Live feed freezing

InforGuy · Jan 29, 2017

Hi Folks - I recently upgraded to a P4 Pro and have finally had ample time to fly over the last few days. I am finding the live feed tends to freeze up, even though it is still recording. Last night I threw it up 200 ft and let it hover for 20 minutes so I could create a time lapse of a sunset. When I started to descend, the live feed was frozen and took probably about 5 seconds to catch up.

Just this AM I was flying around my property and the same thing happened - it would freeze for a few seconds and then catch up. I've also noticed it going to a green screen a few times. I had a full downlink signal at the time, same as last night.

I am up to date on the latest firmware and am using an iPad mini 2 which I thought was powerful enough. Are there any settings on the iPad that may be causing this?

GadgetGuy · Feb 1, 2017

InforGuy said:
Hi Folks - I recently upgraded to a P4 Pro and have finally had ample time to fly over the last few days. I am finding the live feed tends to freeze up, even though it is still recording. Last night I threw it up 200 ft and let it hover for 20 minutes so I could create a time lapse of a sunset. When I started to descend, the live feed was frozen and took probably about 5 seconds to catch up.

Just this AM I was flying around my property and the same thing happened - it would freeze for a few seconds and then catch up. I've also noticed it going to a green screen a few times. I had a full downlink signal at the time, same as last night.

I am up to date on the latest firmware and am using an iPad mini 2 which I thought was powerful enough. Are there any settings on the iPad that may be causing this?

If I had to guess, I would suspect the Mini 2 as being underpowered for the job. It's getting a bit long in the tooth. Make sure all other apps are killed off, and turn off video caching, and turn hardware decoding off if on and vice versa, and report back.

Techcop50 · Feb 1, 2017

I had similar issues with a low-spec Android device. GadgetGuy is likely correct.

InforGuy · Feb 1, 2017

GadgetGuy said:
If I had to guess, I would suspect the Mini 2 as being underpowered for the job. It's getting a bit long in the tooth. Make sure all other apps are killed off, and turn off video caching, and turn hardware decoding off if on and vice versa, and report back.

I did quite a bit of reading after posting and have tried all of what you have suggested. It's a brand new iPad and the only app I had installed is the Go app. One other thing I did try is adjusting the Image transmission code rate down to 4/6 Mpbs per second and locking in on a specific channel. This did seem to help but I have yet to perform a real test where there is a longer flight distance.

Surprised about the comments about the mini 2 being under powered. I picked it up recently after reading nothing but great comments about it's performance and it's probably one of, if not the most common device being used. I'll definitely keep an eye on things so I can exchange it during the exchange period if need be.

Techcop50 · Feb 1, 2017

I have NO experience with the iPad. I was going off of the symptoms you listed. Sounded similar to mine.

InforGuy · Feb 1, 2017

Techcop50 said:
I have NO experience with the iPad. I was going off of the symptoms you listed. Sounded similar to mine.

No worries. Wasn't implying anyone was wrong. Just haven't read any negative comments about this device. Just switched from my Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge which works flawlessly, but I had to go to an IOS device for a very specific reason (long story).

Techcop50 · Feb 1, 2017

Yeah, I'm an S5, Note4 owner myself. Last iPhone I had was the iPhone 2...

GadgetGuy · Feb 2, 2017

InforGuy said:
I did quite a bit of reading after posting and have tried all of what you have suggested. It's a brand new iPad and the only app I had installed is the Go app. One other thing I did try is adjusting the Image transmission code rate down to 4/6 Mpbs per second and locking in on a specific channel. This did seem to help but I have yet to perform a real test where there is a longer flight distance.

Surprised about the comments about the mini 2 being under powered. I picked it up recently after reading nothing but great comments about it's performance and it's probably one of, if not the most common device being used. I'll definitely keep an eye on things so I can exchange it during the exchange period if need be.

Mini 4 is the current Mini. For the small difference in price ($110), it's a major upgrade. Refurbished Mini 4's ($319) are available as well at prices comparable to a new Mini2. iPad Air 2 and iPad Pro 9.7" are the current full size iPads with the faster processors.
Refurbished iPad mini 4 Wi-Fi 16GB - Gold - Apple
Also, try the 32 Channel Hack for better reception and signal stability, using a manaually selected channel like 30, 31, or 32.

Brent10 · Feb 2, 2017

My iPad mini 2 with my P4P did the same thing.
Then I killed off all other apps and rebooted the tablet. All was well after that.

Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots

InforGuy · Feb 2, 2017

GadgetGuy said:
Mini 4 is the current Mini. For the small difference in price ($110), it's a major upgrade. Refurbished Mini 4's ($319) are available as well at prices comparable to a new Mini2. iPad Air 2 and iPad Pro 9.7" are the current full size iPads with the faster processors.
Refurbished iPad mini 4 Wi-Fi 16GB - Gold - Apple
Also, try the 32 Channel Hack for better reception and signal stability, using a manaually selected channel like 30, 31, or 32.

I'll give that a try if need be - currently using channel 17. Things seem to be better but I'll keep monitoring. Thank you.

InforGuy · Feb 2, 2017

Brent10 said:
My iPad mini 2 with my P4P did the same thing.
Then I killed off all other apps and rebooted the tablet. All was well after that.

Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots

Interesting. Only app installed is DJI go. This thing was fresh out of the box.

Brent10 · Feb 2, 2017

And I also put the iPad mini 2 in Airplane mode.

Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots

GadgetGuy · Feb 2, 2017

InforGuy said:
I'll give that a try if need be - currently using channel 17. Things seem to be better but I'll keep monitoring. Thank you.

17 is among the Auto channels, where 20 usually works better. With the 32 Channel Hack, the higher channels of 30 and above seem to do better.

InforGuy · Feb 2, 2017

GadgetGuy said:
17 is among the Auto channels, where 20 usually works better. With the 32 Channel Hack, the higher channels of 30 and above seem to do better.

Did not know that. Thanks for the heads up! I'll definitely give it a shot.

GadgetGuy · Feb 2, 2017

InforGuy said:
Did not know that. Thanks for the heads up! I'll definitely give it a shot.

Checking the interference at your launch area is important because that will be constant, but once flying, the interference changes based upon location of the aircraft, so best to use a least used channel from the start. Also, try Auto without the Channel Hack, as that hops based upon interference.

HEMSPILOT · Feb 3, 2017

P4P plus... controller has a mic in it, so why no audio with my videos? Anyone???

GadgetGuy · Feb 3, 2017

HEMSPILOT said:
P4P plus... controller has a mic in it, so why no audio with my videos? Anyone???

Mic does not record audio to the aircraft microSD card. It's for editing and live streaming only.

HEMSPILOT · Feb 3, 2017

That's blows. Why have an SD card in the REMOTE with a mic... that doesn't record. No need for a SD card in your remote then really.

GadgetGuy · Feb 3, 2017

HEMSPILOT said:
That's blows. Why have an SD card in the REMOTE with a mic... that doesn't record. No need for a SD card in your remote then really.

The microSD card reader in the remote is for playing back the video recorded on the aircraft microSD card on the built-in display.

HEMSPILOT · Feb 3, 2017

Roger. How do you get the screen video with altitude, airspeed, etc to show in the video or can u? Cos I recorded video with sd card in my REMOTE. Hoping it would record my flight, with the flight data on my screen. Nope.
Can it? Thanks.