hi Alex,
we have a problem using the latest SDK and drivers with PS3eye camera. even with the sample application provided the camera freezes quite often it sometimes returns back to normal or we have to plug out and plug in the camera. we are capturing 640x480 30fps in color mode (although it hangs/freezes in black-n-white mode too). i have tried it with 2-3 computers all have the same problem. mentioned below is the configuration of the latptop/PC i’m using.

Core 2 Duo 2.2Ghz
3GB RAM
250GB HDD
Windows XP SP3

Please let me know what could be wrong here.

This sounds very similar to the problem I posted. I’ll check back to see if you find a solution.

Mine ended up being the DCP Latency. It was spiking due to the battery monitoring. I took the battery out and it seems to work fine.

I hope that helps

Does this happen with the single camera or when you run two at the same time? Have you tried running it on Windows 7?

I have the same issue. I’ve tried two different laptops and the camera freezes on both.
One laptop has XP, the other has Vista.
My desktop with Windows 7, however, works flawlessly.

I tried taking the battery out of both laptops, but it didn’t help.

I have a DCP Latency monitor and the camera locks up right around the time the dcp spikes (a dcp spike of 2500 or more and it’ll freeze)

I’ve disabled a large number of drivers and devices and it still locks up.

The worst offender, so far, has been i8kfanGUI (anyone with a dell laptop should be familiar with this little utility). When I disabled that, my average DCP latency was cut in half. The camera lasted longer before freezing, but not too much longer. And I’m still getting latency spikes of 6000.
Something in these laptops is not playing nice with the camera..

Alex, it happens with single camera also sometimes, but less often. surprisingly we didnt notice this with earlier drivers—dont know if it just something we didnt notice or something changed with the new drivers.

Zentelis,  I just couldnt agree more with you. I have exactly the same issues, and i have tried exactly the same thing you did and with exactly the same result that is—camera still freezes.

Not sure what to do now.

Got the same problem with my Sony VAIO SZ4XWN Laptop running the 64 bit version of Windows 7. Seems to be an issue with the new driver, the pre-“Code Laboratories” drivers worked.

Alex, please address this issue. It’s a long pending one now. I have tried with so many different laptops now and the same problem persists.

alex, i also tried activating the cameras it doesnt help either. not to mention i’m using this with pretty high end laptops with 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo, 4 GB RAM, NVIDIA 9600M, Windows XP and also tried on Windows 7. same problem of freezing all around. wonder how are your other users managing it without any issues. and surprising part is if i revert back to your oldest drivers i.e PS3Eye Camera Setup v3.0.0.0901.exe it works almost fine.

KINDLY HELP!

ankit - 21 March 2010 04:37 AM

Alex, please address this issue. It’s a long pending one now. I have tried with so many different laptops now and the same problem persists.

Could you give me the details of your test. Since I don’t have your hardware it is very hard for me to test and replicate what you are seeing. So the more information, the better.
Do you see this in a standard CL-Eye Test app, or it is the issue with the SDK? When you install the older driver does the problem go away? If so, what is the older driver version? What is the model of the laptop on which you are seeing this problem?

I wanted to capture two cameras using a USB2.0 hub at 640x480 in color. i understand color will eat up a lot of bandwidth hence i tried Monochrome mode too with the same problem of freezing. Initially i thought this could be because of USB bandwidth limitations, but to my surprise i then noticed freezing with single camera too. EVEN with the test app. the only solution i could figure out was to revert back to very old drivers v3.0.0.0901.
following is the answers to your questions.

Do you see this in a standard CL-Eye Test app, or it is the issue with the SDK?
This freezing occurs with CL-Eye Test app too when run in 640x480 mode. less often when running in QVGA mode.

When you install the older driver does the problem go away?
Yes with the older drivers it never freezes.

If so, what is the older driver version?
v3.0.0.0901 seem to work fine.

What is the model of the laptop on which you are seeing this problem?
I have tried this on Vostro 1320, Vostro 1720, a Zotac Ion machine with NVIDIA Graphics and Atom Dual Core. I have seen the same problem on Desktop machines too.

Ok so lets simplify things. Can you try running the test app at 640x480 color @ 30fps.
Could you post side by side frame drop results when running v3.0.0.0901 and the latest v4.0.1.0217.
Do not use any USB hubs. Just plugin in the single camera directly.

Results—
I installed the latest version v4.0.1.0217 ran the test application with PS3 camera connected directly without any hub—and it freezed just after running for one minute. another thing i have noticed is if its two cameras connected it freezes quickly in less than a minute and single camera runs normally for a couple of minutes and then freezes.

I then uninstalled this driver and installed v.3.0.0.0901 its been running for more than 5-10 minutes now without any freezing.

ankit - 21 March 2010 09:06 AM

Results—
I installed the latest version v4.0.1.0217 ran the test application with PS3 camera connected directly without any hub—and it freezed just after running for one minute. another thing i have noticed is if its two cameras connected it freezes quickly in less than a minute and single camera runs normally for a couple of minutes and then freezes.

I then uninstalled this driver and installed v.3.0.0.0901 its been running for more than 5-10 minutes now without any freezing.

something seriously wrong with the new drivers :(

What program did you run? The driver v3.0.0.0901 doesn’t come with CL-Eye Test app.

i ran PS3EyeTest.exe, it comes with it. another piece of information for you. I did another experiment, i kept a copy of AlexP folder in program files (installed by v3.0.0.0901 setup) and then installed the latest drivers v4.0.1.0217. now running “CL-Eye Test.exe” immediately freezes the camera feed and interestingly if i run the PS3EyeTest.exe i saved in the copy folder of AlexP it doesnt hang.

this is surprising, because in one sense this means CL-Eye Test app could be the culprit but when i use the SDK even my application freezes with latest drivers. so it adds more to the confusion.

let me know what else i can try to debug this for me.

thanks for looking into this. let me know if we can chat over gtalk(.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)) or skype(ankitkumar)?

ankit - 21 March 2010 09:46 AM

i ran PS3EyeTest.exe, it comes with it. another piece of information for you. I did another experiment, i kept a copy of AlexP folder in program files (installed by v3.0.0.0901 setup) and then installed the latest drivers v4.0.1.0217. now running “CL-Eye Test.exe” immediately freezes the camera feed and interestingly if i run the PS3EyeTest.exe i saved in the copy folder of AlexP it doesnt hang.

this is surprising, because in one sense this means CL-Eye Test app could be the culprit but when i use the SDK even my application freezes with latest drivers. so it adds more to the confusion.

let me know what else i can try to debug this for me.

thanks for looking into this. let me know if we can chat over gtalk(.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)) or skype(ankitkumar)?

Ok, well now we are mixing the apps. The “PS3EyeTest.exe” and “CL-Eye Test.exe” are totally two different things.
Cold you do these two tests:

First test:

Make a backup copy of the PS3EyeTest.exe and PS3EyeLib.dll files. Install v3.0.0.0901 and run PS3EyeTest.
Install v4.0.1.0217 and run the backup version of PS3EyeTest. Does it freeze now?

Second test:

Under v3.0.0.0901 run AMCAP.EXE and under v4.0.1.0217 run “CL-Eye Test.exe” for this test. These are both DirectShow apps and will show is there is a problem with DS filter.

Thanks.

First test:
Make a backup copy of the PS3EyeTest.exe and PS3EyeLib.dll files. Install v3.0.0.0901 and run PS3EyeTest.
DOES NOT FREEZE

Install v4.0.1.0217 and run the backup version of PS3EyeTest. Does it freeze now?
DOES NOT FREEZE

Second test:
Under v3.0.0.0901 run AMCAP.EXE
DOES NOT FREEZE
and under v4.0.1.0217 run “CL-Eye Test.exe” for this test.
YES IT FREEZES YET AGAIN

These are both DirectShow apps and will show is there is a problem with DS filter.
IF THIS IS JUST A PROBLEM WITH DS FILTER, WHY DOES MY APP RUNNING ON MULTICAM SDK FREEZE WITH THE LATEST DRIVERS, I DONT THINK THAT USES DS FILTER, IF IT DOES THEN THAT MAKES A LITTLE BIT OF SENSE.