EPSON Moverio BT-300 Review

[macinfosys]

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

The only thing different between the 350 and the 300 from what I understand is going to be the temple arms that are hinged differently. Everything else is exactly the same. I heard they won't come with the Rochester shades either.

 

[MacIak]

Got my K1 now and still not able to use it with the glyph...no hdmi> microhdmi!!! So need to get this first. Dremeled my tx a bit more so the shield fits all the way up against the tx. I screwed one thing up i guess. Pushing the tablet into the tx i stripped this rubber thingy that looks like a speaker on the non-camera side of the shield. Sticky underneath. There is a hole underneath and 2 sensor looky thingies. Anyone know what to do with this? Can i just put some tape over it and get on with my life or do i panic?

 

[macinfosys]

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.

Sure would be nice to have that "workaround detail" for time being.....

 

[MacIak]

As

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.

As far as i can tell the workaround does not work. No maps cause can t get here maps fired up. Amap is running in the background but this is for china..

 

[macinfosys]

As

As far as i can tell the workaround does not work. No maps cause can t get here maps fired up. Amap is running in the background but this is for china..

I have no clue on how the settings configuration works in the background on the Android device, but man it would be nice if a new firmware feature was released on the BT-300 to allow changing of location details to China as a fake language but keep the English language active to fake aMap to not run under that setting..... Again a scenario that would be nice to implement but not saying it would technically work....

 

[Evo1668]

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.

Does anyone know what this workaround is? I assume we are talking about the maps issue? If it's the Japanese language workaround, that does not work for me, unless I want to do a crash course in learning Japanese??

 

[entity-unknown]

So we're clear.... Epson is saying that it will take several months to provide a functional map for the Go 4 app? To be more clear, that is the ONLY issue they're saying this about or is there another/more issues?

If it's just the maps, then I can live with since maps don't give me any added bonus with the Mavic.

Beyond the feature simply not working, what limitation does anyone have not having the maps? It's nice, but I don't see the need unless I was perhaps flying out of VLOS like on the other side of a mountain.....

 

[macinfosys]

So we're clear.... Epson is saying that it will take several months to provide a functional map for the Go 4 app? To be more clear, that is the ONLY issue they're saying this about or is there another/more issues?

If it's just the maps, then I can live with since maps don't give me any added bonus with the Mavic.

Beyond the feature simply not working, what limitation does anyone have not having the maps? It's nice, but I don't see the need unless I was perhaps flying out of VLOS like on the other side of a mountain.....

Since I fly with the BT-300 a lot I have gotten use to not needing / relying on any kind of map detail. To be honest I am not 100% sure what FEATURES of the Go 4 App I may be missing by not having map details. I was going to play around with all of the Go 4 app functions on my iPad mini 4 this weekend and see if there really is anything I am loosing.

Regarding any other issues, there is no other for the BT-300 and Go 4 app.

What you are not able to do on the BT-300 is install any kind of Android app you want since it does not have the Google App Store but that can be dealt with very easily by using the built in browser to install most APK's that are available online by a simple google search. BUT from what I am seeing is that if it is not available on the Amazon App Store or the Epson App Store which both are available on the BT-300, you cannot install apps that you need to buy first. I could be wrong on this last part but I believe thats is the only reason the Litchi app will not work on the BT-300.

 

[macinfosys]

Let me say this also. I am by no means saying I don't care if we get a functional map feature or not. Far from it and I think it is a feature that needs to be resolved sooner than later with current software / firmware fixes or by a whole new app. (Ideally fixed through firmware so we can continue to run all new versions of the Go 4 app as they get released).

BUT I am also saying that not having it has not stopped me from using the glass. That may change if I find out a very cool feature of the app is not able to work without a viewable map.... ;-). I will find that out this weekend as I go back to my iPad mini.

 

[entity-unknown]

I'm with you and I do want the maps for when I travel abroad. It's just not a need right now. I'm sure I'd be complaining more if I traveled more
The dis-concerning part is this being a DJI certified device but from Epson's statement it sounds like certified and working together are NOT relative terms.

Still, thank you macinfosys for the clarification! I don't think maps are important for any DJI Go feature. That's more of a Litchi thing since you need maps to build way points. Otherwise if you're flying over a mountain, it'd probably help to know your location. Rescue Workers have the most legit need there.

 

[macinfosys]

I'm with you and I do want the maps for when I travel abroad. It's just not a need right now. I'm sure I'd be complaining more if I traveled more
The dis-concerning part is this being a DJI certified device but from Epson's statement it sounds like certified and working together are NOT relative terms.

Still, thank you macinfosys for the clarification! I don't think maps are important for any DJI Go feature. That's more of a Litchi thing since you need maps to build way points. Otherwise if you're flying over a mountain, it'd probably help to know your location. Rescue Workers have the most legit need there.

I figured if I am flying over a mountain and I need to know whats around I would be using the glasses to look around since it would see a lot more than what I would see from a Google/Here map on the Go app.

 

[entity-unknown]

yeah my thoughts on that one too, but perspective does not always give a good idea of terrain so having a forward and overhead view will always be better than just one or the other especially if you have elevation maps. Still again, I think that's more for rescue work and not really the best thing a hobbyist or even daily hiker should do. How do you explain "oops I forgot and left land for Smart Return Home feature and now my drone is in....." Doesn't mean I always take my own advice either

 

[MacIak]

How about mavic brainfart causing homepoint to reset to another location? That is my main concern. Also when flying beyond visual i need to know where to aim...solutions welcome.

 

[entity-unknown]

That's a fair one. I haven't had it do that yet, just a couple fly aways however it'd always stop, figure things out, then come back. I don't have anywhere near as many hours as most I'm sure though either...
VLOS I figure is do it at your own risk but again, maps will be super helpful there. Plus it is a useful feature in it's own right none the less. Just making sure there's nothing I'm losing out on that I don't know about

 

[macinfosys]

How about mavic brainfart causing homepoint to reset to another location? That is my main concern. Also when flying beyond visual i need to know where to aim...solutions welcome.

One other option which I will be going back to testing this weekend the more I think about it is just using Airplay mirror from my iPhone 7 Plus to the BT-300. Basically bypassing the BT-300 Go 4 app all together and using an app called Reflector 2 that is an Airplay receiver. It runs over 5Ghz to accept the signal from the iPhone and there is basically NO LAG on the communication. I tried it out at the very beginning and was very happy with it's performance. It performed just like I was using the phones screen but I decided to exclusively use the BT-300 and it's Go 4 app since I was able to download the latest Android app and use that with no issues other than the map. But now that the maps resolution may be delayed, I may just go back to using the iPhone since that is with me 24x7 anyways and I can run all my other app with it. I had used the iPad mini 4 for a short period of time also before the BT-300 because of the larger screen but if I am using the BT-300 as my display I can very easily continue using my phone with it since the screen is no longer a factor. I do have one issue which I have stated in the past and that is the need to access the phones screen to control features, but the BT-300 allows me to easily see through / at the screen at anytime while still viewing what Mavic sees. I may slap on the small portable sun shield that I had from DJI onto the phone if it becomes to reflective. Again I am looking for extreme portability and I think I will still be able to accomplish this with minimal effort. I can very easily bounce back and forth using the Airplay or direct usage of apps on the BT-300 at anytime without ever having to carry anything extra.

My apps I would be able to use on the iOS again with the BT-300:
Litchi, HD Sync, Hanger 360 and the DJI Go 4 app. I can put the BT-300 controller in my pocket and just put my phone back into the Mavic mount during those times.

 

[entity-unknown]

Don't you still have the recorded flight path from GPS on the map or is that broken too?
You could also trace your footage with the preview mode and do it kinda the old fashion way, just using a 21st century flying camera

 

[Evo1668]

The thing is this could easily be remedied if you could get root access to the BT300. If that was possible, you could use an app called disable service to simply stop the Amap service running, which is causing the problem of Here maps not displaying. I have tried a few rooting solutions, but no success so far....

 

[macinfosys]

Don't you still have the recorded flight path from GPS on the map or is that broken too?
You could also trace your footage with the preview mode and do it kinda the old fashion way, just using a 21st century flying camera

Yes the flight path is still there. You just cannot see the map details. I upload all my content to:
Airdata UAV - Flight Data Analysis for Drones
which was called Healthydrones. In there you actually can see all of your map details and flight path as if you were looking at it on the DJI Go 4 app. But that is all after the fact. ;-)

 

[entity-unknown]

In regards to Root access... Have you looked at the SDK from Epson? I'm not familiar with this side of Android but assuming it's the SDK, it sounds like you should have access? This is the same as the BT-300 dev platform, so I'd imagine root is there...

Snippet from Epson:

Developing Apps - Developer's Guide - BT-300 - Technical Information - MOVERIO - Epson
- Confirm that the USB debugging is enabled. If not, follow the steps below to enable USB debugging.

• Open "Settings" - "Developer options", and then turn ON the "USB debugging".

2.4.2. Checking the connection
You can check if the computer and the BT-300 are connected by using the ADB check command.
Start the command prompt, run "cd C:\Users\<User name>\AppData\Local\Android\sdk\platform-tools", and move the folder. * It is useful to maintain the environment variable path mentioned above.
When you execute "adb devices" and the device name is displayed in the list, ADB connection is complete.
Download SDK& Sample Project - BT-300 - Technical Information - MOVERIO - Epson
Technical FAQ - BT-300 - Technical Information - MOVERIO - Epson
Developer's Guide - Documentation - BT-300 - Technical Information - MOVERIO - Epson

 

[macinfosys]

In regards to Root access... Have you looked at the SDK from Epson? I'm not familiar with this side of Android but assuming it's the SDK, it sounds like you should have access? This is the same as the BT-300 dev platform, so I'd imagine root is there...

Snippet from Epson:
- Confirm that the USB debugging is enabled. If not, follow the steps below to enable USB debugging.

Developing Apps - Developer's Guide - BT-300 - Technical Information - MOVERIO - Epson

• Open "Settings" - "Developer options", and then turn ON the "USB debugging".

Download SDK& Sample Project - BT-300 - Technical Information - MOVERIO - Epson
Technical FAQ - BT-300 - Technical Information - MOVERIO - Epson
Developer's Guide - Documentation - BT-300 - Technical Information - MOVERIO - Epson

My BIG question here is if the fix is to KILL that specific app, why hasn't Epson come up with something so simple on a firmware revise ?? I have a feeling it is a lot more than just that. BUT I am very open for rooting and getting a solution on our own if Epson is going to drag their feet.