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Matrox Imaging Library (7.5) Milmet2.txt Readme File
February 19th, 2003
Copyright (c) 2003 by Matrox Electronic Systems Ltd. All rights reserved.
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This document explains the current limitations and particularities when using
MIL with the Matrox Meteor-II series:
- Matrox Meteor-II/Standard
- Matrox Meteor-II/Multi-Channel
- Matrox Meteor-II/Digital
- Matrox Meteor-II/1394
- Matrox Meteor-II/Camera Link
It also presents last minute board-specific information that did not make it
into the MIL/MIL-Lite Board-Specific manual or the on-line help. The
information found in this file overrides your formally documented material.
Contents
1. Matrox Meteor-II with MIL/MIL_Lite.
1.0 What's new on Matrox Meteor-II with MIL 7.5.
1.1 What's new on Matrox Meteor-II with MIL 7.0.
1.2 Last minute information.
1.3 Bug fixes.
1.4 Known bugs.
2. Installation notice.
3. List of cameras supported by MIL with Matrox Meteor-II/1394.
4. Matrox Meteor-II with ActiveMIL.
5. Important display notice.
6. Simultaneously displaying both a windowed display and an auxiliary display
(M_NTSC or M_PAL encoded video format ONLY).
1. Matrox Meteor-II with MIL/MIL-Lite.
1.0 What's new on Matrox Meteor-II with MIL 7.5.
MdigControl()/MdigInquire(): M_GRAB_MODE
M_ASYNCHRONOUS_QUEUED is now supported.
1.1 What's new on Matrox Meteor-II with MIL 7.0.
- MdigAlloc():
a) Matrox Meteor-II/Multi-Channel supports a fast DCF switching
technique for switching channels between multiple cameras that require
different DCFs. Refer to "Grabbing from multiple cameras with different
DCFs" in the MIL/MIL-Lite Board-Specific manual.
- MdigControl() and MdigInquire():
a) IMPORTANT: The default control value for M_GRAB_START_MODE on
Matrox Meteor-II/Multi-Channel has changed. It is now M_FIELD_START_ODD
so that it is compatible with the default of standard cameras. The
default on Matrox Meteor-II/Standard remains the same.
b) On Matrox Meteor-II/Multi-Channel, M_GRAB_EXPOSURE_BYPASS is only
supported in the manual exposure model (M_ENABLE).
c) On Matrox Meteor-II/Multi-Channel, there is a new digitizer control
to set the clock source that drives the exposure signal. Refer to
M_GRAB_EXPOSURE_CLOCK_SOURCE
in the MdigControl() section and M_GRAB_EXPOSURE_CLOCK_FREQUENCY in the
MdigInquire() section of the MIL/MIL-Lite Board-Specific manual.
d) Matrox Meteor-II/Standard, Matrox Meteor-II/Multi-Channel,
Matrox Meteor-II/Digital, and Matrox Meteor-II/Camera Link now support
M_GRAB_TIMEOUT and M_GRAB_ABORT.
e) There are now new controls to increase the speed and reliability of
channel switching on Matrox Meteor-II/Standard and Matrox
Meteor-II/Multi-Channel.
Refer to M_CAMERA_LOCK, M_CAMERA_LOCKED, M_CAMERA_LOCK_SENSITIVITY, and
M_CAMERA_PRESENT, described later in this file.
f) All of the following MdigInquire() inquire types are now obsolete:
M_GRAB_FIELD_END_ODD_THREAD_HANDLE /_ID
M_GRAB_FIELD_END_EVEN_THREAD_HANDLE /_ID
M_GRAB_THREAD_HANDLE /_ID
M_GRAB_START_THREAD_HANDLE /_ID
M_GRAB_END_THREAD_HANDLE /_ID
M_GRAB_FIELD_START_THREAD_HANDLE /_ID
M_GRAB_FIELD_END_THREAD_HANDLE /_ID
M_GRAB_FRAME_END_THREAD_HANDLE /_ID
M_GRAB_FRAME_START_THREAD_HANDLE /_ID
If you need to inquire about the thread's handle or identifier, use the
following Win32 functions: GetCurrentThread() or GetCurrentThreadId().
Please refer to Microsoft documentation for further details.
g) The MdigControl()/MdigInquire() M_THREAD_PRIORITY control type is now
obsolete. Use the Win32 function SetThreadPriority(...). Please refer
to Microsoft documentation for further details.
1.2 Last minute information.
- MdigControl()/MdigInquire() M_CAMERA_LOCK control type:
- Controls the camera lock mechanism. This is useful during channel-switching
when the digitizer might not be synchronized with the source.
Valid control values are:
M_ENABLE: MdigGrab() will wait for the digitizer to be line-locked
with the video source before starting the grab. If you are
using a composite color DCF, MdigGrab() will also wait for a
color lock. This color lock can be disabled. Refer to
M_CAMERA_COLOR_LOCK.
M_DISABLE: MdigGrab() will not check that the digitizer is locked with the
video source. If the digitizer is not locked, a
synchronization-lost error can occur.
M_DEFAULT: Same as M_DISABLE.
This control is only available on Matrox Meteor-II/Standard and
Matrox Meteor-II/Multi-Channel.
- MdigControl()/MdigInquire() M_CAMERA_COLOR_LOCK control type:
- Controls whether a color-lock is performed when M_CAMERA_LOCK is enabled or
when using MdigInquire(M_CAMERA_LOCKED). This only applies when using a
composite color DCF.
Valid control values are:
M_ENABLE: A color-lock check will be done before starting the grab.
M_DISABLE: A color-lock check will not be done.
M_DEFAULT: Same as M_ENABLE when using a composite color DCF; otherwise
M_DISABLE.
This control is only available on Matrox Meteor-II/Standard.
- MdigControl()/MdigInquire() M_CAMERA_LOCK_SENSITIVITY control type:
- Controls the line- and color-lock sensitivity when M_CAMERA_LOCK is
enabled. This can be used to balance the lock-speed with the
lock-reliability.
Valid control values are:
Any value from 0 to 255: 0 -> fastest lock speed, lowest lock reliability.
255-> slowest lock speed, highest lock
reliability.
M_DEFAULT: 30.
This control is only available on Matrox Meteor-II/Multi-Channel.
- MdigControl() M_USER_BIT+(0, 1) control type:
- The state of these user bits cannot be set directly on
Matrox Meteor-II/Camera Link because they are not physically associated
to an output bit on the auxiliary sync and control connector. However,
it is possible to set their state by manually associating them to a
specific output bit CCX on the auxiliary sync and control connector. This
association is achieved by calling MdigControl(M_CAMERALINK_CCX_SOURCE).
- MdigControl():
- For the Matrox Meteor-II/1394 when using Format 7, you should change the size of
the image before you change the offset.
- MdigInquire() obsolete inquire types:
- The M_INPUT_SIGNAL_PRESENT and M_INPUT_SIGNAL_COLOR_LOCK inquires types
are now obsolete. They are replaced with M_CAMERA_PRESENT and
M_CAMERA_LOCKED, respectively.
- MdigInquire() M_CAMERA_PRESENT inquire type:
- Video input signal present: M_YES or M_NO.
Returns M_YES when a line-lock is achieved. It will also wait for a
color-lock if using a composite color DCF. If you use a monochrome camera
with a composite-color DCF, a color-lock will never be achieved and this
function will always return M_NO.
This control is only available on Matrox Meteor-II/Standard.
- MdigInquire() M_CAMERA_LOCKED inquire type:
- Returns M_YES when a line-lock is achieved, otherwise it returns M_NO.
If you are using a composite color DCF, a color-lock must also be achieved.
This color-lock can be disabled. Refer to M_CAMERA_COLOR_LOCK for more
information.
The lock speed/reliability can be controlled using
M_CAMERA_LOCK_SENSITIVITY.
This control is only available on Matrox Meteor-II/Standard.
- MdigGrab():
a) On Matrox Meteor-II/Multi-Channel, when grabbing using a dual-tap
camera, only the field configuration is implemented. That is, when data
from tap 0 is written to the even field, data from tap 1 is
simultaneously written to the odd field.
b) On Matrox Meteor-II/Digital and Matrox Meteor-II/Camera Link, only
vertical subsampling values that are a multiple of 2 are supported while
grabbing in a Host buffer; that is, M_GRAB_SCALE_Y with 1/2,1/4,...,1/16.
c) On Matrox Meteor-II/Digital and Matrox Meteor-II/Camera Link, it is
impossible to grab into a multi-band buffer with a monochrome camera.
d) On Matrox Meteor-II/Digital and Matrox Meteor-II/Camera Link, it is
impossible to grab less than 15 lines while grabbing live in a Host buffer.
- MdigHookFunction():
- On Matrox Meteor-II/Digital and Matrox Meteor-II/Camera Link,
M_GRAB_FRAME_START and M_GRAB_FIELD_END/_ODD/_EVEN are not supported.
- MdispAlloc():
- DispFormat parameter: since Matrox Meteor-II boards do not have a display
section, refer to the VGA chapter in the MIL/MIL-Lite Board Specific manual.
1.3 Bug fixes.
- A2276, Matrox Meteor-II/Digital: It is no longer possible to allocate two
systems with the same device number.
- A2656, Matrox Meteor-II/Standard: There are no longer any problems with
the last video line when performing a vertical grab in a reversed
direction. (MdigControl(...,M_GRAB_DIRECTION_Y,M_REVERSE)).
- A3004, Matrox Meteor-II/Digital: Fixed a possible bug when allocating an
M_RGB24+M_PACKED buffer.
- A2977, Matrox Meteor-II/Digital: The MdigControl() M_GRAB_TIMEOUT control
type had no effect. This is now fixed.
- A3030, Matrox Meteor-II/Digital: the default buffer's location has been
changed from non-paged to paged memory. This means that unless M_GRAB or
M_NON_PAGED is specified, a buffer will be allocated in the Host's paged
memory. Note that this could slow the bus master copies from Matrox
Meteor-II/Digital to the Host if the Host buffer was not allocated with
the M_NON_PAGED attribute.
1.4 Known bugs.
- On Matrox Meteor-II/1394, the Sony V-500 camera has a hardware bug
that prevents the driver from doing a complete reset when the camera is
allocated or reallocated; therefore, this camera will sometimes stop
responding to commands. When this happens, the driver will log a MIL
error stating that the camera is no longer responding.
- On Matrox Meteor-II/1394, the Sony V-500 camera also has a problem with the
white balance adjustment. The settings might be lost when the camera is
disconnected for a while. The white balance settings will be reset to
U=128 and Y=128. This gives a greenish image that can be fixed using
MIL MdigControl() with the control types M_WHITE_BALANCE_U and
M_WHITE_BALANCE_V.
- On Matrox Meteor-II/Digital, the MdigControl() M_GRAB_ABORT control type
has a problem when aborting a grab that is done in a Host buffer: the
command-thread might hang. When grabbing in an on-board buffer, this
control works perfectly.
- When using a hardware compression module on Matrox Meteor-II/Standard or
Matrox Meteor-II/Multi-Channel, it is possible to receive one more M_GRAB_START
hook event during compression in a lossy-interlaced format. It is also possible
to receive M_GRAB_START and M_GRAB_END hook events when compressing using
the MbufCopy() function.
- When grabbing with a high bandwidth camera with the Meteor-II/1394 and
displaying with a PCI VGA card, the grab might be corrupted
and appear to shake. In this particular configuration, the Meteor-II/1394
can drop data packets due to the internal FIFO overflow, caused by
excessive PCI traffic.
- On a Meteor-II/Camera Link, Serial communication via the Camera Link
DLL does not work on the second channel. With certain cameras, serial
communication does not work on the first channel either.
- On a Meteor-II/Camera Link and on a Meteor-II/Digital, the MdispOvr example
(or any application that uses an overlay) does not display correctly when in
Auxiliary Mode.
- A4209 there are problems displaying some high-resolution cameras on an
auxiliary screen when using any Genesis family frame grabber (Genesis,
Genesis-LC, Meteor-II/Digital, and Meteor-II/Camera Link).
- The Matrox Meteor-II/1394 trigger mode using a Sony DFW-SX900 camera is not working
properly under all operating systems. The board will still grab continuously, even
if you stop the external trigger. This problem can occur in both MIL and ActiveMIL.
Matrox Intellicam, however, does not have this problem.
To avoid this problem, add a small delay between the two MdigControl commands (i.e.
M_GRAB_TRIGGER_SOURCE and M_GRAB_TRIGGER) used to activate the external trigger mode.
- Non-Matrox 1394 boards are not recognized by the installation program under Windows ME
and, hence, are not supported.
2. Installation notice.
- In the Matrox Meteor-II/Standard Installation and Hardware Reference, some
input voltage values (on page 72) for the user input signals are incorrect.
The values listed are the following:
Max of low: 1.0 V
Min of high: 2.3 V
Max of high: 3.8 V
The correct values are:
Max of low: 1.5 V
Min of high: 3.5 V
Max of high: 5.5 V
- Note the following in the Matrox Meteor-II/Camera Link Installation and
Hardware Reference:
- On pages 29 and 42, the sampling rate should be 50 MHz.
- On page 46, The table describing the pinout of the DB9 connector is
incorrect: the signal for Pin 3 should be "LVDS TRIG-", whereas the
signal for Pin 9 should be "N/C".
- In the Matrox Meteor-II/Multi-Channel Installation and Hardware Reference,
the descriptions for pin 17 and pin 18 are incorrect (p 64). The correct
descriptions are as follows:
- Pin17 : USER(2)_OUT, Auxiliary User Output #2
- Pin18 : USER(1)_OUT, Auxiliary User Output #1
3. List of cameras supported by MIL with Matrox Meteor-II/1394.
All 1394 cameras compliant with version 1.20 of the "1394-based
Digital Camera Specification" of the 1394 Trade Association should work with
MIL 7.0.
The following cameras have been successfully tested with MIL 7.0:
Sony
DS-250
DFW-V300
DFW-V500
DFW-VL500
DFW-X700
DFW-SX900
XCD-X700
XCD-X710
XCD-SX900
Basler:
A101f
A302f
A302fs
TI
MC680-DCC
Tokyo Electronic Industry Co
CCD Camera CS3720F
Point Grey Research
FireFly
DragonFly (except for any of the 16-bit modes, which are not supported)
Flea
Prosilica
CV1280
PixeLink
A741
4. Matrox Meteor-II with ActiveMIL.
- For the Display control:
- The FrameStart event is not supported.
5. Important display notice:
Typically, if you want to display one or many color images in a window on the
Windows desktop screen (e.g. using the M_WINDOWED display type), the display
update of these image buffers can be much faster if they are allocated in
M_RGB24+M_PLANAR format. Note that this depends on your VGA(s) configuration,
operating system, and the display options that you are using
(e.g. such as non-destructive overlay).
6. Simultaneously displaying both a windowed display and an auxiliary display
(M_NTSC or M_PAL encoded video format ONLY).
The standard way to simultaneously display a buffer in both a windowed and
auxiliary display is to allocate two displays: one using M_WINDOWED as the
InitFlag, and one using M_AUXILIARY as the InitFlag. Then, select this buffer
to both displays by calling MdispSelect() twice.
However, in a basic auxiliary display set-up (i.e. one Windows desktop screen
and one auxiliary screen), it might be possible to reduce the CPU usage by
allocating only one display, using M_AUXILIARY+M_WINDOWED as the InitFlag.
Then, when you select the buffer to the display (i.e. by calling MdispSelect()
once), MIL automatically displays the image in both a windowed and an auxiliary
display. Note that this is only for auxiliary displays with encoded video
formats (e.g. M_NTSC or M_PAL).
Download Driver Pack
After your driver has been downloaded, follow these simple steps to install it.
Expand the archive file (if the download file is in zip or rar format).
If the expanded file has an .exe extension, double click it and follow the installation instructions.
Otherwise, open Device Manager by right-clicking the Start menu and selecting Device Manager.
Find the device and model you want to update in the device list.
Double-click on it to open the Properties dialog box.
From the Properties dialog box, select the Driver tab.
Click the Update Driver button, then follow the instructions.
Very important: You must reboot your system to ensure that any driver updates have taken effect.
For more help, visit our Driver Support section for step-by-step videos on how to install drivers for every file type.