Knowledge Base

EthoVision XT Troubleshooting (Continued)

17. Image Lightens and Darkens (Subtle Change, No Flicker)

1. Check that Exposure Auto is set to Off (in Pylon Viewer under Acquisition Controls).
2. Check that Gain Auto is set to Off (in Pylon Viewer under Analog Controls).
3. Check that Balance White Auto is Off (in Pylon Viewer under Color Improvement Control).
4. If none of the above resolve this, check that your Exposure setting (in Pylon Viewer under Acquisition Controls, Exposure Time (Abs) [us]) is high enough (try 8000).

18. Motion Blur in EthoVision XT

1. The Exposure setting in Pylon Viewer is incorrect (Exposure Time (Abs) [us] is likely too high, 20,000+). See the camera exposure settings guide for how to set the correct value in Pylon Viewer.

19. Camera Image Is Dark Even With Infrared Light

1. Aperture ring of camera lens is closed all the way or partially.
2. Exposure time of camera is too low.
3. Gain of camera is too low. Take care when increasing gain as it often introduces unwanted noise to the video image.
4. Some color cameras may have an IR cut filter attached by default, resulting in a dark image. To remove the IR cut filter, see the relevant guide.

20. Camera Will Not Focus

1. The camera will not focus if the wrong type of lens is mounted (e.g., a C-mount lens on a CS-mount camera or vice versa). If you have a C-mount lens on a CS-mount camera, it can be used but requires an adapter ring installed between the lens and camera. If the camera and lens have the same mount type, make sure the adapter ring has not been installed, as it will prevent correct focus.
2. Perform a factory reset on the camera:
   1. Open Pylon Viewer and at the bottom left of the interface, make sure the User Level is set to Guru.
   2. In the Features Window, select your camera (for example Color Camera 1 (serial number)) and expand it.
   3. Near the bottom of the list, expand Configuration Sets:
      1. For Configuration Set Selector, select Default Configuration Set.
      2. For Default Startup Set, select Default User Set.
      3. For User Set Save, click the Execute button.
      4. For User Set Load, click the Execute button.
      5. The camera should now be reset to factory defaults.
   4. While still in Pylon Viewer, set the following:
      1. Go to AOI Controls:
         • For Width, type 1280.
         • For Height, type 960.
         • Select the checkbox for Center X and Center Y.
   5. Follow Section H to set the remaining settings, including the Exposure.
   6. Save your settings.
   7. Close Pylon Viewer.

21. Camera Order Scrambles When a GigE Camera Signal Is Lost

1. Always plug cameras into the same ports. Label the ports and camera cables if needed to keep things in order.
2. Restore the camera signal.
3. Once the camera signal is restored, open EthoVision XT and toggle between Acquisition and Experiment Settings. Go to Acquisition, then Experiment Settings, then back to Acquisition. The camera order should now be restored to the original setup.
4. Note that despite the visual swapping of cameras listed in the Source table (via Experiment Settings in EthoVision), the cameras should still load in the correct order per your Arena Settings definition.

22. Significant Lag or Freezing During Tracking

1. Reboot the PC daily to refresh its resources.
2. Assuming you are using a PC purchased from Noldus and the setup is not too taxing (multiple animals, arenas, and/or multiple body point tracking), this is likely caused by incorrect Exposure settings in Pylon Viewer. Also review your Resolution and Frame Rate settings in EthoVision (see Section K for more info).
3. Note that a small lag when navigating between modules (Experiment Settings, Arena Settings, Detection Settings, or Acquisition) is normal, as EthoVision accesses the camera during these transitions.
4. To confirm that the lag during tracking is caused by the camera setup, check for Missing Samples (see item #23 below and Section L).
5. If none of the above resolve the lag, and your PC was not purchased from Noldus, it may be insufficient to run EthoVision, which is a very CPU-intensive program. To have Technical Support review your PC specs, create a PC report (see Section P) and send it to [email protected].

23. Track File Has Many Missing Samples or Interpolated Samples

1. Missing Samples or Interpolated Samples can be viewed while EthoVision is acquiring data, or after the fact via Trial List. Click Show/Hide, select Variables, then select either or both Missed Samples and Interpolated Samples.
2. Missing Samples or Interpolated Samples percentage should be at or very near 0%.
3. The Exposure setting in Pylon Viewer is likely incorrect (Exposure Time (Abs) [us] is likely too high). See the camera exposure settings guide for how to correct this in Pylon Viewer.
4. If your Pylon Viewer exposure settings are correct and you are tracking live (not from pre-recorded video), make sure Video Pixel Smoothing is set to None in EthoVision (found in Detection Settings).
5. If none of the above resolve the problem, and your PC was not purchased from Noldus, it may be insufficient to run EthoVision. An insufficient PC will cause the system to miss samples. To have Technical Support review your PC specs, create a PC report (see Section P) and send it to [email protected].

Source: EthoVision XT 18 - GigE Install and Setup, Noldus Information Technology