Minimum requirement for flight monitor?

[InterstateP]

Will an iPad Mini 1 or 2 cut it just for monitoring my flight? I don’t want to get a choppy feed but I’m also not overly excited about spending on a newer 4 or 5 just for the purpose of flying. Thoughts or suggestions? I’m open to things that aren’t necessarily in the Apple ecosystem as long as it’ll do what o need it to. Thanks all!

 

[gb160]

Even 4s are choppy from reports, its due to the MA2 having h265 live feed, and everything before the 5 doesn’t have h265 hardware decoding, hence the issues. Considering the 4 is 2016 2014 tech it’s no real surprise.

 

[InterstateP]

Even 4s are choppy from reports, its due to the MA2 having h265 live feed, and everything before the 5 doesn’t have h265 hardware decoding, hence the issues. Considering the 4 is 2016 tech it’s no real surprise.

Ah, got it. Thank you for the heads up. In that case, for cost considerations, I may look towards a dedicated Android tablet. I appreciate the information!

 

[Greekislandlover]

I don't know about the earlier mini's, but I use a mini 4 to fly my Mavic 2 zoom.

I use H264 (not sure why you would use 265???) and don't use it for editing - just flying and it works absolutely fine.

 

[gb160]

I don't know about the earlier mini's, but I use a mini 4 to fly my Mavic 2 zoom.

I use H264 (not sure why you would use 265???) and don't use it for editing - just flying and it works absolutely fine.

You can’t choose the live feed, it’s h265 on MA2.
It's about 30-40% more efficient than h264, that’s why it’s used....problem is your hardware needs to support it.

 

[Greekislandlover]

Ah, got it. Thank you for the heads up. In that case, for cost considerations, I may look towards a dedicated Android tablet. I appreciate the information!

Look on the box of the drone. It probably says "Made for Apple". I'm not an Apple fanboi by any means - we are Android people in our house, but I have found that cheaper Android tablets and phones randomly crash whilst the drone is in flight. I purchased a mini 4 after trying the ipad tablet my work provides me with, and their iphone that's mouldering in a box somewhere - both work flawlessly.

So if you do go down the Android route, have a lot at the list of compatible devices on the DJI site.

 

[Greekislandlover]

You can’t choose the live feed, it’s h265 on MA2.
mist about 30-40% more efficient than h264, that’s why it’s used....problem is your hardware needs to support it.

Didn't know that. Clearly different from the Mavic 2 line where you can choose.

 

[InterstateP]

Look on the box of the drone. It probably says "Made for Apple". I'm not an Apple fanboi by any means - we are Android people in our house, but I have found that cheaper Android tablets and phones randomly crash whilst the drone is in flight. I purchased a mini 4 after trying the ipad tablet my work provides me with, and their iphone that's mouldering in a box somewhere - both work flawlessly.

So if you do go down the Android route, have a lot at the list of compatible devices on the DJI site.

Excellent resource, thanks for pointing me in the right direction!

 

[gb160]

Didn't know that. Clearly different from the Mavic 2 line where you can choose.

You can choose hd or sd, but no one wants an sd live feed do they?

 

[Wolfy]

I plan on using a Samsung tab A. Anyone know which and where to buy the extension cable?

 

[whatthe2]

Will an iPad Mini 1 or 2 cut it just for monitoring my flight? I don’t want to get a choppy feed but I’m also not overly excited about spending on a newer 4 or 5 just for the purpose of flying. Thoughts or suggestions? I’m open to things that aren’t necessarily in the Apple ecosystem as long as it’ll do what o need it to. Thanks all!

iPad Mini 1 won’t work as DJI Fly app requires iOS 10.0 at a minimum, which isn’t supported on Mini 1. Mini 2 is supported but as mentioned above will likely not work well.

 

[JustAGuy]

Even 4s are choppy from reports, its due to the MA2 having h265 live feed, and everything before the 5 doesn’t have h265 hardware decoding, hence the issues. Considering the 4 is 2016 tech it’s no real surprise.

2014 tech, not 2016. Apple A8 - Wikipedia

 

[gb160]

2014 tech, not 2016. Apple A8 - Wikipedia

Even worse then !...blimey I didn't realise it was that old.

 

[Jet skier]

Ah, got it. Thank you for the heads up. In that case, for cost considerations, I may look towards a dedicated Android tablet. I appreciate the information!

I use a iPad Mini four and it works fine other than the fact that tablets are not bright enough for me and I use a smart controller

 

[Parrotoid]

Like you, I wasn’t thrilled about forking out for a new iPad, but my mini 4 was three years old. A lot of people are saying they are running ipad 4 with no problems, but they are often talking about older model drones in those post, not the MA2. The videos I’ve scene convinced me to invest in an iPad mini 5.

 

[Parrotoid]

I use a iPad Mini four and it works fine other than the fact that tablets are not bright enough for me and I use a smart controller

And you’re flying a Mavic Air 2 with your iPad mini 4?

 

[gb160]

Like you, I wasn’t thrilled about forking out for a new iPad, but my mini 4 was three years old. A lot of people are saying they are running ipad 4 with no problems, but they are often talking about older model drones in those post, not the MA2. The videos I’ve scene convinced me to invest in an iPad mini 5.

Exactly, I think this is the first DJI drone that is using h265 for the live view, hence the problems.

 

[stillsandvideo]

I'm also thinking of investing in an iPad 5 Mini to get a bigger screen area. My concern is that my iPhone 11 Pro Max (which is what I'm using currently) is 775 Nits of brightness and the iPad Mini 5 is approximately 500 Nits. Has anyone any comments or observations regarding how they perform in sunlight? Thanks.

 

[InterstateP]

I'm also thinking of investing in an iPad 5 Mini to get a bigger screen area. My concern is that my iPhone 11 Pro Max (which is what I'm using currently) is 775 Nits of brightness and the iPad Mini 5 is approximately 500 Nits. Has anyone any comments or observations regarding how they perform in sunlight? Thanks.

I’m using the same phone but aside from the difference in brightness, I just really don’t want to use my phone as a dedicated monitor. The brightness point is good information to know, so I’m glad you mentioned it.

 

[Jet skier]

Will an iPad Mini 1 or 2 cut it just for monitoring my flight? I don’t want to get a choppy feed but I’m also not overly excited about spending on a newer 4 or 5 just for the purpose of flying. Thoughts or suggestions? I’m open to things that aren’t necessarily in the Apple ecosystem as long as it’ll do what o need it to. Thanks all!

consider a crystal sky or smart controller they have much brighter screens you won’t regret it if you have the money all the other screens are very hard to see in sunlight and plus they overheat and go dim if you’re in warmer climates