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Common Vision Blox 14.0
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Common Vision Blox 14.0
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The GenICam Browser is an easy to use application to detect devices in the network and to get a live view without programming. Further it offers an easy way to configure devices for further use in your own application with the CVB GenICam driver.
The main part of the GenICam Browser are the Available and Configured Devices:
With the GenICam Browser you can easily configure the devices, in order to use your application with the GenICam.vin driver located in %CVB%Drivers folder.
Please note, that opening and running a device in the GenICam Browser, does NOT use the GenICam.vin driver, but the transport layer. Therefore only Number of Buffers and Packet Size are considered at image acquisition with the GenICam Browser. Even when opening a device in Configured Devices the transport layer is used. To test the settings, the CVB Viewer or any other Image Manager application can be used by loading the GenICam.vin driver.
This guide should help you to get a first image with your device.
Startup
Device Missing in Available Devices
Assign IP Address (GigE)
Open a Device for Live View
Next Steps
After starting GenICam Browser for the first time, the available transport layers (TL), available interfaces and devices are listed in a tree view. To search for available devices and to refresh the Available Devices tree use the Discover button. Available devices show up as green cameras.
| Discover |
| Available device |
GigE devices do not show up at first startup, if they are in a different subnet. Therefore run the discover with ignore subnet option. Use the Ignore Subnet Discover button to search for all devices, which can be in another subnet too. Devices in another subnet will show up as yellow cameras.
| Ignore Subnet Discover |
| Device is in another subnet |
To make the device available for usage, either doubleclick on the device (yellow camera) or press the Assign IP button, in order to change the IP address of the device.
| Assign IP |
Assign a temporary IP address:
1) To set a valid IP address you have 2 options:
2) Use Set to save the IP address in the camera temporary.
Now the camera icon will get green and device is ready to be opened.
Double click on the device (use Filter Driver in Windows and Socket Driver in Linux), which has a green camera icon now, or use the Open Device button to get a live view and to configure the device.
Please note: Generally you should use the device with the siNetFilter Driver in Windows (Linux: Socket Driver) for GigE Vision as it is used to bypass the standard network stack (used by the operating system) for all data stream packets. It filters GigE Vision related data packets and transfers them directly to an application-provided data buffer. This greatly reduces the CPU load of the system. All non GigE Vision data stream related packets are unaffected.
| Open device |
The device will be opened in the Device View. On the left side a live image is shown, on the right side you will find the property grid to configure the device. In Available Devices the device shows up with an orange icon. In the Logging part of the application you get some detailed information.
| Device is open |
To get a single image use the Snap button, to start the acquisition press the Grab button and to stop the acquisition press the Stop button.
| Acquire a single image (Snap) |
| Start the acquisition (Grab) |
| Stop the acquisition (Stop) |
To work with Common Vision Blox applications and tutorials it is necessary to configure the devices. To do so, follow the instructions in chapters
Run the configuration with one of Common Vision Blox tutorials and create your own. The tutorials are located in %CVB%Tutorial folder.
In case of any problems in image acquisition, get additional information in chapter Statistics.
| Discover | Search for all available devices |
| Ignore Subnet Discover | Search for all devices, which can be outside of the used subnet too |
| Assign IP | Change the IP address of the device |
| Open device | Live view and configuration |
| Open additional device | Live view and configuration |
| Snap | Acquire a single image / Acquire a single image on all open devices (F2) |
| Grab | Start the acquisition / Start the acquisition on all open devices (F3) |
| Stop | Stop the acquisition / Stop the acquisition on all open devices (F4) |
| Suspend Acquisition | Suspends the acquisition thread |
| Options (Configuration) | Driver options for the selected device |
| Add device | Add device to the configuration file |
| Configuration wizard | Wizard to configure and add device to the configuration file |
| Move device up | To change the order in the configuration file |
| Move device down | To change the order in the configuration file |
| Remove device | Remove selected device from configuration file |
| Save | Save configured devices |
| Save next consecutive image | Save the next consecutive image manually |
| Configure save consecutive images... | Configure the saving of consecutive images |
| AutoConfig | Automatic configuration of the device (Configuration Wizard) |
| Save image... | Save the acquired image |
| Undock | Undock the acquisition window |
| Dock | Dock the acquisition window |
| Maximize | Maximize the acquisition window (only available if window is undocked) |
| Minimize | Minimize the acquisition window (only available if window is undocked) |
| Close | Close the acquisition window / device; Exit the application |
| Close all | Close all acquisition windows / devices; In Logging menu: Close the log window |
| Clear log window | Clear the log window |
| Save log window entries | Save the log window entries to file |
| Reload features | Reload properties features (F5) |
| Properties menu | Open properties menu |
| Max visibility | Change the visibility of the properties (Beginner / Expert / Guru) |
| Selected NodeMap | Change the NodeMap |
| Load device properties | Load GenICam settings from a GenICam settings file (*.gcs) into the device |
| Save device properties | Save GenICam settings from a device into a GenICam settings file (*.gcs) |
| Show / hide TLs | Select the TLs (Transport Layers) to show / hide in Available Devices list |
| Display Engine | Change the display engine (OpenGL = default / Raster) |
| Select plugins | Select one or more GenICam Browser plugins. Please note that only loaded plugins (Configuration - Plugins...) can be used. |
| Statistics | Shows statistical information of the device and hints for performance optimization |
| Fullscreen | Shows the image in fullscreen mode |
| Synchronize | Synchronize framegrabber and device |
| Available | Device is available |
| Other subnet | Device is in another subnet |
| Inactive | Device is inactive |
| Already open | Device is already open in another application |
| Open | Device is open |
| Read only | Device is read only |
| Undefined access status | Device has no access status (none of above) |
| Attention | An error has occurred. Click on the Attention sign to open the logging or open with View > Logging. |
Acquire Image(s)
Save Image
Save Consecutive Images
Frame Rate
To get a single image use the Snap button, to start the acquisition press the Grab button and to stop the acquisition press the Stop button.
| Acquire a single image (Snap) |
| Start the acquisition (Grab) |
| Stop the acquisition (Stop) |
The Save image... button is available to store an image as BMP, PNG, TIF or JPG. Images higher 8 bit can only be stored as TIF. Please note that in Linux some formats are not available.
| Save image... |
It is also possible to save consecutive images. The folder, where the images should be saved, has to be configured with Configure save consecutive images. Then the buttons Save next consecutive image and AutoSave consecutive images will be enabled. While acquiring images, the images can be stored automatically in increasing order each time, when the button Save next consecutive image is pressed. In case of AutoSave consecutive images enabled, the storage of the images will start automatically at acquisition start. Additionally an emu file will be created in the predefined folder. This emu file can be loaded by any CVB example to play the consecutive images. A CVMock.ini will be created as well (which is using the emu file), in order to use the CVMock driver in CVB examples to replay the consecutive images.
| Configure save consecutive images... |
| Save next consecutive image |
While acquiring images, the number of acquired frames as well as the frame rate in fps (frames per second) is shown below the image.
GUI is not Responsive with High Frame Rate
Multiple Cameras
If you encounter an unresponsive GUI, when the frame rate is high, you can either reduce the display refresh rate or disable the display, so only the frame counter and the frame rate are shown.
1. Reduce display refresh rate
Click on Display refresh of the device, of which you want to reduce the refresh rate. Disable the checkbox Use max. framerate (the display is refreshed as fast as possible then, but may lead to unresponsive GUI) and set the display refresh rate in milliseconds (ms). Confirm with OK.
2. Disable the display
Click on the checked Display of the device, of which you want to disable the display to increase performance.
For testing multiple devices, you might detach the Device Views, disable Properties (in Devices - Device Selection - Properties), so only the live images are shown and start the acquisition with Grab start all (Shortcut F3). You can stop all devices at the same time with Grab stop all (Shortcut F4) or you can acquire only a single image on all devices with Snap all (Shortcut F2).
In the Devices menu you can select, which devices or streams you want to acquire images from.
| Acquire a single image on all open devices / Snap all (Shortcut F2) |
| Start the acquisition on all open devices / Grab start all (Shortcut F3) |
| Stop the acquisition on all open devices / Grab stop all (Shortcut F4) |
By default the OpenGL engine type is used to display a live image, but you may also switch to engine type Raster. This might be necessary with old monitor drivers, in Linux or using a remote session.
➜ Please note: You can only select the Display Engine, if no device is open. If the selection is disabled, close all devices first.
The settings in the View are saved automatically after leaving the application.
To acquire an image immediately when a device has been opened, the Acquire image immediately has to been checked in Devices menu (default), otherwise uncheck this setting.
The settings in the View are saved automatically after leaving the application.
Assign IP provides the configuration of a GigE device with a valid IP address.
Assign a Temporary IP (Force)
Persistent IP (Static)
Enable DHCP
Either double click on the device or press the Assign IP button in the Available Devices view, in order to change the IP address of the device.
| Assign IP |
1) Set a valid IP address:
2) Use Set to configure the IP address in the camera
To set the IP persistent, you have to use the Auto Select IP button again on this device, then the Assign persistent IP (Static) option will be available.
Setting an IP persistent (static) means that after powering the device, the IP address will be the persistent IP address and does not need to be set manually again.
After setting a temporary IP, you are asked, if you want to set the IP address persistent. You can do this later as well.
To set the IP address persistent, reopen the Assign IP dialog and select the Assign persistent IP option. Press Set to store this setting in your device.
To set the camera to DHCP Enable DHCP option and confirm with Set.
The view Available Devices shows a tree of available transport layers, its interfaces and the devices.
Show and Hide Transport Layers
Show all Interfaces
Find Devices
Detailed Information on Devices, Interfaces and Transport Layers
Open a Device For Live View and Configuration
Configure and Add Device to Configuration File
Show / Hide a View
| Discover |
| Ignore Subnet Discover |
| Assign IP |
| Open device |
| Open additional device |
| Options (Configuration) |
| Add device (to the configuration file) |
| Wizard to configure and add device (to the configuration file) |
Some transport layer standards are listed here:
| Camera Link |
| CoaXPress |
| FireWire / IEEE1394 |
| GigE Vision |
| PCI Express |
| USB3 Vision |
If there are transport layers, which you do not need, you can hide them in this tree view. Select Show / hide TLs in the View menu:
All available transport layers are displayed with a check box. Deselect the transport layers, which you want to hide and confirm with the OK button.
The settings in the View are saved automatically after leaving the application.
To avoid a long list of interfaces, which do not have devices attached, they are hidden. If you want to show all interfaces in the tree view, enable Show all interfaces in the Configuration menu. To save this setting permanently, select Save configuration in the Configuration menu.
See Find Devices.
To get some information on vendor, model, version etc. of transport layers, interfaces and devices either go to the according module and hover over its name or right click on the module and select Info.
Press and hold left mouse button
Right click
See Open Device.
With the Options button you can set the configuration, which is used in the configuration file.
| Options (Configuration) |
For a current acquisition only following parameters are set directly:
The parameters have to be set before opening the device, in order to be taken into consideration at current acquisition. For details see Configured Devices (Configuration).
The easiest way to configure the device and add it to the configuration file is to use the Configuration Wizard.
| Wizard to configure and add device (to the configuration file) |
How to use the Configuration Wizard see Configured Devices (Configuration).
If you want to quickly add a device to the configuration file, use the Add Device button. You can configure the device after that action too.
| Add device (to the configuration file) |
For details see Configured Devices (Configuration).
To hide or show Configured Devices View or Available Devices View, uncheck or check it in the View menu. The settings in the View are saved automatically after leaving the application.
The easiest way to configure and add one or multiple devices to the configuration file is to use the Configuration Wizard. You find it in the Available Devices menubar.
| Wizard to configure and add device (to the configuration file) |
Devices are Listed Multiple Times
Devices Already Selected
Select Devices
AutoConfig
Device Configuration
The first page offers you the Device Selection. All available devices are shown. Please note, that devices, which are in a different subnet (devices with yellow camera icon), will not be listed. If you want them to be listed, configure their IP address (see Assign IP Address).
➜ Hint: For a one click configuration use AutoConfig.
| AutoConfig |
You will notice, that some devices are listed multiple times. This is due to the fact, that one device may show up in different transport layers. Also with SI GEV TL (STEMMER IMAGING GigE Vision Transport Layer) one device will be displayed twice, with Filter driver (FD) and Socket driver (SD). You are free to add your device selection to the configuration file, but for best performance you should use Filter driver from SI GEV TL.
If there are devices, which are already selected and their text is gray, then they are already in configured devices file and in Configured Devices View. If you deselect the device, it will be removed from the configuration file.
To automatically configure those devices with default settings, you can use the AutoConfig button, which will select the devices (SI GEV TL and Filter driver), configure them with default settings and save them in the configuration file.
If you want to configure those devices manually, you can select them by enabling STEMMER IMAGING checkbox in Transport Layer Selection.
AutoConfig automatically selects the devices of SI GEV TL and Filter driver, configures them with default settings and saves them in the configuration file.
All selected devices are listed in Device Configuration. A left click on the Information button
shows the current configuration of the device.
To configure one or multiple devices, select them and press the Configure button. The options are segmented in different parts: CVB (Common Vision Blox) is the main configuration for all devices independent of the type (CameraLink, CoaXPress, GigE, FireWire / IEEE1394 etc.). The following segments are type dependent e.g. GEV for GigE Vision devices, IIDC for FireWire / IEEE1394 devices etc.
| Options (Configuration) |
Move the mouse over the parameter name to get detailed information or use the Help button.
Mouse over parameter:
Help:
With the Default button you can reset the parameters to the default values. Press OK when you have finished the configuration. To change the order of the devices in the CVB configuration file, use the move up / down button.
| Move device up |
| Move device down |
Press Finish in Configuration Wizard to save the devices and their configurations to the CVB configuration file.
The view Configured Devices shows a list of all configured devices, which are stored or should be stored in CVB configuration file. The configuration of the devices is necessary to run any Common Vision Blox application / tutorial by loading the GenICam.vin driver, which is located in the %CVB%Drivers folder.
Configuration Wizard
Edit the Configured Devices
Open a Device For Live View and Configuration
Show / Hide a View
Testing the Configuration / Load driver
| Move device up (to change the order in the configuration file) |
| Move device down (to change the order in the configuration file) |
| Remove selected device (from configuration file) |
| Options (Configuration) |
| Save configured devices |
| Open device |
| Open additional device |
See Configuration Wizard.
With the Move Up and Move Down buttons you can change the order of the devices in the CVB configuration file.
| Move device up |
| Move device down |
With the Remove button you can remove a device from the CVB configuration file.
| Remove device |
You can also configure a device within this view by selecting the device and pressing the Options button.
| Options (Configuration) |
➜ Please note: Changes done with the Configured Devices buttons have to be saved manually with the Save button.
| Save |
Double click on the device (use Filter Driver in Windows and Socket Driver in Linux), which has a green camera icon now, or use the Open Device button to get a live view and to configure the device.
| Open device |
If another device is already open, you will be asked, if you want to keep other devices open.
Confirm with Yes if you want to have multiple devices open. Pressing No closes all open devices and opens your selected device. If you want to open multiple devices, you can also use the button Open additional device.
| Open additional device |
For further information on open devices see Device View.
To hide or show Configured Devices View or Available Devices View, uncheck or check it in View menu. The settings in the View are saved automatically after leaving the application.
To test the configured devices, open the Common Vision Blox Viewer or any Common Vision Blox tutorial:
After opening a device you will get a live view.
Overview
Acquisition
Close Devices
Register Access
| Start the acquisition |
| Acquire a single image |
| Stop the acquisition |
| Suspends the acquisition thread |
| Save as... |
| Save next consecutive image |
| Fullscreen |
| Statistics |
| Properties menu |
| Undock |
| Dock |
| Maximize |
| Minimize |
| Close |
On the left side a live image is shown, on the right side you will find the property grid to configure the device. In Available Devices the device shows up with an orange icon. In the Logging part of the application you get some detailed information.
| Device is open |
The toolbar shows the name and serial number of the device for identification if multiple devices are open. If you have multiple devices open, the windows are tabbed, so you can select the device's live view with the tab.
To see the windows beside each other (and not tabbed), you can undock the window with the Undock button and dock it with the Dock button.
| Undock |
| Dock |
There is also the possibility to maximize and to minimize the undocked acquisition window with the Maximize and Minimize buttons.
| Maximize |
| Minimize |
Use the Close button to close the acquisition window and the device.
| Close |
When a device is open, you can access the buttons also from the main menu. You will find additional settings there:
See Acquisition.
To close the device and its live view, either close the device individually with the Close button
| Close |
or use Close all from the Devices menu to close all devices.
| Close all |
See Register Access.
To search for available devices and to refresh the Available Devices tree use the Discover button. Available devices show up as green cameras.
| Discover |
| Available device |
GigE devices do not show up at first startup, if they are in a different subnet. Therefore run the discover with ignore subnet option. Use the Ignore Subnet Discover button to search for all devices, which can be in another subnet too. Devices in another subnet will show up as yellow cameras.
| Ignore Subnet Discover |
| Device is in another subnet |
The timeout for discovery is set to 200 ms (milliseconds) by default. If devices are not found, this timeout can be set to a higher value.
GigE devices in another subnet have to be configured to show up as available devices. To make the device available for usage, either doubleclick on the device (yellow camera) or press the Assign IP button, in order to change the IP address of the device. Please note, that the button is disabled, if the device is not detected as GigE device.
| Assign IP |
For more information see Assign IP Address.
A logging window on bottom of the GenICam Browser gives some additional information on the device, on the acquisition, but also error messages.
Log Messages
Clear Log Window
Save Log Window
Open and Close Log Window
| Clear the log window |
| Save the log window entries to file |
| Close the log window |
Log and error messages are shown in the log window. Messages of a specific device are logged with the device identifier as prefix.
See also Detailed Information on Devices, Interfaces and Transport Layers.
You can clear the log window to get an empty window with the Clear button.
| Clear the log window |
To save the log window entries to a file, use the Save button.
| Save the log window entries to file |
To close the log window, use the Close button or disable the log window in the Configuration menu. You can enable the log window there again.
| Close the log window |
The settings in the View are saved automatically after leaving the application.
If the log window is closed and an error occurs and is logged, a blinking red exclamation mark appears. By clicking on the exclamation mark, the log window will open. The log messages are displayed there. The error log message has a red color.
Only generate the extended log file if requested by STEMMER IMAGING support. The extended logging is started via LogGUI. For details see LogGUI User Guide. The logging within the LogGUI can be stored to a text or JSON (preferred) file.
Generally the extended logging is not necessary as the log file will be large. Only generate the extended log file if requested by STEMMER IMAGING support. The extended logging can only be started via command line and supports following parameters (–debug or -d):
Additionally the version of GenICam Browser can be requested via command line:
Open Devices
Open Mode
CVB CameraSuite License
Doubleclick on the device (for GigE devices use Filter Driver in Windows and Socket Driver in Linux), which has a green camera icon now, or use the Open Device button to get a live view and to configure the device.
Please note: Generally you should use the device with the siNetFilter Driver in Windows (Linux: Socket Driver) for GigE Vision as it is used to bypass the standard network stack (used by the operating system) for all data stream packets. It filters GigE Vision related data packets and transfers them directly to an application-provided data buffer. This greatly reduces the CPU load of the system. All non GigE Vision data stream related packets are unaffected.
| Open device |
If another device is already open, you will be asked, if you want to keep other devices open.
Confirm with Yes if you want to have multiple devices open. Pressing No closes all open devices and opens your selected device.
If you want to open multiple devices, you can also use the button Open additional device.
| Open additional device |
For further information on open devices see Device View.
It is possible to open the device in different modi:
When opening the device in Control mode, Multicast... will be enabled and can be configured.
To automatically set the CVB CameraSuite License, you can right click on the device and retrieve the license key.
Please note: You have to open the GenICam Browser with administrator rights to retrieve the license key.
The device properties are displayed on the right side of the Device View, when the device is open.
| Properties menu |
The visibility, which can be set within the properties menu, changes the number of properties to be shown.
Search Property
Maximum Visibility
Selected NodeMap
Load Properties
Save Properties
Reload Features
To find a property type the property name or a part of the property name into the search box and press Enter. The properties containing the search text will be shown and highlighted.
To remove the selection, remove the search text and press Enter.
The default visibility is Beginner. By selecting Expert or Guru in Properties menu, you increase the number of properties to be displayed. The maximum number of properties is shown with Guru.
| Max visibility |
You can also set the visibility in the Properties menu of the main menu bar.
The settings in the View are saved automatically after leaving the application.
You can see the currently set visibility in the properties page.
A NodeMap (port) selection allows to display different NodeMaps (ports). The Device Port is the default selection.
| Selected NodeMap |
| Load device properties |
Load GenICam settings from a GenICam settings file (*.gcs) into the device.
| Save device properties |
Save GenICam settings from a device into a GenICam settings file (*.gcs).
Some parameters marked with
need to be reloaded at runtime, for example the statistics parameters. To update them during acquisition press the Reload features button in Properties menu or use the Shortcut F5.
| Reload features (Shortcut F5) |
You can find the statistics in DataStream port.
To read and write registers of the device, you can call Register Access in Devices menu and the selected device.
The Register Access dialog provides a Nodemap selection, Register / Memory as well as Dec / Hex selection and the endianess. Enter the address to read and enter the address and value to write the device's register. A status line at the bottom informs about the result of the command (Success or error message).
To get statistical information of the device, use the Statistics button from the Devices menu or from the Device View toolbar.
| Statistics |
The dialog shows statistical information during grabbing an image like the frame rate and the data rate. Further it shows the statistical values of the DataStream NodeMap as well as hints to optimize performance. As some parameters are not available for all devices, check the device's manual as well as CVB GenICam User Guide for other parameters to optimize.
