[Crow]

I’m also in the market for a dashcam right now. The Viofo models seem to be good but they’re very pricey. I want something with GPS and it turns out that I’ve to buy the GPS module separately for 2k, which seems over the top for a dashcam that already costs 15k or so.

Still have not decided if I’m ready to spend that much. Looking for capacitor based alternatives without an LCD screen.

Those who have Viofo, is there a way to turn off the LCD without powering off the dashcam? I’m concerned that the screen will be a distraction while driving.

[airbus]

Originally Posted by Crow

Those who have Viofo, is there a way to turn off the LCD without powering off the dashcam? I’m concerned that the screen will be a distraction while driving.

Yes, screensaver function is for turning off the screen. If screensaver is on, screen will be off at set time and you can view the screen by pressing the power button. Pressing menu will take a still shot

[NovemberKing_91]

Hi,

One of the points that often gets neglected, just like I did, in a real world scenario, how much footage do you have at any given point of time.
I have a 70mai pro+ A500s dual channel dashcam in place and it was set to record at 1920x1440 resolution along with audio.
The videos are quite nice while the audio is clear and distinguishable. On a recent trip to Udaipur, there were many places where a video of the road would have been nice, and we did not take a video, believing that the dashcam already is shooting it.
It did, and then it overwrote it. Upon coming back home and checking, I realized that even at the least quality settings, a 64gb card would hold about 11.5 hours of footage only. Now, this 11.5 hours can be spread across days if you have small frequent trips or it might cover an entire day's driving only.
So, to keep a record, one has to download the files on the laptop/desktop quite frequently. Yes, I can upgrade to the max capacity of 128gb, but then too, the capacity comes to about 23 hours, which is still, quite less.
While this is tedious, and shall damage the mmc on a long run, the bigger issue is of storage. I cannot keep on adding close to 60gb videos every other week as a backup.

I have thought of stitching the videos into a single one, sped up to maybe 4x speeds and then once rendered, I ll upload on Youtube for safekeeping, as long as they don't limit or start charging for space.

How are other users of the dashcams handling this issue? Some insight would be wonderful.

Cheers!!

[krishnakumar]

Originally Posted by abhi7013

I guess the capacitor is fine but the issue was with the firmware as now it seems to be working well.
I would have loved to upgrade with Viofo dual-channel itself but at 20k, it seems quite unreasonable when you get similar ones for less than half the price (both capacitor-based and battery).

I'm sure you'd have considered the pros and cons both, but the reason I went for the A129 Duo are:

1. Extremely low profile camera, totally discreet because of the wedge shaped design.
2. Both front and rear cameras get the same spec and the video quality is quite good, especially at night
3. Buffered parking mode - it records 15s before event detection and 30s after event. Couldn't find any other camera doing this.
4. Motion detection; although the algorithm is a little patchy I figured getting one with this option is much better than going for cameras with just G sensor
5. Has an emergency video lock option to manually lock videos from getting overwritten. This can be done via a button on the cam but also has an optional bluetooth remote that you can put on your dash. Couldn't find another camera that has this option but I could be wrong.
6. The only camera I could find in India that has an option for a CPL filter, vastly reduces the glare from dash

Originally Posted by Crow

The Viofo models seem to be good but they’re very pricey.

Those who have Viofo, is there a way to turn off the LCD without powering off the dashcam?

Same reasons as above. Plus, I also want to add that the Viofo India reseller is extremely courteous and supportive. As car owners, the one thing we know is that it's not about sales but after sales. I'll be writing my detailed review on the A129 in sometime and how Mr. Vijaykumar (india reseller) was helpful.

Regarding the LCD screen, yes it does go off. You can set the timer to as low as a few seconds. So it won't be distractive at night at all.

Also, the profile of it is very low. It's VERY small, will come inside your palm (not even extend to fingers). With that, if you keep it behind the IRVM, very low chances that it'll ever come in your way itself unless you find it. This helps from outside also (as mentioned above in the first point) as it looks very discreet.

If you are looking to keep the car for long, get a good quality one and forget about it. When I evaluated other options, they all had one or the other concerns. This met most of my requirements and the after sales support.

[airbus]

Originally Posted by NovemberKing_91

How are other users of the dashcams handling this issue? Some insight would be wonderful.

Within city limits I record videos at 1440p 30fps, which gives me around 6 hours of recording on my 64GB card. While on highway drive I use 1080p 30fps and I get around 9 hours of recording. In my Viofo A119, I can lock (preserve) a video by pressing (!) button while it is still recording the video. If a video is locked, it will not be overwritten in loop recording. I also take still shots by pressing (Menu) button during video recording to capture beautiful scenery, giving an example below of Maravanthe beach



If I carry laptop during long road trips, I try to download the videos at earliest convenience, otherwise I will need to wait until I am back home. I have a 64GB memory card in my phone and if a video is too important, I would just swap the memory cards between the dashcam and mobile.

[NovemberKing_91]

Originally Posted by airbus

If I carry laptop during long road trips, I try to download the videos at earliest convenience, otherwise I will need to wait until I am back home. I have a 64GB memory card in my phone and if a video is too important, I would just swap the memory cards between the dashcam and mobile.

But then, do you keep the backups on your laptop of the entire trip? Or do you go through the videos, select and choose which one to keep?

My dashcam doesnt let me downgrade from 1920*1440, so am stuck with around 11 hours I guess, maybe turning off the audio will help, will know in a few days.

Keeping the video as a record is a problem I am looking at now. Honestly, there is quite a lot of footage of normal driving about only.

[robincsamuel]

Originally Posted by Blooming Flower

3. Is there any way to remove the obtrusive 70mai logo from the videos?

It is now possible to turn off the 70mai logo with the latest firmware update.

[Blooming Flower]

Originally Posted by robincsamuel

It is now possible to turn off the 70mai logo with the latest firmware update.

Much appreciated for sharing the information. Is any other performance or feature change perceived with this update? Please share the official download link of the firmware.

[robincsamuel]

Originally Posted by Blooming Flower

Much appreciated for sharing the information. Is any other performance or feature change perceived with this update? Please share the official download link of the firmware.

Yeah, they seem actively releasing fixes, updates, and even features. The latest updates include the option to turn on/off the 70mai logo, and time-lapse photography (but seems like time-lapse photography works only if you hardwire), and optimisations.

There were fixes to the audio, setting the volume to low wasn't actually working (though it shows the setting as low). Not sure if this was there already, but there's an option to toggle specific features of ADAS (from the app).

I used the app to update the firmware; instructions are there on their firmware update page (link below).

You can see the list of firmware and the changes here, https://na-bbs.70mai.com.cn/?thread-983.htm

[airbus]

Originally Posted by NovemberKing_91

But then, do you keep the backups on your laptop of the entire trip? Or do you go through the videos, select and choose which one to keep?

With 1080p 30fps recording, size of 5 minutes video is about 545MB. I can't store all dashcam videos. I just select the ones to be stored, mostly by locking the video while it is still being recorded by pressing (!) button on the dashcam. These locked videos will be in a separate folder RO (read-only).

If we transfer videos to computer by connecting a cable, data transfer rate is slow and for faster data transfer we can insert the memory card into laptop card reader, but I afraid too many removal/insertion of the memory card may negatively affect the memory card slot of the dashcam.

[Trust_In_Thrust]

I am using DD Pai Mola N3 GPS in a swift and 70Mai A800S in a Hexa. The DDpai enables me to scroll through complete video recording with a slider which is super convenient. The 70mai has no option to scroll through complete video. I am using app on an Iphone over Wifi connection. Is there any way to scroll complete video existing on Memory card in 70Mai like i am able to do in DDPai ?

[rajivr1612]

Originally Posted by rajivr1612

Anyone owns DDPAI Mola N3? I did the setup few weeks back and it's working fine, but I just am not able to get the cam connected to the app. It just doesn't recognise. When I try to connect to the cam via app, my mobile picks up my home wifi address and not the cams. I tried this in my apt. parking.
When I tried it away from home, the cam doesn't pick the app.

Originally Posted by Trust_In_Thrust

I am using DD Pai Mola N3 GPS in a swift and 70Mai A800S in a Hexa. The DDpai enables me to scroll through complete video recording with a slider which is super convenient. The 70mai has no option to scroll through complete video. I am using app on an Iphone over Wifi connection. Is there any way to scroll complete video existing on Memory card in 70Mai like i am able to do in DDPai ?

Hi there... quoting my earlier post since I have a non-GPS model. When I am away from home, the app does not connect to the camera. Any help?
Thanks.

[adisan]

Originally Posted by rajivr1612

Anyone owns DDPAI Mola N3? I just am not able to get the cam connected to the app.

I have a different model, DDPai Mini. The app had no issues connecting to the camera.

My app version is the one which was latest as of over two years back, I never updated the app after installing, though several updates were available.

I remember reading that when trying to link the app and camera, mobile data should be off, only wifi should be on. Already tried?

[Sebring]

Thank you. I have done firmware changes on my 4K dashcam. To be frank I dont like this Cam at all as it is generating bit of heat (Not good for micro-sd card at all) plus doesn't sync well with ios devices. Constant disconnection means I'm relying only on the footage saved in card. Clip resolution is also okayish, and not a massive leap over 1080p I feel. My ROAV was best in all regards, and I'll be going in for ROAV 4K soon after ditching this. Earlier, Transcend was also superb but they don't offer 4K now.

Originally Posted by robincsamuel

Yeah, they seem actively releasing fixes, updates, and even features. The latest updates include the option to turn on/off the 70mai logo, and time-lapse photograp hy (but seems like time-lapse photography works only if you hardwire), and optimisations

[robincsamuel]

Originally Posted by Sebring

To be frank I dont like this Cam at all as it is generating bit of heat (Not good for micro-sd card at all) plus doesn't sync well with ios devices. Constant disconnection means I'm relying only on the footage saved in card. Clip resolution is also okayish, and not a massive leap over 1080p I feel.

Yes, I agree. It's an average dashcam. I'm still happy with the overall experience though (considering the cost and my expectations). I bought the A700s knowing almost all the cons (overheating since it's not super-capacitor based, the clip resolution, etc).

I'm also using the iOS app, it's not really convenient if you want to search for something or play a few videos (very very slow). I mostly use the app to toggle the setting or push the firmware update or download a single file when I know the timestamp. I rarely have to transfer the footage but when I need something, I eject the card and copy everything to the laptop.

PS: I didn't mean to promote/recommend the product in my previous post. I was only trying to explain the changes I noticed in the latest firmware since @Blooming Flower asked about that.