ADLINK RTV series frame grabber deployment guide

ADLINK RTV series multi-channel real-time video frame grabber selection, deployment, and development complete manual

In the fields of digital video surveillance (DVR), factory automation testing, medical imaging, and scientific research instruments, synchronously collecting multiple standard composite video (PAL/NTSC) signals to a PC for real-time processing is the core challenge of system design. The RTV series frame grabber launched by ADLINK covers various forms such as PCIe-RTV24 (PCI Express x1), PCI-RTV24 (traditional PCI), cRTV-24 (3U CompactPCI), cRTV-44 (6U CompactPCI), and PMC-RTV21 (PMC module), supporting four-way parallel analog video digitization and expandable to 16 channels. It also integrates GPIO triggering, software triggering, and hardware watchdog, providing a one-stop solution for harsh industrial monitoring and visual inspection scenarios. This article will provide engineers with a detailed technical reference manual from dimensions such as model selection, hardware specifications, scalability, software drivers, API programming, and system debugging.

Series Overview and Selection Positioning

The RTV series is based on a high-performance video decoding chip (Bt878), and all models support simultaneous capture of four channel composite videos. It is compatible with color (NTSC-M, NTSC Japan, PAL-B/D/G/H/I/M/N, SECAM) and black and white (CCIR, EIA) formats, with a maximum frame rate of 30fps (NTSC)/25fps (PAL) per channel. The positioning of different models is as follows:

PCIe-RTV24/PCI-RTV24: Standard half length PCI/PCIe card, suitable for ordinary industrial computers, supports expanding the number of channels from 4 to 16 through RTV-E4 expansion board (note that the frame rate per channel is reduced to about 3.5fps after expansion).

CRTV-24 (3U cPCI) and cRTV-44 (6U cPCI): CompactPCI form, suitable for high reliability, hot swappable requirements of telecommunications or military grade systems, where cRTV-44 is a 6U size with the same expansion capability as cRTV-24.

PMC-RTV21/PMC-RTV21G: PMC (PCI Mezzanine Card) module, designed specifically for embedded or cPCI carrier boards, providing 4 video inputs and 1 GPIO, suitable for space constrained mobile or in vehicle systems.

Selection suggestion:

Standard desktop or server environment → PCIe-RTV24 (priority) or PCI-RTV24;

CPCI chassis requiring high reliability and hot swappable → cRTV-24 (3U) or cRTV-44 (6U);

Embedded or onboard integration → PMC-RTV21 (DB-9 interface) or PMC-RTV21G (10 pin pin header interface).

Core video capture specifications and performance benchmarks

2.1 Collection speed and resolution

Each channel is independently collected, and the total frame rate is accumulated when four channels are parallel. Taking the PCI-33 platform (Pentium 4 2.4GHz) as an example:

4CIF (640 × 480) RGB16 mode: All four channels can achieve 30fps real-time acquisition, and the CPU utilization rate has increased from 27% for a single channel to 61% for four channels (PCI-33 platform). If RGB24 format is used, frame loss (marked as "X") occurs when using four channels.

CIF (320 × 240) RGB16 mode: Eight channels (requiring two cards) can still be fully real-time, with a frame rate of 30fps and a CPU usage rate of 28% to 36%.

QCIF (160 × 120): 16 channels real-time pressure free, with extremely low CPU usage (<15%).

The PCI-X platform (66MHz bus) has higher bandwidth and better performance. The PCI Express platform further releases bandwidth bottlenecks. Users need to evaluate the system load based on the actual number of channels and resolution, referring to the benchmark table in the manual.

2.2 Image Processing and Scaling

Resolution selection: Supports FULL (640 × 480 NTSC/768 × 576 PAL), CIF (320 × 240/384 × 288), QCIF (160 × 120/192 × 144), and can also customize the cropping area and scaling ratio (up to 1:16) through the AngeloRTV_Set_image_Geometric function.

Color Format: Supports multiple output formats such as RGB16, RGB24, RGB32, RGB15, Grayscale (Y8), YUV, etc., to meet the input requirements of different visual algorithm libraries.

Image adjustment: It can independently adjust brightness (0-255), contrast, color tone (NTSC), color saturation (U/V component, 0-255), and has automatic chromaticity gain control.

2.3 Channel Expansion Mechanism (RTV-E4)

Three 10 pin expansion interfaces (CN2, CN3, CN5) are installed on the board, each connected to an RTV-E4 expansion board via a 10 core flat cable. Each expansion board adds 4 BNC inputs. When all expansion interfaces are used, the total number of channels in the system reaches 4+3 × 4=16. Due to multi-channel reuse of the same PCI bus bandwidth, the frame rate per channel after expansion is reduced to approximately 3.5fps (PAL) or 4fps (NTSC), making it suitable for monitoring scenarios involving non high speed moving targets.

GPIO、 Trigger and watchdog function

3.1 General I/O and Trigger

RTV-24/cRTV-44 both provide TTL compatible I/O cables, including:

4-channel digital input (IN0~IN3): can be used for external sensor triggered acquisition or alarm signal detection.

4-channel digital output (OUT0~OUT3): can control external indicator lights or relays.

4-channel software trigger output (STRG0~STRG3): Generate a single pulse (pulse width programmable, 60 μ s~16ms) through API for synchronizing strobe lights or external devices.

I/O electrical characteristics: Input high level ≥ 2.0V, low level ≤ 0.8V; output high level ≥ 5.0V (-1.0mA), output low level ≤ 0.5V (100mA current), can directly drive small relays or TTL logic.

All I/O lines are configured on two 10 pin pin banks (CN8, CN9), and can be optionally equipped with RTV-I4 isolated GPIO expansion board, providing photoelectric isolation and relay output (normally open/normally closed optional, contact capacity AC 0.5A/125V or DC 1A/30V), enhancing the anti-interference ability of industrial sites.

3.2 Watchdog Timer

The onboard hardware watchdog (2-pin pin CN10) is an important reliability feature of the RTV-24 series. Enable and set a timeout interval (8 seconds, 16 seconds, or 32 seconds) through the API function AngeloRTV_Set_TDT, and the application needs to periodically "feed the dog" (call this function to reset the timer). If the dog is not fed within the set time, the watchdog will output a system reset signal (which can be connected to the motherboard reset pin through the included reset cable) and automatically restart the PC. This mechanism is crucial for unmanned remote monitoring systems and can effectively prevent equipment shutdown caused by software deadlocks.

Hardware installation and driver deployment

4.1 Key points of physical installation

PCI/PCIe version: Select an available PCI or PCIe x1 slot, insert the card and secure it. If expansion is required, connect the RTV-E4 expansion board to the main card expansion interface using a 10 core flat cable (pay attention to the cable direction and ensure pin 1 is aligned).

CPCI version: cRTV-24 is a 3U board card, inserted into the 32/64 slot of the cPCI backplane, pushed in and locked with the ejector; The cRTV-44 is a 6U card installed in the corresponding slot of the 6U cPCI chassis. CompactPCI supports hot swapping, but requires system platform support.

PMC version: PMC-RTV21 can be directly inserted into the PMC socket of the carrier board, and attention should be paid to anti-static operation.

4.2 Windows Driver Installation (WDM)

Install the driver first, then insert the card (important! To avoid Windows automatically installing the wrong driver).

Insert ADLINK All in One CD, select "Vision" → "Angelo" → "Windows Driver" for installation.

After installation, shut down, insert the RTV series card, and restart.

The system will sequentially discover multiple new devices (one for each video and audio channel, totaling 8 devices), and follow the wizard to automatically install the drivers.

If a yellow exclamation mark appears, you need to manually update the driver and point to the installation directory (such as C:  Program Files  ADLINK  Angelo. RTVDevices  Win2KXP).

After installation, you should see 4 "ADLINK Angelo Video Devices" and 4 "Audio Devices" in the "Multimedia Devices" section of the Device Manager.

Vista/7 and above systems: If there is a driver signature issue, press F8 at startup to select "Disable Driver Signature Enforcement" or use test mode.

4.3 Linux Driver Installation (Core Points)

The Linux driver only supports Red Hat 7.3 (kernel 2.4.18), but the principle can be ported to new kernels.

Key steps:

Reserved physical memory: The Bt878 chip uses kernel physical memory as a frame buffer, which needs to be reserved in the boot parameters. For example, if the system has 128MB of RAM and needs to reserve 20MB for 4-channel acquisition, add mem=120MB in the LILO/GRUB kernel parameters (only allowing the kernel to use 120MB, leaving the remaining 8MB for DMA). Each channel requires approximately 5MB, 20MB for 4 channels, and 40MB for 8 channels.

Load kernel module: Extract the driver package tar xvzf angelo2.gz, enter the driver directory, execute insmod - f mem_mgr. o to insert the memory management module, and then execute insmod p878. o to insert the main driver module. Scripts can be used /878. pl<number of channels>automatically completed.

Create device node: The script will automatically create nodes such as/dev/pci878-0.

User state library: Copy libpci_878.so to/usr/lib, and the application can link to the library to call the API.

Common troubleshooting and debugging techniques

No image or black screen:

Use an oscilloscope or monitor to confirm that the BNC signal of the video source is normal (1Vpp, including synchronization head).

Check the return value of AngeloRTV_Detect_Video_fFormat: If it is 0, there is no signal. Check the cable and camera power supply.

Confirm that the video format settings match the actual signal (NTSC/PAL), and try the automatic detection mode.

Image color abnormality or color cast:

Adjust the Hue parameter (NTSC signal specific).

Check if the color format settings match the display or algorithm (e.g. confusion between RGB16 and RGB24 can cause color distortion).

Check if the brightness/contrast/saturation settings are within a reasonable range.

Invalid multi-channel extension:

Confirm that the flat cable connection between the RTV-E4 expansion board and the main card is reliable and pin 1 is aligned.

Check if AngeloRTV_Select_Channel has enabled the corresponding channel (by default, each port corresponds to a single channel, and after expansion, this function needs to be used to enable multiplexing).

Note that the frame rate will decrease after expansion. If the CPU load is too high, it can also cause frame loss.

Watchdog reset error:

Confirm that AngeloRTV_Set_TDT is regularly called in the application loop (even if the parameters remain unchanged).

Extend the timeout period appropriately (such as 32 seconds) to avoid not feeding the dog in a timely manner due to the CPU being instantly busy.

Check if the reset cable is correctly connected to the motherboard reset pin.

DMA memory allocation failure in Linux:

Confirm that the kernel boot parameter mem=has reserved sufficient physical memory (at least 5MB per channel).

Check if there is an error 'mem_mgr: no free memory' in/var/log/messages.

Try increasing reserved memory or reducing the number of channels collected simultaneously.