Lionchief live streaming problem

Lower your expectations?

No, I'm not saying that to be mean or rude- just realistic approach to the problem. You wasted more time than this feature EVER was worth sending an engine back to lionel. I mean seriously, this isn't MR. Microphone, it's a train. Bluetooth being what it is as a huge mess of versions and protocols, add on top of that, an app that runs on top of the OS and hardware in your phone- not to mention carrier specific issues of OS specific settings.

Again, this concept, of taking random phone or tablet X, with all kinds of different hardware chipsets, microphones, audio chips, processor, operating system and settings, and then some app sitting on top of all of that, taking audio from a microphone, encoding that into a bluetooth audio stream, your phone or tablets bluetooth chip even supporting the function- let alone doing it sustained, and then typical RF the engine then has to receive and decode it.

Many phones and tablets crash or blocked the app at various times just because of this feature. The app would crash until they released a new version.

Bottom line- voice streaming and voice recording were add on features, and let's be honest, broke more than they ever were worth. They ultimately are the root cause of a lot of the Lionchief apps problems and compatibility on whatever phone or tablet they get loaded on.

Again, my honest, no joking advise, treat that feature (Voice Streaming) for the gimmick it is. Don't use it, and don't expect it to work flawlessly.

To counter that, the list of possible "solutions" isn't pretty either:

#1 use a different tablet or phone- example use an Apple vs Android, or just a different version of hardware phone or tablet.

#2 wait for an update to the app to come out that fixes this feature with your specific phone or tablet.

#3 remove and reload the app, somehow hoping something changes

#4 keep playing this sending the engine back and forth game with Lionel- again, is that really helping- you being without the train for some time?

And repeating the sentiment of the previous answer:

#5 is accept that voice streaming was a gimmick at best, and wishful thinking. If it works, great, enjoy it. If it doesn't, the train still runs, this is probably way more complicated and requires an updated Lionchief app version or different phone- neither of which really are going to solve it today. Due to typical privacy concerns, you really don't want just any app having access to your microphone and then transmitting that back out on bluetooth. It was a flawed concept from day one. The operating system and security settings of the very phone or tablet you are installing on intentionally prohibit and restrict this very concept from working. Most devices, when you install the Lionchief app and attempt to use it, then prompt you to change or allow permissions for the app to do this very function and even then it still might be restricted or not work.

@Vernon Barry posted:

Lower your expectations?

No, I'm not saying that to be mean or rude- just realistic approach to the problem. You wasted more time than this feature EVER was worth sending an engine back to lionel. I mean seriously, this isn't MR. Microphone, it's a train.

Vernon,

Is this Jeff's problem, or is it Lionel's problem?

It seems like, in your mind, that it's his.

I would argue otherwise, that it's Lionel's, whether it's a marketing problem, or an engineering problem, or a technical problem with Bluetooth, or a manufacturing problem, or all of the above mixed together.

Period.  No excuses.

Mike

Thank you Vernon.

I did #s 1 and 3 with no improvements.

I do understand the limitations of the technology.

I bought this for my 7 year old grandson to use when he visits.

As one of todays youth, he is able to use Lionechief controllers, my Legacy and DCS controllers, and the Lionel app on my iPhone.

This loco was specifically purchased for the record (which Lionel did fix) and the voice streaming (which they did not fix).

While my grandson will be disappointed if I can't get it to work properly, we have other locomotives.

I feel bad for the kids who don't have any other option but their one semi-functioning Lionchief locomotive.

We put quite a bit of work into getting this feature into our LC engines. What we found is that performance is very closely tied to the device being used. Especially on the Android side.

Let me elaborate. We ran into an issue with many Samsung phones. The Bluetooth streaming for voice requires we (the APP) set a specific baud rate. On many Android phones (namely Samsung made in the last 3 years), the baud rate cannot be set by the APP. Rather it is artificially throttled by the smart device.

This applies to many other Android phones as well, especially tracphones and other more bargain priced phones. You also have to make sure the device you're using has Bluetooth 5.0; older phones and even some newer lower-priced devices still use Bluetooth 4.0, which is not meant for voice streaming.

We have found that iOS devices operate the feature very well, especially if they're from 2019 and newer. If you are experiencing an issue with the feature on an iOS device, I would recommend emailing me and we can get to the bottom of it.

Dave, thank you for the quick response to my email.

We all appreciate your active participation in the Forum.

To close out my inquiry, Dave checked and let me know my iPhone has Bluetooth 4.2, so it does not work well with the streaming function.

Guess its time to get a new phone.

well i'm let down

opened up a lionel santa fe autorack set for christmas and the vsr feature is not available for me

i can't get vsr to work at all turns out your device needs bluetooth 5.0 to work my tablet that i run trains with only has 4.2 . so i can't make any cool crewtalk unless i get an iphone or something. also my tablet doesn't recognize the specific engine . instead of a picture of santa fe 549 it just says lionel diesel locomotive 9999. idk what to do. i can't afford an iphone /ipad . sending the train back to lionel won't fix anything. i got all excited for nothing

"i can't afford an iphone /ipad ."

At some point you will, so just be patient if you can.  During the next year or two, maybe three,  you will probably replace your phone or tablet if you are typical of most users.  At some point you will have no choice as the new system software won't run on the old tablets/phones.

@paigetrain posted:

well i'm let down

opened up a lionel santa fe autorack set for christmas and the vsr feature is not available for me

i can't get vsr to work at all turns out your device needs bluetooth 5.0 to work my tablet that i run trains with only has 4.2 . so i can't make any cool crewtalk unless i get an iphone or something. also my tablet doesn't recognize the specific engine . instead of a picture of santa fe 549 it just says lionel diesel locomotive 9999. idk what to do. i can't afford an iphone /ipad . sending the train back to lionel won't fix anything. i got all excited for nothing

That's a bummer, Paige.  However, for me personally, I've used the VSR with my new iPhone and it works, but its not great. There are delays when transmitting/recording, and for some reason the volume is inconsistent, going from barely audible to ok even though I make sure to keep the same close distance to my phone's mic.  In fact, I have the same Dash 8 engine as you and find myself using the lionchief handheld more than the app and I'm having a blast. It really is a great train for the price.  I just ordered some crew figures and plan on building a little cab space to spruce up the interior.  Stay excited and enjoy that great set of yours.