IDEA 3.1 Readme File

README.HTML  for Foresight Imaging IDEA V3.1 Release
February 10, 2009

This release is provided as an online download or on CD. 
Please note that product documentation is provided in electronic format only. 
You will need the Adobe Acrobat Reader version 4.0 or higher to view the documentation. 
Adobe is provided on the Foresight Imaging Software & Documentation CD or can be downloaded at either: 

 

www.adobe.com  or  www.fi-llc.com

The IDEA software documentation is located on the CD and in the ..\idea\doc directory (after installation) as SDK_Manual.pdf.

For product installation, please refer to the Foresight imaging Installation and Users Guide. 
It is provided on the CD and in the ..\idea\doc directory (after installation) as Install_Manual.pdf.

A demonstration version of the Pegasus Imaging JPEG codec is included for use with the example
programs.  For information on licensing this software, please go to

 www.jpg.com

   IDEA Active X Demo Using Visual Basic and IDEA API Example Program are the two example programs recommended
   for use to evaluate the full functionality of the frame grabbers and video streamers.  They are included in: 
   Start || Programs || Foresight || Demos .

   VideoTest  is a demonstration program to verify the system's ability to create a live direct draw surface for display.  
   They are included in the 32 bit installation:
   Start || Programs || Foresight || Demos 

   VidCap is the demonstration program recommended for use of the Video for Windows driver. 
   It is included in the 32 bit  installation::
   ..\foresight\idea\demo\bin directory.

=============================================================
********* Important Changes in the 3.1 Release ********
============================================================= 

* Support for the AccuStream 50a, AccuStream 75a, AccuStream 205a, AccuStream 50+, AccuStream 75+ and AccuStream 170+ frame grabbers.

* Previous versions of the IDEA development software must be uninstalled prior to installing version 3.1.

* This release can support 64-bit or 32-bit development on two separate disks. 
   For this release, you can only install either the 64-bit or the 32-bit development environments. 
   You cannot install both environments on the same system.

* This release includes .NET support.

* Microsoft Visual C++ 6.0 is no longer supported. 
- Visual studio 2005 must be used to build the demonstration applications.

* The 64-bit installation does not support the Video For Windows driver, or TWAIN interfaces.

* In the ActiveX control, the OnFrameReady event has changed. 
   It  only passes a 32 bit value for the frame number.
   It no  longer passes  the frame data.
   Changes to your application may be needed to correctly handle this event.

* To Import the ActiveX Control into a VB.NET application perform  the following steps.
 1. Regsvr32 ideactls.ocx  - if not already registered.
 2. aximp ideactls.ocx     - using the correct 32 or 64  bit version of aximp from the .NET SDK.
 3. regtlib ideactls.ocx
* From inside Visual Studio 2005 for the application project:
 1. Select "Project|Add Reference"
 2. From the COM Tab select "idea ActiveX Control Module"
 3.
From the Browse Tab go to the ..\idea\ActiveX directory
      and select AxIdeaCTLSLib.dll.

* You should now be able to build and execute a VB.NET application using the IDEA ActiveX control.

* When moving from IDEA 2.4, you MUST update the hardware device driver.
  From the Hardware Device Manager find the entry. 
  The IDEA 2.4 driver entry is for Sound, video and game controllers. 
  This new hardware installation will put it under Imaging devices. 
  Select your Foresight frame grabber and from the Driver tab of the 
  Properties, select Update Driver….
  Then use the INF  file from the appropriate 32 or 64 bit folder in the Drivers folder. 
 
  You will have to reboot after installing this driver.

* The default IDEA directory is:
   c:\program files\foresight\idea\  (32 bit)
   c:\program files(x86)\foresight\idea\   (64 bit)

* IDEA 3.1 cannot co-exist with any other IDEA version.

* IDEA 3.1 dll's , sys drivers & ocx's cannot be interchanged with other IDEA revisions.

* To rollback a system installed with IDEA 3.1 to a previous version of IDEA, follow the IDEA 2.5 / 3.1 instructions at: 
http://www.fi-llc.com/information/IDEA25Rollback.pdf

UPGRADING Applications to IDEA 3.1
=========
For developers releasing an Application:
* Your existing IDEA based application must be recompiled and re-linked using the new IDEA 3.1 libraries, header files,
  & OCX wherever applicable.
* Updating only the IDEA DLL's and drivers without rebuilding the application may result in unstable operation.

For an end-user based system using TWAIN, Video for Windows, or the IDEA demo programs: 
OVERVIEW:
* In "Control Panel", "Add/Remove Software", uninstall the current IDEA software.
* Decompress and run the "InstallScan20.exe" program on   the IDEA v3.1 CD or the downloaded version located  
  in the "ADDONS", "INSTALLSCAN" directory.  Select "Clean Installation"
* install the new IDEA software.
* Previous versions of IDEA software MUST be un-installed.

DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS:
* Uninstall IDEA 2.4, from Control Panel, Add/Remove  Software, select IDEA 2.4.
* Remove the ACCUSTREAM device driver in:
- Control Panel, System, Hardware, Devices, Sound & Multi-media controllers,
   AccuStream 170, right-click,  select: uninstall. 
* Install IDEA 3.1
* Re-boot the system or select  "Add / Remove Hardware" in control panel
- When "Found New Hardware" wizard starts, On "search for new software?" select: "No, no at this time", NEXT,
- On "Installation CD?", select: "Install from a list, (Advanced)", NEXT
- On "Installation  Options", select: "Don't search, I will choose the driver to install", NEXT
- On "AccuStream 170", select: "Have Disk"
- (32 bit)  Browse to: c:\program files\foresight\idea\drivers\Win32\fsi.inf, OPEN, OK
- (64 bit)  Browse to: c:\program files(x86)\foresight\idea\drivers\Win64\fsi.inf OPEN, OK
   - On "Windows Logo Testing”, select: "Continue Anyway"
- Select "FINISH"
* Windows Device Manager will now list IDEA 3.1 products under: "Imaging Devices"
   (not "Sound Video & Game controllers" )
* With IDEA 3.1,  DO NOT use the IDEA 2.4 driver, HD4NT.SYS, located in c:\program files\foresight\idea\drivers\NT_2K_XP 

Supported:
=========
* Windows XP/XP Pro, XP Pro 64, Windows Vista Business,  Windows Vista Business 64
* Foresight Imaging frame grabbers and video streamers: 
   AccuStream 170, AccuStream 75, AccuStream 50
   AccuStream 170+, AccuStream 75+, AccuStream 50+
   AccuStream 205a, AccuStream 75a, AccuStream 50a
*  Video for Windows & TWAIN Drivers are supported in 32 bit environments ONLY

Not Supported:
=========
*  Video for Windows & TWAIN Drivers are not supported in 64 bit operating system environments


CONTENTS:
========
This CD-ROM contains:
* IDEA 3.1 SDK and Demo files in the setup directory
* AutoSYNC video configuration & measurement tool
* DirectX 9.0 for live video display under all supported operating systems
* The IDEA installation and SDK manuals in PDF format
* Acrobat Reader for the PDF documents
* Pegasus compression software for streaming to  disk demo (AVI file creation)
* A Video Test program for verification of VGA display  modes.
* VidCap32 application program as an example for running  the Video for Windows driver (32 bit only).
* The unpacked IDEA library contains the IDEA software, Demos, Documents, and Windows Drivers.

Updates from the IDEA 2.5 Release (Details)
==================================
New Additions Detailed:
1)   Support for AccuStream 205a, 75a and AccuStream 50a
2)   Support for AccuStream 170+, 75+ and AccuStream 50+

3)   Support for Vista
4)   Enhanced DVI framing controls
5)   YPbPr to RGB conversion in hardware (AccuStream 170+ & 205a)
6)   HDTV tri-sync supported in AutoSYNC
7)   Updated DVI configuraiton utility
8)   Double buffer mode captures for images up to 2 megapixels (170+ & 205a)
9)   Single pixel, X position adjustments (170+ & 205a)


Updates from the IDEA 2.4 Release (Details)
==================================
New Additions Detailed:
1) Support for 64 bit versions of Windows XP.
2) Support for AccuStream 50 and AccuStream 75

3) Support for .NET

Updates to Documentation
========================
The documentation has been updated to match the V3.1 software release. 
Additionally, the PDF files are fully searchable and have been book marked for easy navigation. 


SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:
=============
* Pentium 4, 1.8 MHz or greater
* Windows XP (32 or 64 bit) or XP Pro, Windows Operating System,
* Memory: minimum 512 MB
* VGA card supporting DirectDraw overlay & graphics 
* Appropriate video source
* High quality input video cabling
* 32 bit PCI bus or PCI-64/66 PCI Bus
* +5.0 volt or 3.3 volt PCI slots are supported.
* Administrator rights are required to install the IDEA 3.1 SDK & software.

***  Note:  For RGB signals, please ensure that the cable lengths are identical for all connections. 
       A bundled RGB and sync cable is recommended.


Other Notes:
============
1) The DirectX SDK (available from  Microsoft) must be installed to recompile and build the  VideoTest application.

2) IDEA demo programs create AVI type 1 files, with a file size limit of 4.0 gig. 
    For AVI files larger than 4.0 gig, see the AMCap demo code in the Microsoft DirectX 9 SDK package. 
   The AMCap executable for 32 bit O/S available at:

 

 http://www.fi-llc.com/amcap/

3) Install the Pegasus Compression CODECS to use lossy & lossless compression for 32 Bit O/S at
 http://www.pegasusimaging.com/pvmjpegdownload.htm

 4) In IDEADEMO program, the message: "Unable to find compression codec: pvmjpg20.dll" indicates the
      Pegasus compression codecs are not loaded.  
      In the IDEADEMO, "Options" menu, select: "Uncompressed RGB32", or, on
       32 bit O/S, install the Pegasus codecs. 

  5) For AVI file playback, the latest version of Windows Media Player is available at:      

 http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/download/  

Video Streaming:
============
* Video stream rates are dependant on several factors beyond the AccuStream board.
  The AccuStream boards can run in PCI 32 & 64 bit slots.
* For fastest stream rates and data transfers, a PCI-64/66 MHz bus is recommended.
  PCI 64 bit motherboards/systems are available from Intel, Asus, SuperMicro, & Dell.
* System processor, memory & disk speed all contribute to transfer rate speeds.
* Below are transfer rates on "typical" PCI 32 & PCI 64 bit machines that perform at

125 MB/second transfers and 250 MB/second transfers respectively.  Your performance

may vary on slower machines.

 


RESOLUTION


STREAM to MEMORY
(32 bit PCI Bus)


STREAM to MEMORY
( 64 bit PCI bus)


1600x1200x60


15 fps


20 fps


1280x1024x60


30 fps


60 fps


1024x768x60


30 fps


60 fps


1920x1080x30


15 fps


30 fps


 * For fastest video streaming, computers with a 64 bit PCI-64/66 Bus, 
   1 gig + memory & a SATA Raid striped disk sub-system is recommended for best
    performance when streaming to disk.

 

Part numbers:
============
32 bit IDEA disk P/N 042700-310
64 bit IDEA disk P/N 042701-310

AccuStream 170   030000-100
AccuStream 75     030000-175
AccuStream 50     030000-150 

AccuStream 205a 032000-100
AccuStream 75a   032000-175
AccuStream 50a   032000-150 

AccuStream 170+ 033000-100
AccuStream 75+   033000-175
AccuStream 50+   033000-150 

All boards are ROHS compliant 

Typical maximum video capture formats:
AccuStream 205a - VGA 1600x1200x75 (202.5 MHz)
AccuStream 170   - VGA 1600x1200x60 (162 MHz)
AccuStream 75     - VGA 1024x768x70 (75 MHz), 
                                  - HDTV 1920x1080x30 interlaced (74.25 MHz)
AccuStream 50     - VGA 800x600x70 (45.5MHz)
                                 - RS170 (12 MHz), 
                                 - PAL (14 MHz)

Power & Operating Temperatures
============
* AccuStream Power consumption:
  Accustream 170/75/50        = 12 watts
  Accustream 170+/75+/50+  =  8 watts
  Accustream 205a/75a/50a  = 6.5 watts

* Operating temperatures:
  10 to 50 degrees Centigrade

* Humidity:
  10% to 90% non-condensing

* Storage Temperature:
  0 to 70 degrees Centigrade
 

============

For additional information or assistance, contact Foresight Imaging Technical Support at:

Email:  Support@fi-llc.com

Phone:  + 978 458-4624 x244

Fax: + 978 458-5488

 

To obtain the latest updates access:

 http://www.fi-llc.com/information/IDEA31updates.pdf

 

=============================================================

 

IDEA 2.5 SDK Read