detailed video! Is there a real need for a back camera? I can’t decide whether to get just a front camera or both front and back.

@AnxiousPiggy

Ай бұрын

YES GET A REAR ONE, I ONLY HAD FRONT AND INSIDE, AFTER RECENT EVENTS I AM SO SAD I DIDNT HAVE A REAR ONE.

Living in Florida I’m going to have to buy a joint to put my dash cam right behind the roof liner because my expensive dash cam broke due to heat for years…

Thank you.

@LifeHackster

6 ай бұрын

Thanks for watching!

Honest review! I also bought it. Only front camera A119 mini2. And first what I noticed was motion blur. Specially in the night. With 60fps is a little bit better, but still can't read road signs 😮 And if you have hdr ON, than can record only in 30fps, what is also useless because of motion blur. You don't need extra power for GPS modul. Can just use long USB cable which came with camera. And plug it in to the camera. It works on my camera.

@ViofoDashcamOfficial

6 ай бұрын

So sorry to hear that. At night, it is better to turn on the HDR. 30fps will not influenece the image quality and can perform well as 60fps actually. If the video is really not clear even after turning on HDR, shall we have a video for analysis? Please contact our support to get further help.

@diymasterTM

6 ай бұрын

@@ViofoDashcamOfficial Hi. Big respect that you answerd under yt video. 👍 But less fps is even more "blurry" picture or more difficult to read text on road signs. I will contact support. Let see if they can help me.

@LifeHackster

6 ай бұрын

Thanks for watching. There will always be motion blur at night or in low light situations. It is because the camera will automatically adjust and lower its shutter speed to accept more light. If not the footage will be too dark.

@diymasterTM

6 ай бұрын

@@LifeHackster thnx. But in your video, other cameras was better also in day/cloudy light. So is not problem just in the dark For me also darker picture is no problem, because can make it brighter in video editor...if I would need some evidence.

@LifeHackster

6 ай бұрын

@@diymasterTM I’m talking about night time and around dawn and daybreak. This VIOFO just needs some tweaking and will minimize motion blur in cloudy situations..but when there is low light and at night all cameras will have motion blur.

I think it does better with HDR disabled cause kinda crushes the dark areas when on

ViofoA129 I have love it great quality and reliable use a great quality SD card!!

@Onlyinbean

3 ай бұрын

Agreed

I had the viofo a139 pro 3 channel and I enabled the parking mode in southern California and the camera failed after a few months. Im guessing it was too hot in the car for parking mode to be running all summer.... Viofo sent a new camera but they asked for the old one back... I wouldnt be surprised if the one they sent is refurbished.... fyi Hopes this helps someone

Thanks for your review! Silly question: is it really necessary to use the whole electrostatic film, or can we cut it out to the size of the 3M sticky foam?

@LifeHackster

6 ай бұрын

You can cut it but not to the size of the 3M tape. It needs to be bigger so that it can hold dash cam properly.

@nghngh8557

6 ай бұрын

@@LifeHackster thank you

Hi there, so do recommend to hardwire the dash cam or thru the cigarettes port? Sometimes parking mode is needed but without is ok. I also think even with hardwire, i can always remove the camera if i dont want it uses up the car battery.

@ViofoDashcamOfficial

6 ай бұрын

If you still need to use parking mode sometimes, then you can install it with a hardwire kit. Then diable the parking mode in the settings when you do not need it.

@tommytqt1

6 ай бұрын

@@ViofoDashcamOfficial Thank you Viofo. So if i disable the parking mode in the setting, the dash cam won't use the car's battery; even though, it is hardwired?

@LifeHackster

6 ай бұрын

I personally don’t use parking mode so I power them up through the cars charger port or using the Dongar Adapter.

@nigels.6051

6 ай бұрын

@@tommytqt1 Correct, but more conveniently you can also set the parking mode duration timer to eg 1 hour so that it covers your supermarket trips but doesn't empty your car battery recording the inside of your garage all night, then there is no need to remember to disable the parking mode.

@ViofoDashcamOfficial

6 ай бұрын

@@tommytqt1, There will be very little power consumption you can just ignore it.

How do you transfer the files to your phone? Is there an app or do you have To Do it with a cable?

@LifeHackster

4 ай бұрын

You can use the Viofo app or what I do is remove the micro SD card and plug it in to my computer.

Can this particular dash cam be powered by USB (5 vdc)? My rearview mirror has a USB socket.

@LifeHackster

6 ай бұрын

Yes.

When i looked at the title and thought oh no, I just ordered my A119 mini 2 along with microsd card on Cyber Monday but looks like I'm still good with my purchase instead of going for this model.

@LifeHackster

6 ай бұрын

I like the A119 Mini 2 and I will actually make another video about it soon.

@c0MeT1

5 ай бұрын

⁠@@LifeHackster I got the Mini 2 two days ago. The quality is good, but I have a problem: the camera freezes, and I have to restart it every time by turning the cable. Other question: Is the Vantrue N5 better then the Viofo A229 Pro?

This or the a139pro for image quality?

@LifeHackster

6 ай бұрын

They have about the same video quality.

Running extra accessories off your powered rearview mirror seems like a bad idea. And judging by the electrical tape, I would call that a hack job.

@LifeHackster

3 ай бұрын

If you saw an electrical tape, then blame Honda because the Dongar adapter doesn't use one -> kzread.info/dash/bejne/l2ieu7OjhbaciqQ.htmlsi=-1_XjgVQCmPKkJh8

Does this dashcam interfere with DAB radio?

@Toliman.

2 ай бұрын

This is why you have those cylindrical blocks that contain magnets on either end of long cables to reduce the electrical noise. They are called ferrite cores, ferrite beads, and clamp onto most cables. Because the car chassis is isolated from the ground by the rubber tyres, it picks up a lot of electrical noise from the engine and radio, and other electrical components. There's nowhere for the 'waste' energy to go, so it gets picked up by any thin wires or antennas inside or outside the car frame. You can get them cheap, and in car audio, you basically put them everywhere to stop any hum or crackling sound, because the bigger ferrites, you can also use them to organise and clip cables together to make it easier to manage/feed cables together. Looping the cable around the magnet clamp also helps tie up longer wires so they don't cause clutter, and reduces the electrical noise of anything nearby. It would only interfere if you put the USB wires too close to the antenna wire. Even then, the power isn't strong enough to interfere, but it would add RFI noise to the other cables nearby in the car, because everything with radiation/noise in the car has nowhere to go. What you can get, is if the cable isn't fully plugged into the socket, either on the car radio, or into the dashcam sockets for USB and rear camera, is that it picks up noise /hum from inside the car.

Can the interior camera be tilted?

@carolinalobato645

Ай бұрын

Yes

Doesnt have the exact times. And skipping videos. Not recording

So this or the Vantrue?

@MartinRodriguez-mq3cs

7 күн бұрын

Love my Vantrue! Have had it for over a year and love it. Saved me yesterday when I got hit, vehicle was driving fast while I was stationary, and it barely caught it so a little editing and was able to capture enough to make out the name of the tow truck company and they took full responsibility for hitting my vehicle!

I thought expensive dash cams like this will perform superbly. But seems garbage. So much motion blur. My 70mai M500 can read number plates even at 80km per hour speed! Doesn't matter HDR enabled or not. Superb performance. Only drawback is durability. Very short lifespan.

@LifeHackster

6 ай бұрын

I agree. Seems like the HDR is the one making it blurry..the thing is, it needs the HDR in daytime.

@MegaDustDevil

6 ай бұрын

@@LifeHackster maybe it's because of aperture problem. It doesn't matter Starvis 1 or 2. If accosiating hardwares are inferior you can't get best results. Same applies on computers too. you have a massive i9 processor but speed is low. Why? Accosiating hardwares sucks. I read reviews on latest 70mai A810 can't read number plates too which have same Starvis 2. It's not Sony's fault, these dash cam companies throw products to market without even testing their ptoducts properly.

Best budget camera on deal these days ?

@LifeHackster

6 ай бұрын

For Dash Cams? With Starvis 2 sensor, the A119 Mini 2 comes in mind.

@Hexa8

6 ай бұрын

@@LifeHackster yes car dash camera ...

So viofo is not recommended?

@carolinalobato645

Ай бұрын

It is

Viofo can't be trusted long term. Happy to send it to you I have the A119 Pro and it's permanently out of focus. I reset and did everything I could. Only to read online that this is happening to alot of Viofos and they supposedly fix the issue physically with the new models. I wouldn't chance it.

You need to tell people the video quality is downgraded when running front & rear cameras. This wasn't an apples to apples comparison.

@LifeHackster

4 ай бұрын

Video quality is still 4K at 30 FPS running all 3 channels. It is not a video quality issue but a shutter speed one and HDR.

🌹💐👍👏💐🌹

@LifeHackster

6 ай бұрын

Thanks for watching.

The App is complete garbage. Pro tip.

Dont propogate the bs lies about high endurance sd cards. Ive been using a cheap samsung sd card in my a119 v3 for 4 years no without hiccup. As long as its class 10 or higher.... for the write speed youll be fine.

@LifeHackster

6 ай бұрын

You haven't had a 4K Dash Cam yet.... try it with your cheap Samsung and see how long it will last.

@shaolin95

6 күн бұрын

Bullshit!!! I killed two high end cards with my first camera until I learned about high endurance cards and never an issue again. you are the one spreading nonsense

i just bought it and was not so impressive. The front camera is not 4k when the rear camera is active! Plus night time plate reading is not so clear, especially the rear one. Plus it will not stay powered on after you access the menu via your phone, you need to power cycle through the car ignition to power up the camera

@adamramos8799

Ай бұрын

So which dash cam should I get ?