Videre Design MDCS2 User Manual

MDCS2

Digital Video Camera

User’s Manual

2004 Videre Design

Table of Contents

Introduction ...........................................................................................3

1.1 Characteristics ...............................................................................3

2 Quick Start.............................................................................................4

3 Hardware Overview...............................................................................5

3.1 Hardware Schematic......................................................................5

3.2 Color and Monochrome.................................................................6

3.3 Frame Rates ...................................................................................6

3.4 50 Hz Option .................................................................................6

3.5 Multiple Devices............................................................................6

4 Installing the 1394 Host Card and Capture Software ............................8

4.1 1394 Hardware and Drivers...........................................................8

4.1.1 MS Windows Hardware Installation .....................................8

4.1.2 Linux Hardware and Driver Installation................................8

4.2 MDCS2 Software ..........................................................................8

5 Lenses ..................................................................................................10

5.1 Changing Lenses..........................................................................10

5.2 Cleaning the Imagers ...................................................................10

5.3 Imager Size..................................................................................10

5.4 F Number.....................................................................................10

5.5 Focal Length................................................................................10

5.6 Field of View...............................................................................10

6 1394 Interface......................................................................................12

6.1 IEEE 1394 Cable .........................................................................12

6.2 IEEE 1394 Host Interface............................................................12

6.3 Supplying Power .........................................................................12

7 User Controls.......................................................................................14

7.1 Color ............................................................................................14

7.2 Gamma Correction.......................................................................14

7.3 Video Digitization Parameters.....................................................15

7.4 Subsampling ................................................................................15

7.5 Frame Rates ................................................................................ 16

7.6 Firmware Parameters ..................................................................16

7.6.1 50 Hz Operation.................................................................. 17

7.6.2 Vertical Offset and Image Inversion................................... 17

8 Interface Software API ....................................................................... 18

9 Physical Dimensions and Mounting Diagram..................................... 19

10 Technical Specifications ................................................................. 20

10.1 Specifications.............................................................................. 20

10.2 Imager Response - Color ............................................................ 20

10.3 Imager Response – Monochrome ............................................... 21

10.4 Filter Transmittance .................................................................... 21

11 Technical Support ........................................................................... 22

1 Introduction

The MDCS2 is a compact, low-power digital camera with an IEEE 1394 digital interface. It consists of a 1.3 megapixel, progressive scan CMOS imager and associated IEEE 1394 electronics, mounted in a rigid, milled aluminum alloy frame.

The CMOS imagers are an upgrade from those in the MDCS. They are MT9M001 sensors from Micron Semiconductor.. They are ½” format, with a resolution of 1280 H by 1024 V pixels, and come in either monochrome (MDCS2) or colorized (MDCS2-C) versions. These imagers have excellent dynamic range, sensitivity, anti-blooming, and noise characteristics. They are fully controllable via the 1394 interface: the user can set exposure, gain, decimation, etc. They have better noise, sensitivity, and crosstalk characteristics than the previous sensors.

The MDCS2/C uses standard C/CS-mount lenses for user-changeable optics. Wide-angle to telephoto options are available, depending on the application.

There are software drivers for the MDCS2 for MS Windows 98SE/2000/XP, and for Linux 2.4 and 2.6 kernels. These drivers are included in a Software Developer’s Kit, which is bundled with the devices. Using the libraries in the kit, you can quickly integrate MDCS2 video acquisition into your own applications, written in C or C++.

1.1 Characteristics

• Micron MT9M001 Megapixel Sensor

1280 x 960 maximum image size High sensitivity, low noise Low pixel cross-talk Rolling shutter

• Fully synchronized – video stream is synchronized to the

IEEE 1394 bus clock. Any other MDCS2 on the bus will capture images at exactly the same time.

• Monochrome or Bayer Color

• High frame rates – 60 Hz for 640x480, 15 Hz for

1280x960

• On-chip decimation – full frame 640x480 and 320x240

modes

• Electronic zoom mode – center 640x480 subwindow

• Extensive control of video parameters

Automatic or manual control of exposure and gain Automatic control of black level Manual control of color balance

• 50 Hz mode – reduces indoor light interference in

countries with 50 Hz electrical line frequency

• Stereo calibration information can be stored on the

device, and downloaded automatically to the PC

• IEEE 1394 interface to standard PC hardware – carries

power and commands to device, data to PC

• Standard C/CS mount lenses, interchangeable – focal

lengths from 3.5 mm to 50 mm

• Anodized aluminum alloy chassis, high rigidity

2 Quick Start

The MDCS2 comes assembled, with 6.0 mm lenses as standard. To set up and test the MDCS2, you will need the following:

1. Host computer with a 1394 PCI or PCMCIA card, OHCI

compliant.

2. 1394 6-pin to 6-pin cable.

3. DCAM software installed on the host computer. This software is

provided via download from the web, using a password-protected web page.

Install the 1394 host card, if necessary, according to the directions in Section Error! Reference source not found.. Install the DCAM software.

The MDCS2 has a single IEEE 1394 port, for plugging in an IEEE 1394 cable. Plug one end of a 6 pin – 6 pin IEEE 1394 cable into the port, and the other end into any port of the host card. See Section 6 for more information about the IEEE 1394 interface, and for information about supplying power with a laptop.

Start the video capture program, dcam640(.exe), on the host computer. You should see a screen as in Figure 2-1. The message window should indicate that there is a MDCS2 present. If not, go back to software installation (Section Error! Reference source not found.), and follow the instructions for configuring the correct capture library.

Pull down the Input chooser, and select the Video option. If everything has been set up, the driver software will recognize and configure the MDCS2, and a success message will appear in the info text window. If not, the Input chooser will go back to None, and an error message will appear in the info window. Please see Section 7 for troubleshooting.

To view video, press the Continuous button. An image should appear in the application window. If the message “Image timed out” appears, then there is a problem with the IEEE 1394 drivers; please see Section 7. After a

few seconds, the images, which are initially dark, should lighten as the auto exposure mode adjusts to ambient lighting (Section 7.3). Images can be saved using the File menu.

A more complete description of the video capture program is in Section 7. The DCAM programs are described in the documentation that comes with that software. It is helpful to review Section 7 in conjunction with the MDCS2 software documentation.

Figure 2-1 Video capture program window.

3 Hardware Overview

Figure 3-1 shows the hardware configuration of the MDCS2.

The imager module has a lens holder for a C/CS mount lens. There is an IR curoff filter, with a knee at approximately 700 nm, permanently mounted inside the lens holder. See Section 5 for appropriate lens characteristics.

There is a IEEE 1394 port on the left side of the device. The IEEE 1394 cable carries the data and signals.

Typically, the cable is plugged into the host computer IEEE 1394 card. Power for the MDCS2 is supplied from the card, or through a separate power supply that plugs into an IEEE 1394 hub or PC Card (7-16 VDC at > 1W).

There are no user-settable switches on the MDCS2.

3.1 Hardware Schematic

Figure 3-2 shows the design of the internal hardware of the MDCS2. In the imager module, a Micron MT9M001 imager of size 1280x1024 pixels

digitizes incoming light into a digital stream. The imager operates in progressive mode only, that is, each line is output in succession from the full frame.

The video stream has a maximum rate of 400 Mbps; the whole IEEE 1394 bus runs at 400 Mbps. Two or more MDCS2s may operate simultaneously and send video, depending on the resolution and frame rate.

Figure 3-1. Physical layout of the MDCS2 video camera.

Imager

1394 Interface Electronics

8, 12, or 16 bit pixels 12 MHz max

1394 Digital Cable

1394 imaging commands

Digital Video Stream

1394 commands

DCAM Digital Camera

Figure 3-2 Schematic of the MDCS2 electronics.

C/CS mount for lens

IEEE 1394

ort on

ack of

device

3.2 Color and Monochrome

The imager is either monochrome (MDCS2) or color Bayer pattern (MDCS2-C). Output is 1 byte/pixel for either device. The Bayer pattern is converted into color information on the host computer, via routines in the DCAM software.

3.3 Frame Rates

The IEEE 1394 interface on the MDCS2 supports a maximum rate of 400 Mbps from the imager. Frame rates up to 60 Hz at 640x480 and 15 Hz at

1280.960 are supported. See Table 3-1 below for a complete list of frame rates.

3.4 50 Hz Option

Indoor lighting, especially from fluorescent fixtures, can oscillate at the frequency of the electrical supply. If the image frame rate does not divide evenly into this frequency, there can be moving horizontal bands of alternating light and dark moving in the output.

For countries with 60 Hz power such as the United State, the frame rates of Error! Reference source not found. are ideal. In many other countries, the electrical line frequency is 50 Hz. For these countries, there is a mode to change the frame rates of the MDCS2 to sub-multiples of 50 Hz. These frame rates are shown in the last column of Table 3-1

3.5 Multiple Devices

Multiple MDCS2 devices can be attached to the same IEEE 1394 bus. When streaming video at the same frame rate, they are synchronized, so that they capture images at the same time.

Each IEEE 1394 PC Card or PCI Card defines a separate IEEE 1394 bus. The two or three ports on the card all belong to the same bus, as does any IEEE 1394 hub connected to these ports. Separate PC Cards and PCI Cards cannot be connected to each other.

The number of devices that can simultaneously send video is determined by the maximum bandwidth of the bus for isochronous transfers: 32 MB/s. This rate cannot be exceeded by the combined video streams on the bus.

Table 2 shows the bandwidth requirements for the MDCS2 in various modes and for various frame rates. Using this table, it is possible to determine the maximum number devices that can stream video simultaneously. For example, at 15 Hz and 640x480 resolution, a maximum of 6 MDCS2 devices can send video information at the same time.

The bus bandwidth consumed by a device is more than would be expected

Frame Size Frame rate,

standard

Frame rate, 50 Hz option

60 Hz 50 Hz

30 Hz 25 Hz

15 Hz 12.5 Hz

640x480

7.5 Hz 6.25 Hz

15 Hz 12.5 Hz

7.5 Hz 6.25 Hz

1280x960

3.75 Hz 3.125 Hz

Table 3-1 Supported frame rates for the

MDCS2, 400 Mbps IEEE 1394 bus.

Frame size

Bus MB per frame stereo

60 / 50 Hz

30 / 25 Hz

15 / 12.5 Hz

7.5 / 6.25 Hz

640x480 0.342 MB 20.5 MB 10.2 MB 5.12 MB 2.6 MB

1280x960 1.73 MB N/A N/A 20.5 MB 10.2 MB

Table 2 Bus bandwidth requirements at different frame rates.

from just counting the number of bytes in each frame, because there are blank cycles on the bus, when no data is being transmitted, even though the bandwidth is reserved. Thus, it makes no difference whether the rate is 30 Hz or 25 Hz, the bus bandwidth consumed is the same.

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