iPi Mocap Studio Kinect v2 requirements

Greenlaw · **Posted:** Mon Aug 24, 2015 10:56 pm

Hi,

I'm considering upgrading my gear so I can use four Kinect v2 devices and I was looking for advice on what I need to do to get this up and running.

Last week I upgraded our home studio from Windows 7 to Windows 10 for Kinect v2 compatibility. Four of our render boxes will be prepped for capture with Mocap Studio.

Currently these boxes have USB 2 controllers but I can add a USB 3 card for each Kinect device. Just wanted to be sure--do I need USB 3 cards for Kinect v2, or will the existing controller be okay?

I currently have several USB repeater cables for my Kinect v1 and PS 3 Eye setup, but they are USB 2. Should I get USB 3 repeater cables for each Kinect v2?

These 'render' computers currently have a single hard drive for the OS. Should I add a second drive to each computer? The second drive will be dedicated for iPi Mocap Studio capture only use. Is a regular hard disk suitable for Kinect v2 capture or should I add an SSD for each computer.

I know that in addition the Kinect v2 device, I'll also need to purchase the USB adapter if it's not included.

Currently, I'm using up to three Kinect v1 devices and three PS Move controllers connected to a single workstation. When I upgrade to Kinect v2, I understand that each Kinect device will need a dedicated computer for capture. Do I need to prep a fifth computer for the PS Move devices or can these be used with one of the four? We have enough computers here but I just wanted to be sure our setup is optimal and that we're not wasting electricity.

For our existing Kinect v1 devices, I had to purchase tripod adapters for each device. Do I need to purchase similar adapters the Kinect v2 or is it already 'tripod-ready'?

Thanks in advance for any helpful info. Realistically, we probably won't be switching to v2 until after we finish our current film project but I may start purchasing the new equipment in stages soon. Hopefully, we'll be up and running with the four Kinect v2 devices in late fall or winter.

G.

vmaslov · **Posted:** Tue Aug 25, 2015 2:05 am

Hi, Dennis

You can find hardware requirements for a PC to be used with Kinect 2 on MS web site:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/kinectforwindows/purchase/sensor_setup.aspx

Dedicated USB 3.0 controller is a must. I recommend the ones based on NEC chipsets. You need USB 3.0 repeater cables as well.

I think you don't need additional HDDs in case there is enough room for records. Byterate of a single Kinect record with depth+color and background subtraction compression is about 10 MB/s.

You can connect PS Moves to any of the PCs participating in recording, either to a single one or split between several.

Kinect 2 has standard 1/4'' thread for mounting to tripods, so there's no need for adapters.

Greenlaw · **Posted:** Tue Aug 25, 2015 7:18 am

Excellent!

Thank you so much for the information. This means I can probably get set up sooner, especially if I don't need to purchase secondary drives for each computers.

G.

Snapz · **Posted:** Wed Aug 26, 2015 2:27 pm

...

From what I am seeing with just one Kinect V2, I think you will be quite happy with the results you would get from 2 or more, no vertical adjust motors now, manual adjust only, but they pretty much have to be set level anyway at about chest height, pointing down maybe just a little I found best.

Even though it's stated the range is more, with just one, to me the range further away is about the same as V1, but you can get closer to the camera with V2 to a point for full body, arms down view. The further you get from the camera, the legs and feet start to drift back off the cloud, 2 or more I am sure this effect won't happen.

The data is much cleaner though at any depth, so in turn the tracking is better, especially on the feet and a noticeable improvement on the spine bend/rotation tracking.

Personally with 1 cam, I had to make my actor 2cm shorter for better tracking, 2 or more cams this may not be needed, it just worked better on all over tracking depths, especially on bends and squats to me.

I guess I can safely say good-bye to the V1's, I just wish MS would have allowed at least 2 per computer, I am not sure what the issue is there so we could get a full 3D view, maybe a bandwidth issue.

I am also testing Brekels program with it, but.... the results so far are just simply more accurate with iPi tracking overall, with more degrees of freedom (DoF).

Win 10 upgrade made me have to get a different Bluetooth adapter before I can get my Moves working again to test with those also.

...

Greenlaw · **Posted:** Wed Aug 26, 2015 3:09 pm

Thanks for the detailed input!

I'll miss the v1 motor...it's great for aligning multiple devices from a single station. What I usually do is place a small object, like a foot stool or sheet of paper in the middle of the capture space and use the motor to get all the devices aligned so the item is in the same relative screen position. It's a fairly big timesaver. That said, I still need to adjust panning manually, so no biggie to have to do both for each Kinect v2 device.

Also, I like how I can monitor what's coming in to the main computer from each Kinect, using a small laptop with Teamviewer. It's like having a portable remote control. I'm sure I can figure out a comparable system with the v2 devices though. :)

Hmm...I may need to add a new Bluetooth adapter to my shopping list too. Thanks for the heads up.

G.

Snapz · **Posted:** Thu Aug 27, 2015 2:26 am

...

On the BT adapter, I went from Win 7 to 10, which caused the need for the 2.0 adapter using the MotioninJoy tool now, if you already had Win 8.1, you should still be ok, I would think.

...

Greenlaw · **Posted:** Thu Aug 27, 2015 7:11 am

Thanks...I'll hold on to what I have and upgrade if I need to. It's really not that old so it may be compatible.

G.

Greenlaw · **Posted:** Sat Aug 29, 2015 4:39 pm

Spec'd out the new gear this afternoon and looks like it's more affordable than I expected. I just placed an order for four XBox One Kinect (v2) devices with adapters. Total cost about $750. (About $137 per Kinect, $50 per adapter.)

I still need to decide which USB 3.0 controllers and cables to go with.

Anyway, it looks like we'll soon be using the quad Kinect (v2) configuration with iPi Mocap Studio to finish Brudders 2 after all.

G.

Greenlaw · **Posted:** Sun Aug 30, 2015 1:52 am

Yay! The v2 devices are on their way.

I just want to confirm one more thing: I know there is no motorized tilt for the newer v2 devices like with v1, but can they be manually tilted without a full tripod head? The reason I ask is because I'm using medium-duty light stands for my v1 devices and these stands do not have a tilting head.

If not, I'll need to get some adjustable knuckles for the stands. I have some of those around here somewhere but I'd rather avoid it. I would prefer to keep the v2 setups as clean and simple as what we have now with the v1 setup.

If the the v2 devices at least have manual tilting that would be perfect for us.

G.

vmaslov · **Posted:** Sun Aug 30, 2015 6:12 am

Yes, you can tilt Kinect v2 manually in the range of about 15 degrees up to 30 degrees down.

iPi Mocap Studio Kinect v2 requirements

Who is online