Before you use your Point Grey Zebra2 camera, we recommend that you are aware of the following resources:

Transcription

1 1.1 Subject Technical Application Note (TAN ): 1.2 Applicable Product(s) Point Grey Zebra2 camera products 1.3 Application Note Description Technical Application Note TAN Revised November 20, 2012 This application note describes how to get compressed data from Zebra2 via the Gigabit Ethernet interface. Zebra2 supports compressed video streaming using Real Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP). Point Grey s FlyCapture software does not support RTSP. This application note uses two commercially available software applications (VLC Player and LuxRiot) to demonstrate various ways to use RTSP with Zebra 2: Viewing an RTSP stream Recording an RTSP stream Getting Compressed Images for single JPEG Changing Camera Attributes In addition to commercial software that supports RTSP, users can also develop their own applications using the open source RTSP library openrtsp. However openrtsp is not covered in this application note. 1.4 Preparing for Use Before you use your Point Grey Zebra2 camera, we recommend that you are aware of the following resources: Getting Started Manual for the camera provides information on installing components and software needed to run the camera. The Getting Started manuals can be downloaded from the Point Grey Website. Technical Reference for the camera provides information on the camera s specifications, features and operations, as well as imaging and acquisition controls. The technical references can be downloaded from the Point Grey Downloads page. FlyCapture2 SDK contains utilities to configure the camera such as Driver Control GUI, update firmware and drivers, and check setup. As well, contains the FlyCapture2 API for use in creating your own applications. FlyCapture2 can be downloaded from the Point Grey Downloads page. PGR, the Point Grey Research, Inc. logo, FlyCapture, Digiclops, Dragonfly, Dragonfly Express, Chameleon, Firefly, Flea, Ladybug, Zebra, Scorpion and Triclops are trademarks or registered trademarks of Point Grey Research, Inc. in Canada and other countries. Copyright 2012 Point Grey Research, Inc. All rights reserved.

2 Firmware updates ensure you are using to most up-to-date firmware for the camera to take advantage of improvements and fixes. The latest firmware can be downloaded from the Point Grey Downloads page. 1.5 What is RTSP? Zebra2 has two operating modes when connected through an Ethernet connection. The camera can operate using the GigE Vision protocol, or using RTSP. The camera cannot operate in both modes at the same time. RTSP is a protocol that establishes and controls streams of audio and video. It acts as network remote control for multimedia servers. Zebra2 supports RTSP by supporting the streaming of Realtime Transport Protocol (RTP) packets over User Datagram Protocol (UDP). The media type supported by Zebra2 to over RTSP is compressed-jpeg. Network Stack Overview 1.6 Discovering the Camera s IP Address Before working with camera, the camera s IP address must be known. The default IP address is with subnet mask Two ways to find the camera s IP address: 1. Zebra2 supports ONVIF, which allows the user to use programs such as ONVIF Device Manager to discover the camera s IP address. 2. Users can also use Point Grey s FlyCapture2 or GigEConfigurator utility to discover the camera s IP address. Revised 20-Nov-12 Copyright 2012 Point Grey Research, Inc. All rights reserved. 2

3 1.7 Viewing an RTSP Stream There are many commercially available software applications that support RTSP streams. The following examples demonstrate how to view an RTSP stream using VLC player. 1. Start VLC player, click on Media- >Open Network Stream. 2. Type in rtsp:// followed by the camera s IP address. 3. Select Show more options and decrease the caching time to about 50 ms. VLC Media Menu Network Stream Configuration Revised 20-Nov-12 Copyright 2012 Point Grey Research, Inc. All rights reserved. 3

4 4. Click Play and the camera should now stream over RTSP to VLC. Zebra2 Streaming in VLC Player Note: RTSP has limitations in terms of the pixel width and height it supports. The software cannot stream resolutions greater than 2040 x 2040 pixels. 1.8 Recording an RTSP Stream The following example demonstrates how to record an RTSP stream using VLC player. 1. Start VLC player, click on Media- >Open Network Stream. VLC Media Menu Revised 20-Nov-12 Copyright 2012 Point Grey Research, Inc. All rights reserved. 4

5 2. Type in rtsp:// followed by the camera s IP address. 3. Click on the arrow next to the play button to bring up more options. Select Convert. Network Stream Configuration 4. Select the destination file name and format. Users can also choose to display the output while the video is recorded. Users can also modify video attributes by customizing the video profile they wish to use. Click Start to start recording. Convert Media Menu Note: RTSP has limitations in terms of the pixel width and height it supports. The software cannot stream resolutions greater than 2040 x 2040 pixels. Revised 20-Nov-12 Copyright 2012 Point Grey Research, Inc. All rights reserved. 5

6 1.9 Getting Compressed Images for a Single JPEG While VLC player supports saving videos from an RTSP stream, it does not support saving single images from the RTSP stream. Single images can be accessed using HTTP or using a third-party software application such as LuxRiot HTTP To access single images using HTTP, users can use the following URL, replacing [IP Address] with the camera s IP address. URL: address]/snapshot.cgi Snapshot via HTTP LuxRiot The following describes how to access and save single images using the third party software application LuxRiot. 1. Select Camera Setup Wizard. Task Menu Revised 20-Nov-12 Copyright 2012 Point Grey Research, Inc. All rights reserved. 6

7 2. Select Properties. 3. Select Generic and RTSP compatible as your camera model. Camera Setup Wizard 4. Deselect RTP over TCP under the RTSP tab. Camera Model Selection RTSP Configuration Revised 20-Nov-12 Copyright 2012 Point Grey Research, Inc. All rights reserved. 7

8 5. Enter the camera s IP address under the Access tab. 6. RTSP stream starts once the camera setup is finished. Camera Address 7. From the Video menu, users can freeze current frame, and either copy the frame to clipboard or save the frame as a file. RTSP Streaming Saving Frames Revised 20-Nov-12 Copyright 2012 Point Grey Research, Inc. All rights reserved. 8

9 1.10 Changing Camera Attributes Zebra2 does not support changing camera attributes over RTSP. Camera attributes can be changed in the following ways (but not while streaming): FlyCapture2 GUI Via register access using camera web interface Via register access using HTTP Web Interface The web interface can be accessed by entering the camera s IP address in the browser. Camera settings such as exposure and frame rate can be controlled via the Settings menu. Users can also access the camera registers via the Register menu. For more information on register addresses, please refer to Point Grey Digital Camera Register Reference. Camera Settings from Web Interface Direct HTTP Access Users can use the GET command to retrieve register values and SET command to configure the camera. For more information on register addresses, please refer to Point Grey Digital Camera Register Reference. GET Example: Reading the ISO_EN (0x614h) register address]/get?f0f00614 SET Example: Writing to the ISO_EN (0x614h) register address]/set?f0f00614= Revised 20-Nov-12 Copyright 2012 Point Grey Research, Inc. All rights reserved. 9

10 1.11 Additional Downloads and Support Point Grey Research Inc. endeavors to provide the highest level of technical support possible to our customers. Most support resources can be accessed through the Support section of our website. Creating a Customer Login Account The first step in accessing our technical support resources is to obtain a Customer Login Account. This requires a valid name and address. To apply for a Customer Login Account go to the Downloads page. Knowledge Base Our Knowledge Base contains answers to some of the most common support questions. It is constantly updated, expanded, and refined to ensure that our customers have access to the latest information. Product Downloads Customers with a Customer Login Account can access the latest software and firmware for their cameras from our Downloads page. We encourage our customers to keep their software and firmware up-to-date by downloading and installing the latest versions. Contacting Technical Support Before contacting Technical Support, have you: 1. Read the product documentation and user manual? 2. Searched the Knowledge Base? 3. Downloaded and installed the latest version of software and/or firmware? If you have done all the above and still can t find an answer to your question, contact our Technical Support team. Revised 20-Nov-12 Copyright 2012 Point Grey Research, Inc. All rights reserved. 10