Image transmission is an essential function of our UAVs, but there isn’t much information out there regarding the image transmission settings in the DJI Go app. This is in part because the purpose of these settings is a little complicated and obscure. But have no fear, this tutorial will make things clear! This tutorial will show you how to do the following two things:

1.     Increase the distance of image transmission.

2.     Make image transmission more reliable.

Let’s get started!

Note: Image transmission settings are not available on the Phantom 3 Standard because it uses a Wi-Fi signal, rather than Lightbridge.

Press the HD icon at the top of the screen to enter video downlink settings.
  

You can see that there aren’t too many settings related to image transmission, but nonetheless, they’re good to know about.

This first thing you’ll notice is the Channel graph, as illustrated below:

The values on the X-axis represent the ISM radio communication band, and the values on the Y-axis represent noise,or signal interference.

Noise, measured in dBm, is displayed in negative values. The higher the absolute value of dBm, the lower the noise.

To put that into perspective, lower bars are better than higher bars. You’ll notice in the picture that the channel with the lowest bar has been automatically selected.  
The lower the noise, the lower the signal interference.

This is less intuitive than, for example, the signal strength of the wifi on my phone. If I’m closer to the router, the signal strength is greater, and when I’m further away, it’s lower. Just remember that when looking at this graph, the opposite is the case.
Should I use the automatic or custom setting?

We recommend new pilots use the Auto setting, especially when flying far away.

   The strength of signal interference will change indifferent positions, so a strong signal channel may turn weak when you’ve flown to a new position.

The automatic setting will switch channels according to the situation.
  
The custom setting will stick to one channel.

An analogy: I’m driving home from work, and there’s a traffic accident. If I use the custom setting, I get stuck because I can only take the road on which the accident has occurred. The automatic setting will allow me to take a different route.

Should I ever use the custom setting?
  

Yes! If you’re flying multiple drones inthe same place, we recommend using the custom setting. This way, you’ll avoid interference caused by using the same channels.

So if you’re flying two Phantoms or a Phantom and an Inspire 1 in the same location, be sure to switch to the customer setting and select different channels on each device.

How do I increase image transmission distance and prevent transmission disruption?

Distance:

There’s not a lot you can do to increase distance with the automatic setting, but if you use the custom setting, you can lower the image transmission quality using the slider,as pictured below.

The lower the quality, the further you’ll be able to travel without losing signal.

Signal disruption:

You can mitigate signal disruption Enable Hardware Decoding under General Settings. This will shift some of the burden of signal decoding from the app to the hardware.

Note: This setting can only beturned on and off in iOS; it’s switched on by default on Android devices.

Again, this can only help mitigate disruption, not prevent it entirely.

What are some other factors that affect image transmission?

1. Flight environment. Avoid environments with lots of interference.

2. The position remote controller’s antennas. Here’s a great video that explains how to best position your RC’s antennas. Basically, it says to keep the antennas perpendicular to the aircraft.

3.      App Settings, as discussed above.

Please share in the comments if you have another tips or advice.

Thanks for reading!

Thanks for clearing this up Tim.

Thank you!

Awesome writeup!  Excellent work as usual.  I am loving these articles you are putting out about the settings!

Another great post! Thanks Tim.

Learn something new about my drone all the time. Nice write up.

Intresting post, thanks Tim

is there any improvements for the phantom 3 standard, or may be the possibility to change the quad to lightbridge , i saw the lightbridge solution that DJI offer but it coust 1000 usd , is more expensive than the phantom 3 advance

Hello all, Thanks tim!

is there a reason why this setting is only available to me if I set my iOS device to the US Region ? If it is in the german region, The "custom" button is greyed out
any thoughts ?

Always good if from you, many thanks.

BenjiAlpineP3P Posted at 2016-1-7 04:06
Hello all, Thanks tim!

is there a reason why this setting is only available to me if I set my iOS  ...

Yeah, there are some frequency  restrictions and limits in Europe

Thanks for supporting DJI, guys!

I don't have that setup at all in my phantom 3 advanced.
Sorry for my English i'm from Sweden.

Thanks Tim. Great clear, explanations.

BenjiAlpineP3P Posted at 2016-1-7 04:06
Hello all, Thanks tim!

is there a reason why this setting is only available to me if I set my iOS  ...

This is due to different national regulations regarding radio transmissions. EU vs. FCC.

I just got a P3A for Xmas. I live on the WaiOpae tide pools in Hawaii. It's 57 acres of heaven (check it out on Google)! I need to double my range to do it justice. Which add-on would work best? Antenna reflector, special antenna, power booster or what?

For EUROPE users to get custom?!? Ahhhhhhh no problem http://youtu.be/ofqVPuJMydI

It would be great if they changed the app to allow lowering the video transmission quality while keeping automatic channel selection.
Is there a reason this can't be done?

raveneapoe Posted at 2016-1-9 13:55
It would be great if they changed the app to allow lowering the video transmission quality while kee ...

i agree, i want this feature as well. im about to start using custom just because of this.

Hi Tim,

Can you elaborate on the custom image transmission rate.

We noticed that DJI lowered the max rate from the advertised 10 mbps to 6 mbps since the newest controllers don't have a built in GPU (more load was being sent to the mobile device causing overheating and lagging). Newest comparsion chart on DJI shows that the I1 and P3P SHOULD have a max rate of 10 mbps for live preview... but that is not the case. Please see attached photo ...

Newest DJI app, newest P3P firmware.

Hi Tim would I be able to use my phantom vision plus with the new Wi-Fi connection for the B3

This is what I like about this forum. Thanks!
Z

Will it be 32 channel better? Why dji go less than that?

GTDrone Posted at 2016-1-7 03:27
is there any improvements for the phantom 3 standard, or may be the possibility to change the quad t ...

At the moment,  Phantom 3 Standard only can use is't Wi-Fi video transmitter and lightbridge is not compatible with it.

Thanks for clarifying , i always believe that enable hardware decode is a option for sending video decoding to the ipad/tablet instead of the controller itself

Thank you Tim
I've been having problem with my video downlink. Thinking its in the app . You pointed  if flying with other Phantoms. Will there is three of us with Phantom 3 Adv.  This will most diffently help.
I was just reading your other post on the top ten errors. Great info.

Tim have another question for you. There is three of us flying Phantom 3 Adv. I now know we need to switch to custom setting. Should we stand apart of each other while flying and if yes how far. I was wondering if we would get any bleed over from each other.
Thank you.

the chance of getting interference is pretty low, i'm not sure about the exact distance but it would be better to switch to custom standing next to each other.

An idea for a future update; Semi Custom mode, allowing the user to select several channels, then the Phantom hops between channels as per usual. Would allow multiple drones to not interfere with each, but still have some of the benefit of automatic channel hopping.

So for example, if you had two Phantoms/Inspires operating, you could assign one channels 13-16 and the other 17-20. This way they won't interfere with each other, but can still have multiple channels they can use to switch between.

Good write up and I'll now check things over to see if this help with me losing signal and blackouts on the iPad air II. Thanks for the write up too! It is most appreciated.

Great tutorial, thanks!

How does the quality slider coincide with the 2Mbps "Max. Video Bitrate" limit of the Advanced versus the 10Mbps limit of the Pro?  

Well done Tim nice write up (as usual)

Would someone please explain the FPS setting? What is the difference between 50hz and 60hz?
Thanks..

lennyschway@gma Posted at 2016-3-1 06:26
Would someone please explain the FPS setting? What is the difference between 50hz and 60hz?
Thanks.. ...

UK tv is PAL format, which is 50Hz. US tv is NTSC, which is 60Hz.

The 1080 50 / 60 are HD versions of uk / us material. You won't seen any difference with them, assuming your TV can display at both frequencies

I see 4 to 6 Mbps image transmission rate on my DJI Go App for P3P and when I set to 6 Mbps and change the screen and return back, It slides down to 4 Mbps. What could be the reason? My DJI GO App version is 2.7.1

Tim, I got a very important question for you. After the latest firmware update I have been having this problem with the HD downlink signal, I keep loosing it all the time. Suddenly it stands "No Signal" and the image freezes to b&w, I still have the same control over the bird and everything but just no picture.

Sorry, pushed "Enter" in a mistake!.... I dont have the grafs you have in your first picture either, so I can't choose between "auto" or custom. The graf is just some tiny dots. What do you think the problem could be, I've never even once had this before the latest firmware update. Do you think it is the tablet?? I'm running it on a Samsung Galaxy tab E. I hope you can answer me fast becsuse today its the last tday before I can exchange my tablet back to money in the store, so I really need some answers. Please please help me, I would appreciate your help so very much! Thanks Tim! My email adress is xtrick.pp@gmailm.com if you can answer there. :-)

Hello Experts,

I have a DJI Phantom 3 Advanced, I have a problem with my image feed on the Display. Suddenly the display image is become distorted with a black, white, purple, green strips. When I tried to take picture, the result is there and it was fine and clear...but if I press the video recording button, suddently the image feed on the display become freeze, black and white, and I get "No Signal" message... but there result is there too and I still can play the recorded video. Can anyone please tell me what is the problem?...is it Hardware Problem or  Software Problem...Thanks

didit28 Posted at 2016-4-29 07:13
Hello Experts,

I have a DJI Phantom 3 Advanced, I have a problem with my image feed on the Display. ...

To be honest, it looks to me like DJI is crippling their software more and more to follow regulations. Forcing the transmission quality to be stuck at 10Mbit in EU regions really limits how far you can fly before picture start to distort. Can someone from DJI please prove me wrong or give a good reason why you can't set the transmission quality without changing regional settings outside of the US? The channel I can understand but not the transmission quality setting.

Im using a Matrice 600 with a panasonic gh4. I dont have the srw-60d so I am coming straight from the cameras hdmi output to the matrice hdmi cable.  My video is constantly lagging and jumping and sometime drops out completely.  Do you have any advice that may help me with this issue?