Getting Started with
Your IMAQ PCI/PXI-1408
and the NI-IMAQ Software
for Windows 95/NT
High-Quality Monochrome Image Acquisition Boards
for PCI, PXI, and CompactPCI Bus
PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT
October 1997 Edition
Part Number 321325B-01
© Copyright 1996, 1997 National Instruments Corporation. All rights reserved.
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Warranty
The IMAQ PCI-1408 and PXI-1408 devices are warranted against defects in materi als and workmanship for a per iod
of one year from the date of shipment, as evidenced by receipts or other docume ntat ion. Nation al Instru men ts will, at
its option, repair or replace equipment that proves to be defective during the warranty period. This warranty in clud es
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by receipts or other documentation. National Instruments will, at its option, repair or replace soft ware media that do
not execute programming instructions if National Instruments receives notice of such defects during the warranty
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harmful interference when the equipment is operated in a commercial environment. This equipment
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About This Manual
Organization of This Manual........................................................................................ix
Conventions Used in This Manual................................................................................ x
National Instruments Documentation. ...... ....................................................................xi
Related Documentation.................................................................................................xii
Customer Communication..................................................................... .......................xii
Chapter 1
Introduction
About Your 1408 Device.............................................................................................. 1-1
Using PXI with CompactPCI........................................................................................1-2
What You Need to Get Started.....................................................................................1-3
Software Programming Choices...................................................................................1-4
National Instruments Application Software...................................................1-4
NI-IMAQ Driver Software.............................................................................1-5
Optional Equipment......................................................................................................1-6
Unpacking.....................................................................................................................1-7
How to Set up Your IMAQ System..............................................................................1-7
Table
of
Contents
Chapter 2
Configuration and Installation
Board Configuration.....................................................................................................2-1
VIDEO0 Input Mode......................................................................................2-3
External CLK and Synchronization Input Mode............................................2-4
Switch S1........................................................................................................2-5
Installation ....................................................................................................................2-5
Chapter 3
Hardware Overview
Functional Overview.....................................................................................................3-1
Video Mux......................................................................................................3-2
Antichrominance Filter...................................................................................3-2
Programmable Gain and Offset......................................................................3-2
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National Instruments Corporation v PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT
Table of Contents
8-Bit ADC and LUT ...................................................................................... 3-3
CSYNC Mux.................................................................................................. 3-3
Genlock and Synchronization Circuitry.........................................................3-3
VCO and PLL Circuitry.................................................................................3-3
Pixel Aspect Ratio Circuitry..........................................................................3-3
PCLK, HSYNC, VSYNC Mux...................................................................... 3-4
RTSI Bus........................................................................................................ 3-4
Trigger Control and Mapping Circuitry.........................................................3-4
Acquisition and Region-of-Interest Control .......................................... ........ 3-4
FIFO Buffer....................................................................................................3-4
Scatter-Gather DMA Controllers...................................................................3-5
PCI Interface.................................................................................................. 3-5
Board Configuration NVRAM....................................................................... 3-5
Video Acquisition.........................................................................................................3-6
Start/Stop Conditions.....................................................................................3-6
Acquisition Window Control.........................................................................3-6
Programming Video Parameters.................................................................... 3-8
Acquisition Modes........................................................................................................ 3-10
Chapter 4
Signal Connections
BNC Connector............................................................................................................ 4-1
I/O Connector............................................................................................................... 4-1
I/O Connector Signal Connection Descriptions............................................. 4-2
Chapter 5
Configuration Utility
Introduction..................................................................................................................5-1
Using IMAQconf........................................................... ............................................... 5-1
Description Tab.............................................................................................. 5-2
Camera Tab.................................................................................................... 5-4
Basic Camera Settings..................................................................... 5-7
Advanced Camera Settings.............................................................. 5-9
StillColor Settings.......................................................................................... 5-12
LUT Tab.................................................... ...... ...... ......................................... 5-15
Operating Mode Tab......................................................................................5-19
Saving Your Configuration.......................................................................................... 5-22
Testing Your Configuration .................................... ..................................................... 5-22
Image Storage............................................................................................................... 5-24
PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT vi
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National Instruments Corporation
Appendix A
Specifications
Appendix B
StillColor
Appendix C
Custom Cables
Appendix D
Customer Communication
Glossary
Index
Figures
Figure 1-1. The Relationship between the Programming Environment,
NI-IMAQ, and Your Hardware .............................................................1-6
Figure 1-2. How to Set up Your IMAQ System.......................................................1-8
Table of Contents
Figure 2-1. PCI-1408 Parts Locator Diagram ..........................................................2-2
Figure 2-2. PXI-1408 Parts Locator Diagram..........................................................2-3
Figure 2-3. Configuring VIDEO0 with Jumper W1.................................................2-4
Figure 2-4. Configuring PCLK, VSYNC, HSYNC, and CSYNC with
Jumper W3.............................................................................................2-4
Figure 2-5. Switch S1...............................................................................................2-5
Figure 3-1. 1408 Device Block Diagram..................................................................3-2
Figure 3-2. Video Line ............................................................................................. 3-7
Figure 3-3. Video Field ............................................................................................3-8
Figure 4-1. BNC Connector Pin Assignment...........................................................4-1
Figure 4-2. I/O Connector Pin Assignments ............................................................4-2
Figure 5-1. StillColor Modes Dialog Boxes.............................................................5-2
Figure 5-2. Description Tab......................................................................................5-3
Figure 5-3. Camera Tab ............................................................................................5-4
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National Instruments Corporation vii PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT
Table of Contents
Figure 5-4. Monochrome and Color Used as Monochrome Video Line ................. 5-5
Figure 5-5. Composite Color Video Line ................................................................5-6
Figure 5-6. Basic Camera Settings........................................................................... 5-7
Figure 5-7. Advanced Camera Settings ...................................................................5-9
Figure 5-8. Basic StillColor Settings ....................................................................... 5-12
Figure 5-9. StillColor Advanced Settings................................................................5-13
Figure 5-10. LUT Tab Settings.................................................................................. 5-15
Figure 5-11. Normal LUT..........................................................................................5-16
Figure 5-12. Inverse LUT .......................................................................................... 5-16
Figure 5-13. Log LUT................................................................................................ 5-17
Figure 5-14. Exponential LUT................................................................................... 5-17
Figure 5-15. Binary LUT ...........................................................................................5-18
Figure 5-16. Inverse Binary LUT............................................................................... 5-19
Figure 5-17. Operating Mode Tab ............................................................................. 5-20
Figure 5-18. Diagnostics Settings..............................................................................5-23
Figure B-1. Classical Decoding................................................................................B-4
Figure B-2. Still Color Decoding...............................................................................B-4
Figure B-3. White Light and the Visible Spectrum.................................................. B-7
Figure C-1. 25-Pin DSUB Receptacle ...................................................................... C-1
Tables
Table 1-1. Pins Used by the PXI-1408 Device.......................................................1-2
Table 4-1. I/O Connector Signals...........................................................................4-2
PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT viii
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National Instruments Corporation
Getting Started with Your IMAQ PCI/PXI-1408 and the NI-IMA Q
Software for Windows 95/NT describes th e feat u res , fun ct ion s , an d
operation of the IMAQ PCI-1 408 a nd PX I- 1408 d ev ices.
The 1408 device s are high- ac cura cy, mo nochr om e image acq uisition
(IMAQ) boards for PCI, PXI, or Com pactPCI that supports RS -170,
CCIR, NTSC, and PAL video standards from any of four inputs. Getting
Started with Your IMAQ PCI/PXI-1408 a nd the NI-IMAQ Software for
Windows 95/NT is intended for users with a basic kn owled ge of image
acquisit i o n.
Organization of This Manual
Getting Started with Your IMAQ PCI/PXI-1408 and the NI-IMA Q
Software for Windows 95/NT is organized as follows:
• Chapter 1, Introduction, desc ribes the PCI-14 08 and PXI-14 08
devices; lists what you ne ed to get sta rted; d escribes sof tware
programming choices, optional equipment, and cu stom cables ;
and explains how to unpa ck a nd set u p y our 14 08 devic e.
• Chapter 2, Configuration and Installation, explains ho w to
configure and install your 1408 devi ce.
• Chapter 3, Hardware Overview, presents an overview of the
hardware functions on your 1408 device and explains the operation
of each functional unit making up the 1408 device.
• Chapter 4, Signal Connections, describes cable connec tions for the
PCI-1408 and PXI-140 8 devi ces.
• Chapter 5, Configuration Utility, descr ibes the b asic f unctions of
IMAQconf, the configuration and diagnostic utility included with
the 1408 device.
• Appendix A, Specifications, lists the specifications of the
PCI-1408 and PXI-140 8 devi ces.
About
This
Manual
©
National Instruments Corporation ix PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT
About This Manual
• Appendix B, StillColor, describes the different methods you can
use to acquire a color im age using the I MAQ PC I/ PX I-14 08 an d
National Instruments StillColor technology, explains basic color
theories, and describes the dif ferent o utput option s suppo rted b y
StillColor.
• Appendix C, Custom Cables, lists specifications for buildi ng
custom cabling for your 1408 device .
• Appendix D, Customer Communication, contains forms you can
use to request help from National Instruments or to comment on our
products and manuals.
•The Glossary contains an alphabetical list and description of terms
used in this manual, including abbreviations, acronym s, metric
prefixes, mnemonics, and symbols.
•The Index cont ains a n al phabe tical list o f key te rms a nd topic s in
this manual, including the page whe re you can fin d ea ch on e.
Conventions Used in This Manual
The following conventions are used in this manual:
<> Angle brackets containing numbers separated by an ellipses represent a
range of values associated with a bit or signal name (for exam ple,
ACH<0..7>).
– A hyphen between tw o or mo re key name s en clos ed in an gle brac kets
denotes that you should s imultan eously press the na med keys— for
example, <Control–Alt–Delete>.
» The » symbol leads you through nested menu items and dialog box
options to a final action. The sequence
File»Page Setup»Options»Substitute Font s directs you to pull down
the File menu, select th e Page Setup item, select Options, and finally
select the Substitute Fonts options from the last dialog box.
This icon to the left of bold italicized text denotes a note, which alerts you
to important information.
This icon to the left of bol d italicized te xt denotes a warni ng, which advises
you of precautions to take to avoid being electrically shocked.
1408 device 1408 device refer s to the I MAQ PC I-1 408 a nd PX I-1408 im ag e
acquisition boards, unless otherwise noted .
PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT x
©
National Instruments Corporation
About This Manual
bold Bold text denotes menus, menu items, or dialog box buttons or options.
italic Italic text denotes emphasis, a cross reference, or an introduction to a
key concept. This font also deno tes text for w hich you supply the
appropriate word or v alue, such a s in Windo ws 3.x.
bold italic Bold italic text denotes a note, caution, or warning.
monospace Lowercase text in this font denotes text or characters that are to be
literally input from the keyboard, sections of code, programming
examples, and syntax examples. This font is also used for the proper
names of disk drives, paths, directories, programs, sub progra ms,
subroutines, device names, functions, variable s, filenames and
extensions, and for stat emen ts a nd comm en ts take n from p rogra ms.
National Instruments Documentation
Getting Started with Your IMAQ PCI/PXI-1408 and the NI-IMA Q
Software for Windows 95/NT is one pie ce o f the do cu menta tion se t for
your image acquisition system. You could have any of several types of
manuals, depending on the hardware and software in your system. Use
the different types of manuals you have as follows:
• Software documentation—You may have both application software
and NI-IMAQ software documentation . National Instru ments
application software incl udes LabV IE W an d La bWindow s
After you set up you r hardw are sy stem, use ei ther the ap plicat ion
software (LabVIEW or LabW indo ws/CVI ) docum en tation, o r th e
NI-IMAQ documentation to help you write your application. If you
have a large and complicated system, it is worthwhile to look
through the software doc um entation be fore y ou co nfig ure your
hardware.
• Accessory installation guides or manuals—I f you are using
accessory products, read the terminal block and cable assembly
installation guides or accessory board user manuals. They explain
how to physically co nnec t the releva nt p ieces of the s ystem .
Consult these guides when you are mak ing your c onne ctions.
™
/CVI.
©
National Instruments Corporation xi PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT
About This Manual
Related Documentation
The following documents contain information that you may find helpful
as you read this manual:
• Your computer’s technical reference manual
• National Instruments PXI Specification, rev. 1.0
• PICMG CompactPCI 2 .0 R2 .1
Customer Communication
National Instruments wants to rece ive you r com ments o n ou r prod ucts
and manuals. We are interested in the applications you develop with
our products, and we want to help if yo u hav e pr oblems with them.
To make it easy for you to contact us, this manua l contains com ment
and configuration forms for you to com plete. Th ese for ms are in
Appendix D, Customer Communication, at the end of this manual.
PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT xii
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National Instruments Corporation
Chapter
Introduction
This chapter describes the PCI-14 08 and PXI-14 08 devices; lists what
you need to get s tarted; d escr ibes softwa re p rog ramm ing ch oices,
optional equipment, and custom cables; and explains how to unpack and
set up your 1408 device.
About Your 1408 Device
The PCI-1408 and PXI-1408 dev ice s ar e high -acc urac y, mon ochro me ,
IMAQ boards for PCI, PXI, or CompactPCI chassis th at support
RS-170, CCIR, NTSC, and PAL video standards from any of four input
sources. The boards feature an 8-bit flash analog-to-digital converter
(ADC) that converts video signals to digital formats. The 1408 devices
acquire frames in real time and transfers them directly to system
memory.
The 1408 device is simple to configure and is factory calibrated so that
you can easily install the board and begin your image acquisition. Th e
1408 device ships with NI-IMAQ, the National Instruments complete
image acquisition driver software you can use to directly control your
1408 device. Us ing NI -I MAQ , yo u c an q uickly a nd ea sily start y our
application without havin g to prog ra m the board a t the r e gister le vel.
1
Featuring low cost and high accurac y, the 1408 device is ideal for both
industrial and scientific environments. As a standalone board, the 1408
device supports four video sources and f our external I/O lines that you
can use as triggers or digital I/O lin es. I f y ou requ ire mo re a dv anced
triggering or additional I/O lines (either digital or analog), you can use
the 1408 device an d N I-IM AQ with th e Nationa l I nstrume nts d ata
acquisition (DAQ) product line.
A common problem with image a cquisition boa rds is that you can not
easily synchronize severa l fu nction s to a comm on trigg er o r timing
event. The 1408 device uses its Real-Time System Integration (RTSI)
bus to solve this problem. The RTSI bus consists of the National
Instruments RTSI bus interface and ribbon cable to route additional
©
National Instruments Corporation 1-1 PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT
Chapter 1 Introduction
timing and trigger signals between the 1408 de vice and up to four
National Instruments DAQ boards in your computer. The RT SI bu s
can even sy nchronize multiple 1408 device image captures.
Detailed specifications of the PCI-1408 and PXI-14 08 are in
Appendix A, Specifications.
Using PXI with CompactPCI
Using PXI-compatible products with standard CompactPCI products is
an important feature provided by the PXI Specification, rev.1.0. If you
use a PXI-compatible plug-in device in a standard Com pactPCI chassis,
you will be unable to use PXI-specific functions, but you can still use
the basic plug-in device function s. For exam ple , the RT SI bus on y our
PXI-1408 device is ava ilable in a PXI chassi s, but not in a Compa ctPCI
chassis.
The CompactPCI specification permits vendors to develop sub-buses
that coexist with the basic PCI interface on the CompactPCI bus.
Compatible operation is not guaran teed betwe en Compac tPCI devices
with different sub-buses nor between Compac tPCI devices with
sub-buses and PXI. The standard implementation for CompactPCI does
not include these sub-buses. Your PX I-1408 devic e will work in any
standard CompactPCI chassis adhering to the PICMG
CompactPCI 2.0 R2.1 document.
PXI specific features are impleme nted on the J2 conne ctor of the
CompactPCI bus. Table 1-1 lists the J2 pins your PXI-1408 device uses.
Your PXI device is compatible with any CompactPCI chassis with a
sub-bus that does not drive these lines. Even if the sub-bus is capable of
driving these lines, the PXI device is still compatible as long as those
pins on the sub-bus are disabled by default and not eve r enabled.
Damage may result if these lines are driven by the sub-bus.
Table 1-1.
PXI-1408
Signal
RTSI
PXI Pin Name PXI J2 Pin Number
PXI Trigger (0..6) B16, A16, A17, A18, B18,
Trigger
(0..6)
PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT 1-2
Pins Used by the PXI-1408 Device
C18, E18
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National Instruments Corporation
What You Need to Get Started
To set up and use your 1 408 device, you w ill need the follow ing:
❑ One of the following 1408 devices:
– PCI-1408
– PXI-1408
NI-IMAQ for Windows 95/NT Release Notes
❑
Getting Started with Your IMAQ PCI/PXI-1408 and the NI-IMA Q
❑
Software for Windows 95/NT
❑ NI-IMAQ for Windows 95/NT and online documentation
❑ Optional software packages and documentation:
–LabVIEW
–BridgeVIEW
– LabWindows/CVI
– IMAQ Vision for G
– IMAQ Vision for LabWindows/CVI
Chapter 1 Introduction
❑ IMAQ BNC-1 shielded, 75 Ω BNC cable for VIDEO0 (included with
the 1408 device)
❑ IMAQ A2504 video cable (optional—for trigger and additional
camera support)
❑ IMAQ A2514 video cable (optional—for complete trigger, additional
camera, and external synchronization support)
❑ BNC-to-RCA adapter (included with your 1408 device)
❑ Your Pentium-based PCI, PXI, or CompactPCI computer running
Windows 95 o r Windows NT
❑ A video camera or other video source
Note: The IMAQ PCI-1408 and PXI-1408 devices re ly on your computer’s PCI
interface chipset for the highest throughput to system memory. For the best
results, your computer should have a Pentium or better processor and an
Intel Triton I, Triton II, or compatible PCI interface chipset.
©
National Instruments Corporation 1-3 PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT
Chapter 1 Introduction
Software Programming Choices
You have several options to choose from w hen progra mming you r
National Instruments IMAQ hardware . You can use National
Instruments application software such as LabVIEW, BridgeVIEW, and
LabWindows/CVI, National Instruments image analysis software such
as IMAQ Vision, or the NI-IMAQ driver software.
National Instruments Application Software
LabVIEW and BridgeVIEW feature interactive graphics, a
state-of-the-art user interface, and a powerful gra phical progr amming
language, G. The NI -IM AQ VI L ibra ry fo r G, a s er ies of virtua l
instruments (VIs) for using LabVIEW and BridgeVIEW with the 1408
device, is included with the NI-IMAQ software kit. The NI-IMAQ VI
Library for G is functionally equiva lent to the NI-IM AQ software .
LabWindows/CVI features interactive graphics, a state-of-the-art user
interface, and uses th e ANSI standa rd C pr ogr am ming la nguage . The
LabWindows/CVI IMAQ Lib rary, a seri es of functio ns for using
LabWindows/CVI with the 1408 device, is included with the NI-IMAQ
software kit. The Lab Windo ws/C VI I MAQ Librar y is fu nc tiona lly
equivalent to the N I-IMAQ softwa re.
IMAQ Vision for G is an image acquisition, processing, and analysis
library that consists of more than 400 VIs for using the PCI/PXI-1408
with LabVIEW and BridgeVIEW . You can use IMAQ Vision for G
functions directly or in combination for unique image processing. There
are two versions of IMAQ Vision for G. The Base version gives you the
ability to acquire, display, manipulate, and store images. The Advanced
version is a complete set of functions for image analysis, processing,
and interpretation. Using IMAQ Vision for G, an imaging novice or
expert can perform gr aphica l p rogra mm ing of the mo st ba sic or
complicated image applications without knowledg e of any algorithm
implementations.
IMAQ Vision for LabWindows /CVI is an image ac quisition and
analysis library consisting of a series of rou tines for using the 1408
device with LabWindows/CVI . IMAQ Vision for La bWindows/CV I
brings the same functionality to LabWindows/CVI as IMAQ Vision
for G does for LabVIEW and BridgeVIEW.
PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT 1-4
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National Instruments Corporation
NI-IMAQ Driver Software
The NI-IMAQ driver software is included at no charge with the
PCI/PXI-1408. NI-IMAQ has an extensive library of functions that you
can call from your applic ation progr am ming e nv ironm ent. Th ese
functions include routines for video configuration, image acquisition
(continuous and single-shot), memory buffer allocation, trigger control,
and board configura tion. The NI -IMA Q dr ive r softw are perf or ms all
functions required for acquiring and saving images. The NI-IMAQ
software doe s no t pe rf or m any i m age an al ysis . F o r im ag e a naly sis
functionality, refer to the National Instruments Application Software
section earlier in this chapter.
NI-IMAQ has bo th h igh-le vel and low-le vel fu nc tions f or max imum
flexibility and performance. Exa mples o f high- leve l func tions inc lude
the functions to acquire images in single-shot or continuous mode. An
example of a low-level function is configuring an image sequence since
it requires advanced understa nding of the 140 8 device and image
acquisit ion .
NI-IMAQ also internally resolves many of the complex issues between
the computer and the 1408 device, such as programming interrupts and
DMA controllers. NI-IMAQ is the interface path between LabVIEW,
BridgeVIEW, LabWindows/CV I, or a con ve ntional p rogra mmin g
environment and the 1408 device .
Chapter 1 Introduction
Any platform that supports NI-IMAQ also supports NI-DAQ and a
variety of National Instruments DAQ boards, so your 1408 device and
NI-IMAQ development can integrate with National Instruments DAQ
products.
Whether you are u sing co nventiona l p rogra mm ing lang uage s or
National Instruments software, you r app lica tion us es the NI- IMAQ
driver software, as illustrated in Figure 1-1.
©
National Instruments Corporation 1-5 PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT
Chapter 1 Introduction
IMAQ Hardware
DAQ Hardware
LabVIEW or BridgeVIEW
(Windows 95, NT)
Figure 1-1. The Relationship between the Programming Environment,
Optional Equipment
NI-IMAQ
Driver Software
NI-IMAQ, and Your Hardware
Personal
Computer or
Workstation
Conventional Programming
Environment (PC)
LabWindows/CVI
(Windows 95, NT)
National Instruments offers a v ari ety of pr oducts for us e w ith yo ur
PCI/PXI-1408 board, including the following cables and other National
Instruments products:
• A four-pod BNC cable, which routes video and trigger signals to a
BNC connector block (IMAQ A2504)
• A 14-pod BNC cab le, whic h rou tes all v ide o, trigger , and
synchronization signals to a BNC con nector blo ck (IMAQ A2514)
• RTSI bus cables for connec ting th e 14 08 device to o ther IMAQ or
DAQ hardware
• Other National Instruments DAQ device s for en hance d trigger ing,
timing, or input/output
For more specific information about these products, refer to your
National Instruments catalogue or c all the of fice near est you .
PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT 1-6
©
National Instruments Corporation
Unpacking
Your 1408 device is ship ped in an a ntistatic p ackage to pr ev ent
electrostatic damage to the board. Electrostatic discharge can damage
several com ponents on the board. To avoid such damage in handling the
board, take the following pre cautions:
• Ground yourself via a ground ing strap or by holdin g a grounded
object.
• Touch the antistatic package to a metal part of your computer
chassis before removing the board from the package.
• Remove the board fr om the package an d inspect the boar d for loose
components or any o t her sig ns o f dama ge. No tify Nationa l
Instruments if the board appears da maged in any way. Do not
install a damaged board in your computer.
• Never touch the exposed pins of connectors.
How to Set up Your IMAQ System
Use Figure 1-2 to install you r softw are and ha rdwa re, c onfig ure you r
hardware, and begin using NI-IM AQ in your applic ation program s.
Chapter 1 Introduction
If you will be accessing the NI-IMAQ device drivers through LabVIEW
or BridgeVIEW, you sho uld read the NI -IM AQ r eleas e notes and the
NI-IMAQ VIs for G Reference Manual to help you get started.
©
National Instruments Corporation 1-7 PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT
Chapter 1 Introduction
Read the NI-IMAQ release notes and follow the
instructions to install your NI-IMAQ software and
Follow the hardware installation instructions in
Chapter 2,
Configure your hardware using the NI-IMAQ
configuration utility, IMAQconf, as described
in Chapter 5,
documentation.
Configuration and Installation
in this document.
Configuration Utility
this document.
, in
,
LabWindows/CVI
Third-Party Compilers
Read Chapter 2,
Fundamentals of
Building Windows Applications with NI-IMAQ
NI-IMAQ User Manual
Read the sections in Chapter 3,
and Chapter 4,
NI-IMAQ User Manual
in the
function groups you will use in your application.
Look at the self-documented example source
code on your distribution diskettes for your
application language and environment.
Use the
when you need specific information about
Programming with NI-IMAQ,
that apply to the NI-IMAQ
NI-IMAQ Function Reference Manual
individual NI-IMAQ functions.
.
Software Overview
What
application software
are you using?
, in the
,
Continue by reading:
•
NI-IMAQ VIs for G Reference Manual
if you are using LabVIEW or
BridgeVIEW
• Your IMAQ Vision for G
documentation if you are using IMAQ
Vision for G
You no longer need the NI-IMAQ manual set.
Read your IMAQ Vision for LabWindows/CVI
documentation if you are using
IMAQ Vision for LabWindows/CVI.
LabVIEW
BridgeVIEW
Figure 1-2. How to Set up Your IMAQ System
,
PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT 1-8
©
National Instruments Corporation
Configuration and
Chapter
Installation
This chapter explains how to configur e and install your 1408 device.
Board Configuration
This section describes h ow to conf igure the fo llowin g options on the
1408 device:
• VIDEO0 input mode
• External CLK and synchronization input mode
All other configuration options are software config urable.
Figures 2-1 and 2-2 show the loc ations of u ser -conf igur ab le jumpe rs
and switches as well as fact ory-de fault settings on the PCI -1408 and
PXI-1408 devices, respe ctively.
2
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National Instruments Corporation 2-1 PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT
Chapter 2 Configuration and Installation
3
2
1W3
2 25-Pin DSUB
Connector
4
1
3 BNC Connector
4W1
5 Assembly Number
5 7 86
6 Product Name
7 Serial Number
9
8 RTSI Bus Connector
9 Logical Address
Switch (S1)
Figure 2-1. PCI-1408 Parts Locator Diagram
PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT 2-2
©
National Instruments Corporation
Chapter 2 Configuration and Installation
3
2
1 W2, W3
2 25-Pin DSUB
Connector
4
1 10 9
3 BNC Connector
4W1
5 Assembly Number
Figure 2-2. PXI-1408 Parts Locator Diagram
5 6
6 Serial Number
7J2
8J4
7
8
9 Logical Address
Switch (S1)
10 Product Name
VIDEO0 Input Mode
VIDEO0 has two differen t inp ut so urces via a BNC conn ec tor or a
25-pin DSUB port and two different input mo des—refe renced
single-ended (RSE) and differen tial (DIFF) input. When you use the
BNC input for VIDEO0, set the input m ode to RSE (W1 pop ulated) .
When you use the 25-pin DSUB port for VIDEO0, set the input mode
for either RSE or DIFF.
When in RSE mode, the video input uses one analog input line, which
connects to the video multiplexer circuitry . The nega tive input to the
video multiplexer is tied internally to ana log gro und. W hen in DIFF
mode, the video input uses tw o analog inp ut signals. One signal
connects to the positive input of the video multiplexer circuitr y while
the other input signal connects to the negative input of the video
multiplexer circuitry. Jumper W1 controls the input mode selection, as
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National Instruments Corporation 2-3 PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT
Chapter 2 Configuration and Installation
shown in Figure 2-3. Unpopulating W1 con figures VIDE O0 for DIFF
mode. Populating W1 configures VIDEO0 for RSE mode.
a. RSE Mode (Default) b. DIFF Mode
Figure 2-3. Configuring VIDEO0 with Jumper W1
External CLK and Synchronization Input Mode
The external PCLK, VSYNC, HSYNC, and CSYNC signals have two
different input modes— RSE (T TL) and DIFF ( RS-4 22) inp ut. In RSE
mode, the input uses one analog input line, which connects to the
synchronization selection cir cuitry. The nega tive inpu t to the
synchronization selection circuitry is tied internally to analog gro und.
For RSE mode, populate all five sets of jumpers on W3, as shown in
Figure 2-4. In DIFF mode, the input uses two analog input signals. One
signal connects to the positive input of the synchronization selection
circuitry while the other input connects to the negativ e input of the
synchronization selection circuitry.
a. RSE Mode (Default) b. DIFF Mode
Figure 2-4. Configuring PCLK, VSYNC, HSYNC, and CSYNC with Jumper W3
PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT 2-4
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National Instruments Corporation
Switch S1
Chapter 2 Configuration and Installation
Switch S1 is unused and should always be in the ON position, as shown
in Figure 2-5.
Installation
Note: You must install the NI-IMAQ driver software before installing your 1408
Warning: To protect both yourself and the computer from electrical hazards, the
Figure 2-5.
device. For information on how to install NI-IMAQ, please see your
NI-IMAQ release notes.
♦ PCI-1408
You can install the PCI-1408 in any available PCI expansion slot in
your computer. H o weve r, to a ch ieve th e be st no ise pe rfo rm an ce, yo u
should leave as much room as possible between the PCI-1408 and other
boards and hardwa re. The follow ing ar e gene ral instru ction s, but
consult your computer user manual or technic al referenc e manual for
specific instructions and warnings.
1. Plug in but do not turn on your computer be fore instal ling the
PCI-1408 device. Th e powe r cord gr oun ds th e co mpu t er a nd
protects it from electrical damage while you are installing the
module.
computer should remain off until you finish installing the 1408 device.
Switch S1
2. Remove the top cover or access port to the PC I bus.
3. Select any available PCI expansi on slot .
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National Instruments Corporation 2-5 PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT
Chapter 2 Configuration and Installation
4. Locate the metal bracket that covers the cut-out in the back panel
of the chassis for the slot you ha ve se lec ted . R emove and sav e the
bracket-retaining screw and the bracket cover.
5. Touch the metal part of the power supply case inside the computer
to discharge any static e lectric ity tha t m ight b e on you r cloth es or
body.
6. Line up the PCI-1408 with the 25-pin DSUB and BNC connectors
near the cut-out on the back panel. Slowly push down on the top of
the PCI-1408 until its card-edge connector is resting on the
expansion slot receptacle. Using slow, evenly distributed pressure,
press the PCI-1408 straight down until it seats in the expansion slot.
7. Rei nstall the bracket-retaining screw to secure the PCI-1408 to the
back panel rail.
8. Check the installation.
9. Replace the computer cover.
Your PCI-1408 is now insta lled.
♦ PXI-1408
You can install a PXI-1408 in any availab le 5 V periphe ral slot in you r
PXI or CompactPCI chassis.
Note: The PXI-1408 has connections to several reserved lines on the
CompactPCI J2 connector. Before installing a PXI-1408 in a CompactPCI
system that uses J2 connector lines for purposes other than PXI, see Using
PXI with CompactPCI, in Chapter 1, Introduction, of this manual.
1. Turn off and unplug yo ur PXI or Com pactPCI cha ssis.
2. Choose an unused PXI or Com pactPCI 5 V p eriphe ral slot. I nstall
the PXI-1408 in a slot that supports bus arbitration or bus-master
cards. PXI-compliant chassis must have bus arbitration for all slots.
3. Remove the filler panel for the peripheral slot you have chosen.
4. Touch a metal par t on your c hassis to discha rge a ny sta tic
electricity that might be o n your c lothes o r body.
5. Insert the PXI-14 08 in the selec ted 5 V slot. Use the injector/ejecto r
handle to fully inject the device into place.
6. Screw the front panel of the PXI-1408 to the front panel mounting
rails of the PXI or CompactPCI chassis.
PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT 2-6
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National Instruments Corporation
Chapter 2 Configuration and Installation
7. Visually verify the installation.
8. Plug in and turn on the PXI or CompactPCI chassis.
Your PXI-1408 is now installed.
©
National Instruments Corporation 2-7 PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT
Chapter
Hardware Overview
This chapter pres ents an o ve rview of th e hardw are f unctions on yo ur
1408 device and explains the op er ation of each fu nc tiona l unit mak ing
up the 1408 device.
Functional Overview
The 1408 device features an 8-bit flash ADC that converts video signals
to digital formats, four v ideo sign al mu ltiplexers, and pr ogram ma ble
gain and offset. It also uses a PCI in terface for high -speed da ta transf er,
scatter-gather DMA controllers that control the transfer of data betwe en
the first-in, fi rs t-ou t (FI F O) m em or y b uff er s an d t he PC I bus,
nonvolatile and static RAM for con figuring register s o n pow er-u p
and programming the DMA controllers, and acquisition and
region-of-interest control circ uitry that mo nitors video signa ls. Th e
board also includes po werf ul tr igge r cir cuitry inc lud ing f our exte rn al
triggers and RTSI bus trigge rs. Othe r featu res include inter nally
generated or externa lly in put CS YNC, HS YNC , V SYNC , and PC LK
synchronization and clock sign als.
3
The block diagram in Figure 3-1 illustrates the key functional
components of the 1408 device .
©
National Instruments Corporation 3-1 PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT
Chapter 3 Hardware Overview
RTSI Bus
External PCLK,
VSYNC, and HSYNC
External CSYNC
25-Pin DSUB Connector
Video 0, 1, 2, 3
Video 0
BNC
Video Mux
VSYNC
PCLK
Video
In
Trigger Control
and Mapping
Circuitry
Acquisition and
Region-of-Interest
Control
8-Bit A/D
and LUT
FIFOs
PCI Interface
and
Scatter-Gather
DMA Controllers
CSYNC
Video Mux
Mux
Genlock and
Synchronization
Circuitry
VCO and
PLL
Circuitry
Antichrominance
Filter
Four External Triggers
PCLK,
HSYNC,
VSYNC
Mux
Generated
PCLK,
HSYNC,
VSYNC
Pixel
Aspect
Ratio
Circuitry
Programmable
Gain and
Offset
and HSYNC
Figure 3-1. 1408 Device Block Diagram
You can select a ny of the fo ur A C-cou pled v ideo inputs thr oug h the
video multiplexer circuitry.
PCI Bus
Antichrominance Filter
The 1408 device includes an antichrominance filter that removes
chrominance from a comp osite color vide o signal. You ca n use two
software-selectable antichrominance filters: a 3.58 MHz notch filter to
remove color inform ation from an NT SC signal and a 4.43 MHz notch
filter to remove color information from a PAL signal.
Programmable Gain and Offset
The 1408 devi ce u ses pr ogr amma ble gain an d o ffs et circ uitry to
optimize the input signal range.
PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT 3-2
©
National Instruments Corporation
8-Bit ADC and LUT
An 8-bit flash ADC digitizes the image, which is passed to a
256-by-8 bit lookup table (LUT) RAM. You can co nfigure the input
LUT to implement simple imaging operations such as contrast
enhancement, data inver sion, g amma man ipula tion, or oth er no nlinear
transfer functions.
CSYNC Mux
The composite synchronization ( CSYNC ) mu ltiplexer lets the genloc k
and synchronization circuitry select the internally generated composite
synchronization signal or the composite synchronization signal
received from the I/ O con nector .
Genlock and Synchronization Circuitry
The genloc k a nd s ync hro ni zati on ci rcu itr y recei ve s t he i nco ming vid eo
signal and generates a PCL K, HSY NC, and VS YNC sign al f or use by
the acquisition and control circuitry. The synchronization circuitry
interacts with the voltage-controlled osc illator (VCO) and phase-locked
loop (PLL) circuitry, which genera tes and controls the PCLK.
Chapter 3 Hardware Overview
VCO and PLL Circuitry
The VCO and PLL circuitry controls the internally generated PCLK
signal frequency. The 1408 device can digitize an incoming video
signal at rat e s o f u p to 16 .4 M H z.
Pixel Aspect Ratio Circuitry
The pixel aspect ratio circuitry adjusts the ratio between the physical
horizontal size and the vertical size of the r egion c overe d by the pixel.
This value is used to figure the picture aspect ratio. For more
information, see the Acquisition Window Control section later in this
chapter.
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National Instruments Corporation 3-3 PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT
Chapter 3 Hardware Overview
PCLK, HSYNC, VSYNC Mux
The acquisition control circ uitry se lects the clo ck and sync hroniz ation
signals through the pixel c lock ( PCL K), hor izontal sync hroniz ation
(HSYNC), and vertic al s ynchr oniz ation (V SYN C) multiplexe r. The
onboard genlock and synchro nization circu itry can gene rate clock a nd
synchronization signals or the sign als can be r ece ived f rom the I/O
connector.
RTSI Bus
The seven trigger lines on the RTSI bus provide a flexible
interconnection scheme between multiple 1408 devices as well as
between any National Instrum ents DAQ devic es and the 140 8 device .
Trigger Control and Mapping Circuitry
The trigger control a nd mapp ing c irc uitry route s, mon itors, and dr ives
the external and RTSI bus trigg er lines. You can configur e each of these
lines to start or stop acquisition on a rising or falling edge. In addition,
you can drive each line asserted or unasserted, similar to a digital I/O
line. You can also map onbo ar d status va lues ( HSYN C, V SY NC,
ACQUISITION_IN_PROGRESS, and ACQUISITION_DONE) to
the lines.
Acquisition and Region-of-Interest Control
The acquisition and region-of-interest control circuitry monitors the
incoming video signal and routes the active pixe ls to th e FIFO buffers.
The 1408 device can digitize an entire frame and perform pixel and line
scaling and region-of-interest acquisition. Pixe l and line scaling lets
certain multiples (2, 4, or 8 ) of pixe ls and lines to b e transf erre d to the
PCI bus. In region-of-interest acquisition, you select an are a in the
acquisition window to transfer to the PCI bus.
FIFO Buffer
The 1408 device use s a 4 KB FIFO buffer for temporary storage of the
image being transferred to the PCI system memor y or display m emory.
The buffer stores s ix f ull video lines during ima ge ac quisition.
PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT 3-4
©
National Instruments Corporation
Scatter-Gather DMA Controllers
The PCI/PXI-1408 uses three independent onboard direct memory
access (DMA) controllers. The DMA controllers transfer data between
the onboard fir st-i n first- out (F IFO ) me mo ry buffe rs a nd the PCI bu s.
Each of these controllers supports scatter-gather DMA, which allows
the DMA controlle r to r econ figu re on -the -fly. Th us, the 1 408 devic e
can perform con tinuous image tr ansfe rs to ei ther con tiguous or
fragmented memory buffers.
PCI Interface
The 1408 device implements the PCI interface with a National
Instruments custom application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), the
PCI MITE. The PCI interface can transfer data at a maximum rate of
132 Mbytes/s in master mode, which maximizes the available PCI
bandwidth. 1408 devices can generate 8-, 16-, and 32-bit memory read
and write cycles, both single and multiple. In slave mode , the 1 408
device is a medium speed decoder that accepts both memory and
configuration cycles . Th e inter face logic e nsures that the 1 408 devic e
meets the loading, driving, and timing requiremen ts of the PCI
specification.
Chapter 3 Hardware Overview
Board Configuration NVRAM
The 1408 device contains onb oard nonvola tile RAM (NVR AM) that
configures all registers on powe r- up.
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National Instruments Corporation 3-5 PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT
Chapter 3 Hardware Overview
Video Acquisition
The 1408 device can acquire vide o signals in a variet y of modes and
transfer the digitized fields or frames to PCI system memory.
Start/Stop Conditions
The 1408 device ca n start an d sto p ac quisition on a varie ty o f
conditions:
• Software control—The 140 8 devi ce su ppo rts s oftwa re c ontr ol of
• Trigger control—You can also star t and stop acqu isition by
• Delayed acquisition—You can use either software or triggers to
• Frame/field selection—With an interlaced camera and the
acquisition start and stop . In ad dition, yo u ca n co nfigure the
PCI/PXI-1408 to capture a fixe d n umbe r of fram es. U se this
configuration to ca pture sin gle fr am e s or a s equ en ce of fr am es.
enabling external or RTSI bus trigger lines. Each of these 11 inputs
can start or stop vid eo a cquisitio n on a rising or f alling edge . You
can use all four external triggers and up to two RTSI bus triggers
simultaneously.
start and stop acquisitions instantaneously or after capturing a
desired number of frame s or fields. U se this fea ture fo r postor pre-trigger applications.
PCI/PXI-1408 in frame m ode , you c an p rog ram the 14 08 device
to sta rt or stop acqu isition on any od d fi eld or any e ven f ield.
Acquisition Window Control
You can configure numerou s par ameters on the 140 8 device to con trol
the video acquisition window. A brief desc ription of each para meter
follows:
• Horizontal sync—HSYNC is the sy nchron ization pulse signal
produced at th e beginni ng of each vi deo scan li ne that keep s a video
monitor’s horizontal scan rate in sequence with the transmission of
each new line.
• Vertical sync—VSYNC is the syn chroniza tion pulse genera ted at
the beginning of each video field that signals the video monito r
when to star t a n ew fiel d .
• Pixel clock—PCLK times the sampling of pixels on a video line.
• Composite sync—CSYNC is the signal consisting of combined
horizontal sync pulses and ve rtical sync p ulses .
PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT 3-6
©
National Instruments Corporation
Chapter 3 Hardware Overview
• Active pixel region—The active pixel region is the region of pixels
actively being stored. The active pixel region is defined by a pixel
start (relative to HSYNC) and a pixel count.
• Horizontal count—The horizon tal c ount is the total num ber of
pixels between two HSYNC signals. The horizontal count
determines the frequ ency of the pixe l c lock.
• Active line region—The active line region is the region of lines
actively being stored. The active line region is defined by a line
start (relat ive to VS YNC ) and a li ne coun t.
• Line count—The line count is the total number of horizontal lines
in the picture.
• Video line—A video lin e consists of an HSYNC, back porch , active
pixel region, and a front porch, as shown in Figure 3-2.
Back Porch
Horizontal Sync
Pixel Region
Figure 3-2. Video Line
Front Porch
• Picture as pect r a tio— T he p i ct ure a spe ct ra ti o is th e ra tio of th e
active pixel region to the active line region. For standard video
signals like RS-170 or CCIR, the full-size picture aspect ratio
normally is 4/3 (1.33).
• Pixel aspect ratio—The pixel aspect ratio is the ratio between the
physical horizontal size and the vertical size of the region covered
by the pixel. An acquired pixel should optimally be square, thus the
optimal value is 1.0, bu t typica lly it f alls betwe en 0. 95 a nd 1.05,
depending on camera q uality.
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National Instruments Corporation 3-7 PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT
Chapter 3 Hardware Overview
• Field—For an interlaced video signal, a field is half the number of
horizontal lines needed to represe nt a frame, as shown in
Figure 3-3. The first field of a frame contains all the odd-numbered
lines. The second fiel d contain s a ll of the eve n- numbe red line s.
Vertical Sync
• Frame—A frame is a complete image. In interlaced formats, a
frame is composed of two fields.
Programming Video Parameters
You can program all of these video parame ters on the 140 8 device :
• Programmable pixel and line c ount—W hen gen erating a n in ternal
PCLK, the 1408 device uses a programmable clock generator with
an advanced VCO cir cuit. This c irc uitry ge nera te s a PCL K
frequency from 11 to 16.5 MHz, depending on the horizontal count.
The standard sampling rate for RS-17 0/NTSC video signals is
12.3 MHz, and the standa rd sampli ng rate fo r CCIR/PAL is
14.75 MHz. To correct for external pixel as pect ratio errors of up
to ±9%, the VCO c overs the rang e from a pproxima te ly 1 1.0 to
16.5 MHz.
The 1408 devi ce a lso in clu des a p rog ra mmab le line co unt, wh ich
you use to switch b etwee n RS-170/N TSC ( 525 lines ) an d
CCIR/PAL (625 lines). In addition, the 1408 device supp orts any
line count up to 1,024 lines for nonstandard video inputs.
Horizontal
Sync
Line Region
Figure 3-3. Video Field
Video
Line
Note: You can have up to 2,048 lines in interlaced mode by combining fields.
PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT 3-8
©
National Instruments Corporation
Chapter 3 Hardware Overview
• Acquisition window—After se tting the pixe l and line coun t, y ou
must program the ac tiv e pixe l r egion an d a ctive lin e re gion. The
active pixel region selects the sta rting pixe l and nu mber of pixels
to be acquired relative to the HSYNC signal. The active line r egion
selects the starting line and number of lines to be ac quired relative
to the VSYNC signal.
• Region of interest—The 1408 device u ses a se co nd leve l of active
pixel and active line regions for selecting a region of interest. When
you disable the region-of- inter es t c ircu itry, the b oa rd store s the
entire acquisition window in system memory. However, when you
enable the region-of-interest circuitry, the board transfers only a
selected subset of the digitized frame to system memory.
• Scaling down—The scaling-down circuitry also controls the active
acquisition region. Th e 1408 de vice c a n scal e do wn a fra me by
reducing pixel, lines, or both. Fo r active pixel se lection, the
PCI/PXI-1408 can select ev er y pi xel, e ve ry o ther pix el, eve ry
fourth pixel, or every eighth pixel. For act ive line selec tion, the
1408 device can select every line, every odd line, or multip les of
odd lines, for examp le, eve ry other od d line or ev ery fou rth odd
line. You can use the scaling-down circuitry in conjunction with the
region-of-intere st c irc uitry.
• Interlaced video—The 1408 device suppor ts both interlaced and
noninterlaced video signals. I n interla ced mo de, the 14 08 device
combines the odd and eve n fie ld into one co ntiguou s fra me f or
analysis. In noninterlaced mode, each field is treated as an
independent frame.
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National Instruments Corporation 3-9 PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT
Chapter 3 Hardware Overview
Acquisition Modes
The 1408 device supports th ree video acqu isition modes:
• Standard mode—In standar d mode, the 1408 device receiv es an
incoming composite video signal from the external BNC or DSUB
connector and generates CSYNC, HSYNC, VSYNC, and PCLK
signals. The genera ted CSY NC s ig nal is output on the DSU B
connector for use by other image acquisition board s or to
synchronize multiple cameras.
• CSYNC external mode— In CSYNC ex ter nal mo de, the 140 8
device receives an incoming video signal (composite or luminance)
and an external CSYNC fro m an externa l connec tor. The 1408
device takes the incoming video signal and CSY NC and ge nera tes
HSYNC, VSYNC, and PCLK signals.
• External lock mode—Y ou c an use this mode to syn chron ize to a
camera or any nonstandard vide o signal. In this mode , the
PCI/PXI-1408 receives HSYNC, VSYNC, and PCLK signals for
A/D sampling directly from the e xtern al co nnecto r.
PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT 3-10
©
National Instruments Corporation
Chapter
Signal Connections
This chapter describes cable conn ections for th e PCI-1408 and
PXI-1408 devices.
BNC Connector
The BNC external co nnecto r s upplies a n immedia te conne ct ion to the
1408 device VIDEO 0 input. Use the 2 m BNC cable sh ipped with the
PCI/PXI-1408 to connec t a c ame ra to VID EO0 . Yo u canno t use th is
connection with VIDEO0 on the 25-pin DSUB I/O connector. You can
configure the BNC connector only for RSE mode.
Note:
Jumper W1 must be installed when using BNC input.
4
GND
VIDEO0+
Figure 4-1.
BNC Connector Pin Assignment
I/O Connector
The 25-pin DSUB connector c onnects to all video signals (VI DEO0,
VIDEO1, VIDEO2, and VIDEO3), the external digital I/O lines and
triggers, and external signals. To access these connections, you can
build your own custom cable or use on e of the optional cab les from
National Instruments. Figure 4-2 shows the pinout of the 25-pin DSUB
connector.
Note:
©
National Instruments Corporation 4-1 PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT
Do not use the VIDEO0 connection on the 25-pin DSUB connector with the
BNC connection.
Chapter 4 Signal Connections
13
+5 V
25
24
23
22
21
20
19
18
17
16
15
14
12
11
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
VIDEO0+
VIDEO1+
VIDEO2+
VIDEO3+
CSYNCIN+
VSYNCIN+
HSYNCIN+
PCLKIN+
GND
GND
CSYNCOUT
Figure 4-2. I/O Connector Pin Assignments
I/O Connector Signal Connection Descriptions
Table 4-1 describes e ach signal con ne ction on the 2 5-p in DSU B
connector.
VIDEO0-/GND
VIDEO1-
VIDEO2VIDEO3-
GND
CSYNCIN-/Unused
VSYNCIN-/Unused
HSYNCIN-/Unused
PCLKIN-/Unused
TRIG3
TRIG2
TRIG1
TRIG0
Table 4-1. I/O Connector Signals
Signal Name Description
VIDEO0± VIDEO0± allows for a DIFF or RSE conne ct io n to vi deo channel 0. To operate in
VIDEO<3..1>± VIDEO<3..1>± allows for a DIFF or RSE connection to video channels 1, 2, and 3.
PCLKIN± Use PCLKIN± when the 1408 device is in external l o ck mode. In this mode, PCLKIN
HSYNCIN± Use HSYNCIN± when the 1408 device is in external lock mode. HSYNC is a
PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT 4-2
RSE mode, connect VIDEO0- to GND. When you use VIDEO0+ or VIDEO0-, you must
disconnect the B N C connector.
To operate in RSE mode, connect VIDEO- to GND.
represents the A/D sampling clock. You can select PCLKIN to be TTL or RS-422 mode,
depending on the ju m per W3 configuration. In RS-422 mode, both PCLKIN+ and
PCLKIN- receive th e PCL K signal. The PCLKIN polarity is programmable.
synchronization pulse produced at the beg in n ing of each video scan line th at keeps a
video monitor's horiz ont al scan rate in step with the transmission of each new l ine .
You can set HSYNCIN in TTL or RS-422 mode depending on jumper W3 configuration.
In RS-422 mode, both HSYNCIN+ and HSYNCIN- receive the HSYNC signal. The
HSYNCIN polarity is programmable.
©
National Instruments Corporation
Table 4-1. I/O Connector Signals (Continued)
Signal Name Description
Chapter 4 Signal Connections
VSYNCIN± Use VSYNCIN± when the 1408 device is in external lock mode. VSYNC is a
CSYNCIN± Use CSYNCIN± when the 1408 device is in CSYNC external mode. CSYNC is a signal
CSYNCOUT CSYNCOUT is a TTL output of the internal CSYNC signal. In CSYNC external mode,
TRIG<3..0> Triggers <3..0> are TT L I/O li nes used to start or stop an acqui sit ion or output an
GND GND is a direct connection to digital GND on the 1408 device.
synchronizatio n pulse generated at the beginning of each vid eo frame that tells the
video monitor when to start a new field. You can set VSYNCIN in TTL or RS-422 mode
depending on jumper W3 configuration. In RS-422 mode, both VSYNCIN+ and
VSYNCIN- receive the VSYNC signal. The VSYNCIN polarity is prog ramm a bl e.
consisting of horizontal sync pulses, vertical sync pulses, and equalizing pulses only. You
can set CSYNCIN in TTL or RS-422 mode, dep en din g on j um pe r W3 con fig ura tion. In
RS-422 mode, both CSYNCIN+ and CSYNCIN- receive the CSYNC signal. The
CSYNCIN polarity is programmable.
CSYNCOUT maps directly to CSYNCIN. In standard mode, the synchronization
circuitry of the 1408 devi ce generates CSYNCOUT.
acquisition status. You can program the triggers to be rising- or falling-edge sensitive.
You can also program the triggers to be programmatically asserted or unasserted similar
in function to a digit al I/O line. You can program TRIG <3..0> to reflect the following
status bits:
Status Bit Description
AQ_IN_PROGRESS Signals an acquisition in progress
AQ_DONE Signals an acquisiti o n is comp leted
HSYNC The appropriate HSYNC signal
PCLK The A/D sampling signal
+5V +5V is a fused connection to +5 V on the 1408 device that allows you to power external
©
National Instruments Corporation 4-3 PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT
triggering circuitry with up to 100 mA.
Chapter
Configuration Utility
This chapter describes the basic functions of IMAQconf, the
configuration and diagnostic utility included with the 1408 device.
Introduction
IMAQconf performs the following func tio ns:
• Configures the video parameters, which are automatically loaded
when the saved interface is loaded in NI-IMAQ
• Displays a histograph , w hic h a cts as an a id to conf igur ing your
board
• Displays various look-up tables that let you implement small image
processing functions in the h ardw are
• Performs snap and continuous video acquisition for diagnostics and
verification
• Creates new camera files for non-standard cameras
• Saves acquire d imag es to a
5
bmp format
Using IMAQconf
To configure your IMAQ de vice, mak e sure the de vice is properly
installed (see Chapter 2, Configuration an d Installation ) and then ru n
IMAQconf configuration utility. IMAQconf is located under the
the
Windows 95/NT Start menu:
Whether you are capturing monochrome or StillColor images,
Figure 5-1 shows which configu ration tabs are active f or e ach mo de.
Basic
The
©
National Instruments Corporation 5-1 PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT
and
Advanced
Start»Program»NI-IMAQ »IMAQ co nf
camera settings tabs are active for all modes.
.
Chapter 5 Configuration Utility
StillColor
Disabled
Monochrome Mode
Advanced Camera Settings 1
CLAMP Start/Stop and ZERO
Start/Stop Are Specific to
Monochrome and RGB Modes
StillColor RGB
Tri-CCD Camera Mode
(Red, Green, and Blue) Linked
to Channel 1, 2, and 3
Basic Camera Settings
Attributes Are Common to All Three Modes
Basic StillColor Settings
All the Attributes Are Specific to Composite
Except Averaging and Image Representation
Advanced StillColor Settings
All the Attributes Are Specific to Composite
Except Hue Offset Angle
Figure 5-1. StillColor Modes Dialog Boxes
StillColor
Composite
PAL or NTSC Camera Mode
Advanced Camera Settings 2
CLAMP Start/Stop and ZERO
Start/Stop Are Specific to
Composite Mode
The following is a description of each of the tabs in the IMAQconf
utility.
Description Tab
The Description tab in the IMAQconf configuration utility is where
basic information about your IMAQ board is stored, such as the
interface name, board type , b ase a ddre ss, and inte rr upt th e board uses .
Figure 5-2 sh ows the information included in this tab.
automatically fills in this information.
PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT 5-2
IMAQconf
©
National Instruments Corporation
Chapter 5 Configuration Utility
Save Interfa ce
Button
Snap Function
Button
Grab Function Button
(monochrome mode)
Multi-Snap Function Button
(StillColor mode)
Histogram Function
Button
Figure 5-2. Description Tab
Available Interfaces
Diagnostic Function
Button
Interface Name
Type of Board
Base Address
of Board
Board Revision
IRQ of Board
List of Serial Numbers
of Installed Boards
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National Instruments Corporation 5-3 PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT
Chapter 5 Configuration Utility
Camera Tab
The Camera tab stores a list of available cameras and camera settings.
You can modify existing camera settings or cr eate a new camer a fil e by
saving the existing camera file via the File»Save As... menu selection.
Figure 5-3 shows each item include d in this tab .
You use IMAQconf to configure each active video channel. You can
configure only one video channel at a time. You can access VIDEO0
through the BNC connector or the 25-pin DSU B connecto r. You can
access all other video signals only via the 25-pin D SUB conn ector.
The Camera tab includes four buttons that pop up additional
configuration dialog boxes. Thes e buttons are as follows:
• Basic—This button brings up the Basic camera settings dialog bo x
shown in Figure 5-6.
• Advanced—This button brings up the Advanced camera settings
dialog box shown in Figur e 5-7.
PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT 5-4
Figure 5-3.
Camera Tab
©
National Instruments Corporation
Chapter 5 Configuration Utility
(
)
• StillColor—This button brings up the basic StillColor settings
dialog box shown in Figur e 5-8.
• Save As—This button allows you to save y our m odifica tions in
your own camera f ile.
Refer to Figure 5-4 for p ar ameter timi ng informa tion as yo u us e the
Basic and Advanced camera settings dialog boxes for a monochrom e
acquisition from a monochrome or color camera and for a StillColor
acquisition from an RGB camera.
Blanking
Front
Porch
Clamp or
Zero Start
Clamp or
Zero Stop
Noise Gate
Start
Noise Gate
Stop
Acquisition
Window
Reference
Horizontal
Sync
Pixel 0
Color
Burst
Back
Porch
AB
C
X
Active Video
Width
Figure 5-4. Monochrome and Color Used as Monochrome Video Line
Refer to Figu re s 5-4 and 5-5 fo r para me ter t imi ng inf orm at ion a s y ou
use the Basic, Advanced, and StillColor dialog boxe s for a StillColor
acquisition from a color composite camera.
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National Instruments Corporation 5-5 PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT
Chapter 5 Configuration Utility
(
)
Blanking
Front
Porch
Clamp or
Zero Start
Clamp or
Zero Stop
Acquisition
Window
Reference
Horizontal
Sync
Pixel 0
Back
Porch
X
Color
Burst
Active Video
Burst Start
Burst Stop
Blanking Start
Blanking Stop
X Shift Start
Width
Figure 5-5. Composite Color Video Line
PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT 5-6
©
National Instruments Corporation
Basic Camera Settings
Figure 5-6 shows the Basic dia log box.
Chapter 5 Configuration Utility
Figure 5-6.
Basic Camera Settings
Basic settings include:
• Camera Description—You can enter a descript ion of up to 64
characters f or t hi s ca mera .
• Camera Type—Use this setting to select your came ra type. If you
are using a standard camera, choose RS-170, NTSC, CCIR, or
PAL. If you are using a nonstandard camera, choose AREA SCAN.
• Mode—You can place the 1408 device in fra me or field mode. Use
frame mode with interlaced video signals. In fr ame mo de, the
PCI/PXI-1408 waits for a programmable (odd or even) field before
starting a video acquisition. In addition, the 1408 device combines
the odd and even fields into one video frame in system memory for
analysis.
Use field mode with either interlaced or noninterlaced video
signals. In field mode, the 1408 device acquires any video field and
transfers it to PCI system memory.
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National Instruments Corporation 5-7 PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT
Chapter 5 Configuration Utility
• Chroma Filter—The 1408 device incl udes optional
antichrominance filters to u se with NT SC and PAL vide o signa ls.
The three options for the color filters are as follows:
– None—The antichrominance filter is disabled.
– NTSC—The antichrominance filter is enabled for
NTSC-coded signals. The filtering is implemented by
a3.58MHz notch filter.
– PAL—The antichrominance filter is enabled for PAL-coded
signals. The filtering is implemented by a 4.43 MHz notch
filter.
• Acquisition Window—The acquisition window determines the
window offset and window size of the start of the video frame as
well as the number of active horizontal pixels and active lines.
• Gain—The 1408 device has three programmable gain values: 1,
1.33, and 2, which correspond to a fine adjustment of the black and
white reference levels of 20, 15, and 10 mV steps. Monitor the
displayed histograph to choose the appropr iate gain level.
• Interlace—This specifies whether the camera is interlaced or
non-interlaced.
• Reference Level—This setting optimizes the input signal range and
includes two components:
– White—The 1408 device uses a programmable white reference
level to optimize the input signal range. Monitor the displayed
histograph to choose the appropriate white offset level. With a
gain of 1, the white reference level is programmable in the
range of 0 to 1.28 V in 64 steps of 20 mV each.
– Black—The 1408 device uses a programmable black reference
level to optimize the input signal range. Monitor the displayed
histograph to choose the appropriate black offset level. With a
gain of 1, the black reference level is programmable in the
range of 0 to 1.28 V in 64 steps of 20 mV each.
• Auto Expos.—Pressing this button tells
IMAQconf to perform a
single acquisition and then calculate the optimum gain and white
and black referenc e level s.
PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT 5-8
©
National Instruments Corporation
Chapter 5 Configuration Utility
Advanced Camera Settings
The Advanced camera settings button lets you fine-tune the
configuration for your spe ci fic c amer a.
Figure 5-7 shows the advanced camera settings dialog box.
Figure 5-7.
Advanced Camera Settings
All settings except Sync Detect and Aspect Ratio Correction are
measured in pixels from the beginning of the horizontal
synchronization pulse. The Start parameter specifies the rising edge of
the internally generated pulse while the Stop parameter specifies the
falling edge of the pulse.
Advanced camera se ttings in clud e:
• HSYNC Start and HSYNC Stop—These settings define the
positioning and duration of the internally generated horizontal
(line) synchronization pulse. To genera te a negativ e edge at
position zero, set the HSYNC Stop value to 0. The width of the
pulse in samples is defined by the difference in pixels between
HSYNC Start and HSYNC Stop and is typically 4.7 µs for
standard video.
©
National Instruments Corporation 5-9 PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT
Chapter 5 Configuration Utility
• CLAMP Start and CLAMP St o p—The clamp signal restores the
DC level of the AC-couple d video signal . CLAMP Start an d
CLAMP Stop are specific to the current StillColor mode.
– Monochrome (StillColor disabled) or StillColor RGB mod e—
The clamping pulse must be positive (CLAMP Stop >
CLAMP Start) and must be applied on each line somewhere
during the blanking period of the video signal. For a color
camera, this typically occurs between the end of the color burst
and the beginning of the active vid eo lin e. For a mon oc hro me
camera, this typically occurs anytime on the back porch period
of the video signal.
The duration of the pulse ( CL AMP Stop – CLAMP Start)
should be as long as possible and greater than five samples. As
shown in Figure 5-4, position A corresponds to the position of
CLAMP Start for a monochro me cam era a nd po sit ion B
corresponds to the position of CLAMP Start for a
monochrome acquisition from a color c omposite cam era.
Position C corresponds to CLAMP Stop for either a
monochrome or colo r camera .
– StillColor Composite mode—The clamping pulse must be
positive (CLAMP Stop > CLAMP Start) and must be applied
on each line somewh er e during the hor iz on tal synchronization
pulse of the video signal. The duration of the pulse
(CLAMP Stop – CLAMP Start) should be as long as possible
and greater than five samples. Figure 5-5 illustrates the correct
position of CLAMP Start and CLAMP Stop.
• ZERO Start and ZERO Stop—The zero signal calibrates the ADC
on each video line. The pulse conditions—positioning and
duration—are the same as fo r th e clam ping p ulse. ZERO St art and
ZERO Stop are also specific to the current StillColor mode.
Positioning information is the same as CLAMP Start and
CLAMP Stop.
• NGate Start and NGate Stop—The noise gate (NGate) settings
define the period of a video line after lock to a video source where
the genlock circuitry will not detect a HSYNC pulse. The 1408
device uses this nondetec tion p eri od to a void false H SYN C
detection due to noise in the v ideo sig nal or e qualiza tion pulse s
during the vertical sync hroniz ation pe riod. For a typ ical video
signal, the NGate signal starts after HSYNC Stop and stops
approximately 3% be fore the end of the video line define d by
HCOUNT. Figure 5-4 illustrates the correct position of
NGATE Start and NGATE Stop.
PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT 5-10
©
National Instruments Corporation
Chapter 5 Configuration Utility
• FIELD Sta rt and FIELD Stop—The field gate signal def ines the
portion of the video line during vertical synchronization where the
field conditions are detected. The duration of the field gate pulse
must be approximately 50% of the duration of the line defined by
HCOUNT and the positioning should be approximately 25% of the
line. By swapping the va lues of FIELD Start an d FIELD Stop,
you can reverse the or der of the a cquire d fie lds ( ev en/odd or
odd/even).
• HCOUNT—This setting defines the total number of pixels minus 1
for the entire video line, including synchronization a nd blanking
signals. For example, the total duration of a video line is 64 µs for
a CCIR signal, but the duration of the active vide o line co ntainin g
image information is only 52 µs. To acquire a picture with 768
pixels, enter the value o f 768 × 64/52 –1, rounde d to 9 43, into
HCOUNT. Changing the v alue o f HCOU NT af fects t he pixel
aspect ratio of the picture. (See Aspect Ratio Correction later in
this section.)
• VSYNC—This setting defines the duration of the internally
generated vertical synchr oniz ation pu lse. Fo r stand ard v ide o, the
value of HCOUNT/8 is recommended.
• Sync Detect—This setting defines the comparator voltage us ed to
detect a horizontal synchronization pulse. The reference level is the
voltage of the sync tips. For a typical video signal, th e sync tips is
approximately 300 m V b elow the bla nking leve l a nd the high est
detection value of 125 mV is recomm end ed. Low er va lues ma y be
used if the incoming video signal is weak or noisy.
• Aspect Ratio Correction—This function adjusts the pixel aspect
ratio of the acquired p icture and also compensates for pixel aspect
ratio errors of the camera. Given a standard video format with a
default configuration, you can correct errors u p to ±8% in steps of
1/HCOUNT or typically 0.15%. Note that using this function will
affect most of the Advanced came ra s ettings pa rame ters . The
function will automatically reposition and resize the picture by
adjusting the region of interest offset and width parameters so that
the visual region of interest stays unchanged. After you change the
Aspect Ratio Correction and click the OK button, a warning
message will appear that tells you the Acquisition Window width
and X-offset und er the Basic camera dialog box have changed. If
necessary, you can manually read just the ROI parame ter.
©
National Instruments Corporation 5-11 PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT
Chapter 5 Configuration Utility
StillColor Settings
Note: This dialog box is available o nly if you ena ble StillColo r Mode on the
Operating Mode tab. In StillColor Composite mo de (P AL a n d NT SC
cameras), you can adjust all settings in this dialog box. In StillColor RGB
mode, you can adjust only the Image Representation and Averaging
parameters.
The StillColor settings dialog box, shown in Figure 5-8, lets you adjust
basic StillColor settings. See Appendix B, StillColor, for more
information on StillColor and color image acquisition parameters.
Figure 5-8.
Basic StillColor settings include:
• Brightness (IRE)—This parameter adjusts the brightness of the
acquired picture. Brightness is valid only in composite mode. The
unit is IRE, which is a percentage of the white level. The default
value is 0, which corresponds to no correction.
• Contrast—This parameter adjusts the contrast of the acquired
picture. Contrast is valid only in composite mode. The default
value is 1.00, which corresponds to no correction. A value of 1.25
corresponds to an increase of the contrast by 25%.
• Saturation—This parameter adjusts the saturation of the acquired
picture. Saturation is valid only in composite mode. The default
value is 1.00 corresponding to no correction. A value of 1.25
corresponds to an increase of the saturation by 25%.
PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT 5-12
Basic StillColor Settings
©
National Instruments Corporation
Chapter 5 Configuration Utility
• Image Representation—This control selects th e image
representation. The different representation types are as follows:
– RGB in 16-, 24 -, 32 -, 48 -bit for ma t
– Red, green or blue pl ane in 8 -bit for ma t
– Luminance, Hue, Saturation or Intensity in 8- or 16-bit format
– HSL (Hue, Saturation, Luminance) in 32-bit format
– HSI (Hue, Saturation, Intensity) in 32-bit format
• Averaging—This control specifies the number of color images to
average for each image returned by NI-IMAQ.
• Advanced—This button brings up the Advanced color dialog box,
as shown in Figure 5-9.
Figure 5-9. StillColor Advanced Settings
Advanced StillColor settings include:
– Burst Start and Burst Stop—These values define the p osi t i on
of the color burst in the composite v ideo sign al. The color
burst is placed in the back porch after the horizontal
synchronization and before the active video part of each line.
Figure 5-5 illustrates the c orrect position of Burst Start and
Burst Stop.
– Blank Start and Blank Stop—These values define the position
of the blanking part in the composite video signal. The
blanking is located on the back porch after the color burst and
©
National Instruments Corporation 5-13 PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT
Chapter 5 Configuration Utility
before the active video part of each line. Figu re 5 -5 shows the
correct position of Blank Start and Blank Stop.
– X Shift—The X Shift parameter defines the number of pixels
before the X value of the acquisition window, where the
physical acquisition of the picture must start in order to
acquire the information needed by th e StillCo lor algorithm.
The acquisition of the picture should start just before the
beginning of the color burst, as shown in Figure 5-5.
– Post Gain—Post Gain rescales the picture after StillColor
processing so the white level appears white. You should not
modify the default value of 0.79.
– Hue Offset Angle—When the selected Image Representation
is Hue 8-bit (or Hue 16-bit), the hue value of a pixel is an angle
where the value 0 corresponds to an angle of 0° and the value
255 (or 32,767 in Hue 16-bit) corresponds to 360°. The
discontinuity point (0 mod ulo 360) corresponds , by default, to
the color red. You can move this point to ano ther hue value by
adding or subtracting an offset angle. The Hue Offset Angle is
expressed in degrees.
– Clean Chroma (NTSC only)—This parameter enables or
disables the bandpass filter that cleans the chroma information
before final demodulation. You can use this filter if the camera
delivers a poor quality signal that results in vertical color bars
in the image, especially for highly saturated colors.
– Setup Correction (NTSC only)—In NTSC, the black level of
the image is not aligned with the bl anking lev el. The black
level is set up as 7.5% of the white level (7.5 IRE). To correct
for this setup after StillColor deco ding, enabl e the Setup
Correction control. This control has no effect in PAL.
– Setup Value (NTSC only)—This parameter is the setup value
to be corrected when Setup Correction is enabled. The default
value is 7.5% of the white lev el (7.5 IRE).
– Tint (NTSC only)—In NTSC, inaccuracies in the coding,
transmission, or decoding part of the system can cause tint
errors. You can use Tint to correct for eventual tint inaccuracy
in the resulting image. Tint correspon ds to a rotatio n of the
UV plane and is measured in degrees. This correction is not
needed for PAL.
PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT 5-14
©
National Instruments Corporation
LUT Tab
Chapter 5 Configuration Utility
You can configure the input look-up tab le (LUT ) to implement
simple imaging operations such a s contra st enha nce ment, data
inversion, gamma manipulation, or othe r nonlinear tran sfer
function. Figure 5-10 shows the LUT tab settings.
Figure 5-10.
LUT Tab Settings
You can control the LUT throu gh the NI-IM AQ softwa re or you
can select a predefined LU T in the
©
National Instruments Corporation 5-15 PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT
IMAQconf configuration utility.
Chapter 5 Configuration Utility
The predefined LUT selections are as follows:
• Normal—When you select this option, the LUT is effectively
disabled, as shown in Figure 5-11.
Normal LUT
300
(255)
250
200
Stored Value
150
100
50
0
0 25 5 0 75 100 125 150 175 200 225 255
Sampled Data
Figure 5-11. Normal LUT
• Inverse—When you select this option, the LUT inverts the
gray levels, as shown in Figure 5-12.
300
250
200
Stored Value
150
100
50
0
PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT 5-16
Inverse LUT
(255)
0 25 5 0 75 100 125 150 175 200 225 255
Sampled Data
Figure 5-12. Inverse LUT
©
National Instruments Corporation
Chapter 5 Configuration Utility
• Log—When you select this option, the LUT conv erts the
sampled data to a logarithmic form that produces greater
contrast in the black region, as sh own in Figu re 5-13 .
Log LUT
300
(255)
250
200
Stored Value
150
100
50
0
0 25 5 0 75 100 125 150 175 200 225 255
Sampled Data
Figure 5-13. Log LUT
• Exponential—When you select this option, the LUT converts
the sampled data to a logarithmic form that produces greater
contrast in the white region, as sh own in Figu re 5-14 .
Exponential LUT
300
(255)
250
200
Stored Value
150
100
50
0
0 25 5 0 75 100 125 150 175 200 225 255
Sampled Data
Figure 5-14. Exponential LUT
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National Instruments Corporation 5-17 PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT
Chapter 5 Configuration Utility
• Binary—When you s elect th is optio n, the L UT co nverts the
sampled data to a binary image of black or wh ite, as s hown in
Figure 5-15. The threshold point is determined by the num ber
you set in the Binary Threshold box.
Binary LUT (#=128)
300
(255)
250
200
Stored Value
150
100
50
0
0 25 5 0 75 100 125 150 175 200 225 255
Sampled Data
Figure 5-15. Binary LUT
PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT 5-18
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National Instruments Corporation
Chapter 5 Configuration Utility
• Inverse Binary—When you select this op tio n, the L UT
converts the sampled da ta to a bina ry im age of blac k or w hite
with the lighter areas becoming black and the darker areas
white, as shown in Figure 5-16 . The th reshold po int is
determined by the number you set in the Binary Threshold
box.
Note: The Binary Threshold option specifies the threshold point for the binary
and inverse bi na ry LU Ts . Th is opt io n is dis a bled fo r t he o ther LUTs .
Binary LUT (#=128)
300
(255)
250
200
Stored Value
150
100
50
0
0 25 5 0 75 100 125 150 175 200 225 255
Sampled Data
Figure 5-16. Inverse Binary LUT
Operating Mode Tab
The Operating Mode tab contains settings for video synchronization
signals.
Figure 5-17 displays the Opera ting Mode tab.
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National Instruments Corporation 5-19 PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT
Chapter 5 Configuration Utility
Figure 5-17. Operating Mode Tab
Operating Mode settings include:
• Slave Acquisition Mode—The 1408 device supports the following
slave acquis ition modes :
– Standard—In standard m ode, the 14 08 de vice rece ives a n
incoming video signal and generates a CSYNC signal. The
internal CSYNC signal generates the PCLK, HSYNC, and
VSYNC signals. The 1408 device acquisition control circuitry
uses these signals to store the acquired data in PCI memory.
You can control each of thes e signals in software . The bo ard
parameters adjust the pixels per line (to generate PCLK), the
horizontal start (to generate HSYNC), and the vertical start and
lines (to generate VSYNC).
Note: The Signal Polarity, CSYNC Source, and PCLK Select options are
disabled in this mode.
PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT 5-20
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National Instruments Corporation
Chapter 5 Configuration Utility
– CSYNC External Mode—In CSYNC external mode, the
PCI/PXI-1408 receives a n inco ming CSYN C to g ener ate
the PCLK, HSYNC, and VSYNC signals. The 14 08 device
acquisition control circuitry uses these signals to store the
acquired data in PCI memory. You can control each of these
signals in software. The board parameters adjust pixels per line
(to generate PCLK), horizontal start (to generate HSYNC), and
vertical start and lines (to generate VSYNC).
When you select CSYNC external mode, the CSYNC polarity
field also becomes valid. You can configure CSYNC to be
active high or active low (rising or falling edge sensitive).
Note: The Signal Polarity, CSYNC Source, and PCLK Select options are active
in this mode.
– External Lock Mode—In external lock mode, the 1408 device
receives PC LK , H S YNC , and V SY N C f rom th e ex te r nal
connector. When you select ex ternal lock mode , the HSYNC
polarity, VSYNC polarity, and PCLK polarity fields also
become valid. You can configure each sig nal to be active high
or active low (rising or falling edge sensitive).
Note: The Signal Polarity option is active and the CSYNC Source and
PCLK Select options are disabled in this mode.
• CSYNC Source —You can specify the input source for the
CSYNC signal as either chan nel 0, channel 1, channel 2, channel 3,
or external.
• Signal Polarity—You can control the signal polarity for the
CSYNC, HSYNC, VSYNC, and PCLK signals. The d efault is True
High.
• Misc Settings—The miscellaneous settings let you adjust the
StillColor settings and include:
– StillColor Mode—This control selects the acquisition mode.
Settings include:
• Disabled—Disables StillColor and enables
monochrome mode.
• RGB—Enables color mode with Tri-CCD cameras. This
mode uses channels 1, 2, and 3, but you need to select a
camera file only for channe l 1.
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National Instruments Corporation 5-21 PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT
Chapter 5 Configuration Utility
• Composite—Enables c olor mode for PA L or NTSC
cameras.
Note: The Grab button is valid only in monochrome mode. The Basic and
Advanced StillColor dialog boxes are only valid in RGB or Composite
mode.
– Scale—This parameter sets the horizontal and vertical
hardware scaling f actor s.
– PCLK Select—When the PCI/PXI-1408 is in CSYNC
External Mode, this parameter lets you chose whether the
PCLK is internally generated by the board or ex ternal.
– Frame tmo/ms—This parameter sets the timeout value for a
frame in milliseconds.
– Max Buffers—This parameter sets the maximum number of
buffers for a ring or a sequence acquisition. You must restart
your computer before this change takes effect.
Saving Your Configuration
When you complete the configuration, choose the File»Save option to
save the resulting configuration so that the NI-IMAQ software can
reference it.
Testing Your Configuration
After setup, use IMAQconf to test your configuration using th e Grab
and Snap functions, located either in the utility toolbar or under the
Acquire menu (see Fig ure 5-2 ). Y ou ca n use th e resulting ima ge a nd
histograph to modify y our conf igur ation.
The functions for testing your configuration are as follows:
• Grab—Click the Grab button to make the 1408 devi ce c apture
images in continuous mode at the maximum rate. If your display
cannot keep up with the maximum rate acquisition,
continue to acquire images at the maximum rate but will display the
images onscreen at the fastest allowable rate your system supports.
The acquisition and display rates are shown in the title bar. Pressi ng
the Grab button for the second time halts the grab function and
displays the last acquired image on the screen. The Grab button is
available only in monochrome mod e.
PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT 5-22
IMAQconf will
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National Instruments Corporation
Chapter 5 Configuration Utility
Note: The Grab button becomes a Multi-Snap button in StillColor mode.
• Snap—Clicking the Snap button will result in the 1408 device
capturing and displaying a single video frame or field depending on
the mode of the board .
• Histograph—The 1408 device displays the histograph of the
captured image. You can use the histograph as an aid in setting the
gain and offset values to receiv e the ma ximum inpu t signal r a nge.
• Diagnostics—The Diagnostics button lets you run dia gnostic tests
on the board. Pressing this button br ings up the dialog box sh own
in Figure 5-18.
Figure 5-18. Diagnostics Settings
Select the tests you want to perform. Click the Start button to start the
diagnostics. The diagnostics will run each test that has been specified
by the appropriate checkbox. These tests will be executed the number
of times specified in the Iterations box. To stop the diagnostics, pre ss
the Stop button. The Completed box displays the number of test
iterations performed.
A camera must be connected to VIDEO0 when testing the interrupts.
Note: The Start button becomes a Stop button when you run the diagnostics.
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National Instruments Corporation 5-23 PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT
Chapter 5 Configuration Utility
Image Storage
The 1408 device can store the captured image in bitmap (bmp) format
if y ou select File»Save from the pull- down menu or right-click in the
video window and selec t File»Save.
Storing the image serves two purpo ses. Firs t, it save s a re fere nce
picture. Second, you can use the 1408 device to acquire images that
you can later modify with virtua lly any ima ge p roce ssing ap plica tion
without using NI-IMAQ.
PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT 5-24
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National Instruments Corporation
Appendix
Specifications
This appendix lists the s pec ification s o f the PCI-140 8 and PXI- 140 8
devices. These specifications are typic al at 25° C, unless otherwise
stated.
Formats Supported
RS-170/NTSC.......................... .... ...... . 60 Hz
CCIR/PAL..........................................50 Hz
Variable sc an .............. .. ..... .. .. .. .... .. .. .. . P rog ra mm ab le
Video Input
Quantity.................. .... .. .. ... .... .. .. .. .... .. .Four monoch rom e
Input impedanc e . .. .... .. .. ..... .. .. .... .. .... .. .75 Ω
VIDEO0.......... .. .. .... .. .. .. ..... .. .. .. .... .. .. .. . R SE or D IFF (BN C or D SU B)
A
(Interlaced mode: 6 0 fi elds /s)
(Interlaced mode: 5 0 fi elds /s)
VIDEO<3..1> ......... .... .. .. ..... .. .. .... .. .. ...RSE or DIF F (DS UB)
Frequency respo ns e......... ... .... .. .. .... .. .. . 20 M Hz (–3 dB ) ty p
Antichromin an ce f i lte r ............. .. .... .. .. .Programmab l e (dis abl e d,
3.58 MHz notch f ilter, or
4.43 MHz notch f ilter)
Filter charac ter istic s.... ....... .... .... .... ..... A ttenua tion a t notch
frequency > 25 dB
Gain....................................................Programmable
(1, 1.33, or 2)
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National Instruments Corporation A-1 PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT
Appendix A Specifications
Black reference ..................................Programmable
(0–1.28 V in 64 20 mV steps
at a gain of 1)
White reference.................................. Programmable
(0–1.28 V in 64 20 mV steps
at a gain of 1)
A/D Conversion
Gray levels.........................................256 (8 bit)
Differential non lin eari ty..................... ±1 L SB m a x
RMS noise ... .... .. .. .... .. .... .. .. ..... .. .. .... .. . < 0.5 LSB rm s
Signal-to-noise r ati o...................... .. .. . 48 dB t yp
Sampling rate.....................................5 to 20 MHz,
externally clocked
Pixel aspect r ati o .............. .. ... .... .. .. .. ... Programmable
(VCO range 11.0 to 16.4 MH z)
External Connections
Trigger sense ......................................TTL
Trigger level ...................................... Programmable (rising or falling)
PCLKIN sense....................................Selectable (TTL or RS-422)
PCLKIN level ....................................Programmable (direct or invert)
HSYNCIN sense ...... .. .... .. ..... .. .. .... .. .. . Sele c tabl e ( TT L or RS - 422 )
HSYNCIN lev el ............. .. .. ..... .. .. .. .... . P rog ra mm ab le (rising or falling)
VSYNCIN sense ...... .. .... .. ..... .. .. .... .. .. . Sele c tabl e ( TT L or RS - 422 )
VSYNCIN lev el ............. .. .. ..... .. .. .. .... . P rog ra mm ab le (rising or falling)
CSYNCIN sens e......... .. .. .... ... .. .... .. .... . S ele cta ble ( TT L or RS -422 )
CSYNCIN leve l ..... .. .... .. .. .. ..... .. .. .. .... . P rog ra mm ab le (rising or falling)
PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT A-2
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National Instruments Corporation
Appendix A Specifications
Pulse width . .. .. .. .... .. .. .. .... ... .. .. .... .. .. .. ...50 ns
(TTL)... .... .... .... ...... ..... .... .... ...... ... 2 V
V
IH
(TTL) ......... .. .. .... .. .. .. ..... .. .. .. .... .. .. .0.8 V
V
IL
Internal Pixel Clock
Generate freque nc y .............. .. .. .... .. .. ...11.0 to 16 .4 M H z
Pixel ratio for
standard video sour ces ........... .... ...... ... ±8 %
Pixel jitter ........... ...... .... ..... .... .... .... ..... < 5 ns peak
PCI Interface
PCI initiator (master) capability ..........Supported
PCI target (slave) capability................Supported
Data path .... .... .. .. .. .... .. .. .. ..... .. .. .. .... .. .. . 32 bi ts
Card voltage .......................................5 V only
Card type .... .. .... .. .. .... .. .. ..... .. .. .... .. .... .. .32-bit half- si ze c ard
Parity generation/checking,
error reporti ng... .... .. .. .. .... ... .. .. .... .. .. .. ...Supported
Target decode sp eed...... ..... ...... .... .... ... Med ium (1 cl ock)
Target fast back-to-ba ck ca pability ..... Supp orte d
Resource lock in g ...... .... .. ..... .. .. .... .. .. ...Supported as a ma st e r and s la ve
PCI interrupt s ... .. .... .. .... .. ..... .. .. .... .. .. ...Interrupts pa ssed o n
INTA# signal
Base address regi st er s .......... .. .. .... .. .. ...BAR0 (16 K B)
BAR1 (64 KB)
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National Instruments Corporation A-3 PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT
Appendix A Specifications
Expansion ROM........................ ...... ... 4 KB
PCI master performa nce
Ideal . .. .... .. .. .. .... .. .. .. .... ... .. .. .... .. .. . 133 M by tes /s
Sustained....................................100 Mbytes/s
Power Requirements
Voltage .............................................. +5 V (1.34 A)
+12 V (100 mA)
–12 V (50 mA)
Physical
Dimensions .............. .. .... .. .. ..... .. .. .... .. . 10. 668 b y 17 .463 c m
(4.2 by 6.875 in.)
Weight ...............................................0.127 kg (0.028 lb.)
Environment
Operating t emp er at ur e....................... . 0 –55 ° C
Storage temper at ur e ....... .. .. ..... .. .. .... .. . –20 –70 ° C
Relative Hum idi ty .......... .. .. ..... .. .. .... .. . 5-9 0%, no nc ond en sing
MTBF ................ .. .. .... .. .. .... ... .... .. .. .... . 181 ,2 59 h a t 2 5° C
Emissions...........................................EN 55011:1991 Group 1
PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT A-4
Class A at 10 m
FCC Class A at 10 m
©
National Instruments Corporation
Appendix
StillColor
Introduction
B
This appendix describes the different methods you can use to acquire a
color image using the IMAQ PCI/ PXI-1408 and National Instruments
StillColor technology, explains basic co lor theo ries, and desc ribes the
different output options supported by StillColor.
You can use two basic video camera types for color acquisition—RGB
cameras and composite color video cameras.
An RGB camera delivers the three basic color components—red, green
and blue—on three dif feren t wires . This ty pe of cam era often uses t hree
independent CCD sensors to a cquir e th e thre e c olor sign als. RGB
cameras are use d for ver y accu rat e color ac quis iti on.
A composite color camera transmits the video signal on a single wire.
The signal is co mpo s ed of t wo co mpo ne nts th at ar e ad de d to ge th er.
These components are:
• A monochrome video signal that conta ins the gray lev el
information from the image and the composite sync hronization
signals. This signal is the same as a stan dard mo nochr ome vi deo
signal, such as RS-170 (NTSC) or CCIR-601 (PAL) .
• A modulated si gn al th at co nt ain s th e c ol or in for ma t io n fr o m th e
image. The format of this signal depends on your camera. The three
main color stand ards are as fo llo ws:
– M-NTSC (also called NTSC), which is used mainly in the US
and Japan
– B/G-PAL (also called PAL), which is used mainly in Europe,
India, and Austra li a
– SECAM, which is used mai nly in France and the f ormer Soviet
Republics. SECAM is only used for bro adca sting, so SECA M
countries often use PAL as the local color image format.
©
National Instruments Corporation B-1 PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT
Appendix B StillColor
StillColor
StillColor is a technique you can use to acquire color images from
composite color video or RGB cameras using the PCI/PXI-1408
mon oc h r o me d e v ic e . U s e Stil lColor Composite mo d e t o a c q ui r e c o l or
images from a composite color video camera. Use StillColor RGB mode
to acquire color images from an RGB camera. StillColor composite
acquisition results in an image of much higher quality than the
traditional color decoding that can be obtained with a color image
acquisition board.
To acquire a color image, the PCI/PXI-1408 acquires multiple frames
from the camera. Your computer CPU then processes the frames using
the StillColor algorithm and creates a single color image. Because
StillColor uses your computer CPU to process the image, the
acquisition time for a sing le im ag e de pends on yo ur system
performance. You can acquire StillColor composite images at rates
of up to 2 frames/s and StillColor RGB images at rates of up to
10 frames/s.
You can use StillColor in applications that require high-quality images
of still or very slowly moving objects. StillColor supports many
different image representations used in scientific or industrial
applications, such as RGB bitmap and single plane hue, saturation,
luminance, and intensity. StillColor also s uppo rts ima ge ave raging of
up to 128 frames to increase the dyn amic rang e of the StillC olor image.
See the Introduction to Color section later in this appendix for more
information on image representations.
StillColor Composite
In a composite color video signal, the color information (chroma) is
modulated in phase and am plitude a round a su b-ca rrier freq ue ncy of
3.58 MHz (NTSC) or 4 .43 M H z (PA L). T he mo dula ted sign al is then
added to the luminance information a nd the entire signal includ ing
synchronization pulses is transmitted on a single line.
Traditional Color Decoding
On the receiver side or in your IMAQ board, the luminance and the
chroma signals must be se para ted befo re the co lo r im ag e c an be
decoded and rebuilt. Howe ver, the mod ulated co lor infor mation an d
some of the high-frequency luminance informa tion share the same
frequency range around the sub-carrier frequency. This sharing makes
PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT B-2
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National Instruments Corporation
Appendix B StillColor
it impossible to separate the two signals perfectly a nd, therefore, perfect
reconstruction of the original color image is not possible.
All of the traditional ways to separate the two signals result in visual
artifacts on the fina l p ictur e. T echn ique s su ch a s f requ ency- ba nd
filtering or comb filtering can minimize some of these artifacts, but
most techniques are optimized to obtain the best picture for
visualization of a continuous ac quisitio n. The composite color formats
are designed so that artifa cts re sultin g from one frame are alm ost
cancelled by artifacts in following frames. This system takes advantage
of the slow response time of th e human e ye to ob scu re m ost o f these
problems.
The situation is different in a single frame acquisition where a single
image is needed. A single image usually clearly shows the result of a
bad color/luminance separation. T ypical weakness of tra ditional
separation te ch nique s ar e:
• Reduced luminance ba ndwidth, r es ulting in a blu rry ima ge.
• Cross-color modulation where rapidly changing colors affect the
luminance of the image, as shown on the edges of the parrot’s head
in Figure B-1.
• Cross-luminance modulation where rapidly ch anging lumin ance
(stripes) results in irritating random color patterns, as shown on the
black and white stripes a round the p arrot’ s eye in Figure B-1 .
©
National Instruments Corporation B-3 PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT
Appendix B StillColor
Figure B-1. Classical Decoding
Figure B-2. StillColor Decoding
Note: You can find color versions of the illustrations in this appendix in the
online version of this document included with your NI-IMAQ software kit.
Both pictures are appr oximately 80 by 80 pixe ls in size and are acquired
using an NTSC composite vi deo sign al. Figure B-1 use s cl assic
decoding algorithms including bandpass/ba ndstop an d comb filtering.
Figure B-2 was acquired using the PCI/PXI-1408 and the StillColor
algorithm.
PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT B-4
©
National Instruments Corporation
Appendix B StillColor
Why StillColor?
StillColo r is o pti miz ed for sing le- fram e ac quis iti on. A Stil lCo lo r
Composite acquisition acquires multiple consecutive frames. Assuming
that all frames represent the same scene of still objects, the algorithm
then uses knowledge about the composite color format to perfectly
separate the color and the luminance information.
In an NTSC video signal, two consecutive frames representing the same
object will contain the same luminance information but will have
chroma signals that are opposite in phase. By adding the tw o frames
together, the chroma information is cancelled, and by subtracting the
two frames from each other, the luminance signal is cancelled. The
resulting separation is now perfect, as shown in Figure B-2.
Color and luminance separation is more complex in a PAL video signal.
The IMAQ devi c e m u s t acquire three consecutive f r ames, but the s am e
perfect separation of the color and luminance information can be
achieved after manipulation of these images.
After separating the color and luminance signals, the StillColor
algorithm then decode s and re build s the color im ag e. A s shown in
Figure B-2, the result does not show any of the artifacts encountered in
traditional color decoding methods.
Composite Color Acquisition
The PCI/PXI-1408, in conjunction with NI-IMAQ, supports acquisition
of color images fro m an NTS C or PAL compos ite co lor vid eo cam era.
NI-IMAQ can acqu ire t he mul tipl e fram es, dec ode th e co lor
information, and rebuild the image automatically. The output image can
be a simple RG B co lo r im ag e or o ne of m an y i m ag e re pr ese nt a tio ns
supported by NI-IMAQ. See the Introdu ction to Color section later in
this appendix for more information on image representations.
You can connect the com posite vid eo signal to any of the f our inp ut
channels on the PCI/PXI-1408. Since StillColor is used for still scenes,
you can perform only a sna p (a sin gle-ima ge a cquisition).
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National Instruments Corporation B-5 PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT
Appendix B StillColor
StillColor RGB
RGB cameras output a color image using three lines. StillColor RGB
will acquire the three signals and construct a color image. The three
lines are connected to three channels on the PCI/PXI-1408. One frame
is acquired from each of the three channels, which represent the red,
green, and blue planes of the image. StillColor combines these frames
to construct the color image.
RGB Color Acquisition
The PCI/PXI-1408, in conjunction with NI-IMAQ, supports acquisition
of color images from an RGB camera.
The NI-IMAQ driver can ac quire the three fram es and rebuild the image
automatica lly. Th e outp ut ima ge can be a simp le RGB colo r imag e or
one of many image r ep resen tations sup por ted by the drive r. Se e the
Introduction to Color s ection later in this appendix for more
information on image representations.
For a StillColor RGB snap, connect the three camera channels—red,
green, and blue—to Video 1, Video 2, and Video 3, respectively, on the
PCI/PXI-1408 device. Specify a channel for the video synchronization
signal by selecting that channel as the sync source using the Operating
Mode tab in
information on the configuration utility.) A typical RGB camera
includes the composite video synchronization signal in the green signal.
You can also use other synchronization sourc es, such as an external
composite video signal that can be connected to Video 0 or an external
TTL composite synchronization signal that can be con nected to the
CSYNCIN pin of the DSUB connector . (See Chapte r 4, Sign al
Connections, for signal connection information.)
IMAQConf. (See Chapter 5, Configuration Utility, for more
PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT B-6
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National Instruments Corporation
Introduction to Color
Color is the wavelength of the light we receive in our eye when we look
at an object. In theory, the color spectrum is infinite. Humans, however,
can see only a small portion of this spectrum—the portion that goes
from the red edge of infrared light (the lo ngest wavelength) to the blue
edge of ultraviolet lig ht (th e shor test w avelength) . Th is continu ous
spectrum is called the visible spec trum , as sho wn in Figur e B-3.
Appendix B StillColor
Figure B-3.
White light is a combination of all colors at once. The spectrum of white
light is continuous and goes from ultraviolet to infrared in a smooth
transition. You can represent a good approximation of white light by
selecting a few reference colors and weighting them appropriat ely. The
most common way to represent white light is to use three reference
components, such as red, green, and blue (R, G, and B primaries). You
can simulate most colors of the visible spectrum using these primaries.
For example, video projectors use red, green, and blue light generators,
and an RGB camera uses red, gree n, and blue senso rs.
The perception o f a co lor de pe nds on ma ny fac tors, s uch as :
• Hue, which is the perceived dominan t color. H ue depend s dire ctly
on the wavelength o f a co lor.
• Saturation, which is dependent on the amount of white light present
in a color. Pastels typically have a low saturation while very rich
colors have a high saturation. For example, pink typically has a red
hue but has a low saturation.
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National Instruments Corporation B-7 PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT
White Light and the Visible Spectrum
Appendix B StillColor
• Luminance, which is the brightness information in the video
• Intensity, which is the brightness of a color and which is usually
Image Representations
Color images ca n be rep resen ted i n sever al diff eren t forma ts. T hes e
formats can contain all color information from the image or they can
consist of j u st on e as p ect o f th e co lor i nfo rm ati on, su ch a s h ue or
luminance. The following image representations can be produced using
NI-IMAQ and StillColor.
RGB
The most common image representation is 32-bit RGB format. In this
representation, the three 8-bit color planes—red, green and blue—are
packed into an array of 32-bit integers. This representation is us eful for
displaying the image on your monitor. The 32-bit integer organized as:
picture. The luminance signal amplitude varies in proportion to the
brightness of the video signal a nd c orresp ond s exa ctly to th e
monochrome pictur e.
expressed as light o r da rk. Fo r e xamp le, o range and br own ma y
have the same hue a nd sa turation; how eve r, or an ge h as a gr ea ter
intensity than brown.
0 RED GREEN BLUE
where the high-orde r by te is not used an d b lue is the low -orde r byte .
The system also supports a 24-bit and a 16-bit representa tion of the
RGB image. The 24-bit representation is equivalent to the 32-bit
representation; however, there is no unused byte. For the 16-bit
representation, the image is packed into an array of 16-bit integers
where each 16-bit p ixel contains re d, gre en, an d b lue, enc od ed w ith
only five bits each. The most significant bit of the integer is always 0.
Color Planes
Each color plane can be r eturne d in dividually. T he re d, g reen , or blue
plane is extracted from the RGB image and represented as an array of
8-bit integers.
PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT B-8
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National Instruments Corporation
Appendix B StillColor
Hue, Saturation, Luminance, and Intensity Planes
The hue, saturation, lumi nan ce, a nd inten sity p lanes ca n also be
returned individually if you want to analyze the image. You can retrieve
the data in 8-bit format to reduce the amount of data to be processed or
in 16-bit format to take advantage of the highe r precisio n available
when usin g av er ag in g.
The 16-bit image representation is scaled so that the pixel values are
always positive. The value range is 0 to +32,767, so it is compatible
with both 16-bit signed and 16-bit uns igned integers. On average , the
16-bit representation of a plane is eq ual to 128 times the 8-b it
representation of the plane from the same image. The 16-bit
representation is generally only used if you are performing averaging on
your image. For example, averaging an image 16 times requires four
extra bits (16 = ) to represent the increased dynamic range. In this
case, using the 16-bit representation may increase the dynamic range of
your image.
Luminance, Intensity, Hue , or Satu ratio n are de fined using the Re d,
Green, and Blue values in the following formulas:
Luminance = 0.299 × Re d + 0.587 × Green + 0.114 × Blue
Intensity = (Red + Green + Blue) / 3
Hue = ATN2 (Y, X)
where
Y = (Green - Blue) / and
X = (2 × Red - Green - Blue) /
Saturation =
where
Y = (Green - Blue) / and
X = (2 × Red - Green - Blue) /
2
4
X2Y
2
6
2
×
2
6
32-Bit HSL and HSI
You can also pac k the thre e 8- bit Hue , Sa tura tion, a nd Lu mina nce
planes (HSL) or the three Hue, Saturation, and Intensity planes (HSI) in
one array of 32-bit integers, which is equivalent to the 32-bit RGB
representation.
©
National Instruments Corporation B-9 PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT
Appendix
Custom Cables
This appendix lists specifications for building custom cables for your
1408 device.
Cable Specification
National Instruments offers cables and accessories for you to connect to
video sources, trigger sources, or synchronization sources. However, if
you want to develop your own cables, the following guidelines must be
met:
• For the video inputs, use a 75 Ω shielded coaxial cable.
• For the digital triggers and synchronization signals, twisted pairs
for each signal yield the best result.
• For the 25-pin DSU B con ne ctor, use A MP p ar t nu mber 74 7912 -2
or equivalent.
For information on c onnec tor pin a ssignm ents, s ee the I/O Connector
section in Chapter 4, Signal Connections.
C
Connector specifications include:
• Video and syn c signa ls 75 Ω impedance
• Trigger signals TTL
• Type 75 Ω BNC or
25-pin DSUB receptacle
(as shown in Figure C-1)
13
Figure C-1.
©
National Instruments Corporation C-1 PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT
25-Pin DSUB Receptacle
1
1425
Appendix
Customer Communication
For your convenience, this appendix contains forms to help you gather the information necessary to
help us solve your technical problems and a form you can use to comment on the product
documentation. When you contact us, we need th e information on the Technical Suppor t Form and the
configuration form, if your manual contains one, about your system configuration to answer your
questions as quickly as possible.
National Instruments has techn ica l assistan ce thr ou gh electronic , fa x, a nd telepho ne sys tems to
quickly provid e the informat ion you need. Our electron ic services incl ude a bullet in board ser vice,
an FTP site, a fax-on-demand system , and e-ma il support. If you have a hardware or software
problem, first try the electronic support systems. If the information available on these systems
does not answer your questions, we offer fax and telephone support through our technical support
centers, which are staffed by applica tions engine ers.
D
Electronic Services
Bulletin Board Support
National Instruments has BBS and FTP sites dedicated for 24-hour support with a collection of files
and documents to answer most common customer questions. From these sites, you can also download
the latest instrument drivers, updates, and example programs. For recorded instructions on how to use
the bulletin board and FTP services and for BBS automated information, call (512) 795-6990. You can
access these services at:
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Up to 14,400 baud, 8 data bits, 1 stop bit, no parity
United Kingdom: 01635 551422
Up to 9,600 baud, 8 data bits, 1 stop bit, no parity
France: 01 48 65 15 59
Up to 9,600 baud, 8 data bits, 1 stop bit, no parity
FTP Support
To access our FTP site, log on to our Internet host,
Internet address, such as
documents are located in the
©
National Instruments Corporation D-1 PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT
joesmith@anywhere.com, as your password. The support files and
/support directories.
ftp.natinst.com, as anonymous and use your
Fax-on-Demand Support
Fax-on-Demand is a 24-hour inf ormation re trieval sys tem containing a library o f documents on a wide
range of technical information. You can access Fax-on-Demand from a touch-tone telephone at
(512) 418-1111.
E-Mail Support (currently U.S. only
You can submit technical support questions to the applications enginee ring team through e-m ail at the
Internet address listed below. Remember to include your name, address, and phone number so we can
contact you with solutions and sugg estions.
support@natinst.com
)
Telephone and Fax Support
National Instruments has branch offices all over the world. Use the list below to find the technical
support number for your country. If there is no Nat ional Instruments office in your countr y, contact the
source from which you purchased your software to obtain support.
Telephone Fax
Australia 03 9879 5166 03 9879 6277
Austria 0662 45 79 90 0 0662 45 79 90 19
Belgium 02 757 00 20 02 757 03 11
Brazil 011 288 3336 011 288 8528
Canada (Ontario) 905 785 0085 905 785 0086
Canada (Quebec) 514 694 8521 514 694 4399
Denmark 45 76 26 00 45 76 26 02
Finland 09 725 725 11 09 725 725 55
France 01 48 14 24 24 01 48 14 24 14
Germany 089 741 31 30 089 714 60 35
Hong Kong 2645 3186 2686 8505
Israel 03 6120092 03 6120095
Italy 02 413091 02 41309215
Japan 03 5472 2970 03 5472 2977
Korea 02 596 7456 02 596 7455
Mexico 5 520 2635 5 520 3282
Netherlands 0348 433466 0348 430673
Norway 32 84 84 00 32 84 86 00
Singapore 2265886 2265887
Spain 91 640 0085 91 640 0533
Sweden 08 730 49 70 08 730 43 70
Switzerland 056 200 51 51 056 200 51 55
Taiwan 02 377 1200 02 737 4644
United States 512 795 8248 512 794 5678
United Kingdom 01635 523545 01635 523154
Technical Support Form
Photocopy this form and update it each time you make changes to your software or hardware, and
use the completed copy of this form as a reference for your current configuration. Completing this
form accurately before con tact ing Na tional I nstrume nts for tec hnica l sup port he lps our
applications engineers answer you r questions more efficiently .
If you are using any National Instrume nts hardware or software products rela ted to this problem,
include the configuration forms from their user manuals. Include additional pages if necessary.
Name __________________________________________________________________________
Company ____________________________________________ ___________________________
Address ________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
Fax ( ___ )___________________ Phone ( ___ ) _______________________________________
Computer brand ________________ Model ________________ Processor___________________
Operating system (include version number)____________________________________________
Clock speed ______MHz RAM _____MB Display adapter __________________________
Mouse ___yes ___no Other adapters installed _______________________________________
Hard disk capacity _____MB Brand _____________________________________________
Instruments used _________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
National Instrument s hard war e produ c t mode l__________ Revision ____________ ___ ___ ____
Configuration ______ _____________________________________________________________
National Instrument s sof t war e produ ct____________________________ Version ________ ____
Configuration ______ _____________________________________________________________
The problem is: __________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
List any error messages: ___________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
The following steps reproduce the problem:____________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
IMAQ Hardware and Software Configuration Form
Record the settings a nd re vision s o f your h ardw are a nd softwa re on th e line to th e righ t of e ach
item. Complete a new cop y of this form e ach time y ou revise yo ur sof twa re or ha rdwa re
configuration, and use this form as a refer ence for your c urren t configuration. Completing this
form accurately before con tact ing Na tional I nstrume nts for tec hnica l sup port he lps our
applications engineers answer you r questions more efficiently .
National Instruments Products
IMAQ hardware _________________ ______ __________ ______ _______ ______ __________
Interrupt level of hardware ______ ______ __________ ______ ______ _______ _________ ____
DMA channels of hardware ________________________ ______ _______ ______ __________
Base I/O address of h ardw are ____________________ ___ ___ ______ ____ ___ ___ ______ ____
Programming choice ___________ _________ _______ ______ ______ __________ ______ ____
NI-IMAQ, IMAQ V ision, La bVIE W, or Lab Windo ws/C VI v ers ion _________ ___ ___ ___ ____
Other boards in system _______________ ___ ___ ____ ______ ___ ___ ____ ______ ___ ___ ____
Base I/O address of o ther b oards __________________________ ___ ____ ___ ______ ___ ____
DMA channels of other boards _______________________________ _______ _________ ____
Interrupt level of other boards _______________ _______ _________ _______ ______ _______
Other Products
Computer make and model __________________ _______ ______ __________ ______ _______
Microprocessor _______________________________________________________________
Clock frequency or sp ee d __________ ___ ______ ____ ___ ___ ______ ____ ___ ___ ______ ____
PCI chipset ______________________ ___________________ __________________________
Type of video bo ard installe d __________ ___ _______ ___ ___ ___ _______ ___ ___ ___ _______
Operating system vers io n _______ ___ ___ ______ ____ ___ ___ ______ ____ ___ ___ ______ ____
Operating system m ode _ _______ ___ ___ ___ _______ ___ ___ ___ _______ ___ ___ ___ _______
Programming language ____________ _________ _______ ______ _______ _________ _______
Programming language vers ion ________ __________ ______ ______ _______ _________ ____
Other boards in system _______________ ___ ___ ____ ______ ___ ___ ____ ______ ___ ___ ____
Base I/O address of o ther b oards __________________________ ___ ____ ___ ______ ___ ____
DMA channels of other boards _______________________________ _______ _________ ____
Interrupt level of other boards _______________ _______ _________ _______ ______ _______
Documentation Comment Form
National Instruments encourages you to comment on the documentation supplied with our
products. This information helps us provide q uality pr oducts to m eet y our nee ds.
Title:
Edition Date:
Part Number:
Please comment on the completeness, clarity, and organization of the manual.
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If you find error s in the m an ual, plea se r ecor d the pa ge nu mbe rs and descr ibe the e rr ors.
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
Getting Started with Your IMAQ PCI/ PXI- 1408 and the NI-IMAQ Software
for Windows 95/NT
October 1997
321325B-01
Thank you for y our he lp.
Name _________________________________________________________________________
Title __________________________________________________________________________
Company _______________________________________________________________________
Address ________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
Phone ( ___ )__________________________ Fax ( ___ ) ________________________________
Mail to:
Technical Publications
National Instruments Corporation National Instruments Corporation
6504 Bridge Point Parkway (512) 794-5678
Austin, TX 78730-5039
Fax to:
Technical Publications
Prefix Meaning Value
Glossary
p- pico- 10
n- nano- 10
µ- micro- 10
m- milli- 10
k- kilo- 10
M- mega- 10
G- giga- 10
–12
–9
–6
–3
3
6
9
Numbers/Symbols
% percent
+ positive of, or plus
+5V 5 V signal
– negative of, or minus
/per
±plus or minus
Ω ohm
©
National Instruments Corporation G-1 PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT
Glossary
A
A amperes
AC alternating current
acquisition window the image size specific to a video standard or camera resolution
active line region the region of lines actively being stored; defined by a line start
(relative to VS YNC) an d a lin e count
active pixel region the region of pixels actively being stored; defined by a pixel start
(relative to HSYNC) and a pixel count
A/D analog-to-digital
ADC analog-to-digital converter—an electronic device, often an
integrated circuit, that converts an analog voltage to a digital
number
address character code that identifies a specific location (or series of
locations) in memory
ANSI American National Standards Institute
antichrominance filter removes the color informa tion fro m th e vide o signal
API application programming interface
AQ_DONE signals that the acquisition of a frame or field is completed
AQ_IN_PROGRESS signals that the acquisition of video data is in progress
area a rectangular portion of an acquisition window or frame that is
controlled and def ine d b y softw are
array ordered , indexed set of da ta elements of the same type
ASIC Application-Specific Integrated Circuit—a proprietary
semiconductor component designed and manufactured to perform
a set of specific functions for a specific customer
aspect ratio the ratio of a signal’s width to its height
PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT G-2
©
National Instruments Corporation
Glossary
B
b bit—one binary digit, either 0 or 1
B byte —eight related bits of data, an eight-bit binary numbe r; also
used to denote the amount of memory requir ed to store one byte
of data
back porch the area of the vid eo sign al betwe en the rising edge o f the
horizontal sync signal and the active video information
black reference level the level that represe nts the dark est an image can get
See also white reference level.
buffer temporary stora ge f or acqu ire d d ata
bus the group of conductors that interconnect individual circuitry in a
computer, such as the PCI bu s; ty p ica lly th e exp an sio n v eh ic le to
which I/O or other devices are conn ected
C
CCelsius
cache high-speed processor memory that buffers commonly used
instructions or data to increa se p roce ssing throughp ut
CCIR Comite Consultatif International des Radiocommun ications—a
committee that developed standa rds for color vi deo signals
chrominance the color information in a video signal
CMOS complementary metal-oxide sem icondu ctor
CompactPCI refers to the core specification de fined by the PCI Industrial
Computer Manufacturer’s G roup (PIC MG)
compiler a software utility that converts a source program in a high-level
programming language, such as Basic, C or Pascal, into an object
or compiled progra m in ma ch ine la nguage . Co mpile d prog ra ms
run 10 to 1,000 times faster than interpreted programs
See also Interpret er.
©
National Instruments Corporation G-3 PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT
Glossary
conversion device device that transforms a signal from one form to anoth er; for
example, analog-to-digital co nverters (A DCs) for anal og input
and digital-to-analog conve rters (DACs) for analog ou tput
CPU central processing unit
CSYNC compo site sync s ignal; a c ombin ation of the hor izon tal and
vertical sync pulses
CSYNCIN composite sync in signal
CSYNCOUT composite sync out signal
D
D/A digital-to-analog
DAC digital-to-analog conve rter; an elect ronic device , often an
integrated circuit, that converts a digital number into a
corresponding analog vo ltage o r cur rent
DAQ data acquisition—(1) collecting and measuring electrical signals
from sensors, transducers, and test probes or fixtur es and
inputting them to a computer for processing; (2) collecting and
measuring the same kinds of electrical signals with A/D or DIO
boards plugged into a computer , and possibly gene rating con trol
signals with D/A and/or DIO boards in the same computer
dB decibel; the unit for expressing a logarithmic measure of the ratio
of two signal levels: dB=20log10 V1/V2, for signals in volts
DC direct current
default setting a default parameter value recorded in the driver; in many cases,
the default input of a control is a certain value (often 0) that means
use the current default setting.
DIN Deutsche Industrie Norme
DLL dynamic link library—a software module in Microsoft Windows
containing executable co de and data that can be call ed o r used by
Windows applications or other DLLs; functions and data in a DLL
are loaded and linked at run time when they are referenced by a
Windows application or oth er DL Ls
PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT G-4
©
National Instruments Corporation
Glossary
DMA direct memory access—a method by which data can be transferr ed
to and from computer memory from and to a device or memory on
the bus while the processor does something else; DMA is the
fastest method of transferring data to/from computer memory
DRAM dynamic RAM
drivers software that controls a specific hardware device such as an
IMAQ or DAQ device.
dynamic range the ratio of the largest signal level a circuit can handle to the
smallest signal level it can handle (usually taken to be the noise
level), normally expressed in dB
E
EEPROM electrically erasable programmable read-only memory—ROM
that can be erased with an electrical signa l and reprogram med
external trigger a voltage pulse from an external source that triggers an event such
as A/D convers ion
F
field For an interlaced video signal, a field is half the number of
horizontal lines needed to represe nt a frame of vide o; the first
field of a frame contains all the odd-numbered lines, the second
field contains all of the even-numbered lines.
FIFO first-in first-out memory buffer—the first data stored is the first
data sent to the acceptor; FIFOs are used on IMAQ devices to
temporarily store incoming data until that data can be retrieved.
For example, an analog input FIFO sto res the r esults of A/D
conversions until the data can be retrieved into system memory,
a process that requires the servicing of interrupts and often the
programming of the D MA con troller . Th is proc ess can tak e
several milliseconds in some cases. During this time, data
accumulates in the FIFO for future retrieval.
flash ADC an ADC w h ose ou tput c ode is d eterm ined in a single ste p by a
bank of comparato rs and e ncod in g logic
©
National Instruments Corporation G-5 PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT
Glossary
frame a complete image; in interlaced formats, a frame is composed of
two fields
front porch the area of a video signal between the start of the horizontal blank
and the star t of t he h ori z on tal s y nc
ft feet
function a set of software instructions executed by a single line of code that
may have input and/or output parameters and returns a value when
executed; examples of functions are:
y = COS (x)
status = AO_config(board, channel, range)
G
gamma the nonlinear change in the difference between the video signal’s
brightness level and the vo ltage le vel ne ede d to pr odu ce that
brightness
genlock circuitry that aligns the video timing signals by locking togethe r
the horizontal, vertica l, a nd c olor subc ar rier f reque ncies a nd
phases and generates a pix el cloc k to c loc k pixe l data into
memory for displ ay or i n to a noth er ci rcui t fo r pro cessi ng
GND ground sign al
GUI graphical user interface—an intuitive, easy-to-use means of
communicating information to and from a co mputer p rogram by
means of graphical screen displa ys; GUIs ca n re semble the f ront
panels of instruments or other objects associated with a computer
program.
H
h hour
hardware the physical component s of a computer system, such as the circuit
boards, plug-in boards, chassis, enclosures, periphera ls, cables,
and so on
PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT G-6
©
National Instruments Corporation
Glossary
HSYNC horizontal sync signal—the synchroniz ation pulse signal
produced at the beginning of each video scan line that keeps a
video monitor’s horizontal scan rate in step with the transmission
of each new line
HSYNCIN horizontal sync input signal
hue represents the dominant color of a pixel. The hue func tion is a
continuous function that covers all the pos sible colo rs generated
using the R, G, and B primaries. See also RGB.
Hz hertz—the number of scan s read or update s written per second
I
IC integrated circuit
ID identification
IEEE Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
IMAQconf a configuration and diagnostic utility included with IMAQ
devices
in. inches
INL integral nonlinearity—A measure in LSB of the worst-case
deviation from the ideal A/D or D/A transfer characteristic of the
analog I/O cir cu itr y
instrument driver a set of high-level software functions, such as NI-IMAQ, that
controls specific plug-in computer boards; instrument drivers are
available in several fo rms, ranging from a function callable from
a programming language to a virtual instrument (VI) in LabVIEW
interlaced a video frame composed of two interleaved fields; the number of
lines in a field are half the number of lines in an interlaced frame
interpreter a software utility that executes source code from a high-level
language such as B asic , C o r Pasc al, b y re ad ing one line at a time
and executing the specified operation
See also compiler .
©
National Instruments Corporation G-7 PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT
Glossary
interrupt a computer signal indicating that the CPU should suspend its
current task to service a designated activity
interrupt level the relative priority at which a device can interrupt
I/O input/output— the transfe r of data to/fro m a comput er system
involving communications channels, opera tor interface devic es,
and/or data acquisition and control interfaces
IRQ int er rupt requ est
K
k kilo—the standard metric prefix for 1,000, or 103, used with units
of measure such as volts, hertz, and meters
10
K kilo—the prefix for 1,024, or 2
or computer memory
kbytes/s a unit for d ata tra nsfer that me ans 1,000 o r 10
Kword 1,024 words of memory
, used with B in quantifying data
3
bytes/s
L
library a file containing compiled object modules, each comprised of one
of more functions, that can be linked to other object modules that
make use of the se func tio ns.
line count the total number of horizontal lines in the picture
LSB least significant bit
luminance the brightness information in the vide o p icture. T he lu minanc e
signal amplitude varies in pr oportion to the bright nes s of the
video signal and correspo nds exa ctly to the m on ochro me picture .
LUT look-up table—a selection in the
that contains formulas that let you implement simple imaging
operations such as contrast enhan cement, data inversio n, g amma
manipulation, or other nonlinear transfer function s
PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT G-8
IMAQconf configuration utility
©
National Instruments Corporation
Glossary
M
mmeters
6
6
bytes/s
, when
M (1) Mega, the standard metric prefix for 1 million or 10
used with units of measure such as volts and hertz; (2) mega, the
20
prefix for 1,048,576, or 2
, when used with B to quantify data or
computer mem ory
MB megabytes of me mo ry
Mbytes/s a unit for data transfer that means 1 million or 10
memory buffer See buffer.
memory window continuo us blocks of memor y that can be ac cessed quickly by
changing addresses on the local pro cessor
MSB most significant bit
MTBF mean time between failure
mux multiplexer—a switching device with multiple inputs that
selectively connects one of its inputs to its output
N
NI-IMAQ driver software for N a tion al Inst rum ent s IMA Q h ar dwar e
noninterlaced a video frame where all th e lines are scanne d sequentially, in stead
of divided into two fra mes as in a n in terla ced video fr ame
NTSC National Television Standards Committee—the committee that
developed the color video standar d used prim arily in North
America, which uses 525 lines per frame . See also PAL.
NVRAM nonvola tile RAM—RA M that is not erased whe n a device loses
power or is turned off
©
National Instruments Corporation G-9 PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT
Glossary
O
operating system base-level software that contr ols a com pu ter, r uns pr ogram s,
interacts with users, and communicates w ith installed hardware or
peripheral devices
P
PAL P hase Alte rnation L ine—o ne of the Europe an vide o colo r
standards; uses 625 lines per frame. See also NTSC.
PCI Per iphe ral Co mp onent I nterc onn ect— a high-pe rform a nce
expansion bus architecture originally de veloped by Intel to
replace ISA an d EI SA; it is achie ving wide spr ead acc eptan ce as a
standard for PCs and w orkstations a nd offe rs a th eore tica l
maximum transfer rate of 132 Mbytes/s
PCLK pixel clock signal—times the sampling of pix els on a vide o line
PCLKIN pixel cloc k in signa l
PFI programmable function input
PGIA programmable gain instrumentation amplifier
picture aspect ratio the ratio of the active pixel region to the active line region; for
standard video signals lik e RS-170 or CCIR, the full-size picture
aspect ratio normally is 4/3 (1.33)
pixel picture element—the smallest division that makes up the vide o
scan line; for display on a computer monitor, a pixel’s optimum
dimension is square (aspect ratio of 1:1, or the w i dth equal to the
height)
pixel aspect ratio the ratio between the physical horizonta l size and the vertical si ze
of the region covered b y the pixe l; an ac quired pixel sh ould
optimally be square, thus the optimal value is 1.0, but typically it
falls between 0.95 an d 1.05 , depe nding on ca mera q ua lity
pixel clock divides the incoming horiz ontal vid eo line into pixe ls
pixel count the total number of pixels between two HYSNCs; the pixel count
determines the frequ ency of the pixe l c lock
PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT G-10
©
National Instruments Corporation
Glossary
PLL phase-locked loop—circuitry tha t provid es a ve ry stable pixel
clock that is referenced to another signal, for example, an
incoming HSYNC signal
protocol the exact sequence of bits, char acters, and control code s used to
transfer data between compu ters and periph erals throu gh a
communications channel
pts points
PXI PCI eXtensions for Instrumentation. PXI is an open specification
that builds off the CompactPCI specification by adding
instrumentation-specific features.
R
RAM random-access memory
real time a property of an event or system in which data is processed as it is
acquired instead o f be ing accu mu lated and pr ocesse d at a late r
time
region-of-interest a hardware-p rogramm able recta ngular portion of the acquisition
window
relative accuracy a measure in LSB of the accuracy of an ADC; it includes all
nonlinearity and quantization er ro rs but d oes not inc lude off set
and gain errors of the circuitry feeding the ADC
resolution the smallest signal increment that can be detected by a
measurement system; resolution can be expressed in bits, in
proportions, or in percent of full scale. For example, a system has
12-bit resolution, one part in 4,096 resolution, and 0.0244 percent
of full scale.
RGB red, green, and blue—the thre e pri mary co lors us ed to r epre sent a
color picture. An RGB camera is a camera that deliver three
signals, one for each primary.
ribbon cable a flat cable in which the c onductors ar e side by side
ROI region-of-interest; a hardware-programmable rectangular portion
of the acquisition window
©
National Instruments Corporation G-11 PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT
Glossary
ROM read-only memory
RS-170 the U.S. standard used fo r black- an d-wh ite telev isio n
RTSI bus Real-Time System Integration Bus—the National Instruments
timing bus that connects IMAQ and DAQ boards directly, by
means of connectors on top of the boar ds, for prec ise
synchronization of functions
S
s seconds
saturation the richness of a color . A sa tura tion o f ze ro cor respon ds to no
color, that is, a gray pixel. Pink is a red with low saturation.
scaling down circuitry circuitry that scales dow n the reso lution of a video signa l
scatter-gather DMA a type of DMA that allows the DMA controller to reconfigure
on-the-fly
SRAM static RAM
StillColor a post-processing algorithm that allows the acquisition of
high-quality color images generated either by an RGB or
composite (NTSC or PAL ) ca mera us ing a mo noc hrome video
acquisition board.
sync tells the display where to put a video picture; the horizontal sync
indicates the picture’s left-to-right placement and the vertical
sync indicates top-to-bottom placement
syntax the set of rules to which statements must conform in a particular
programming language
system RAM RAM installed on a personal computer and use d by the operating
system, as contrasted with onboard RAM
T
transfer rate the rate, measured in bytes/s, at whic h dat a is moved fr om source
to destination after software initialization and set up operations;
the maximum rate at which the hardware can operate
PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT G-12
©
National Instruments Corporation
Glossary
TRIG trigger signal
trigger any event that causes or starts so me form of d ata capture
trigger control and circuitry that routes, monitors, and drives the external and
mapping circuitry RTSI bus trigger lines; you can configure each of these lines to
start or stop acquisition on a rising or f alling ed ge.
TTL transistor-transistor logic
U
UV plane See YUV.
V
V volts
VCO voltage-controlled oscillat or—an oscillat or tha t cha nges
frequency depending on a contro l signal; used in a PLL to
generate a stable pixel clock
VI Virtual Instrument—(1) a combination of hardwa re and/or
software elements, typically used with a PC, that has the
functionality of a classic stand-alone instrument (2) a LabVIEW
software module (VI), which consists of a front pane l user
interface and a block diagram program
video line a video line consists of a HSYNC, back porch, active pixel region,
and a front p orc h
VSYNC vertical sync signal—the sync hroniza tion pulse gen era ted at the
beginning of each video field that tells the video monitor when to
start a new f i eld
VSYNCIN vertical sy nc in signal
W
white reference level the level that defines what is white for a particular video system
See also black reference level.
©
National Instruments Corporation G-13 PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT
Glossary
Y
YUV a representation of a color image used for the coding of NTSC or
PAL video signals. The luminance information is called Y, while
the chrominance information is represented by two components,
U and V representing the coordinates in a color plane.
PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT G-14
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National Instruments Corporation
Index
Numbers
+5V signal (table), 4-3
8-bit ADC and LUT, 3-3
32-bit HSL and HSI, B-9
A
acquisition and region-of-interest control, 3-4
acquisition mo des, 3-10
acquisition window
controlling, 3-6 to 3-8
programming video param eters, 3-9
setting for camera, 5-8
active line regi on, 3-7
active pixel region, 3-7
A/D conversion specifications, A-2
ADC, 8-bit, 3-3
antichrominance filter, 3-2, 5-8
aspect ratio. See pixel aspect ratio.
Auto Expos. setting for camera, 5-8
Averaging control, StillColor dialog b ox, 5-13
B
B/G-PAL color standard, B-1
Blank Start and Blank Stop settings, S tillColor
dialog box, 5-13 to 5-14
BNC connector
avoiding VIDEO0 connection with 25-pin
DSUB connector (note), 4-1
pin assignments (figure), 4-1
signal connections, 4-1
VIDEO0 input, 2-3
board configuration. See configuration.
Brightness (IRE) parameter, StillColor dialog
box, 5-12
bulletin board support, D-1
Burst Start and Burst Stop settings, StillColor
dialog box, 5-13
C
cables
custom cable specifications, C-1
optional equipment, 1-6
required cables, 1-3
Camera tab, IMAQconf, 5-4 to 5-11
Acquisition Window, 5-8
Advanced button, 5-4
advanced camera settings, 5-9 to 5-11
Aspect Ratio Correction, 5-11
Auto Expos., 5-8
Basic button , 5-4
basic camera settings, 5-7 to 5-8
Camera Description, 5-7
Camera Type, 5-7
Chroma Filter, 5-8
CLAMP Start and CLAMP Stop, 5-10
composite color video line (figure), 5-6
FIELD Start and FIELD Stop, 5-11
Gain, 5-8
HCOUNT, 5-11
HSYNC Start and HYSYNC Stop, 5-9
illustration, 5-4
Interlace, 5-8
Mode, 5-7
©
National Instruments Corporation I-1 PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT
Index
monochrome and color used as
monochrome video line (figure), 5-5
NGate Start and NGate Stop, 5-10
parameter timing information (figure),
5-5 to 5-6
Reference Level, 5-8
Save As button, 5-5
StillColor button, 5-5
Sync Detect, 5- 11
VSYNC, 5-11
ZERO Start and ZERO Stop, 5-10
chroma filter
Clean Chroma setting, StillColor dialog
box, 5-14
options for camera settings, 5-8
CLAMP Start and Stop settings for
camera, 5-10
Clean Chroma parameter, StillColor dialog
box, 5-14
color decoding, traditional, B-2 to B-4
color standards, B-1
color theory, B-7 to B-9
color planes, B-8 to B-9
hue, B-7
hue, saturation, luminance, and intensity
planes, B-9
image representations, B-8 to B-9
intensity, B-8
luminance, B-8
RGB image representation, B-8
saturation, B-7
white light and visible spectrum
(figure), B-7
CompactPCI specifications, 1-2
composite color video cameras
color acquisition, B-5
modulated si gnal, B-1
monochrome video signal, B-1
composite synchronizati on. See CSYNC.
configuration, 2- 1 to 2- 5. See also installation.
board configuration NVRAM, 3-5
external CLK and synchronization input
mode, 2-4
parts locator diagram
PCI-1408, 2-2
PXI-1408, 2-3
setting up IMAQ system, 1-7 to 1-8
Switch S1, 2-5
VIDEO0 input mode, 2-3 to 2-4
configuration utility. See IMAQconf
configuration utility.
Contrast parameter, StillC ol or dial og
box, 5-12
CSYNC
acquisition window control, 3-6
CSYNC mux, 3-3
external acquisition mode, 3-10
CSYNC external mode, Slave Acquisition
Mode, 5-21
CSYNC source, Operating Mode tab, 5-21
CSYNCIN± signal (table, 4-3
CSYNCOUT signal (table), 4-3
custom cable specifications, C-1
customer communication, xii, D-1 to D-2
D
delayed video acquisition, 3-6
Description tab, IMAQconf, 5-2 to 5-3
Diagnostics button, for testing
configuration, 5-23
DIFF input mode
external CLK and synchronization input
mode, 2-4
VIDEO0 input, 2-3 to 2-4
DMA controllers, 3-5
PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT I-2
©
National Instruments Corporation
Index
documentation
conventions used in manual, x-xi
National Instrument s docu ment a ti on, xi
organization of manual, ix-x
related documentation, xii
DSUB port. See I/O connector.
E
electronic support services, D-1 to D-2
e-mail support, D-2
environment specifications, A-4
equipment, optional, 1-6
external CLK and synchronization input
mode, 2-4
external connection specifications, A-2 to A-3
external lock mode
description, 3-10
Slave Acquisition Mode, 5-21
F
fax and telephone support, D-2
Fax-on-Demand support, D-2
field, for interlaced video signal, 3-8
FIELD start and stop settings for camera, 5-11
FIFO buffer, 3-4
formats supported, A-1
frame
definition, 3-8
frame/field selection, 3-6
Frame tmo/ms setting, Operating Mode
tab, 5-22
FTP support, D-1
functional overview, 3-1 to 3-5
G
Gain, setting for camera, 5-8
gain and offs et circuitry, programmable, 3-2
genlock and synchronization circuitry, 3-3
GND signal (table), 4-3
Grab button
becoming Multi-snap button in StillColor
mode, 5-22
testing configuration, 5-22
valid only in monochrome mode
(note), 5-22
H
hardware overview, 3-1 to 3-10
8-bit ADC and LUT, 3-3
acquisition and region-of-interest
control, 3-4
acquisition modes, 3-10
antichrominance filter, 3-2
block diagram, 3-2
board configuration NVRAM, 3-5
CSYNC mux, 3-3
FIFO buffer, 3-4
functional overview, 3- 1 to 3-5
genlock and synchronization
circuitry, 3-3
PCI interface, 3-5
PCLK, HSYNC, VSYNC mux, 3-4
pixel aspect ratio circuitry, 3-3
programmable gain an d offset, 3-2
RTSI bus, 3-4
scatter-gather DMA controllers, 3-5
trigger control and mapping circuitry, 3-4
VCO and PLL circuitry, 3-3
video acquisition, 3-6 to 3-9
acquisition window control,
3-6 to 3-8
programming video parameters,
3-8 to 3-9
start/stop conditions, 3-6
video mux, 3-2
HCOUNT, setting for camera, 5-11
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National Instruments Corporation I-3 PCI/PXI-1408 and NI-IMAQ for Win95/NT
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