Hello, I'm having a bit of an issue and was wondering is anyone on the board may have a solution. I have several (8) analog cameras I'm trying to add to the Sighthound software. I already have 5 IP cams up and running no issues. I have purchased a couple KWorld USB 2.0 Expert Video DVD Maker KW-USB2800D as recommended on the main page but I can't get it to work with more than one camera. I tested with one and it worked no issues. I plugged the adapter into a powered USB hub as to now draw too much power from the mother board. When I plug the second one in drivers install no issues, during the set up screen I see the thumbnail with the correct (second) video feed. After clicking next I get the message "finding your camera and turning it on" after which it will just fail to connect. I find it odd the the thumbnail would work fine but it won't connect to it afterwards. Has anyone had any luck using more than one KWorld USB dongle?
Thanks,
JP
KWorld USB Issue - Multiple Camera
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Semper Vaporo - Posts: 331
- Joined: Sat Oct 09, 2010 11:51 am
Re: KWorld USB Issue - Multiple Camera
I hesitate to post this, but will anyway... take it for you want or can get from it. Maybe we can get someone else to either confirm or destroy my findings.
I have not been able to get 2 of the same brand & model of USB cameras to run simultaneously. I have several USB cameras of various brands and they most all play with each other nicely, but of the few pairs that I have that are the same brand AND model, they just don't like each other. I have managed to get two Logitec Cameras to run simultaneously, but they are not the same model.
For me, what happens is that usually one camera will connect and start showing its image. When I enable the second camera it may show its view or the program may show the other camera in both thumbnails... And note that this happens with other multi-camera programs, too!
Then one or the other camera or both will show the other view for a few seconds. I can never predict which camera's view will show in which camera's thumbnail space.
Usually after a few seconds of this random image swapping, I get either the infamous "Blue Screen of Death (BSoD) or a few times the computer has just spontaneously rebooted.
"MY" theory is that for most USB devices the software drivers recognize when two of the same product are installed and they enumerate the multiple instances to provide a different name for each device. But I am guessing that with video cameras the programmers seem to believe that you will never have more than one, so the driver does not do this renaming of the devises and the video recoding program gets one or the other image when it asks for data from either camera since they both have the same name. Eventually, there is some sort of data collision that confuses even the operating system and all goes south to the great BSoD Land (or worse).
I have also noted that the ports on my PCs are connected to the computer's data bus through a controller and it appears (to me!) that they can have up to 4 data streams through them. The software can request an exclusive path or can shared a path with other devices... Cameras are a high data rate and need an exclusive path. But the controllers MUST keep at least 1 port of its 4 available for slow data, so when 3 have been assigned exclusively to high data rates, the 4th is locked out of doing high rates. Plug in 4 cameras on this one controller and the last one plugged in will just not work. Plug it into a port on a different controller and bingo, it works just fine and all 4 cameras will work. It can be difficult figuring out which sockets on the computer box are connected to which controller, I have found that trial and error is sometimes the most expedient method of discovering which sockets to use.
I wish I could find someone very knowledgeable about USB hardware to verify or refute my theory.
I have not been able to get 2 of the same brand & model of USB cameras to run simultaneously. I have several USB cameras of various brands and they most all play with each other nicely, but of the few pairs that I have that are the same brand AND model, they just don't like each other. I have managed to get two Logitec Cameras to run simultaneously, but they are not the same model.
For me, what happens is that usually one camera will connect and start showing its image. When I enable the second camera it may show its view or the program may show the other camera in both thumbnails... And note that this happens with other multi-camera programs, too!
Then one or the other camera or both will show the other view for a few seconds. I can never predict which camera's view will show in which camera's thumbnail space.
Usually after a few seconds of this random image swapping, I get either the infamous "Blue Screen of Death (BSoD) or a few times the computer has just spontaneously rebooted.
"MY" theory is that for most USB devices the software drivers recognize when two of the same product are installed and they enumerate the multiple instances to provide a different name for each device. But I am guessing that with video cameras the programmers seem to believe that you will never have more than one, so the driver does not do this renaming of the devises and the video recoding program gets one or the other image when it asks for data from either camera since they both have the same name. Eventually, there is some sort of data collision that confuses even the operating system and all goes south to the great BSoD Land (or worse).
I have also noted that the ports on my PCs are connected to the computer's data bus through a controller and it appears (to me!) that they can have up to 4 data streams through them. The software can request an exclusive path or can shared a path with other devices... Cameras are a high data rate and need an exclusive path. But the controllers MUST keep at least 1 port of its 4 available for slow data, so when 3 have been assigned exclusively to high data rates, the 4th is locked out of doing high rates. Plug in 4 cameras on this one controller and the last one plugged in will just not work. Plug it into a port on a different controller and bingo, it works just fine and all 4 cameras will work. It can be difficult figuring out which sockets on the computer box are connected to which controller, I have found that trial and error is sometimes the most expedient method of discovering which sockets to use.
I wish I could find someone very knowledgeable about USB hardware to verify or refute my theory.
Semper Vaporo,