HDMI Out & Building an FPV IRL Streaming Drone

[The Dro]

I'm new to fpv and I'm currently planning on building out a project where I need HDMI video out. What I'm finding is that most things fpv are analog with only HDMI in on goggles, unless you're going with something like lightbridge, but then you're limited to only flying dji gear right? I have a way that I can send video to my home server and I thought of some cool ways to make videos using this system but It's been very difficult for me to find other options for hdmi out. I'm open to ground stations too but I'm not sure where to even begin looking.

I want to build a quad or octo that can handle up to a 2-3 lbs payload. If it cannot have hdmi out as I need it then I am open to putting two separate cams on the drone, one being simply for me to pilot.

any suggestions are welcome. thanks in advance!

 

[Flite Risk]

Most folks use two cameras a gopro to record the high quality footage they want but gly the mission real time with analog. Check out the Runcam split too

 

[Merv]

What I'm finding is that most things fpv are analog

The reason FPV is mostly analog is HDMI has a huge latency. That is a delay from what the camera sees and what you see on the screen. If you thing is flying 200 feet high in calm winds looking at the surroundings, latency is not an issue.

However if you are trying to hit a race gate or flying through the tree branches, latency is a big deal. Your screen will show that you are 20' from the branch when in fact you have already hit the branch. Even at 200' high, if it is windy, latency is a big deal. When the wind rolls you to the right, you correct to the left until you think you are level but in fact you have over corrected and now need right input to level.

There are a few high def systems that have overcome the latency issue. They are very expensive, I believe they are in the $800-$1000 range.

I agree with @Flite Risk, unless you have a lot of money to spend, a 2 camera system is the way to go. A low latency analog camera and signal to fly with and a high def camera to capture the video you want to share.

 

[The Dro]

I do have some money to spend on this but to start I have been thinking of getting a 3D Printer during these black fri sales and also bid on a couple fpv systems people were getting rid of on ebay for me to start some tests with. I'm definitely not going to just strap the thing on and fly it, I want to first get better at controlling it and testing out where the weight needs to be in order for everything to fly smoothly. luckily, I have a large enough yard to do most of my starting tests.

This whole project is a start for testing a larger project I want to do in the future. Right now I am hoping to be testing out the capabilities of my modem which I have a special card for and I have an encoder that will allow me to send live HD video feed to my server. So if I use the GoPro Hero 3 Black, can I just use the HDMI out to my encoder and then use the USB to also simultaneously broadcast my signal to my FPV goggles?

I was speaking to a friend earlier and he mentioned the DJI system may allow for use with other brands' gear, does anyone know that to be true?

as for my encoder, i definitely can't fly with that video feed because there is latency back to the server. It can be anywhere from 6-20 seconds.

I did watch someone else stream what I am trying to accomplish but they were using these Ubiquity repeaters and he spent like $40k to make it happen. I am figuring out a way to do this much cheaper and if I am able to prove it's possible it can be used in a variety of applications.

So basically what I need is the ability to have my onboard camera not only broadcast the video to the drone so I can fly it FPV, but needs to also be able to simultaneously send that feed out with hdmi. If I can make that happen somehow, then everything else I want to test should be possible.

when I said I was also open to ground stations, there are some applications where I do not need to fly the encoder and I can test it on the ground with me but would need hdmi video out from the ground station or goggles to the encoder. It wouldn't necessarily need to be 1080p or HD at all, it could be the analog sized video, but just needs to be transmitted over HDMI cable. I have a a/v hdmi converter i can test out with it too. just got lost last night looking at all the ground station monitors with hdmi in only and analog a/v out. i was hoping there with something with maybe both hdmi out and a/v?

 

[Flite Risk]

I can not confirm any DJI specs. I fly analog from the soup kitchen lines. Follow Joshua Bardwell.
Hope this helps budd.

 

[Merv]

You should consider the CONNEX ProSight HD Vision Kit

https://www.getfpv.com/the-connex-prosight-hd-vision-kit.html

 

[The Dro]

You should consider the CONNEX ProSight HD Vision Kit

https://www.getfpv.com/the-connex-prosight-hd-vision-kit.html

Thanks! This may work for some of the stuff I want to try!

 

[The Dro]

I tried out a proof of concept today with my livestream and it worked! I have a lot more work to do to get my final results on what im trying to do but I'm happy to announce the server part of the streaming from the drone works! unfortunately with the dji I was only able to test it at lower frame rates but if I can put my system on my drone it'll let me do exactly what I'm thinking will work. My stream was like 10 hours long so I'm sure you wouldn't want to watch it all, ill post a shorter clip here when I can edit it down to show u guys what I meant! I would have posted a link here now but youtube is still transcoding my stream so it wont let me go to that part yet.

 

[The Dro]

Here you go! After spending the last month watching videos and having chat help me, I was able to show that this can work and has many more capabilities. I'm still modifying it to fly the better system but this taught me what I needed to know to move fwd with making it happen. Enjoy: