Thanks very much, Todd (jinglesnz), for those kind words. A wise man once told me, "Don't be afraid to ask the stupid questions. You learn much faster that way." And, um...
Don't ask about the copter blade cuts on my left foot and right hand. ;-) It does help to read the manual (as in "don't touch whirling blades, but it was out of control on the ground in one of earliest landings, chopping against all sorts of stuff and my daughter couldn't turn it off -- as in "Don't PANIC!"). ;-)
Still, the manual only takes you a certain part of the way, and then there is the real world. Here's another "stupid newbie" tip (this one not in the manual)...
If you're having trouble seeing the phone well, you may have inverted the installation of its holder. That limits the angles at which you can view the phone.
I thought about that over and over again until I thought, "DJI has engineered this copter to perfection. How could they make such a basic oversight? WE must have it wrong."
So I took out the screwdriver, reversed the holder 180 degrees and can now see the phone much better. Nori and I took it out yesterday to the backyard and...
Wow! It's clear enough now to see (there's now more room to angle the phone).
What a difference. Flying through the phone is so much easier.
You simply get high enough to see some landmarks and you stop looking at the copter, simply fly by phone. We got some great vids of the shoreline of Anguilla, and of our home with St. Martin in the distance, all from a unique perspective.
You can fly along the shore and everything. And then...
Bring it home.
The learning curve should be faster now.
I still feel that a second person working the app on a large screen tablet would be a plus, but at least we can now see the phone much better, angling it for less glare, and can "fly by phone" without fear of losing this magnificent device.
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Todd, I came to the same conclusion (re which glasses). I'll skip all the details of each possible model (I tend to go too long, sorry about that).
I was just about to purchase the ITVgoggles but got stuck since PayPal does not include Anguilla as a "ship to" address. You'd think that they'd have their own merchant account and a more professional payment processing system. Little things like this (and their meagre social engagement) worry me.
So I promise -- I will report back on these glasses.
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Todd, we'll use the Kindle, but the Samsung Galaxy Note 2, with its larger screen, should serve well, too, if you choose to have a second person working the app.
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BTW, I wrote ITVgoggles with questions (excellent replies, always a good sign). Here were the key replies...
1) The WideView 3Dxi is the right model for FPV. If you get into them for movies, this model does not accept a micro card, which is kind of a loss compared to the WideView 3D (which cannot be used for FPV).
Still, you can also use the 3Dxi to watch Netflix, etc. But, on a plane, you've have to connect it to your tablet, clunkier than if you could just pop a loaded 32GB card into the glasses (as other options offer).
If you REALLY want both, WideView XL does both, but it's a lower resolution -- they said that it's "considered an entry level unit," probably a euphemism for "not great." ;-)
Tradeoffs, but it's the 3Dxi model for FPV.
2) It DOES come with a light shield, so ambient light should not be an issue. (Also, I've since found other pilots using them and liking them.)
3) They come with 1 year limited manufacture warranty, which covers any manufacture defects only. Return with 7 days.
4) If you don't like them, you can return them within 7 days, with a 15% restocking fee.
5) Finally, it's NOT a direct-no-adapter micro-HDMI to HDMI connection. The resolution is 854x480 (in the small print), so an adapter needs to convert your devices output to what it displays.
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NOTE: Vusix is same res, Sony is 1280x720.
The discovery that the glasses were not full 1080 almost made me go with the Sony, but the video quality is excellent, so this will be more than enough. Also, I just can't see the Sony device being comfortable, let alone I'd be looking pretty weird with those on. ;-)
Just FYI, these ended up being the top 2 competitors...
http://store.sony.com/WFS/SNYUS/en_US/- ... nal-Viewer
http://www.vuzix.com/consumer/products_wrap_1200dx/
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The ITVgoggles come with connectors -- see "Compatibility" on this page...
http://itvgoggles.com/details.asp?productID=64
As you see, there IS one for Lightning (a question in the other thread), but you have to buy that one from them, it seems.
In my case (Kindle, with its micro-HDMI output), I need to purchase this (at least, I hope I've got this right!), an adapter that takes me from micro-HDMI to VGA...
http://www.amazon.com/Cable-Matters-Act ... 008O7SBOS/
(I have one final question in to them, to make sure the VGA end is female.)
Their (included) VGA connector takes me the rest of the way, to the phone.
Depending on what device you have, you may need to buy the "front half" (device to connector).
While it's not the slick HDMI to HDMI connection that I was hoping for (I missed that their resolution is not 1080 -- all the companies keep that in the small print), the VGA connection does add a little bulk. But it still looks like the easiest setup, and the lightest glasses that I found.
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Sunny, glad this was helpful to you.
I'm not sure what you mean by ("made to order metal cases") and the rest of it, but it sounds like YOU do, and that's what counts.
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OK, 'nuff. I'll be placing the order for the ITVgoggles and will order the cable once I know for sure that it's female VGA.
And then... I promise to report back. The FVP with the phone was pretty good. The goggles should be something else.
All the best,
Ken
P.S. Reminder: this discussion relates purely to the Phantom 2 Vision. We ruled out Fatshark and other goggles made specifically for FPV because they transmit on 5.8GHz which interferes with the Vision's transmission (since it uses 5.8).