GoPro Reliability
The History
GoPro features were added into RightBooth in July 2021 and since that time many users have worked the app with a GoPro connected by the GoPro WiFi, especially on 360 spinner booth setups.
Customer feedback over this time has shown that some users can experience problems with the GoPro, including:
It should be noted that not all users have problems with GoPro and when it all works, it works very well.
The Cause of the Problems
Much work and research into this area of the app ( together with the information gained from customer technical support ) leads us to conclude that the GoPro reliability issues are hardware related.
In other words, these problems are NOT caused by RightBooth or by the Camera Tools app. GoPro reliability problems are essentially caused by the cameras themselves.
Therefore we conclude that the GoPro hardware is fundamentally poorly designed in certain aspects.
GoPro features were added into RightBooth in July 2021 and since that time many users have worked the app with a GoPro connected by the GoPro WiFi, especially on 360 spinner booth setups.
Customer feedback over this time has shown that some users can experience problems with the GoPro, including:
- not connecting
- randomly disconnecting
- failing to transfer files from the camera to the PC
It should be noted that not all users have problems with GoPro and when it all works, it works very well.
The Cause of the Problems
Much work and research into this area of the app ( together with the information gained from customer technical support ) leads us to conclude that the GoPro reliability issues are hardware related.
In other words, these problems are NOT caused by RightBooth or by the Camera Tools app. GoPro reliability problems are essentially caused by the cameras themselves.
Therefore we conclude that the GoPro hardware is fundamentally poorly designed in certain aspects.
|
You only have to search for GoPro reliability or GoPro reviews to understand the scale of this problem. There are many websites and forums where people complain about GoPro instability, poor reliability and poor customer service.
For example, on the UK TrustPilot website, GoPro scores only 1.3 out of 5, with 85% of people giving it only 1 out of 5. And when reading these reviews, it reveals many people who are having the same problems as those mentioned above. |
|
The Current Situation - June 2023
RightBooth now includes features to control GoPro cameras for recording videos, taking photos and transferring files to the PC.
We do not have data on the number of people who are working with GoPro connected by GoPro WiFi to RightBooth and we do not know how many are experiencing problems, but we have reports from users who tell us:
Our own testing at Aire Valley Software does not reveal any issues when using GoPros WiFi, but our testing is always performed in a quiet office environment, which does not reflect a busy WiFi event environment in which many booths operate.
It is clearly stated on the RightBooth website and in all our GoPro related documentation that you might experience reliability problems when using a GoPro with WiFi.
A More Reliable Alternative - USB Connection
In March 2023 we released a version of RightBooth that allows GoPro 8, 10, 11 and Mini to be used connected with a USB cable. So in addition to using the GoPro wirelessly, we now provide two other configuration options:
Testing and feedback has shown that when a GoPro is connected to the PC by a USB cable it is far more reliable than using GoPro wirelessly.
Full details on how to use all types of GoPro connection configurations in RightBooth can be found here:
https://www.rightbooth.com/gopro-options.html
Conclusion
RightBooth now includes features to control GoPro cameras for recording videos, taking photos and transferring files to the PC.
We do not have data on the number of people who are working with GoPro connected by GoPro WiFi to RightBooth and we do not know how many are experiencing problems, but we have reports from users who tell us:
- it always works well
- it works well for the most part, with the occasional restart required
- it works well in some environments but not others
- it works poorly and is effectively unusable.
Our own testing at Aire Valley Software does not reveal any issues when using GoPros WiFi, but our testing is always performed in a quiet office environment, which does not reflect a busy WiFi event environment in which many booths operate.
It is clearly stated on the RightBooth website and in all our GoPro related documentation that you might experience reliability problems when using a GoPro with WiFi.
A More Reliable Alternative - USB Connection
In March 2023 we released a version of RightBooth that allows GoPro 8, 10, 11 and Mini to be used connected with a USB cable. So in addition to using the GoPro wirelessly, we now provide two other configuration options:
- GoPro connected directly to the recording PC by USB cable.
- GoPro connected to a remote mini pc by USB cable and controlled via the RB Camera Controller app. Files are then transferred to the main PC using the more reliable mini PC wireless connection. This lightweight configuration is designed primarily for attaching the GoPro + mini PC + Powerbank battery to a 360 booth spinner arm.
Testing and feedback has shown that when a GoPro is connected to the PC by a USB cable it is far more reliable than using GoPro wirelessly.
Full details on how to use all types of GoPro connection configurations in RightBooth can be found here:
https://www.rightbooth.com/gopro-options.html
Conclusion
- When you purchase RightBooth you can then use all the GoPro functionality included within the app.
- We clearly state that you might experience reliability issues when using a GoPro and whilst we will do our best to assist you with technical difficulties, for all the reasons mentioned above, we CANNOT guarantee that RightBooth will work perfectly 100% of the time with GoPro.
- We normally do not provide refunds, so we always encourage you to test RightBooth carefully and thoroughly before purchasing the product.
- If you find that your GoPro is unreliable when it is connected wirelessly, please consider switching to a configuration that uses the GoPro connected by a USB cable (as described in the above link).
