Configure video cameras for digital video capture

You manage the identification and configuration settings for each digital video camera connected to your Vicon system with the Video Cameras node in the System Resources pane. Using this node, you can also remove or reorder video cameras.

The Video Cameras node is displayed under the Local Vicon System node when one or more video cameras is connected to the Nexus host PC and Vicon Nexus is in Live mode, or when a previously saved file containing video cameras is loaded. It lists each video camera connected to your Vicon system. For each camera, the node name includes the camera number, the camera type in parentheses and the frame rate in brackets, for example, #DV2 Over Door (Bonita 720c) [50Hz].

You can connect a digital video camera to the Nexus host PC. You can connect supported Basler video cameras to the FireWire or GigE port on the PC and then capture reference video for use with your optical motion capture data. You can overlay the Vicon optical motion data onto the digital video images from the video cameras in the Camera view using the 3D Overlay option, from the View menu. If required, you can burn this information into the digital video image and export the .avi file for viewing in another application using the Configure the Export 3D Overlay Video operation.

To configure video cameras for digital video capture:

1. Ensure Nexus is in Live mode (in the Resources pane, click Go Live).
2. In the System Resources tree, select the node whose properties you wish to configure:
   
   • Video Cameras node, for all digital video cameras
   • A sub-node, for a specific video camera
   Note that if you are configuring a Vicon video camera, the node will not become green until you specify the Destination IP Address.
   Also note that cameras with gray icons are connected to the network but are not contributing data. For example, if you have connected Vicon Bonita video cameras, but your Vicon connectivity device does not support jumbo packets, the icons for the Vicon video cameras will remain gray. For more information and help with upgrading your system, contact Vicon Support.

3. In the Properties pane at the bottom of the System Resources pane, view or change settings for the required properties.
   When you first set up your Vicon system, you must configure at least the following properties in the order shown. In subsequent sessions, you may want to configure additional properties to suit the needs of your motion capture application.

   • Hardware section: Destination IP Address (Vicon video cameras)
   • Settings section:
     • Capture Path (enter a separate HDD or an SSD drive for each camera)
     • Video Gain and Brightness Offset (Vicon video)
     • Camera Gain and Camera Brightness (Basler)
   • Frame Rate section:Requested Frame Rate
   • Settings section:Shutter Duration and Camera AOI (Basler)
   • Frame Rate section:Packet Size (Baslers using Firewire)
   • Hardware section:Trigger Source (Basler)
   • Calibration section: Focal Length (mm) (if you will be using Aim Cameras)
4. For further details about each of the Video Camera properties, see Video Camera properties in the Vicon Nexus Reference Guide.
5. If you are using Basler cameras, to align the shutters with the rest of the Vicon system, in the System Resources tree, right-click the Video Cameras node and then click Align Shutters (Basler).
6. At the top of the System tab, click the Save button to save your system configuration settings to a .system file in the Systems configurations folder (see Manage configurations in Vicon Nexus).