EPSON Moverio BT-300 Review

[Will.i.am]

You can sideload any apk. The problem with Litchi is that it needs to connect to Google Play to verify you own the app. Good news is that you can also sideload Google Play services and the Play store.. Bad news is that this doesn't help with Litchi or any app verifications. There is another Moverio thread here that discusses this. Search or I can post the link later.

 

[Will.i.am]

Yes Rochester is a good company. They asked me for input on their Solitaire ACE holder for the BT300 to make it fit better.

 

[VAJeff]

Happy to report that I've spoken to Sam with Rochester Optical and they have sent me a return label for my optical inserts so that they can attempt to completely solve my blurry edges issue. He said that their inserts are aimed at solving this very specific issue so they hope to be able to come up with a solution that works for me.

Glad to see that this company fully stands behind their products. Good people and a good company for sure.

I will be sending an email to Sam. Finally got mine today, and still blurry on the outside, and text is more blurred in the center than it is when I were them over my progressives.

Glad to hear they are going to work to fix it.

 

[rstekeur]

I'm on the fence about getting these, I hate the thought of using a little know and possibly not well supported android device to power the glasses. I would have been happy with a HDMI input. I haven't gone all the way back in this post but the BT-300's seem to be plagued with DJI Go app problems. I gave up on Android to run the Go App a long time ago because of all the problems I was having and in as much as I've never liked IOS I've had real good luck with all the Apps I use on my DJI quads. I've been writing Android Apps for a few years and I understand the difficulty in try to support the huge number of different screen sizes, hardware configurations and different OEM versions of Android that are out there. What is the General consensus, do these things work well and are they worth $800. I have a lead on a good deal on a pair of the Founders Editions, is it worth $150 more to get the FPV version. Thanks for any help

 

[Turnerm]

I'm on the fence about getting these, I hate the thought of using a little know and possibly not well supported android device to power the glasses. I would have been happy with a HDMI input. I haven't gone all the way back in this post but the BT-300's seem to be plagued with DJI Go app problems. I gave up on Android to run the Go App a long time ago because of all the problems I was having and in as much as I've never liked IOS I've had real good luck with all the Apps I use on my DJI quads. I've been writing Android Apps for a few years and I understand the difficulty in try to support the huge number of different screen sizes, hardware configurations and different OEM versions of Android that are out there. What is the General consensus, do these things work well and are they worth $800. I have a lead on a good deal on a pair of the Founders Editions, is it worth $150 more to get the FPV version. Thanks for any help

In my opinion - the BT-300's are awesome. It's the way I fly my drone 90% of the time. Are they worth $800? If I'm being 100% honest, probably not but it's all relative to what $800 means to you I suppose. The price tag is too high. For some they will spend $800 and because of that they expect perfection.

On the Android front. I hear you. I gave up on trying to use Android as a platform for running the GO4 app and bought an iPad Mini 4 JUST for flying my drone. I generally avoid most things Apple related. But I can say that I haven't had the app on the Moverio's crash one single time thus far. So for whatever reason, it appears to be more stable than my other Android experiences.

Yes, there are some warts with the GO4 version in the Moverio store but this can pretty easily be worked around. This is not necessarily a plug-n-play solution. It will take you some time to get things configured and ready to go.

I personally love the BT-300's. I love that I can easily glance over or under the glasses to see the outside world. I hated being completely shut out with the DJI Goggles (which I owned, used about 5 times and have recently sold). It also completely solves the issue of sunlight/glare that I always had to worry about with my iPad Mini. Another plus is that it allows a more comfortable experience. You aren't constantly looking down at your screen. You can look wherever you want.

My recommendation is to buy them from somewhere that you can easily return them if they don't end up working out for you. I bought mine from Amazon for this very reason.

One other thing to consider... the prisms on these glasses are a fixed width. Not everyone's pupils match this fixed width and if you're one of these people (like me) then this will result in the screen being slightly blurry on the outer edges. This, to me, is one of the biggest glaring oversights in the development of the glasses. I can only assume that there was some sort of technical limitation with making the prism width adjustable. Rochest Optical sells a custom prescription insert (you need to get your pupillary distance measured) that is supposed to solve this. Their first attempt with my inserts did not solve the issue but they have sent me a return label so that I can return that insert and they are going to try again. It has solved the issue for others and they stand behind their product so hopefully they can solve my issue as well.

Long story short - if you are impatient and/or don't want to fiddle around with something for a little bit in order to figure it out then the BT-300's probably aren't for you. If you're worried about spending $800 and getting your money's worth out of the product then the BT-300's MAY not be for you. BUT... I love them and I'm very happy with them.

 

[rstekeur]

Thanks for taking the time to respond. I just sold my DJI goggles this morning. I tried to like them but I had a long list of things that I just didn't like so they went. I tried Fatsharks, glyphs, and headplays and really didn't like how any of them worked. I think I liked the Glyphs the best out of them all but they wouldn't sit all good on my face wearing glasses. I could get them to focus without glasses but then I couldn't see anything else including the tablet without glasses. I think I like the idea of AR over VR as I fly part 107 and that's the closes thing to being legal as I can think of.

 

[Will.i.am]

If you're concerned about running the GO4 app on the BT300 controller, I have also had no issues with it in the two weeks that I've had it. And I've found a possible solution to that as well. The BT300 has a miracast receiver built in, so you can run a screen mirroring app on your phone or tablet, run GO4 there, and then mirror the screen to the Moverio. Haven't flown this way yet, but I was running GO4 on my phone and using the glasses as the display. There seemed to be very little lag when scrolling through the menus and watching some of my flight videos.

I want to try the Splashtop Mirroring360 Airplay Receiver that's available in the Moverio appstore. This app normally costs $20 but Epson is providing it for free. You can get the Mirroring360 Airplay Sender app for your android phone/tablet/ipad, also currently for free in the Play store. And you can use Airplay on iOS if that is your preferred device.

So if you're concerned with running GO4 on the Moverio controller, just plug your current favorite device into your Mavic and mirror the screen to the Moverio. Best of both worlds. It is easy to see the drone view and also keep your eyes on the controller, and the Mavic itself, with these glasses.

That's the other thing I like about these Moverios - they are very versatile.

 

[rstekeur]

If you're concerned about running the GO4 app on the BT300 controller, I have also had no issues with it in the two weeks that I've had it. And I've found a possible solution to that as well. The BT300 has a miracast receiver built in, so you can run a screen mirroring app on your phone or tablet, run GO4 there, and then mirror the screen to the Moverio. Haven't flown this way yet, but I was running GO4 on my phone and using the glasses as the display. There seemed to be very little lag when scrolling through the menus and watching some of my flight videos.

I want to try the Splashtop Mirroring360 Airplay Receiver that's available in the Moverio appstore. This app normally costs $20 but Epson is providing it for free. You can get the Mirroring360 Airplay Sender app for your android phone/tablet/ipad, also currently for free in the Play store. And you can use Airplay on iOS if that is your preferred device.

So if you're concerned with running GO4 on the Moverio controller, just plug your current favorite device into your Mavic and mirror the screen to the Moverio. Best of both worlds. It is easy to see the drone view and also keep your eyes on the controller, and the Mavic itself, with these glasses.

That's the other thing I like about these Moverios - they are very versatile.

I guess I'll get to see how well they work, I just ordered a pair. I did like the Glyphs, they were almost there but not quite. I think if these don't work out I'll give up on goggles. Thanks for the info, I'll try and catch up on some of the posts as well as the FB page

 

[Srcrain]

If you're concerned about running the GO4 app on the BT300 controller, I have also had no issues with it in the two weeks that I've had it. And I've found a possible solution to that as well. The BT300 has a miracast receiver built in, so you can run a screen mirroring app on your phone or tablet, run GO4 there, and then mirror the screen to the Moverio. Haven't flown this way yet, but I was running GO4 on my phone and using the glasses as the display. There seemed to be very little lag when scrolling through the menus and watching some of my flight videos.

I want to try the Splashtop Mirroring360 Airplay Receiver that's available in the Moverio appstore. This app normally costs $20 but Epson is providing it for free. You can get the Mirroring360 Airplay Sender app for your android phone/tablet/ipad, also currently for free in the Play store. And you can use Airplay on iOS if that is your preferred device.

So if you're concerned with running GO4 on the Moverio controller, just plug your current favorite device into your Mavic and mirror the screen to the Moverio. Best of both worlds. It is easy to see the drone view and also keep your eyes on the controller, and the Mavic itself, with these glasses.

That's the other thing I like about these Moverios - they are very versatile.

Would this allow you to run Litchi on an iOS device and mirror the screen to the Moverios? Obviously, you would still need to make changes on the iOS device, but this may be a decent solution in direct sunlight.

Have you tested the lag?

 

[Will.i.am]

Would this allow you to run Litchi on an iOS device and mirror the screen to the Moverios? Obviously, you would still need to make changes on the iOS device, but this may be a decent solution in direct sunlight.

Have you tested the lag?

Yes I believe that will work. Run Litchi and Airplay, and mirror the display on the Moverios. Haven't flown yet, but just clicking through the GO4 menus and viewing videos showed minimal lag, maybe 250ms or less. I was able to stream movies and TV without any noticeable delays.

 

[Maxheadspace]

Will this accept an OTG or UVC cable/device? Or can you stream analog video into it somehow? I'm more interested in its use with standard FPV equipment.

 

[Ender]

yes, have HDMI in and 5.8G analog in working on moverios.

Will this accept an OTG or UVC cable/device? Or can you stream analog video into it somehow? I'm more interested in its use with standard FPV equipment.

 

[Maxheadspace]

yes, have HDMI in and 5.8G analog in working on moverios.

Excellent! So is your 5.8G coming in via a USB receiver, or is it by way of an analog/composite video-in port? If it comes in by USB port (i.e., OTG or UVC), are you using a viewer like Go-FPV or FPViewer? This may be my next big purchase.

Thanks Ender!

 

[stratos]

I'm on the fence about getting these, I hate the thought of using a little know and possibly not well supported android device to power the glasses. I would have been happy with a HDMI input. I haven't gone all the way back in this post but the BT-300's seem to be plagued with DJI Go app problems. I gave up on Android to run the Go App a long time ago because of all the problems I was having and in as much as I've never liked IOS I've had real good luck with all the Apps I use on my DJI quads. I've been writing Android Apps for a few years and I understand the difficulty in try to support the huge number of different screen sizes, hardware configurations and different OEM versions of Android that are out there. What is the General consensus, do these things work well and are they worth $800. I have a lead on a good deal on a pair of the Founders Editions, is it worth $150 more to get the FPV version. Thanks for any help

As other have pointed out, I think they are worth the price tag.
At least for me it has many advantages.

• I dont have to have a separate phone or tablet with me to fly
• I like to have direct line of sight with immediate access to the drone perspective without having to look down on a screen
• They are comfortable, light and you dont look like a clown with huge googles.
• Is not only intended to be used for flying a drone, you can side load any number of apps you want. If you are a dev, this is great. I have been playing with some huds that can even be used while using my bike or driving.
• The screen clarity is amazing and color very vibrant (it has 2 oled projectors)

 

[Ender]

Excellent! So is your 5.8G coming in via a USB receiver, or is it by way of an analog/composite video-in port? If it comes in by USB port (i.e., OTG or UVC), are you using a viewer like Go-FPV or FPViewer? This may be my next big purchase.

Thanks Ender!

Hi ! Its one og those cheapish ($25) direct analog receiver to USB - OTG adapters + the ANdroid App you named !

ENder

 

[stratos]

Will this accept an OTG or UVC cable/device? Or can you stream analog video into it somehow? I'm more interested in its use with standard FPV equipment.

Yes they work with OTG, have tried with a couple USB dongles.

 

[Maxheadspace]

Hi ! Its one og those cheapish ($25) direct analog receiver to USB - OTG adapters + the ANdroid App you named !

ENder

Next payday! I have several drone brands, DJI, 3DR, DIY, and it sounds like I can make the BT-300 work with them all. I'm there!

 

[rstekeur]

yes, have HDMI in and 5.8G analog in working on moverios.

How are you getting that to work?

 

[Zzzoom3]

I think these are great and would like to have them once I save up. My question to the group is, "Can you see the mavic or P4 any better thru them?"

I ask because flying normally (no goggles), I have real trouble tracking P4 or Mavic once the range gets out a thousand feet or so. I don't know how anyone legitimately flies within LOS at more than 1/4 sm.? These won't improve LOS visibility in any way right?

 

[rstekeur]

As other have pointed out, I think they are worth the price tag.
At least for me it has many advantages.

• I dont have to have a separate phone or tablet with me to fly
• I like to have direct line of sight with immediate access to the drone perspective without having to look down on a screen
• They are comfortable, light and you dont look like a clown with huge googles.
• Is not only intended to be used for flying a drone, you can side load any number of apps you want. If you are a dev, this is great. I have been playing with some huds that can even be used while using my bike or driving.
• The screen clarity is amazing and color very vibrant (it has 2 oled projectors)

What are you using, android studio? I downloaded a .jar bindings library sample for xamarin and visual studio I'm going to play around with that