Hi,
Firstly this software looks extroadinary.

I have just registered on the forum, and thus have a trial key.

I have yet to install the primary software, I have installed the Recorder and am testing my Cameras first. I will have to stop and start my testing, and may not be able to evaluate within a month (have had this happen before). Does the trial serial expire one month from today, or 1 month from when I install it?

For some feedback please.

I tested the Cameras (PS3 Eyes) on my notebook lastnight. It's a Toshiba Qosmio (the entry one) .. Win7 Quad Core i7 with 4 Gig of Ram.

After unplugging my mouse (use the trackpad) I was able to capture, 4 streams - 640x480 @ 25 fps per second with zero frame loss, or 4 streams - 320x240 @ 50fps.

I had to use compression, to avoid a bottleneck at the hardrive.

I understand that the higher resolution will enable me to have a larger capture volume.
If there is zero frameloss, is there a benefit to caturing at 50fps rather than 25?

I expect that my workstation will allow me to do 640x480 @ 50fps, its dual Quadcore Xeons (only 4Gig at present) with a raid 0 drive.

BTW, in PAL land 30 and 60fps give a faint strobing on my monitors that is unpleasant.

Kevin

Hello!



Trial period starts from the first run of iPiStudio on computer. If you'll install and run iPiStudio on other PC then trial period starts again (there is no internet activation).

As to iPiRecorder - it's free, that is you can run it in any number of computers without restrictions and expiration.




Your bottleneck is USB controller. When you record video at 640x480 @ 50fps not more than 2 cameras should be plugged in one USB 2.0 controller. It's because of bandwidth of USB 2.0. To resolve this issue you can use additional controller. We recommend to use USB 3.0 due to higher quality (some USB 2.0 controllers don't fit all USB 2.0 specification requirements).

To add controllers to your PC you can use:

• USB 3.0 ExpressCard like this http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=usb+3.0+expresscard&x=0&y=0 -- for laptops
• USB 3.0 PCI Card like this http://www.everythingusb.com/asus-u3s6-usb-3.0-sata-3-pci-express-18307.html -- for desktops

It's ok. MJPEG compression does not affect on tracking process.




It depends on your action. For fighting, running, fast action 50fps or 60fps is preferred.




Again, USB controller can be bottleneck.




Likely frequency of AC in your country is 50Hz.
By the way, we now also record our videos at 50fps because here, in Russia frequency of AC is 50Hz.

About framerate and USB bandwidth:

Video recording
USB controllers

Michael,

Thanks for keeping us informed about the Wiki updates. The forum continues to be a great resource but the wiki's better organization and frequent updates make it much more useful for getting all the latest information about the tools.

G.

_________________
Greenlaw
Artist/Partner - Little Green Dog | My Demo Reels (2013,) (2015,) (2017,) and (2019)

Watch a one minute excerpt on Vimeo now!

Thank you for the replies.
I am still finding my way through the forums and wikis.

It looks like I have:

2 x USB2.0 Controllers on the notebook
and
6 on the workstation

Will USB 3.0 make a difference with the Eye's, I am assuming they are USB2.0 (I can not find that as a spec)

You're right. PS3 Eye uses USB 2.0 and works with USB 3.0 in 2.0 compatible mode. Thus if you have USB 2.0 controllers with correct implementation of all aspects of USB 2.0 specification then there is no need and sense to change them to 3.0 controllers.



The thing is that you should find a way to plug 2 cameras through one controller and other 2 cameras through another controller. For example, my laptop (Sony VAIO VGN-SR525) has two controller but all USB sockets uses only one. I guess that second controller is used in case of plugging through dock station, but I haven't it to check.

A thought here, and I possibly haven't thought why it won't work.

I'll ask in the negative, Why can't you use a baseball cap,
one color on left, one color on right, and a colored peak to capture the head movements?

Also when the instructions refer to a long sleeved shirt and a short sleeve shirt.
Are you recommending shirt sleeve, midway between elbow and shoulder, circling shoulder (T-shirt vs Muscle shirt in Australia)

Payday soon, USB repeater cables an a helicoil kit :)

Kevin

I wear a black short sleeve T-shirt over a red long sleeve shirt. Just a guess but I think a muscle shirt may confuse the system about where the shoulders are located.

_________________
Greenlaw
Artist/Partner - Little Green Dog | My Demo Reels (2013,) (2015,) (2017,) and (2019)

Watch a one minute excerpt on Vimeo now!

It was pay day.

I got the helicoil kit locally, my eye cameras now mount on my baby stands.

I purchased 2 x 5M USB 2.0 repeater cables, they are 'ATEN UE-250' I tested 2 into 1 USB port on my notebook and got 2 streams at 640x480 @ 50fps.

I also bought myself a nice looking (9 LEDS) Belkin powered hub to free up all the usb ports on my desktop.

Getting closer to some tests. Costs above and beyond the iPi software sofar in AUD:
PS3 eyes x 4 - $160
Helicoil Kit - $45
Repeaters x 2 - $50

I probably need 1 more repeater.

I think I am following you Greenlaw, every I go researching and asking question .. there you are :)

Kevin