I am a complete newbie to the P2V, but so far really loving it. One thing I've found problematic is the video streaming quality to my smartphone (lower-end Android phone hardware; OK O/S version however) from the P2V while in-flight. It's extremely choppy/pixelated, even when relatively close, and even when I adjust the range extender. Is this normal, perhaps indicative of my phone hardware, etc ? Any suggestions ? Thx.
Streaming Video to Smartphone App
- Thread starter donniew
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Hello Donnie,
I use a Samsung Galaxy S4 and it works pretty good, at lest does the job pretty smooth. The app has a few bugs, sometime the video freezes so you need to go back to the menu then in to Camera mode, bit in all honesty works pretty good.
What phone do you have?
I use a Samsung Galaxy S4 and it works pretty good, at lest does the job pretty smooth. The app has a few bugs, sometime the video freezes so you need to go back to the menu then in to Camera mode, bit in all honesty works pretty good.
What phone do you have?
Hardware has a lot to do with it. If you have a lower spec device then try some or all of the following:
Reduce the quality of the stream (app settings);
Reboot the phone/use an app killer just before you load the Vision app - clear the memory out as much as you can;
Either turn off the cell radio or put that into aeroplane mode or at least switch off cellular data - phone won't be using resources to try and sync your emails, calendar data, etc;
Turn the phone GPS off and see if that helps - be aware it will affect the Find my Vision function because although your Phantom will know where it is no problem, you're phone won't know where it is;
Keep the flat side of the range extender pointed at the Vision as nearly as possible - use the swivel mount as you climb and descend and turn yourself to keep it facing the aircraft all the time;
Some have reported squeezing more range/a better signal by keeping a side of the camera on the aircraft orientated towards them most of the time - the wifi antennas are mounted on the two sides of the camera housing.
I have a Nexus 4 running Kitkat (no slouch of a phone, but not as fast as the very latest generation) and with the stream set to minimum quality I get very little lag indeed and on the medium setting it's about a quarter of a second at most at distance. That's without doing anything specific to clear out ram, etc, as I'm happy with what I've got.
Hope this helps.
Reduce the quality of the stream (app settings);
Reboot the phone/use an app killer just before you load the Vision app - clear the memory out as much as you can;
Either turn off the cell radio or put that into aeroplane mode or at least switch off cellular data - phone won't be using resources to try and sync your emails, calendar data, etc;
Turn the phone GPS off and see if that helps - be aware it will affect the Find my Vision function because although your Phantom will know where it is no problem, you're phone won't know where it is;
Keep the flat side of the range extender pointed at the Vision as nearly as possible - use the swivel mount as you climb and descend and turn yourself to keep it facing the aircraft all the time;
Some have reported squeezing more range/a better signal by keeping a side of the camera on the aircraft orientated towards them most of the time - the wifi antennas are mounted on the two sides of the camera housing.
I have a Nexus 4 running Kitkat (no slouch of a phone, but not as fast as the very latest generation) and with the stream set to minimum quality I get very little lag indeed and on the medium setting it's about a quarter of a second at most at distance. That's without doing anything specific to clear out ram, etc, as I'm happy with what I've got.
Hope this helps.
There is a big difference between higher-end and lower-end smartphones. I tryed a cheap android phone, an Iphone 4s and recently i bought the Sony Z1.
The cheap phone was awful with the app and i wanted to use this one permanently with the PV but the quality is too low.
The Sony Z1 is pretty good with the PV.
The cheap phone was awful with the app and i wanted to use this one permanently with the PV but the quality is too low.
The Sony Z1 is pretty good with the PV.
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Also remember the purpose of the video streaming. It's not for cinematic beauty. It is totally utilitarian. A lower-quality picture allows you to stream video even when the signal is weaker / weak. If the designers insisted on a perfect picture at all times, the range would be nothing.
With my Samsung S3, it works beautifully in 640x480 15fps. I haven't flown very far away yet (only 600' up and similar distance away) but it is nearly glitch-free so far in 10 flights with lots of RTH tests.
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