New app: TelloFPV for Android

[zesteves]

If you don't mind I will address all the unanswered post in one large answer instead of writing individual posts that clutter the thread:

Gamesir G3s needs to be paired / configured / whatever according to manufacturers instructions. TelloFPV will not scan for it on Bluetooth and won't recognize it (unless it happens to be compatible with T1d which I doubt). The G3s will only work once its fully recognized by a normal gamepad test app.
TelloFPV should work with OTG controllers no matter how / when you connect them. You only need to go to the controller screen once, press scan & assign the controller as Master or Student. Afterwards it should be recognized anytime you plug it in, even inflight in case you accidentally unplug it.

My personal objectives for starting TelloFPV were a full featured FPV App for VR goggles and Flypad, including the FPV trainer function for the kids. Seems like a good match with your goals ...

Regarding the Gamesir G3s, I just proceeded as you recommended, connecting the controller, via Bluetooth, according to the manufacturer's instructions and it worked perfectly.

I have just tested the TelloFPV 0.6 in the house but I can see that the video is very smooth and working very well. Later I'll test it outdoors and then I'll give you feedback.

We are almost there, we are only missing the VR capabilities.

Once again, thank you and congratulations for your work!

 

[volate!lo]

You said your favorite telloFPV Bitrate is "4Mbps" , can you explain me how can it gives you better results than "Auto" ?. How really "Auto" works ?

By the way, I noticed you brightened telloFPV app incon. That's a good idea, now it looks much better on my android desktop

Thanks a lot.

raul.

How the bitrate "auto" works is still a mystery. It seems to start off with the last selected bitrate but sometimes changes from that but that is not reproduceble. I will need to dig into wireshark video stream to see what the stock app does, maybe they send control hints to Tello depending on the rate of corrupted frames.

 

[volate!lo]

Regarding the Gamesir G3s, I just proceeded as you recommended, connecting the controller, via Bluetooth, according to the manufacturer's instructions and it worked perfectly.

I have just tested the app in the house but I can see that the video is very smooth and working very well. Later I'll test it outdoors and then I'll give you feedback.

We are almost there, we are only missing the VR capabilities.

Once again, thank you and congratulations for your work!

You are welcome!

My priority is now release grade quality. No more connection drops, broken video streams when re-connecting, trouble when restarting, etc.

The next release will just contain bug fixes.


VR becomes priority after the first release. I had to throw most of what I had for VR away as it just didn't fit after re-writing video processing for 0.6. Work on VR will start after christmas.

 

[PhilJman]

Phil,

I updated your compatibility spreadsheet:

Tello Compatibility[

Thanks. The more info shared the better

 

[OptiPlex]

ok, so took my tello outside to test the app
tello + xiaomi wifi extender

was a bit windy...
rth worked pretty nice, i really like this feature, i flew the drone 20 to 40 meters from me in few directions, it managed to find its way back home
ofcorse not expecting gps and compass rth, but it works, bringing the tello few meters from take off point

video still doing few hangs, much less pixels and artifacts, less hangs but still few...

also few times the app disconnects from the drone, and have to close all apps and launch tellofpv again to reconnect

tried 360 ap, for some reason its starting to turn and stops after 1 or 2 seconds, everytime i tried its the same...

video recording seems ok

so far for this test... will test some more

thx for this great app

Sent from my BLA-L29 using Tapatalk

 

[raulvolador]

tried 360 ap, for some reason its starting to turn and stops after 1 or 2 seconds, everytime i tried its the same...

I bet that's a firmware safe feature when Tello run into strong winds. The same happend to me many times when flying with others Tello apps.

cheers.

 

[volate!lo]

ok, so took my tello outside to test the app
tello + xiaomi wifi extender

was a bit windy...
rth worked pretty nice, i really like this feature, i flew the drone 20 to 40 meters from me in few directions, it managed to find its way back home
ofcorse not expecting gps and compass rth, but it works, bringing the tello few meters from take off point

video still doing few hangs, much less pixels and artifacts, less hangs but still few...

also few times the app disconnects from the drone, and have to close all apps and launch tellofpv again to reconnect

tried 360 ap, for some reason its starting to turn and stops after 1 or 2 seconds, everytime i tried its the same...

video recording seems ok

so far for this test... will test some more

thx for this great app

Sent from my BLA-L29 using Tapatalk

RTH accuracy depends on VPS accuracy. I can detect & filter some obviously wrong output but thats as good as it gets. Certainly works well enough to bring the drone back from a long distance flight to where I can take over control. This will never get GPS accuracy, which is one of the reasons I'm not a fan of autoland after RTH.

Video quality should be on par with the stock app. At least from my indoor flights it looks exactly the same (with similar amount of jitter artifacts but fewer "frame jumps" due to corrupt frames). I am sure I get the same data as the stock app (I checked this at the protocol level using wireshark network sniffer). If your experience is different let me know.

Disconnects inflight should definately not happen. I haven't experienced any issues since v0.6

Did you try the stock flight mode 360 (where it just spins on its axis) or the circle POI AP? I can't do much about the internal stock flight modes. I can only start / stop and Tello runs its own program with no control from my side.


Thx for the feedback & Have fun!!

 

[umanbean]

On my devices, v0.6 fixed:

CSC works every time now (edited to add: with T1s controller)
Photos are where they're supposed to be
Video is much more smooth
Photo <-> Video switch works every time

Raining here so I'm stuck inside - will do some indoor flight tests after my wife leaves for work

 

[volate!lo]

@all: In case you are not happy with the video stream quality please activate the debug overlay (Main Settings => Expert => Debug) and check the corrupt frames counter. If this kicks up everytime you see lag or jitter this is just an indicator that the stream isn't stable. Could be interferences, could be low reception due to distance, a mix of both. I can't do anything to improve this but can only work around the resulting issues.

The stock app should have similar video quality in these conditions as TelloFPV does the same as the stock app (or a bit better hopefully). I may introduce a way to further reduce jitter in areas with lots of interference, but that would come at the cost of a bit more stutter whenever this jitter appears. So I would make this optional unless I find a smarter way.

I'm still learning a lot from programming all this.


Unfortunately I'm stuck indoors as well. Wind & tons of rain forecast for the next few days. So I can't test the "RTH flies backward"

 

[volate!lo]

Had a few issues with POI lock AP acting weird. Will look into this today.

 

[umanbean]

Small issue I'm having - sorry to keep harping on CSC, but sometimes on my T1s when I pull both sticks down and in, it also changes exposure compensation. Usually -0.3 EV, sometimes -0.7... but even when its says -0.3, the display is very dark, seems to be much more of a change than just 0.3 f-stops... when changed back to 'auto' it lightens up a lot.

I haven't tried any APs yet...

p.s. I just prefer a controlled takeoff, which is why I like to CSC arm motors and manual takeoff, instead of 'auto'

 

[volate!lo]

Small issue I'm having - sorry to keep harping on CSC, but sometimes on my T1s when I pull both sticks down and in, it also changes exposure compensation. Usually -0.3 EV, sometimes -0.7... but even when its says -0.3, the display is very dark, seems to be much more of a change than just 0.3 f-stops... when changed back to 'auto' it lightens up a lot.

I haven't tried any APs yet...

p.s. I just prefer a controlled takeoff, which is why I like to CSC arm motors and manual takeoff, instead of 'auto'

I sometimes get a random button press on the first stick move. Never on CSC unless its the first stick move. Will add that to the todo list.

The huge difference in brightness is because what Ryze calls EV0 isn't what other cameras call EV0. Its an "Auto" mode. When in auto eposure mode Tello is maybe +2 your change -0.3 makes a huge difference.
Same is true when you are outside in the sun. You change from auto to -0.3 and expect the image to go darker but instead it brightens up. Thats because it actually uses maybe -1 in auto mode and -0.3 is brighter

 

[brick72]

Not much I can do about this I'm afraid. My guess is that DR recorder also can't record other video apps like stock media player or VLC?

That makes no sense because DuRecorder can Record the Stock App screen too as also aTelloPilot. So basicly it should be possible to Code it. I think there is something like an Error in your Code. Or something you have to allowed manuell per Code.

 

[umanbean]

That makes no sense because DuRecorder can Record the Stock App screen too as also aTelloPilot. So basicly it should be possible to Code it. I think there is something like an Error in your Code. Or something you have to allowed manuell per Code.

That sounds a bit 'demanding' to me... You haven't paid a dime for this app, so maybe a little courtesy and patience would go a long way.

The man has made 3 updates with major improvements in less than a week - give him some breathing room f'chrissakes.

 

[OptiPlex]

I bet that's a firmware safe feature when Tello run into strong winds. The same happend to me many times when flying with others Tello apps.

cheers.

yep, indoor it worked perfectly
however the video is choppy both on stock and on tellofpv both with or without wifi xtender
could that be because of ambient light??
it keeps give warnings about low light in my living room and the video is choppy when doing the 360 turn

Sent from my BLA-L29 using Tapatalk

 

[umanbean]

The huge difference in brightness is because what Ryze calls EV0 isn't what other cameras call EV0. Its an "Auto" mode. When in auto eposure mode Tello is maybe +2 your change -0.3 makes a huge difference.
Same is true when you are outside in the sun. You change from auto to -0.3 and expect the image to go darker but instead it brightens up. Thats because it actually uses maybe -1 in auto mode and -0.3 is brighter

Understand completely, very good to know... thanks

 

[brick72]

That sounds a bit 'demanding' to me... You haven't paid a dime for this app, so maybe a little courtesy and patience would go a long way.

The man has made 3 updates with major improvements in less than a week - give him some breathing room f'chrissakes.

WHAAAAT??? ????
No no no, thats not what I meant.
May be its lost in translation, my english is not the best.
I see it just like you: 3 Updates in one Week, awesome App and awesome Work!!! And I have no Bad Feelings or meanings by that. Also not if I write what is may be wrong or otherwise possible.
Spread the Love!!!

 

[umanbean]

May be its lost in translation, my english is not the best.

Please accept my apologies!

From reading your past posts, they were so well-worded I 'assumed' English was your first language.

Sorry I rushed to judgement....

 

[volate!lo]

based on the colors of Brick72's account avatar my first bet would be he is German like myself. Richtig?

And if the "72" has a meaning I bet he is an old fart who learned English back in the 80s, forgot half of it and had to re-learn it when the internet arrived.
I'm entitled to say so: I am an old fart myself and did just the same thing

So no worries, alles gut!

Grumpy old men rule!

 

[volate!lo]

yep, indoor it worked perfectly
however the video is choppy both on stock and on tellofpv both with or without wifi xtender
could that be because of ambient light??
it keeps give warnings about low light in my living room and the video is choppy when doing the 360 turn

Sent from my BLA-L29 using Tapatalk

Low light / Indoor video quality isn't the best with the Tello, but for sure better than the Bebop which had in initial price tag of 799,- so I think we can not complain.
I think this is partly because of the electronic image stabilisation is having a hard time to do its magic if everything is a litlle bit blurry with little contrast.

Video quality is better in sport mode where no image stabilization is done but I think the internal flight modes (360, circle, up&out) don't work in sport mode.