PLEASE help! my cameras are not synching!! cannot mocap

[nildo]

Hello Guys...

Please help me out solve this prb.

I'm sorry for the long thread:(

I've been using the 8cam setup system with no prb, using an hp8710w laptop (xp64bit, 4GB RAM) up until now, and its been great...

Problem: This morning i wanted to capture something, i had not moved the cameras or the sync cables as they remain in the old position as they are now...i plug in as i normally do, but now the cameras wont sync.

instead of having:

Optitrack (cam serial) Camera 1
Optitrack (cam serial) Camera 2
Optitrack (cam serial) Camera 3
Optitrack (cam serial) Camera 4
Optitrack (cam serial) Camera 5
Optitrack (cam serial) Camera 6
Optitrack (cam serial) Camera 7
Optitrack (cam serial) Camera 8

as i always did, i now get:

Optitrack (cam serial) Camera 1
Optitrack (cam serial) Camera 1
Optitrack (cam serial) Camera 2
Optitrack (cam serial) Camera 2
Optitrack (cam serial) Camera 3
Optitrack (cam serial) Camera 4
Optitrack (cam serial) Camera 5
Optitrack (cam serial) Camera 6

sometimes its worse:

Optitrack (cam serial) Camera 1
Optitrack (cam serial) Camera 1
Optitrack (cam serial) Camera 1
Optitrack (cam serial) Camera 2
Optitrack (cam serial) Camera 2
Optitrack (cam serial) Camera 3
Optitrack (cam serial) Camera 4
Optitrack (cam serial) Camera 5

of course pressing continue, it asks me to check sync cables connections!

I checked and RE-Checked...no exaggeration more than 10 times, i disconnected and reconnected the cameras several times, i even ended up changing the sync connections between the cameras...and nothing...

i was using Arena 1.3, thinking it would solve the prob i installed 1.4, but still nothing:(.

I even changed to another laptop an hp8730w using vista ultimate 64bit also 4gb ram...still no luck!

Please guys...help, i dunno what to do...literally i spent more than 2 hours trying to setup and re-setup my cameras using several connection types between them.

i could send pics of the cameras but theres no attach function on the forum it seems.

trying to be as most organized as possible, i even synched the cameras according to their serial numbers, like cam with serial *895 to cam with serial *896 etc etc...

[bsteagal]

Nildo:

I've had this happen to me a few times, every time it was caused by one of the cameras in the loop having a bad connection or by problems with the hub in that group of cameras.. Unplug the USB connector from the cameras first, and plug them back in.

Take a look at the numbering of the cameras, see if one is not lit, which would be the one causing the issue. Change their connection in the hub

Also, check to see if your hub power is on..

[yoshi]

Another thing you can try is first connect only two cameras, check their synchronization. If it is synchronized, connect third, then forth and so on until you find a camera that is not syncing. Move that camera to the last of sync chain and see if it resolves the problem.

[nildo]

Hello bryan

Its kinda relief to see im not the only one with the prb:)...
Thx alot for replying, however i dunno if it will work because 1 of the things ive done was similar, i unplugged the cameras wich had the same numbering waited a few sec, then plugged in again...i did this with arena shutdown, if it matters, because with arena running it didnt matter...they would still b recognized as duplicates.

One thing that happened though, was that i tried to sync the cameras again changing some sync between cameras, and this time i got 1,2 then 3,4 then 5,6 and then instead of 1,2 again as b4, i got 7,1... But no matter what i do to the duplicate camera 1...it wont change...



it still not working for me:(:(:(

[nildo]

Hi yoshi,

Thx for the reply...will try that... Does it matter if i do that while arena is running? Do i unplug the cameras from the laptop as well and plug them in pairs or plug one by one, as i also resync them?

Or just leave all cameras on usb but play along with sync cables?

Is there a way to manually change the numbering inside arena? This would be really helpful...i searched, but couldnt find it

[nildo]

Hi guys...i tried what yoshi said...it kinda worked, i say kinda because it got all 8 cams ok...but just when i was abou to calibrate them, cam02 was not geeting anything alnost and cam06 went "off", as in not registering anything, and its id number was gone...right after that, the cams went outta synch again:(...ca u please explain why this happening? Would it have anything to do with the top cams being too low( doubtful), my max height of the room i have the cams in is 2.17meters really low, i realize i cant have jumps nor arms up:(.

Thx in advance for the help
But why does it happen??

Nildo

[spencer]

i dont think it has something to do with the room height.
my room is 8 meters high, and i put the upper cams at about 2,5 meters.

i have the same problem with my 12cam setup.
usualy i just shut down everything and start up again.
most times it works then,.. but when i am out of luck some cameras silently stop working some time in the middle of capturing.

i was suspecting it has something to do with the sync splitters,
or the sync cables.. OR the cameras.

but i tried just to exchange the suspected elements.

like when the calibration gave me to cams with the number 6,
i exchanged both #6 cams with position 11 and 12.
and still had the problem with getting two #6 cams.
even after also changing sync spliter, sync cables and usb cables.

so i am a bit out of ideas at the moment.. and keep restarting x_X

unfortunately i have a new problem now, which i will open a new thread for.

[nildo]

Hi Spencer

I also don't think it has to do with height...but im starting to think its ghosts or something...especially because all seems logically connected:):)

Please GUYS AT NATURALPOINT...help us in this situation, clearly this is an issue some of us have been getting, there must be a way to lock the ID's of the cameras somehow no??

One looses a day trying to solve theses issues...its particularly annoying/embarrassing when u schedule with actors to come to your studio to capture and they stand there doing nothing:):), because the system is not working.

what i don't get, is why do cameras all of a sudden black out, and after being properly ID'ed, all of a sudden (after blk out on one of the cameras, or some of the cameras) some cameras share the same ID.:(

Nildo

[VincentG]

You also disconnected the cameras from the USB port, and cycled the power on the hubs as well?

How many cameras per hub?

[nildo]

Yes i did that, there are 4cams per hub...

After about 2more hours (no joke) of camera swtching and connec and disconn cameras and hubs as well, it finally worked...i captured...but now after thats done.. I ended up not knowing what i did right ,if anything because it really seems a random prb...

For example following yoshi suggestion..connecting cams as i go, at 1st...it was cam 1 and 2, all fine...but when i connected the 3rd...it showed up as 1 as well, so it was 1,2,1 ...disconnected all of them, revconnected and now they were showing 1 all three...desperate i connedted all cams...they all showed fine except the last...instead of id8, it showed id1, disconn the hub entirely where id8 and other 3 cams were connected..connected back...and finally all cams appeared fine.

How can i make sure this does not happen again??