TRIPLTEK vs Autel Smart Controller?

[SARty]

Hey everyone,

I'm hoping to hear from people that have experience with both the TRIPLTEK and Autel SC. I'd like to get a sense of the real world difference in screen brightness (outdoors in full sun), capacitive touch, battery life (on full brightness), and anything else you think is worth discussing.

@advexure - I understand you guys are fans of the TRIPLTEK, what are your thoughts on how they compare?

Thank you.

 

[Dale EVO 2 V2]

Hey everyone,

I'm hoping to hear from people that have experience with both the TRIPLTEK and Autel SC. I'd like to get a sense of the real world difference in screen brightness (outdoors in full sun), capacitive touch, battery life (on full brightness), and anything else you think is worth discussing.

@advexure - I understand you guys are fans of the TRIPLTEK, what are your thoughts on how they compare?

Thank you.

I have owned both now and quite honestly I do prefer the Smart Controller. The Tripltek was WAY too top heavy even with a $200.00 mount which 808 State from YouTube recommended. The Smart Controller V.2 although it is very heavy at 2+ pounds, it works great with the lanyard that comes with it. The Tripltek is like carrying around a Nikon camera with a 12 inch lens out front on your chest. It bounces back and forth on your chest even with the best lanyard available. The Tripltek pretty much needs a tripod in order to control it. The lanyard that comes with the S.C. makes it comfortable to use and carry although you do feel it on your chest. The S.C. delivers on screen brightness and battery life. Smart Controller with the 65Watt charger does charge in less than two hours when pretty much discharged fully. The Tripltek does have a great screen(although not really any better than the S.C.) but my vote goes to the S.C. on many points. All in one is a great feature. Neither one of these overheats like the D.J.I. Crystalsky.

 

[SARty]

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I have owned both now and quite honestly I do prefer the Smart Controller. The Tripltek was WAY too top heavy even with a $200.00 mount which 808 State from YouTube recommended. The Smart Controller V.2 although it is very heavy at 2+ pounds, it works great with the lanyard that comes with it. The Tripltek is like carrying around a Nikon camera with a 12 inch lens out front on your chest. It bounces back and forth on your chest even with the best lanyard available. The Tripltek pretty much needs a tripod in order to control it. The lanyard that comes with the S.C. makes it comfortable to use and carry although you do feel it on your chest. The S.C. delivers on screen brightness and battery life. Smart Controller with the 65Watt charger does charge in less than two hours when pretty much discharged fully. The Tripltek does have a great screen(although not really any better than the S.C.) but my vote goes to the S.C. on many points. All in one is a great feature. Neither one of these overheats like the D.J.I. Crystalsky.

Thanks. You bring up good points. The SC hasn't been ruled out for my team yet, but it remains to be seen if it'll be more than a one trick pony (only working with the Evo II). So we're also considering the TRIPLTEK 8 Pro, mainly because it'll work with all makes/models we currently have and hopefully with anything else we get over the next few years.

Are you referring to the Skyfire mount?

Can you share a little more about the screen differences between the two? You mention that the Tripltek isn't really any better than the SC, but would you say the SC is better than the Tripltek?

 

[Dale EVO 2 V2]

Yes. I was referring to the SkyFire mount. The Tripltek Pro 8GB was just 1200 nits where the EVO 2 Version 2 S.C. is a full 2000 nits so yes it is a lot brighter to see in direct sunlight. Are the pixels better on the S.C.? The S.C. has a bigger screen by .9" which isn't a lot but I wouldn't trade my S.C. V.2 for a Tripltek 7" plus $1000.00 difference. 808 State raved about the SkyFire mount but I found it to be too cumbersome. You would need to put it all in a duffel bag or a big backpack with the SkyFire setup. If you are planning on keeping your EVO 2 for a long time then I would recommend the S.C. V.2. Surely if you need to update your drone to an EVO 3 or 4 in the future I am sure you will have people looking to buy the V.2 S.C. a few years down the road. I have used the S.C. V.2 in the bright Canadian sun and it is an amazing piece of hardware. The pixel difference is:1280 X 720 for the Tripltek and 2048 X 1536 for the EVO 2 S.C.

 

[GeoDrone SRL]

Tripltek 8" and the LifThor is a great combination. Perfectly balanced. Also the USB cable modified in order not to charge from RC.

 

[cpilloton]

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Yes. I was referring to the SkyFire mount. The Tripltek Pro 8GB was just 1200 nits where the EVO 2 Version 2 S.C. is a full 2000 nits so yes it is a lot brighter to see in direct sunlight. Are the pixels better on the S.C.? The S.C. has a bigger screen by .9" which isn't a lot but I wouldn't trade my S.C. V.2 for a Tripltek 7" plus $1000.00 difference. 808 State raved about the SkyFire mount but I found it to be too cumbersome. You would need to put it all in a duffel bag or a big backpack with the SkyFire setup. If you are planning on keeping your EVO 2 for a long time then I would recommend the S.C. V.2. Surely if you need to update your drone to an EVO 3 or 4 in the future I am sure you will have people looking to buy the V.2 S.C. a few years down the road. I have used the S.C. V.2 in the bright Canadian sun and it is an amazing piece of hardware. The pixel difference is:1280 X 720 for the Tripltek and 2048 X 1536 for the EVO 2 S.C.

Skyfire mount is a waste of money compared to Lifthor for the Tripletek. I would've opted for the SC, though, but my EVO II Pro is a V1. I'm just waiting for the V3 to come out - based on your comments, maybe I'll just sell the whole mess and start over with the V3 and an SC.

 

[Quad808]

I don't doubt anyone who says the Autel SC is great, since I don't have one. If you only fly Autel, or DJI and have a smart controller for each, then you are set.
If you want versatility to use a screen that is plenty bright enough in the sun, under real world conditions and can be used with any drone that connects to a Android device, then there is nothing on the market right now compared to the Tripltek. Is it heavy? Yep. Armored? Yep.
If you drop the SC on the ground will it survive? I know the Tripltek will. Is it perfect? No. Lots of mounting options. There are ways to mount the tablet to not be on the RC, where it is front heavy. That is hard on my wrists for any period of time. I prefer to mount it behind the controller so that it's more balanced and comfortable. It can be done easily. Very robust and well made piece of tech, that can be used for other things, than just running an app to control a drone.
I totally see the advantages of both, but for my use case, having one purchase that I can justify for use with different brands of drones, seals the deal for me.

I really don't see it as one or the other. It all depends on your use case. They both have their advantages.

*the new 8" pro Tripltek model is 2560x1600, thinner, and less weight than the original 7" and 7"pro model. I have been through many, many different tablets, and finally found one that looks good, is robustly built, has a good screen, plenty bright and doubles as an unlocked cell phone. In all fairness, I have done documentation for Tripltek, and have been and continue to do testing for them, but in no way am I employed by Tripltek, just as I am not employed by DJI or Autel...and I paid full retail price for my Tripltek products.*

 

[BlairAir]

I would like to add that as an additional option, my V2 Smart Controller works quite well on a tripod. As mentioned it's heavy, and whole the 3 point harness is well balanced and does not swing as much as a triple tech when walking or even moving its still a bit of a beast to wear vs just having it placed perfectly in front, standing or sitting. a lightweight tripod, either aluminum or carbon fiber is all you need to bring, and picking it up to move a bit, like 50 or 100 feet is easy when on the tripod, not requiring breaking down and setting up again for quick position changes. Hers a few pics of it setup for a low bench I frequent in the park behind my house. I bring it attached to the tripod and just carry it around and back home again. The SC needs some FW fixes but it's not bad at all. Mostly I want Autel to make the Pause/Emergency Stop button instant activation vs the 3 second pause they stupidly set it up with. 3 seconds won't help anyone avoid a bad situation. It is an eternity when your drone is about to collide with that park rangers head.




Plus it looks pro, you gotta admit!

 

[Dale EVO 2 V2]

Thanks for the pics and observations.

 

[Brock Inspector]

I'm a photographer first. Color accuracy matters to me over brightness for most of what I want a tablet or larger than phone screen device to do (e.g. my Thinkpad laptop even has a built-in color calibration device). I've given the topic a fair amount of thought and just can't justify the ridiculous expense of an iPad Pro or a Tripletek or a Smart Controller. I like the ergonomics of the Standard Controller. I gather that the Smart Controller right wheel is used only for zoom control; this breaks not only what muscle-memory I've got for using the camera controls while in flight, it requires taking a hand off the sticks to jab at the screen to change F-stops or ISO, which is simply unacceptable. So I've got a Samsung Galaxy Tab 6 (10.5" diagonal AMOLED) arriving tomorrow. It was $300 and change, lightly used, including a Wacom-style SPen. Has a 2-generations newer OS than a Tripletek. I'll soon have a better idea whether it's a more useful everyday device. I really don't like constantly looking down and looking up to try to reacquire visual when at the edge of VLOS, just to see what I've got in the frame, so my plan is to bolt an Arca Swiss plate to a cheap $20 case (there are scads to choose from-- even Autel Orange ones!) and mount the Tab S6 at eye level with or without a hood on my tripod. And because I'm not wild about a tethered USB-C cord, I also have a Live Deck arriving this week

 

[SARty]

I just realized I forgot to include that the context for me is use in Public Safety. Screen brightness and reliability are king and what I'm really trying to determine is if 1200 nits is bright enough in direct sun. I would normally assume no, but people seem to really love their Triplteks.

 

[kenautelevo2pro]

I just realized I forgot to include that the context for me is use in Public Safety. Screen brightness and reliability are king and what I'm really trying to determine is if 1200 nits is bright enough in direct sun. I would normally assume no, but people seem to really love their Triplteks.

there was a day in time when 1200 nits was king. whether it's the dji smart controller, the dji crystal sky, or the tripltek tablet, high end samsung/apple devices the improvement over ordinary devices is phenomenal and more than acceptable. however, there are several low-cost 2000 nit monitors on the market and the livedeck provided a great opportunity to make a decent comparison. check it out, see what you think. i'm at the point where my personal minimum is 2000 nits but that doesn't mean i won't get something that is 1200 nits....i just won't be paying "hundreds" nearly a thousand for it. i don't know the science and/or technology behind all those nits so it's difficult for me to understand the cost vs. battery life vs. thickness vs. nits equation.

 

[SARty]

i'm at the point where my personal minimum is 2000 nits but that doesn't mean i won't get something that is 1200 nits....

Same here. I'm used to the Crystalsky UB, so I'm not very excited about "downgrading" as far as brightness. That said, it would be interesting to see a side by side comparison. Maybe the Tripltek is closer to 1500 nits and the UB is closer to 1800 (the latter is far more likely).

There are other factors too, like the quality of the display, display type, how the image is rendered, how reflective the glass is, etc. Assuming both screens are set to the same brightness level, which one is easier to see (glare, contrast, color, highlight and shadow detail, viewing angle, etc.)?

 

[kenautelevo2pro]

Same here. I'm used to the Crystalsky UB, so I'm not very excited about "downgrading" as far as brightness. That said, it would be interesting to see a side by side comparison. Maybe the Tripltek is closer to 1500 nits and the UB is closer to 1800 (the latter is far more likely).

There are other factors too, like the quality of the display, display type, how the image is rendered, how reflective the glass is, etc. Assuming both screens are set to the same brightness level, which one is easier to see (glare, contrast, color, highlight and shadow detail, viewing angle, etc.)?

my experience comes with comparing the tripltek to both the smart controllers from dji and autel. clearly the autel is better in every way because it is so much brighter, you don't seem to notice anything else. i can see details on the ground that i cannot see on other devices. when flying over a golf course (at high altitude), i could see anyone on the green until i got home and realize there were four people putting. also when cruising around, i am much quicker to realize where i am located and which direction i'm heading so you fly in confidence. perhaps my eyesight is not the best but i find it easier to get past any glare or having the shift the device to get the optimum viewing angle. the tripltek is next best but is margin over the crowded dji sc display. clearly a bigger screen is better for me. also i do have that 2000 nit monitor and while it is cheap, it's super bright and because it's bit smaller, it might even be overkills as nothing seems to obscure it. it's hdmi-in so it's rare to put into use. and i agree with you, i have the hi-brite cs and while it is "bright" you can't see anything on the small display with glare and no color and limited viewing angle....last place.

 

[SARty]

Thanks, Ken.

Trying to see details on the ground is 99% of what I'll be doing, so I appreciate your input on this.

I said above "Maybe the Tripltek is closer to 1500 nits and the UB is closer to 1800 (the latter is far more likely)." Tripltek replied to the other thread with a video (I'm assuming theirs') about screen casting. I looked at some of the other videos on the channel and found these. Interesting!

I'm not surprised @TRIPLTEK didn't test the CS Ultra, but this does close the gap a little.

 

[Quad808]

One thing to keep in mind with the Tripltek...you are getting a full, unlocked phone. Great for SAR work. Don't need to figure out if you have wifi in the area, but then again you would be carrying a cell phone, so you could always tether the tablet to a wifi connection in the field. If I was doing SAR work with a drone, no matter how bright the screen was, I would probably be using a sun shade, or at a minimum, be wearing a large brimmed hat, so that hopefully I could shade the screen a bit. I would think that for SAR work, you would want a large screen so that hopefully you could make out all the details below. Best bet actually, would be to cast the screen to goggles, and you don't need the Tripltek tablet to do that. You could use a standard cell phone, but you would be limited to only using the goggles type of deal, but this option works, as long as the goggles have HDMI in. I have never done SAR work with a drone, BUT...if you were piloting the drone, viewing the Tripltek, and casting the screen to another worker viewing with goggles on, you would have two sets of eyes instead of one, and hopefully the Tripltek would be bright enough for the pilot to see almost the same amount of detail as the person wearing goggles. Keep in mind when watching comparison videos online...if the Tripltek has the anti-glare screen installed, the colors are a bit muted in vibrancy. Take off the anti-glare screen, and the colors are just as vibrant as any other screen without the anti-glare. To be honest, when I first got the Tripltek 7, it had the antiglare screen pre installed and I was underwhelmed with the quality of the video I got back. Took off the anti-glare screen and bam! Screen was great! The new 8" comes with an anti-glare screen, but they leave it up to you if you want to install it or not. For now, I have left mine off...and without it, there is plenty of glare in direct sun over your shoulder. I live in Hawaii...and in direct, over head sun? Hard to overcome that brightness without an anti-glare screen on.
I think for your particular use, you would have to try it out to see if it would work for you. Not sure if any of my info helps you, but hope so.

 

[SARty]

One thing to keep in mind with the Tripltek...you are getting a full, unlocked phone. Great for SAR work. Don't need to figure out if you have wifi in the area, but then again you would be carrying a cell phone, so you could always tether the tablet to a wifi connection in the field. If I was doing SAR work with a drone, no matter how bright the screen was, I would probably be using a sun shade, or at a minimum, be wearing a large brimmed hat, so that hopefully I could shade the screen a bit. I would think that for SAR work, you would want a large screen so that hopefully you could make out all the details below. Best bet actually, would be to cast the screen to goggles, and you don't need the Tripltek tablet to do that. You could use a standard cell phone, but you would be limited to only using the goggles type of deal, but this option works, as long as the goggles have HDMI in. I have never done SAR work with a drone, BUT...if you were piloting the drone, viewing the Tripltek, and casting the screen to another worker viewing with goggles on, you would have two sets of eyes instead of one, and hopefully the Tripltek would be bright enough for the pilot to see almost the same amount of detail as the person wearing goggles. Keep in mind when watching comparison videos online...if the Tripltek has the anti-glare screen installed, the colors are a bit muted in vibrancy. Take off the anti-glare screen, and the colors are just as vibrant as any other screen without the anti-glare. To be honest, when I first got the Tripltek 7, it had the antiglare screen pre installed and I was underwhelmed with the quality of the video I got back. Took off the anti-glare screen and bam! Screen was great! The new 8" comes with an anti-glare screen, but they leave it up to you if you want to install it or not. For now, I have left mine off...and without it, there is plenty of glare in direct sun over your shoulder. I live in Hawaii...and in direct, over head sun? Hard to overcome that brightness without an anti-glare screen on.
I think for your particular use, you would have to try it out to see if it would work for you. Not sure if any of my info helps you, but hope so.

Thanks for your comments. I appreciate you guys helping out! Tethering does work well, but having a dedicated plan is nice and spares people from using up their own data. Plus, it's one less step during setup.

Ideally, shade will always be found or made, but you know how that goes sometimes. Have to plan for the worst.

Yes to goggles and larger screens and more sets of eyes. Goggles plus a large tablet, smart controller, or Crystalsky are the ticket for heading into the field. If it can be avoided, teams shouldn't be relying on someone's personal phone. Too much potential for something to go wrong, flight records and other data need to be centralized, etc. I think 8" is a good baseline for Public Safety, but bigger is definitely better (to the limits of what's packable for field work).

Would love to test one of these. Amazon appears to be out of stock.

 

[Anzacjack]

I love the smart controller, and its my goto for the evo, but i dont regret having the tripltek in my kit. Its still the best monitor ive owned for use with any craft in the fleet. Solid, clear and versatile. I have all the associated apps needed for operations loaded up on the tripltek and still use it every day in the field. Im not a fan of loading anything other than flight software onto smart controllers

 

[dotster77]

Skyfire mount is a waste of money compared to Lifthor for the Tripletek. I would've opted for the SC, though, but my EVO II Pro is a V1. I'm just waiting for the V3 to come out - based on your comments, maybe I'll just sell the whole mess and start over with the V3 and an SC.

Must be personal preference because I bought both and I kept the sky fire mount. It works great with my Tripltek setup. As for the Autel Evo V3, good luck waiting for that.

 

[Calm Winds]

I just realized I forgot to include that the context for me is use in Public Safety. Screen brightness and reliability are king and what I'm really trying to determine is if 1200 nits is bright enough in direct sun. I would normally assume no, but people seem to really love their Triplteks.

I have the Tripltek 7 pro,the 1200nit brightness is really good in sunlight.
I usually set the brightness level on 85% and have no problems seeing the screen.