Properties pane for Local Vicon System
- Gisela Roberts
- Andy Roberts (Deactivated)
- Ben Stanley
The Properties pane for Local Vicon System contains the following sections.
You can also access related options from the Local Vicon System context menu.
Some settings are available only when advanced properties are displayed (at the top right of the Properties pane, click Show Advanced).
System section
On the System tab, when you click the Local Vicon System node, you can access the following system-wide settings in the System section of the Properties pane. These settings affect all the connected cameras and devices:
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Requested Frame Rate | The rate (in Hz) at which to synchronize the Vicon cameras and the external video signal. Select from displayed values (multiples of the base frame rate of the PAL, NTSC, or Film video standard specified in Standard) up to a maximum of 2,000. The configured Vicon system capture rate is displayed in square brackets beside the Local Vicon System node. For example, if the Vicon system frame rate is set to 100 Hz, the node title is displayed as Local Vicon System [100Hz]. |
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Actual Frame Rate |
Displays the frame rate (in Hz) currently used by the system, as constrained by the limits of the camera frame rate. |
| Preferred Sync Source | If multiple connectivity devices are present in the system, enables you to select the connectivity device that is your preferred source for synchronization. (If your system contains a Vicon Lock connectivity device, this is automatically selected as the sync source.) |
| Reboot All | Resets all the Vicon hardware devices in the Vicon system. Click this button if a camera has failed to boot, or if you need to reset the whole system. Alternatively, select Reboot Hardware from the context menu. |
| Real Time Buffer Size (frames) |
The number of frames (between 1 and 100) that make up the buffer between the Vicon hardware and the processing engine. If set to 1, latency is minimized. If set to a higher value, throughput is improved, but latency is higher.
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| Low Jitter | When selected, sets the Grayscale Mode for all cameras to Only, which applies advanced centroid fitting and jitter reduction algorithms to reduce data noise. Note that running in this mode increases sensitivity to bandwidth limitations and its effectiveness is related to system size. For more information, contact Vicon Support. |
Genlock and Timecode section
On the System tab, when you click the Local Vicon System node, you can access the following settings in the Genlock and Timecode section of the Properties pane.
| Setting | Description | |
|---|---|---|
| Genlock Standard |
The type of video standard supported by the connected video source: None, PAL, NTSC, Film, 30Hz and VESA (for a complete list, click the Genlock Standard list in Tracker). The icon to the left of each option provides additional information about the availability of that standard. Note: The 30Hz option enables you to run the Vicon system at multiples of 30 frames per second (above 50 fps), with timecode and genlock capability at true 30 fps, and works with Vicon Locks. However, note that for 30 fps support to work with Tracker, you must upgrade the Vicon firmware to Bundle 500 or later. |
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| Enable Genlock | Select to enable synchronization. | |
| Auto Genlock | When selected, Tracker automatically selects a genlock standard and enables synchronization based on currently detected signals. | |
| Genlock Offset |
Specify the system offset relative to the genlock signal (expressed as a fraction of the genlock frame period). Values are in the range 0–1 Note: For VESA modes, use VESA Offset (see below). |
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| VESA Offset | Specify the system offset relative to the VESA signal (expressed as a fraction of the VESA frame period). The camera timing can be offset by up to one VESA frame. Note: Only applies when you have selected one of the VESA standards from the Genlock Standard list. | |
| Timecode Source |
Enables you to select the required timecode source. The Internal Drop option determines whether the internal timecode source generates a drop-frame timecode when the Genlock Standard is NTSC. Note: VITC and LTC always display a flat line if the system is not genlocked. This is because these signal types can only be detected by a sync source that is genlocked. The icon to the left of each option provides additional information about the availability of that standard: |
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| Icon | Meaning | |
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The standard is not supported by the hardware (that is, no connected device supports locking to a signal of that type). If you select an unsupported standard, it restricts the available frame rates as it does in the previous version of Tracker. | |
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No device in the system is detecting that standard. | |
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The sync source is detecting that signal and can genlock to it. | |
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If you select a mode with the blue wave icon and then select the Enable Genlock check box, the icon turns green. | |
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A device in the system is detecting the mode but a problem prevents it from being used, for example, if the signal is being detected by a device that is not the sync source in the system. | |
| Enable Timecode | Select to enable timecode to be displayed in the Title bar when a live system is connected. | |
| Detected Timecode | Displays the currently detected timecode standard as the number of timecode frames per second. | |
Object Tracking section
On the System tab, when you click on the Local Vicon System node, the following settings are available in the Object Tracking section of the Properties pane.
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Max Boot Iterations | The maximum number of iterations allowed for the booting algorithm. Increasing this parameter improves booting quality, but has a (small) performance cost. |
| Entrance Threshold | Minimum proportion of markers that must be visible to the cameras before the object is booted. If it is less than this value, the object is not booted. |
| Minimum Object Marker Separation | The minimum distance allowed between marker positions in order for them to be tracked separately. |
Reconstruction section
On the System tab, when you click on the Local Vicon System node, the following settings are available in the Reconstruction section of the Properties pane.
| Settings | Description |
|---|---|
| Minimum Cameras to Start Trajectory |
Controls how many cameras (rays) must see the same marker (centroid) to create a new reconstruction and potentially form a new trajectory. The minimum value that can create a reconstruction is two cameras. The maximum value of this parameter is 50 camera rays. If there are a large number of unlikely reconstructions being created, increase this value. Tip: In Tracker 3, the default value for this property is 3 (ie three cameras), so if you are using a two-camera system, ensure you change the value to two before starting to work with Tracker. |
| Environmental Drift Tolerance | An uncertainty applied (in mm) to camera calibration to take into account environmental factors such as temperature change, that may cause drift in the calibration. For larger volumes, increase this value; for smaller volumes, decrease this value. For advice about reducing the effect of environmental factors, see Prepare the capture environment. |
| Reconstruction Minimum Separation | The minimum distance, specified as a value in the range 0–100 mm, allowed between 3D marker positions in order for them to be considered for reconstruction. If two candidate reconstructions are closer than this minimum separation, only the most likely reconstruction (in terms of the number of cameras contributing) will be reported. The other will be discarded. A higher value decreases the likelihood of creating spurious reconstructions, but increases the possibility that some genuine markers will not be reconstructed. To disable this feature, set the value to 0.0. |
UDP Object Stream section
On the System tab, when you click on the Local Vicon System node, the following settings are available in the UDP Object Stream section of the Properties pane.
Setting
Description
Enabled
If selected, starts the UDP streaming of data. Unlike the data stream, the UDP stream does not maintain client connection information. If selected, data is output whether or not there are any connected clients.
Data Block Size
The size of the UDP datagrams (data blocks). Ensure the value selected matches the expected value for the datagram size in the client program.
Options are 256, 512, and 1024.
Object Per Port
If cleared, all objects are output on the same port. If selected, each object is output on its own UDP port. Port assignments are made whether or not the object is active. The following image shows how port numbers are assigned:
IP Address
The network address used to broadcast the data.
Port
The starting port for UDP streaming. If Object Per Port is selected, this is the starting port number. If Object Per Port is cleared, this is the output port for all objects.
VRPN Stream section
On the System tab, when you click on the Local Vicon System node, the following settings are available in the VRPN Stream section of the Properties pane:
| Settings | Description |
|---|---|
| Add Filtered Tracker | If selected, adds a tracker (named <object>_2), with One Euro filtering applied, to each object. |
| Translation Min Cut-Off | Enables you to specify the frequency (Hz) below which noise (translation motion) will not be filtered. |
| Translation Beta | To avoid lag, you can set a value between 1 and 0 to reduce filtration applied to the position of the object where there is greater motion. 0 = filtering on all translation motion; 1 = filtering on very slow translation motion only. |
| Rotatation Min Cut-Off | Enables you to specify the frequency (Hz) below which noise (rotation motion) will not be filtered. |
| Rotation Beta | To avoid lag, you can set a value between 1 and 0 to reduce filtration applied to the rotation of the object where there is greater motion. 0 = filtering on all rotation motion; 1 = filtering on very slow rotation motion only. |
OSC Stream section
To access the OSC data streaming options:
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On the System Resources tab, select Local Vicon System and in the Properties pane, ensure the Advanced properties are displayed. The data available for output is a subset of the data available using the DSSDK.
To stream device data, you must give the device a name.
OSC Stream properties
This table lists the OSC Stream properties.
| Property | Description |
|---|---|
| Enabled | Turns streaming on/off |
| IP Address | Address used to create the outbound socket |
| Port | Port number used to create the outbound socket |
| Buffer Size | Size of the buffer to allocate to store a frame's worth of data |
| Subject Name | If a single subject is loaded, this option enables you turn on/off the subject name in the message address (see Packet contents). If multiple subjects are loaded, the subject name is always included as part of the message address. |
| Enable Segments, Markers, … | Turn on/off specific data types |
Packet contents
Each packet consists of a bundle containing one or more messages. Each message has an address associated with it to identify its contents. The/vicon/frame message is always generated; other messages may or may not be present, depending on the output data types selected.
| Full address (Base in bold) |
Tracker property | DSSDK type | Data values | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| /vicon/frame | NA | Output_GetFrameNumber Output_GetFrameRate Output_GetTimecode |
long - Frame Number float - Frame Rate int32 - TimecodeHours int32 - Timecode Minutes int32 - Timecode Seconds int32 - Timecode Frames int32 - Timecode Subframes int32 - Timecode Field Flag int32 - Timecode Standard int32 - Timecode SubframesPerFrame int32 - Timecode UserBits |
Always present in the bundle. Timecode values are only present if the application has timecode enabled. |
| /vicon/seg/SUBJECT/SEG_NAME /vicon/seg/SEG_NAME |
Enable Segments | Output_GetSegmentGlobalTranslation Output_GetSegmentGlobalRotationMatrix |
float(3) - Translation float(9) - Rotation matrix |
SUBJECT: Subject Name SEG_NAME: Name of the segment If the Subject Name property is cleared and a single subject is loaded, the SUBJECT portion of the address is omitted. In all other cases it is present. |
| /vicon/marker/SUBJECT/MARKER_NAME /vicon/marker/MARKER_NAME |
Enable Markers | Output_GetMarkerGlobalTranslation | float(3) - Translation | SUBJECT: Subject Name MARKER_NAME: Name of the marker If the Subject Name property is cleared and a single subject is loaded, the SUBJECT portion of the address is omitted. In all other cases it is present. |
| /vicon/unlabeled/N | Enable Unlabeled Markers | Output_GetUnlabeledMarkerGlobalTranslation | float(3) - Translation | N: A number starting at 0 Unlabeled marker numbers are arbitrary so you can't assume that the same unlabeled marker will be given the same number frame-to-frame. |
| /vicon/2D/CameraID | Enable Centroids | Output_GetCentroidPosition | int32 - Number of centroids For each centroid: float(2) - Position float - Radius |
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| /vicon/fp/N | Enable Force Plate | Output_GetGlobalForceVector Output_GetGlobalMomentVector Output_GetGlobalCentreOfPressure |
int32 - Number of samples For each sample: float(3) - Force float(3) - Moment float(3) - CoP |
N: Force plate index number |
| /vicon/device/NAME/OUTPUT/COMPONENT | Enable Devices | Output_GetDeviceOutputValue | int32 - Number of samples For each sample: float - Device output value |
NAME: Device name OUTPUT: Device output name COMPONENT: Device output component name |
| /vicon/gaze/N | Enable Gaze Vector | Output_GetEyeTrackerGlobalGazeVector Output_GetEyeTrackerGlobalPosition |
float(3) - Gaze vector float(3) - segment position |
N: Eye tracker index |
