Captury Live Integration

Overview

The Captury Live software integrates with OptiTrack camera systems to provides real-time markerless tracking for up to three actors. This integration leverages Motive's Duplex and/or MJPEG modes to combine markerless skeleton tracking with optical tracking for rigid bodies and trained markersets.

Requirements

Captury Live integrates with OptiTrack cameras using either Duplex (preferred) or MJPEG mode.

Duplex Mode

Software

• Duplex mode requires Motive version 3.3 with a Motive:Body or Motive:Unlimited license on the Motive PC. If PrimeX 13 cameras are included in the volume, use version 3.3.3 or later.

• Install a version of Captury Live software that supports the Motive integration. We used version 270e in our testing and documentation.

Cameras

• Duplex mode requires PrimeX, SlimX, or VersaX cameras. Duplex mode does not work with Prime, Slim, or Flex cameras.

Synchronization

When Captury and Motive are installed on the same PC, then only one may run at a time. However, no additional synchronization device is required to run either software.

When Motive and Captury Live are running on different computers, then an eSync is required on each for cross-system synchronization.

• Connect the output from the eSync connected to the Captury computer to an input port on the eSync connected to the Motive computer.

• Set the eSync connected to the Captury computer as the master and set the eSync connected to the Motive PC to follow it.

• If an eSync2 is not connected on both systems then Captury and Motive will not be able to synchronize their exposures and a light strobing effect will occur, where some frames are synchronized and others are not.

Computer

• To run Motive with cameras in Duplex mode requires our standard PC specifications for the CPU.

• Captury Live requires the best graphics card available. An NVIDIA 4090 or better is recommended.

Networking and Miscellaneous

• As with all OptiTrack systems, you need a standalone Ethernet network. Please see our standard requirements for networking for more detail.

  • Dual NICs are not required.

  • The switch may need to have jumbo packets enabled.

• OptiTrack calibration tools, markers for rigid bodies, and other standard OptiTrack accessories are also required.

MJPEG Mode

OptiTrack cameras can be used with MJPEG mode in Captury Live. This works with all modern cameras, with the exception of the Duo 3 and Trio 3 tracking bars. This includes the Flex, Slim, Prime, PrimeX, SlimX, and VersaX camera lines.

Calibrate the Volume

To integrate Captury Live with Motive, the system is calibrated in Motive, and the calibration file imported into Captury Live.

• In Motive, complete a full system calibration. Please see the Calibration page for instructions on performing a full calibration.

• Export the calibration results by selecting Export Camera Calibration from the File menu. By default, Motive will save the results as an XML file with an .mcal extension.

• Once the file is exported, close Motive. Motive and Captury Live cannot run simultaneously.

Configure Captury for Motive

Install the Captury Live software and license according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Initialize Captury Live

Open the Captury Live application to complete the AI initialization process. The first time the program runs, AI initialization will create the files needed to run the program, some of which need to be configured for use with Motive.

While Captury Live is opening, the AI initialization will display in a separate window.

Once the program loads, the AI initialization may continue to run in the background. Check the status by clicking the green AI button in the top right corner of the screen.

The GPU and AI Status window will open. This window displays the Detected GPUs and driver version as well as the AI initialization status. Once the AI initialization process is finished, close Captury Live.

Edit the Captury.ini File

The CapturyLive.ini file contains settings to run the Captury Live application. This file must be edited for the OptiTrack cameras to be recognized in Captury Live.

• The quickest way to find the .ini file, is to enter %AppData% in the Run command, which will open the AppData folder. The .ini file is in the folder AppData > Roaming > theCaptury.

• Open the .ini file with Notepad or your preferred text editor.

• Search for Motive to find the [devices] section.

• The properties in this section determine whether devices are enabled in Captury. Set the following properties to true:

  • enableOptiTrack=true

  • enableMotive=true

• Set the following properties to false:

  • enableSpinnaker=false

  • enableQualisys=false

• Once the properties are updated, save and close the CapturyLive.ini file.

• Re-launch Captury Live. Motive will initialize as the application loads:

Import Calibration into Captury

The next step after Motive is initialized is to import the calibration done in Motive into Captury Live.

• From the File menu, select Import > Import Calibration...

• Browse to and select the .mcal file exported earlier.

• Once the calibration file is loaded, the cameras will show in the 3D viewport:

Captury Panels

From the View menu, select Panels to include additional components in the layout.

Camera Settings

There are a few properties you can adjust in Captury Live from the Camera Settings panel. Note that these settings apply to all cameras in the volume.

LED:

This property displays as a percentage, but is actually an on/off setting. A value of zero (0) is off, and any value greater than zero is on.

Framerate:

Adjust the camera frame rate directly in Captury. Our tester was able to successfully track with using a framerate of 60 fps, but results may vary.

Skeleton Tracking

Now that your Captury Live system is configured to work with Motive, you're ready to start tracking! Click the TRACK button in the Captury Live toolbar to get started.

When Tracking is turned on, a circle will display in the center of the volume. Have the subject stand in the center of the circle, in a T-pose.

In the Tracking Pane, click and drag the text <drag new skeleton> over the subject.

The subject will appear as a thick red point cloud in the viewport.

The Viewport will update to show the tracked skeleton rather than the point cloud.

Rigid Body Tracking

In addition to markerless skeleton tracking, Captury Live can track markered rigid bodies.

• Place the rigid body in the circle in the center of the Captury Live volume.

• Select the rigid body's markers.

• Right-click in the list of tracked assets and select Init Marker Prop from the menu.

Shot Management

In Captury, you must create the folder and name the shot in the Shot Management pane before you can begin recording.

Record

Once you are ready to begin, click the Record button in the bottom right corner of the Shot Management Pane. Click the button again to stop recording when done.

The recorded files will be large, with even a short recording producing gigabytes of data. While it's not possible to fully quantify this, since you can change the compression rate and the number of skeletons, our tests yielded the following results:

• Eight PrimeX 22 cameras recording one skeleton for one minute was 2.1 GB of data.

• Twelve PrimeX 41 cameras recording one skeleton for one minute resulted in 3.7 GB of data.

Export

Captury Live creates a number of files during the recording process. Right-click on the shot to see all the export options.

Reprocessing

Data recorded through Captury Live can be streamed to another application, such as Unreal Engine or Unity, or the data can be reprocessed in Captury Live. This data cannot be loaded into Motive.

Use the Retarget panel to complete reprocessing of the shot in Captury Live. For more information on using the Captury Live software, please visit the Captury Live documentation site.

Troubleshooting

Cameras connect in Motive but not in Captury Live

If the cameras appear and work in Motive but not in Captury Live, check the CapturyLive.ini file to ensure the settings are correct.

If the settings are correct, confirm that the "Streaming Network" appears in the Captury network settings and the status is UP.