How to do DJI FPV Goggles Video Out via USB-C for Free

Normally you’d have to buy a $750 DJI Smart Controller to get live video output from the DJI FPV Goggles (if you are using Air Units and Caddx Vista). However the community finally made it work without the expensive Smart Controller!

It works on both V1 and V2 DJI FPV Goggles. This project is open source, requires no extra hardware and it’s still work in progress.

Does it work on Phones?

Yes, it works on PC (Windows, Linux and MacOS), as well as smartphones. There is an Android APP available on Play Store, unfortunately it won’t work on iOS (iPhone) according to the devs.

You will need a data-capable USB-C cable:

• USB-C to USB-C cable (Android phone)
  • Banggood: https://oscarliang.com/product-p3s9
  • Amazon: https://amzn.to/3wk76mH
• USB-C to USB cable (PC)
  • Amazon: https://amzn.to/3wbESdJ

DVR Won’t Work

When video is being streamed out of the USB-C connection from the DJI FPV Goggles to a computer or smartphone, the DVR will stop working. The SD Card icon actually disappears from the screen when video out is operating.

So only one device at a time can see the video stream – either the DVR or the USB-C connection.

The same happens when video out is streamed to the DJI Smart Controller, so it’s not a quirk of this particular video-out hack and happens even when using the official DJI hardware.

Video Out on Android

Download Android APP, DigiView by D3VL: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.fpvout.digiview

If you don’t have Google Play, you can download and install the APK: https://github.com/fpvout/DigiView-Android/releases

Power on your DJI goggles and quad.

Turn off Auto Thermal Management in the goggle’s menu under Device (Low Power Mode).

Note: Even if you get “Air Unit overheating, land promptly” warning, it usually goes away a few seconds after taking off because of the cooling from airflow. But if you worry about overheating you don’t have to disable low power mode, just arm before connecting the USB cable to your phone.

Then connect DJI goggles to your phone with a USB-C to USB-C data cable. You should be prompted if you want your phone to handle the DJI Goggles, select OK.

Be careful to not overheat the VISTA / Air Unit when you’re testing on the bench. If it overheats, the feed will just go black, and potentially damage the VISTA as well. Run a small fan over it for cooling.

NOTE: Looks like V2 Goggles might need an OTG adapter (on the phone side) to work since they can also function as a USB Host device so just using a USB-C to USB-C cable will usually make most the phone charge off of goggles but not be able to stream. I am using V1 goggles so unable to verify. Keep this in mind if it’s not working for you.

Video Out on PC

Here are instructions on how to get video out working on PC.

• Download and extract the zip file: http://b3yond.d3vl.com/DJIVideoOut.zip
• Turn on DJI goggles and connect USB-C (use a data cable)
• Run the “Install Drivers.exe” file
• In Options, click “List Devices”, Select “Bulk interface” in the drop down list
• Click “Replace Driver” (or Install Driver) and wait
• Close program and run “Run VOC.cmd” in the same directory
• If you have a hybrid laptop (dedicated gpu) choose the hybrid gfx cmd
• Turn on drone
• Done!

If you’re testing this on your desk and it’s not working, the drone either needs to be armed first, or you need to turn off Auto Thermal Management in the goggle’s menu under Device.

If you see LIBUSB_ERROR_NOT_FOUND error, the driver is probably not installed properly, try to run the above steps again.

Be careful to not overheat the VISTA / Air Unit when you’re testing on the bench. If it overheats, the feed will just go black, and potentially damage the VISTA as well. Run a small fan over it for cooling.

It works on Windows, as well as Linux & macOS, but you’ll need to install ffmpeg & nodejs yourself. Just follow the instructions on the GitHub: https://github.com/fpv-wtf/voc-poc