tennyson Posted September 9, 2016 Share Posted September 9, 2016 Hi Guys. Just thought I'd let you all know about some exciting things going on in my sim, at Ozsim Aviation. We have gone VR! Or, if you prefer, 360 video. You'll be able to use Oculus or any of the others, Vive, etc. to view my upcoming Cockpit video's, or just use the mouse to peruse around the cockpit, all 360 degrees of it! The video is all shot and edited in-house. I've invested a bit of loot into the venture, so it will be nice to see it all come about. I'd like to acknowledge a real champion guy, Mick Cliffe who did the 3D printing on my new 360 rig, I owe him a big thanx for starting the ball rolling. And other exciting developments, too. I've upgraded my projectors to DLP's, so that night time flying will be better and hide the overlap better. And, as well, I've bought a new throttle unit and sold my RSP unit that I bought a few years back. Times have changed and the newer tech in the throttles is amazing, so I took the plunge. I'm hoping to have throttle, projectors and 360 rig and cameras (6 GoPro Hero 4's in a spherical array) in a few weeks, so when I get the first one up on my youtube site, I'll put a link up here, for you all to look at. It's definitely exciting times and I'm hoping to keep ahead of the curve, so we'll see how we go..... More coming soon, Frank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bermuda425 Posted September 9, 2016 Share Posted September 9, 2016 That's cool - thanks for the info Frank! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJ Posted September 9, 2016 Share Posted September 9, 2016 Fantastic news coming from you! When can we see all this 3D glory? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iain Emms Posted September 9, 2016 Share Posted September 9, 2016 Sounds great Frank cant wait to see the videos. cheers Iain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airwolf Posted September 9, 2016 Share Posted September 9, 2016 VR all the way. Will this be VR 3D 360. Looking forward for the videos. Thank You By the way, I love my Rift Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodduck Posted September 10, 2016 Share Posted September 10, 2016 That sounds good Frank, nice to see that you are still progressing with your project, looking forward to the video. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tennyson Posted September 10, 2016 Author Share Posted September 10, 2016 Thanx Guys. I'm happy to be still reporting good things to you all. Airwolf, didn't know there is 3D 360, but no, it won't be 3D. But it is amazing technology. I bought the software (nearly 1200 aussie dollars) and it's a dual package. One does the video editing and the other one does the stitching of the six source video's. It's quite the learning curve, but I'm up for it. I'll be picking up the three other GoPro's this week, so might have a tester up next week, for you all to look at. I love Xmas in September....and October and November..... Frank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stillwater Posted September 10, 2016 Share Posted September 10, 2016 Amazing what is possible for amateur movie makers today. Just think back into the good old times (Super 8 was the maximum...). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tennyson Posted September 10, 2016 Author Share Posted September 10, 2016 Yep....and I had one of those babies, too. The time it took to develop a 3 minute reel was shocking, at alone the cost? Frank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tennyson Posted September 15, 2016 Author Share Posted September 15, 2016 Well, I'm really happy to say that things are looking good here. I got the last of my GoPro Hero 4's today and busy updating firmware and charging up all 6 batteries before a test tomorrow. I bought a GoPro extension handle, which also doubles as a tripod (very clever technology). My software is all set up on my productivity computer and ready to go. So, tomorrow, I intend to start off with a little video in the sim room (unfortunately I have the projectors and the throttle removed, awaiting the new ones) amd then a little drive to some of my favourite spots in Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast. I'll try and get it all edited and uploaded as soon as possible, but I'm very excited at the prospects, it is gonna be awesome. As a side note, some of you might have seen that facebook is going 360 and VR and Mr. Zuckerberg is ahead of the game. Good on him for promoting the future! Frank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
migar Posted September 15, 2016 Share Posted September 15, 2016 Looking forward to it Frank. Glad you're back. Michael. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tennyson Posted September 21, 2016 Author Share Posted September 21, 2016 Just thought I'd add a little update here. I have bought all my GoPro's and they are all mounted in the spherical array and I've been out taking video.That's all the good news! The not so good news is....it's damn hard work! The learning curve with this gear is vertical, so you need lots of time, lots of patience and lots of money.... So, having said all that, my first attempts failed. I found out that where you have your pole is very important. My first vid, when stitched together, cut my head off. I did a 2 1/2 minute video in the cockpit this afternoon and have realised some mistakes I did there, too. However, it wasn't bad for a second attempt, so I'm uploading to youtube now and as soon as I have a url I'll post it here. Tell me what you think, but don't be too harsh, it's gonna get a whole lot better, I promise. I do like the way you can zoom in and out with live video...it's very cool! On another note, my new throttle is on it's way (that's why there's no throttle in the cockpit) and should arrive in the next few days. I also have three new projectors, DLP's, so that my night flights will be devoid of the light strip that 3LCD projectors have. Just waiting for some new mounts and then I'll be going back and doing a new calibration on the newly mounted projectors and then I can get down to some serious flying.... Well, sort of! I'm heading back over to New Zealand to my mate Richards' place in Pukekohe, where he's built his sim. We are gonna re-do the calibration on his projectors, which I didn't get right last time. His sim is up and going and him and his son, Brody are flying all over New Zealand in his new sim, now. So, as I said, as soon as the vid uploads I'll throw it up here. Frank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sniper31 Posted September 21, 2016 Share Posted September 21, 2016 Great report Frank, very interested to see the video! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tennyson Posted September 22, 2016 Author Share Posted September 22, 2016 Hmmm, so seems like with all technologies there are some teething troubles... I uploaded two different versions of the same 2 1/2 minute video, but neither retained the 360 characteristics. All I ended up with was two mpeg videos that looked all contorted. Then I discovered a small piece of software that is needed to be run on the video's prior to their upload. I downloaded it, ran my video through it and am currently uploading again. They say third time lucky, don't they? More to come.... Frank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tennyson Posted September 23, 2016 Author Share Posted September 23, 2016 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Terry Posted September 24, 2016 Share Posted September 24, 2016 Frank, very interesting, you have put a lot of time and money into this. The picture is quite distorted as you would expect with the 360 view system. I prefer to see your flights with single camera views. Here is one example of another guy in his 747 which is the kind of viewing I like. Two questions 1 what do you mean by white stripes with your old projectors and night flying? 2 where exactly is YCAB Regards Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tennyson Posted September 26, 2016 Author Share Posted September 26, 2016 Sorry Ken, but after spending nearly ten grand on the new video system, I'll be keeping it. The first video was not the best quality. It really was a quick affair. I'm hoping to do another high res version in the next few days and the stitching will be a lot better. Besides, with 360, you have all the bases covered. If you don't want to use the mouse to scroll around, just leave it in the most opportune spot. It's still videoing high def from each of the camera positions. The white stripes come when two projectors overlap due to warping and merging. With DLP projectors, it can be dialled out, but something in the 3 LCD does not allow it. YCAB is Caboolture, 45 minutes north of Brisbane. Frank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tennyson Posted September 30, 2016 Author Share Posted September 30, 2016 Hey guys and gals. I'm sorry, I been slack with the video's. I've been installing new projectors and doing calibrations before heading off to NZ, but soon as I get back, I'll have my brand new throttle, so I'll be installing and doing some vids on it and the sim. I'm enthused, the cockpit has never looked so good, so hopefully i'll be putting up some more content as soon as I get back from across the pond. Frank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Terry Posted October 28, 2016 Share Posted October 28, 2016 Frank, this may be of interest to you. Regards Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Venema Posted October 28, 2016 Share Posted October 28, 2016 You could have bought a AU$599 Samsung Gear 360 camera instead of spending $10,000 on GoPro and software Frank. BTW, are you commercializing this sim, i.e doing builds for other people? We need to be careful not to promote commercial activity on the forums. I know it's been an amazing project and your journey has fascinated many folks but rules are rules. If your'e not then it's all kosher mate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tennyson Posted October 28, 2016 Author Share Posted October 28, 2016 John, I'm proud to tell you that not only is it not commercial, but I've been actively spreading the word within the cockpit community, for many years, about using cockpits and sims to raise money and doing the right thing by paying for commercial licenses. I too, in my previous life, John, manufactured software and I know how difficult it is to make money from it. I believe in promoting those young guys and keeping the dollars flowing in the industry. That's how we keep it alive. I have had some pilots approach me to keep up their hours, but I've sent them on to Nick. I spent a lot of hours and hard work building this sim. I want to choose who I fly with and when. I've also recently helped a mate of mine set up his sim, in New Zealand, which is non-commercial and he'll attest to my adamant demands of using and paying for all his software. Having said that, I have my new throttle from CFY nearly all sorted out now and flew an awesome sortie this afternoon from Russ White's Brisbane to Cairns. It was fabulous! I'm still doing test flights but hope to be fully operational within a few weeks, so I'll put some more 360 vids up of the sim in action. Frank P.S. Thanx John, for popping in to my thread...well, it really is your thread! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aero-3fsx Posted October 29, 2016 Share Posted October 29, 2016 This adds even more reason to switch over to VR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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