Reality Check - will Autel give v2 owners a Live Deck and 2 controller compatibility?

[SARty]

Given that it's reportedly possible with the v2 chip (but locked out in firmware), I'm having a hard time understanding how Autel can justify leaving their Enterprise customers in the cold by denying two controller functionality and by not releasing a Live Deck v2 (hardware, not software). This is something we need. Will we have to wait for an Evo III Enterprise to get it?

Maybe we can share some use cases here to highlight the importance of these missing features..............

 

[advexure]

Could be a matter of chipset shortages which continue to encumber most manufacturers of electronics.

 

[Dave Pitman]

Given that it's reportedly possible with the v2 chip (but locked out in firmware), I'm having a hard time understanding how Autel can justify leaving their Enterprise customers in the cold by denying two controller functionality and by not releasing a Live Deck v2 (hardware, not software).

Technically speaking, receiving and displaying the video and telemetry broadcast by a craft to any number of receivers is entirely possible. It only involves the receiver having the correct token (or key) in order to do so. Just like FRS radios. If you are on the correct channel, and have dialed in the correct code for that channel, you can receive the broadcast from a radio, in range, broadcasting on that channel and code.
So, if the manufacturer, Autel in this case, decided to have the bound remote display a code on the screen which could then be shared to other receivers, giving those receivers the ability to "unlock" the transmission from the craft, bingo you have your remote monitoring. It is relatively simple actually. They just choose not to do it for some reason.

Sharing control is more complicated but not a lot more complicated. DJI was doing it ever since the Inspire 1 with splitting out camera control to another handset.

RID will work in exactly the same way. It will just be a "public" broadcast of certain information and telemetry that will not use or need a key.

 

[SARty]

They just choose not to do it for some reason.

Thanks for your thoughts on this. Yes, @Blade Strike confirmed not that long ago that the necessary hardware is there, but that it's locked out in firmware for some reason. Others "in the know" have reported the same.

It puts prospective buyers in a tough spot because many of us need both the enterprise functionality, as well as the Live Deck and 2 controller functionality. In Public Safety, some missions will call more for one than the other, so it's putting agencies in a jam.

I hope they start taking it seriously soon.

 

[SARty]

Could be a matter of chipset shortages which continue to encumber most manufacturers of electronics.

True. I might buy that as an explanation for being behind on releasing a Live Deck v2, but I'm not aware of anything stopping them from allowing 2 controllers to bind.

Also, if a Live Deck v2 was in the works, they could at least give us a heads up. It's not like we expect things to take less than 6 months to begin shipping anyway!

 

[Brock Inspector]

Huh, I haven't seen that Blade Strike quote. They've been talking up/working on a streaming cloud solution off the HDMI port of the v2 Smart Controller. It was an after-the-fact admission by several other internal Autel "in-the-know" folks (Ken Booth, for one) that the v2 Software Defined Radio chipset now being used CANNOT bind to two devices at once as the prior ZTE one could. Doubtful Autel is just being capricious and holding back on a some new Live Deck. They understand how well that v1-only device works (continues to work, incidentally) with v1 Evo IIs---and Evos-- and how valued any potential compatibility with the v2 Evo II Enterprise would be if they possibly could

 

[SARty]

Huh, I haven't seen that Blade Strike quote. They've been talking up/working on a streaming cloud solution off the HDMI port of the v2 Smart Controller. It was an after-the-fact admission by several other internal Autel "in-the-know" folks (Ken Booth, for one) that the v2 Software Defined Radio chipset now being used CANNOT bind to two devices at once as the prior ZTE one could. Doubtful Autel is just being capricious and holding back on a some new Live Deck. They understand how well that v1-only device works (continues to work, incidentally) with v1 Evo IIs---and Evos-- and how valued any potential compatibility with the v2 Evo II Enterprise would be if they possibly could

Thanks for your comments. Yes, it was mentioned several weeks back in another group. Some people are saying it will be a software solution, others are saying hardware. But a software solution doesn't replace all the functionality of the existing Live Deck.

Unfortunately, understanding how well an existing device or feature works in an older model, or how much a solution is needed in current or future models, never seems to be enough with these companies. We're talking basic functionality here and it will be a shame if we have to wait for an Evo III to get it.

 

[Brock Inspector]

Thanks for your comments. Yes, it was mentioned several weeks back in another group. Some people are saying it will be a software solution, others are saying hardware. But a software solution doesn't replace all the functionality of the existing Live Deck.

Unfortunately, understanding how well an existing device or feature works in an older model, or how much a solution is needed in current or future models, never seems to be enough with these companies. We're talking basic functionality here and it will be a shame if we have to wait for an Evo III to get it.

Why wait? V1 Evo II's are plentiful, and so are Live Decks, and the camera gimbals all swap in and out

 

[kenautelevo2pro]

Why wait? V1 Evo II's are plentiful, and so are Live Decks, and the camera gimbals all swap in and out

also i think if someone really wanted to get their hands on a v1 sc, that is also possible.

 

[SARty]

Why wait? V1 Evo II's are plentiful, and so are Live Decks, and the camera gimbals all swap in and out

I could have been more specific in my first post - my agency needs dual band, along with all the other Enterprise upgrades.

 

[Brock Inspector]

The dual band I'd want exists only on the Beta f/w that shipped with the v.1 Smart Controller: 900MHz and 2.4GHz. The current regime has 2.4GHz and 5.8GHz as the dual band of the v.2 though I question whether this does much of anything to improve range or get better reception around obstacles than 2.4GHz alone. (900MHz is substantially more robust when knife-edging a signal. Yes, it adds diversity in a crowded WiFi signal environ, but then again most every newer home router has 5.8GHz nowadays, too. (The point of 5.8GHz is that the signal propagates less far, ergo more users on same frequencies packed into same space without conflict.)

 

[Brock Inspector]

So what you REALLY want is for Autel to cave to the Right-to-Repair movement so we can mix-and-match the choicest Enterprise bits and v1 ZTE SDR chips to use with Live Deck, eh SARty? Because unless you DIY, it doesn't exist. Autel's not building them like that

 

[SARty]

So what you REALLY want is for Autel to cave to the Right-to-Repair movement so we can mix-and-match the choicest Enterprise bits and v1 ZTE SDR chips to use with Live Deck, eh SARty? Because unless you DIY, it doesn't exist. Autel's not building them like that

I, along with everyone else I know in my field would definitely love to mix and match them, absolutely. Autel should too.

As Public Safety operators, that would be one of the biggest advancements we could hope for at this point in the technology. Yes, the thermal sensors will eventually improve, along with the wind resistance, EO camera resolution, battery life, etc. But those will all be incremental improvements. How we fly can be just as important as what we fly. What we're after won't make sense to most enthusiasts and even many commercial operators. But if you know, you know and this stuff is important.

Most in this position simply run multiple kits. Maybe that's what Autel wants.

But, IMHO, if they're truly looking to win over the enterprise class, they need to be looking at these types of issues and addressing them. If they'd do a better job of listening to their user base, they could build the ultimate no compromises setup. Why haven't they updated Explorer to allow side by side camera feeds like DJI has done for years? That's crazy to me. We need that. It's such a simple fix too. Despite having some very good people on their staff that get it, Autel doesn't seem to truly understand how people actually use this equipment. It's these little things that add up to big things.

@Blade Strike just mentioned in a post here that his V1 RTK runs all the enterprise modules. This gets us closer to having it all, but still with significant compromises. We'd be missing dual band and the added flight time of the enterprise. The latter is far more important than dual controllers or Live Deck functionality, so that's the direction we go.

 

[ted1970]

They'll do it right after they enable the "A" and "B" programmable buttons on the rear of my Evo I controller!
I can't wait! They promised they would enable them. I just know they will! I can't wait. So excited about the impending programmable button enabalation!

 

[Odin1]

Is there a live deck able to broadcast on the enterprise v2 yet? Any updates on this or a work around? I just bought the Autel evo 2 enterprise 8k v2, and im having issues trying to find a live deck for it!

 

[Odin1]

Is there a solution to this yet? I just purchased the autel evo 2 enterprise 8k v2 and im having issues finding a live deck for it or a way to broadcast. If not, are there any workarounds easily done? thanks guys