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Is the lack of H.265 compatibility the problem with SC?

John Locke

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The MA2, M2P and M2Z all support recording to the SD in H.265. This newer codec is more efficient, needing about half the space to store the same video. That's nice. However with the MA2 it says in the specs the craft TRANSMITS the video from the craft to the controller using H.265. I don't think that's the case with M2P/M2Z, I presume they use M.264 as before with earlier craft, and it's not mentioned in the M2 spec. This evolution to M.265 transmit from the craft is likely the result of newer chips, lightweight enough, and cheap enough to use in the craft that can encode with H.265. Although MA2, M2P, and M2Z all claim to be Ocu-Sync 2, it appears this is a clear difference between MA2 and the M2 craft. I presume this is why the SC (Smart Controller) doesn't work with MA2, because it doesn't support decoding M.265, yet. Has anyone else confirmed this the problem why SC doesn't work with MA2?

The other evidence of this difference in OcuSync2 is the app. Since the Fly app is required for MA2, and incompatible with M2, this could be because Fly app doesn't support H.264 decoding which M2 craft requires. And vice versa, the Go4 app won't work with MA2 because it doesn't support H.265 decoding.

On another note, the stated range for MA2 is more than M2, however they both use OcuSync2. This obviously creates questions. This could be the result of transmitting less data from the MA2, naturally increasing range. The general compression efficiency of H.265 is about 2X. So what would normally take 10MB to store to SD card with H.264 takes only about 5MB for H.265 to store the same video. That means the transmit data rate to ground from the craft would also half the data rate, naturally increasing range. If you recall with Lightbridge in the past, decreasing the "Transmission Quality" in the app from 10mbps down to 4mbps would provide optimal range, because it's less data being transmitted. This appears to be the same principle as using H.265 instead of H.264, transmitting less data per second for the same video feed, which results in more range.

If the above is correct, the DJI goggle is likely affected by this too, incompatible with MA2 until a firmware update is available for the DJI goggles (am I right)? However, since decoding H.265 is a lot more work than decoding H.264, it doesn't seem feasible to simply update the goggle with new firmware. I may be wrong, but I think it may take a new model goggle with hardware changes, but that's just a guess. Are there any other opinions or information out there about this?
 
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The MA2, M2P and M2Z all support recording to the SD in H.265. This newer codec is more efficient, needing about half the space to store the same video. That's nice. However with the MA2 it says in the specs the craft TRANSMITS the video from the craft to the controller using H.265. I don't think that's the case with M2P/M2Z, I presume they use M.264 as before with earlier craft, and it's not mentioned in the M2 spec. This evolution to M.265 transmit from the craft is likely the result of newer chips, lightweight enough, and cheap enough to use in the craft that can encode with H.265. Although MA2, M2P, and M2Z all claim to be Ocu-Sync 2, it appears this is a clear difference between MA2 and the M2 craft. I presume this is why the SC (Smart Controller) doesn't work with MA2, because it doesn't support decoding M.265, yet. Has anyone else confirmed this the problem why SC doesn't work with MA2?

The other evidence of this difference in OcuSync2 is the app. Since the Fly app is required for MA2, and incompatible with M2, this could be because Fly app doesn't support H.264 decoding which M2 craft requires. And vice versa, the Go4 app won't work with MA2 because it doesn't support H.265 decoding.

On another note, the stated range for MA2 is more than M2, however they both use OcuSync2. This obviously creates questions. This could be the result of transmitting less data from the MA2, naturally increasing range. The general compression efficiency of H.265 is about 2X. So what would normally take 10MB to store to SD card with H.264 takes only about 5MB for H.265 to store the same video. That means the transmit data rate to ground from the craft would also half the data rate, naturally increasing range. If you recall with Lightbridge in the past, decreasing the "Transmission Quality" in the app from 10mbps down to 4mbps would provide optimal range, because it's less data being transmitted. This appears to be the same principle as using H.265 instead of H.264, transmitting less data per second for the same video feed, which results in more range.

If the above is correct, the DJI goggle is likely affected by this too, incompatible with MA2 until a firmware update is available for the DJI goggles (am I right)? However, since decoding H.265 is a lot more work than decoding H.264, it doesn't seem feasible to simply update the goggle with new firmware. I may be wronig, but I think it may take a new model goggle with hardware changes, but that's just a guess. Are there any other opinions or information out there about this?
I noticed this too but H.265 is actually easily decoded it’s the encode process that takes more processing power. This is why older computers can still play h.265 even if they were built before h.265 was invented. A simple software upgrade should be all that’s needed to enable the Smart controller to work with the MA2.

It’s up to DJI if they want to make this update or not and when. From a marketing perspective it might be smart to wait until there is a replacement for the M2 series before giving the MA2 this ability. This would give their more expensive M2 models some differentiation in the mean time. The value proposition of the M2Zoom at $1349 is severely in question at the moment with the MA2 outclassing it in every category other than the optical zoom, the value of which is even undercut by the ability to crop the 8k from the MA2. Not the same thing but I doubt there are many people who will choose to pay $550 more for that feature. The ability to use the smart controller and the goggles are a selling point for the M2 series but releasing the MA2 without it still allows DJI to put a dagger in the heart of the Autel Evo 2 at exactly the moment it was gaining traction.

Occusync 2.0 designation is likely no accident and I speculate that the MA2 will work with the smart controller eventually. They could easily also either make the goggles compatible

The fact that MA2 transmits H.265 could just mean that better quality video is transmitted at the same bit rate instead of the same quality transmitted at lower bit rate. We don’t know, but the added transmission range on the MA2 is likely at least partially attributed to the more directional antenna system used.

The different machines only working with one app over the other is a decision DJI has made rather than some actual limitation. When DJI releases a new SDK for the MA2 and Mavic Mini all DJI drones including older models meant to run on the original DJI Go (not to be confused with DJI Go 4) will all be able to work on the same 3rd party apps so clearly DJI could make them all work on the same app. I’ve never really understood why DJI limits their native apps compatibility in this way.
 
what makes you think the M2Z/M2P isn't also transmitted @ H265? Many people have pushed the M2 well beyond it's state range and probably more than the MA2 Given the latter has a hard 11KM cap in firmware and M2 is closer to 18KM.

To answer the smart controller questions, yes it support H265 as per wiki



SpecificationsEdit
  • 28 nm HKMG process.
  • Quad-core ARM Cortex-A17, up to 1.8 GHz
  • Quad-core ARM Mali-T760 MP4 GPU clocked at 600 MHz supporting OpenGL ES 1.1/2.0/3.0/3.1, OpenCL 1.1, Renderscript and Direct3D 11.1[1]
  • High performance dedicated 2D processor
  • 1080P video encoding for H.264 and VP8, MVC
  • 4K H.264 and 10bits H.265 video decode, 1080P multi video decode
  • Supports 4Kx2K H.265 resolution
  • Dual-channel 64-bit DRAM controller supporting DDR3, DDR3L, LPDDR2 and LPDDR3
  • Up to 3840x2160 display output, HDMI 2.0
  • Support dual-channel LVDS/dual-channel MIPI-DSI/eDP1.1
  • HW Security system, support HDCP 2.X
  • Embedded 13M ISP and MIPI-CSI2 interface
 
H.265 is not easily decoded. It’s reduction in file size was a trade off on both the encoding and decoding side made possible with the newer hardware.
 

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