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rei101

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Dec 24, 2011
976
1
Hi

I need a drone that can transmit video in real time. Is for a festival and I want to get the video feed in real time and transmit it to the screens.

I need an affordable drone, not an state of the art one.

Thank you!
 
Hi

I need a drone that can transmit video in real time. Is for a festival and I want to get the video feed in real time and transmit it to the screens.

I need an affordable drone, not an state of the art one.

Thank you!

The cheapest one I have found that looked like it could do something fairly well was the Parrot Bebop drone. It's $500. You could also try finding someone that owns one and would rent it to you, though if you found a dedicated drone service, it'd probably cost you a couple thousand dollars.
 
Because what I would need is to have the drone flying on top of the people and have that video feed connected to the video mixer.

I do have two iPads, I may us one to stream the video.
 
Hire someone competent that can do the job for you. (you'll have to find specialty forums because of the questionable commercial use, but it should be rather easy)

Flying over a crowd of people is extremely risky, for the people below, and for your liability.
 
Because what I would need is to have the drone flying on top of the people and have that video feed connected to the video mixer.

I do have two iPads, I may us one to stream the video.

Make sure your insured. Could be a very costly job. Also you would need to make sure none of the other equipment at the concert will interfere with your frequency.
Normally for shots over a crowd, people use camera dollys mounted to zip wires I think. Makes it a bit safer.
 
"realtime" video over wifi is iffy.

Especially at a festival with a bunch of other people jamming to 2.4 and 5.8 bands. If you do not NEED to broadcast off the drone, and can download from a card, better.

The DJI will pretty much outperform the Parrot 6 ways to Sunday. There are other DYI options better still (fly a GoPro 3/4 on a 3 axis gimbal stabilizer), but do you have time?

Flying a drone is much harder than it looks in the video. Either pay an expert or spend a lot of time and money learning. No, it is a LOT harder than you think. I don't care that you are IFR certified commercial pilot who flew 300 night missions and made carrier landings, this is different.

Flying drones around crowds of people is illegal in places (people have been killed like that - yes dead-dead where a body is buried in the ground). Also, law enforcement has been known to overreact. Check State and local regulations and be ready to still answer tons of questions.

Also, in the US, you HAVE to have two people for this because the pilot can ONLY watch the drone, not the video screen per FAA.

And for the love of God, don't do anything blatantly stupid.
 
by iffy video over wifi, I mean expect lots of drops, crappy signal, and so on. I would not at all count on running a signal from the drone to a mixer.

And commercial use is really going to alter the landscape. You really need to look at that, at least if you are filming in the US. The FAA is looking at this REALLY hard, and maybe you heard someone just crashed one of those on the white house lawn last week.
 
I am purchasing the DJI Phantom 2 Vision+ 3.0 this week. It will do what you are looking for.

That being said, I would not start off learning over a crowd! That sounds ridiculously dangerous and ill-conceived.

I will be learning over wide open spaces. My first "real" shoots will be of architecture. I don't plan on using it near any sort of crowds until at least late Spring.

DJI offers free "classes" all over the world. I am attending one next week. I have also read tons and watched hours of video.

I also plan on becoming of this association (in the US), it carries insurance for some situations.

http://www.modelaircraft.org/membership/membership/overview.aspx

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"realtime" video over wifi is iffy.

Especially at a festival with a bunch of other people jamming to 2.4 and 5.8 bands. If you do not NEED to broadcast off the drone, and can download from a card, better.

The DJI will pretty much outperform the Parrot 6 ways to Sunday. There are other DYI options better still (fly a GoPro 3/4 on a 3 axis gimbal stabilizer), but do you have time?

Flying a drone is much harder than it looks in the video. Either pay an expert or spend a lot of time and money learning. No, it is a LOT harder than you think. I don't care that you are IFR certified commercial pilot who flew 300 night missions and made carrier landings, this is different.

Flying drones around crowds of people is illegal in places (people have been killed like that - yes dead-dead where a body is buried in the ground). Also, law enforcement has been known to overreact. Check State and local regulations and be ready to still answer tons of questions.

Also, in the US, you HAVE to have two people for this because the pilot can ONLY watch the drone, not the video screen per FAA.

And for the love of God, don't do anything blatantly stupid.

I see you saying how "hard" it is to fly one of these, but form what I have read, the Phantoms are much easier to fly than the toy versions.

Of course, training and learning are required, but I have flown my son's toy sub-$100 toy drone and I feel I will be competent enough (with gradual advancing) to fly my Phantom when it arrives.

----------

by iffy video over wifi, I mean expect lots of drops, crappy signal, and so on. I would not at all count on running a signal from the drone to a mixer.

And commercial use is really going to alter the landscape. You really need to look at that, at least if you are filming in the US. The FAA is looking at this REALLY hard, and maybe you heard someone just crashed one of those on the white house lawn last week.


The FAA has been charged to come up with recommended changes by September 2015. With the way the US gov't works, I really don't see any laws being signed anytime soon.

There will be laws and regulations though, and there should be. If the FAA requires a license, I am all for it. Especially if it opens doors for more commercial use. I plan on using mine for commercial shots. Right now, you can skirt that law by not charging for any photography, and only charging for editing. But, it's still a VERY grey area.
 
I am purchasing the DJI Phantom 2 Vision+ 3.0 this week. It will do what you are looking for.

That being said, I would not start off learning over a crowd! That sounds ridiculously dangerous and ill-conceived.

I will be learning over wide open spaces. My first "real" shoots will be of architecture. I don't plan on using it near any sort of crowds until at least late Spring.

DJI offers free "classes" all over the world. I am attending one next week. I have also read tons and watched hours of video.

I also plan on becoming of this association (in the US), it carries insurance for some situations.

http://www.modelaircraft.org/membership/membership/overview.aspx

----------



I see you saying how "hard" it is to fly one of these, but form what I have read, the Phantoms are much easier to fly than the toy versions.

Of course, training and learning are required, but I have flown my son's toy sub-$100 toy drone and I feel I will be competent enough (with gradual advancing) to fly my Phantom when it arrives.

----------




The FAA has been charged to come up with recommended changes by September 2015. With the way the US gov't works, I really don't see any laws being signed anytime soon.

There will be laws and regulations though, and there should be. If the FAA requires a license, I am all for it. Especially if it opens doors for more commercial use. I plan on using mine for commercial shots. Right now, you can skirt that law by not charging for any photography, and only charging for editing. But, it's still a VERY grey area.


My DIY Drone is using a DJI NAZA controller. Yes, it is easier that some of the toys, but it is still very possible to crash one. They can get up to ~25 miles an hour. Drop DJI Flyaway into youtube search and see what you get.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87qI0QcbPBw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MM3Ede2hgaw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gq53i1wlQb0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EzKE3jfgRY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smxql2PXehI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNQvUVQdnNw (around 4 minute mark)

And commercial use is BANNED by FAA until you get the permit that will not exist until that September 2015 thing.

Also, just because YOU know the law and can quote it chapter and verse does not mean the cop who arrests you will.

Also, flight times are 12-20 minutes at a time, fit that into your video production schedule.
 
I know about flight times. I will have two batteries to start with, then purchase more as I go.

12 minutes seems a little low. I know DJI states up to 25 mins, but I also realize that is exaggerated.
 
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