Configure video cameras for digital video capture
- Gisela Roberts
- Ben Stanley
- Dev Ops
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.
References to "Vicon video camera" apply to the use of Vicon Vue cameras.
For details about configuring the settings for a FLIR camera, see Configure and calibrate FLIR cameras.
For details of how to set up a Vicon system that includes FLIR cameras, see the FLIR Video Cameras Setup Guide.
For details of how to set up a Vicon system that includes video cameras, see Vicon system setup information.
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, #DV1 Over Door (Vue) [120Hz].
You can connect supported video cameras to the GigE port on the Nexus host 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 Export 3D Overlay Video operation.
To configure video cameras for digital video capture:
- Ensure Nexus is in Live mode (in the Resources pane, click Go Live).
- 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
Also note that cameras with gray icons are connected to the network but are not contributing data. For example, if you have connected Vicon Vue 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. 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 properties shown in Initial properties setup. In subsequent sessions, you may want to configure additional properties to suit the needs of your motion capture application.- For further details about each of the Video Camera properties, see Video Camera properties in the Vicon Nexus Reference Guide.
- 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).
When you plug a video camera into the Vicon system, the system automatically assigns it a number. To reorder video cameras, select the camera in the Reorder Devices dialog box and click Move Up or Move Down. Then click OK.
Initial properties setup
When you first set up your Vicon system, configure at least the properties shown in the following table in the order shown.
| Section | Property name |
|---|---|
| Hardware | Destination IP Address (Vicon video cameras) |
| Settings | Capture Path (enter a separate HDD or an SSD drive for each camera) Video Gain and Brightness Offset (Vicon video) |
| Frame Rate | Requested Frame Rate |
| Settings | Shutter Duration |
| Calibration | Focal Length (mm) (if you will be using Aim Cameras) |
