Microsoft Lifecam Cinema HD - Removing IR filter

[angrycamel]

I have been debugging the camera classes tonight but no luck on getting 720p @ 30fps. Is it possible that Microsoft has purposely left out the ability to access that from DirectShow? What could be going on in the LifeCam app for it to get access to the higher framrate...? I tried forcing the settings but it just ends up crashing.

I am completely new to capturing video, so I'm really hoping that Martin can figure this one out.

[martintall]

I have been debugging the camera classes tonight but no luck on getting 720p @ 30fps. Is it possible that Microsoft has purposely left out the ability to access that from DirectShow? What could be going on in the LifeCam app for it to get access to the higher framrate...? I tried forcing the settings but it just ends up crashing.

I am completely new to capturing video, so I'm really hoping that Martin can figure this one out.

I haven't had the chance to look into why the full resolution @ 30 FPS does not show up. Will try to improve the camera capture code during next week. I've started up a new thread on image acquisition, see http://www.gazegroup.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=372&sid=8ba3ca2d0912956bc998af95ea95eba0

[martintall]

It seems that Microsoft is playing yet another trick on us. I don't believe the Lifecam HD is capable of producing 1280x720 at 30 FPS since that capture mode isn't displayed in DirectShow. Furthermore capturing video from the Lifecam application produces files at 1280x720, but only at 15 FPS.

I guess the selling statement "720p sensor captures true HD quality video at up to 30 fps." should be re-written to "720p sensor captures HD video at 15 fps or up to 30 fps at lower resolutions."

Dammit Microsoft. Why get our hopes up with false advertising.

[angrycamel]

Didn't you get 30fps from the LifeCam software though?

What a bummer either way. Misleading marketing sucks.

[martintall]

Didn't you get 30fps from the LifeCam software though?

What a bummer either way. Misleading marketing sucks.

The video captures are saved as 15 fps when running 1280x720 but 30 fps at all other resolutions. Let's see what we can do with 15, there are other HD webcams entering the market very soon.

[angrycamel]

I guess it's the best out there right now, so it will have to do.

Still a little odd is that there was a difference in the resolution/framerate selection drop down on your screenshot vs mine (with the same camera). Think it make be presenting what the computer can handle based on some hardware requirement rules in the device driver? If that's the case, maybe it can handle 30fps at 720p if the computer meets the requirements?? Dreaming, I know.

-Rob

[martintall]

That is odd, I didn't notice the differences in our screenshots until now. Hmm, might be the device driver, or the version of DirectShow.Net, or even OS version. I'll look into the output from the Camera class tomorrow. What is the configuration of the system are you on? I'm on Win7 R.C with quad core, SSD and 4GB RAM, should be fast enough to drive the webcam..

I've been working a bit on the new 2-way client/server architecture. Will be couple lines of code to hook up the GazeTracker to any third party application and issue commands, for example starting calibration or changing setting. Will post updates to the SVN as soon as it stabilizes and reach a basic level of functionality. Think it's going to be an important factor for the long term success of the platform to have a flexible and open API (not just C#)

Hoping that Javier can join in on the development soon so that we can get an improved remote tracker out.

[angrycamel]

I'm on a fairly dated machine, so there is a significant difference. (see the specs screenshot below) If you remember, the LifeCam software does not even see the camera on this computer. I have since tried it through VMWare Fusion on my MacBook Pro (which is a dual core with 6G RAM) and the LifeCam app worked fine there. SO there must be something that is looking to ensure the hardware is up to snuff.

I am looking forward to seeing the new client server code you have bee working on. I agree that an API is the way to go with this kind of application. Frankly I think we should separate the mouse control from the app all together (re-release the mouse control part as something like an HID device driver that consumes the API emitted events). The mouse control driver could be the first consumer client application and serve as the proof of concept in examples.

sysSpecs.JPG (28.06 KiB) Viewed 355 times

[martintall]

That's just weird, it should provide some sort of error message at least. They only support page I've been able to find is http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/digitalcommunication/lifecam/readme/en-US/default.mspx. Hopefully there will be a updated driver released somewhere soon.

I've made some progress on the client/server code, posted in the API section here:
http://www.gazegroup.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=252&p=571&sid=be3787c897cec69baf246c08404bce56&sid=49d016544cebc2df93f57c0894051b9f#p571

It's quite a chunk of code to write but it's going to be worth it in the long run. Tell me what you think, does it make sense?

[martintall]

Updated drivers for the MS Lifecam Cinema on Windows 7 is available at
http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/download/download.aspx?category=ICE