SynView Explorer

	SynView by NET is a development environment based on GenICam/GenTL standards. It contains a high-performance and user-friendly API to make it easier to create applications. Application engineers can concentrate fully on developing your solution. More information can be found under the following link .
	The SynView package contains the SynView Explorer tool, which allows to enumerate, connect and configure camera, acquire images or generate sample source code for SynView API. It is a useful tool for testing both the SynView and camera functionality.

So far iam is not part of the official released SynView (e.g. from NET Website) - therefore it is mandatory to use prerelease Version on your host system which can be found here .

During production the latest version of the SynView with iAMGigEServer is installed to camera under the path /opt/synview/bin/.

To learn more how to use SynView Explorer we refer to the SynView Explorer manual.

Testing the camera

Capture an image or test new camera settings with SynView Explorer. There are two ways:

Using iAMGigEServer with iam and receiving the image data with SynView Explorer on a host system. iam acts like a normal GigE Vision camera.
Native: Using the OpenSSH connection with -server forwarding. From the command line it is possible to start sv.explorer with the command below.

Using OpenSSH from a Windows Host we recomend to use and configure the tools discribed in section Windows Host System to support all features (x-server forwarding et al.).

Since iAMGigEServer is executed via autostart, stop iAMGigEServer before using SynView Explorer natively on the camera (Option 2). See section iAMGigEServer

The latest version of SynView Explorer is required for iam. For this, update the host system. The download link is at the end of section Download latest SynView Prerelease .

ssh -Y root@192.168.1.10 "(export XILINX_XRT=/usr/ ; /opt/synview/bin/sv.explorer)"

	Connect the camera to test. Select it in the list of found cameras and press the “Connect camera” button.
	Configure the camera features. Pay attention especially to features in Image Format Control and Acquisition Control categories.
	When prepared, click the “Start acquisition” button. The camera should start acquiring. If not, verify again, if the camera was not set to triggered mode, while no trigger was attached.
	While the acquisition is active, the runtime parameters can be adjusted, such as exposure time or gain. Basic acquisition parameters, such as pixel format or trigger mode get locked when the acquisition starts.
	When finished, click the “Stop acquisition” button and exit.

It is a common source of error to operate a monochrome sensor in the color space. In case of a monochrome sensor change the Pixel Format to Mono 8 .

Live View Performance

From the line just above the live image, the frames count per second is visible on iam. Displaying the images remotely over an OpenSSH connection will impair the performace very much and will add some delay as well. In the example below, the sensor runs with 147 frames per second and 1.8 frames per second are displayed remotely.

See what your camera model can achieve by looking up the maximum frame rate at Camera Model Overview table.

An OpenSSH session using live imaging has a poor performance but can help to change camera parameters or test new features.

Please be aware of the low frame refresh rates with this type of connection. A better refresh rate will be achieved with the "GigE Vision Server of SynView" in the future.

Basic Camera Features

This section shows the most essential camera features relevant for the basic tests.

The SynView Explorer displays by default the basic camera features intended to handle the most common tasks. To display also the more advanced features, switch to the “expert” feature level. Note that the third available level, “guru”, is intended just for debugging and should not be used for standard operation.

Feature Category	Feature Name
Image format The basic properties of the acquired image can be configured through features in the Image Format category.	Pixel format The “Pixel Format” feature is an enumeration allowing to specify the type of image data delivered to the application buffer. The available pixel formats differ among camera models. In general, they can be - Monochrome, with various number of bits per pixel, e.g. Mono 8 or Mono 12. - Bayer encoded, with sensor-dependent Bayer formats, e.g. Bayer GR 8 or Bayer BG 8. In this case the application needs to decode the Bayer encoded image buffer to get a proper color image — SynView API provides functions for this. - RGB color format, providing true RGB output, in this case the Bayer decoding is performed directly by the camera. Image size The camera will acquire full size image by default. The acquired image size can be reduced using the “Width and Height” features, which set the acquired image size in pixels. The field of view will be automatically centered within the full sensor image.
Acquisition parameters The luminance of the acquired image can be controlled either explicitly through exposure time and gain functions, or automatically through corresponding auto-functions.	Exposure time The “Exposure Time” feature in “Acquisition Control” category configures the length of the exposure in microseconds. Analog gain Analog gain to be applied on the sensor during acquired image digitization can be configured through corresponding features in “Analog Control” category. Verify that the “Gain Selector” feature is set to analog (some cameras models support also digital gain). Now, the gain feature controls the desired analog gain value in decibel. Auto-functions Selected camera models support automatic gain and/or automatic exposure functions, when the camera keeps adjusting given parameter automatically, to maintain constant image luminance. The features will be displayed in the feature tree only if the camera supports them. To switch on the auto function, navigate to corresponding control feature, “Automatic Exposure in Acquisition Control” category or “Automatic Gain in Analog Control” category and switch them from “Off” to “Continuous”.
Triggered acquisition The camera starts by default in “free running” mode — acquiring continuous stream of image frames. On the other hand in the triggered mode, the acquisition of individual frames can be explicitly controlled by hardware or software triggers. The trigger related features are located in the “Acquisition Control” category.	Triggered mode To switch the camera to “Triggered mode”, open the “Trigger Selector” sub-tree and set “Trigger Mode” to “On”. After starting the acquisition again, the camera will acquire images only when explicit trigger signal arrives. Trigger source The Trigger source enumeration allows to select where should the camera “listen for triggers”. You can select either Software or one of the camera's I/O lines. The assignment of the I/O lines to the connector pins is described in Section, Connector and cable description . Software triggering The Software triggers can be issued during active acquisition in triggered mode, regardless whether the trigger source is set to Software or a physical I/O line. To apply the software trigger, select the “Generate Software Trigger” feature and click the button in the tool bar. Strobe The strobe can be configured using features in the “Digital I/O Control” category, after switching the feature visibility level to “expert”. Select the desired output line, where the strobe pulses should be applied through Line Selector (the I/O line mapping to interface connector pins is described in Section, Connector and cable description ). Switch the strobe on for the selected line by setting Line Source to “Exposure Active”. The camera will issue a strobe pulse aligned with the exposure for every acquired frame. The strobe output is available only in triggered mode. In case the camera has an integrated Strobe Ring, its Strobe can be controlled through the “Strobe Control” category. Select which Clusters to use with Strobe Enable. Strobe Duration sets the length of the Strobe Pulse.
Device Control Information about the camera. It is frequently necessary to query the basic information about the camera. The information is available through features in the Device Control category.	Device identity The most important features identifying the camera are Vendor Name and Model Name. The camera's serial number is stored as string in feature Device ID (available only in “expert” feature level). Finally, the “nick-name” used to identify the device is accessible (read/write) in DeviceUser ID. Firmware version The version of the firmware loaded on the camera is accessible as string in feature Device Firmware Version.