Dalsa PC2-Comp Express OC-P2EM-COMP0 User manual

DALSA •7075 Place Robert-Joncas, Suite 142 •St-Laurent, Quebec, H4M 2Z2 •Canada
http://www.dalsa.com/
*OC-P2EM-COMP0*
PC2-Comp Express™
User's Manual
Part number OC-P2EM-COMP0
Edition 2.01

NOTICE
© 2006-2010 DALSA Corp. All rights reserved.
This document may not be reproduced nor transmitted in any form or by any means, either electronic
or mechanical, without the express written permission of DALSA Corp. Every effort is made to ensure
the information in this manual is accurate and reliable. Use of the products described herein is
understood to be at the user's risk. DALSA Corp. assumes no liability whatsoever for the use of the
products detailed in this document and reserves the right to make changes in specifications at any time
and without notice.
Microsoft is a registered trademark; Windows®, Windows® XP, Windows® Vista and Windows® 7,
are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.
All other trademarks or intellectual property mentioned herein belong to their respective owners.
Released on December 9, 2009
Document Number: OC-P2EM-COMP0
Printed in Canada

PC2-Comp Express Contents •i
Contents
INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................... 1
OVERVIEW OF THE MANUAL ............................................................................................... 1
ABOUT THE MANUAL.......................................................................................................... 2
USING THE MANUAL ........................................................................................................... 2
PC2-COMP EXPRESS BOARD............................................................................................ 3
COMPONENTS & PART NUMBERS........................................................................................ 3
PC2-COMP EXPRESS OVERVIEW ......................................................................................... 4
PC2-COMP EXPRESS FEATURES .......................................................................................... 4
PC2-COMP EXPRESS FUNCTIONAL BLOCK DIAGRAM ......................................................... 5
SAPERA LT DEVELOPMENT SOFTWARE OVERVIEW ............................................................ 6
INSTALLING THE PC2-COMP EXPRESS........................................................................ 7
WARNING! (GROUNDING INSTRUCTIONS)........................................................................... 7
SAPERA LT LIBRARY INSTALLATION .................................................................................. 7
INSTALLING THE PC2-COMP EXPRESS HARDWARE AND DRIVER ........................................ 8
In a Windows XP/Vista/7 System ................................................................................ 8
Device Manager Firmware Loader ............................................................................ 9
Firmware Update: Automatic Mode ................................................................................10
Firmware Update: Manual Mode ....................................................................................10
Executing the Firmware Loader from the Start Menu......................................................11
UPGRADING SAPERA LT OR ANY DALSA DEVICE DRIVER .............................................. 11
Device Driver Upgrade Only.................................................................................... 12
Sapera LT and Device Driver Upgrades .................................................................. 12
CONNECTING CAMERAS .................................................................................................... 13
TESTING ACQUISITIONS .................................................................................................... 15
TROUBLESHOOTING INSTALLATION PROBLEMS ................................................................ 15
Recovering from a Firmware Update Error ............................................................. 15
Windows Event Viewer.............................................................................................. 16
DALSA Device Manager Program............................................................................ 16
Information Window.........................................................................................................17
PCI Configuration..................................................................................................... 18
Sapera and Hardware Windows Drivers .................................................................. 19
Log Viewer ................................................................................................................ 20
Windows Device Manager ........................................................................................ 21
Symptoms: CamExpert Detects No Boards............................................................... 21

ii •Contents PC2-Comp Express
Symptoms: Board does not grab ............................................................................... 22
Symptoms: Board Grabs Black ................................................................................. 22
THEORY OF OPERATION ................................................................................................ 23
ACQUISITION PROCESS...................................................................................................... 23
Analog Front End...................................................................................................... 23
Onboard Memory...................................................................................................... 24
DMA Controller ........................................................................................................ 24
Events and Status ...................................................................................................... 24
Event-Related Definitions ................................................................................................25
Acquisition Events..................................................................................................... 25
External Trigger (Used or Ignored)................................................................................. 25
Vertical Sync from Camera.............................................................................................. 25
Frame Lost....................................................................................................................... 26
Start of Frame.................................................................................................................. 26
Start of Field ....................................................................................................................26
Start of Odd Field ............................................................................................................ 26
Start of Even Field ........................................................................................................... 26
End of Frame ................................................................................................................... 26
End of Field .....................................................................................................................26
End of Odd Field..............................................................................................................27
End of Even Field............................................................................................................. 27
Acquisition Status...................................................................................................... 27
Chroma Present ...............................................................................................................27
Horizontal Sync Lock ....................................................................................................... 27
Vertical Sync Lock ........................................................................................................... 27
Transfer Events ......................................................................................................... 28
End of Frame ................................................................................................................... 28
End of Field .....................................................................................................................28
End of Odd Field..............................................................................................................28
End of Even Field............................................................................................................. 28
End of Transfer ................................................................................................................ 28
EXTERNAL TRIGGER.......................................................................................................... 29
TRIGGER-TO-IMAGE RELIABILITY..................................................................................... 30
Trigger Signal Validity..................................................................................................... 30
Acquisition Or Transfer Status......................................................................................... 30
Supported Transfer Cycling Methods............................................................................... 31
TECHNICAL REFERENCE ............................................................................................... 33
HARDWARE SPECIFICATIONS............................................................................................. 33
Camera Compatibility............................................................................................... 34
PC2-COMP EXPRESS CONNECTOR AND JUMPER LOCATIONS............................................. 34
PC2-Comp Express Board Component View............................................................ 34
Connector, Jumper, & Status LED Summary............................................................ 35
J1: DIN 4 Pin, Y/C Video Input................................................................................. 35
J2: DB9, General Video Input .................................................................................. 36
J3: DIN 8 Pin, Trigger Input..................................................................................... 37
D12, D13: Acquisition and Trigger Status LEDs ..................................................... 38

PC2-Comp Express Contents •iii
D15: Firmware State ................................................................................................ 38
J19: Boot Recovery Mode ......................................................................................... 39
J10, J11, J15, J18, J20, SW1: Reserved ................................................................... 39
COMPUTER REQUIREMENTS FOR THE PC2-COMP EXPRESS ............................................... 39
SAPERA LT........................................................................................................................... 41
CONFIGURING SAPERA ...................................................................................................... 41
Viewing Installed Sapera Servers ............................................................................. 41
Increasing Contiguous Memory for Sapera Resources............................................. 41
Host Computer Frame Buffer Memory Limitations..........................................................42
Contiguous Memory for Sapera Messaging.............................................................. 42
SAPERA SERVER AND PARAMETERS .................................................................................. 43
USING CAMEXPERT WITH PC2-COMP EXPRESS ................................................................ 47
CamExpert Example with a PAL Camera................................................................. 47
Saving a Camera Configuration File........................................................................ 49
Overview of Sapera Acquisition Parameter Files (*.ccf or *.cca/*.cvi)................... 50
Camera Interfacing Check List ................................................................................. 51
A Note on Analog Camera Timing Relationships ..................................................... 51
Overview of Video Bandwidth and System Limitations ............................................ 52
SAPERA GRAB DEMO ........................................................................................................ 53
Overview ................................................................................................................... 53
Using the Grab Demo ............................................................................................... 53
Grab Demo Main Window ...............................................................................................54
EMI CERTIFICATIONS ....................................................................................................... 59
DALSA CONTACT INFORMATION................................................................................ 61
SALES INFORMATION ........................................................................................................ 61
TECHNICAL SUPPORT ........................................................................................................ 62
GLOSSARY OF TERMS ..................................................................................................... 63
INDEX .................................................................................................................................... 67

iv •Contents PC2-Comp Express

PC2-Comp Express Introduction •1
Introduction
Overview of the Manual
PC2-Comp Express Board
• The PC2-Comp Express
Description of the PC2-Comp Express board, package contents, block diagrams, and a brief
summary of its capabilities.
Installing the PC2-Comp Express
• PC2-Comp Express
Describes how to install PC2-Comp Express, Sapera LT library and Sapera configuration
information.
• Troubleshooting
Offers suggestions for resolving PC2-Comp Express installation or usage problems.
Using the PC2-Comp Express
• Theory of Operation
Detailing PC2-Comp Express features.
Technical Reference
• Hardware
PC2-Comp Express specifications including connector pinout diagrams, jumper and LED
descriptions.
Sapera LT
• Sapera LT Server and Parameters
Lists the Sapera LT servers available plus describes the Sapera LT parameters and values
supported by PC2-Comp Express board.
• Sapera Software Example
Describes in detail the Sapera Grab Demo example and how to use it.
• Using Sapera CamExpert with PC2-Comp Express
Describes the Sapera CamExpert tool and how to use it with PC2-Comp Express.
Support
• DALSA Contact Information
Phone numbers, important web site links and email addresses.

2 •Introduction PC2-Comp Express
About the Manual
This manual exists in Adobe Acrobat® (PDF) format. The PDF format makes full use of hypertext
cross-references and includes links to the DALSA home page on the Internet, located at
http://www.dalsa.com, accessed using any web browser.
For PC2-Comp Express specific information, visit the DALSA web site at http://www.dalsa.com/.
Using the Manual
File names, directories, and Internet sites will be in bold text
(for example, image2.bmp, c:\Sapera, http://www.imaging.com).
Text that must be entered using the keyboard will be in typewriter-style text
(for example, c:\temp).
Menu and dialog actions will be indicated in bold text in the order of the instructions to be executed,
with each instruction separated by bullets. For example, going to the File menu and choosing Save
would be written as File•Save.

PC2-Comp Express PC2-Comp Express Board •3
PC2-Comp Express Board
Components & Part Numbers
PC2-Comp Express Board
Item Product Number
PC2-Comp Express Contact Sales
PC2-Comp Express Software
Item Product Number
Sapera LT version 5.20 or later (required but sold separately)
1. Sapera LT: Provides everything you will need to build your imaging
application
2. Current Sapera compliant board hardware drivers
3. Board and Sapera documentation (compiled HTML help, and Adobe
Acrobat® (PDF) formats)
OC-SL00-0000000
(optional)
Sapera Processing Imaging Development Library includes over 600 optimized image
processing routines.
Contact Sales at
DALSA
PC2-Comp Express Cables & Accessories
Item Product Number
PC2-Comp Express input cable OR-B20C-4RGB0
4-Pin DIN to 2 BNC fan-out cable (Y/C video input) OR-B20C-42000
8-Pin DIN to 4-pin DIN (Y/C out) plus 4 BNC fan-out cable (CV out & Trigger input) OR-B20C-84400

4 •PC2-Comp Express Board PC2-Comp Express
PC2-Comp Express Overview
PC2-Comp Express is a PCIe x1 format board that provides image capture and transfer to the host..
The acquisition circuitry interfaces with standard (NTSC/RS-170 and PAL/CCIR) analog cameras.
PC2-Comp Express is supported by Sapera LT 5.20 (or later). It is also fully supported by the Sapera
Image Processing library.
PC2-Comp Express Features
• Half size single slot PCIe x1 form factor.
• Six monochrome or composite video (CV) or 2 S-video inputs, AC coupled and 75Ωterminated.
• Acquires from color or monochrome cameras.
• Supports standard NTSC, RS-170, PAL, and CCIR camera formats.
• Video controls allow brightness, contrast, hue, and saturation adjustments .
• Supports YUV 4:2:2 (YUY2) and Mono 8 output pixel formats.
• Supports dual destination transfers, allowing transfers to both the video and host memory
simultaneously.
• 8MB onboard frame buffer memory.
• External TTL trigger.