Camera Settings

FinishLynx allows the operator to control the EtherLynx and IdentiLynx cameras in a variety of ways. There are several places in the software where changes can be made:

  • The Camera Settings dialog can be accessed by selecting the camera to be adjusted from the Camera listing in the Hardware Control window or the Information Zone of an Event Window, and then clicking on the blue “i” information icon , or clicking Event | Get info... to open the Camera Settings dialog.
  • Alternatively, the Camera Settings dialog can be accessed by double-clicking the camera name in the Camera field.
  • The settings for Capture, Rate, Height, Mode, Gain, (Brightness) and Orientation can also be adjusted directly from the Camera listing, simply by typing new values over the existing values in these areas and then hitting the Enter key.

Camera Settings in Hardware Control window

  • Capture Before you can actually begin taking pictures of races, you need to tell the software to accept the image sent from a camera. To do this, check that the Capture setting is configured to Yes for the camera(s) you wish to use. The advantage to being able to turn the capture capability on and off is that in a multiple camera setup you may not need image from all of the cameras all of the time.
  • Other settings For all other settings in the Hardware Control window, refer to the information in the Camera Settings for more information.

Camera Settings Dialog

ClosedVIDEO

ClosedSetup Tab

Camera Settings - Setup

  • Information:Closed This line displays information about the camera obtained automatically by the software. It shows the camera's serial number, calibration date, internal memory and the IP address.
  • Name:Closed A name can be assigned by the user to the camera. For example, “Primary,” or “Outside Track,” or “Sprint Camera” if a different finish line is being used for the sprint events.
  • Orientation:Closed This sets the side of the screen where the camera first starts displaying image and should match to direction of the object. In order to reduce color fringing the image orientation needs to be correctly configured.

    If the camera is “seeing” competitors moving in this direction in front of the lens…

    Set your Image Orientation to …

    < < < < < < < <

    Left

    > > > > > > > >

    Right


    NOTE: This means that a camera on the outside of the track and a camera on the inside of the track will have different Image Orientation settings.

    Extreme Color Fringing
  • Identify by:Closed This toggles the default setting of the Identify by... icon described Image Tool Bar Functions.
  • Lanes:Closed This sets the number of lanes that can be used in Rapid Evaluation Mode.
  • White Balance:Closed A color image is actually produced by a combination of red, green and blue light. The relative intensity of each of these values can be adjusted so that an area of white material captured by the camera is displayed as white on the screen. See Image Quality Tools for details.
  • Gamma: ClosedHardware gamma proves most valuable in situations where the color of the object is similar in color to the background. For example, when capturing horses on a dirt track, the hardware gamma (while adjusting the contrast and brightness in unison) can increase the color difference between the two and make it easier to see the nose of the horse.
    - values less than one increase the difference between similar dark pixels in the image, which expands dynamic range within darker areas of the image. Particularly useful in back lit conditions. (default = 0.70).
    - Values greater than one have the opposite effect.
    NOTE:
    • This feature is different from the software gamma adjustments available in the Image | Adjustments dialog. Hardware Gamma can be applied to all 2M available colors instead of the limited colors enabled by the computer's video card. As a result, the quality of gamma adjustments is significantly higher.
    • Hardware Gamma is not intended to compensate for low lighting conditions
    • Hardware Gamma applied to the image while it is captured by the EtherLynx camera and cannot be undone.
  • Black Level:Closed Controls the level of brightness of the darkest part of the image. Increasing this value rebalances the dynamic range, particularly in low light conditions when highlights seem overexposed (blooming) and darker parts of the image seem underexposed (tend to greenish black). This setting needs to be used prudently; if increased excessively, it will add unwanted pinkish mask to the image that may severely affect AGC functionality. Increase in small increments (2-5) in low light when the darks appear greenish/black and highlights are blooming (default = 0; max = 20).
  • Phased Light Comp.:Closed Phased Light Compensation, or PLC, reduces or eliminates the vertical dark bars in the image caused by artificial light.
  • Iris-Type:Closed Selects the protocol used by FinishLynx to adjust the iris of remote-control lenses.
  • Sensor Filter:Closed Toggles the camera's electronic infra-red filter ON and OFF. Available on EtherLynx Vision cameras.
  • Auto-Boot:Closed Turning this on will cause the camera to turn on whenever any external is received.
    NOTE: With Auto-Boot ON, cameras with batteries installed will only charge if external power is applied and the camera is explicitly turned off.
  • Upgrade Code:Closed Used to upgrade some the EtherLynx Vision series camera options by applying a code supplied by a Lynx sales representative, instead of shipping the camera back to our headquarters.
ClosedParameters Tab

Camera Settings - Parameters

  • Pixel Depth:Closed Refers to the number of bits used to indicate the color of a single pixel. A higher value increases image quality and image size.
  • Pixel Mode:Closed Refers to the level of digital zoom applied to FinishLynx image. Increasing this setting increases the image resolution, while reducing the signal-to-noise ratio.
  • Compression:Closed Compression is a feature of the camera which automatically reduces the size of the captured image as it is taken. Compression is invisible to the user; whether it occurs or not, the user interface automatically displays the image at full resolution.
  • Frame Rate:Closed The number in this box reflects the number of pictures of the finish line that the EtherLynx Camera will take every second. The number can be as small as 100 or as large as 20,000 in a high resolution camera. The units frames per second and lines per second are used interchangeably. The allowable range for current settings appears in parenthesis. See Rate, Height & Mode for details.
  • Frame Height:Closed This refers to the number of cells on the image sensor that are used and it controls the amount of information that will be saved in the vertical (spatial) dimension of the picture. Simply put, high resolution pictures (more cells used) allow the operator to zoom in closer with higher clarity, but at the cost of larger files. The allowable range for current settings appears in parenthesis. See Rate, Height & Mode for details.
  • Frame Offset:Closed Allows the active area of the sensor to be arbitrarily chosen, rather than always centered. This setting can be useful combined with event templates at a venue where different sections the full width of a single finish line are used for different events, such has horse racing. When Custom is selected, the range of legal values will appear. The allowable range for current settings appears in parenthesis. See Additional EtherLynx Features for details.
  • LuxBoost: (or Max LuxBoost)Closed This EtherLynx Vision-Series option adds to the camera's light sensitivity. For example, setting the LuxBoost setting to 2, doubles the amount of available light. When Auto LuxBoost is used, this value defines the highest value of LuxBoost to be used.
  • Gain Method: AGC or ManualClosed This control toggles the gain function between Manual, where its value is set by the operator, and AGC, where the value is set by the computer. See Gain Control Tools for details.
  • AGC Parameters:Closed When AGC is selected, FinishLynx will vary the gain based on the following parameters:
    • Brightness This number controls the threshold level for the AGC control. It tells the software how bright it should try to make the image by adjusting the gain values.
    • Frequency This sets the number of times a second the AGC checks the light level to see if adjustment is necessary.
    • Maximum Gain Sets the ceiling value for AGC.
    • Auto Iris When selected and used with a remote iris capable lens, FinishLynx will trigger commands to open or close the iris in order to maintain the gain between the Min and Max values.
    • Auto LuxBoost When selected, FinishLynx will automatically select the LuxBoost value to use to maintain the gain between the Min and Max values.
NOTE: The software will not accept combinations of Pixel Mode:, Frame Rate:, Frame Height: and/or LuxBoost which are incompatible.
ClosedInputs Tab

Camera Settings - Inputs

  • Start Sensor:Closed This sets the type of start sensor that is being used.
    • None Start device not used.
    • Open Normally-open start device used.
    • Closed Normally-closed start device used.
    • Internal Virtual photo eye used as a start device.
  • DebounceClosed This sets the time interval between allowable start signals. This value should only be changed by experienced users.
  • OffsetClosed Allows you to input any offset value you want to the Start Signal. The offset defaults to 100 milliseconds: this is the correct offset for the ALGE TED wireless start system. If another wireless start system is being used, enter the required value here.
  • Light:Closed When the normally closed Start sensors are used, the light in the Start sensor can be configured to be either Always On (in which case it will be constantly illuminated when connected to the Connection Box and will blink when a Start signal is detected), or On When Armed, in which case  the light will only glow when the computer is armed to receive the next start signal (it will extinguish when the start signal has been transmitted to the computer).
  • Photo Eyes:Closed Used to pause or stop the running time on scoreboard displays:
    • External A Used when an external photo eye is connected to the PHOTOEYE A inputs of the Connection Box.
    • External B Used when an external photo eye is connected to the PHOTOEYE B inputs of the Connection Box.
    • Internal Only available if the FinishLynx ACM plug-in is installed. When it is checked, the EtherLynx camera itself operates as a virtual photo eye.
    • Debounce This value sets the time delay allowable between signals to prevent multiple triggers at the same beam break.
    • Offset This value is to compensate for time differentials between the beam-break time and the time recorded by FinishLynx. Both positive and negative values are allowable. Values are entered as whole numbers of milliseconds (0.001 sec).
    • Threshold (Internal only) This alters the percentage of image that has to change to signal that a beam break has occurred.
    • Active Area: (Internal only) Sets the vertical section of the image where an object should trigger FinishLynx into action. Expressed as a percentage of the total height (0 = top of image; 100 = bottom of image).
    • Size(Internal only) Sets the minimum vertical size of an object to be detected. This can prevent hands and feet from activating the beam.
  • External Sync:Closed Only available if the FinishLynx External Sync (ES) Plug-in is installed. Allows to synchronize the camera's time with an external device or GPS.
    • Off
    • Photo Eye A When an external timer is connected to PHOTOEYE A on the Connection Box.
    • Internal GPS For EtherLynx cameras equipped with an Internal GPS unit.
    • Max Error Refers to the acceptable error threshold accepted by FinishLynx.
ClosedRadioLynx tab

Camera Settings - RadioLynx

  • Port:Closed Only available if the FinishLynx RadioLynx Wireless Start (RL) Plug-In is installed. Refers to the connection used for the RadioLynx Receiver (DecRadio).
    • Off
    • Connection Box Connected to the serial port and the 12 VDC OUT of the Connection Box.
    • Camera Back Connected to the serial port and 12V 0.1A OUTPUT of the camera's back panel.
    • RadioLynx Port Connected to the RadioLynx connector of the camera's back panel.
    • Internal RadioLynx Receiver (DecRadio) built-in. Simply connect antenna to Vision-Series camera back panel.
    • Start Mask Displays the list of RadioLynx IDs configured for a start signal. Check or uncheck to enable or disable.
    • Photo Eye Mask Displays the list of RadioLynx IDs enabled for a photo eye. Check or uncheck to enable or disable.
  • Setup:Closed Refers to parameters RadioLynx parameters to be used.
    • Id Refers to the EncRadio configuration.
    • None/Start Sensor/Photo Eye Refers to the type of signal for the specified Id.
    • Name Free-text name to identify each input configured.
    • Offset (Photo Eye only) This value is to compensate for time differentials between the beam-break time and the time recorded by FinishLynx. Both positive and negative values are allowable. Values are entered as whole numbers of milliseconds (0.001 sec).
    • Active Time (Photo Eye only) Comma-separated list of time ranges when photo eye breaks are allowed.
    • One event per active time period (Photo Eye only) Check to ignore all subsequent breaks received for each active time ranges.
    • Transmitter sends periodic status Check to verify transmitter is within range when arming an event.
      • Note: EncRadio must be in 'Son' mode. Hold 2nd button for 5 seconds to toggle between 'Son' and 'Sof'.
ClosedCapture tab

Camera Settings - Capture

  • Capture Method:Closed Multi-selection check boxes that define how FinishLynx will capture image from EtherLynx cameras. See Image Capture for details.
    • Manual Capture button or keyboard capture.
    • Timed Set capture start and duration times based on a start event.
    • Pre-Cropped Only available if the FinishLynx Automatic Capture Mode (ACM) Plug-in is installed. When checked, FinishLynx will automatically crop empty image based on the Object Detection settings (can be uncropped before saving the image if needed).
    • Automatic Only available if the FinishLynx Automatic Capture Mode (ACM) Plug-in is installed. When checked, FinishLynx will automatically capture new image based on the Object Detection settings.
    • Photo Eye A Used when an external photo eye is connected to the PHOTOEYE A port on the Connection Box and needed to start capturing image.
    • Leader/Trailer Sets the number of pixels before (Leader) and after (Trailer) FinishLynx will use to pad the image during Automatic or Pre-cropped capture.
  • Object Detection:Closed The following parameters control Auto-crop as well as Automatic and Pre-cropped capture (requires ACM plug-in).
    • Threshold This alters the percentage of image that has to change to capture new image.
    • Active Area: Sets the vertical section of the image where an object should trigger FinishLynx into action. Expressed as a percentage of the total height (0 = top of image; 100 = bottom of image).
    • Size Sets the minimum vertical size of an object to be detected.
    • Min Time Set the minimum amount of time FinishLynx should capture image when a new object is detected.
ClosedTimer Tab

Camera Settings - Timer

  • Camera Calibration Info click this button to get more information on camera calibration and certification.
NOTE: This tab will appear if the camera has not been calibrated in more than 4 years or if the calibration date is unknown.