Question about getLivePreview by THETA SC2 on Android

I want to get live preview by Theta SC2 on Android.
(I’m using the https://github.com/ricohapi/theta-api2.1-android-sdk)
But LivePreview screen is Sometimes all black and I can’t see a thing.
Always black when connecting for the first time.

Do you have any solutions?
Would it be possible to get live preview by Theta SC2 on Android?

I don’t have a SC2 to test. The LivePreview works on the V. It should work on the SC2. Can you post a screenshot from your Android phone?

Thanks for your reply.
This is my Android phone screenshot.

I get the message “start Live view”.
But LivePreview screen is all black.

I can shoot.
After shooting, LivePreview screen is sometimes displayed.

This may be a bug. I don’t have a SC2 to verify this.

Can you rule out Wi-Fi interference?

Rule out Android phone trying to fall back to mobile data:

  • put Android phone in Airplane mode (or disable mobile data) and then enable Wi-Fi only

The Android phone cannot connect to mobile data and Wi-Fi simultaneously (at least I don’t think it can)

After you rule out Wi-Fi interference and mobile data conflict, consider opening up a GitHub issue and see if the developers can test it with an SC2. I haven’t heard of this problem before, but the LivePreview is a major feature and people are trying to use the SDK with the SC2, so it’s possible that a fix is in progress.

You can also test the livepreview without the SDK.
https://api.ricoh/docs/theta-web-api-v2.1/commands/camera.get_live_preview/

The stream is motionjpeg

I just got an SC2 for testing. I can replicate your problem.

The same SDK works fine with THETA Z1 in LivePreview mode. I am doing more testing.

I using Google Pixel 2 running Android 10 in my tests.

Sorry for my late reply. And, I tried that out.

SC2 can’t get _wlanFrequency by camera.getOptions;
The following response was returned.
And, There was no settings in the official mobile app.

{
	"name": "camera.getOptions",
	"state": "error",
	"error": {
		"code": "disabledCommand",
		"message": "Command executed is currently disabled."
	}
}

I tried by change _wlan_channel (value : 0 , 1, 6, 11). But it didn’t improve the problem.

  • Put your phone right next to the THETA SC2
  • put Android phone in Airplane mode (or disable mobile data) and then enable Wi-Fi only

it didn’t improve the problem both.

I know some people at RICOH and will pass on this information as well as the results of my own tests. I can replicate the problems that you have with the LivePreview. I haven’t tested the option for the wlanFrequency yet.

I’ve heard that as the SC2 is new, the API documentation will get updated to reflect the capability of the SC2. I notice that on _wlanFrequency and other commands, only “SC”, not “SC2” is listed on the model support table.

I know some people at RICOH and will pass on this information as well as the results of my own tests. I can replicate the problems that you have with the LivePreview. I haven’t tested the option for the wlanFrequency yet.

Thank you for your cooperation.
If you find anything, I’d like to know.

1 Like

Is it possible to move your test to the THETA V?

The overall network performance of the SDK with the SC2 seems to be poor. On the THETA V, the image download after the picture is taken is also much faster.

1 Like

I tried THETA V that too.
I think the same as you.
THETA SC2 downloaded images slower than THETA V.

Does the THETA V work with LivePreview reliably for you?

The LivePreview on THETA V is stable in my tests.

Yes.
LivePreview is regularly stable on THETA V.

I tested on iOS SDK.
(iPhone6s, iOS Version 13.1.2)

After push Connect button, LivePreview screen isn’t sometimes displayed.
But I can shoot by push the Capture button.

This is my iPhone screenshot.

Thanks for this update on iOS. I will send it to a guy I know at RICOH.

1 Like

The theta sample app here: https://github.com/ricohapi/theta-api2.1-android-sdk does have a bug where the live preview goes black on the SC2. If you are knowledgable in java, an EOFException occurs in readMJpegFrame() in MJpegInputStream. There is a relatively simple workaround if you are able to develop. Make the call to camera.getLivePreview again after after this occurs. Hope this helps!

2 Likes

Thanks for this tip!

@tamy this is a great tip, thanks a ton for sharing. I just sent some email as well.

1 Like

Sample app available at the site below.

Contact @jcasman if you need the source code immediately.

@tamy It continous throw EOFException, so calling camera.getLivePreview again after and after while error occurs is a bad idea, any other idea you have? so please help us with that.

The Wi-Fi chipset on the SC2 sometimes shows difficulty connecting to Windows computers. Try putting the SC2 right next to the Windows Wi-Fi antenna, 2.4GHz only.