Rexing V1P Pro Dual vs the VIOFO A129

The sub-$200 price range dash cam market has really evolved in the last 2 years or so, with some dash cams that really offer a lot bang and value for their prices. Today, we’re taking a closer look at two popular choices - the Rexing V1P Pro Dual and the VIOFO A129 - to see which dash cam is better and which one we would recommend to purchase.

Rexing and VIOFO are both Chinese dash cam companies that have gained popularity and sales in North America over the past 2 or 3 years. They specialize in the lower-end dash cam market with a focus on good video quality, with a secondary focus on more premium features such as wi-fi and smartphone app integration and parking-mode recording.

The Rexing V1P Pro Dual is a 2-channel dash camera that offers 1080p front and 1080p rear recording resolutions @ 30fps, and retails at around $199.99 USD as of the time of writing. The front unit feels quite sturdy and of decent quality, while the rear camera does feel a bit cheaper in quality, especially in regard to the rear mount itself.

All in all, it’s clear that the V1P Pro Dual is a dash cam of cheaper build, but with efforts to make the main unit feel premium. The physical dimensions of the front camera is bulkier than expected, and is not as discreet as most other dash cams in this category. The front and rear cameras allows for vertical lens adjustment and can be mounted onto the windshield with ease, despite the larger form factor of the front unit.

The V1P Pro Dual has an LCD screen on the front unit so that footage can be seen and settings can be changed on the move. The user interface here is good without any real issue, and menus are easily navigated and settings are quite easy to change, and in addition, the main unit has several buttons which allows you to quickly access settings. The front and rear cameras are connected via a mini-USB cable that is run throughout the vehicle.

The VIOFO A129 Duo is a 2-channel dash cam that also offers 1080p front and 1080p rear recording resolutions, and retails for about $170. This means the A129 is $30 cheaper than the Rexing V1P Pro, and this price difference holds even bigger significance as this review continues. The front unit of the VIOFO A129 Duo is similar to feel with the Rexing V1P Pro in terms of build quality, while the form factor of the VIOFO is significantly smaller and less bulkier than the Rexing especially for the front camera.

This difference in form factor may be an important issue for a lot of potential customers. Just like the V1P Pro, the A129 Duo has an LCD screen on the front unit that offers the same features - providing live view, as well as changing settings.

The VIOFO A129 Duo’s user interface is noticeably better and more concise and is, actually, one of the best in the market. Just like with the V1P Pro, the A129 Duo’s front and rear cameras are connected via a mini-USB cable.

The video files of both the Rexing V1P Pro and VIOFO A129 are in standard format MPEG-4 files, so that they are easily viewable and can be edited with ease.

While there is a smartphone application, there are no dedicated computer viewers for these dash cams. That means you can either review the dash cam footage on your phone, or on the units themselves. Settings can even be adjusted on the units' LCD screens. Having said this, a computer viewer could be handy as the dash cam sometimes may be mounted in a location that’s hard to access, and unmounting and mounting the dash cam can be a hassle. This is where the benefits of a dash cam with wi-fi & smartphone app integration will come in handy.

The Rexing V1P Pro has 1 and 3 minute video segments while the VIOFO A129 offers 1, 3 and 5 minute video segments. These settings are very standard across the dash cam industry.

As far as video quality goes, however, the A129 wins the battle hands down.

Although both units record at 1080p resolution front and rear, the A129 has clearer video quality especially at night time and definitely for the rear camera. The Rexing V1P Pro Dual's footage, while it has comparable front daytime footage to the VIOFO A129 Duo, is noticeably more grainy once it gets dark outside.

However, the biggest difference is in the rear cameras between the two units - the V1P Pro’s, although stating 1080p, has footage that more so resembles video resolution of 360 to 480p. The A129’s rear unit looks much better, capturing a lot more detail and smoother footage. This difference alone makes the A129 a much better choice in video recording. Keep in mind that the V1P Pro has infrared (IR) lights on the rear camera but, due to its poor video footage, does not hold any real value.

During our testing of the Rexing V1P Pro, which lasted about 2 weeks, we found the unit to freeze up on numerous occasions. Despite our efforts in troubleshooting - firmware reflashes and different microSD cards - the issue continued through our testing. Of course, this doesn’t mean that every V1P Pro has the same issue, but could say something about its reliability and durability. The VIOFO A129, on the other hand, performed seamlessly throughout our testing.

With everything considered and with the huge difference in rear video quality, the VIOFO A129 takes the cake for our recommendation of the better dash cam. The Rexing V1P Pro’s build quality and user interface are comparable to the VIOFO A129, but the poor night time video quality and terrible rear video quality really make the V1P Pro be a lesser unit than the A129.

Although the V1P Pro does have the additional infrared mode, this did not work well in testing. Plus, VIOFO just came out with the VIOFO A129 IR, which is the regular A129 model but with infrared lights on the secondary unit as well.

With this in mind, the VIOFO A129 is the better choice, for both non-IR and IR dash cam setups, compared to the Rexing V1P Pro.