We Need a Crosshair for IC Capture

[Rando]

Hello Stephan,
I have been using my DMK2104 (USB) monochrome camera for about 3 years now and love it. However, I keep looking for an option in IC Capture (V2.2) to turn on a crosshair, with each update but have not found it included as yet. Is it a huge undertaking to program that option into IC Capture? That would really make the program robust. Thanks for reading.

[Stefan Geissler]

Hi Rando,

yes, it is a huge undertaking, because the program was not written by myself. However, please see the iccexternalgraphigssetp attachment. It is the same "plugin" that was available for IC Capture 2.1. See "External Devices" in IC Capture to get it work after installation.

I also added the very simple ICY800capture, which saves Y800 AVI files + camera settings in a text file. It shows the live video colored, while AVI ist Y800 (for Registax). It as a reticle.

[Rando]

Many thanks Stefan for your very prompt reply. I will attend to these downloads very soon.
Thanks very much!

[Rando]

Hi Stefan,
This is exactly what I needed. Thank you so much.
Randy

[arbacia]

Thanks for the crosshair.

Patricio

[Daniel_Leclerc]

Hi Stefan,

I had a trial with the nice Y800 software that you made. Where are the avi files saved (in a specific folder?) I cannot find them, lol!

Did you or your colleagues make more recent versions of this capture software?

-Daniel

[Stefan Geissler]

Daniel,

the files were saved in the "My Videos" directory somewhere, as the message box at the end of capture shows.

A more recent version is not available.

[Daniel_Leclerc]

Thanks Stefan,

I found the file! It took me a moment to understand that I had to close the window for settings before clicking the red button for making the video. :-) Then, I got the kind message about location of the file.

... However, I do not get colors in RegiStax5, when I perform the steps that are described in the tutorial, for debayering. I also tried to get the colors back using Fire Capture DeBayer tool, and it gave me an errror message. I try to attach an image of this message:1547

I also tried to process the file in Virtual Dub: I just tried opening the file and resaving as avi. It was still in black and white, but I saw the colors in the VirtualDub window during the processing steps (although not in the final image). This is telling me that colors are in the file, but I cannot get them back.

Any suggestions? Other ways to get these colors back that I should try? Do you think I am doing some mistake(s) during the processing of the file, like forgetting a detail?

-Daniel

[Stefan Geissler]

Hi Daniel

Congratulations! You found the major change, Microsoft did in DirectShow in Windows 8. For some unknown reason, some of the DirectShow filters no longer accept *any* video format, so in Windows 8 the pixel format will be changed. Believe me, we were very surprised, when we recognized this new behavior. The AVI files will be saved fine and Windows Media Player can show them. But programs, that need Y800 for input will fail in Windows 8.

We are in contact with the Microsoft support about this since a few weeks.

[Daniel_Leclerc]

Thanks Stefan!

:-) I am very proud for having done this finding... and I am very glad that you found it before I did, giving you a chance to find a solution more rapidly. Please let me know if an alternative way of doing this becomes available. I understand that we absolutely need Y800 for performing this tricky debayering process and that we cannot do it for the moment.

Best wishes,

-Daniel

[Stefan Geissler]

Hi Daniel,

the IC Y800 Capture software is no solution right now, except the program learn to read the format, that DirectShow creates Windows 8.

You may IC Capture, use BY8 video format and save the videos as RGB24 uncompressed. Then the other program may are able to read them.

Also, you may ask the FireCapture support too.

The Debayering is not absolutely necessary to be done by external programs. The color calculation can be done by IC Capture or the camera. The only disadvantage is, the AVI files being three times bigger, than using Y800.

[Daniel_Leclerc]

Thanks Stefan,

1. Without external debayering: I experimented several cases where some combinations of format/codec could not give me the expected high number of frames in a given time, probably because my computer (or the camera) could not get file transfer fast enough. May be the cold temperature here does not help in the process. Some combinations of format/codec were allowing transfer at 60 fps, but the size of the files was making me believe that I possibly have not as much info in my images that I could get. Am I right?

2. With external debayering: Based on your expertise, would you say that debayering in an external program after "IC Capture, using BY8 video format and saving the videos as RGB24 uncompressed" would be the best option for getting as many fps as possible and the higher amount of info as possible from my images? Would you think there is something better than this that I should try? I would like to optimize the stuff I can get from my DBK21AU618.AS camera.

Best wishes,

Daniel

[Stefan Geissler]

Hi Daniel,

Right now, I think the BY8 -> RGB24 solution could be the best. However, I did not test, whether third party software can read these on Windows 8 created files.

[Daniel_Leclerc]

Hi Stefan,
I would like to use external debayering, if this becomes possible for Windows 8. Please post in this thread if a solution becomes available. Thanks for your help.
-Daniel

[Stefan Geissler]

Right now, we got no answer from Microsoft Support.

[Stefan Geissler]

Regarding Y800 AVIs in Windows 8 we created a new driver. If you want to test this driver, please create a support case at http://www.theimagingsource.com/en_US/company/contact/
I will provide a download link by email.