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Problem with Mini 2 when recording at 2.7K 60FPS

guzewski

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What happens is that the display on my Tab A8 (or my Galaxy S10 phone, it doesn't matter) starts getting "smeared" while I'm recording. It the only way to describe it. Certain pixels seems to get stuck and they stay that way as I fly. The area of stuck pixels grows with time and eventually you cannot make out what the heck you're looking at. As soon as you stop recording the image clears up completely.

This happened before and I posted it here: Mini 2 video broadcast issues while recording
QuaiQui suggested it was a partial loss of signal, and when it happened again today I noticed that the signal strength was 5 bars, and the drone was actually just 10 or 12 meters away.

After some experimentation, I have narrowed down the reproduction scenario: It happens when the Mini 2 is recording at 2.7K at 60 FPS. When I switch to 1080p 60 FPS the issue goes away. This is 100% reproducible.

It looks like this. The drone is actually looking a a pretty featureless lawn with the bottoms of trees in the background.

1649714206663.png

Notice that the drone has been recording for 2:48 and it's only 4.3m away and 5.1m up. Signal strength could not be better. Tap the record button and bingo, the image is fine. Again this is 100% reproducible at 2.7K 60FPS and does not happen at lower resolutions or frame rates.

Any ideas what's going on?
 
What happens is that the display on my Tab A8 (or my Galaxy S10 phone, it doesn't matter) starts getting "smeared" while I'm recording. It the only way to describe it. Certain pixels seems to get stuck and they stay that way as I fly. The area of stuck pixels grows with time and eventually you cannot make out what the heck you're looking at. As soon as you stop recording the image clears up completely.

This happened before and I posted it here: Mini 2 video broadcast issues while recording
QuaiQui suggested it was a partial loss of signal, and when it happened again today I noticed that the signal strength was 5 bars, and the drone was actually just 10 or 12 meters away.

After some experimentation, I have narrowed down the reproduction scenario: It happens when the Mini 2 is recording at 2.7K at 60 FPS. When I switch to 1080p 60 FPS the issue goes away. This is 100% reproducible.

It looks like this. The drone is actually looking a a pretty featureless lawn with the bottoms of trees in the background.

View attachment 146630

Notice that the drone has been recording for 2:48 and it's only 4.3m away and 5.1m up. Signal strength could not be better. Tap the record button and bingo, the image is fine. Again this is 100% reproducible at 2.7K 60FPS and does not happen at lower resolutions or frame rates.

Any ideas what's going on?

Does the problem manifest itself only on the display or do the recorded videos show the same distortion?
 
I've seen this problem too. On my Mini-2s, 2.7 K 60 fps is my default setting.

You can clear it when it happens in flight. Rotate the drone until the "damaged" section is out of the field of view. When you then rotate back, the distortion will be gone.

A bit annoying, but there is the workaround.

MM
 
This is caused by an underpowered phone or tablet. Not much you can do other than live with it, shoot with less demanding video settings, or upgrade your phone/tablet.
 
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I've seen this problem too. On my Mini-2s, 2.7 K 60 fps is my default setting.

You can clear it when it happens in flight. Rotate the drone until the "damaged" section is out of the field of view. When you then rotate back, the distortion will be gone.

A bit annoying, but there is the workaround.

MM
Thanks for the tip, but it's more than annoying. If I'm recording my next epic video I may have a plan that does not include rotating the drone to clear the display. I may have to just live with it and finish the recording as well as I can.
 
This is caused by an underpowered phone or tablet. Not much you can do other than live with it, shoot with less demanding video settings, or upgrade your phone/tablet.
Hmmm... bummer. It's also a bit surprising because the Galaxy Tab A8 is a popular tablet for droning, and the Galaxy S10 phone is no slouch. In fact, I just bought the Tab A8 for this very purpose after investigating various sites about the best tablet. And it does not happen with my Mavic 2 Pro. Maybe the DJI Go-4 app is less demanding?
 
This is caused by an underpowered phone or tablet. Not much you can do other than live with it, shoot with less demanding video settings, or upgrade your phone/tablet.
Respectfully, on second thought I don't think I buy this. The problem only happens when recording, and I can't see why recording would tax the display more than not recording. And it doesn't happen each time I go out. If the problem appears, it will persist for consecutive flights. The next day, everything will be fine.

Weird.
 
This is caused by an underpowered phone or tablet. Not much you can do other than live with it, shoot with less demanding video settings, or upgrade your phone/tablet.
Uhhh...I use a Samsung Galaxy S20 Note with 128 GB.

How is that "underpowered"? Relative to what?

Thx,

TCS
 
Thanks for the tip, but it's more than annoying. If I'm recording my next epic video I may have a plan that does not include rotating the drone to clear the display. I may have to just live with it and finish the recording as well as I can.
Ahhh, there I go again, thinking like a pilot instead of a photographer...

;-)

MM
 
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Respectfully, on second thought I don't think I buy this. The problem only happens when recording, and I can't see why recording would tax the display more than not recording. And it doesn't happen each time I go out. If the problem appears, it will persist for consecutive flights. The next day, everything will be fine.

Weird.
I'm channeling the '70's detective Colombo: There's just one more thing...

I thought that the video transmission to the controller was always 720p, regardless of what the recording settings are. So I think the problem is in the drone.
 
I'm channeling the '70's detective Colombo: There's just one more thing...

I thought that the video transmission to the controller was always 720p, regardless of what the recording settings are. So I think the problem is in the drone.
The video return to the controller is 720p regardless of the format you use for recording (as per the manual). You say that 1080p@60 is fine but 2.7K@60 isn't. What about 2.7K@30 or 4K@30?

It could be an issue with the downconversion to 720p but I have no idea how to confirm that or what you could do about it.

Wondering if your micro SD card is one that supports high speed recording. Thinking that a slow write speed at a higher bitrate might be taxing the processor or buffers in the drone. Could be way off base (likely)...but swapping out the SD card brand/speed is a simple test.

Good luck...
 
The video return to the controller is 720p regardless of the format you use for recording (as per the manual). You say that 1080p@60 is fine but 2.7K@60 isn't. What about 2.7K@30 or 4K@30?

It could be an issue with the downconversion to 720p but I have no idea how to confirm that or what you could do about it.

Wondering if your micro SD card is one that supports high speed recording. Thinking that a slow write speed at a higher bitrate might be taxing the processor or buffers in the drone. Could be way off base (likely)...but swapping out the SD card brand/speed is a simple test.

Good luck...
I think the SD card might be the problem. I've been using a Sandisk Ultra, which is rated at around 20 MB/s write speed. This page from DJI does not list it as a supported device. Something like the SanDisk Extreme Pro V30 A2, which is on that page, advertises 70 MB/s . The SD card in my M2P is about the same speed as the Sandisk Ultra, and also shows the weird artifacts while recording on the Mini 2. Interestingly, the M2P shows no such nonsense, but it is a completely different platform with a different mobile app.

I'm going to score a faster SD card and see what that does.
 
Respectfully, on second thought I don't think I buy this. The problem only happens when recording, and I can't see why recording would tax the display more than not recording. And it doesn't happen each time I go out. If the problem appears, it will persist for consecutive flights. The next day, everything will be fine.

Weird.
I had a similar problem which turned out to be a faulty lead to the tablet/phone.
 
That's interesting, and may be relevant. The USB-C cable I'm using is a 3' thing I bought at the Dollar Store for 2 bucks. It might be crap.
I would invest in a better quality cable....it certainly fixed my issue 😁
 
I would invest in a better quality cable....it certainly fixed my issue 😁
A quality cable is warranted but I would still upgrade the SD card, too. Swap out one at a time to see which one (if either) is the causing the problem.

If it turns out to be the cable, the change from 1080p to 2.7K was probably just a coincidence since the video delivered to the phone is 720p, irrespective of the resolution of the recorded video.

Keep us posted on what you discover.
 
Well, I tried the following:
  1. Buying an expensive USB C cable
  2. Buying a Sandisk Extreme SD card that's listed on the Mini 2 spec page.
And in spite of all that, the image still smears when recording at 2.7K@60.

This is starting to bug me.
 
Well, I tried the following:
  1. Buying an expensive USB C cable
  2. Buying a Sandisk Extreme SD card that's listed on the Mini 2 spec page.
And in spite of all that, the image still smears when recording at 2.7K@60.

This is starting to bug me.
It would bug me, too.

Things I would try next:
- delete and reinstall the DJI Fly app. Make sure you download it from DJI and not the Google Play store
- 2.7K@30
- 4K@30
- a newer Android device
- an Apple device
- a hammer

Unfortunately, I can't try any of these with my Mini 2 as it is on its way back to DJI after a crash.

Keep the faith...
 
A quality cable is warranted but I would still upgrade the SD card, too. Swap out one at a time to see which one (if either) is the causing the problem.

If it turns out to be the cable, the change from 1080p to 2.7K was probably just a coincidence since the video delivered to the phone is 720p, irrespective of the resolution of the recorded video.

Keep us posted on what you discover.
Hi and thanks. I posted below about changing the cable and SD card, and I still have the problem :-(
 
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