FASTCAMERA SERIES
Contents
1. Trigger Manual 1002 Trigger Setup Fire Trigger PlayBack Manager E lex gt gt gt IW Use Files in Play Back Displaying Image 613 of 1832 Record Table Save Files Load Files Status Exit About e Figure 16 FastViewer XL in Play Back mode FastViewer XL main screen provides PlayBack controls to enable the user to play back and review the captured images that were stored on disk The user can also set the frame rate for the continuous viewing select the zoom in and zoom out scale and even pan a viewable portion of the image when the image becomes larger then the Image Preview panel The first step in viewing is to load an image file from the disk files by clicking on the Load Files button The viewer displays the first image in the directory that can contain up to 10000 images The zoom and pan options can be very useful during playback and image review The message above the Image Preview panel reminds the user of the way to control zoom and pan options With the Shift key pressed Clicking the right mouse button will enlarge the image size by a factor of 2 in both dimensions The mouse wheel can also operate the zoom Clicking the left mouse button will scale the image size down by a factor of 2 Moving the mouse wheel backward also operates the zoom Dragging the image with the mouse will pan i e move viewable portion of an image when the2. Displaying Image 35 of 819 Record Table Status Exit About Figure 3 FastViewer XL Main Screen Diagrams in Fig 4 and Fig 13 below represent the sequence of controls in both operating modes Video Capture Sequence Start Program Camera Control Trigger Settings Stop Grab Fire Trigger Save Files Record Table Figure 4 Sequence of controls in the Video Capture Mode VIDEO CAPTURE MODE D USING CAMERA CONTROLS The first step to start capturing video with the FastViewer XL software is to initialize the FastCamera by pressing the Camera Control button That action opens a new window displaying the camera setting in great detail and allowing the user to change the frame rate frame exposure setting position and size of the frame area that will be actually captured called Region of Interest or ROI Camera Control E l Pje x Width 1280 Bala Set Full Frame Center ROI Cal Sensor Exposure Settings Time i Delay 130 87 Mega pixels sec Frame Rate 100 Hz coca Color Gains Red 100 Green 100 Blue 100 Figure 5 Camera Control screen 1 Frame Rate and ROI Selection There is a strong relationship between the size of the capture area on each frame and the video frame rate that can be captured by the camera and transferred to the frame grabbers defined by the Camera Link interconnect bandwidth The user is free to change either frame ra
3. E gt J S A 4 AS gt gt wae SS O AI IA ee ee A A O Oya O Aa EAS IN i WA A A A AA Y Se Y Y o A Y OE A O A A E E O A A M SE SS Ss A a E S km m I U U O A E i S CO Oe ee ee ee ee 0 ee U a LLL A O A NOS A A 4 A O AO A O E A A E A O Ee Oe lee EE me Eee Ol 3 i A O A Cc Eee OEE EET CoE r oo ll A Ll ti oC Oe SS lt _ lt SE ee a ea Es ee FAST XL FASTVIEWER USER S MANUAL FVM 00396 COPYRIGHT NOTICE Copyright 2004 by FastVision LLC All rights reserved This document in whole or in part may not be copied photocopied reproduced translated or reduced to any other electronic medium or machine readable form without the express written consent of FastVision LLC FastVision makes no warranty for the use of its products assumes no responsibility for any error which may appear in this document and makes no commitment to update the information contained herein FastVision LLC retains the right to make changes to this manual at any time without notice Document Name FastViewer XL User s Manual Document Number FVM 00396 Revision History 1 0 Aug 19 2004 2 0 Sept 21 2004 Trademarks FastVision is a registered trademark of FastVision LLC Channel Link is a trademark of National Semiconductor 3M is a trademark of 3M Company Windows Windows 95 Windows 98 Windows 2000 Windows NT and Windows XP are trademarks of Mic
4. buttons or they may be saved on disk by pressing the Save Files button Note The captured images are kept in memory and not saved automatically to the hard disk Captured images will be lost if system is turned off before Save Files operation Table 1 summarizes the system behavior at different trigger percentage options 17 Table 1 Trigger definitions Trigger Buffer Process Percent State 0 Full Continue to record one full length buffer after receiving the trigger If the user stops the recording the frames that were recorded until then are available 0 Partial Continue to record one full buffer If the user stops the recording the frames that were recorded are available 100 Full The recording stops immediately and a full buffer is made available with all historic frames that were grabbed prior to trigger 100 Partial The recording stops and the frames that were recorded are available Betwee Full Continue recording until the post trigger value is achieved and n 0 to return a full buffer If the user stops the recording a full buffer is 100 returned Partial Continue recording until the post trigger value is achieved and return a full buffer which includes the post trigger frames and the pre trigger frames When the user stops the recording the pre trigger frames and the post trigger frames that were recorded are returned Note The size of the buffer depends on the amount of system RAM reserved for
5. title of the manual and either FAX or mail the photocopy to FastVision Remember to include the name and telephone number of the person we should contact if we have questions 28 FastVision LLC 131 Daniel Webster Highway 529 Nashua NH 03060 USA Telephone 603 891 4317 FAX 603 891 1881 Web site http www FastVision com Electronic Mail sales FastVision com support FastVision com 29
6. I etc This file is located in the WINDIR usually C WINDOWS and it keeps the most recent parameter set between sessions Capture EnableBoard 1 TriggerMode 0 Bayer 1 TriggerPosition 0 ColumnStart 1 ColumnEnd 1280 RowStart 1 RowEnd 1024 LineLength 1600 Exposure 24 000000 ExposureDelay 0 000000 FrameRate 30 000000 RedGain 79 GreenGain 93 BlueGain 188 Figure 19 Capture Description File FastCamera ini The file is created and maintained by the application itself lt can be directly edited by user with the help of a text editor e g Wordpad but caution is recommended since user errors can lead to application malfunction Only two lines BAYER and LINE LENGTH are outside the dynamic application control User needs to set BAYER 1 for the color FastCamera and BAYER 0 for the monochrome version 22 APPENDIX B CHANGING FORMAT OF CAPTURED IMAGES The FastViewer XL always saves captured images in the TIFF Tagged Image File Format preserving all video information A significant 6 20 times reduction in the image file size and better utilization of the available disk storage can be achieved by switching to other image file formats JPEG or other and selecting an appropriate level of image quality A very popular and reliable utility program for the image conversion is the freely distributable IrfanView developed by Irfan Skiljan www irfanview com Irfan Skiljan is doing an outstanding job in supporting a very large selection
7. Tinted Image White Balanced Color Image Figure 10 Correcting White Balance The White Balance correction sets the Color Gains special parameters that will be displayed in the Camera Control screen and used by the color image reconstruction software These values are preset or generated by the white balancing operation and usually not expected to be changed by the user 4 Image sensor calibration Reading accurate video information from the camera sensor requires its calibration An uncalibrated sensor output could display vertical streaks 13 i Figure 11 Image from uncalibrated sensor Sensor calibration happens automatically on exit from the Camera Controls The user can force sensor calibration by clicking on the Cal Sensor button RECORDING CONTROLS 1 Grab button Pressing the Grab button starts a continuous grabbing operation Video frames captured from the camera are stored in the memory of each frame grabber in a circular buffer but not transferred to the host system memory During grabbing the image preview area at the main application window is continuously updated with the latest video image from the camera for operator information only and at a refresh rate that is typically much slower then actual frame capture rat
8. and results in fewer effective bits of difference between these regions The relative effects of sensor noise and rounding will play a stronger role with fewer bit differences between pixels On the other hand longer than necessary Exposure will have two adverse effects blurring images of fast moving objects and loss of video information due to the video signal saturation 11 ROI X 0 1279 Y 0 1023 Statistics ROI x 0 1279 Y 0 1023 Statistics Mean 44 A Mean 127 A s StDev 51 5 rE Max 40182 Mode 255 StDev 20 1 Max 42324 Mode 49 Number Number 5 3 j oaooooosoooaoooao o eeeaeaeaecaeeeeee ao amp Pixel Value Pixel Value Underexposure Saturation Figure 7 Histograms of Images with Incorrect Exposure Settings 3 Capturing Color Video The color version of the FastCamera uses a Bayer color filter superimposed directly on the CMOS image sensor Each pixel is responsible for only one of the primary colors The color component of video data has to be reconstructed after video capture from non overlapping sets of pixels that are responsible for each color Figure 8 Bayer color filter The FastViewer XL application can handle only one color or monochrome FastCamera at a time The camera type is reflected in the BAYER entry in the FastCamera ini file placed in the WINDIR directory usually C WINDOWS during the FastViewer XL installation See Appe
9. ctures T est 5 21 D Camera Test Pictures T est 5 21 D Camera Test Pictures T est 5 21 D Camera Test Pictures T est 5 21 D Camera Test Pictures T est 5 21 D Camera Test Pictures T est 5 21 DA Camera Test Pictures Test5 21 Start Cancel Eje Add Add all Remove Aemove ll Sort files Move up Move don LEELEE Preview image e Preview Figure 21 Batch File Conversion screen in the IrfanView File name Include subdirectories Saved6b6664 tif Save066670 tif F saveD6667 1 tif Ea Save066672 tif Ed Save066673 tif Ed Save066674 tif Ed Save066675 tif Files of type Common graphic Files o SaveUbee E saveD6667 Ed Save0666 Ed Save0666 Ed Savelb66t Ed Save0666t Use this directory as output Output directory D Camera Test Pictures est 5 27 350 501 501 pega Browse Work az Batch conversion Batch rename Batch conversion settings Output format Use advanced options JPG JPEG Format Options Set advanced options Batch rename settings Set rename options Select file in the browser window on the right and use Add button to include selected files in the Input files list on the left Or use Add all button to include them all Make sure that Output directory is the one you have chosen to receive converted file Once you have added all desired files to the Input list click Start and wait for completion of t
10. e Zooming and panning functions are available by using the mouse The grabbing operation continues until the user clicks on the Stop Grab button or until a trigger signal is received according to Trigger definition see Triggered Grabbing section C 2 Stop Grab button Once a grab command is initiated the Stop Grab button stops the acquisition process of the images and freezes the images already stored in the buffer The image set will include as many preceding image frames as the buffer will hold prior to clicking the Stop Grab button 14 3 Save Files button After the trigger operation is terminated the raw image data located in the frame grabbers RAM can be stored to the hard disk This is a necessary step if image data will be archived or used in post processing Saving gigabytes of image data can take a significant time The progress bar will show the status of the save operation and the Save Files button will become the Abort Save button in case the user will decide to postpone the saving operation till a later time A better way to control saving captured video frames to disk is to use Record Table facility described below 4 Record Table Quite often not all video information captured and held in the frame grabber memory is worth preserving on the hard disk for post processing or archiving Pressing the Record Table button opens up the recording schedule dialog box shown in Figure which enables the definition of frame sequ
11. e frame Actual values of RO parameters will be displayed in the ROI parameter boxes User can change them directly and activate new values by clicking on the Set button The Full Frame button restores ROI parameters to the full resolution of the camera sensor When it is necessary for the ROI of capture to be smaller then the full frame it can be interactively positioned over the desired area in the frame justifying its name and region of interest That operation can be done by directly specifying the position of the upper left corner of the ROI It is done by editing values in the boxes called Top and Left or dragging the thin wire frame that appears in the center of the image preview panel when the ROI is less then the full frame 2 Exposure Control Exposure control complements the function of mechanical lens aperture controls to match sensitivity of the camera CMOS image sensor to available lighting and get the best deal out of limited number of bit per pixel Difference in signals from dark and bright regions of captured images should be spread as far as possible over sensor s digitization range to extract most video information from the sensor PR 0 1 279 Mean 83 StDew 36 2 26728 Max 26728 Mode 98 20046 13364 Number 6632 Pixel Value Figure 6 Histogram of Image captured with Optimal Exposure Setting The insufficient Exposure will have the video signal confined to a small segment of the digitization range
12. e parameters is in a Playback session navigating among captured frames by means of a frame slider of forward back buttons and observing the frame number indicator 15 9000000000000 Ea ek K gt gt gt IE Displaying Image 35 of 819 a cnn Record Table adil Pa E a a 2 LL 7 e e eqe eoeeqeeaoeaeee ae Seeeeeaeaeceeceacecneea Status CIO au je I ce eeeaeaeaeeeeeeeaecaeeceaeeeea ao amp Figure 13 Creating and Editing Record Table FastYiewer Real Time Image Capture Application Hold SHIFT Down Then Move Mouse To Pan Left Right Click to Zoom Camera Settings Fv131280 1024 Frame Rate 498 0 fps Resolution 1280 x 1024 1 00 Shutter Operation Control Grab Stop Camera Control Ee Debaver and shrink display F Do white balance Frame 559 Remaining 4 Trigger Manual 02 Trigger Setup Fire Trigger PlayBack Manager Playback Files Load Files A II gt jee lk gt gt Saved image 243 of 819 Record Table Status Exit About Figure 14 Save Files operation in progress F TRIGGERED GRABBING FastViewer XL provides a Trigger feature that enables a more flexible way of when to stop capturing images in the frame grabber memory it allows the user a more precise definition of an image capture 16 set that includes a specified number of images before and after a Tr
13. ences that have to be saved on disk and allows skipping unwanted frames inside and outside these sequences The recording table can be fragmented to include as many recording sequences as necessary tailoring the capture process to the needs of the application Variety of Record Tables can be conveniently saved as files and re used later in recurring operations Recording Schedule x 1 E 1 10 20 2 Load Save Delete dd New Frames parameters From fia Tot 20 OF Cancel Gap Figure 12 Creating and Editing Record Table To add a new entry to the table the user has to define a frame sequence by specifying the desired From frame number the To frame number and the frame sequence stride Gap The new frame sequence is inserted into the Record Table by pressing the Add button An error message will appear in case of a conflict between the new parameters and the existing entries in the table In order to delete an entry in the Record Table the user has to select that line in the table and press the Delete button The Record Table data can be saved to a file by pressing the Save button and can be loaded from a file by pressing the Load button and selecting a desired file Record Table modifies the behavior of the Save Files facility screening out all unwanted frames and reducing clutter in the image file storage It doesn t have any other effects on the application The best time to define Record Tabl
14. entative on the telephone call the number below and ask for Technical Support Telephone 603 891 4317 If you would rather FAX a written description of the problem make sure you address the FAX to Technical Support and send it to Fax 603 891 1881 You can email a description of the problem to support FastVision com 26 Before you contact technical support have the following information ready Serial numbers and hardware revision numbers of all of your products This information is written on the invoice that was shipped with your products Also each product has its serial number and revision number written on either in ink or in bar code form The version of the FASTVIEWER XL software that you are using The type and version of the host operating system i e Windows 98 Note the types and numbers of all your software revisions daughter card libraries the application library and the compiler Returning Products for Repair or Replacements Our first concern is that you be pleased with your FastVision products If after trying everything you can do yourself and after contacting FastVision Technical Support you feel your hardware or software is not functioning properly you can return the product to FastVision for service or replacement Service or replacement may be covered by your warranty depending upon your warranty The first step is to call FastVision and request a Return Materials Authorization RMA number T
15. figuration Generally such a computer system is classified as a computer server It is recommended that no other computer or data movement applications are running during video capture operations FASTVIEWER XL SYSTEM The FastViewer XL is a digital recording system that is based on the FastVision FastCamera and the Alacron Fast XL family of frame grabbers The application works under Windows XP 2000 NT operating systems The FastViewer XL system enables recording of video presented by a FastCamera at the full Camera LinkL speed The FastViewer XL system achieves high frame rate recording of images by storing them in the frame grabber internal memory first than assembling video record collection into a seamless video record in the PC system memory RAM and optionally storing it in disk files The maximum video recording rate from the FastCamera is 660 MB s The frame rate to the disk files depends on the hardware configuration The FastViewer XL also allows offline video playback of image files that were saved in TIFF format as recorded by the FastViewer XL system A HARDWARE INSTALLATION NOTE Hardware components of the FastCamera XL system are very sensitive to electrostatic discharge ESD and can be irreversibly damaged by improper handling Persons performing hardware installation should use a grounding strip and strictly follow proper procedures Installation of the Fast XL frame grabber requires availability of a PCI slot in the H
16. he conversion process 24 TIFF To JPEG Conversion Start IrfanView Select File Batch Conversion Find Folder and Files for Conversion Select Files and Click Add Button Select Output Directory Choose Output Format Click on Start Button anc watch it roll Figure 22 Batch File Conversion from TIFF to JPEG in the IrfanView 25 TROUBLESHOOTING There are several things you can try before you call FastVision Technical Support for help Make sure the computer is plugged in Make sure the power source is on Go back over the hardware installation to make sure that the system is properly installed Go back over the software installation to make sure you have installed all necessary software Run the Installation User Test to verify correct installation of both hardware and software Run the user diagnostics test for your main board to make sure it s working properly Insert the FastVision CD ROM and check the various Release Notes to see if there is any information relevant to the problem you are experiencing The release notes are available in the directory C Program Files FastVision FastViewerXL alinfo FASTVISION TECHNICAL SUPPORT FastVision offers technical support to any licensed user during the normal business hours of 9 a m to 5 p m EST We offer assistance on all aspects of processor board and PMC installation and operation H CONTACTING TECHNICAL SUPPORT To speak with a Technical Support Repres
17. his is the number assigned both to your returning product and to all records of your communications with Technical Support When a FastVision technician receives your returned hardware or software he will match its RMA number to the on file information you have given us so he can solve the problem you ve cited When calling for an RMA number please have the following information ready Serial numbers and descriptions of product s being shipped back A listing including revision numbers for all software libraries applications daughter cards etc A clear and detailed description of the problem and when it occurs Exact code that will cause the failure A description of any environmental condition that can cause the problem All of this information will be logged into the RMA report so it s there for the technician when your product arrives at FastVision Put boards inside their anti static protective bags Then pack the product s securely in the original shipping materials if possible and ship to 2 FastVision LLC 71 Spit Brook Rd Suite 200 Nashua NH 03060 USA Clearly mark the outside of your package Attention RMA 90XXX Remember to include your return address and the name and number of the person who should be contacted if we have questions REPORTING BUGS We at FastVision are continually improving our products to ensure the success of your projects In addition to ongoing improvements every FastVision product is p
18. igger signal was initiated In a matter of speaking captured images surround the Trigger event The amount of images to be acquired prior to the Trigger is defined by the Trigger Percent parameter see Figure 15 below Trigger Settings x Trigger Position E Percent Pre T rigger Post T rigger Trigger Mode Manual External Falling Cancel Figure 15 Trigger Setup dialog box The FastViewer XL trigger function is a Stop On Trigger function i e the system has to be in a Grab mode before it can receive the Trigger signal The Trigger signal can be either software driven using the Fire Trigger button or hardware driven using one of the trigger input lines in the frame grabber connector When a trigger signal is received the current frame in the frames buffer is marked as a reference ID frame 0 All the frames accumulated prior to Trigger will be marked with a negative ID frame number relative to their position to the trigger and all frames accumulated past the Trigger will be bear a positive ID number The Trigger Percent to be defined by user determines the size of the frames buffer to be allocated to the pre trigger images The recording process ends when all image buffers in the frame grabbers are filled up in the Trigger mode or unconditionally when the user activates the Stop Grab button After recording the images are stored in the frame grabber RAM and may be viewed by using the preview
19. image is greater then the viewer window Figure 17 and Table 2 present all PlayBack Manager Controls 19 Playback anage lt gt liz E gt gt gt Figure 17 Play Back Manager controls PLAY BACK MODE The track bar below the Image Preview panel presents an alternative control The user can view any image frame in the selected set simply by moving the slider in the track bar The left most and the right most positions of the slider correspond to the first and the last frames of the set PLAY BACK BUTTONS Table 2 Play back buttons buffer according to the frame rate recorded buffer according to the frame rate E Moves to the end of the buffer and displays the last image in the recorded buffer Moves forward through the recorded buffer manually frame by frame F Moves backwards through the recorded buffer manually frame by frame EET Moves to the beginning of the buffer and displays the first image in the lis recorded buffer gt gt 20 Video Playback Controls eeed eee Jd Play Reverse Play Normal lt gt 9 i Puj e 9 9 e 9 9 Start Of Previous File Frame lt lt lt Figure 18 Sequence of controls in the Play Back Mode 21 APPENDIX A CAPTURE DESCRIPTION FILE The FastViewer XL application operation depends on the capture description file FastCamera ini that holds information about the camera type exposure frame rate RO
20. ndix A Setting BAYER 1 enables color controls on the Main screen of FastViewer XL application e Debayer and shrink display Do white balance Figure 9 Color image capture controls The first control De bayer and shrink display affects only the Image Display area on the Main screen lt uses a simple and fast algorithm to restore color image for operator s convenience When captured frames are to be stored to the disk the operator will be queried again if color information should be restored A more sophisticated resolution preserving algorithm will be applied to frames during the Save Files operation The second color camera control deals with a specifically color problem caused by variations in the color spectrum of illumination sources Color images captured in different illumination setups can appear to a human observer as having a wrong tinted color Such effect can be easily monitored in image areas known to be white or gray Human vision will automatically adjust and compensate for changes in illumination the CMOS camera sensor has to be programmed to do so An evenly lighted white or gray object has to be introduced in the FastCamera field of view and Do white balance 12 button clicked The object should cover most or all of the camera view to support this operation Successful operation will eliminate tint in white and gray areas producing natural correctly colored images White Balance Calibration Object
21. of various video and graphical image formats EN save066800 tif Irfanview Zoom 697 x 650 loj xj File Edit Image Options View Help FAx HESSD a F Ufa Pm F 536 x 500 x amp BPP 144 257 130 Ho 124 19 KB 262 76 KB 5 21 2004 es ot Figure 20 The IrfanView Main screen This utility program supports batch conversion and re sizing re sampling of images that is fast and easy to accomplish Simply start the IrfanView and select File gt Batch Conversion Rename command 23 Ms ave066800 tif Irfanview Zoom 697 4 650 Fie Edit Image Options View Help Look in E 350501501 E Savel66658 tif Ed savedes659 tif Ee Sawe066665 bif Ed saveoseced tif Ed save066666 kf Ed Save0s6561 if E save066667 kf Ed Saveds6s6z if EH save066668 kf Ed saveoseces tif EM save066669 kf Input files D Camera Test Pictures T est 5 21 a D Camera Test Pictures T est 5 21 D Camera Test Pictures T est 5 21 D Camera Test Pictures T est 5 21 D Camera Test Pictures T est 5 21 D Camera Test Pictures T est 5 21 D Camera Test Pictures T est 5 21 D Camera Test Pictures T est 9 27 D Camera Test Pictures T est 5 21 D Camera Test Pictures T est 5 21 D Camera Test Pictures T est 5 21 D Camera Test Pictures T est 5 21 D Camera Test Pictures T est 5 21 D Camera Test Pictures T est 5 21 D Camera Test Pictures T est 5 21 D Camera Test Pictures T est 5 21 D Camera Test Pictures T est 5 21 D Camera Test Pi
22. on mark attached to its name in the list C OPERATING MODES The FastViewer XL system operates in one of two self descriptive distinct modes Video Capture or Video Playback and Review No special reconfiguration is required to transition between these operating modes and the operator can switch modes at will Immediately after starting the FastViewer XL application the users will see a large main screen that can be positioned anywhere in the system window The screen displays video camera parameters and contains the most often used controls for both operating modes The first step immediately after the FastViewer XL application starts is to initialize the FastCamera by pressing the Camera Control button and set the appropriate frame rate and exposure The application retains this information from session to session If you see the right parameters in the Camera Control screen simply click OK and return back to the main screen FastViewer Real Time TEE Capture Application o Hold SHIFT Down Then Move Mouse To Pan Left Right Click ta Zoom Camera Settings Fy13 1280 x 1024 Frame Rate 488 0 fos Resolution 1280 1024 1 00 Shutter Operation Control Grab Stop Camera Control Save Files FP Bebaver and shrink display Bo white balance Frame 416 Remaining 6 Trigger Manual 0 Trigger Setup Fire Trigger PlayBack Manager Playback Files Load Files li ES gt gt gt
23. ost PC chassis Due to additional clearance needed by the board memory modules the Fast XL board should be positioned next to an unoccupied PCI slot or in the farthermost PCI slot on the motherboard that provides additional space Necessary components e Fast XL frame grabber board e FastCamera cable e FastCamera power supply and cable 1 Opening the System Chassis Remove screws holding side pane of the chassis closest to the fans in the back slide the panel out and put it away protecting from scratches and warping The side panel should be replaced at the end of the hardware installation procedure 2 Installing the Fast XL frame grabber board Engage board support bracket in a holder if available in the chassis Carefully slide frame grabber board in position until it is fully inserted in the PCI socket Use a screw to attach rear bracket to the chassis an i i k E ag T e EF p We Rear Bracket Support Bracket Figure 1 Installing the Fast XL frame grabber board in a chassis 3 Closing the System Chassis Reverse steps taken to open chassis restoring and affixing the side panel 4 Attaching CLs to the frame grabber Take two standard Camera LinkL cables and attach one end of each cable to both CL connectors on the Fast XL frame grabber board Both connector screws should be evenly tightened for a reliable signal connection See Figure 2 below 5 Attaching CL cables to the FastCamera Carefully at
24. rosoft All trademarks are the property of their respective holders FastVision LLC 131 Daniel Webster Hwy 529 Nashua NH 03060 USA Telephone 603 891 4317 Fax 603 891 1881 Web Site http www Fast Vision com Email sales Fast Vision com or support Fast Vision com TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION cito 4 FASTVIEWER A LE SYSTEM rcc ee ees 5 Az Hardware Installation A A 5 I Opening the System Chassi S oi AA 5 2 Installing the Fast XL frame grabber board ccccoonncccccoccncoconconoconcononononnononcnnnonarnnnonanrnnnnnncnnnnanenoss 5 3 CIOSING Ine System Unas Si dE 6 4 Attaching CLs to the frame grabber ccccconnnccccnconccccnnococononoconnnnnonannnnonannnnononnnnonnnnnnnannncnnannnnonanas 6 5 Attaching CL cables to the FastCamera cccooncnccccnnnccccnnococonnoncnoncnnnnnnnncononcnnnnnannnnnnannnnonannnnnnnnaness 6 6 Connecting the FastCamera power supply oocccoccccccccncccccnccocnncconnnonncnnononononnnononnnononenononononaninonoss 7 B Software Installation ninia 7 Cs O o o AA O 7 VIDEO CAPTURE MODE c A A A 9 D Using Camera Controls aia a ead a tees A eee 9 1 Frame Rate and ROI SClO CuO nt eeina isii AA bs 10 27 EXPOSE CONO erea o 11 3 Capturing Colo VideO renia a a i a a a a N AI 12 A Image sensor callao socias a A a 13 E Recording Controls ici ides a iia aaa 14 Ws Grap DUMON ee aoa a diia 14 Zi OOP Ola DUON asta ic oia 14 3s Save Files DUO stat iaa 15 A Record Tabla
25. s tn nico 15 F IM glo do Ayto GraDDING A A A adesceccueesceenseserecse 16 l TIMO 2 oY 2 a1 910 sis adria iaa 18 2 le Mage DUO acorta 18 PLAYBACK MODE eer erg A E A 20 Play Dack DUNONS crisan a 20 APPENDIX A CAPTURE DESCRIPTION FILE 1sccssccssccseccnescsennecseenesennssensenesens 22 APPENDIX B CHANGING FORMAT OF CAPTURED IMAGEN c1scssscseesceensseeees 23 TROUBLESHOOTING i E E TE 26 FASTVISION TECHNICAL SUPPORT sscssccssccssccneccnescsnssnesssecssscsescanseenssesssesssesenens 26 H Contacting Technical SUD POV srccssccesscccacaxccsamsavesaaaseacasancavaneiannsenssensanncencwasnncnassaienanoas 26 k Reporting BUGS cursada aE 28 INTRODUCTION This manual covers the FastVision FASTVIEWER XL system and software The FastViewer XL system consists of a FastCamera connected by two custom Camera LinkL cables to the Fast XL frame grabbers see below working in parallel to support the camera at the highest video rate The FastViewer XL application is a Windows GUI based application making the frame grabbers and camera work together for easy configuration and acquisition red 1 AL PPT LU The simplified board diagram is presented below SDRAM 1 4 GB Memory Host PCI Bus Proper operation of the FastViewer XL relies on carefully selected hardware components integrated in a well balanced computer system Achieving the digital video rate heavily depends on the underlying IV hardware con
26. tach CL cables from the frame grabber to the FastCamera following the picture in the Figure 2 below B q si a o wn ye LUTT UD awe err Figure 2 Connecting FastCamera to the Fast XL frame grabber board 6 Connecting the FastCamera power supply Connect the round connector from the FastCamera power supply to the corresponding connector on the camera Plug power cord from the AC outlet into receptacle on the FastCamera power supply See Figure 2 above SOFTWARE INSTALLATION Follow these instructions to install the FastViewer XL software Insert the FastViewer XL installation CD ROM into your CD ROM drive Access your CD ROM drive by going to Fast XL directory and double clicking Setup exe to run the FastViewer XL installation Follow the FastViewer XL on screen instructions After the installation is complete reboot the PC System to complete the software installation and the environment setup Install the driver for the frame grabber board after reboot The Plug and play dialog box will ask for the driver point browser to C FastVision FastViewer XL Drivers win2k Answer Yes to allow installation for PIXCI CL3SD PCI card driver from that location Reboot your PC system to load the driver You can check successful installation by verifying that Settings gt Control Panel gt System gt Hardware gt Device Manager gt Imaging devices gt PIXCI CL3SD operates correctly and doesn t have a yellow questi
27. te or ROI depending on the purpose of the video capture application The frame rate change is the easiest It can be accomplished by either moving the slider under the Frame Rate display box or directly typing a value in the box After approximately two seconds delay the application will accept new values and the typed value will be replaced by a more verbose message describing the new frame rate Simultaneously the box above frame rate display will show the video capture data rate generated by the frame rate necessary to transport video data to the Host PC If displayed data rate exceeds capability of a chosen interconnect Camera Link Basic Medium Full or USB video capture at such frame rate must be stored in the FastCamera internal memory and later forwarded to the Host PC at the slower rate The FastViewer XL application helps the user balance the effects of the changes The FastViewer XL adjusts size but not position of the ROI if the desired frame rate was changed beyond the capacity of the interconnect rate On the other side if the user makes the ROI a bit too large the software reduces the frame rate Once the selection is made the software preserves it during and between sessions The last set of user s choices will be loaded and displayed the next time the FastViewer XL is started 10 The current ROI selection is indicated by a blinking green frame that can be dragged and repositioned by the user over the desired location in th
28. the FastViewer system 1 Trigger Settings Pressing the Trigger Setup button opens the trigger setup dialog as shown in the Figure 5 above Trigger Setup enables you to define the trigger percentage value and trigger mode The default trigger percentage is 0 which means that the system will perform full buffer recording after receiving a trigger command Trigger percentages are set from 0 to 100 in 1 increments A progress bar located below the trigger percentage indicates the value graphically The default trigger mode is manual which means that the user fires the trigger The external trigger mode inhibits the software trigger operation and passes the trigger control to the frame grabber The trigger set up and mode is part of the trigger settings frame at the main application window 2 Fire Trigger button Pressing this button fires the software trigger to control the triggered grabbing operation as described above The FastViewer XL Fig 16 allows viewing a sequence of video frames that were previously grabbed and saved to the hard disk using the FastViewer XL system Real Time Im age Capture Application O x Hold SHIFT Down Then Move Mouse To Pan Left Right Click to oom FastViewer z Camera Settings F13 1280 1024 Frame Rate 100 0 fp Resolution 1280 x 1024 Shutter 10 00 Operation Control Camera Control M Debaper and shrink display Do white balance Frame 272
29. ut through extensive and varied testing Even so occasionally situations can come up in the fields that were not encountered during our testing at FastVision lf you encounter a software or hardware problem or anomaly please contact us immediately for assistance Ifa fix is not available right away often we can devise a work around that allows you to move forward with your project while we continue to work on the problem you ve encountered It is important that we are able to reproduce your error in an isolated test case You can help if you create a stand alone code module that is isolated from your application and yet clearly demonstrates the anomaly or flaw Describe the error that occurs with the particular code module and email the file to us at support FastVision com We will compile and run the module to track down the anomaly you ve found If you do not have Internet access or if it is inconvenient for you to get to access copy the code to a disk describe the error and mail the disk to Technical Support at the FastVision address below If the code is small enough you can also FAX the code module to us at 603 891 1881 If you are faxing the code write everything large and legibly and remember to include your description of the error When you are describing a software problem include revision numbers of all associated software For documentation errors photocopy the passages in question mark on the page the number and
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