I working out the details on how to view and record downlinked video to a laptop. I went with the video system from Range Video and I purchased an audio/video-to-usb converter dongle. While I am able to view a video image via Skype as if this were a web cam, the input is not recognized by other software I use to record video from a video camera.
Can anyone recommend a good piece of software to view and record this video stream? I have not yet installed any of the DIY Drones software, such as Mission Planner, GCS or OSD. Do any of those include a viewer for downlinked video?
Thanks,
Paul
Replies
Hi,
If you don't mind a bit of hacking, I am halfway through this kickstarter project called Hackacam. It's fully programmable network camera module. Maybe that will fit your need?
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/761738591/hackacam-hackable-cam...
Thanks.
If you can get the video to display on the screen you can use a program like Snagit which will basically record what is coming in on your screen at screen quality (i.e., it records at exactly the quality that is on your screen) for as long as you have memory on your laptop to write to.
Alternatively I've used Matlab to view and process incoming video from webcam style devices before.
I have was an $8 Easy capture, but the frame rate depended upon the computer power of the laptop.
http://www.dealextreme.com/p/easycap-usb-video-capture-adapter-5707
It also really eats into the battery life. I needed to record for several hours, so I went with a dedicated FPV recorder. They are the bee's knee's.
These are all the same basic unit. They record all the video without any noticible degradation. It is also nice to have the screen to view the GPS coordinates for recovery without needing a lug a laptop around. When using a netbook, my easycap only worked at about 5 fps.
$119 http://www.bevrc.com/bevrc-pv700-high-quality-digital-video-recorde...
$172 http://www.multiwiicopter.com/products/fpv-blackbox-flight-recorder...
$199 http://fpv-japan.com/item/fj-dvr-sd4/lang/en/
If you have kids, they are also excellent video players for those long flights or car rides.
Paul, Hi there i scanned through this page http://code.google.com/p/ardupilot-mega/wiki/Mission and found this "Yes, the Mission Planner can overlay the data on your video feed. Just check the Configuration page of the Mission Planner to set up the video. You can also double-click on the HUD and it will pop out as a separate window that you make as big as you want (or display on another monitor)" - by Chris Anderson himself -
I have another, related, hardware question. I had trouble picking out a video capture device and went with an unknown brand. It worked OK at first, but not at all after I updated the drivers. It went to black and white and nothing I do fixes it. It's going back. Any recommendations on a video capture device for a laptop, i.e. portability, no need for external power? I was looking at one of the Dazzle devices. At least it's a name that's been around, but the reviews are pretty bad.
P.S. (edit) -- My desktop is Windows 7, one laptop I tried this on is Windows XP and the laptop I'll use in the field could very well be Vista. It broke on the Win 7 PC and never did work under XP, yet it claimed to have drivers for all three OSs. I guess what I'm saying is I'm looking for a quality product.
Thanks.