EPSON Moverio BT-300 Review

[SafariMan]

So let me get this straight in my head. The Epsons are the most expensive goggles out there but yet you have to done some BS "side mounting" of software to make them work? Am I following all these post right?

You are! And i feel the same. Nice piece of geek gear but that's it so far. Also a soon obsolete android version. I dont expect those glasses to be a runner nor a keeper

 

[entity-unknown]

Just wanna say I've been avidly watching these reviews and with many other Mavic pilots, have been very interested in useful goggles. In my case I need something just as portable as the Mavic otherwise I'd save some money on the Goggles and get an Inspire.

So I'm really loving the back and forth from each person's personal preferences and the results of the tech.

Thank you all

 

[deanbuxton]

I have had the Epson in my shopping cart for a couple of weeks while reading various reviews. After reading this thread I don't want to spend 800 dollars to be an Epson beta tester. The people who get in early are doing the in the field case study that Epson should have already done. I'll wait and see what the DJI Goggles will bring, if they ever get here.

 

[macinfosys]

I have had the Epson in my shopping cart for a couple of weeks while reading various reviews. After reading this thread I don't want to spend 800 dollars to be an Epson beta tester. The people who get in early are doing the in the field case study that Epson should have already done. I'll wait and see what the DJI Goggles will bring, if they ever get here.

One of the things I have said and I still believe is that any of you wanting to experience any of these solutions should take advantage of the purchase through Amazon's Prime (direct) that offer a no question asked return policy. Experiencing them is key and not all goggles / glasses is for everyone. It all depends on your portability needs, turn key and alternative usage plans. I say buy them. Use them yourself. Experience it (good or bad) and then you can make an informed decision including using this forum with all of the great support and technical help.

 

[MacIak]

One of the things I have said and I still believe is that any of you wanting to experience any of these solutions should take advantage of the purchase through Amazon's Prime (direct) that offer a no question asked return policy. Experiencing them is key and not all goggles / glasses is for everyone. It all depends on your portability needs, turn key and alternative usage plans. I say buy them. Use them yourself. Experience it (good or bad) and then you can make an informed decision including using this forum with all of the great support and technical help.

I could not agree more. The only way to discover and have a taste of new stuff IS beta-testing of some kind. Early adopting stuff nowadays is the only way cause each year someting better is introduced and always accompanied by some "flaw". Im blessed cause i have finance available to do this but surely will not keep a product that does not suit my needs. By the time i found a perfect setup for my Creep, Mavic II will make it's way to the market so i can start all over again.. Another disadvantage of being in Europe is that all the goodies reach the US first. Shipping and customs suck us dry, gotta be more patient around here (returns are also a pain)
@entity-unknown :
A portable solution is hard with the mavic. I do not expect the DJI goggles to be very portable either but they just might surprise us. A slightly bigger camera bag goes a long way. I got one for €25 and able to fit everything i need (mavic, batteries, modded TX, filters, tablet, cables etc.). The shoulder strap used as lanyard. Just the glasses do not fit so i just wear them! The Glyphs can be worn as headphones too, some good metal while cycling to some remotelocation..

 

[Alex_S]

So...received the Glyphs. Wow these are badass earphones. No K1 still though, still on its way.
I'll keep it short for now: the Glyphs are a nice piece of work and i will try them with the Mavic as soon as i receive and config the K1. However a gut feeling tells me they will go back. Why? First i tried them on the Bebop2 p&p. The picture was horrible but this HAS to be a Parrot thing. Pixellation all over the place and even when the image was as clear as it got, still terrible.
The image size is equivalent to the BT300. Side by side compared a video made by the mavic. The BT300 was not able to play the 4k footage smooth but i did notice it was crisp and very true to what the camera saw, also colorwize. The Glyph off course was smooth since my notebook did the processing but the colors were way too bright, like my ND filters and post-editing were not there. I did play with the brighness setting but whatever i play on it the colors are off. Very sharp though. It is very hard to bring in and land a drone looking into the Glyph when maneuvering around trees and so is required. Looking down on the remote is fine but above and aside is not good. Had to take them off to land safely. After setting up the optics part, looking at the duplicate of my notebook desktop it's very hard to "look" and read the edge area's. Because the interpupillary distance on the BT300 can't be modified this is also an issue yet less pronounced. For now the BT300 still is my prefered setup. Also a lot lighter on the head
Not so short after all, T B C.

Just got the Shield K1 this morning. Thanks God still with the Android 6.01 installed. Downloaded Go4 and Litchi. Connected the Glyphs to the K1, selected Litchi and off it went.
Now, I have no great experience with FPV glasses and unlike Maclak I can not compare with the BT300. However after a few practice flights I was able to maneuver around Eucalyptus trees quite easily via the glasses. I placed the Glyphs in a way that I could look up to see the Mavic, down to see the controller and K1 and forward to see the Glyph images. I must say I am absolutely happy with the picture, crisp and clear once adjusted correctly to the eyes. The picture was bright as I like it and the colors were great. May be the color saturation ex factory a bit on the high side but I am extremely pleased. If one can't see the edges properly as it happened to me as well, then the glasses are not adjusted correctly for your face. Try the different nose pieces and the adjustable height of them and there will be a point were it
is spot on.
What I was looking for were out of the box, plug an play glasses with exceptional picture quality. This you get with the Glyphs/ Shield K1 combination.
No map problems, no side loading of apps. Playstore, high spec Android device. This tablet is a marvel for its price. It is still 2.5 times faster today than an Ipad mini 4 for example. It has a 192 (!) core GPU which has no trouble keeping up with any video source you throw at it . This might actually become my favorite tablet and out goes the Samsung.
For me the search for a working and uncomplicated solution for FPV glasses for the Mavic has come to a very happy end. Besides the Glyphs being a bit on the bulky side I can not imagine that DJI can better this with their new goggles, UNLESS they are WIRELESS with a built in ocusync receiver. Then I might end up with 2 glasses perhaps.

 

[entity-unknown]

I've got a Seahorse case for my Mavic, and then I have a larger Seahorse for all my optix gear including the Mavic and each have enough space for these glasses and more.

The other, and probably most important of all reasons I want these over any other style of goggles is FAA law and common sense. I've already had a few fly aways due to an incompatible phone and some initial firmware issues which quickly made me realize visual line of sight is important. I didn't lose VLOS, the thing just hates my phone and has random issues like that on initial start. Would suck to find that out in FPV since I may lose sense of where the Mavic is when removing the goggles and good luck running after your drone as it runs off from you with any other goggles other than something like the Epsons. Just imagine that one but I'm sure someone has a friend that's done this or tried it themselves, hopefully not in a forest.....

So If I wanna have the easiest argument with the FAA if it came to it, the Epson is the only way you'll win. It also appears to be about the only responsible way to fly with FPV without a spotter.

It is all preference but I already have to lug the lil Bastard, his remote, his landing pad, and my phone around with me. Now I'm just adding light weight goggles, not heavy goggles and a huge tablet.

Anyone saying they've got no issues with their K1 doesn't sound like they're honest. They seem to casually forget to mention you must stick to an older Android OS, (funny how a key complaint for Epson is an older Android OS), AND you still need internet access for maps so you still need another device with you like a phone with a hotspot. Either way I get mine in today and we'll see how much of a hassle these are.

On a side note, this forum specifically answered many questions I had before and after I bought my Mavic. Ya'll rock!

 

[stratos]

I pm'ed this to someone else, hope it's clear:


1 - First kill " force close" the Go4 app in app settings (The go4 app is very rigid, drains the battery on my Note4 as well, keeps running in the background>>DJI issue), also force close the cached ones.
2 - Go into settings and select lang to Japanese. (All the way on the bottom, i think it was last. At work now so cannot check)
3 - Run go4 and goto " offline maps". About 5-6 downloads will be displayed, select the last one.
4 - When selected another list will be displayed. The top one says " all countries" in readable English and just over 1gb. Download this.
5 - After download complete close Go4 and perform item no1 ( I know it's hard in Japanese but this is what I did. Maybe it works if you switch to English first as well but not sure..)
6 - Set Lang back to Eng and run Go4/ offline maps. Now all countries should be visible. If not you can try another force close and restart go4.

Note:

The "all countries" download (1gb) cannot possibly be all countries.. im not sure what it is though. When switching back to English and all countries are visible you will see that the average country is over 500mb. You still have to download what you need..

Thanks for this mate, currently wearing my BT-300 and doing the process, wish me luck.
Honestly doesnt sound as complicated but lets see. Im an andriod Virgin.

btw, the screen in the BT-300 is amazing. I unpacked my glasses and my fiance wore them first and she was just doing wow wow wow haha

 

[entity-unknown]

So it was mentioned at one point that you can do a reverse pinch with two fingers (spread not squeeze) to clear the DJI HUD on the Epson controller. I imagine you pinch (squeeze) to bring this back.

I saw another tip which was paramount with my Mavic and my Droid Turbo2. Everything said connect cell phone first, then power Mavic, then power RC. This never worked and resulted in two fly aways. If I power everything on then connect my phone, things magically work all the time. It sounds like the Epson is the same.

Are there any other useful tips for the Epson and the DJI Go App? (besides the map issue and side loading apps Perhaps a compilation?

 

[Evo1668]

Ok talking cases....I originally used a hard case like the Seahorse for carrying my Mavic around, but I found whenever I wanted to travel further afield on foot. It appeared like I was walking around carrying a large stash of cash or precious gems, as a friend once pointed out. So i decided to go for a slingback case such as the Lower Slingshot Edge 150 AW. You can see from the attached photos. I can fit all of my kit in a really compact and versatile bag...
The hard cases for the Mavic, Controller and BT 300's can be packed safely with other luggage when travelling abroad

 

[entity-unknown]

That looks like a pretty sturdy bag! You can definitely kick it or roll it down a mountain and things will probably be safe

I bought a LowePro 450 Tactical Bag for hiking activities and my cameras and I have other other bags for diff loads. It has side panel access for cameras and with the block setup in side, I can reach the Mavic from the top or the sides depending on how I configure it. The Seahorse is basically for about 50 ft or less of foot travel like to the park across the street or a close spot near the car otherwise it starts to be awkward to carry, and it's safety yellow. If the floods come here to AZ, I certainly know my Mavic will survive though

 

[entity-unknown]

Did someone get in trouble for posting the controller holder for the Mavic to Thingiverse? It was up there but now it's a 404 error for the original link. If you search moverio, it doesn't come up anymore...

 

[stratos]

Did someone get in trouble for posting the controller holder for the Mavic to Thingiverse? It was up there but now it's a 404 error for the original link. If you search moverio, it doesn't come up anymore...

I have a model but the print places are charging me a fortune to print it.
I dont even know what material to use, they ask me if I want nylon or PBA, resin,,, man im so lost

 

[macinfosys]

I have a model but the print places are charging me a fortune to print it.
I dont even know what material to use, they ask me if I want nylon or PBA, resin,,, man im so lost

If you were given the STL files for you to print with you could use your own printer or a service like:
3D Hubs: Browse online 3D printing services
PLA is fine for this kind of adapter and 20% infill should be good enough.

Or just go through Easy or Shapeways and buy direct through them.

Epson Moverio BT-300 DJI Mavic Mount

Moverio BT-300 -DJI (+Mavic) Mount (Left side 1/2) by moverio7 on Shapeways

 

[entity-unknown]

I actually was able to download the STL from the site before they took it down. It's printing right now

As for this piece, I suggest PLA. ABS, Nylon, CarbonFiber, are all for structural material. In this case this is just holding a lil controller and PLA is easy to get accurate dimensions with. PLA is pretty durable but it doesn't have sheer strength. It has decent flex to it too but I think it's still more rigid that ABS. ABS is just more durable and has the sheer strength. PLA will absorb water over time which can alter it's dimensions and strength especially if you live in a humid area.
There's a reason why a lot of things, particularly car parts including bumpers, laptops, toys, and probably at least one object in your view at almost any time has some ABS in it.

Trinkets and lil doo-hickeys like this holder are perfect for PLA

Now if you wanted a replacement part on the Mavic itself, you'll be looking into the more tensile materials like ABS and above.

 

[entity-unknown]

Thinkin about it, if you're willin to waste some more money, ask for them to print it in NinjaFlex! Semi-Flex or normal would be great! That controller would easily slip in and with the overall body thickness it won't flop around. Only catch is hopefully your model is accurate otherwise you'll get the experience of what a failed model is like. I got a bin full of em for recycling :\

 

[stratos]

I actually was able to download the STL from the site before they took it down. It's printing right now

As for this piece, I suggest PLA. ABS, Nylon, CarbonFiber, are all for structural material. In this case this is just holding a lil controller and PLA is easy to get accurate dimensions with. PLA is pretty durable but it doesn't have sheer strength. It has decent flex to it too but I think it's still more rigid that ABS. ABS is just more durable and has the sheer strength. PLA will absorb water over time which can alter it's dimensions and strength especially if you live in a humid area.
There's a reason why a lot of things, particularly car parts including bumpers, laptops, toys, and probably at least one object in your view at almost any time has some ABS in it.

Trinkets and lil doo-hickeys like this holder are perfect for PLA

Now if you wanted a replacement part on the Mavic itself, you'll be looking into the more tensile materials like ABS and above.

great thanks for your response I think I will order ABS then , lets see how it goes!

 

[stratos]

Update regarding my BT-300 unboxing and first impression.

Is great, its quite light and looks great. I was blown away that its like a small wearable tablet. Yes the touchpad can be better but a 20 dollars BT keyboard does the job. Audio quality and video quality is great, I was blown away by the sharp colors and the great contrast.

I was able to instal apk directly from the browser so you dont even need to do anything fancy with your pc and the bt300.

 

[entity-unknown]

That part in ABS will definitely last thru your grandchildren's lifetime, unless you run it over or something. Worse case scenario, check into a plastic welder

Thanks Stratos for your initial review too! Sounds like they're all startin to get dropped off. I'd imagine this could be useful for reading manuals and looking at specs while you're engineering or building things. That's one aspect of how they advertise them for too. Definitely all sorts of possibilities.

One note about the BT-350 and even the Pro-2000 series. As with some manufacturers, a larger number does not exactly imply a better product. The BT-300 is by far the way to go out of these so don't "wait" for the other models. These are for different applications, that is all likely with the Pro being the most rugged, and most versatile in regards to reliability, and backward compatibility (gotta love the Corp industry always wanting to have the oldest and slowest).

BT-300 - Technical Information - MOVERIO - Epson
BT-350 - Technical Information - MOVERIO - Epson
BT-2000 - Technical Information - MOVERIO Pro - Epson

 

[Geezer]

Here's the latest response I've received from Epson:

Discussion Thread
Response Via Email (Mark H)
04/19/2017 10:01 AM
Hi John,
Epson's attempts to work within the parameters of DJI's App is not resulting in anything better than a work around. We are developing our own App for the BT-300, but that could take a while.
Sorry to keep you hanging for so long, but we will not have a real fix for at least several months.
I am going to close this service case. Please feel free to open another case if you have any more questions or issues with Epson products.
Regards,
Mark

So - it looks like adapting a Moverio to fully function with Go 4 is going to continue to be a DIY workaround. If I had more experience/confidence with the nuts and bolts of Android, I'd probably go for it, but I'm still vacillating.