Sharing your video feed with a bigger screen

[Ansia]

So I have been thinking for a while to get a 32" TV to carry in my car, so when I get a drone gig, I can set up the TV and share my video feed with the client. Unlike DJI, where you can replace a part in your controller and get a HDMI output port, Autel doesn't have that yet. They will be releasing something at some point, but it will be expensive. I looked into various solutions for this, but couldn't get one that worked and the idea of being tethered to a TV wasn't really appealing to me. So I kept giving it some thought. I was mirroring my tablet to my tv so I could watch a movie I had on the tablet and it hit me! If it works for this, why wouldn't it work for the video feed? On the photo below, I am using everything Samsung, so I didn't need any adapter, just a Wifi signal. I also tried it with Chromecast and Roku at they both worked as well. The delay on the TV depends on the wifi signal strength at the time of the broadcast, but it does not affect the video feed on your phone or tablet. (This is my man cave, so please excuse the crude furnishing.)


So for a future setup, what I am looking for is a 32" 720p TV that has HDMI and USB to connect the Chromecast. In addition I want a small router that I can velcro to the back of the TV, so I can connect both the Chromecast and the phone. I always carry an inverter and a power extension cord in my car, so I have the electricity covered. What do you guys think?

 

[Ansia]

I continued doing research on this topic. Well it turns out you only need a laptop. Windows 10 has an app called Connect, that uses the wifi adapter in the laptop as an ad-hoc directly to the tablet. It has a delay of around 1 second. Although not as fast as the Chromecast option, I don't have to carry various things to achieve what I wanted. My laptop's screen is 18", so it's big enough for clients to see what I'm watching.

I hope this helps some of you out there.

 

[thomasr]

I continued doing research on this topic.

I have an EVO, so that is 2.4 gigahertz to operate/fly it?

What frequency is your wireless connection from your tablet to PC with adhoc network? Not saying you are wrong here - saying if you have the option to go to the 5.8 gigahertz band - that would be better. Avoid as much radio interference as possible! It may also reduce some lag.

I want fly with my cell phone near me - the one I use with my EVO is not activated and mobile network turned off -- as well as the wifi and bluetooth being off when I am flying. I'm just a geek and freak with it comes to unwanted interference. lol

 

[Fly-a-holic]

I just seen a hitch mount for a TV on the clearance isle a Walmart. I was thinking how cool that would be for $25.

 

[Ansia]

I have an EVO, so that is 2.4 gigahertz to operate/fly it?

What frequency is your wireless connection from your tablet to PC with adhoc network? Not saying you are wrong here - saying if you have the option to go to the 5.8 gigahertz band - that would be better. Avoid as much radio interference as possible! It may also reduce some lag.

I want fly with my cell phone near me - the one I use with my EVO is not activated and mobile network turned off -- as well as the wifi and bluetooth being off when I am flying. I'm just a geek and freak with it comes to unwanted interference. lol

Both my PC and phone are AC 5Ghz. As to which frenquency it's using, I haven't determined yet, since I just did preliminary testing at home. My gigs usually consist of photography of buildings next to me, so the drone won't fly so far away that will stretch the signal thin.

 

[XPilot]

Hitch mount....hmmm...imagine the size of the sun shield?...

 

[Ansia]

Hitch mount....hmmm...imagine the size of the sun shield?...

I don't use the tablet to fly my Evo. I use a Galaxy S8. I used my tablet in these photos for presentation purposes.

 

[Ansia]

It was raining all morning today and the winds were at 34mph. The rain stopped and the winds slowed down for a bit, but as soon as I took off, they picked up so I couldn't do a range test. My best distance was 424' (around 122m). I returned the drone and waited a bit for the wind to slow down, as soon as it did, I took off again, only to be disappointed with the winds picking up speed again, so I decided to try a range test between the tablet and the laptop, to see how far I could walk before the signal could cut. I walked from the car (car on the right with the trunk opened) all the way to the end of the mini pier. Did not loose signal at all. The laptop was inside the trunk, the reason why it was open. I walked all around the car and never lost signal. After the flight I took a measuring tape to measure the distance from the farthest point I walked to the car and it was 50' (15m). Overall I am satisfied with the result.

Note: The video is a bit long. I didn't want to cut any part of it, to prove that I never lost signal from the tablet to the laptop or from the tablet to the drone. You will notice that when I moved the drone quickly, pixelation and tearing would occur, but other than that I can say it worked perfectly.

Note 2: In this video I used the Phantom 4 Pro, instead of the Evo. The reason being that due to high winds, I have more faith in my Phantom stability and being able to switch to Sport mode with the hit of a switch, vs the Evo, where it would take me enough time to switch to Ludicrous mode and possibly lose it.

If you guys think I could have done something differently or have any ideas or input, please let me know.

 

[thomasr]

Both my PC and phone are AC 5Ghz. As to which frenquency it's using, I haven't determined yet, since I just did preliminary testing at home. My gigs usually consist of photography of buildings next to me, so the drone won't fly so far away that will stretch the signal thin.

I set this phone up to use my 2.4 wifi connection using something similar that you are doing MirrorShare and Windows 10 Connect:



In the EVO Image Transmission screen. You see this graph at the top and scroll down to change the video settings and bandwidth.

I get the 1 second lag -- but what is funny is apps like YouTube start to recognize this "Connect" being on and can "cast" to it.
When I casted a YouTube video -- there was no delay. Just putting that out there. I think it has to do with the apps being optimized for this type of "streaming" I would assume.

I am more concerned how the readings look during those 4 minutes, I took random screenshots of the horribleness. lol I know wifi is all around us, but put it as close as your phone attached to this EVO controller and oh my. It just seems like too much interference.

EVO does hop channels as designed, but it sometimes can not hop around all the garbage. lol





When I turned the wifi and bluetooth off it then looked like I have always seen everywhere I've flown, the 7 or so times I have been able to fly. The worst i have ever seen anywhere is yellow -- and very rare and or very little times I have seen this. Otherwise it's usually a nice green line of sorts.




The images above were all between 2 AM and 3 AM 03/11/2019 EST. So the only wifi noise can be justified as my own.







This is how I usually see the readings in the environments I have flown. There were taken between 5PM and 9PM EST 03/10/2019.

Thinking about this when I got going earlier this evening, I took random samplings of just the environment without me doing anything like this (MirrorShare).

I was checking my EVO for other things, and had it powered up already. I am looking at changes in the BETA firmware, if anyone is curious why I seem to be "studying" this thing. ?

I actually didn't think I could see enough interference to see RED on my EVO until I conducted this test. Thanks for getting my gears turning!

 

[Ansia]

I have yet to test it with my Evo, but I did use a wifi analizer. I noticed that since both my phone and PC are 5.8Ghz capable, it preferred that signal over the 2.4Ghz. I'm waking up to go to work, but when I get back home I can post the graphs if you are interested.

 

[thomasr]

I have yet to test it with my Evo, but I did use a wifi analizer. I noticed that since both my phone and PC are 5.8Ghz capable, it preferred that signal over the 2.4Ghz. I'm waking up to go to work, but when I get back home I can post the graphs if you are interested.

One question I had doing this test -- It was clear i could select which wifi network I wanted my phone to use -- It was not clear which channel my PC was connecting with. Most PC's are like phones with one wireless card now -- and some will connect to whatever frequencies "it" deems appropriate - referred to as "Band Steering". I will have to look and see if my PC is set to 5G networks first or vice versa. I should be able to alter the settings on the wireless driver to accept connections only on one frequency if I do find "Band Steering" is active on the PC.

I will have to dig a little more. As I do have a router in the mix.

I may disconnect my router and see if I can get the connection going with just the wireless from the phone to the PC (completely Ad-hoc), as I think it is going from my phone - through my router - to the PC right now. Not sure if MirrorCast will function thought this way, as I know Chromecast wants a router other than your "mobile" network to function.

I want to do a demo where I know for sure the wifi is connecting via 5.8 with both the phone and PC -- which should show no interference -- so it will be interesting to see the actual results -- once I am done tinkering.

 

[Ansia]

I did not know you could tell the wifi card which frequency to choose specifically. In the video shown above, I was at the beach and my laptop and tablet were connected via ad-hoc. There was no router involved. Although I didn't get very far with the drone, you could see there was no interference between the laptop-tablet-drone at all. All the streams were working perfectly. I noticed later that the ad-hoc happened via 5.8Ghz, with a wifi analyzer app. I do not know if it's standard or a coincidense. I will have to do further testing to find this out. I am glad that it worked out in the field. Also, you have to remember that machines vary from each others. I may have no problems, but the next guy's machine simply will not connect. Please update if you do some testing, to see how it goes for you.

 

[thomasr]

I may have no problems, but the next guy's machine simply will not connect. Please update if you do some testing, to see how it goes for you.

Correct. Based on trivial factors as stated below - everyone's mileage will vary. Everything in theory is supposed to work together -- but sometimes you will run into those devices that just will not get along -- or if they do -- you may or may not have much control over the process.

I did not know you could tell the Wifi card which frequency to choose specifically.

That is of course like anything else - trivial based on Wifi spec (A, B, G, N, AC...), and the manufacturers device drivers allowing the options at all, or to be adjusted if offered -- as well as actual equipment used (not just the Brand name stamped on it). Other aspects also boil down to different radio manufacturers -- for example Broadcom, Atheros (Qualcom) or Realtek based radios.

Not many people remember 802.11 a networks, but these were the first 5G networks way back in the day when 2.4G 802.11 b was starting to rock everything late 90's - early 2000's ... lol So that is no misprint in the image below -- for those who weren't there OR aware. ?


This is my HP laptop. The left image is the setting that dictates being able to run a hot-spot like your phone - or allow for apps like Microsoft Connect to function properly.
My HP Laptop is "in spec" to AC standards and has the setting previously mentioned for "Band Steering".



This is my Lenovo Desktop. It is an AC radio, but the drivers aren't in spec OR the UI has yet to be refined - don't care which, lol.

The image on the left is the same options on both radios - and explained already.

The image on the right is not so much the same -- but the functions here are the same. You tell it what networks to lock on to "only" -- or leave it at Auto.




One last nugget -- just when you think -- aha! Here's a kink...

Some routers also do this in reverse. They recognize capable dual channel Wifi devices 2.4/5 and expressly place them on the band it deems fit (Band Steering). I have one of the original Google Wifi that does this. THAT was annoying... as I prefer 5.8 but it kept kicking off to 2.4 for the majority of things. It did not stay in service long for this reason. lol so bottom line in a situation like this here is you have no control. lol

 

[Ansia]

Interesting. Although I have a different card and I get different results than you do. For example, I don't have the Multi-Channel Concurrent you have on both your pcs and on my Wireless Mode, I don't have the N or AC, which I know my laptop is capable of.

Edit: I am not very knowledgeable with wifi technicalities. I understand the basics on a/b/g/n/ac signals and the 2.4 and 5.8 frequencies and how channels work. Any more than that and I'm as dumb as a peanut.

 

[Ansia]

Just did another analyze of my ad-hoc and it connected through 2.4Ghz.
I don't have any drone on at the moment. Just the tablet connected to the laptop via MS Connect.

I live in a 20 stories building and there is a lot of noise in the 2.4ghz frequency ?

 

[thomasr]

Interesting. Although I have a different card and I get different results than you do. For example, I don't have the Multi-Channel Concurrent you have on both your pcs and on my Wireless Mode, I don't have the N or AC, which I know my laptop is capable of.

No worries . You have an Intel card - yeah - they make radios too ... (Some may argue the best... shhh)

You overlooked the setting .. it is where I checked -- The setting you are showing is telling the card it is allowed to operate in all specs -- and looks to need a revamp like my Lenovo's UI... lol

The setting that I have checked -- should have a drop down box you are looking for -- that says Auto - 2G first or 5G first for "Band Steering" or as it says "Preferred Band"

 

[Ansia]

On that preference, I set it up with the 5.2Ghz as preferred.

So, about this revamp. Is there any options for me? Or just pray for Intel to release something new? I love to tinker and break things just to fix them.

 

[Ansia]

Now can't get the MirrorShare to change from 2.4Ghz ch11. Positive note, my wifi is at that exact channel and is lowering the signal strength. If MirrorShare doesn't change channel and the Evo does. Wouldn't that give some assurance they won't interfere with each other?

 

[thomasr]

So, about this revamp. Is there any options for me? Or just pray for Intel to release something new? I love to tinker and break things just to fix them.

For anyone reading and just running with the info * Please understand this is all US - ENGLISH REGION -- Other regions will vary ** otherwise proceed with caution!!! ? And have fun tinkering!!!


Intel drivers usually come down through Windows Updates. If not, you may not have it set to install additional updates. -- and that's cool if not.

Also could be specific to your computers manufacturer -- some share parts -- others use just whatever is coming off the fabs at the time setting in bins -- they buy them, have them "branded or modified" and then in this case you would be stuck to having to check if they release an updated driver.

The way to check if it is mainstream is to go to Intel's support page and let them scan your hardware and see if there is a match.


(Do not install any drivers unless you let their support page scan and confirm - to be safe !!!)

Intel® Driver & Support Assistant

The Intel® Driver & Support Assistant helps keeps your system up-to-date by detecting when updates are available.

www.intel.com

This tab will tell you the version number you have there.



If you have a real deal Intel radio -- here is the latest version I think:

 

[thomasr]

I'm missing something - I can't get it to work without a router. But I did manage to isolate and force it to use either 2.4 OR 5.8 and not as it wished.


5.8 of course was little to no interference seen. The network adapter turns out to be a a Virtual Tunnel riding on the Wifi adapter. It looks like its up and down because I am running InSSIDer at the same time - it is contending for the wifi to scan. Otherwise 5.8 was smooth.






But then I turned on 2.4 and reconnected and switched back over to Autel Explorer -- I couldn't believe it - I snapped the screenshot directly on the phone to capture what I was seeing, as it looked horrible and was taking too long to come up on the Connect app...




So I went back to the PC making shots of the different screens at the same time. After I finished with the 2.4 test - I realized my task monitor screen defaulted when I must have changed Wifi from 5.8 to 2.4. Sorry about that -- does not affect what I seen here...







So I decided to check my display - and guess what -- Aircraft video signal was weak



Still indicated weak for 20 seconds -- then I went back to the graphs.




My opinion is be careful and get it set and using 5.8 - and even with the 1 second lag is very usable. Not so much on 2.4 for me -- and it looks ugly on the color graphs. lol