Best 4K Dashcam Video Quality? Viofo A139 Pro vs. Blackvue DR970X vs. Blackvue DR900X Plus

[@firekite]

Man. This must have taken so much time and effort to put together. Thank you!

[@VortexRadar]

WAY more than I expected lol

[@nataliegrn17]

Another truly incredible comparison and assessment, full of excellent details, yet compact for us? Wow thank you Vortex! Great job and much appreciated!

[@kricketman12]

the flashing looks like face id

[@amzarnacht6710]

Yeah, he's definately sold me on the Viafo - especially considering the blackvue is 2x the price for 1/2 the quality... Now he needs to do a side by side with the Viafo against the thinkware u1000 (again: huge price variance).

[@aussiecams]

What a great review! Knowing how much time it takes to compile a review, you should be congratulated! We roadtested the 139 pro about 2 mths ago and i said at the time that it was the best video footage i had ever reviewed - this just confirms it!

[@TrailsNThings]

I really truly cannot thank you enough for all the work you put into these videos. You truly give us the information necessary to make a solid purchase decision. Years ago I got a Uniden R3 based on your thorough review and it’s still my daily driver. Been looking to get a dash cam and I now know that I want the Viofo A139 hands down. Could not have made an informed decision without the work you do!

[@smels23]

You're making my job of choosing a lot easier! Thanks for all the hard work.

[@AlexGonzalez-xv9ee]

Trucking for over 24 yrs in NYS & NJ.. A 1st for me on a very serious ACCIDENT.. Found it odd After observing a car circling my truck several times. Car disappeared & 20min later same 🚗 appears in front of me slamming on his brakes with no one in front of him. Yep. It was evident to me that it was an insurance job. They wanted to make sure I didn’t have a dash cam before doing their dirt. YOU NEVER KNOW. & Now I realize how important it is to own one. Greatly appreciate your time and dedication. I had doubts and was so frustrated on making a choice BUT Not anymore! Thank you so much …Ones again. Greatly appreciate your TIME AND DEDICATION. God bless!! Ps: Unless you have other options for truckers??

[@photoshopeandotv]

As others have already said, you must have put a lot of time both setting things up and capturing footage, and editing the videos to make the results comparable.That's something commendable, thank you so much for bringing us such meticulous and rigurous reviews. 👍

[@kimt9978]

As a single mother who’s daughter will soon have her DL, I’ve been looking for a high quality dash cam. This video was so helpful and meticulously produced. Thank u for all the work put into this video-it should have ten times the views!

[@tool360kl]

I was in an accident a few weeks ago and I had a viofo a129 pro which did great showing how the accident went I'm glad now that viofo made a better version and I really appreciate the detail you took on this comparison and I will be getting this newer viofo thanks for making such a great video

[@mytubeviewerjeff]

Hi. I agree with you 100%. Over the last 3 months I have been watching car driving/car crash channels. Whenever I see a really clear, crisp video, I check to see if the bottom of the screen has the brand of camera. If so, I log it on a running sheet. I was doing it starting in Nov of last year up until Feb. I put my impression of the quality of the video, the date I viewed it, the clip number and run time start of the specific clip, and finally, I put the URL of the clip. The majority of videos I logged were from VIOFO A119 v3, A129, A129 Plus, and A129 Pro dashcams. 1 or 2 Blackvue’s and some other 4k dashcams but the best were the VIOFO’s. The VIOFO 139 Pro doesn’t come out until the end of March this year so…. The VIOFO’s had, by far, the best clarity, and crispness overall. I have seen a lot of videos that were clear and sharp but did not have the camera identification labeled at the bottom. Maybe the GPS feature must be turned on. Just a guess. I do not have a dashcam but, I have been waiting to get a dashcam. I think the waiting is over.

[@Miami_Bad_Boy_BOSS]

I like the Nextbase 622GW. My issue with the Nextbase 622GW, is it does not offer 4/5/6 channel option. I want full 360 coverage - front / back / driver window / pass window / driver peripheral external / pass peripheral external. Basically I want ALL the bells and whistles, with 6 cam availability; I don't care the price. Do you have any suggestions? .

[@jineshthomas7887]

Truly amazing effort. Behind that smile during presentation, I can actually imagine the passion and the hours of effort you have put in to create these videos.

[@RetroCarGuy530]

Nice job! I truly understand and appreciate the amount of time and effort that goes into this type of comparison video.

[@VortexRadar]

haha no kidding! I saw one of your videos recently where you did something similar and I liked your approach and added detail too. :)

[@johnb2000]

I've been waiting for you to do this exact review before making a decision on a replacement for my DR900S. You are an absolute professional in the way you carry out your work. I appreciate the hard work and long hours that goes into your videos. My first dashcam purchase was influenced by you and no doubt this one will be too! Please keep the fantastic work up👏🏿👏🏾👏🏽👏🏼👏

[@boogeyratt]

Probably the best dash cam video on KZbin. Thank you so much! Looks like I'll be getting an A139 Pro.

[@jasonj3350]

Best reviewer ever. Excellent example of proffesionalism 💪💯

[@StevenBanks123]

There are a few “I’m like” and ‘l mean’s, but for the most part you speak quickly and precisely, with few “um”s - Thank you

[@HD2You]

Just at the beginning I saw that Viofo angled USB-C cable fits better than the original A139 straight USB-C cable. Great to see that you was looking for the best frame and not for the same frame position when doing static comparisons. ;) I observed that 970X have a little red tint color something like on old Aptina sensors on some situations. I hope BlackVue will improve this situation. Also don't be sad about new 970, I am sure they will improve the image, right now I consider 970 to be much better than 900 from what I see in your review. Maybe they will use the same idea of Auto which was used for Viofo for DOL HDR. Was a nice surprise to see the day HDR from Viofo was so close to non HDR image but unfortunately this setup decrease the night performance of reading car license numbers compared to some older firmware versions. Look at 5:45 and 5:49 on the left at the houses and you will see that 970 is much better than 900 and if comparing all 4 houses, seems that 970 have some HDR or WDR implemented. At 8:34 we can understand that light is needed to read car license plates. No sun is not OK for any dashcam. Oh, at 16:36 we can see that people are wasting money on dashcams. ;) With actual HDR implementations the Auto HDR is not so important like it was on Viofo dashcams with Starvis 1. Congratulations for this great review about reading the car license numbers even in USA is very difficult to obtain good results. Regarding reading of car license plates, in theory, Viofo should put 3 types of HDR procesing: Clear HDR from actul firmware, DOL HDR, and DOL HDR from November 2022 beta firmware. Who wants the best reading of car license plates should accept some streets lamps flickering.

[@MarkFunderburk]

Just ordered the 2 channel version of the a139 pro for both of my vehicles with your link. This plus your other reviews were very helpful.

[@Anavllama]

The A139Pro looks like a clear winner. One SURPRIZING or perhaps PUZZLING design flaw however is the lens placement! It is located on the right hand side of the dashcam body facing forward. Smarter engineering by Thinkware (Q1000) and Blackvue (R970X) place the lens on the left hand side of the dashcam body. As you know most new cars now have a significant centre piece associated with the rear view mirror that extends down the windshield and typically houses a car safety camera. Let use a Toyota Rav4 as an example. To get the camera reasonable centred (an important factor) and to ensure the camera does not obstruct driver vision (even more important factor), the possibilities are limited. To get the lens centred, one can place the camera underneath the main centre piece body. However, this will obscure driver vision and may also be too low for the dashcam to work properly. One can have the lens somewhat centred by placing the A139 Pro dashcam immediately to the left of the centre piece (at the optimal height) but this will seriously block driver vision. The logical place for dashcam placement in NA is immediately to the right of the centre piece (at the optimal height to eliminate issues with driver vision and camera function). If one places the A139 immediately to the right of the centre piece, the lens will be not even close to centred (now unreasonable). I hope this helps illuminate the concern.

[@wtpauley]

I saw the Viofo A139 pro reviewed by another reviewer and was waiting for your review, before purchase. Thank you for this review as this definitely shows the Viofo is the clear winner in my book for image quality. It would be nice to see a brief video of what it looks like with the stock, or manufacturers polarizer lens filter.

[@VortexRadar]

The polarizer on/off sample I shared in this video was with the A139 Pro’s.

[@jordan2104]

I've had mine since Thanksgiving (it was on sale, yay!) and I don't really have any complaints. I wish it had the cloud capability, but for me it's not a dealbreaker. I use mine without the little polarizing cap, the video quality is really great, and the software didn't give me any issues so far. I bought the package with two cameras, front and back (no third/interior camera). I also got the separate Bluetooth button for "emergency" video capture. After all this time, I can say that I am very happy with my purchase and I would definitely recommend this dashcam.

[@PaekSukis]

Dayum. Viofo is killing it. Thank you very much for your efforts in creating this video! Love your thought and analysis.

[@dio.ahmed3]

best review. you are actually the only one comparing these exact models. well done

[@luisma1161]

Great video, I saw one of your previous videos about the 139 Pro and bought one after watching it. That camera came in and it's already been installed in my daughter's car. I just bought a second one after watching this video for my Ram limited edition 1500. Thanks for the reviews.

[@CosmetologyNFashion]

I bought Viofo A139 but when I got it I tested it and plugged it in and it was giving me problem and then the memory card would not go in then it went in and wouldn't come out. They told me to return it and decided to go with the Viofo A139 Pro after watching more videos on KZbin. I am glad I went with the A139 Pro since I was returning the front camara. Great video!!

[@pjpleiss]

This video was extremely helpful. I was very torn between the DR970X and the A139 Pro. This, combined with the significant price difference helped me decide. Thank you

[@strafe777]

Excellent job on this video. Bought a DR900X plus 6 months ago and thanks to this vid won’t be not upgrading to the 970.

[@MrTherandomvidsguy]

That Sony starvis 2 is really good. I'm glad viofo decided to go with the starvis 2 sensors. Hopefully viofo continues to improve on the starvis 2 while other dashcam manufacturers should adopt the starvis 2 sensors. Very disappointed in blackvue. Edit: dashcam companies should focus on night time capture

[@adspie]

Viofo is made in Communist China while Blackvue is made in South Korea...

[@FutureStyles]

Couldn’t agree more about the blackvue. I bought their highest end camera and had it professionally installed. I’ve had two incidents where I’ve needed a numberplate and it’s been totally useless.

[@jd415]

Wow, I can't imagine how long it took you to create this video! You did an amazing job, definitely going to get a A139 Pro now!

[@neilwilliams4684]

With the HD switched on 🙂

[@alanaugust8853]

Well, I learned more about dash cams in about 23 minutes than I ever knew there was to know. Thank you for ‘building’ this video. You did an awesome job!!

[@suhailxx]

Thank god I waited for this review lol, I had a feeling i shouldn’t purchase the new dr970x without watching the vortex review. Not worth the upgrade in any form. Didn’t think it would be this bad !

[@messithor1284]

Viofo is obviously the winner, too bad they dont have the live view yet like the black vue. Still waiting viofo to get my first dashcam with LTE if they ever come out.

[@BebopBooper]

Informing us newbies to the car dash cam scene, beautiful work!!!

[@faisallukyamuzi279]

Great video sir. Your videos always have great insights and knowledge. Watching from Uganda 🇺🇬 . I am yet to receive my VIOFO A139 that I ordered and I can't wait to have a look at its features

[@bikebudha01]

Really appreciate the 'depth' of these reviews. The side-by-side stills really make choosing a dashcam easy.

[@integralcam]

Great comparison. I hadn't got to try the 970 versus the 900 plus at night yet so I'm glad to see it at least has some improvements with that HDR and night quality. Seems obvious Viofo is better if you don't want cloud features, which is most people. But I also love the cloud features so it's hard to pick. That's why I always ran an A119 V3 along side my dr900x plus and previous blackvues.

[@TransNeingerian]

Looks like some of them have more than 1 channel connected. Increasing the channels decreases the bitrate. Bitrate determines how much detail can be collected in a frame. If any of these are active 2ch, its not a direct comparison.

[@VortexRadar]

Only true for certain models, not all. I also test in both situations because it’s important to see what you get in 1CH and 2CH modes given people will run both configurations. It depends on if you’re optimizing for looking good in a test or showing real world performance. Again both are valid, but this also varies between models since some have identical bitrates for both 1CH and 2CH modes.

[@TransNeingerian]

@@VortexRadar Its disingenuous to make conclusions and comparisons that include the sensor model and HDR capabilities but not the bitrate.

[@functionaldoc5054]

Best reviewer out there period. What detail and great video comparisons.

[@steve_the_designer]

A TON of work goes into making/editing these videos. Much appreciated 👍

[@samirab5426]

For me, the Best Reviewer! 🌎 Thank you so much, from Italy 🇮🇹

[@eric2499]

Thank you, as always a killer job. Looking at the prices the BV is nowhere! near worth what they are asking. The BV is at best a 200$ camera.

[@MatthewDeloitte]

This must have taken so long, thank you again for another thorough review

[@ColinDyckes]

Just bought an A139 Pro 2ch based on your video. Finally, a good dash cam that isn't locked to their own expensive sdCards! Thanks.

[@VortexRadar]

Congrats! It’s an awesome one. :)

[@Mr82C]

Thank you for your reviews really appreciate you taking the time and breaking it down

[@jdemara]

Such a great comparison. Thank you for this. VERY helpful!!

[@fogboundturtle]

issue is shutter speed of the camera. frame rate and and F-Stops of each dashcam. If you want better quality, we need bigger sensor so that we can capture more photons. better glass with higher f-stop to gather more lights so that we can have more FPS. Of course, you can go the software road and use AI processing to enhance the image. That would requires better SOC video processing.

[@marcinkozlowski3387]

Imagine watching this video and you see yourself driving 😂

[@CaptainCJ97]

Coming back to this vid and watching more dashcam clips it's crazy how clear crisp viofo dashcams are compared watching blackvue's if viofo ever joins the cloud world and is as good if not better blackvue then that would be great

[@andrerobinson4862]

I was really on the fence about getting my next cam. THANK YOU SO MUCH for this comparison video!

[@Steve_in_Texas]

Wow!! This amazing! I want to get a dashcam and have been doing a lot of research recently. You are definitely my "go to" for good solid, unbias, honest reviews and information!! Thank you so much for taking the time and effort to do these videos!!!

[@foghornleg90]

THANK YOU... just ordered a Viofo A139 Pro today. For 3 Channels, that seems to be the best option. Though I'm not looking forward to the 'wiring' ... but the parked car and 'accident while away' options seem worthwhile.

[@dadcz]

Thank you for Test. It is obvious that doubling the bitrate on Viofo will necessarily improve the image especially when the angle of view is restricted. Now we must also compare the features, connectivity to the cloud, parking mode, wifi transfer in 5G etc. ... Both Dashcams are very good and it is important to choose the model that will be adapted to your personal use.

[@videoupload8230]

Exactly the comparison i was looking for. My current dashcam(iroad) had issues identifying number plates when driving past other vehicles at different speed.

[@tubamanandy2]

Now thats what a review video should be like - great job

[@goesquick]

I really want the Viofo, for the image quality, but they just have so many reliability issues, vs the Blackvues, and people often aren't even aware until they go to pull footage. Not something I was willing to risk, so I went for the 970.

[@stevegeoff]

This confirms my purchase (based on your previous reviews). I get it tomorrow.. yay!

[@Stallzyx]

Glad to see another video confirming my decision to get the A139 Pro. Got two front units with the plan to either go front and rear both 4k, or just do front 4k and 1080p rear with the camera found in the 2 channel kit that I bought separately, or maybe I run both the rear camera setups to get the best of both :D Had the front units for nearly a month now and should be getting it all installed in the next few days but it's been nearly a 2 week wait for that. Maybe could have got it sorted sooner elsewhere but hoping all goes smooth. I set up my old A119 v2 a couple days ago just so I have something temporary and will also make for good comparison even though I have footage from years ago. Definitely feel like rear camera is a must for me

[@mackue8913]

I love it when u do these Comparison videos! The next time u should do parking mode while u doing it.

[@1a1u0g9t4s2u]

Thank you for a very informative comparison on the two flagship dash cameras. Looking forward to the follow up on the topics you mentioned.

[@mickaleneduczech8373]

Similarly, when I upgraded the DR750 to the 900x, I found that the 750 had been much better for reading plates, and had much better night vision.

[@synthwave7]

Great video - something to mention - with A.I. photo enhancement websites, low end pics of license plates can be enhanced.

[@Obsydeon]

Thank you. The dashcam video I needed. Looking forward to the detail reviews.

[@r3sid3nt3vil8]

Thanks for the great review. Its clear that its going to be a long time before we get affordable dashcams that actually capture , perfectly , the vital info required for legal cases (plates and brand badges) in all conditions with little to no image degradation. The issue is affordability . Great cams that need to capture small details at speed would be expensive to make . Capturing at 60 FPS minimum capturing at 4k minimum with very high bitrates all the while being small enough to use in a car. Currently unfeasible unless you were to create a super expensive smallish cam that does the job, but it wouldn't sell well as the high industry grade tech is thousands of pounds/dollars and isnt small enough to be usable in a car without getting in the way. Its going to be at lest 5 years before we see super detail capturing cams in the affordable price range.

[@chenb72]

Not sure about other brands but had a big issue with Blackvue dr900 2CH where the date/time stamp always resets itself back to 12:00 01/01/2019 after having it for almost 3 years. Been told by Blackvue that the build-in battery must have ran out BUT it was not designed to be replaced. So you spend good money on something that has a shelf life (kind of) when technically the unit is still functioning. How stupid

[@LawrenceMarkFearon]

Truly appreciate this man. So thorough and complete. Thank you.

[@pitterpatterlf]

Thank you for putting this together, I can only imagine how long it takes to edit this.

[@geegigaga3370]

Terrific video. Just got a A139 Pro. An upgrade from my A119.

[@hilal3d]

Just bumped to your video and I found your entire channel quite helpful man. Thank you, keep up the good work

[@VortexRadar]

Welcome aboard!

[@Shilly_JD]

I purchased a VIOFO A139 Pro around the time when you were promoting Christmas deals. I really was regretting my decision before I installed, but (as a warning) do not order directly from VIFO - they have no dedicated customer service and only have a 30 day return policy. (and nearly no English customer support). I will install this in my newly purchased (used) 2014 ES300h. Will update soon.

[@VortexRadar]

Yeah it’s only a few days ago that you could order from a local distributor. Back then the only option was to order direct. The CS issue is a thing though. I also bring that up in an upcoming video.

[@Shilly_JD]

@@VortexRadar Thanks for acknowledging my post ! I can provide documentation of the customer service issue. Sad...

[@CarstenBauer]

I've been a fan of BlackVue for years, but this is just shocking. I'm changing over my 750 Blackvue 2ch to a Viofo A139 Pro 3 channel next month. Thank you.

[@TheHealthLife]

hows it going,,after change over?

[@CarstenBauer]

@@TheHealthLife very happy so far. Good image quality with the Viofo 139pro 3 channel.

[@wr24_pl]

Excellent comparison! Great job! Thanks for putting it all together.

[@charleshines2142]

What ever one I decide on, a polarized filter is a must for me so I don't have so many ghost images of my dashboard.

[@rubenramos-wp4nw]

Just imagine you‘re csually strolling down the highway just to notice some guy with 4 dashcams filming😂😂😂

[@garyglenn3654]

Outstanding job! Great info that was interesting to watch.

[@HeadBassVTEC]

as usual great comparison was thinking of getting the new blackvues (770x or 970x) but disappointed by the results and excited for the upcoming starvis2 dashcams from blackvue blackvue seems to be better at HDR implementations and has features I miss on the viofo

[@Riverguide33]

Great review….thanks for all of the effort you put into this. 👍

[@waldinjo]

Great video! Definitely won't upgrade my 900x plus 😊

[@ruebarb1]

Thank you, looking forward to the next comparison video

[@STARFIGHT88]

Great Video Vortex!

[@marklewis5204]

I wonder if the quality of the BlackVue could be that it uses HEVC (H.265) for the encoding, I believe the A139 Pro uses AVC (H.264) - be interesting to compare the same compression format. Thank you for your hard work with this video, certainly interesting results.

[@VK4GHZ]

Excellent work. It's a long wait for my new car, so I'm keen to see the rollout of new dashcams utilizing the Starvis 2 sensor this year. From what we see already with the A139, it's looking good.

[@hmmslagathor9285]

Great video, lots of useful real world information. Not sure if we can get Viofo in the UK but I am going to look. Thanks

[@VortexRadar]

Yeah you should be able to ship to the UK when ordering direct from Viofo. Check the link in the description.

[@Renzolito]

Thank you so much for the comparison, saved me time and money. Seems like the Viofo is a way better bang for your buck.

[@relax-panda7]

Your set-up has got my thumbs up at 1 min in :D Brilliant test

[@prodrivingtricksandtips]

Thank you for your time and effort. You’re a point of reference on KZbin…..the dash camera manufacturers are biting their fingernails when you post a video.

[@TheAllang123]

Please do the head to head 970x vs 139A asap! Waiting before I buy and your analysis seems unbiased and overall excellent. Thanks.

[@birgirivarsson]

Wow man -- What a great review -- Best ever -- good job -- well done

[@alexwlawson]

After watching this, I have no regrets saving my money and getting the miniscule Garmin Mini 2 Dash Cam. Footage might not be 4K but things seem just as recognizable is most lighting conditions.

[@jd415]

Amazing video, love this channel!

[@gingerman5123]

I've having a new truck delivered in a couple months so I just ordered an A139 Pro for it!

[@VortexRadar]

Congrats!

[@paulanderegg5536]

The 900X Plus with its always on extreme noise reduction and HDR really smears any and all motion into oblivion. I went with a 900X non-Plus for that reason. I think your 970X might have been a bad binned device. With no autofocus, it all comes down to production tolerances affecting the image plane backfocus point. Glad to see they eased off the extreme DNR smear!

[@christophervieira7977]

Have a feeling blackview will make up a lot of ground in the next comparison. I'll wait for that one. Thanks for the great content

[@canon4life1356]

Much appreciated video. Thank you very much for the hard work!

[@greggoode3450]

Amazing video. Thanks for all your work!!!

[@jasenhicks]

How about a comparison on the video from the rear cameras as well. Interesting that the 970 is not as good as the 900 in a lot of situations, I wonder if Blackvue will update the firmware in the near future. That said, you have me looking at the A139 Pro now.

[@SnifterRoux]

Have you used the A229 Pro? If so what would you choose between that and the A139 Pro?

[@maksepalad9141]

Awesome video. I really like how you make different scenarios to test the image quality for these. I have one question for you if you have time to answer. A139 official webpage says that maximum SD card capacity that can be used is 512GB but other sources say that maximum is only 256GB. Even VIOFO official information is confusing: A229 cam specs for example say that maximum is 512GB. But if you scroll down to the bottom of the same page it then says 256GB max. It seems even developers can't decide what is right. So what is the maximum you can use with A139? Thanks for reading

[@smilly9]

Interesting on the school bus text, might be alright for me in UK with rear number plates being black on yellow.

[@843idfa]

1:25 what is the "AV Out" socket for? Can I hook up an external monitor to see the feed from the rear camera? Or is it for the front camera?

[@userbosco]

I love my VIOFO A129 Pro Duo, and it's $45 off on Amazon right now, BTW :-]

[@francisng859]

Recently I had the Viofo A139Pro installed, after some testing n found it only allow 2K for the front camera when the parking mode is enable. This is confirmed by the Viofo of the limitation.

[@DocDave88]

How do there compare to the Thinkware U1000 4K dashcam? And does the new Blackview have similar issues of overheating like previous Blackviews? Seems Thinkware does better with this issue as well as Viofo.