iPad mini 3 crap video

andydownunder · May 11, 2018

Hello all. New here. Sorry if I am starting a repetitive thread but couldn’t seem to find an answer to my problem. I am a newbie Mavic Pro owner. I have flown about a half dozen times using my Iphone8 and it works well. However, I wanted a larger screen to view from so I purchased a used iPad mini 3. Problem is when I am shooting video while flying it freezes up which destroys the footage. May have to go back to my mobile phone unless it’s a simple setting change? Is it because it only has 1gb of ram?

lisadoc · May 11, 2018

andydownunder said:
However, I wanted a larger screen to view from so I purchased a used iPad mini 3. Problem is when I am shooting video while flying it freezes up which destroys the footage. May have to go back to my mobile phone unless it’s a simple setting change? Is it because it only has 1gb of ram?

Are you talking about the video coming off the SD card or only what is on your iPad? I suspect you're not talking about the video on your SD card. If you're speaking of the video on your device, then you're not talking about the actual recorded video quality but rather transmission quality. The original, high quality video will still be on your SD card (on the Mavic). You either need to take that out and look at it or download the higher quality video to your device (you may also have issues playing 4K video and such on lower quality/older devices).

What you're likely referring to is the quality of video that is transmitted to your device. That can result from 2 issues: 1) either the video going between the remote control and the Mavic or 2) the video going between the RC and the device (iPad).

Number 1 is caused by radio interference, something causing a drop in transmission quality. If it happens on your iPad but not your iPhone, you might want to try switching it to airplane mode. You also should try moving the magnet in the iPad (read this thread: Ipad Mini Magnet)

Number 2 is caused by the inability of your device to keep up with the video being processed. The only solutions for this are to eliminate everything you can that uses resources/RAM on your device, or swap to a better device capable of handling the work. Most people agree that an iPad mini 4 will handle it (myself included), while some may have had luck with the mini 3 or other lower processing power devices (YMMV).

andydownunder · May 11, 2018

lisadoc said:
Are you talking about the video coming off the SD card or only what is on your iPad? I suspect you're not talking about the video on your SD card. If you're speaking of the video on your device, then you're not talking about the actual recorded video quality but rather transmission quality. The original, high quality video will still be on your SD card (on the Mavic). You either need to take that out and look at it or download the higher quality video to your device (you may also have issues playing 4K video and such on lower quality/older devices).

What you're likely referring to is the quality of video that is transmitted to your device. That can result from 2 issues: 1) either the video going between the remote control and the Mavic or 2) the video going between the RC and the device (iPad).

Number 1 is caused by radio interference, something causing a drop in transmission quality. If it happens on your iPad but not your iPhone, you might want to try switching it to airplane mode. You also should try moving the magnet in the iPad (read this thread: Ipad Mini Magnet)

Number 2 is caused by the inability of your device to keep up with the video being processed. The only solutions for this are to eliminate everything you can that uses resources/RAM on your device, or swap to a better device capable of handling the work. Most people agree that an iPad mini 4 will handle it (myself included), while some may have had luck with the mini 3 or other lower processing power devices (YMMV).

Yes. I am referring to the quality of video transferred back to the iPad mini from the Mavic. I have not checked the SD card yet. I watched the video link relating to the magnet. I did get a magnetic interference warning which I thought weird based on where I was at the time. Will try again with iPad rotated so the strong magnet is on the bottom. Thanks heaps for the detailed response. Really appreciated as I try and work my way though these “need to knows’. Will let you know how I go tomorrow! Cheers!

Mossiback · May 11, 2018

• Fly with the iPad in airplane mode.
• Turn off caching to the iPad.
• Make sure there are no other programs running.
• Delete any un-needed programs or files to free up memory.

andydownunder · May 11, 2018

Mossiback said:
• Fly with the iPad in airplane mode.
• Turn off caching to the iPad.
• Make sure there are no other programs running.
• Delete any un-needed programs or files to free up memory.

Thanks for that. How do you disable cache on the iPad mini? I have disabled background refresh if that is the same thing?

Mossiback · May 11, 2018

andydownunder said:
Thanks for that. How do you disable cache on the iPad mini? I have disabled background refresh if that is the same thing?

It is in the General Settings section of Go 4. DJI has a nice guide that goes through the Go 4 settings at DJI GO 4 Manual: The Pilot’s Handbook.

Red Baron · May 11, 2018

andydownunder said:
Hello all. New here. Sorry if I am starting a repetitive thread but couldn’t seem to find an answer to my problem. I am a newbie Mavic Pro owner. I have flown about a half dozen times using my Iphone8 and it works well. However, I wanted a larger screen to view from so I purchased a used iPad mini 3. Problem is when I am shooting video while flying it freezes up which destroys the footage. May have to go back to my mobile phone unless it’s a simple setting change? Is it because it only has 1gb of ram?

1gb of ram will not cut it

Derlisz · May 12, 2018

iPad mini 3 used to work great for my untill I updated he firmware to the latest. It’s a laggy mess all around now. That unfortunately includes flying. It gets bogged down even when here are no other apps working. I still need to turn of caching. Befor I had iPad mini 2 and even that worked like a treat.

andydownunder · May 12, 2018

Thanks for the feedback! Guess I will be selling my mini 3 and sticking with my IPhone 8!

Lake_Flyer · May 12, 2018

Red Baron said:
1gb of ram will not cut it

Any iPad mini should at least have 16Gb. I never heard of 1Gb versions.

Keule · May 12, 2018

Lake_Flyer said:
Any iPad mini should at least have 16Gb. I never heard of 1Gb versions.

He was talking of 1GB main memory (1024 MB LPDDR3 RAM)

The 16GB is the 'external' storage space (think of a harddisk)

Lake_Flyer · May 12, 2018

andydownunder said:
Thanks for the feedback! Guess I will be selling my mini 3 and sticking with my IPhone 8!

This is strange. Maybe you should reinstall Go4 on your mini3. My old iPad Mini2 with only 16Gb (no Cell) works flawlessly. I have the cache set to 2Gb. Make sure you have the home button on the right side so the magnet is on the bottom.

Lake_Flyer · May 12, 2018

Keule said:
He was talking of 1GB main memory (1024 MB LPDDR3 RAM)

The 16GB is the 'external' storage space (think of a harddisk)

OK. Got it.
But still doesn't explain why his Mini3 doesn't work. I don't think older iPad mini's have more RAM than the Mini3. But my Mini2 works just fine.

Lake_Flyer · May 12, 2018

Did your used Mini3 came with the original Apple lightning-usb cable? Non of the non Apple cables I tried so far worked well and caused mid air app crash or freeze. Only a Belkin, which is just as expensive as the original.

andydownunder · May 12, 2018

Lake_Flyer said:
Did your used Mini3 came with the original Apple lightning-usb cable? Non of the non Apple cables I tried so far worked well and caused mid air app crash or freeze. Only a Belkin, which is just as expensive as the original.

I bought one from a Mavic accessory seller. He uses the same cable on his Mavic Pro no issues. Only difference is he runs a mini iPad 4. 2x the ram of the 3. Pretty convinced it is a ram issue.

Tinmania · May 12, 2018

One thing that brings my iPad mini 4 to its knees is heat. I live in Arizona so hot is the norm. The other day it was only 107 and I was flying my MP using the mini 4. The MP did fine, the MP's RC did fine. The iPad mini... not so much. The somewhat warm temperature combined with the sun on the mini's screen caused it to get hot. When it gets hot it slows down the CPU. Eventually I got an error message in Go4 that the attached devices's CPU was "overloaded" (nothing running other than Go4) and video deteriorated quickly--more like a delayed slide-show or 1990's web cam.

BUT that video has no bearing whatsover on the video recorded to SD, which was fine. Next flight I had a frozen cooler thingie under the iPad to keep it cool, which helped.

Summer here is usually 110-120 so looks like only early morning flying in these parts.

Mike