Was looking for a dashcam and could see price has been reduced to 199$ for the A129 plus duo.
CamelCamelCamel.
I have the same question. Can I install this myself or need a professional to do it?
You can do it yourself if you're comfortable removing some trim to hide cables.
I have no experience with the hard-wired kit though, only using USB run into a USB->12v adapter in my centre console. This boots it up with the car and turns it off when the car turns off.
I just installed the front and rear on my car it was very easy and how to install with hardwire kit can be found on YouTube.
One cable that connects the front to rear and you follow your car trim to hide and install it
Via a long cable from the front cam. I don't think you can use any usb to power it separately (it needs to store the videos to the card in the front cam).
If just installing to cig lighter it's super easy, only challenge is running the cables behind the trim to make it look nice.
If hardwiring I suggest looking at a few Youtube vids. Use fuse taps so no soldering needed (sort of like a double adapter for power points). I've done a few cars with this dashcam and it's pretty straight forward :)
There is a very long wire. I have zero experience but I use the included tool prying thing and tucked the wire under the trim. Easy.
Note that for cars like prado that have the doors at the back open sideways, you might have to get an auto electrician to install it.
I did mine until I got stuck with the door and then had to take to auto electrician!
Also I had a hardwire kit!
This goes for any car. The rear cam has to be fitted to the rear door or hatch and so, the cable has to go through the umbilical between the body and the door. I spray WD-40 into the umbilical and a bit on the connector. Then it can slip through the umbilical much more easily.
@lomie: +1 to WD-40. A thin welding rod comes in handy for pulling it through the umbilical as well if you can't slip it through.
Via a really long cable from the front camera that does both power and video
I installed myself, the hardest part was feeding the usb cable through the rubber grommet from my roof lining to the boot on my hatchback. that took a while as the plug is quite wide.
Same. Struggled a bit with the A Pillars but it's okay now.
I paid $190 in July 2021.
Sam, $190 in Nov 2021
There's a single cable that connects it to the front camera that is used for power and data.
a cable that connects the front to the rear
Cable from main unit
Can anyone compare this to the Garmin dash cam mini 2?
good question
This has better quality Garmin is more discrete and you need an account to use it.
There are youtube footage for dashcams ie blackbox my car and Car Cams Central (now known as Andrew Lam), its worthwhile viewing footage of day time and night time to see you which brand and model suits your preference.
Thanks, been watching and waiting for this to drop.
Bought one for my daughter with HW kit and CPL.
Might get the sd card from the Sandisk deal poster elsewhere.
Bought one for my daughter with HW kit and CPL.
where did you get the hardwiring kit and CPL from? free shipping?
From the same deal with 5% extra off each item. Theres a drop down list of options including remote and sd cards.
Does anyone know if you can retrofit the rear cam on a A119 V3?
No I don't believe so. The rear camera is powered through the main unit in the Duo models, whereas the A119 only has one USB socket which it uses for power
Last week had to review footage after an accident and have to say this camera delivered the goods (I was worried would have a problem not having formatted the card recently). Quite impressed for anyone considering. Connection can be a bit fiddly and quirks with saving but once it works no issues with footage. Had it hard wired by professional.
How much did it cost to hardwire?
Linus Tech tips raised a good point that most cameras haven't improved significantly in like nearly 5 years.
I just want 4k 60, reasonable quality. Don't care if the SD card is expensive but you want something you can absolutely be sure the plate is captured on. Both resolution and frame rate help this.
4k 60 capable sensors have been around a long time on fairly cheap phones now
2k 60 or 1080p 60 is just as good and saves data on the SD card to capture more days, though new one's might offer 4k its not really required to capture license plate details with the sensor available.
Sure but it's mid 2023 and this tech progress has died.
Surely it's possible by now even if the SDcard is expensive to maintain it.
At least for 1 cam anyhow.
These are not 4K camera. For a little bit more, I would strongly suggest getting 4K camera, the quality is really good.
Link for a little bit more please?
Sale has expired, but you should be able to catch it from time to time. Sale price for the A129 Pro Duo is $210-240.
https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/711898
https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/729617
https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/738452
any issue with the Pro Duo version, especially with the rear camera issue that people are complaining about in the Plus Duo version?
@[Deactivated]: I've had zero issues with it, apart from occasionally overheating, less than 10 times a year during one of those very hot days when it has been out in the sun for a while.
What issues are people having? I have the Pro Duo, not the Plus Duo, not sure what common parts they have. Maybe the back camera is the same?
Why would you need 4k? I've got one of these and could read plates and see incidents both day and night….
So I can read the barcodes of the groceries in the boot of the car in front and made judgements based on the products they purchase.
JK's, I don't actually know, for uploading to dashcam Aus YouTube page? If lower quality works anyway then that's great.
Thanks,, probably wait for one of these 4k deals to popup..
I think I see somewhere about the 4K night vision being reduced compared to the 2K due to something with the sensor size of 4K. Stand to be corrected.
Correct, and aperture is smaller too on the 4K so video freezes tend to be blurry. See here, if you pause the video the 4K always has motion blur, and that is daytime video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kGYgvP1GfI.
This vid is a great example of 4k is not always better. 30fps vs 60fps comes into equation too. The vid at 52 secs, rego of the red car coming from the other direction is the easiest to read in A119 V3 and A129 Plus.
Horses for courses, ofcourse. The more expensive dashcams load up on features like parking, cloud etc. and not necessarily on better image quality. Vortex Radar channel does some very good comparison videos too.
I am torn between buffered parking mode/5ghz of A129 pro/A229 and better overall motion video of A129 Plus/A119 V3. Price is a one time but usability will be permanent.
It's not that simple. Yeah 4k is better quality but do you need it? It costs more to buy, file size will be much bigger and unwieldy, you need bigger memory card also.
Yea true. I have a 512GB card in my camera, the file size is 431MB for the 4k Front camera and 115Mb for the 1080p back camera per minute. So around 550MB in total front and back per minute at the highest resolution settings.
The night vision on this dashcam is abit lacking, that's the same for all other dashcams too. Sometimes its just a pixelated mess.
4K version has better day time quality but only 30fps v 60fps for the duo and more frames can be beneficial. Night time performance tends to drop as you reduce pixel size (less light hits each pixel). The duo also has had issues with parking mode.
Most of the 4K ones still look like trash
Here's a great video that goes into some of the reasons why.
4k does not mean the camera is better. Unless there's a physically larger sensor and optics, the maximum resolution of the camera may already be met with a lower resolution sensor. Without knowing the details of the sensor and optics, looking at the video footage is the only way to tell.
How do you install these things? Is there a YouTube video?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WImyAtwuF4
there is a part 1 and part two - follow this very easy and worked on my car well!
you will need two 5 amp fuses and 2 fuse connectors - everything else is easy from there.
Thx
If you had a good budget - say 200 to 400, which dashcams do you recommend? Can you please name a few so that I can do my homework and shortlist? Thanks.
There’s a good video from Linus tech tips about dashcams. Basically they all use the same sensor and paying more doesn’t get you better quality. You tend to get a few more features though.
Thanks will check that out.
I have this dash cam, and it's normally around $270-$290 which is within your bracket, it's just on sale now. There's also the Pro Duo, which is higher resolution but I opted for this one because it has higher fps.
Yes, I read the same that higher fps is better. Thanks for info :)
Does anyone know if it has the auto shutdown feature after a period of inactivity/no movement?
The cigratte and usb ports in my car are always "ON" even after engine is switched off.
Trying to avoid using the hardwire kit though.
Mine turns on / off with the ignition, it is plugged into a cigarette lighter. Sometimes it doesn't turn on so I run the engine for about 10-15 seconds before driving.
Don't think it auto shuts down, though there's a few options available in the menu's so wouldn't be surprised if it can be changed.
I have the A129 Duo and it does have the option to shut down after 12/24 hrs, regardless of activity. Though mine is hardwired, I imagine the setting works the same way, but firmware updates might change that.
missed the deal when it's $99
what?
Don't think there ever was any deal for BOTH front and rear cams for $99.
Dang that was a good buy. Right up there with the Moto G82
Both were pricing errors honoured by sellers
That was a great price.
Great camera setup, so much peace of mind when driving now. I DIY installed mine. It was pretty fussy because I'm a noob. I have a cheap multimeter that I used to test interior fuses because you want one which turns off when the car turns off (otherwise youll drain the car battery). It's straightforward and anyone can do it if you have a bit of determination. I ran the cables behind the roof lining. Or you could just pay someone I guess! I think it comes with USB power too but I didnt want the cord dangling around.
@gakko, did you use the hardwire kit? The hardwire kit comes with low voltage protection which can turn off parking mode when the voltage reaches below preset value.
I used 'a' hardwire kit. I can't remember if it was official viofo or not but I doubt it if so, because I did flatten the battery by misreading what fuse I was using at some point.
For those with the standard a129 Duo, note that this model is not a simple plug-in upgrade. My unit refused to recognise the rear camera, or the GPS module. It does power-up with the old power adapter though.
Still haven't gotten around to rewiring mine, which I bought in July last year …
Yes, because a129 duo is single chip one which is front and rear share same gpu, a129 plus duo is dual chip one which can support front 60fps and 30fps independently.
The rear cam on mine stopped working after about 8 months, I suspect because of slight lateral pressure where the rear cam cable connects to the rear camera. Make sure you install it better than I did!!
I have it properly installed and happens to me a lot that the rear camera just stops recording. People tell a lot good things about the duo but I have it for two years and wouldn't recommend it. The app is also pretty crap and works on my mobile only when I turn off the mobile data. It records ok at the front, but it's definitely not a quality product and it's quite useless at night when in parking mode.
Anything you would recommend instead?
Nah mate sorry, I am also looking to replace it. Currently I'm travelling so no time to get anything but if I will, I would get something with night vision
I have a A119 V3 which I bought from Amazon. Whenever the power is disconnected from the camera it turns off immediately. Doesn’t look normal to me. Can be that the car could not charge the dashcam for some reason. Anyone experiencing the same?
These dashcams are capacitor, not battery. They don't stay on unless you install them to constant power.
Then in an event, say minor collision, the cable disconnects then the camera will turn off and remain off for the entire period.
Yeah that’s how electricity works
I can't see that ever happening in a minor collision… It would have to be a major accident e.g the wind screen is completely destroyed and pulls the dash cam from the cable. I also don't see why that would matter anyway, as long as it captures the events leading up to the accident, such as number plates and determining fault, capturing the aftermath is unnecessary.
@brifog: Yeah you capture the event. If your cable happens to disconnect during that event, it still has enough power in the capacitor to finish saving the file as if you turned off the car.
If you want a battery powered one sitting in the Australian summer heat, you might not even have a dashcam that lives long enough to capture any event.
Edit sorry meant to reply to io.
@unco: Thanks for your explanation. All this while I thought that my camera is faulty.
The camera is connected to the lighter socket in my car and sometimes I notice that the camera is off because the connection got loose. I do not get any indication of this event as there is nothing that will alert me. I suppose it is how it is and I need to make sure that connection never gets loose.
@io: btw I also have a VIOFO A119 V3 and have hardwired in the past
however, the issue I got is if the car's battery is a relatively small one and if you don't drive you car within like 5 days and constantly recording you'll have to jump start your car. Maybe have a portable jump starter handy anyway
There are 4 settings from 12.4V and below that you can set to cut further battery drain but if you driving your car at least every second day then it wouldn't matter
My Viofo A119 V3 works great. I've reported 3 cigarette tosser shits and made it on Dashcams Aus with my footage. Recommend.
Do they do anything about cigarette tossers?
A shame we can't report intersection blockers
Yeah they get a fine.
they should get a fine but have you ever got confirmation they did?
@Poor Ass: No you get an email to say that the report was actioned but "While we are unable to share the outcome of the report due to the confidential nature of the process, most reports result in a fine being issued."
I own this product, this is a great price for a great dashcam + rear camera system. I purchased the hard wired kit and had it professionally fitted to my new car.
I wasnt prepared to potentially break something on my new wheels trying to get it fitted. The hard wired kit also means one less cable running into your centre console. The quality of the footage from both cameras is excellent. No problem retrieving number plates off footage. You can grab the footage via the Viofo app while it's in the car or you can easily remove the micro sd card and transfer it on a laptop or desktop. There's also a little bluetooth remote you can stick to your dash near the steering wheel so you dont have to reach when you want to permanently record something. I haven't had to use it for anything yet, but it gives me peace of mind and I think it's an absolutely worthwhile investment.
Also, if you're surrounded by looney drivers and want a system to capture footage for dashcams Australia, you can't go wrong.
Purchased a second one. Cbfed installing it
I had one installed about 1 year ago.and was about 220. May do that again.
I got this one recently and had it professionally installed and hardwired. Unfortunately I’ve had a lot of problems with the rear camera dropping out intermittently - problem was improved with a firmware update but still not entirely fixed. It sounds like a fairly common problem. In contrast, my older A119 V3 has been perfect for almost 4 years now. I wouldn’t recommend this model
Ditto. They sent a new cable which worked for a month, now the rear doesn't show again.
How much was it to get installed and hardwired by a professional?
Why will nobody answer this!!
Because the price can vary a lot depending on which professional you are asking.
How does the rear cam get power? Via usb?
Couldn’t find it in description . Thanks