Matrox Meteor-II User manual

Matrox Meteor-II
/Multi-Channel
Installation and Hardware Reference
Manual no. 10761-101-0200
October 14, 2003

ox Meteor-II /Digital
Matrox®is a registered trademark of Matrox Electronic Systems Ltd.
Microsoft®, Windows®, and Windows NT®are registered trademarks of Microsoft
Corporation.
Intel®and Pentium®are registered trademarks of Intel Corporation.
PC/104™ and PC/104-Plus™ are trademarks of the PC/104 Consortium.
All other nationally and internationally recognized trademarks and tradenames are
hereby acknowledged.
© Copyright Matrox Electronic Systems Ltd., 2003. All rights reserved.
Limitation of Liabilities: In no event will Matrox or its suppliers be liable for any indirect,
special, incidental, economic, cover or consequential damages arising out of the use of
or inability to use the product, user documentation or related technical support,
including without limitation, damages or costs relating to the loss of profits, business,
goodwill, even if advised of the possibility of such damages. In no event will Matrox and
its suppliers’ liability exceed the amount paid by you, for the product.
Because some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of liability for
consequential or incidental damages, the above limitation, may not apply to you.
Disclaimer: Matrox Electronic Systems Ltd. reserves the right to make changes in
specifications at any time and without notice. The information provided by this document
is believed to be accurate and reliable. However, neither Matrox Electronic Systems Ltd.
nor its suppliers assume any responsibility for its use; or for any infringements of patents or
other rights of third parties resulting from its use. No license is granted under any patents
or patent right of Matrox Electronic Systems Ltd.
PRINTED IN CANADA

Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Matrox Meteor-II /Multi-Channel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Data transfer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
What you need to get started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Inspecting the Matrox Meteor-II /Multi-Channel package. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Standard package . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Optional items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Handling components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Installation overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Chapter 2: Hardware installation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Installing Matrox Meteor-II /Multi-Channel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Installing Matrox Meteor-II /Multi-Channel for PCI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Installing Matrox Meteor-II /Multi-Channel for PC/104-Plus . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Note about Matrox Meteor-II /Multi-Channel for PC/104-Plus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Connecting external devices. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Matrox Meteor-II /Multi-Channel for PCI. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Matrox Meteor-II /Multi-Channel for PC/104-Plus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Chapter 3: Using multiple Matrox Meteor-II boards . . . . . . . . . . 25
Multiple board installation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Grabbing simultaneously from different boards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Chapter 4: Hardware reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Matrox Meteor-II hardware reference. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Matrox Meteor-II /Multi-Channel grab section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Input channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Low-pass filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Gain. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Discrete A/D converters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
PSG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Phase-locked loop. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Synchronization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Trigger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
UART . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Lookup tables. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
User bits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Using the auxiliary power supply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Data interfaces. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Video Interface ASIC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
PCI interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Appendix A: Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Troubleshooting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Common problems and solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Installation Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Grabbing Problems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Problems during application development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Contacting Matrox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Appendix B: Technical information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Technical information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Global information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Technical features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Board input and output connectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Video input connector on the PCI form factor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Video input connector on the PC/104-Plus form factor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Auxiliary power supply input . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Auxiliary power supply selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Electrical. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Environmental . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Appendix C: Listing of Matrox Meteor-II /Multi-Channel Boards 55
Revisions of Matrox Meteor-II /Multi-Channel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Appendix D: Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Index
Regulatory Compliance
Product support

Chapter1
Chapter 1: Introduction
This chapter outlines the key features of the
Matrox Meteor-II /Multi-Channel board.

8Chapter 1: Introduction
Matrox Meteor-II /Multi-Channel
Matrox Meteor-II /Multi-Channel is a monochrome and component RGB analog
frame grabber for standard and non-standard video acquisition. Matrox Meteor-II
/Multi-Channel is available in a PCI or PC/104-Plus form factor.
Acquisition features Matrox Meteor-II /Multi-Channel can acquire different types of standard and
non-standard monochrome and component RGB video. The board features six
software-selectable input channels on which two component RGB or six
monochrome cameras can be attached. Matrox Meteor-II /Multi-Channel
VIA
LUT
3 256x8-bit
VID_IN1_1
VID_IN1_2
VID_IN2_1
VID_IN2_2
VID_IN3_2
SYNC_IN
VID_IN3_1
24
Low-
pass
filters/
Gain
Sync
separator
2:1
MUX
2:1
MUX
2:1
MUX
4:1
MUX
A/D
A/D
A/D
24
White
Black
White
Black
White
Black
Video transfer
memory
(4 Mbytes)
64
Either to DB-44
connector
(for PCI
form factor)
or to 30-pin
male
connector
(for
PC/104-Plus
form factor)
PSG
UART
RS-232
Drivers
and
Receivers
TTL
Drivers
&
Receivers
RX
TX
/RTS
/CTS
Clk input
Clk output
Hsync
Vsync
Trigger
Exposure timer1
Exposure timer2
Aux
Host 32-bit PCI bus
32
2
2
{
Not available on PC/104-Plus
form factor
Trigger Opto-
coupler
8
8
8

Matrox Meteor-II /Multi-Channel 9
supports acquisition from one camera at a time or simultaneous acquisition from
up to three gen-locked RS-170/CCIR cameras. Matrox Meteor-II /Multi-Channel
supports both single and dual-tap configurations. It also accepts an external trigger,
and can operate in either asynchronous reset mode or next valid frame/field mode.
The PCI form factor also includes an auxiliary power supply input, which can be
used to draw auxiliary power from your computer to provide power to your
camera.
Data transfer
The Matrox Meteor-II /Multi-Channel board allows the transfer of live video to
Host memory or off-board display memory. To prevent loss of data during long
bus-access latencies found in heavily loaded computer systems, the Matrox
Meteor-II /Multi-Channel board features 4 Mbytes of video transfer memory for
temporary frame storage. The board is also equipped with the Matrox Video
Interface ASIC (VIA), which acts as a video-to-PCI bridge.
Software
To operate Matrox Meteor-II /Multi-Channel, you can purchase one or more
Matrox Imaging software products that support the Matrox Meteor-II
/Multi-Channel board. These are the Matrox Imaging Library (MIL) and its
derivatives (MIL-Lite, ActiveMIL, ActiveMIL-Lite, and Matrox Inspector). All
Matrox software is supported under Windows; consult your software manual for
supported Windows environments.
❖Note that, although other software products might be available to operate Matrox
Meteor-II /Multi-Channel, the discussion throughout this manual is based in
terms of Matrox Imaging software products.
MIL MIL is a development library which provides an extensive list of commands used
to capture, process, analyze, transfer, display, and archive images. Processing and
analysis operations include: geometric transformations, spatial filtering
operations, morphological operations, measurements, blob analysis, optical
character recognition (OCR), pattern recognition (Normalized Grayscale
Correlation pattern matching and Geometric Model Finder), edge extraction
(Edge Finder), matrix/bar code reading, and calibration.
MIL-Lite MIL-Lite is a subset of MIL. It includes all the MIL commands for image
acquisition, transfer, display control, and archiving.

10 Chapter 1: Introduction
ActiveMIL ActiveMIL is a set of ActiveX controls that are based on MIL. ActiveMIL was
designed for rapid application development (RAD) tools, such as Microsoft’s
Visual Basic. ActiveMIL is included with MIL (ActiveMIL-Lite is included with
MIL-Lite).
Matrox Inspector Matrox Inspector is an interactive Windows application for image capture,
processing, analysis, and archiving.
MIL application developers can use Matrox Inspector as a prototyping tool to
quickly build proof-of-concept demonstrations for their machine vision, image
analysis, and medical imaging system. End users can use Matrox Inspector to
perform and automate image enhancement and measurement tasks.
Matrox Intellicam Matrox Intellicam is an interactive Windows program that allows fast camera
interfacing and provides interactive access to all the acquisition features of your
Matrox board. For boards that accept non-standard video sources, Matrox
Intellicam also has the ability to create custom digitizer configuration format
(DCF) files, whichMIL and its derivatives use tointerface to specific non-standard
video sources. Matrox Intellicam is included with MIL /ActiveMIL and MIL-Lite
/ActiveMIL-Lite.
For more information about Matrox Intellicam, refer to the Matrox Intellicam User
Guide.
What you need to get started
To begin using Matrox Meteor-II /Multi-Channel, you need the following:
• A computer with a PCI bus and an Intel Pentium processor (or equivalent) or
better.
• Microsoft Windows if using Matrox Imaging software (consult the Matrox
Imaging software package for specific supported environments and computer
memory/storage requirements).
Other useful
considerations
• A computer with a newer PCI chipset, such as the Intel 440BX, 810, 815E, 820,
840, 845PE, 850, 860, E7500, or E7505 for full Matrox Meteor-II functionality.
These chipsets are recommended because they generally offer better performance
in terms of data transfer rates.