INTRODUCTION

   From accidents and reckless driving to road rage and insurance frauds there are just far too many reasons as to why anyone should have a dash camera installed in their cars. Now as I’ve mentioned numerous times in the past i really enjoy watching such videos on YouTube and what they all have in common is of course that they are taken by dash cameras installed in cars, trucks and even bikes. Unfortunately, even though dash cameras are very popular in many countries (including the USA, UK, China, Japan, Australia and Russia) they are not as popular where I’m at, something which i sincerely hope will change in the near future. Today with me i have yet another 4K car dash camera model, the A129 Pro Duo by VIOFO.

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   The VIOFO A129 Pro Duo consists by a forward and a rear camera both of which are housed inside compact plastic housings. Now whereas the forward camera uses the SONY Exmor R 8.29MP ultra high definition CMOS image sensor the rear camera is based on the SONY Starvis 2.13MP full high definition CMOS image sensor. This allows the forward camera to record at 4K (3840x2160p - 1440p/1080p at 60fps are also supported) resolution at 30fps (with a diagonal viewing angle of 130 degrees) and the rear camera at 1080p (1920x1080p) resolution at 30fps (with a diagonal viewing angle of 140 degrees). Just like other 4K dash cameras (and action cameras) in the market the A129 Pro Duo uses H.265 HEVC video compression for significantly reduced recording sizes. Other built-in features include α 2-inch LCD screen, dual-band WiFi connectivity (802.11b/g/n/ac 2.4/5GHz), GPS, super capacitor (prevents possible recording data corruption if power is suddenly cut off), temperature protection (-10/+65 degrees), microphone, speaker, G-sensor (parking mode) and a microSD slot compatible with cards up to 256GB in capacity. In terms of optional addons VIOFO also offers the HK3 ACC hardwire kit (allows the camera to record 24/7 if something happens to your car), bluetooth remote control and a CPL filter for the front camera which can reduce reflections.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

The main product features are listed at the front of the box right beneath a product picture and the company logo.

Both the product features and available addons are listed at the rear.

Packing is very good with both cameras wrapped inside synthetic covers and placed inside a piece of soft foam.

Along with the two cameras inside the box you'll also find a mini USB power cable, 6 meter long mini USB rear camera cable, trim removal tool, 5 cable clips, four 3M replacement double-sided stickers (2 for each camera), USB card reader, car lighter USB adapter, welcome paper and the user manual.

THE A129 PRO DUO

The A129 Pro Duo consists of two compact cameras the front of which measures 84mm in height, 55mm in width and 40mm in length whereas the rear is even smaller at 53mm in width, 31mm in height and 50mm in length.

With a viewing angle of just 130 degrees the front camera may not cover as much area as some other models in the market but still it should be more than enough for everyday use.

Of course, the lens is not fixed and can be adjusted vertically (by roughly 90 degrees).

On the other hand, the rear camera has a wider viewing angle of 140 degrees (again the lens can be adjusted on the vertical axis by roughly up to 90 degrees).

Taking a look on the right side of the front camera we find two mini USB ports and an 3.5mm AV port.

On the opposite side we find the microphone, microSD card slot and the reset button.

Both cameras have mini USB ports at the top (power for the front camera and connection to the front camera from the rear).

The front camera also features a 2-inch HD LCD screen which can be used both for live feed and to access the camera menus (due to the angle the camera mounts however i found it far easier to access the menus from the smartphone app).

VIOFO APP

Instead taking snapshots of the camera menus via its LCD screen I’ll be looking at the same settings through the smartphone app.

So, from the video settings area you can control the resolution for both the front and rear cameras (3 available settings), enable/disable time-lapse recording, adjust the duration for each recording segment/file (6 available settings), enable/disable audio recording, change the exposure values for both cameras, enable/disable WDR, enable/disable motion detection, adjust the G-sensor sensitivity, enable/disable date stamp on the recordings and set the bitrate (4 available settings).

Moving to the system settings area from here you can change the time zone, perform a time synchronization, enable/disable boot delay, enable/disable parking mode, adjust the motion sensor and G-sensor sensitivity (only for the parking mode), rotate image (if you place the camera upside down), enable/disable rear camera mirror mode, enable/disable notification sounds, adjust the live video source, enable/disable the GPS function, set the speed unit (MPH/KPH), choose what GPS info you'd like stamped onto the recordings, enable/disable the screensaver feature for the 2-inch screen, set the frequency (NTSC 60Hz / PAL 50Hz), choose the menu language, format the SD card, reset the camera, adjust the WiFi settings, use a custom text in your recordings, register your license plates with the app and check the remaining microSD card space.

You can also access recordings from the files tab seen above.

Needless to say, the live feed includes PIP (front/rear as main and front/rear as secondary) and single (front or rear) modes as seen above.

AUDIO & VIDEO QUALITY

Since i always like to keep the original bitrate and thus quality of recording i once again didn't use YouTube to place these recordings which you can all download just by left clicking (or right click and use the save as command) on each of the pictures (short in duration but still somewhat large in size). Again, for this review i used the maximum possible image quality settings which in this case produce a bitrate of up to 60mbps for the front and 17mbps for the rear camera.

CONCLUSION

   The VIOFO A129 Pro Duo dash camera is one of the very few 4K models available currently in the market which means things can’t get much better than this, at least in terms of image quality. Now if I had to do a direct comparison between the A129 Pro Duo by VIOFO and the DR900S-2CH by Pittasoft I’d have to choose the latter due to smoother and slightly more detailed image quality (even though bitrate is far less compared to the former). On the other hand, the A129 Pro Duo seems to produce more vivid colors and produces more illumination during the night (Super night vision as they call it) so for some people out there these may matter more than image clarity. There’s not much I can say about size either, yes, I do prefer the LCD-less design of the DR900S-2CH but some people clearly not so that’s also something that has to do with personal preference (plus VIOFO released the A139 model not long ago – review soon - which has no LCD screen and is much more compact).

   So just how much will getting the A129 Pro Duo 4K Dash Camera by VIOFO set you back? Well currently it retails for USD249.99 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 178.95Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de – not currently available however) so it’s actually priced just right (especially on this side of the Atlantic). At the end of the day i really have nothing bad to say about the VIOFO A129 Pro Duo, image quality is very good, it features compact housings, it’s a 2-channel model (front/rear), has WiFi and GPS and is priced right so the Golden Award is certainly in order.

PROS

- Overall Size
- 4K UHD Resolution (Front Camera) / Full HD Resolution (Rear Camera)
- Image Quality (Vivid Colors / Super Night Vision)
- 2 Inch HD LCD Screen
- Dual Camera/Channel Solution
- Built in Dual Band WiFi/GPS/G Sensor
- Range of Motion (Tilt)
- Motion Recording
- Android / iOS App
- Compatible With Up To 256GB MicroSD Cards
- Available Extras

CONS

- Size (Compared to Other Models Like the A139/DR900S)
- Not Convertible Friendly (Provided Rear Camera Cable May Not Be Long Enough)
- Rear Controls Not Easy to Use (Angle)
- Very High Bitrate Results in Less Smooth Video
- 24/7 Battery Addon Not Available