4:08: At this point you see clearly why the Viofo is better. Where the U3000 just has a mash of light, the A229 shows the headlights. And even the number plates should be readable.
OK, my dude! I hate to switch the subject, but when are you going to get your hands on the new Blackvue PLUS series? I know they have only been available for a week but you are the GURU of Dashcams and we humbly await your review!
I do not have a Blackvue DR970X Plus. Not sure if Blackvue would be sending us one. We may have to buy one. A few companies were going to send us units. I think they backed off due to our honest reviews.
The advantage of the parking mode for the U3000 is nice but I'd sooner have the better A229 dashcam video quality because if any conflict or issue happens, 99% chance it'll be while you are driving rather than being parked up somewhere.
I am laughing my butt off at the moment. 🤣 I have my A229 Pro on the table, powered up in 2 channel mode, doing a heat test. It is about 7 feet from me. When you spoke the Lock The Video command, my A229 Pro did just that! Of course I had to replay you saying that four times just to amuse myself. 😄 I do wish my A229 Pro got the same video quality as yours does, frankly, in 2 channel mode it sucks. Even in one channel mode, the image is nowhere near as good as yours. I have pretty much written the camera off and am using it more for testing and playing with. I have my A129 Pro back in the car.
Yep, it is the 231208 version. I have even used different video plays in Linux just to rule out that angle. By the way, of all the DCT reviewers, you have the best. Some of them suffer from oral diarrhea and take 200 words to make a 10 word statement.
I have tried with the CPL on and off. The car is a Outback, at present I am looking at settings on my video players as that may be the issue in part. No hard knocks against VIOFO as they make an excellent product and have excellent customer service, I just seem to be having issues with this one camera. :) I know the U.S. market lives and breaths to see the license plate so they can post online about showing their video to a cop, but frankly, I would rather have VIOFO do a firmware that provides overall high imaging of the entire view of the camera lens.
@@crutchclargo This product has been changed quite a bit. A lot of us reviewers were very confused early on. They focused a lot of firmware changes on getting license plate even while at night instead of having best video quality. they have made quite a bit of changes to level it out now.
So I'm new to dash cams and I'm kind of down to these two perhaps, yet I'm curious what happens if someone breaks into your car and steals the unit, is there a way to at least send an image of the thief with the A229 version to a phone or something? Or would I need a cloud version like the U3000 or Blackvue maybe?
Ok thanks so much for making it easy for me to decide on the battery selection (ivolt Xtra). Just a followup question as i think i saw this in one of the earlier reviews is what guage (12, 14 or more) should the wires be for the hardwire and battery kit and is this already factored in by Thinkware ivolt Xtra battery or do i need to explicitly mention it to them that i need the wires to be of a certain guage to prevent the wires and fuse box connections from heating up during charging and running 24 hours in parking / motion mode etc?
it comes with the wiring. No need to decide on thickness of gauge wire. We have lots of Thinkware U3000 installed in customers vehicles with this battery pack with zero issues to date. We do wire it differently then others as we never use fuse taps on fuse box. No sure if you seen our Kia EV6 video for battery pack installation. We also will have a Hyundai Ioniq 5 battery pack installation video coming out soon.
Great videos! Parking mode is the most important issue for me. So the Thinkware U3000 gets my vote. The reviews are not so good with customer support and issues with connecting. I am not very high tec so that might be a issue. So now I am leaning towards Viofo A229 or 139. and purchasing a battery supply. I don't know which to pick. Have you changed your opinion on the A229 over the 139? Has it been out long enough to correct the firmware issues? Thank you for all of your great information.
There was some great improvements on A229Pro with the firmware updates. I do still feel the A139 Pro and A229 Pro are 2 different customers. But A229 Pro since firmware updates has been recommended a lot more
Hello there, have a question on the U3000 Thinkware camera LIVE remote view option..Basically, my intention is to view my car, LIVE from any remote location, even when the car is "SWITCHED OFF" (that's the key word). So my question is, if I connect the U3000 camera with a hardwire kit or if I use an external battery, like the ivolt Xtra or Powercell8, which will actually require me in both of the above cases to connect to the fuse box and this will eventually give the U3000 camera a constant power source alongwith having an internet connection inserted in the usb port of the battery pack, will I be able to see my car LIVE remotely from any location even when the car is "SWITCHED OFF"? Please let me know - thanks, Terence
Hello Terence, So yes it will work as long as you have a hotspot turned on in the vehicle, and utilizing motion detection in parking mode, and not using any smart parking mode features. Also just to note as long as there is cellular reception wherever your car may be.
you can not adjust. However on Viofo it will lock the whole video. So if you have a viofo set for a 3minute video for instance and the accident happens 1.5 minutes into the 3 minute video the whole 3 minute video locks
@@SafeDriveSolutions Thank you. If I understood you correctly, on a Vifo if the incident happens at the 2 min 56sec. You would only have 4 secs post incident? TIA
@@jaywimalaratna4951 from what i have seen when the video is almost done it locks the next video as well. However with all the firmware updates it is always a chance it may not work that way in future
Hi and thanks for your reply. So basically you are saying that even if I switch my car off - I can still connect remotely through the app and view the LIVE view remotely provided I have internet access via the battery pack, hardwire connection through the fuse box and basic parking mode feature set - Right? I am asking this again because a few days back I was speaking to the Thinkware rep (USA website) and he told me that there is no chance of viewing the LIVE feature remotely if the car is switched off. He said this could only be done on the U1000 but no way possible with the U3000. So that's why I was a bit disappointed but after reading your response was quite elated. So please do let me know if my understanding is correct on what you explained earlier? thanks again!
@@7e7Stealth They both operate fine. The only challenge you would have is the amount of current draw on the A229 Pro. It just wont last long on either vehicle. Battery pack is recommend in parking mode.
For longer term parking will a plugged in Battery Maintainer help keep Parking Mode always On? Think Winter parking where some cars keep block heaters plugged in. In low temperatures added Dashcam supplemental batteries should need some trickle charge to maintain long term parking camera recording operation. Perhaps you can test this for a new video tip?
Perhaps for long term parking while a car is plugged into a Battery Maintainer, it might be easier to install another Nest Camera and put it on the car dash. My Nest cameras have never had a problem with cold or motion sensing. Nest allows you to pick specific areas known as Activity Zones and will auto alert you and automatically save video to your Cloud account TBD how / if the Nest Activity Zone function operates, if at all, through car window glass…
Hello, it's been 7 months since this video and my question is, do you still recommend the Viofo A229 pro? I'm asking because I've been following you for some time, and I'm also looking for a camdash for work (DHL). I'm looking for a camera just for work, just to have evidence in case something bad happens. After work, disconnect it, put it in the backpack and home. Greetings from Romania.
Nice work Ben. That was a neat discovery about getting cloud notifications in Radar Parking Mode. I wonder if the U3000 can tell the difference between “home” Wi-Fi vs. “mobile cellular” Wi-Fi? Can you test that if you have a mobile Wi-Fi hotspot? -Chuck
Thanks for the great video. To bad the U3000 does not have high dynamic range. When the A229 Pro incorporates the same parking features of the U3000 it will be an even better top camera. Even as it is not I would still choose the A229 Pro over the U3000 because of the superior video / High dynamic range / Night mode! When one really needs to see the license plate of that hit and run...
@@Nikioko That 4k cam gives you nothing more of useful things by day-time, uses up a ton of extra space (which means SD card wear). We don't need dash-cams to make nice videos, there are other kind of cameras to that end (even on-car cameras), we need them for the most practical or purposes: identifying what happened in case of an accident (and the license plates of the involved: but that's sometimes not needed because you have all the time to get out of the car and take photos with your phone, or the police is coming anyway and will see the plates, while what they may fail to reconstruct without video proof is the events.
Hi, thanks for the in depth review! I would like to ask you about which settings to keep the viofo for longest parking recording, say if I only want clips of impacts or damage to the vehicle? I have a 2019 odyssey van with one of this agm battery
It does not have an impact only parking mode on Viofo. All 3 parkng mode options for Viofo are similar in current draw. I would recommend using low bitrate parking mode.
Hi there again! If i were to decide between the Powercell8 or the Thinkware ivolt Xtra battery, which one would you recommend for the U3000 front and rear camera?
100% Thinkware Ivolt Xtra. 2 reasons why 1. It will give you voice notifications of remaining battery life 2. You can easily hook it up to newer style vehixles as the constant power can get hooked up to high current, and there is an ignition wire to hook up just so the dash cam know when to charge battery pack
Hi there, yesterday I was speaking to the Thinkware rep and he told me that the ivolt Xtra can only be connected via the hardwire and fuse box whereas the ivolt mini can be connected via the 12V cigarette lighter which does not require a fuse tap and fuse box connection. Simply just plug and play. I really like this method as I prefer not to go into the fuse box. But then its a tradeoff between the number of hours, no usb port connection, no app and no further battery connection if required in future. So not sure why they do not have a cigarette lighter connection for the ivolt Xtra. Secondly, does the Powercell8 have a 12V cigarette lighter connection? If yes, would I need to purchase any additional wires etc for connecting with the U3000? Will this battery be suitable for the U3000 front and rear dash cam? Please advise, thanks!
@@terencerodrigues6018 They can not have a cigarette lighter connection for IVOLT Xtra because it uses a different connection method. Does your cigarette lighter switch on and off with the ignition or is it constantly on? You may want to check that out. We do not sell the powercell 8 but my understanding is you can order the powercell 8 with a cigarette lighter plugin. You will need to order the thinkware hardwire connection as well.
Thanks for your quick response sir - my car cigarette lighter will go off once the car is switched off. It only works when the car is on. So my understanding is that when the car is off the cigarette lighter will also go off but since the battery (in case I go for either the power cell 8 or the ivolt mini with the cigaratte lighter connection) will be charged during the drive for let's say 40 to 45 minutes, then the parking mode feature will automatically come/turn on when the car is switched off - isn't that so? Why do I need the Thinkware hardwire kit then? Any specific reason for that.as I'm trying to avoid connecting onto the fuse box...
Is there a quick easy way to turn on/off parking mode for the a229? I want to use it at work or when I go to the store or trips where I park only for a few hours. I don’t need it on at home since I park in my garage but it seems like such a pain to go into the settings and turn on parking mode when I got into the store and then turn it off when I get home and do this everyday. If they had a simple parking mode button it would make my life way easier
@@SafeDriveSolutions For what do you need that? To upload data to the cloud, you require a good internet connection. I doubt that have that all the time you are on the road.
@@Nikioko First let me be clear. I am no fan of nextbase. But saying Viofo is better in every respect is wrong because Viofo still has no over the air updates. (Releasing soon). No Cloud fiunctionality (Some people want this to be notified while parked, or to upload major accidents to cloud while driving). Also all of their parking mode functions draw lots of current. Nextbase does have some low current parking mode options. The viofo is great but not in every aspect.
Quick question - the A229 Pro uses the older h2.64 codec, which, as far as I know, doesn’t support HDR recording. HDR uses h2.65 HEVC codec, so is this camera truly an HDR camera?
I seen your other question on bitrate. I just could not remember it off hand. Also i never heard of H.265 and HDR going hand in hand. There have been HDR on many dash cameras without h.265. For instance the A139 pro you can switch between h.265 and h.264 and video quality remains the same
Thanks for this great comparison. It's nice to see that the A229 Pro is at par with one the most expensive dashcams out there. My thoughts about this comparison is: If you're after Parking Mode which the U3000 won over the A229 Pro, that can be compensated by a battery and it still wouldn't be as expensive as the U3000.
Well i guess that will depend which market you are in for battery pack and dash camera. But yeah you can buy it for close to same price for a small battery pack.
@@SafeDriveSolutions Sorry if I'll be a bit off topic. I keep watch of your videos and I don't see a review from you about the N5 which is Vantrue's flagship model. I have the N5 installed in my vehicle and I'm not sure if it's worth replacing it with an A229 Pro 3Ch (which I received as a gift). I'm quite torn between Vantrue's coverage due to its 4 channel capability vs. the A229 Pro's 4k resolution and rear camera that has Starvis 2. Can you share your thoughts?
Vantrue wants us to buy product to review it. They offered us a full refund if we give a 5 star review on Amazon. That’s not how we operate. We have gotten lots of requests for what I call “FLUFF” reviews. From various manufacturers. I as far as I know dont see that happening from VIOFO. We don’t do reviews where we are paid to say everything is great. One of our clients just told us that Vantrue sent him a script of what to say. He just has to send a video back to them sticking to the script and he gets a free dash cam. My opinion of the company has changed quite a bit recently. So looking at specs Viofo A229 pro has 4K front 2K rear and 1080p interior. It has higher resolution than Vantrue N5 overall. But 1 less channel.
@@SafeDriveSolutions That's quite disappointing to hear. We highly rely on the integrity of your videos so I'm glad to know that you turned them down. So in your opinion, you'd go for the A229 Pro 3ch over Vantrue's N5?
I personally would go for Viofo A229 Pro 3channel. But if you have a free N5. I don’t see why you would not keep it. Maybe invest in a battery pack for longer periods of parking mode. My challenge is there parking mode settings do not have timer, flexibility in parking mode cable, current draw is very high.
The thinkware U3000 ansolutely works on 512GB cards. I use mine for more than 1 year on Samsung Ultimate 512GB microSD and Sandisk High Endurance 512GB microSD cards on an interchange basis.
@@SafeDriveSolutions 1 year not even 1 frame was dropped my experience. IMHO.. what is all boils down to is what they are willing (and legally) warranting. Thinkware's largest card is 256GB sold by them, Viiofo is 512GB. Don't think that is a conincidence.
@@kktmgi understand your point. As a retailer when the manufacturer tells us it only supports 256gb. We have to follow their guidelines as it is a safety device. I am glad it is working for you.
4:08: At this point you see clearly why the Viofo is better. Where the U3000 just has a mash of light, the A229 shows the headlights. And even the number plates should be readable.
OK, my dude! I hate to switch the subject, but when are you going to get your hands on the new Blackvue PLUS series? I know they have only been available for a week but you are the GURU of Dashcams and we humbly await your review!
I do not have a Blackvue DR970X Plus. Not sure if Blackvue would be sending us one. We may have to buy one. A few companies were going to send us units. I think they backed off due to our honest reviews.
Which is why I watch your reviews, and not most other reviews.
@@crutchclargo thanks we appreciate the supp
ort.
I agree !!!!!@@crutchclargo
The advantage of the parking mode for the U3000 is nice but I'd sooner have the better A229 dashcam video quality because if any conflict or issue happens, 99% chance it'll be while you are driving rather than being parked up somewhere.
We like to let people make the decisions best for their lifestyle. If focus is on driving A229 Pro does extremely well
I would disagree and say the exact opposite. Definitely depends where you live. Parking mode is a must here in northern NJ.
@@iKevin711 definitely depends on lifestyle
I am laughing my butt off at the moment. 🤣 I have my A229 Pro on the table, powered up in 2 channel mode, doing a heat test. It is about 7 feet from me. When you spoke the Lock The Video command, my A229 Pro did just that! Of course I had to replay you saying that four times just to amuse myself. 😄 I do wish my A229 Pro got the same video quality as yours does, frankly, in 2 channel mode it sucks. Even in one channel mode, the image is nowhere near as good as yours. I have pretty much written the camera off and am using it more for testing and playing with. I have my A129 Pro back in the car.
Do you have the newest firmware? The old firmware sucks.
Glad I could amuse you with “Lock The Video”
Yep, it is the 231208 version. I have even used different video plays in Linux just to rule out that angle. By the way, of all the DCT reviewers, you have the best. Some of them suffer from oral diarrhea and take 200 words to make a 10 word statement.
@@crutchclargo I dont use the polarized lens at all for my videos. Curious if you are. Also what type of vehicle do you have?
I have tried with the CPL on and off. The car is a Outback, at present I am looking at settings on my video players as that may be the issue in part. No hard knocks against VIOFO as they make an excellent product and have excellent customer service, I just seem to be having issues with this one camera. :) I know the U.S. market lives and breaths to see the license plate so they can post online about showing their video to a cop, but frankly, I would rather have VIOFO do a firmware that provides overall high imaging of the entire view of the camera lens.
@@crutchclargo This product has been changed quite a bit. A lot of us reviewers were very confused early on. They focused a lot of firmware changes on getting license plate even while at night instead of having best video quality. they have made quite a bit of changes to level it out now.
So I'm new to dash cams and I'm kind of down to these two perhaps, yet I'm curious what happens if someone breaks into your car and steals the unit, is there a way to at least send an image of the thief with the A229 version to a phone or something? Or would I need a cloud version like the U3000 or Blackvue maybe?
The U3000 has cloud features so if you had a hotspot you could get cloud notifications. th-cam.com/video/E5XN-2bm9Eo/w-d-xo.html
Ok thanks so much for making it easy for me to decide on the battery selection (ivolt Xtra). Just a followup question as i think i saw this in one of the earlier reviews is what guage (12, 14 or more) should the wires be for the hardwire and battery kit and is this already factored in by Thinkware ivolt Xtra battery or do i need to explicitly mention it to them that i need the wires to be of a certain guage to prevent the wires and fuse box connections from heating up during charging and running 24 hours in parking / motion mode etc?
it comes with the wiring. No need to decide on thickness of gauge wire. We have lots of Thinkware U3000 installed in customers vehicles with this battery pack with zero issues to date. We do wire it differently then others as we never use fuse taps on fuse box. No sure if you seen our Kia EV6 video for battery pack installation. We also will have a Hyundai Ioniq 5 battery pack installation video coming out soon.
Great videos! Parking mode is the most important issue for me. So the Thinkware U3000 gets my vote. The reviews are not so good with customer support and issues with connecting. I am not very high tec so that might be a issue. So now I am leaning towards Viofo A229 or 139. and purchasing a battery supply. I don't know which to pick. Have you changed your opinion on the A229 over the 139? Has it been out long enough to correct the firmware issues? Thank you for all of your great information.
There was some great improvements on A229Pro with the firmware updates. I do still feel the A139 Pro and A229 Pro are 2 different customers. But A229 Pro since firmware updates has been recommended a lot more
Hello there, have a question on the U3000 Thinkware camera LIVE remote view option..Basically, my intention is to view my car, LIVE from any remote location, even when the car is "SWITCHED OFF" (that's the key word). So my question is, if I connect the U3000 camera with a hardwire kit or if I use an external battery, like the ivolt Xtra or Powercell8, which will actually require me in both of the above cases to connect to the fuse box and this will eventually give the U3000 camera a constant power source alongwith having an internet connection inserted in the usb port of the battery pack, will I be able to see my car LIVE remotely from any location even when the car is "SWITCHED OFF"?
Please let me know - thanks, Terence
Hello Terence, So yes it will work as long as you have a hotspot turned on in the vehicle, and utilizing motion detection in parking mode, and not using any smart parking mode features. Also just to note as long as there is cellular reception wherever your car may be.
Great review. With the Thinkware or Viofo the can it be adjusted in setting so more than 10sec pre/post incident is recorded?
you can not adjust. However on Viofo it will lock the whole video. So if you have a viofo set for a 3minute video for instance and the accident happens 1.5 minutes into the 3 minute video the whole 3 minute video locks
@@SafeDriveSolutions Thank you. If I understood you correctly, on a Vifo if the incident happens at the 2 min 56sec. You would only have 4 secs post incident? TIA
@@jaywimalaratna4951 from what i have seen when the video is almost done it locks the next video as well. However with all the firmware updates it is always a chance it may not work that way in future
Hi and thanks for your reply. So basically you are saying that even if I switch my car off - I can still connect remotely through the app and view the LIVE view remotely provided I have internet access via the battery pack, hardwire connection through the fuse box and basic parking mode feature set - Right? I am asking this again because a few days back I was speaking to the Thinkware rep (USA website) and he told me that there is no chance of viewing the LIVE feature remotely if the car is switched off. He said this could only be done on the U1000 but no way possible with the U3000. So that's why I was a bit disappointed but after reading your response was quite elated. So please do let me know if my understanding is correct on what you explained earlier? thanks again!
th-cam.com/video/sq8IYpvl0PU/w-d-xo.html watch this
Thanks so much for sharing. Really appreciate it.
How do either of these two dashcams perform in an EV vs an ICE for power/battery consumption?
What does ICE mean? I own EVs so I am familiar with it.
@@SafeDriveSolutions ICE = internal combustion engine (gas powered)
@@7e7Stealth They both operate fine. The only challenge you would have is the amount of current draw on the A229 Pro. It just wont last long on either vehicle. Battery pack is recommend in parking mode.
What kinda of battery pack are you talking about because I like the viofo.
Ultimate DashCam Battery Packs for Parking Recording Comparison
th-cam.com/video/re3HkcHiPCU/w-d-xo.html
@@SafeDriveSolutions thank you
U3000 gündüz plakalara daha net, A 229 Pro gece plakalar daha iyi okunuyor 😮
For longer term parking will a plugged in Battery Maintainer help keep Parking Mode always On? Think Winter parking where some cars keep block heaters plugged in. In low temperatures added Dashcam supplemental batteries should need some trickle charge to maintain long term parking camera recording operation. Perhaps you can test this for a new video tip?
Perhaps for long term parking while a car is plugged into a Battery Maintainer, it might be easier to install another Nest Camera and put it on the car dash. My Nest cameras have never had a problem with cold or motion sensing. Nest allows you to pick specific areas known as Activity Zones and will auto alert you and automatically save video to your Cloud account TBD how / if the Nest Activity Zone function operates, if at all, through car window glass…
@@johnstewartrichards5922 So are you plugging it at home for a few months and not driving the vehicle?
@@SafeDriveSolutions That is the idea during Winter 3 months approx of no driving…
How cold does it get?
@@SafeDriveSolutions Toronto Cold ; )
All the footage that I've seen posted of the Thinkware U3000 looks overexposed.
yes some people do feel that way from what they see
please record nextbase 622 vs viofo
Easy. Viofo A229 Pro is better than Nextbase 622 in every respect. Better sensor, better recording. Nextbase is heavily overpriced outdated hardware.
Hello, it's been 7 months since this video and my question is, do you still recommend the Viofo A229 pro? I'm asking because I've been following you for some time, and I'm also looking for a camdash for work (DHL). I'm looking for a camera just for work, just to have evidence in case something bad happens. After work, disconnect it, put it in the backpack and home. Greetings from Romania.
Yes we still recommend Viofo A229 Pro. Its is one of our top units.
Nice work Ben.
That was a neat discovery about getting cloud notifications in Radar Parking Mode.
I wonder if the U3000 can tell the difference between “home” Wi-Fi vs. “mobile cellular” Wi-Fi?
Can you test that if you have a mobile Wi-Fi hotspot?
-Chuck
I have to reinstall it again to try it. So much testing😎😎
@@SafeDriveSolutions
Test on bench in office.
Nope. The U3000 treats all WiFi as "WiFi" it does not have the ability to differentiate. Well, at least not yet.
Thanks for the great video. To bad the U3000 does not have high dynamic range. When the A229 Pro incorporates the same parking features of the U3000 it will be an even better top camera. Even as it is not I would still choose the A229 Pro over the U3000 because of the superior video / High dynamic range / Night mode! When one really needs to see the license plate of that hit and run...
Your welcome
A229 Pro is the best dashcam currently available.
A229 Plus is better: it does the same things, it works better in some ways, and costs less.
@@ikarugaxx3749 No. A229 Plus has only 2K for the front camera, while A229 Pro has 4K.
@@Nikioko That 4k cam gives you nothing more of useful things by day-time, uses up a ton of extra space (which means SD card wear).
We don't need dash-cams to make nice videos, there are other kind of cameras to that end (even on-car cameras), we need them for the most practical or purposes: identifying what happened in case of an accident (and the license plates of the involved: but that's sometimes not needed because you have all the time to get out of the car and take photos with your phone, or the police is coming anyway and will see the plates, while what they may fail to reconstruct without video proof is the events.
@ikarugaxx3749 😂😂😂 the pro is better man don't spread nonsense
@@ikarugaxx3749ok we get it.. you couldn't afford the PRO so you are trying to do some bias confirmation 😂😂😂
Stop hitting your car with the basketball 🏀. Makes me so nervous that you are denting your car or risking cracking your glass
Windshields are meant to break outwards non inwards. Nothing to worry about here.
Hi, thanks for the in depth review! I would like to ask you about which settings to keep the viofo for longest parking recording, say if I only want clips of impacts or damage to the vehicle? I have a 2019 odyssey van with one of this agm battery
It does not have an impact only parking mode on Viofo. All 3 parkng mode options for Viofo are similar in current draw. I would recommend using low bitrate parking mode.
Thanks I will give that a try. I wa t to be sure that we like the features and use before I do the complete clean install. We will test it out
Where did you get that awesome FIFA World Cup poster with all the tiny editions of each world cup including the final match score?
I made it
Does anyone know if the U3000 is compatible with the Thinkware 5ch Multiplexer?
no it is not. Completely different plugs. There will be a newer model in 4K with less features than the U3000 that will have that compatibility.
I got a220 pro been giving me issues. Doesnt record everything and has no exact time.
Did you set it up with your phone and make sure to pair time with phone as well?
Hi there again! If i were to decide between the Powercell8 or the Thinkware ivolt Xtra battery, which one would you recommend for the U3000 front and rear camera?
100% Thinkware Ivolt Xtra.
2 reasons why
1. It will give you voice notifications of remaining battery life
2. You can easily hook it up to newer style vehixles as the constant power can get hooked up to high current, and there is an ignition wire to hook up just so the dash cam know when to charge battery pack
Hi there, yesterday I was speaking to the Thinkware rep and he told me that the ivolt Xtra can only be connected via the hardwire and fuse box whereas the ivolt mini can be connected via the 12V cigarette lighter which does not require a fuse tap and fuse box connection. Simply just plug and play. I really like this method as I prefer not to go into the fuse box. But then its a tradeoff between the number of hours, no usb port connection, no app and no further battery connection if required in future. So not sure why they do not have a cigarette lighter connection for the ivolt Xtra.
Secondly, does the Powercell8 have a 12V cigarette lighter connection? If yes, would I need to purchase any additional wires etc for connecting with the U3000? Will this battery be suitable for the U3000 front and rear dash cam?
Please advise, thanks!
@@terencerodrigues6018 They can not have a cigarette lighter connection for IVOLT Xtra because it uses a different connection method. Does your cigarette lighter switch on and off with the ignition or is it constantly on? You may want to check that out. We do not sell the powercell 8 but my understanding is you can order the powercell 8 with a cigarette lighter plugin. You will need to order the thinkware hardwire connection as well.
Thanks for your quick response sir - my car cigarette lighter will go off once the car is switched off. It only works when the car is on. So my understanding is that when the car is off the cigarette lighter will also go off but since the battery (in case I go for either the power cell 8 or the ivolt mini with the cigaratte lighter connection) will be charged during the drive for let's say 40 to 45 minutes, then the parking mode feature will automatically come/turn on when the car is switched off - isn't that so? Why do I need the Thinkware hardwire kit then? Any specific reason for that.as I'm trying to avoid connecting onto the fuse box...
th-cam.com/video/re3HkcHiPCU/w-d-xo.html here is a diagram around this time frame. You can use obd2 and cut off end
Why does thinkware have such low reviews on amazon?
No HDR, and there was a hiccup with rear camera where the rear camera would not work properly if not plugged in whole way
@@SafeDriveSolutions why are there so few reviews though compared to viofo?
Is there a quick easy way to turn on/off parking mode for the a229? I want to use it at work or when I go
to the store or trips where I park only for a few hours. I don’t need it on at home since I park in my garage but it seems like such a pain to go into the settings and turn on parking mode when I got into the store and then turn it off when I get home and do this everyday. If they had a simple parking mode button it would make my life way easier
I believe if you push the power button it will turn off and wont turn back on until you cycle the ignition again
@@SafeDriveSolutions I was able to ask the same question. I only need parking mode while parked in public.
If you push and hold the power button to turn it off - it will only power on again next time you start the vehicle.
VIOFO will release a new bluetooth remote control, which support turn on / off parking mode by one click.
@@billkzhou Sounds pretty cool
This VS 970X Plus? What are your thoughts?
th-cam.com/video/E5XN-2bm9Eo/w-d-xo.html here is our cloud comparison. Working on a head to head.
Can you make a video showing how to hook up the Viofo A229 Pro to a battery pack and the cars fuse box for parking mode?
th-cam.com/video/3EOitU9giVQ/w-d-xo.html
@@SafeDriveSolutions Thanks! checking it out now.
@@WiseSilverWolfi should have wrote this does not include the vehicle hook up
Thank you for the comparison review! I am wondering why nobody has reviewed the Nextbase iQ 4k which also has a radar-based parking mode.
Nextvase is Crazy expensive, no sony sensor, also lots of extra to pay for.
Nextbase is expensive, has an outdated sensor and a bad recording function. Viofo is better in every respect. Only Vantrue comes close.
@@Nikiokobut Nextbase does have cloud functionality on their IQ series.
@@SafeDriveSolutions For what do you need that? To upload data to the cloud, you require a good internet connection. I doubt that have that all the time you are on the road.
@@Nikioko First let me be clear. I am no fan of nextbase. But saying Viofo is better in every respect is wrong because Viofo still has no over the air updates. (Releasing soon). No Cloud fiunctionality (Some people want this to be notified while parked, or to upload major accidents to cloud while driving). Also all of their parking mode functions draw lots of current. Nextbase does have some low current parking mode options. The viofo is great but not in every aspect.
Quick question - the A229 Pro uses the older h2.64 codec, which, as far as I know, doesn’t support HDR recording. HDR uses h2.65 HEVC codec, so is this camera truly an HDR camera?
I seen your other question on bitrate. I just could not remember it off hand. Also i never heard of H.265 and HDR going hand in hand.
There have been HDR on many dash cameras without h.265.
For instance the A139 pro you can switch between h.265 and h.264 and video quality remains the same
Thanks for answering my question.
Hi, can I use the Viofo A229 Pro 3 channel, one camera on each side of my semi truck, and one camera facing the front?
No it is not meant to be used as external cameras
@@SafeDriveSolutions🙏
I'm looking at the FineVu GX4K release, not much known about it but I'm tempted to give the features a try!
It will be on our channel very soon. Comparing to other dash cameras of 4K. We have it here for testing
@@SafeDriveSolutions oh that’s excellent news! It’s a trade off between that and the a229 pro 🫶🏼
@@SafeDriveSolutions excellent news! Will hold out for your feedback.
The GX4K is not STARVIS 2. It is IMX515 sensor and a 1080p rear camera. Will soon see.
Thanks for this great comparison. It's nice to see that the A229 Pro is at par with one the most expensive dashcams out there.
My thoughts about this comparison is:
If you're after Parking Mode which the U3000 won over the A229 Pro, that can be compensated by a battery and it still wouldn't be as expensive as the U3000.
Well i guess that will depend which market you are in for battery pack and dash camera. But yeah you can buy it for close to same price for a small battery pack.
@@SafeDriveSolutions Sorry if I'll be a bit off topic. I keep watch of your videos and I don't see a review from you about the N5 which is Vantrue's flagship model. I have the N5 installed in my vehicle and I'm not sure if it's worth replacing it with an A229 Pro 3Ch (which I received as a gift). I'm quite torn between Vantrue's coverage due to its 4 channel capability vs. the A229 Pro's 4k resolution and rear camera that has Starvis 2. Can you share your thoughts?
Vantrue wants us to buy product to review it. They offered us a full refund if we give a 5 star review on Amazon. That’s not how we operate.
We have gotten lots of requests for what I call “FLUFF” reviews. From various manufacturers. I as far as I know dont see that happening from VIOFO.
We don’t do reviews where we are paid to say everything is great. One of our clients just told us that Vantrue sent him a script of what to say. He just has to send a video back to them sticking to the script and he gets a free dash cam.
My opinion of the company has changed quite a bit recently.
So looking at specs
Viofo A229 pro has 4K front 2K rear and 1080p interior.
It has higher resolution than Vantrue N5 overall. But 1 less channel.
@@SafeDriveSolutions That's quite disappointing to hear. We highly rely on the integrity of your videos so I'm glad to know that you turned them down. So in your opinion, you'd go for the A229 Pro 3ch over Vantrue's N5?
I personally would go for Viofo A229 Pro 3channel. But if you have a free N5. I don’t see why you would not keep it. Maybe invest in a battery pack for longer periods of parking mode.
My challenge is there parking mode settings do not have timer, flexibility in parking mode cable, current draw is very high.
The thinkware U3000 ansolutely works on 512GB cards. I use mine for more than 1 year on Samsung Ultimate 512GB microSD and Sandisk High Endurance 512GB microSD cards on an interchange basis.
It may work. But a lot of people have reported times where lots of video information is missing. Like a few hours it just never recorded
@@SafeDriveSolutions 1 year not even 1 frame was dropped my experience. IMHO.. what is all boils down to is what they are willing (and legally) warranting. Thinkware's largest card is 256GB sold by them, Viiofo is 512GB. Don't think that is a conincidence.
@@kktmgi understand your point. As a retailer when the manufacturer tells us it only supports 256gb. We have to follow their guidelines as it is a safety device. I am glad it is working for you.