Imperx HD-SDI Express VCE-HDEX02 User manual

Imperx, inc. DOC-0015-0002
6421 Congress Ave Ste. 204 Rev. RA07
Boca Raton, FL 33487 USA 08/26/13
CONFIDENTIAL & PROPRIETARY
Page 1 of 65
HD-SDI ExpressTM
User’s Manual
CONFIDENTIAL NOTICE:
Copyright 2008, Imperx, Inc. All rights reserved.
Any unauthorized use, duplication or distribution of this document or any part thereof,
without the prior written consent of Imperx Corporation is strictly prohibited.

Page 2 of 65
Revision History
RA01
Jan-11-2009
J. Egri
Initial Release
RA02
Feb-24-2009
J. Egri
Added RGB Lookup table description
and Appendix A
RA03
Mar-12-2009
J. Egri
Added ‘Unity’ button to RGB Control dialog
RA04
Dec-16-2009
J. Egri
Updated Table 1 – YCrCb-20 bit mode pixel
packing
RA05
Mar-26-2012
J. Egri
Added audio support
RA06
Jan-22-2013
J. Egri
Added VCE-HDPCIe01 card and features:
COM port and SDI Loop-through
RA07
Jul-31-2013
J. Egri
Added SD and HD Color Space Converter
dialogs

Page 3 of 65
Table Of Contents
CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION..............................................................................................................................5
HD-SDI EXPRESS.......................................................................................................................................................6
WHAT YOU NEED TO GET STARTED...........................................................................................................................14
INSPECTING THE HD-SDI EXPRESS PACKAGE ..........................................................................................................15
CHAPTER 2 – HARDWARE INSTALLATION...................................................................................................16
CHAPTER 3 – SOFTWARE INSTALLATION ....................................................................................................17
SOFTWARE SUITE .....................................................................................................................................................17
SOFTWARE INSTALLATION FROM CD.......................................................................................................................19
SOFTWARE UPGRADE FROM WEB SITE.....................................................................................................................23
FIRMWARE UPGRADE FROM WEB SITE.....................................................................................................................24
CHAPTER 4 – USING THE HD-SDI EXPRESS...................................................................................................25
RUNNING THE HD-SDI EXPRESS APPLICATION........................................................................................................26
MAIN WINDOW ........................................................................................................................................................27
CAMERA PARAMETERS DIALOG ...............................................................................................................................31
COLOR SPACE CONVERTER DIALOG.........................................................................................................................34
RGB CONTROL DIALOG...........................................................................................................................................36
RGB LOOKUP TABLE DIALOG..................................................................................................................................37
CAPTURE SETTINGS DIALOG ....................................................................................................................................39
HEX PIXEL DUMP WINDOW......................................................................................................................................50
HISTOGRAM WINDOW ..............................................................................................................................................53
ZOOM MENU ............................................................................................................................................................54
PLAYER CONTROL....................................................................................................................................................55
PLAYER DIALOG.......................................................................................................................................................57
CHAPTER 5 – ELECTRICAL INTERFACES......................................................................................................58
SDI CONNECTOR......................................................................................................................................................59
EXPRESSCARD CONNECTOR (VCE-HDEX02/HDEX03 ONLY )..............................................................................59
PCIE X1CONNECTOR (VCE-HDPCIE01 ONLY ) .....................................................................................................60
COM PORT CONNECTOR (VCE-HDPCIE01 ONLY ) ................................................................................................61
CHAPTER 6 - SPECIFICATIONS..........................................................................................................................62
APPENDIX A – CREATING LOOKUP TABLES ................................................................................................63
A.1 OVERVIEW.........................................................................................................................................................64
A.2 USING AN ASCII TEXT EDITOR ..........................................................................................................................64
A.3 USING MICROSOFT EXCEL.................................................................................................................................65

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Illustrations
Figure 1 – HD-SDI Express Block Diagram .................................................................................................................9
Figure 2 – Color Space Converter ...............................................................................................................................11
Figure 3 – Main dialog ................................................................................................................................................27
Figure 4 – Camera Parameters dialog..........................................................................................................................31
Figure 5 – Color Space Converter dialog....................................................................................................................34
Figure 6 – RGB Control dialog ...................................................................................................................................36
Figure 7 – RGB Lookup Table dialog.........................................................................................................................37
Figure 8 – Examples of custom lookup table transformations.....................................................................................38
Figure 9 – Capture Settings dialog ..............................................................................................................................39
Figure 10 – Single Frame Settings dialog....................................................................................................................40
Figure 11 – Series of Frames Settings dialog ..............................................................................................................42
Figure 12 – AVI Video Clip Settings dialog ...............................................................................................................47
Figure 13 – Statistics dialog ........................................................................................................................................49
Figure 14 – Sample image with Hex Dump region .....................................................................................................51
Figure 15 – Hex Dump for YCrCb-20 mode...............................................................................................................52
Figure 16 – Hex Dump for RGB-24 mode..................................................................................................................52
Figure 17 – Histogram window...................................................................................................................................53
Figure 18 – Zoom menu ..............................................................................................................................................54
Figure 19 – Player Control dialog................................................................................................................................55
Figure 20 – Player Dialog............................................................................................................................................57
Tables
Table 1 – Pixel mapping into memory : YCrCb-20 bit mode – 6 pixels / 2 DWs.......................................................10
Table 2 – Pixel mapping into memory : YCrCb-16 bit mode – 4 pixels/DW..............................................................10
Table 3 – Pixel mapping into memory : RGB-24 mode – 8 pixels / 3 DWs................................................................10
Table 4 – Audio mapping into memory : 24 bit mode – 4 samples / 3 DWs...............................................................12
Table 5 – Audio mapping into memory : 16 bit mode – 2 samples/DW .....................................................................12
Table 6 – ExpressCard Connector Pin-out ..................................................................................................................59
Table 7 – PCIe x1 Connector Pin-out..........................................................................................................................60
Table 8 – COM Port Connector Pin-out......................................................................................................................61

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Chapter 1 - Introduction
Introduction
This chapter outlines the key features of the Imperx HD-SDI
Express series of SDI frame grabbers.
VCE-HDEX02
VCE-HDEX03
VCE-HDPCIe01

Page 6 of 65
HD-SDI Express
The HD-SDI Express frame grabber series includes three models:
VCE-HDEX02 - an ExpressCard/34 card
VCE-HDEX03 - an ExpressCard/54 card
VCE-HDPCIe01 - a low-profile PCI Express x1 card
All cards include an SDI analog interface and a PCI Express x1 lane
interface. They provide the ability to capture digital video and audio data,
from an SD/HD SDI source, and transfer that data to host memory via a
PCI Express x1 interface. All of the cards share the same software ( i.e.
application program, libraries and driver ).
Functionality
•Supports an analog serial interface formatted per SMPTE 292M
with:
•SMPTE 274M framing providing 1080i ( 60 fields/sec ) or
1080p ( 30 frames/sec ).
•SMPTE 296M framing providing 720p ( 60 frames/sec ).
•Supports the 20 bit de-multiplexed HD format ( 4:2:2: YCrCb
where Y = 10 bits and C = 10 bits )
•Captures video data from an SDI analog interface, formats this
data and stores it into local FIFOs.
•Data can be formatted as 20 or 16 bit YCrCb 4:2:2 or as RGB-24
using a color space converter function.
•Supports two 48 KHz 24 bit embedded audio channels.
•Captures audio data from an SDI analog interface, formats this
data and stores it into local FIFOs.
•Audio data can be formatted as 24 or 16 bits per sample.
•Retrieves the formatted video and audio data from the FIFOs and
transfers it into host memory via a scatter/gather DMA over the x1
lane PCI Express interface.
•Provides the ability to upgrade the FPGA firmware in the field by
the user.
•HDPCIe01 only: Provides an SDI Loop-through capability.
A second BNC connector outputs a regenerated version of the SDI
signal received from the first connector.
•HDPCIe01 only: Provides an RS232/RS485 serial communications
COM port for the purpose of configuring an attached camera.

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Interfaces SDI interface
The HD-SDI Express provides an HD-SDI compliant receiver interface
capable of acquiring SDI video/audio data at rates of 1.485 Gbps. The
receiver provides full SMPTE processing for signals compliant with
SMPTE 274M and 296M framing. The following formats are supported:
-1080p 30/25/24 fps
-1080i 60/50 fps
-720p 60/50/30/25/24 fps
-SD
SDI Loop-Through interface ( HDPCIe01 only )
The HD-SDI Express PCIe card provides an SDI output which is an
electrically regenerated and retimed version of the input SDI signal. This
is useful when the user requires that the frame grabber be in-line between
a video source ( i.e. camera ) and a video sink ( i.e. monitor ).
PCI Express interface
The HD-SDI Express PCIe card complies with the x1 low-profile PCI
Express add-in card dimensions as defined in the PCI Express Card
Electromechanical Specification revision 2.0.
The HD-SDI Express/54 and HD-SDI Express/34 cards comply with the
ExpressCard/54 and ExpressCard/34 package dimensions, respectively, as
defined in the ExpressCard Standard release 1.2. Both cards include a
37mm x 20mm extension area used to house the BNC connector.
The HD-SDI Express provides a x1 lane ‘end-point’ PCI Express interface
compliant with the PCI Express Release 1.2 specification. The design does
not support any memory mapped or I/O mapped peripherals on the card.
Access to the SDI Express’s FIFOs is achieved through DMA operations
that move the data from the FIFOs into host memory. The host cannot
directly access the contents of the FIFOs. The design supports host access
into PCI Express configuration registers as well as application specific
frame grabber registers.
The ExpressCard standard also defines a Universal Serial Bus ( USB ) and
a Serial Management Bus ( SMBus ) interface on the ExpressCard
connector. These interfaces are unused in the HD-SDI Express card
design.

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Serial COM interface ( HDPCIe01 only )
The HD-SDI Express PCIe card provides an RS232/RS485 bi-directional
Universal Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter ( UART ) for the purpose
of configuring an attached camera. The UART transmits and receives
ASYNC formatted characters with 1 Start bit, 8 data bits, no parity and
1 Stop bit. The baud rate of this interface can be configured by the user to
be any one of a set of standard bit rates ranging from 4800 to 115.2K bits
per second. The HD-SDI Express software exposes this interface as a
standard COM port to the host operating system.

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A functional block diagram of the HD-SDI Express card is illustrated in
Figure 1.
ALTERA
Cyclone3
FPGA HD-SDI
Input
Connector
HD-SDI
Receiver
Configuration
EEPROM
EPCS64
3.3V-to-2.5V
converter
PCIe
or
ExpressCard
Connector
Y10
10
3
C
Strobes
RxClk
JTAG
ByteBlaster
Programming
Header
PCI Express
PHY
TxD
TxCLK
RxCLK
8
8
RxD
TxStrobes
RxStrobes
TxD
RxD 2
CLK 2
2
2.5V-to-1.25V
converter
1.2V
2.5V
1.25V
3.3V-to-1.2V
converter
3.3V
2.5V
3.3V
Cable
Equalizer
I2C
I2S Audio
HD-SDI
Output
Connector
Cable
Driver
UART
COM
port
Connector
( HDPCIe01 only )
( HDPCIe01 only )
( HDPCIe01 only )
( HDPCIe01 only )
Figure 1 – HD-SDI Express Block Diagram

Page 10 of 65
Video Capture The video capture engine is responsible for receiving video pixel data and
qualifiers from the SDI receiver, formatting the data and transferring it
into on-board memory. The module receives 20 bits of video data
organized as 10 bits of Luma data and 10 bits of Chroma data as well as
VSYNC, HSYNC and DATA_EN strobes. The interface timing follows
the CEA861 model. The received video data is formatted as YCrCb 4:2:2.
The video capture module supports three modes of operation, as
configured by the user:
-YCrCb-20 mode – uses the 20 bit YCrCb 4:2:2 data received from the
SDI receiver.
-YCrCb-16 mode – uses the 20 bit YCrCb 4:2:2 data received from the
SDI receiver but truncates the 2 LSBs to form 16
bit data.
-RGB-24 mode – uses the 20 bit YCrCb 4:2:2 data received from
the SDI receiver, translates it to 30 bit YCrCb
4:4:4 data using a chroma resampler function, then
generates 30 bit RGB data using a color space
converter function and finally truncates the 2 LSBs
from each component to form 24 bit RGB data.
The video capture engine translates this data into doublewords ( 64 bits ),
as defined in Table 1 – Table 3. These tables reflect how the data will
appear in host memory.
d31
d30
d29
d28
d27
d26
d25
d24
d23
d22
d21
d20
d19
d18
d17
d16
d15
d14
d13
d12
d11
d10
d9
d8
d7
d6
d5
D4
d3
d2
d1
d0
d63
d62
d61
d60
d59
d58
d57
d56
d55
d54
d53
d52
d51
d50
d49
d48
d47
d46
d45
d44
d43
d42
d41
d40
d39
d38
d37
d36
d35
d34
d33
d32
DW1
Cb1
Cb0
Y9
Y8
Y7
Y6
Y5
Y4
Y3
Y2
Y1
Y0
Cr9
Cr8
Cr7
Cr6
Cr5
Cr4
Cr3
Cr2
Cr1
Cr0
Y9
Y8
Y7
Y6
Y5
Y4
Y3
Y2
Y1
Y0
YCrCb
DW1
-
-
-
-
Cr9
Cr8
Cr7
Cr6
Cr5
Cr4
Cr3
Cr2
Cr1
Cr0
Y9
Y8
Y7
Y6
Y5
Y4
Y3
Y2
Y1
Y0
Cb9
Cb8
Cb7
Cb6
Cb5
Cb4
Cb3
Cb2
20 bit
DW2
Cr1
Cr0
Y9
Y8
Y7
Y6
Y5
Y4
Y3
Y2
Y1
Y0
Cb9
Cb8
Cb7
Cb6
Cb5
Cb4
Cb3
Cb2
Cb1
Cb0
Y9
Y8
Y7
Y6
Y5
Y4
Y3
Y2
Y1
Y0
DW2
-
-
-
-
Cb9
Cb8
Cb7
Cb6
Cb5
Cb4
Cb3
Cb2
Cb1
Cb0
Y9
Y8
Y7
Y6
Y5
Y4
Y3
Y2
Y1
Y0
Cr9
Cr8
Cr7
Cr6
Cr5
Cr4
Cr3
Cr2
Table 1 – Pixel mapping into memory : YCrCb-20 bit mode – 6 pixels / 2 DWs
d31
d30
d29
d28
d27
d26
d25
d24
d23
d22
d21
d20
d19
d18
d17
d16
d15
d14
d13
d12
d11
d10
d9
d8
d7
d6
d5
D4
d3
d2
d1
d0
d63
d62
d61
d60
d59
d58
d57
d56
d55
d54
d53
d52
d51
d50
d49
d48
d47
d46
d45
d44
d43
d42
d41
d40
d39
d38
d37
d36
d35
d34
d33
d32
Cb9
Cb8
Cb7
Cb6
Cb5
Cb4
Cb3
Cb2
Y9
Y8
Y7
Y6
Y5
Y4
Y3
Y2
Cr9
Cr8
Cr7
Cr6
Cr5
Cr4
Cr3
Cr2
Y9
Y8
Y7
Y6
Y5
Y4
Y3
Y2
YCrCb
Cb9
Cb8
Cb7
Cb6
Cb5
Cb4
Cb3
Cb2
Y9
Y8
Y7
Y6
Y5
Y4
Y3
Y2
Cr9
Cr8
Cr7
Cr6
Cr5
Cr4
Cr3
Cr2
Y9
Y8
Y7
Y6
Y5
Y4
Y3
Y2
16 bit
Table 2 – Pixel mapping into memory : YCrCb-16 bit mode – 4 pixels/DW
31
30
29
28
27
26
25
24
23
22
21
20
19
18
17
16
15
14
13
12
11
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
63
62
61
60
59
58
57
56
55
54
53
52
51
50
49
48
47
46
45
44
43
42
41
40
39
38
37
36
35
34
33
32
DW1
B7
B6
B5
B4
B3
B2
B1
B0
R7
R6
R5
R4
R3
R2
R1
R0
G7
G6
G5
G4
G3
G2
G1
G0
B7
B6
B5
B4
B3
B2
B1
B0
RGB
DW1
G7
G6
G5
G4
G3
G2
G1
G0
B7
B6
B5
B4
B3
B2
B1
B0
R7
R6
R5
R4
R3
R2
R1
R0
G7
G6
G5
G4
G3
G2
G1
G0
24 bit
DW2
R7
R6
R5
R4
R3
R2
R1
R0
G7
G6
G5
G4
G3
G2
G1
G0
B7
B6
B5
B4
B3
B2
B1
B0
R7
R6
R5
R4
R3
R2
R1
R0
DW2
B7
B6
B5
B4
B3
B2
B1
B0
R7
R6
R5
R4
R3
R2
R1
R0
G7
G6
G5
G4
G3
G2
G1
G0
B7
B6
B5
B4
B3
B2
B1
B0
DW3
G7
G6
G5
G4
G3
G2
G1
G0
B7
B6
B5
B4
B3
B2
B1
B0
R7
R6
R5
R4
R3
R2
R1
R0
G7
G6
G5
G4
G3
G2
G1
G0
DW3
R7
R6
R5
R4
R3
R2
R1
R0
G7
G6
G5
G4
G3
G2
G1
G0
B7
B6
B5
B4
B3
B2
B1
B0
R7
R6
R5
R4
R3
R2
R1
R0
Table 3 – Pixel mapping into memory : RGB-24 mode – 8 pixels / 3 DWs

Page 11 of 65
Chroma Resampler This module is responsible for receiving YCrCb 4:2:2 video pixel
data from the SDI receiver, performing a coset function and
delivering YCrCb 4:4:4 formatted data. For example:
Input 4:2:2 data : Y1/Cb1, Y2/Cr2, Y3/Cb3, Y4/Cr4 …
Output 4:4:4 data : Y1/Cb1/Cr2, Y2/Cb1/Cr2, Y3/Cb3/Cr4, Y4/Cb3/Cr4 …
Color Space Converter This module is responsible for receiving YCrCb 4:4:4 video pixel
data from the chroma_resampler module, performing color space
conversion and delivering RGB-24 formatted data.
The following parameters are configurable by the user:
Offsets : Yoff, CRoff and CBoff
Coefficients : Y1, R1, G1, G2 and B1
Limits : R_min, R_max, G_min, G_max, B_min and B_max
-
x
Y[9:0]
-
x
Cr[9:0]
-
x
Cb[9:0]
+
+
x
x
+
Yoff Y1
CBoff
CRoff R1
- G1
- G2
B1
Limit R[7:0]
G[7:0]
B[7:0]
MaxMin
Truncate
Limit
MaxMin
Truncate
Limit
MaxMin
Truncate
Figure 2 – Color Space Converter

Page 12 of 65
Audio Capture The audio capture engine is responsible for receiving de-embedded audio
data, via an I2S interface, formatting the data and transferring it
into on-board memory. The module receives two channels of audio data,
at a 48 KHz rate, organized as 24 bits of left channel data and 24 bits of
right channel data.
The audio capture module supports two modes of operation, as configured
by the user:
-24 bit mode – uses the 24 bits/sample per channel data received
from the SDI receiver.
-16 bit mode – uses the 24 bits/sample per channel received
from the SDI receiver but truncates the 8 LSBs to
form 16 bits/sample per channel.
The audio capture engine translates this data into doublewords ( 64 bits ),
as defined in Table 4 – Table 5. These tables reflect how the data will
appear in host memory.
d31
d30
d29
d28
d27
d26
d25
d24
d23
d22
d21
d20
d19
d18
d17
d16
d15
d14
d13
d12
d11
d10
d9
d8
d7
d6
d5
D4
d3
d2
d1
d0
d63
d62
d61
d60
d59
d58
d57
d56
d55
d54
d53
d52
d51
d50
d49
d48
d47
d46
d45
d44
d43
d42
d41
d40
d39
d38
d37
d36
d35
d34
d33
d32
DW1
R0
7
R0
6
R0
5
R0
4
R0
3
R0
2
R0
1
R0
0
L0
23
L0
22
L0
21
L0
20
L0
19
L0
18
L0
17
L0
16
L0
15
L0
14
L0
13
L0
12
L0
11
L0
10
L0
9
L0
8
L0
7
L0
6
L0
5
L0
4
L0
3
L0
2
L0
1
L0
0
24 bit
mode
DW1
L1
15
L1
14
L1
13
L1
12
L1
11
L1
10
L1
9
L1
8
L1
7
L1
6
L1
5
L1
4
L1
3
L1
2
L1
1
L1
0
R0
23
R0
22
R0
21
R0
20
R0
19
R0
18
R0
17
R0
16
R0
15
R0
14
R0
13
R0
12
R0
11
R0
10
R0
9
R0
8
DW2
R1
23
R1
22
R1
21
R1
20
R1
19
R1
18
R1
17
R1
16
R1
15
R1
14
R1
13
R1
12
R1
11
R1
10
R1
9
R1
8
R1
7
R1
6
R1
5
R1
4
R1
3
R1
2
R1
1
R1
0
L1
23
L1
22
L1
21
L1
20
L1
19
L1
18
L1
17
L1
16
DW2
R2
7
R2
6
R2
5
R2
4
R2
3
R2
2
R2
1
R2
0
L2
23
L2
22
L2
21
L2
20
L2
19
L2
18
L2
17
L2
16
L2
15
L2
14
L2
13
L2
12
L2
11
L2
10
L2
9
L2
8
L2
7
L2
6
L2
5
L2
4
L2
3
L2
2
L2
1
L2
0
DW3
L3
15
L3
14
L3
13
L3
12
L3
11
L3
10
L3
9
L3
8
L3
7
L3
6
L3
5
L3
4
L3
3
L3
2
L3
1
L3
0
R3
23
R3
22
R3
21
R3
20
R3
19
R3
18
R3
17
R3
16
R2
15
R2
14
R2
13
R2
12
R2
11
R2
10
R2
9
R2
8
DW3
R3
23
R3
22
R3
21
R3
20
R3
19
R3
18
R3
17
R3
16
R3
15
R3
14
R3
13
R3
12
R3
11
R3
10
R3
9
R3
8
R3
7
R3
6
R3
5
R3
4
R3
3
R3
2
R3
1
R3
0
L3
23
L3
22
L3
21
L3
20
L3
19
L3
18
L3
17
L3
16
Table 4 – Audio mapping into memory : 24 bit mode – 4 samples / 3 DWs
d31
d30
d29
d28
d27
d26
d25
d24
d23
d22
d21
d20
d19
d18
d17
d16
d15
d14
d13
d12
d11
d10
d9
d8
d7
d6
d5
D4
d3
d2
d1
d0
d63
d62
d61
d60
d59
d58
d57
d56
d55
d54
d53
d52
d51
d50
d49
d48
d47
d46
d45
d44
d43
d42
d41
d40
d39
d38
d37
d36
d35
d34
d33
d32
DW1
R0
15
R0
14
R0
13
R0
12
R0
11
R0
10
R0
9
R0
8
R0
7
R0
6
R0
5
R0
4
R0
3
R0
2
R0
1
R0
0
L0
15
L0
14
L0
13
L0
12
L0
11
L0
10
L0
9
L0
8
L0
7
L0
6
L0
5
L0
4
L0
3
L0
2
L0
1
L0
0
16 bit
mode
DW1
R1
15
R1
14
R1
13
R1
12
R1
11
R1
10
R1
9
R1
8
R1
7
R1
6
R1
5
R1
4
R1
3
R1
2
R1
1
R1
0
L1
15
L1
14
L1
13
L1
12
L1
11
L1
10
L1
9
L1
8
L1
7
L1
6
L1
5
L1
4
L1
3
L1
2
L1
1
L1
0
Table 5 – Audio mapping into memory : 16 bit mode – 2 samples/DW

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Pixel Buffering The pixel data formatted by the video capture engine is stored into two
on-board FIFO memories. This memory serves as an elastic store for
formatted video pixel data. The FIFOs are managed by an independent
pair of controllers, implemented in the FPGA, supporting concurrent
operation. The two FIFOs are utilized in a ping-pong fashion such that
while one is being filled with new pixel data, the other is being emptied
via DMA into host memory.
Audio Buffering The audio data formatted by the audio capture engine is stored into two
on-board FIFO memories. This memory serves as an elastic store for
formatted audio data. The FIFOs are managed by an independent
pair of controllers, implemented in the FPGA, supporting concurrent
operation. The two FIFOs are utilized in a ping-pong fashion such that
while one is being filled with new audio data, the other is being emptied
via DMA into host memory.
DMA The DMA engines are responsible for reading formatted pixel and audio
data from the on-board FIFO memories and transferring them into host
memory via the ExpressCard interface. An intelligent scatter-gather
method is utilized, providing for an efficient use of the ExpressCard
bandwidth. The use of non-contiguous 4Kbyte buffers provides support
for the Windows operating system’s memory allocation model.
FPGA The heart of the HD-SDI Express is a dense Field Programmable Gate
Array ( FPGA ). This FPGA implements all of the functions related to
video data capture, formatting, storage and DMA. The firmware contents
of the FPGA can be upgraded while in the field by following the
instruction outlined in Section 3 of this document entitled ‘Firmware
Upgrade from Web Site’.

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What you need to get started
To begin using the HD-SDI Express card, you need the following:
•A computer with a PCIe x1 slot or a laptop with an ExpressCard/54
( or ExpressCard/34 ) slot.
•Microsoft Windows Win7/XP/Vista 32 or 64 bit operating system
software.
•A computer with at least 256M bytes of RAM.
•A CD drive, and a hard disk on which to install the HD-SDI Express
software.

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Inspecting the HD-SDI Express package
When you unpack your HD-SDI Express package, you should visually
inspect all of its contents. If something is missing or damaged, contact
your Imperx representative.
Package contents
You should have received the following items:
•The HD-SDI Express card
•A CD with the HD-SDI Express software suite
•A ‘Quick Start’ installation guide

Page 16 of 65
Chapter 2 – Hardware Installation
Hardware Installation
Installing the HD-SDI Express card is as simple as plugging it into an
available PCIe x1 slot on your desktop computer’s motherboard or a
ExpressCard/54 ( or ExpressCard/34 ) slot on your laptop.

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Chapter 3 – Software Installation
Software Installation
This chapter explains how to install the HD-SDI Express software.
Software Suite
The HD-SDI Express software suite consists of the following files:
Windows application files:
( located in c:\Program Files\ImperX\HD-SDI_ Express\Application\)
\win32\ folder contains binaries for 32bit versions of Windows
\x64\ folder contains binaries for 64bit versions of Windows
HD-SDI_Express.exe - Application program
HD-SDI_Express.chm- Help file
DrvManager.exe - Driver Manager utility
VCESDI.dll - HD-SDI Express library
ippLib.dll - Intel image processing library
IpxLog.dll - ImperX logging library
IpxMisc.dll - ImperX miscellaneous library
IpxMovieMaker.dll - ImperX movie maker library
Windows Kernel Driver files:
( located in c:\Program Files\ImperX\HD-SDI Express\drivers\kernel )
\win32\ folder contains binaries for 32bit versions of Windows
\x64\ folder contains binaries for 64bit versions of Windows
sdi_ex.sys - Win7/WinXP/Vista driver file
sdi_ex.inf - Win7/WinXP/Vista driver info file
sdi_ex.cat - Win7/WinXP/Vista driver catalog file
ipxinstdrv.exe - driver installation utility

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Software Development Kit ( SDK ) files:
( located in c:\Program Files\ImperX\HD-SDI Express\SDK\)
/bin/ folder - binaries
/inc/ folder - include files
/lib/ folder - libraries
/doc/ folder - documentation
/SDK Examples/ folder - samples
/Imperx.SdiExpress.NET/ folder - .NET wrapper
Documentation files:
( located in c:\Program Files\ImperX\HD-SDI Express\Doc\)
HD-SDI_Express_Users_Manual.pdf - User manual document
HD-SDI_Express_Datasheet.pdf - Technical datasheet
Quick Start HD-SDI_Express.pdf - Quick start document
Third-party software support files:
( located in c:\Program Files\ImperX\HD-SDI Express\drivers\)
\win32\ folder contains binaries for 32bit versions of software
\x64\ folder contains binaries for 64bit versions of software
Halcon - files for MVTech Halcon support
DirectShow - files for Microsoft DirectShow support
Matlab - files for MathWorks Matlab support
Note that our HD-SDI Express application program was created using our
SDK (software developer’s kit). Our SDK is included in the standard HD-
SDI Express software suite that comes with the card.

Page 19 of 65
Software Installation from CD
Use the following steps to install the HD-SDI Express software supplied
on a CD. Note that ‘click’ refers to the left mouse button.
1. If a version of HD-SDI Express was previously installed on this
machine, then you must first remove it:
To remove the application files:
1.1 Click on “Start”
1.2 Click on “Settings”.
1.3 Click on “Control Panel”.
1.4 Double click on “Add or Remove Programs”.
1.5 Click on “HD-SDI Express”.
1.6 Click on “Remove”.
1.7 If the ‘HD-SDI Express – InstallShield Wizard’ pops-up
then do the following, otherwise go to step 1.8
Click on ‘Remove’.
Click ‘Next’.
Click ‘Yes’.
Click ‘Finish’.
1.8 Click on “Yes”.
1.9 Click on “Close”.
2. After having removed a previous version or if a version of HD-SDI
Express was NOT previously installed on this machine then:
The first step is to install the application files:
2.1 Insert the HD-SDI Express CD into the appropriate drive;
the setup.exe file will run automatically. Note: If it does
not start automatically, then click on “Start”, “Run”, enter
or browse to “(CD drive): setup.exe” and click “OK”.
2.2 Wait for the “HD-SDI Express - InstallShield Wizard”
screen to appear.
2.3 Follow the on-screen instructions.
2.4 For Windows Vista 32 bit and Windows Vista 64 bit,
select “Always trust software from Imperx, Inc.” and
click on “Install” button, when the following message
appears:

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2.5 When the following message appears, choose if you
would like to register online by clicking on “Register
now on Imperx website”.
2.6 Click “Next” and then “Finish”. This completes the
software installation.
2.7 Reboot your computer.
The next step is to install the driver files:
2.8 Insert the HD-SDI Express card into the laptop.
2.9 For XP:
Wait for the system to prompt you with a
“Found New Hardware Wizard” dialog box.
Proceed to Step 2.10.
For Vista:
The driver will automatically be installed.
Proceed to step 2.15.
2.10 Under certain conditions, the following message
may appear: