How to use the Asus USB-N53 with the iPad AG ROP app (Nov 2016)

T

twalp

Member
The (much appreciated) YouTube video is largely correct but many of the steps shown are unnecessary. The instructions in Panasonic's 73-page PDF handbook entitled "The AG-DVX200 Book" (v3.01E) is missing critical steps (although, it's very informative in other areas!).

Here are the steps that worked for me as of Nov 2016 using an Asus USB-N53 purchased from Amazon a few days before. (Hope that you get hardware version A1 [only evident on box label], because that may be the only version that works in this application)

Download the AG ROP app from the iTunes store.


At the camera:
Power off
Fully insert the Asus wi-fi adapter into the USB Type A connector.
Power ON.

Press Menu button
Press up arrow to go to page 3 of 3.
Press Network Setup
Press Network Initial Setting and Yes to confirm
Back in the Network Setup menu press Wireless LAN Setup
Change the DHCP setting to SERVER

Return

Go to page 2 of 3 and tap on the Other Function menu item
Scroll to page 2 of 3 within Other Function and press USB Mode
Select ON
Press USB Mode Select
Select HOST

Exit



On the iPad:
Scroll down until you find the AG ROP app.
Enter for username : guest
Enter for password: agguest

Scroll back up to the Wi-Fi section and look for the DVX200 listed and tap on it.

For the passkey enter 01234567890123456789abcdef

It should eventually display the checkmark indicating a successful wi-fi connection.

Open the AG ROP app.

You may see a periodic communication error message (I did). Tick the checkbox in the message to stop seeing it. Despite that message the app seems to have no problem controlling the camera.
 
Last edited:
Hi
We do not have the Asus N53 A1 (EU)
Did someone try this with other type of device, other than the type of Panasonic?
THX Dani
 
I tried a couple of other USB wi-fi adapters a little while back, but ultimately the only adapters I was successful with were the Asus N53 A1 version and the Panasonic adapters.

According to this database the Asus N53 A1 uses the Ralink RT3572 chipset:
https://wikidevi.com/wiki/ASUS_USB-N53

There are at least 36 other USB wi-fi adapters that use the same chipset internally:
https://wikidevi.com/wiki/Special:Ask?title=Special:Ask&q=[[Chip1+model::~RT3572*]]&po=%3FInterface%0D%0A%3FForm+factor=FF%0D%0A%3FInterface+connector+type=USB

I tried a couple of the adapters in that list (many are now discontinued), but was not successful with any of them (the camera does not indicate that a wi-fi module is plugged in). This makes me think that it may not be strictly a driver issue, but instead in the camera firmware that is explicitly recognizing certain wi-fi adapters.

If you don't want to buy the Panasonic adapter, your best bet is probably to try and find an Asus N53 A1 version on eBay. Most of the new Asus N53 units being sold are the B1 version which use a different chipset internally and are not compatible with the camera.

The differences between the A1 and B1 versions are not super obvious from the packaging, but the version is usually indicated in the white serial number section on the side of the box. For example, if you look at the last photo in this listing you will see on the white label it says HW Ver. A1 which lets you know this is the A1 version:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/New-in-Sea...522299?hash=item3b0071b4bb:g:-oYAAOSwNDJad6HG

There are also some subtle differences on the front of the packaging. In particular in the row of feature icons along the bottom of the box, the B1 version has icons for 600 Mbps and USB 3.0 while the A1 version says 300 Mbps and USB (does not mention 3.0). So you really need someone to be able to check the box of the exact unit you are buying to make sure it is the right version.
 
Can one iPad link to 3 different ASUSs, one at a time, such that we can adjust 3 different cameras in a multicam shoot.
 
7DDude said:
Is there an App for any Android devices?
Click to expand...

Still no Android version of the app that I am aware of. And even the iOS version of the app is limited to the iPad (doesn't work on phones).
The Varicam app was also iOS only. For the EVA, Panasonic finally released an app in both iOS and Android versions, although that's the only recent Panasonic professional camera I'm aware of that has an Android app.

It's a little surprising that there aren't any third party apps that have figured out the protocol used between the app and camera (there are some for the Panasonic GH series cameras). But maybe this line of cameras isn't popular enough for developers to spend time on.
 
David_ said:
Can one iPad link to 3 different ASUSs, one at a time, such that we can adjust 3 different cameras in a multicam shoot.
Click to expand...

I believe the iPad app is only capable of connecting to one camera at a time. So in a typical configuration, using a direct wi-fi connection between the iPad and the camera, you would need to use the following steps to switch to controlling a different camera:
  • Go to the iPad wireless network settings.
  • Select the wi-fi SSID of the camera you want to connect to (all of the cameras with wi-fi adapters should show up in the list).
  • Switch back to the AG ROP iPad app. The app should reconnect and allow you to control the camera you selected from the wi-fi list.

This means that it will take a few seconds to switch to controlling a different camera. Whether or not this is workable probably depends on your specific application.

If you just want to adjust the settings of each camera before shooting a new scene, then this might work with a single iPad since you have some time to setup and adjust each camera.

If instead you want to use the iPad app as a kind of remote camera control unit (CCU) like you might have in a live multi-camera production scenario (where you adjust the aperture, white balance, etc. of multiple cameras continuously on-the-fly), then you would probably want a separate iPad for each camera. In that kind of situation, it would take too long to make the switch between each camera for a single iPad to be workable.
 
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