Well Andy, don't rush to try this. The problem came back. I took Tabb's suggestion (post #45 above) and set the camera to 1080i and the image did not go black when recording. As best I can tell it is a heat problem with the converter. I definitely do not want to shoot in interlace, so I'm going to take the black wrap off and see if that solves it. Stay tuned. Colin
Hmm. That's interesting. I wonder what you could use as a heat sink to cool the HDMI converter down? Also, if you remove the black heat shrink, I suspect you'll need to spray the board with conformal spray. I'm with you on not wanting 1080i. I'm not sure whether or not you use Adobe Premiere but I was curious what the best method might be to slow the 1080p60 down to p30 to take advantage of the additional smoothing that would give -- do you just half the playback / double the time? Andy.
Hi Andy - Yes. I use Adobe Premiere Pro (CS6 cloud subscription). My work flow it to set up a project on 1080p60 and import. I then put clips into the timeline and set the speed of each clip anywhere from 50 - 100% depending on the need. 80% seems to work well most of the time. I then render to p30. I took off the shrink wrap and did a bench test record and output 1080p60 for 10 minutes. I do have a fan blowing on the other side of kopter to keep the transmitter cool. I just let the HDMI board dangle, so some of that air is getting to it. I notice it is very sensitive to touch. One touch in the wrong place and the image degrades. There are chips on both sides. The underside seems to put out the most hear. I ordered the mount from QC and plan to mount it unwrapped. I notice they recommend using spacers (gee, I wonder why..) We'll see if that works. Cheers - Colin
Thanks for the Adobe Premiere info, Colin. I guess the "touch" thing is probably capacitance provided by the Mark III Human Body.... I certainly would spray to avoid moisture creating any problems.... San Jose has a rainy season too! (I used to live down there.) Andy.
Hello All. Just wondering if there is a consensus on the Freefly HDMI converter working with the NEX-5n. I'm about to pull the trigger, but some of these posts are making me pause. I want to use it with this transmitter: http://www.dronesvision.com/5-8ghz-500mw-wireless-av-transmitter/ I also want to power the freefly through the transmitter using the power converter here: http://www.quadrocopter.com/DCDC-Converter-for-Flight-Controller-ME_p_59.html Is there anything I need to be aware of? Thanks so much.
Hi Chad: I don't have a NEX-5n, but I'm using the FF HDMI converter just fine with a Canon 5D Mark III. The Traco provides 5v at 1 Amp and that should be enough for the HDMI Converter -- although I've not actually measured the current draw for it. Obviously if the Traco isn't enough, then you may need to upgrade to a BEC (Battery Eliminator Circuit) either from QC (which is adjustable output at $24.95) or from somewhere like dpcav.com (which is jumper selectable to 5v or 6v, $12.95). There are many others out there, too. As you can see from this thread, heat from the FF HDMI Converter means you probably want to leave it out in the airflow for cooling. I noticed that QC have quite a good Modi-Fly bracket for the HDMI converter -- I've not tried it but i looks like it would keep most of the converter dangling in the breeze. It looks like the bracket requires additional mounting hardware (nuts and bolts not apparently included). Hope this helps Andy.
Thank you for responding Andy, My FPV Transmitter provides 12v of power, and is drawing it's power from my 3cell 11.1v lipo that is also powering my craft. At this time the transmitter is powering a small "spycam2000" and receiving it's video signal. Previously I was taking my Hero2's component output for a very nice FPV image. So I'm thinking that with that Traco DC/DC converter I can step down the power from 12v to the 5v of the FF HDMI converter. I planned on putting some Velcro on the FF's shrink wrap and attaching it to the outside of my craft to blow in the wind. I am in America and using NTSC BTW. Anyway, I saw some stuff about people not getting signal from the NEX-5n, or at least not getting on-screen displays. So I'd like to hear from an NEX-5n owner on that. The heat thing is a concern too Andy, as well as a possibly dubious soldier on the HDMI input of the FF. I would like to avoid paying an incredibly high price of 46.00 for a small piece of carbon fiber. I think (but am not sure) that Velcro will allow heat to disperse, as well as the breeze from flight. Also perhaps putting a few holes in the shrink-wrap would help?
Sure. That makes sense. Let me know what temperature you observe -- I wondered whether it might run hotter for PAL than NTSC? Actually, I think (recalling my physics here), that the black shrink wrap would be a pretty good radiator ("black body radiation" it's called). The viewfinder icons on the screen versus so-called "clean HDMI" (no icons) seems to be an issue (at least with the Sony CX760/730) because the camcorder can sense whether an HDMI monitor is connector or an HDMI converter. Still waiting for an HDMI guru to 'splain that one to me! If you want something more positive than Velcro, check out 3M Dual Lock (ask Mrs Google). It's Velcro on steroids! Spendy, but a very comforting positive lock (that, of course, may be stronger than the adhesion to whatever you stuck it too, but so far it's worked for me with adhesion > cohesion ). Hope this helps. Andy.
Thanks I'll check out that 3M Dual lock, though Velcro has worked fine for my needs so far. That HDMI converter is quite small and light.
HI Chad, the FF HDMI is working well on my Nex5n. Heat is no concern as long as you set the HDMI output to anything other then 1080p (which does not mean you cannot record to the SD card at 1080p) I have mine 3m grey double sticky taped to the gimbal, I think 2 small pieces of velcro at either end should work fine. Best, Tabb
Thanks for responding Tabb, I'm glad you cleared up the thing about the HDMI output. I thought one must record at something other than 1080p60. As long as I get a nice clean image in my Fat Sharks, I don't care if it's i or P. Tabb, can you see any on-screen display, namely the record indicator, and record time? Those are important, as we all well know if we take off in standby the camera can automatically shut down causing FPV blindness followed by much wailing and gnashing of teeth.
Oh one lat question before I purchase, is that angled cable that comes with the FF a mini HDMI like the NEX-5n takes?
Awesome. Just ordered the FF! I've been looking at clunky HDMI converter boxes for a month, and I'm glad I found this nice little unit. Hopefully it's tough enough to handle the rigors of flying/crashing! Cheers.
Thanks Tabb for pointing this out. Here's the way to set the outputs: For NEX-5N: Menu > Setup > HDMI Resolution > 1080i For CX760: Menu > Setup > Connection > HDMI Resolution 1080i/480i As best I can tell this does not change the recording frame rates. Those setting are: For NEX-5N: Menu > Image Size > (scroll to Movie section) > File Format AVCHD 60i/60p - plus - Record Setting 60p For CX760: Menu > Image Quality/Size > Frame Rate > 60p - plus - HD/STD Setting > HD Quality Please advise if these are wrong and I will edit post.
You nailed it Colin. Changing the HDMI output to 1080i does not change the recording which for us is 60p. We get all the onscreen goodies in our fat shark. We removed the black wrapper around the board and replaced it with a clear version. I think it is the same clear shrink that you use for the booms that QC sells. Since switching to interlaced video, heat has not been a problem.
Thanks Morgan. I just flew the CX760 with these settings, the board unwrapped and mounted with spacers face-up on the back part of the right side forward boom. I got some video degradation about two minutes into flight, but it never blacked out. I plan to try it mounted face-out to see if that helps. Cheers, Colin
Hi Colin: Was the video degradation transient? I've switch over to using Blue Beam clover leaf antennae and they seem to be an order of magnitude better than whip antennae. Andy.
Hi Andy No, not transient. I just bench tested at 10 feet and it seems to appear as the board heats up - just like before when it would eventually "go black". FWIW I have 1.5W transmitter and never had this problem before with the older QC HDMI. THe problem I was trying to solve with the FFS HDMI was degradation of the signal as it aquired the Smart-OSD. The OSD data was just fuzzy. Now, I just bypass it and can only use the Smart-OSD when I use a box FPV camera for viewing. Which I have taken off because I would rather see through the video camera itself. Hope that makes sense. Cheers - Colin