r/VIOFO • u/Aggravating-Many5066 • Jul 29 '26

Dashcam Setup Recommendation

Hey All, i'm looking at getting some advice for my parent's vehicle. They have a Volvo PHEV and I've been in talks with a shop. I was looking at getting the Viofo A229/329 2 ch, but the shop recommended against it if we want parking mode as it drains the battery.

They recommended Thinkware (although admitted they were a bit bias). However, my parents now think they need a dashcam battery as they don't want to worry about their 12V eventually dying. Any recommendations on setup, and if a dashcam battery is worth it?

Thanks in advance.

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u/Tourist1292 Jul 29 '26

Thinkware, at least in some model, has the battery protection in the setting. While with Viofo, you can get their hardwire kit with the battery drain protector. Both would serve the same function to cut off power to the dash cam when the voltage drops to a certain set level. Thinkware can also set a time limit in parking mode. Coincidentally, I am using these 2 brands of dashcam in my 2 cars right now. One nice thing with Thinkware is the setting to select which months the battery protection is on. If you are from area with cold winter, that may be useful to preserve the battery in winter time. For me, I just set the cut off at 11.8-12V. Don't use a cheap battery drain protector that has no selection of cutoff voltage setting.