Unlocking DJI FPV and understanding the Fatshark Dominator / WalkSnail Avatar HD FPV System

[@flyingbaguettefpv]

Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 1:22 Interview starts: Introduction to fpv.wtf 3:22 DJI FPV hardware: P1 & IE100 5:59 H264 encoder 6:30 RAM & Storage 7:16 Skyworks amplifier 7:50 The P1 is made from standard components 9:17 Why DJI made the P1 10:24 Structure of the firmware 12:14 The Linux part controls gui and other features 13:27 The RTOS part controls video 15:04 History of the fpv.wtf exploit 16:58 Release of wtf OS for end users 18:30 Packages: what can they do? 19:20 GUI modifications 20:34 Air unit modifications 21:45 RTOS modifications 22:34 More possible features 24:02 Video in over usb c 24:52 Video-out stream over wifi 25:30 Hardware limitations to consider 26:44 Avatar: how was it developped? 29:04 How much of the rf part did DJI develop? 30:25 Did someone from DJI move to Caddx? 32:06 Are the similiraties because similar ip blocs were used? 35:43 DVR implementation and other missing features 36:59 Compatibility between Avatar and DJI? 38:06 Porting Avatar code to DJI hardware? 40:14 Other thoughts about Avatar as a user 41:46 Are DJI and caddx breaking up? 41:57 DJI+wtf vs Avatar vs DJIv3? 43:10 Conclusion & shoutouts Great interview as always !

[@ChrisRosser]

Thanks for the timestamps! ❤️😁

[@flyingbaguettefpv]

@@ChrisRosser if you put them in the description, it generates chapters right in the timeline 👍

[@ChrisRosser]

@@flyingbaguettefpv Got it. Thanks again! 👍

[@Svip_dk]

And thats a fine list 👌

[@SuprDlux]

Everyone flying DJI FPV should watch this! These guys are leading the way. This is the way.

[@bugzfpv6322]

how do i invest or get involved..?

[@SuprDlux]

@@bugzfpv6322 hit the thumb and subscribe to them maybe a bell ;D

[@GinTonicFPV]

That was a great interview Chris! Looking forward to the AOS HD FPV system 😉

[@madtoffelpremium8324]

That was a great insight how the system works, what is possible to mod and what might be behind the new avatar system. Thank you for the interview!

[@brandonskodinksi5764]

As someone who has gotten into embedded and hardware this was so cool to see I actually understood like 10% of the terminology.🤣

[@dpxfpv]

Wow, this was a fantastic interview, such an eye opener. Thank you Chris and Joonas!

[@fen1x_fpv]

This is the content I live for in this hobby! Super interesting

[@supernova1969a]

Thank You for This interview!! Excellent!!!!

[@pkvillager]

Really good interview! Super interesting that they found the live audio feature is available with a 1-2 second delay, that confirms what someone supposedly working for DJI said to me over a year ago.

[@SupaflyFPV]

Fascinating insight, thanks for the video and to the WTF team who work on it...

[@ColinCrosbie]

Nice One Chris, Great Info !

[@EZpzLemonSquezzi]

Awesome interview, thanks chris! exiting times for digital fpv. cant wait for your video on openhd :)

[@TrungPhanViet]

don't need 1080p since the goggles are only 810p. Nice video content Christ. Thanks Joonas for your contribution.

[@dennisschraml3634]

Awesome interview! Ok I understood only 40% of it but the insights you shared are really interesting. I just hope that the hardware will be long enough available so that many people will appreciate and enjoy the work u do. I got my goggles last year after saving for a year. So i am happy that thanks to your project I will get further useful updates

[@stevenhaines1105]

40% show off 😂

[@dennisschraml3634]

@@stevenhaines1105 40% include words and phrases like “fair enough, “let’s have a look,” “and” ….

[@stevenhaines1105]

😂😂😂😂😂🙏

[@doc_fu]

Props status based on esc info coming from fc to vtx to goggles. Something similar like in liftoff. Also converting avg rpm from motors to a sintetic modulated sound. That would be a killer feature having that with minimal delay and having sense on motors through sound. Expanding this feature it would be funny to have a possibility to load your sfx while playing rpm from motors like screaming or running a car engine sound or etc. Cool stuff ahead of us! Lets make dji great again :)

[@MCsCreations]

Fantastic interview, Chris! Thanks! 😃 I just saw a post on Walksnail's page on Facebook saying they might make this "new system" compatible with the Vistas and Air Units. Go figure. Anyway, stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊

[@ayoaina_fpv]

Looks like a lot of fun to be had in future with my dji goggles and Vista! Looking forward to it!🙂

[@LeRainbow]

Incredible! Thanks for the insight, extremely interesting to listen to. 🤙

[@ChrisRosser]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@falljazz]

Great video! Very informative. Do you know what comunication protocol Walksnail uses between their cameras and transmitters? I'm wondering if an hdmi signal could be converted and fed into a walksnail vtx.

[@arywidos]

Thanks DJI for the innovation and breakthrough now we busy to mimic and perhaps make it better, the quantum leap for fpv world

[@nikotttin]

The future is bright and my v1 will live forever thanks to you guys!! 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@breakflight]

This the most informative related video I've seen. Thanks.

[@gandlers_fpv]

WIth dudes like Joonas and team on the case, I'm hopeful that we will one day have a (persistent) working canvas mode and decent support as DJI dont seem very interested in developing or supporting their own product

[@califpv]

Great Interview & really smart dude Judas is 🧠

[@erikvf7]

Any updates on the USB-C Video In feature? I'm really looking forward to that!

[@typebin]

I really love what they’re doing !!

[@SuphiKaner]

Grate talk I would of loved to hear you guys talk a little about HDZero and about the new goggles being open source and if the wtf team have plans to dip there toes into that Linux based system

[@slatersmith5188]

Great interview. I wish you would have asked him if they can do anything about the range limit of the DJI system..

[@sergeyvakulenko4687]

Same question. It looks like the system would easily allow something like 20 km with large antennas, unless hardcoded to 13 km limit.

[@beefybeef1326]

Was thinking the same. Has there been any recent developments on the range limit? ( since this interview)

[@mcronfpv8736]

It's great what fpv-wtf did with the video out... I hope we'll see one day some of the other stuff he talked about, but the amount of dev needed sound way too much for such a small team working for free on their limited free time.

[@ChrisRosser]

They already have betaflight osd in internal beta!

[@FrenzyIncarnate]

@@ChrisRosser 😮 fantastic news !

[@j005u]

McRon you're right in that it'll take a long time for a small dev team to complete all these features out of their free time. We've listed things we know we could theoretically work on, but in reality when that happens depends on when a volunteer has the time and interest to put into it. That's why everything is 100% open-source and we invite any devs with some low level skills to come and join the party.

[@FrenzyIncarnate]

@@j005u I hope you and this project can find the required people in no time. I'd do it if I met the requirements. Man, great work already

[@TheDro]

there will be statues of these guys in the metaverse some day.

[@fpvraver]

Nice not even 1 minute in the video and rushing to the thumbs up button!!!!!! Keep the good word coming brotha !!!!!

[@changeagent228]

Thanks Joonas

[@nateteator3901]

For those of us who have a few stockpiled vistas and air units, do you recommend unboxing them just to flash the DJI assistant firmware v1.00.06.06? I question whether this firmware will be available in the future, or will be modified to prevent rollbacks, and to lock out hacks / competition.

[@rchaze]

Yes same here .My question as well. still have 3 air units unboxed. And 5 vistas unboxed from presales! 2 quads on old air unit first 50mb firmware.

[@marcino.3361]

Perfect, technical video!! Thanks a lot!

[@mihavuk]

That was very interesting 45 minutes. 👌🙂 Missing 1 information though. Could FPV FTW "remove" 13,3 km range limit? Just curious. 😁😉

[@oneistar6661]

I imagine it should not be hard. It's modulation delay based cutoff algorithm. Hope it's easy. Just remove the reference phase expectations.

[@ndcapper]

Great interview!

[@TheVeganarchism]

How long until DJI offers Joonas and colleagues a job? This is amazing, it’s like someone taking a human, reading out their DNA, and then rebuilding their own version of the original the way they want it.

[@stewpidazole]

Thank you very much Chris.

[@mfrfpv9079]

do the v2 dji goggles still lock out of fpv mode when the battery goes dead?

[@uavcommander]

This is gold!!🏆

[@ChrisRosser]

Thanks, I appreciate it!

[@ChrisParayno]

can we just have DJI and other digital systems talk to each other so we can view what ever digital systems we want. that's all I personally want.

[@typebin]

yeah thats what I have been dreaming of. Unified digital video protocol as we had in the analog system.

[@mungkey]

Wow. That’s amazing! Thanks guys

[@VincentFischer]

Can we have Kodi on the DIJ gergels plx?!

[@rickm1283]

Great interview Chris, I truly appreciate all that you have done for this hobby. Your information is truly priceless. I cant help but ask what are the blue led mats on the wall? They visually draw my attention everytime I visit your Channel.

[@kvkv1762]

also curious about the led matting :)

[@ChrisRosser]

They are some steel peg boards with DIY LED lighting inside 😁 glad you like them!

[@rickm1283]

Thanks Chris

[@geordieboy77]

great insight, but what I`m still waiting on is why its limited to 13kms?

[@ChrisRosser]

My understanding is that it is due to the time of flight of the signal. The goggles need to acknowledge each packet so the air unit knows if it needs to retransmit. There is only so long the air unit can wait for the acknowledgement before it has to transmit the next packet. If the acknowledgement takes too long it will be drowned out by the transmission of the next packet and the link will fail. To extend the range the packet rate might need to be lowered which is possible but not currently implemented.

[@sergeyvakulenko4687]

Chris, can you ask Joonas do they have a range hack in plan?

[@Michael9W]

Would be interesting to find similar 13km limitation in other RF applications like Wi-Fi, 5G, etc

[@sveavoncubs3780]

Interesting interview. Thx. I think that the WS Fatshark is testing the market. But I not sure that their products are markets relevant. I'm perfectly happy with my dji setup, and there is 4 others concurrents on the same equipped and restricted market. I will not re-equipped all my drones with expensive new vtx for a poor add value. The only chance for fat shark tech to be adopt by the market is the retro-compatibility with the dji's vtx. Without that fact, it will be a commercial disaster.

[@captainsumtingwong]

WTF OS with package manager!!! 🤯😳😍🥰

[@camdynkellett6782]

Has anyone had a go at getting an output to the Oculus (yes, oculus) Quest 2 or similar VR headset? The Quest series is particularly interesting one because it's essentially a Mobile phone with an ARM SOC (optimized for VR but still..) and can also be rooted. I did a little research and the Quest 2 in particular also supports USB OTG support (USB 3.0 if I remember correct) Surely it would be easy enough to just get one of those cheap USB OTG 5.8ghz (analog) android recievers and find a way to get it up on the screen. Anyway, yes the quest 2 has a couple issues (Latency) but imagine being able to get a 3rd party DJI FPV RX USB Module, plug it into your quest (which has an inbuilt battery) and just fly with 2k screens per eye! and at half the cost of these new gen HD headsets. (obviously we're still limited to the specs of the VTX and tech onboard.) It could be done with a PC today, but it would have 100+ ms delay which is very not ideal. Although the quest still has a 120hz screen so pixel refresh latency is still low.

[@j005u]

You can already do this with the various analog USB receivers and Digiview on a quest. The former has bad latency because the mjpeg encoders on those analog receivers are slow as heck and latter is slow because DJI Goggles re-encode the stream on the Goggles side. Theoretically it's possibly to optimize this pipeline and achieve what you're asking for, but practically I think it's probably too much work.

[@baggszilla]

So should I update all my Vistas and Air-Units out of the box now before DJI releases a firmware update that I have to update to and not get all these fantastic future features?

[@snowleopardfpv]

I would be very surprised if DJI bother releasing updated firmware to try and kill off the root exploit. All of their resources will have now been redirected to and working hard on their next new product lines. They didn't bother trying to kill off the video out hack and the only reason the root exploit got patched out of V2 goggles was due to updates to the DJI FPV Drone mode firmware in those goggles which also affects the standalone (DIY) DJI FPV System mode firmware due to some kind of shared runtime code libraries. As long as you don't update past the V01.02.0001 DJI FPV Drone mode firmware on the V2 goggles then you should be fine. Also keep in mind that the warranty period clock only starts ticking once a DJI product has been activated, so if you activate unused Air Units / Vistas now you may have no warranty by the time you start using them. It's obviously your call what you decide to do.

[@Svip_dk]

Some times i fly my FPV naked from bed here in nowhere Denmark . Pretty badass , sometimes. But still FANTASTIC 👍

[@jamisonhinton5837]

What are those awesome mounts that you hanging quadcopters on?

[@ChrisRosser]

Steel peg boards with DIY LED lighting.

[@jamisonhinton5837]

@@ChrisRosser nice they are boss!

[@tomsop]

I wonder if this group is working on a way to use DJI goggles with the DJI mini 2 - that is what I would like to see happen - DJI fpv quad works with DJI goggle but not their Mini 2 or other drones.

[@Robin-Visser]

I tried unlocking my v2 goggles last year. I managed to do it with just a screwdriver. Im inside the system guys.

[@Svip_dk]

Thx guys, y😎u rock

[@mas2ery]

🤔That light fixture reminds me of TENGA egg textures....💦

[@RubyS.1]

We have the smartest people in this hobby. Joonas nice looking too

[@atotoole21]

Great info, thanks. I have a little feedback: your audio level is much higher than his and it's hard to hear him while listening in my car. I have to turn it up so loud your voice clips.

[@larijoona]

Good stuff! Joonas FTW

[@sketchpv3080]

I want 100Mbps! Sure, might swamp the entire 5.8 band but I usually fly alone.

[@serhiisend_it]

Orqa devs: WTF? This is how it was done! Starting from scratch... Jokes aside, they were telling they use generic purpose components so maybe they coming up with smth similar or hopefully even better

[@FPVZaphod]

I hope you can remove the 13.6km limit :-)

[@apair4002]

Waiting for ws/fs make a vrx for existing analog goggle. Niceee. Actually, ws/fs goggle design is way more better than DJI.

[@jeffv2074]

I cannot wait for this and have total control over my $600 dji goggles that I had only used twice for my Radio control Car speed run. I was not aware of the F'ing update! It Really pist me off!. I don't own apple products because of their proprietary shit, it feels like I don't own it and more like renting it. And now dji did the same shit.

[@benmast3r865]

I'm just wondering if somebody made the complete reverse engineering already and called it Walksnail 😂

[@TimeFadesMemoryLasts]

Haha, yeha imagine. That would be funny.

[@mx118racer]

So confusing avatar goggles not dji .. but dji is bringing a new cinewhoop called avata .. Really sucks dji slowing down on developing fpv .. a dual band system would be my next digital upgrade . Not going bother with fatshark effort yet don't think

[@aakashjana6225]

Imagine being a lead developer of the DJI system and watching people pull their hair out to crack it. And not being able to help anyone coz you are legally forbidden to .

[@ownzies100]

The dev's wouldnt have known how to root it or any other security exploits. When you're developing something and implementing obfuscation and security methods, you do it to the best of your ability. Generally, you'll do what's called pen testing and try to reverse engineer / crack your own system to ensure there are no security exploits. If they knew about any security exploits, they would have patched them.

[@aakashjana6225]

@@ownzies100 yes you are right but not if theres a rogue developer haha just joking

[@dolbyblustar]

The audio quality terrible in your video buddy

[@craigreynolds4449]

h.265

[@KAREKINFPV]

Im thinking Chinese military has something to do with the tech developmemt.

[@aakashjana6225]

Especially considering the fact that even the latest F35 and F22 jets, softwares have huge latency in their video streaming capabilities. Which is key in modern aerial combat.

[@EisenkeilerSturmhart]

​@@aakashjana6225 is that a joke or a fact?

[@aakashjana6225]

@@EisenkeilerSturmhart well my source of information is a channel called millenium 7* he talks about fighter jets and discussed about the features of the F35 which are not up to the mark.

[@KAREKINFPV]

@@zkullydronez1287 thats not true entirely.

[@aakashjana6225]

@@zkullydronez1287 i understand what you are trying to say you can look up that channel he analyses jets based on publicly available info which he lists in his description i believe. But surely info spread freely maybe taken with some salt

[@CarlosGarciaFPV]

Fakeshark

[@paulhope3401]

Fatsnail