Overview

Specs

Overview

Specs

Overview

Specs

Overview

Specs

Overview

Specs

Overview

Specs

Overview

Specs

Overview

Specs

Before setting up a motion capture system, choose a suitable setup area and prepare it in order to achieve the best tracking performance. This page highlights some of the considerations to make when preparing the setup area for general tracking applications. Note that this page provides just general recommendations and these could vary depending on the size of a system or purpose of the capture.

Indoor Tracking

Pick a Setup Area

First of all, pick a place to set up the capture volume.

Setup Area Size

• System setup area depends on the size of the mocap system and how the cameras are positioned. To get a general idea, check out the feature on our website.

• Make sure there is plenty of room for setting up the cameras. It is usually beneficial to have extra space in case the system setup needs to be altered. Also, pick an area where there is enough vertical spacing as well. Setting up the cameras at a high elevation is beneficial because it gives wider lines of sight for the cameras, providing a better coverage of the capture volume.

Minimal Foot Traffic

• After camera system calibration, the system should remain unaltered in order to maintain the calibration quality. Physical contacts on cameras could change the setup, requiring it to be re-calibrated. To prevent such cases, pick a space where there is only minimal foot traffic.

Flooring

• Avoid reflective flooring. The IR lights from the cameras could be reflected by it and interfere with tracking. If this is inevitable, consider covering the floor with surface mats to prevent the reflections.

• Avoid flexible or deformable flooring; such flooring can negatively impact your system's calibration.

Reducing IR Interference

For the best tracking performance, minimize ambient light interference within the setup area. The motion capture cameras track the markers by detecting reflected infrared light and any extraneous IR lights that exist within the capture volume could interfere with the tracking.

• Sunlight: Block any open windows that might let sunlight in. Sunlight contains wavelength within the IR spectrum and could interfere with the cameras.

• IR Light sources: Remove any unnecessary lights in IR wavelength range from the capture volume. IR lights could be emitted from sources such as incandescent, halogen, and high-pressure sodium lights or any other IR based devices.

IR White Objects

Dark-colored objects absorb most of the visible light, however, it does not mean that they absorb the IR lights as well. Therefore, the color of the material is not a good way of determining whether an object will be visible within the IR spectrum. Some materials will look dark to human eyes but appear bright white on the IR cameras. If these items are placed within the tracking volume, they could introduce extraneous reconstructions.

Since you already have the IR cameras in hand, use one of the cameras to check whether there are IR white materials within the volume. If there are, move them out of the volume or cover them up.

Obstacles

• Remove any unnecessary obstacles out of the capture volume since they could block cameras' view and prevent them from tracking the markers. Leave only the items that are necessary for the capture.

• Remove reflective objects nearby or within the setup area since IR illumination from the cameras could be reflected by them. You can also use non-reflective tapes to cover the reflective parts.

Outdoor Tracking

Prime 41 and Prime 17W cameras are equipped with powerful IR LED rings which enables tracking outdoors, even under the presence of some extraneous IR lights. The strong illumination from the Prime 41 cameras allows a mocap system to better distinguish marker reflections from extraneous illuminations. System settings and camera placements may need to be adjusted for outdoor tracking applications.

This page provides the general specifications for an OptiTrack camera setup. Please see our and pages for more detailed instructions on how to setup your Ethernet camera system.

Ethernet Camera System

An Ethernet camera system networks via Ethernet cables. Ethernet-based camera models include PrimeX series (PrimeX 13, 13W, 22, 41), SlimX 13, and Prime Color models. Ethernet cables not only offer faster data transfer rates, but they also provide power over Ethernet to each camera while transferring the data to the host PC. This reduces the number of required cables and simplifies the overall setup. Furthermore, Ethernet cables have much longer length capability (up to 100m), allowing the systems to cover large volumes.

Main Components

• Host PC with an isolated network (PCI/e NIC)

• Ethernet Cameras

• Ethernet cables

• Ethernet PoE/PoE+ Switches

• Uplink switch (for large camera count setup)

• The eSync (optional for synchronizations)

Ethernet Cable Requirements

Cable Type

There are multiple categories for Ethernet cables, and each has different specifications for maximum data transmission rate and cable length. For an Ethernet based system, Cat6 or above Gigabit Ethernet cables should be used. 10 Gigabit Ethernet cables – Cat6a or above — are recommended in conjunction with a 10 Gigabit uplink switch for the connection between the uplink switch and the host PC in order to accommodate for high data traffic.

Electromagnetic Shielding

We recommend using only cables that have electromagnetic interference shielding. If unshielded cables are used, cables in close proximity to each other have the potential to create data transfer interference and cause cameras to stall in Motive.

Network Switch Requirement and Setup

Our current general standard for network switches are:

• PoE ports with at least 1GB of data transfer for each port.

Switch Setup

General Questions

Troubleshooting

Tracking Bar Coordinate System

If you wish to change the location and orientation of the global axis, you can use the ground plane tools from the and use a Rigid Body or a calibration square to set the global origin.

Coordinate Systems Tool

Adjustig the Coordinate System Steps

3. [Motive] Open the Ground Planes page.

6. [Motive] Click Set Set Ground Plane button, and the global origin will be adjusted.

Choosing an appropriate camera mounting solution is very important when setting up a capture volume. A stable setup not only prevents camera damage from unexpected collisions, but it also maintains calibration quality throughout capture. All OptiTrack cameras have ¼-20 UNC Threaded holes – ¼ inch diameter, 20 threads/inch – which is the industry standard for mounting cameras. Before planning the mount structures, make sure that you have optimized your plans.

Camera Clamps

Camera clamps are used to fasten cameras onto stable mounting structures, such as a truss system, wall mounts, speed rails, or large tripods. There are some considerations when choosing a clamp for each camera. Most importantly, the clamps need to be able to bear the camera weight. Also, we recommend using clamps that offer adjustment of all 3 degrees of orientation: pitch, yaw, and roll. The stability of your mounting structure and the placement of each camera is very important for the quality of the mocap data, and as such we recommend using one of the mounting structures suggested in this page.

Assembling the Clamps

Manfrotto clamps come in three parts:

• Manfrotto 035 Super Clamp

• Manfrotto 056 3-Way, Pan-and-Tilt Head with 1/4"-20 Mount

• Reversible Short Brass Stud

For proper assembly, please follow the steps below:

1. Place the brass stud into the 16mm hexagon socket in the Manfrotto Super Clamp.

2. Depress the spring-loaded button so the brass stud will lock into place.

3. Tighten the safety pin mechanism to secure the brass stud within the hexagon socket. Be sure that the 3/8″ screw (larger) end of the stud is facing out.

4. From here, attach the Super Clamp to the 3-Way, Pan-and-Tilt Head by screwing in the brass stud into the screw hole of the 3-Way, Pan-and-Tilt Head.

5. Be sure to tighten these two components fairly tight as you don't want them to swivel when installing cameras. It helps to first tighten the 360° swivel on the 3-Way, Pan-and-Tilt Head as this will ensure that any unwanted swivel will not occur when tightening the two components together.

6. Once, these two components are attached you should have a fully functioning clamp to attach your cameras to.

Choosing the Mounting Structure

Large scale mounting structures, such as trusses and wall mounts, are the most stable and can be used to reliably cover larger volumes. Cameras are well-fixed and the need for recalibration is reduced. However, they are not easily portable and cannot be easily adjusted. On the other hand, smaller mounting structures, such as tripods and C-clamps, are more portable, simple to setup, and can be easily adjusted if needed. However, they are less stable and more vulnerable to external impacts, which can distort the camera position and the calibration. Choosing your mounting structure depends on the capture environment, the size of the volume, and the purpose of capture. You can use a combination of both methods as needed for unique applications.

Truss

A truss system provides a sturdy structure and a customizable layout that can cover diverse capture volume sizes, ranging from a small volume to a very large volume. Cameras are mounted on the truss beam using the camera clamps.

General steps

2. Follow the truss installation instruction and assemble the trusses on-site, and use the fastening pins to secure each truss segment.

   • Fasten the base truss to the ground.

   • Connect each of the segments and fix them by inserting a fastening pin.

3. Attach clamps to the cameras.

4. Mount the clamps to the truss beam.

Tripods

Tripods are portable and simple to install, and they are not restricted to the environment constraints. There are various sizes and types of tripods for different applications. In order to ensure its stability, each tripod needs to be installed on a hard surface (e.g. concrete). Usually, one camera is attached per tripod, but camera clamps can be used in combination to fasten multiple cameras along the leg as long as the tripod is stable enough to bear the weight. Note that tripod setups are less stable and vulnerable to physical impacts. Any camera movements after calibration will distort the calibration quality, and the volume will need to be re-calibrated.

Wall Mounts and Speed Rails

Wall mounts and speed rails are used with camera clamps to mount the cameras along the wall of the capture volume. This setup is very stable, and it has a low chance of getting interfered with by way of physical contact. The capture volume size and layout will depend on the size of the room. However, note that the wall, or the building itself, may slightly fluctuate due to the changing ambient temperature throughout the day. Therefore, you may need to routinely re-calibrate the volume if you are looking for precise measurements.

Tools Required

General Tools

• Cordless drill

• Socket driver bits for drill

• Various drill bits

• Hex head Allen wrench set

• Laser level

Speed Rail Parts

• Pre-cut rails

• Internal locking splice

• 5" offset wall mount bracket

• End caps (should already be pre-installed onto pipes)

• Elbow speed rail bracket (optional)

• Tee speed rail bracket (optional)

Wood Stud Setup

Wood frame studs behind drywall requires:

• Pre-drilled holes.

• 2 1/2" long x 5/16" hex head wood lag screws.

Metal Stud Framing Setup

Metal stud framing behind drywall requires:

• Undersized pre-drilled holes as a marker in the drywall.

• 2"long x 5/16" self tapping metal screws with hex head.

Concrete Block/Wall Setup

Requires:

• Pre-drilled holes.

• Concrete anchors inserted into pre-drilled hole.

• 2 1/2" concrete lags.

General Steps

1. Pre-drill bracket locations.

2. If working in a smaller space, slip speed rails into brackets prior to installing.

3. Install all brackets by the top lag first.

4. Check to see if all are correctly spaced and level.

5. Install bottom lags.

6. Slip speed rails into brackets.

7. Set screw and internal locking splice of speed rail.

8. Attach clamps to the cameras.

9. Attach the clamps to the rail.

Overview

This page provides instructions on how to configure the CameraNicFilter.xml file to whitelist or blacklist specific cameras from the connected camera network.

Starting with Motive 2.1, you can specify which cameras to utilize among the connected Ethernet cameras in a system. This can be done by setting up an XML file (CameraNicFilter.xml) and placing it in Motive's ProgramData directory: C:\ProgramData\OptiTrack\Motive\CameraNicFilter.xml. Once this is set, Motive will initialize only the specified cameras within the respective network interface. This allows users to distribute the cameras to specific network interfaces on a computer or on multiple computers.

Applications

For common applications, there is usually no need to separate the cameras to different network interfaces. However, there are few situations where you may want to use this filter to segregate the cameras. Below are some of the sample applications of the filters:

Multiple Prime Color cameras

When there are multiple Prime Color cameras in a setup, you can configure the filter to spread out the data load. In other words, you can uplink color camera data through a separate network interface (NIC) and distribute the data traffic to prevent any bandwidth bottleneck. To accomplish this, multiple NICs must be present on the host computer, and you can distribute the data and uplink them onto different interfaces.

Active marker tracking on multiple capture volumes

For active marker tracking, this filter can be used to distribute the cameras to different host computers. By doing so, you can segregate the cameras into multiple capture volumes and have them share the same connected BaseStation. This could be beneficial for VR applications especially if you plan on having multiple volumes to calibrate because you can use the same active components between different volumes.

Configuring the XML File

To separate the cameras, you will need to use a text editor to create an XML file named CameraNicfilter.xml. In this XML file, you will specify which cameras to whitelist or blacklist within the connected network interface. Please note that it is very important for the XML file to match the expected format; for this reason, we strongly recommend to first copy-and-paste the template and start from there.

Attached below is a basic template of the CameraNicFilter.xml file. On each NIC element, you can specify each network interface using the IPAddress attribute, and then in its child elements, you can specifically set which cameras to whitelist or blacklist using their serial numbers.

Sample XML File

<?xml version="1.0" ?>
<MotiveNicFilter>
	<NIC IPAddress="192.168.1.3">
		<Whitelist>
			<Serial>M#####</Serial>
			<Serial>M#####</Serial>
		</Whitelist>
		<Blacklist>
			<Serial>M#####</Serial>
			<Serial>M#####</Serial>
		</Blacklist>
	</NIC>
	<NIC IPAddress="192.168.1.5">
		<Whitelist>
			<Serial>M#####</Serial>
			<Serial>M#####</Serial>
		</Whitelist>
		<Blacklist>
			<Serial>M#####</Serial>
			<Serial>M#####</Serial>
		</Blacklist>
	</NIC>
</MotiveNicFilter>

Network Interface

<NIC>

For each network interface that you will be using to communicate with the cameras, you will need to create a <NIC> element and assign a network IP address (IPv4) to its IPAddress attribute. Then, under each NIC element, you can specify which cameras to use or not to use.

Cameras

<Whitelist> / <Blacklist>

Under the NIC element, define two child elements: <Whitelist> and <Blacklist>. In each element, you will be specifying the cameras using their serial numbers. Within each network interface, only the cameras listed under the <Whitelist> element will be used and all of the cameras under <Blacklist> will be ignored.

<Serial>

As shown in the above template, you can specify which cameras to whitelist or blacklist using the corresponding camera serial numbers. For example, you can use the following to specify the camera (M18883) <Serial>M18883</Serial>. You can also use a partial serial number as a wildcard to specify all cameras with the matching serial number. For example, if you wish to blacklist all Color cameras in a network (192.168.1.3), you can use C as the wildcard serial number since the serial number of all color cameras start with C.

<?xml version="1.0" ?>
<MotiveNicFilter>
	<NIC IPAddress="192.168.1.3">
		<Whitelist>
			<Serial>M18883</Serial>			
			<Serial>M18885</Serial>
		</Whitelist>
		<Blacklist>
			<Serial>C</Serial>
		</Blacklist>
	</NIC>
</MotiveNicFilter>

Save the XML File

Once the XMl file is configured, please save the file in the ProgramData directory: C:\ProgramData\OptiTrack\Motive\CameraNicFilter.xml. If everything is set up properly, only the whitelisted cameras under each network interface will get initialized in Motive, and the data from only the specified cameras will be uplinked through the respective network interface.

Samples

In optical motion capture systems, proper camera placement is very important in order to efficiently utilize the captured images from each camera. Before setting up the cameras, it is good idea to plan ahead and create a blueprint of the camera placement layout. This page highlights the key aspects and tips for efficient camera placements.

A well-arranged camera placement can significantly improve the tracking quality. When tracking markers, 3D coordinates are reconstructed from the 2D views seen by each camera in the system. More specifically, correlated 2D marker positions are triangulated to compute the 3D position of each marker. Thus, having multiple distinct vantages on the target volume is beneficial because it allows wider angles for the triangulation algorithm, which in turn improves the tracking quality. Accordingly, an efficient camera arrangement should have cameras distributed appropriately around the capture volume. By doing so, not only the tracking accuracy will be improved, but uncorrelated rays and marker occlusions will also be prevented. Depending on the type of tracking application, capture volume environment, and the size of a mocap system, proper camera placement layouts may vary.

Planning Camera Placement

An ideal camera placement varies depending on the capture application. In order to figure out the best placements for a specific application, a clear understanding of the fundamentals of optical motion capture is necessary.

To calculate 3D marker locations, tracked markers must be simultaneously captured by at least two synchronized cameras in the system. When not enough cameras are capturing the 2D positions, the 3D marker will not be present in the captured data. As a result, the collected marker trajectory will have gaps, and the accuracy of the capture will be reduced. Furthermore, extra effort and time will be required for post-processing the data. Thus, marker visibility throughout the capture is very important for tracking quality, and cameras need to be capturing at diverse vantages so that marker occlusions are minimized.

Depending on captured motion types and volume settings, the instructions for ideal camera arrangement vary. For applications that require tracking markers at low heights, it would be beneficial to have some cameras placed and aimed at low elevations. For applications tracking markers placed strictly on the front of the subject, cameras on the rear won't see those and as a result, become unnecessary. For large volume setups, installing cameras circumnavigating the volume at the highest elevation will maximize camera coverage and the capture volume size. For captures valuing extreme accuracy, it is better to place cameras close to the object so that cameras capture more pixels per marker and more accurately track small changes in their position.

General Guide

For common applications of tracking 3D position and orientation of Skeletons and Rigid Bodies, place the cameras on the periphery of the capture volume. This setup typically maximizes the camera overlap and minimizes wasted camera coverage. General tips include the following:

• Mount cameras at the desired maximum height of the capture volume.

• Distribute the cameras equidistantly around the setup area.

• Adjust angles of cameras and aim them towards the target volume.

• For cameras with rectangular FOVs, mount the cameras in landscape orientation. In very small setup areas, cameras can be aimed in portrait orientation to increase vertical coverage, but this typically reduces camera overlap, which can reduce marker continuity and data quality.

Camera Placement Checkpoints

Around the volume

For common applications tracking a Skeleton or a Rigid Body to obtain the 6 Degrees of Freedom (x,y,z-position and orientation) data, it is beneficial to arrange the cameras around the periphery of the capture volume for tracking markers both in front and back of the subject.

Camera Elevations

For typical motion capture setup, placing cameras at high elevations is recommended. Doing so maximizes the capture coverage in the volume, and also minimizes the chance of subjects bumping into the truss structure which can degrade calibration. Furthermore, when cameras are placed at low elevations and aimed across from one another, the synchronized IR illuminations from each camera will be detected, and will need to be masked from the 2D view.

However, it can be beneficial to place cameras at varying elevations. Doing so will provide more diverse viewing angles from both high and low elevations and can significantly increase the coverage of the volume. The frequency of marker occlusions will be reduced, and the accuracy of detecting the marker elevations will be improved.

Camera to Camera Distance

Separating every camera by a consistent distance is recommended. When cameras are placed in close vicinity, they capture similar images on the tracked subject, and the extra image will not contribute to preventing occlusions nor the reconstruction calculations. This overlap detracts from the benefit of a higher camera count and also doubles the computational load for the calibration process. Moreover, this also increases the chance of marker occlusions because markers will be blocked from multiple views simultaneously whenever obstacles are introduced.

Camera to Object Distance

An ideal distance between a camera and the captured subject also depends on the purpose of the capture. A long distance between the camera and the object gives more camera coverage for larger volume setups. On the other hand, capturing at a short distance will have less camera coverage but the tracking measurements will be more accurate. The cameras lens focus ring may need to be adjusted for close-up tracking applications.

Placement Examples

In order to ensure that every camera in a mocap system takes full advantage of its capability, they need to be focused and aimed at the target tracking volume. This page includes detailed instructions on how to adjust the focus and aim of each camera for an optimal motion capture. OptiTrack cameras are focused at infinity by default, which is generally sufficient for common tracking applications. However, we recommend users to always double-check the camera view and make sure the captured images are focused when first setting up the system. Obtaining best quality image is very important as 3D data is derived from the captured images.

General Steps

1. Make sure that the camera placement is appropriate for your application.

2. Pick a camera to adjust the aim and focus.

3. Set the camera to the raw grayscale video mode (in Motive) and increase the camera exposure to capture the brightest image (These steps are accomplished by the Aim Assist Button on featured cameras).

4. Place one or more reflective markers in the tracking volume.

5. Carefully adjust the camera angle while monitoring the Camera Preview so that the desired capture volume is included within the camera coverage.

6. Within the Camera Preview in Motive, zoom in on one of the markers so that it fills the frame.

7. Adjust the focus (detailed instruction given below) so that the captured image is resolved as clearly as possible.

8. Repeat above steps for other cameras in the system.

Aim Assist Button

Adjusting aim with a single person can be difficult because the user will have to run back and forth from the camera and the host PC in order to adjust the camera angle and monitor the 2D view at the same time. OptiTrack cameras featuring the Aim Assist button (Prime series and Flex 13) makes this aiming process easier. With just one button-click, the user can set the camera to the grayscale mode and the exposure value to its optimal setting for adjusting both aim and focus. Fit the capture volume within the vertical and horizontal range shown by the virtual crosshairs that appear when Aim Assist mode is on. With this feature, the single-user no longer needs to go back to the host PC to choose cameras and change their settings. Settings for Aim Assist buttons are available from Application Settings pane.

Adjusting Aiming

After all the cameras are placed at correct locations, they need to be properly aimed in order to fully utilize its capture coverage. In general, all cameras need to be aimed at the target capture volume where markers will be tracked. While cameras are still attached to the mounting structure, carefully adjust the camera clamp so that the camera field of view (FOV) is directed at the capture region. Refer to 2D camera views from the Camera Preview pane, and ensure that each camera view covers the desired capture region.

Adjusting Focus

All OptiTrack cameras (except the V120:Duo/Trio tracking bars) can be re-focused to optimize image clarity at any distance within the tracking range. Change the camera mode to raw grayscale mode and adjust the camera setting, increase exposure and LED setting, to capture the brightest image. Zoom onto one of the reflective markers in the capture volume and check clarity of the image. Then, adjust the camera focus and find the point where the marker image is best resolved. The following images show some examples.

How to Change Focus

When enabled, the Broadcast Storm Control feature on the NETGEAR ProSafe GSM7228S may interfere with the synchronization mechanism used by OptiTrack Ethernet cameras. For proper system operations, the Strom Control features must be disabled for all of the ports used in this aggregator switch.

Steps

Step 1. Access the IPv4 settings on the network card that the camera network is connected to.

• On windows, open the Network and Sharing Center and access Change adaptor settings.

• Right-click on the adapter that the network switch is connected to and access its properties.

• Among the list of items, select the Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) and access its properties by clicking the Properties button.

Step 2. Make a note of the IP address settings for the network card connected to the switch.

Step 3. Change the IP address of the network card connected to the switch to 169.254.100.200. As shown below.

Step 4. Open windows explorer, and access 169.254.100.100

Step 5. Log into the switch with Username 'admin', and leave Password blank

Step 6. Navigate to Security->Traffic Control->Storm Control->Storm Control Global Configuration

Step 7. Ensure that all storm control options are disabled

Step 8. Navigate to Maintenance->Save Config->Save Configuration

Step 9. Check the 'Save Configuration' check box

Step 10. Log out of the switch, or just close the browser window

Step 11. Restore the IP address settings noted in Step 2 for the network card connected to the switch

Overview

Specs

Overview

Specs

Overview

Below are a couple of diagrams to properly setup your network. These setups are strongly advised and have been tested for optimal use and safety.

Ethernet Camera System

Ethernet Camera Models: PrimeX series and SlimX 13 cameras. Follow the below wiring diagram and connect each of the required system components.

Power over Ethernet (PoE/PoE+) Switches

OptiTrack’s Ethernet cameras require PoE or PoE+ Gigabit Ethernet switches, depending on the camera's power requirement. The switch serves two functions: transfer camera data to a host PC, and supply power to each camera over the Ethernet cable (PoE).

The switch must provide consistent power to every port simultaneously in order to power each camera. Standard PoE switches must provide a full 15.4 watts to every port simultaneously. PrimeX 41, PrimeX 22, and Prime Color cameras have stronger IR strobes which require higher power for the maximum performance.

In this case, these cameras need to be routed through PoE+ switches that provide a full 30 watts of power to each port simultaneously. Note that PoE Midspan devices or power injectors are not suitable for Ethernet camera systems.

Redundant Power Systems for Larger Camera Setups

Some switches are only allotted a power budget smaller than what is needed depending on which OptiTrack cameras are being used. For larger camera setups this can cause multiple switches that can only use a portion of their available ports. In this case, we recommend an Redundant Power System (RPS) to extend the power budget of your switch. For example, a 24-port switch may have a 370W power budget which only supports 12 PoE+ cameras that require 30W to power. If, however, you have the same 24-port switch with a RPS, you can now power all 24 PoE+ cameras with a 30W power requirement utilizing all 24 of the PoE ports on the switch.

eSync2

The eSync is used to enable synchronization and timecode in Ethernet-based mocap systems. Only one device is needed per system, and it enables you to link the system to almost any signal source. It has multiple synchronization ports which allow integrating external signals from other devices. When an eSync is used, it is considered as the master in the synchronization chain.

Final Steps

At this point, all of the connected cameras will be listed on the Devices pane and the 3D viewport when you start up Motive. Check to make sure all of the connected cameras are properly listed in Motive.

Then, open up the Status Log panel and check there are no 2D frame drops. You may see a few frame drops when booting up the system or when switching between Live and Edit modes; however, this should only occur just momentarily. If the system continues to drop 2D frames, it indicates there is a problem with how the system is delivering the camera data. Please refer to the troubleshooting section for more details.

General Windows Setup

Debloat Windows

You'll want to remove as much bloatware from your PC in order to optimize your system and make sure minimal unnecessary background processes are running. Background process can take up valuable CPU resources from Motive and cause frame drops while running your camera system.

There are many external resources in order to remove unused apps and halt unnecessary background processes, so they will not be covered within the scope of this page.

Windows Settings

Firewall and Antivirus Settings

As a general rule for all OptiTrack camera systems, you'll want to disable all Windows firewalls and either disable or remove any Antivirus software. If firewalls and Antivirus software is enabled, this will cause frame drops while running your camera system.

Priority

In order for Motive to run above other processes, you'll need to change the Priority of Motive.exe to High.

• Right Click on the Motive shortcut from your Desktop

• In the Target: text field enter the below path, this will allow Motive to run at High Priority that will persist from closing and reopening Motive.

C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe /C start "" /high "C:\Program Files\OptiTrack\Motive\Motive.exe"

Processor Affinity (Optional)

If you're running a system with a CPU with a lower core count, you may need to disable Motive from running on a couple of cores. This will help stabilize the overall system and free up some cores for other Windows required processes.

• From the Task Manager, navigate to the Details tab and right click on Motive.exe

• Select Set Affinity

• From this window, uncheck the cores you wish to disallow Motive.exe to run on.

• Click OK

Network Setup in Windows

Switch Settings

NIC Settings

NIC

Your Network Interface Card has a few settings that can change in order to optimize your system.

To navigate to the camera network's NIC:

• Open Windows Settings

• Select Ethernet from the navigation sidebar

• Under Related settings select Change adapter options

• From the Network Connections pop up window, right click on your NIC and select Properites

• Select the Configure... button and navigate to the Advanced tab

Speed & Duplex

For the Speed and Duplex property, you'll want to change this to the highest throughput of your NIC. If you have a 10Gbps NIC, you'll want to make sure that 10Gbps Full Duplex is selected. This property allows the NIC to operate at it's full range. If this setting is not altered to Full, Windows has the tendency to throttle the NIC throughput causing a 10Gbps NIC to only be sending data at 2Gbps.

Interrupt Moderation

Interrupt Moderation allows the NIC to moderate interrupts. When there is a significant amount of data being uplinked to Motive, this can cause more interrupts to occur thus hindering the system performance. You'll want to Disable this property.

NIC Adapters (Laptop)

Although not recommended, you may use a laptop PC to run a larger or Prime Color Camera system. When using a laptop PC, you'll need to use an external network adapter for. The above settings will typically not apply to these types of adapters, so no properties will need to changed.

This page includes information on the status indicator lights on the OptiTrack Ethernet cameras.

PrimeX Series

Status Ring Light

The PrimeX Series cameras have a front mounted status ring light to indicate the state of the Motive software and firmware updates on the cameras. The following table lists the default ring light color associated with the state of Motive.

Status Ring Light Colors

Bottom Left Display

On every PrimeX camera there is an additional display in the bottom left corner of the face of the camera.

Bottom Left Display Values

Changing Status Ring Light

If for any reason you need to change the status ring light you can do so by going into Settings and under General click on the color box next to the status you would like to change. This will bring up a color picker window where you can choose a solid color or choose mutli-color to oscillate between colors. You also have the ability to save a color to your color library to apply it to other statuses.

Turning off Aim Assist Button LED

In order to disable the aim assist button LED on the back of PrimeX cameras, you simply toggle them off in the General settings. You can find this under Aim Assist > Aiming Button LED.

Back Light

The PrimeX Series cameras also have a status indicator on the back panel and indicate the state of the camera only. When changing to a new version of Motive, the camera will need a firmware update in order to communicate to the new version. Firmware updates are automatic when starting Motives. If the camera's firmware updates to a new version of Motive, running an older version of Motive will cause the firmware to necessarily revert back to an older version of firmware. This process is automatic as well.

Back Ring Light Colors

Updating Firmware

When changing versions of Motive, a firmware update is needed. This process is automatic when opening the software and the status ring light and back ring light show the state, as described in the table above, of the camera during this process. The camera should not be unplugged during a firmware reset or firmware update. Give the camera time to finish this process before turning off the software.

If a camera doesn't update its firmware with the rest of the cameras, it will not get loaded into Motive. Wait for all cameras that are updating to finish, then restart Motive. The cameras that failed to update will now update. This could be caused by miscommunication between the switch when loading in numerous cameras.

Slim 13E

Front LED

Back Light

Like PrimeX series cameras, SlimX 13 cameras also have a status indicator on the back panel and indicate the state of the camera.

Back Ring Light Colors