Viofo A229 Duo review: 1440p video front and rear

Best prices today: Viofo A229 Duo

Viofo’s A229 Duo is a dual-channel dash cam that records with a front camera and a separate rear camera that attaches to your car’s rear window.

This is the setup that most people should choose: A single-channel DVR that only records what’s going on in front won’t help if someone hits you from behind.

The A229 Duo is a continuation of the A129 Duo I reviewed back in 2019. While the front camera looks mostly identical, there are quite a few changes and updates.

First, both cameras now record at 2560×1440 pixels, also known as “2K” or “Quad HD”, instead of 1920×1080. This means there are more details in the images, which can help if you need to read another car’s registration or license plate.

There’s also dual-band Wi-Fi, and the introduction of 5GHz instead of the standard 2.4GHz band means videos can be downloaded to the phone about four times faster than using 2.4GHz.

The new rear camera has a slimmer design like the Viofo T130, and the cable that connects it to the front camera uses a coaxial cable instead of USB, allowing it to be about half the diameter (2.8mm vs. 5mm on the A129 Duo). greatly simplifies installation behind your vehicle’s trim panels.

Features and design

• 2K resolution front and back
• Event detection, time-lapse and low-bitrate parking modes
• Built-in GPS and dual-band Wi-Fi.

As mentioned, the front camera uses the same design as many other Viofo DVRs. The wedge approach works well because it means it fits well behind most rearview mirrors, while still allowing you to save the screen so you can see what the cameras see, as well as view footage without a smartphone and the Viofo app.

There are a few minor differences: the microSD slot is now on the right side and uses a USB-C connector instead of the previous mini-USB.

The screen is not touch-sensitive, and although the three central buttons are labeled REC, ! and MIC, they are used as navigation and selection tools, and the menu system is surprisingly easy to use.

Jim Martin / Foundry

Instead, you can use the Viofo app to connect to the A229 Duo via Wi-Fi and change settings even more easily. You will want to enable parking modes as they are disabled by default and you can change the 3 minute cycle to one minute, mainly due to the huge file sizes generated.

Recording in 2K at normal quality produces about 800 MB per minute: 430 MB for the front camera and 340 MB for the rear. If you’re wondering why they’re different, it’s because the back write speed is around 16Mbps and the forward write speed is 22Mbps: the quality isn’t identical.

It is worth noting that Viofo does not include a microSD card, so choose a good quality card that can support continuous recording: Viofo’s own cards use the V30/U3 standard and MLC storage.

Both cameras are capped at 30fps, but not being able to choose 60fps isn’t a big deal: it’s better to have extra resolution than extra frames.

Jim Martin / Foundry

As you’d expect, there are plenty of settings, including information about what information is printed on the video: you can choose not to specify speed, location, Viofo branding, and date and time. You can also add your vehicle registration or some custom text.

A voice announces the start of recording every time you start moving, so you’ll know the A229 Duo is doing its job without even looking at the screen. If there is a problem, a constant beep will alert you that something is wrong, such as the SD card needs to be formatted or you forgot to insert it.

Parking modes

There are several menu items for parking modes. The main one is the parking record, which allows you to choose which mode you want to use. It’s a slightly clunky way to handle it, but you can choose from automatic event detection, five Timelapse modes (from 1 to 10 fps), and low bitrate recording.

The latter option is the best option as it provides the same continuous recording as you would while driving, but at a much lower quality to save power – and still record audio.

Timelapse is the next best option as it is like continuous recording and you can have up to 10fps but no sound.

Event detection is the most energy efficient option and is buffered, so recording will occur 15 seconds before an event is detected and 30 seconds after it.

To use either of these, the A229 Duo must be powered by a Viofo HK4 hardwiring kit so that it can draw power from a car battery when the ignition is off. It has a slider so you can choose at what voltage it should turn off to avoid draining the battery.

But you can customize each mode by adjusting the sensitivity for event detection – both for motion and for the built-in G-sensor, and you can set a 90-second delay before enabling parking mode. Finally, you can choose how long the parking will last. mode works for is another way to conserve your car’s battery. Options run from 30 minutes to eight hours.

Performance

It’s easy to think that 2K resolution is much better than 1080p. In good light, video from both the front and rear cameras is beautiful and sharp, with lots of detail.

However, for DVRs, an important factor is whether you can read registration numbers and other text. Basically you can do this on A229 Duo frames when you pause them. ,

Even with the official Viofo microSD card, I noticed occasional artifacts and video cuts, which was a little disappointing.

The field of view of both cameras is good and wide, capturing everything that happens. As with most dash cams, this means license plates are not easy to make out unless the vehicle is close to yours, but usually when another vehicle collides with yours, you need that data, so this isn’t a problem.

When darkness falls, the level of detail drops dramatically. You can see it in the video below where there is a lot of grain and lack of sharpness. As I say in every dash cam review, you may or may not be able to see the details you need at night because so much depends on the ambient light and whether your lights are bouncing off another car’s license plate.

The Viofo app is the same as for the company’s other dash cams and is generally fine.

It’s easy to use if you want to change settings or review footage. With dual-band Wi-Fi, you can watch clips directly from the A229 without buffering issues. And downloading clips to your phone is pretty fast.

Jim Martin / Foundry

I would recommend changing the default three-minute loop duration to one minute to get the right clip three times faster.

Price and availability

You can buy the A229 Duo on the Viofo website for $259.99 (£243 incl. VAT). At the time of review, the company was offering a $30 rebate (£28 off for UK shoppers).

But it’s also available for $259.99 on Amazon.com. At the time of review, it’s not being sold by Amazon in other countries, but should be on Amazon.co.uk shortly.

The HK4 wire kit is $16/£16, and the circular polarized plug-in lens is about the same. Viofo also sells a Bluetooth button that can be attached to a convenient location to lock and save recordings without taking your eyes off the road. It’s $19.99 / £19.

Verdict

During the day, especially when it’s sunny and bright, the video quality from the A229 Duo is excellent.

Although footage from the rear camera is recorded at a lower bit rate, you won’t necessarily notice this when comparing the front and back views. Most front and rear DVRs record rear view at a lower resolution, so it’s good to see Viofo delivering parity here.

The only downside is that the A229 Duo isn’t cheap, but don’t just look at resolution if you’re comparing it to other dual channel DVRs. Remember that it offers a good selection of parking modes, a slim rear camera cable, and 5GHz Wi-Fi.

Having said that, for much less price you get similar features (in 1080p only) from Viofo’s own A129 Duo. In addition, the Viofo T130 costs the same as the A229 Duo, but additionally records inside the car and front and rear. And while the interior and rear footage is 1080p, the extra coverage may be more valuable to some people. Just note that the T130 does not have a built-in screen.

For more alternatives, check out our roundup of the best dash cams.