# Troubleshooting: Video image

Issues

▪The camera image is not detected by EthoVision XT

▪EthoVision XT shows a message “No video frames”

▪I do not see the image of the video file

▪The video image looks grainy

▪The live image from the camera looks distorted

▪The camera image is static/pixelated with red, blue and green pixels

▪The camera image is -center

▪The camera image is too narrow to display the entire arena

▪The camera image is ok in the Experiment Settings, but in the Arena Settings I see a white background image

▪The camera image is not shown in the Arena Settings or Integrated Visualization

▪The camera image flickers

▪The camera image doesn’t flicker but the overall image lightens and darkens

▪There is motion blur in the camera image

▪The camera image is not in focus, no matter what I do

▪The camera image is dark, even when using a lot of infrared light

▪My video file is not playing correctly

▪Video is being processed poorly

▪A black bar is displayed when zooming in to a video file

▪Ethovision XT freezes when playing a video file

▪EthoVision XT freezes in live video mode

The camera image is not detected by EthoVision XT

Try the following:

▪Make sure that the camera is powered and switched on, that the video cables are not broken and that there is no loose connection between camera and computer. Try, for example, another video cable to see whether the image is then detected.

▪If you have an analog camera, check that the camera is connected to the input of the encoder board that is selected under Video source in the Experiment Settings. If you have a digital camera, check that it is connected to the correct port on your PC.

▪If you have a Basler digital camera, make sure to close the pylon Viewer software.

▪Make sure that the lens cap is removed, and turn the camera’s aperture ring to Open.

▪Click the Show/Hide button on the toolbar and make sure that Video Source is selected.

▪If the camera was accidentally disconnected, reconnect the camera, then in EthoVision XT choose Setup > Experiment Settings and click the Refresh button next to the camera name.

▪If you have MediaRecorder 2.5 installed on the same PC, it could be that the problem occurs because you have installed MediaRecorder 2.5 after installing EthoVision XT. Note that this problem does not occur with MediaRecorder 4 to 6.

To solve the issue, download the installation files (see Install EthoVision XT) and double-click EthoVision XT - Setup - [version number].exe. In the window that opens, select Repair. This re-installs the correct software for displaying the camera image.

▪If the problem persists, re-install the drivers for the encoder board or digital camera. To do so, download the installation files (see Install EthoVision XT) and double-click EthoVision XT - Setup - [version number].exe. On the window that opens, select Modify and choose the appropriate driver from the list. See Install EthoVision XT

EthoVision XT shows a message “No video frames”

The message is shown in the Experiment Settings > Video Settings window.

▪See the issue above.

▪Confirm that the PC monitor is plugged into the stand-alone graphics card (GPU) and not the motherboard.

▪If you are using Windows 10, and you are using GigE Basler cameras, make sure you installed the driver from the installation files. But if you installed from an older installation drive, you might have installed an older driver (e.g. 4.2.1) which doesn’t support Windows 10.

▪The message “No video frames” is also shown when there is something wrong with the camera or the power supply or the video cable. Please replace cables or connect the camera to another input channel of the board, or another computer.

▪Disable the Firewall for the network ports connected to the cameras. Disable the Windows firewall for the Ethernet board

I do not see the image of the video file

▪Click the button next to Video in the Acquisition Settings window and select the file you require.

▪Click the Show/Hide button on the toolbar and make sure that Video Source is selected.

▪tip Choose File > Preferences > Default Folder. Under Alternative media location enter the folder where your video files are stored. This way EthoVision XT looks in this folder if video files are not found in the Media Files folder of the experiment.

The video image looks grainy

The problem occurs only when connecting the video cables from a T splitter to input 1 and 2 of the Picolo H.264 board. Splitting the video signal into two cabling was necessary to acquire the tracks and simultaneously save video. However, In EthoVision XT 12 and later versions this is no longer necessary. Just connect the camera to video input 1 of the board.

The live image from the camera looks distorted

This may occur when you change the resolution of the camera image in the Experiment Settings (see Adjust camera settings in EthoVision XT), without updating the background image in the Arena Settings. To so, open the Arena Settings, and click the Grab Background Image button in the lower part of the Arena Settings window.

The camera image is static/pixelated with red, blue and green pixels

For example:

Solution: Make sure that the camera is set to black and white mode (via the camera menu; see the camera user manual for how to access this menu).

▪If you have a digital monochrome camera, in EthoVision XT, make sure that the Color space is set to Y800. If you set the color space in pylon Viewer, the correct option is Mono 8.

▪If you have a digital color camera, see the camera type in Cameras supported by EthoVision XT for the recommended color space.

See also Adjust camera settings in EthoVision XT > Format tab

The camera image is -center

This may occur if you select a lower resolution in the Experiment Settings, and the Center X and Center Y options are not checked in the camera settings.

To solve this, increase the resolution to the maximum value and the arena will be centered. See Adjust camera settings in EthoVision XT > Format tab

If you prefer a lower resolution, check the option Center Image in the Camera/General tab. See Adjust camera settings in EthoVision XT > Camera/General tab

The camera image is too narrow to display the entire arena

▪This may occur when you select a low video resolution in the Experiment Settings. Rather than scaling the entire image down to the lower resolution, this camera displays a limited area of interest in order to maintain the full image quality. For the widest possible view, increase the resolution to the maximum value (typically 1280x1024).

▪If you have a varifocal lens, you can also adjust the zoom setting on the lens. Note that adjusting the zoom will also change the focus, so you will need to adjust the focus as well in order to see the actual effect. Also note that you may need to loosen the lock screw on the side of the lens before the zoom setting may be adjusted.

tip Watch the video tutorial Set Up Your Test Environment. To open the tutorial, choose Help > Video Tutorial.

The camera image is ok in the Experiment Settings, but in the Arena Settings I see a white background image

▪The video resolution set in the Experiment Settings is either too high or an odd resolution is selected, like 640x426. Reduce the resolution and/or pick a standard resolution (like 640x480).

▪A similar issue occurs when no drivers have been installed for the computer’s graphics card. See below.

The camera image is not shown in the Arena Settings or Integrated Visualization

note This information is probably obsolete for EthoVision XT 19, since EthoVision XT no longer needs hardware acceleration. We keep it in the Help in the case you encounter this issue in EthoVision XT 17 or earlier.

This issue can occur in computers and laptops with two graphics cards, a primary (integrated) card and a secondary card (Graphics Processing Unit, or GPU), usually more advanced and powerful than the integrated one. The issue occurs when EthoVision XT uses a graphics card that is not given hardware acceleration.

Choose one of the two solutions. In either case the chosen card is given hardware acceleration.

solution 1 Select the integrated (primary) card for EthoVision XT.

With this solution EthoVision XT uses the integrated card, which saves energy. You can choose that other programs use the secondary card, which requires more power.

▪Method 1.

▪Open the settings for the secondary card. For example, NVIDIA Control Panel.

▪Under Manage 3D Settings, click Program Settings and click the Add button to add EthoVision XT.

▪From the list below 2. Select the preferred graphics processor for this program, select Integrated graphics. If the option is not available, follow Method 2 below.

▪Method 2.

▪In Windows choose Settings. Next to Search, type ‘graphics’ and press Enter. Choose Graphics Settings.

▪Click Graphics.

▪If EthoVision XT is not listed yet, under Add an app choose Desktop app, browse to the installation folder (default C:\Program Files\Noldus\EthoVision XT 19), select EthoVision.exe and click Add.

▪Click Options under EthoVision XT. In the Graphics Preference window, choose Power saving. Below this option you should see the name of the integrated graphics card. EthoVision XT will use this card to play back video.

solution 2 Disable the integrated card in the computer’s BIOS.

This solution has the disadvantage that the computer won’t use the integrated graphics card, which saves energy compared with the secondary card. EthoVision XT will always use the secondary graphics card.

1.Shut down the computer and start it again. Enter the BIOS. This is usually done by pressing the F2, F12 or other keys when the first screen appears. See your PC’s documentation for details.

2.Under Video, select Switchable graphics on the left, and de-select Enable Switchable Graphics, click Apply and exit the BIOS.

3.Now Windows only sees the secondary graphics card, which is given hardware acceleration. You can check that in the Windows Device Manager, under Display adapters.

The camera image flickers

The underlying issue is that fluorescent and LED lighting cycles at a specific frequency, for example at 60 Hz in the US, and that frequency does not align with a frame rate of 25. Instead, use a frame rate of 30. Sometimes this is enough to resolve this issue.

If the problem persist, try the following:

1.The Exposure Time setting set in pylon Viewer or EthoVision XT is likely too low. To increase Exposure time, see Adjust camera settings in EthoVision XT. Try something in the 4000-8000 range. If lighting is low in the room, go for a higher exposure or open the aperture of the lens.

2.If none of the above resolve the problem, then was your PC purchased from Noldus? If not, it may be insufficient to run EthoVision XT in some conditions. If you would like the Noldus Support to review your PC specs, please Make a PC report for Support.

The camera image doesn’t flicker but the overall image lightens and darkens

1.Check that in pylon Viewer under Acquisition Controls, Exposure Auto is set to Off.

2.Check that in pylon Viewer under Analog Controls, Gain Auto is set to Off.

3.Check that in pylon Viewer under Color Improvement Control, White Balance Auto is set to Off.

4.If none of the above resolve this, then check that your Exposure setting (in pylon Viewer under Acquisition Controls, or in EthoVision XT (Experiment Settings > click the camera button), Exposure Time is high enough (try 8000).

There is motion blur in the camera image

The Exposure Time setting is likely too high, for example 20000 (microseconds) or higher.

1.See Adjust camera settings in EthoVision XT for how to reduce the camera’s Exposure Time. The faster the subject, the lower the Exposure Time must be.

2.With a lower exposure time, the image becomes darker. You can compensate for this by increasing the lens’ aperture or the camera Gain. For the latter, see Gain in Adjust camera settings in EthoVision XT.

The camera image is not in focus, no matter what I do

It does not matter how high the camera is mounted or whether I zoom in then focus. Image from camera is always blurry.

The camera will not focus if the wrong type of lens is mounted:

▪A C-mount lens on a CS-mount camera. The camera can be used but requires an adapter ring installed between the lens and camera.

▪A CS-mount lens on a C-mount camera. In that case the camera and the lens are not compatible.

If the camera and lens have the same mount type, make sure this adapter ring has not been installed, as it will prevent correct focus.

If the solution above does not help, try resetting the camera. See Do a factory reset on the Basler GigE camera. When in doubt, contact Noldus Support.

The camera image is dark, even when using a lot of infrared light

This may be due to a few reasons:

▪The Aperture ring on the camera lens is closed all the way.

▪The Exposure time of the camera is too low. See Adjust the camera exposure time

▪The Gain of the camera is too low. Note that if you increase the camera gain, noise also increases. See Adjust the camera gain

▪Some color cameras may have infrared block filters attached by default. In that case the IR light is blocked and the image looks dark. For Basler cameras, you can remove that filter. See Infrared-block filter

My video file is not playing correctly

Download and use the Gspot software to check that the video file contains header information. If a video lacks header information, playback may not be smooth in EthoVision XT.

http://www.headbands.com/gspot/

We advise to convert the video file to another format.

▪Some MPEG-2 videos play back irregularly in the Track Editor and in the Integrated Visualization. In this case too, convert the video to another format.

▪The following formats are NOT supported in EthoVision XT: WMV, Quick Time, FLV (YouTube), Xvid variants of the MPEG-4 format. See Video file formats

Video is being processed poorly

Set the hardware acceleration to maximum. You can do this in the graphics card control panel.

A black bar is displayed when zooming in to a video file

This may happen in the Track Editor or in Integrated Visualization. When zooming in and the size or position of the video exceeds the total size of graphic display then on some computers the hardware acceleration needed for rendering the video will stop functioning, causing a (partially) black video. Contact Noldus Information Technology for a new video graphics card.

Ethovision XT freezes when playing a video file

This may happen with MPEG-2 videos. Convert the video file to another format.

EthoVision XT freezes in live video mode

This occurs with one or more digital cameras connected simultaneously. Experience tells that the software does not freeze only when you lower the resolution to e.g. 800x600.