Knowledge Base

PCs Not Purchased from Noldus

If you did not purchase your PC from Noldus, there are several crucial requirements to be aware of as well as some settings that may need to be configured. Without these in place, you may experience a variety of problems with this camera in EthoVision XT, including crashing, black image, low frame rate, missing or interpolated samples, or trials ending prematurely.

If you are working with a laptop, the laptop's network card must be 1 GB or 1000 Mbps. A slower network card will not be able to handle the load of the camera and may result in Missing Samples or Interpolated Samples in EthoVision XT.

If you cannot get the camera working properly on your PC after working through this entire document, please create a PC report as described in Section N and send it to support.

Video Card Requirements

Minimum requirement: The PC must have a stand-alone video card with at least 2 GB of memory that supports Direct3D Acceleration. A PC with only an onboard video card is not supported and should not be used with EthoVision. NVIDIA is the preferred brand.

Deep Learning was introduced in EthoVision XT v16 and helps improve three-point tracking. This feature is GPU-intensive and requires a stand-alone video card with at least 4 GB of memory that supports CUDA in order to work properly without missing or interpolated samples.

The following video cards have been tested with Deep Learning:

For a desktop computer:

• NVIDIA Quadro P2200, 5 GB GDDR5X, driver version 512.15
• NVIDIA RTX A2000, 6 GB GDDR6, driver version 528.02
• NVIDIA T1000, 4 GB GDDR6, driver version 517.37

For a laptop computer:

• NVIDIA RTX A1000, 4 GB GDDR6, driver version 528.49
• NVIDIA Quadro P620 mobile, 4 GB GDDR5, driver version 517.66

Deep Learning Limitations

• Requires a supported NVIDIA video card (GPU) with 4 GB or more. See the list above.
• Maximum camera resolution: 1280x960 or 1280x1024.
• One subject per arena.
• One arena live or four arenas from pre-recorded video.

Disabling Onboard Video Cards

Many PCs sold since 2019 include both an onboard video card and a stand-alone video card. In this scenario, the onboard video card must be disabled. The process varies from PC to PC. Below are instructions for disabling the onboard video card on select Dell PCs. If this information does not apply to your PC, contact your local IT administrator or search online for instructions specific to your PC model.

BIOS change on Dell 7510/7520 laptops:

1. Start up the PC and enter BIOS settings using F12 (previously F2).
2. Expand the Video item.
3. Select the Switchable Graphics item.
4. Disable Enable Switchable Graphics by deselecting it.
5. Save these settings and exit.
6. After startup, the screen resolution will be automatically lowered. Manually change it back to 1920x1080 in the display settings.
7. After approximately 30 seconds, Windows will automatically change the text size setting to 150%, causing the screen to go black briefly before returning with larger icons. Manually change the text size back to 125%.
8. Check in Windows Device Manager that the graphics adapter is recognized and using proper drivers. If not, download the latest drivers from the Dell support site or the video card manufacturer's website and install them. Do not allow Windows to search for drivers automatically.

To point EthoVision to the correct video card (this option is not always available):

1. Go to Windows Start, then Graphics Settings, then Browse, then navigate to C:\Program Files\Noldus\EthoVision XT 17, select EthoVision.exe, then Options, then High Performance, then Save.

Alternatively:

1. Go to the program folder: C:\Program Files\Noldus\EthoVision XT 17.
2. Right-click on EthoVision.exe and select Run With Graphics Processor, then select your video card, for example NVIDIA.

If you cannot see a folder such as Program Files (x86) because it is hidden, follow these steps to unhide it:

1. Log into the PC as an administrator if you have not already.
2. Right-click on Windows Start and select Open Windows Explorer, which may also be called Open Explorer or Open File Explorer.
3. Go to the Tools menu and select Folder Options.
4. Go to the View tab and select Show hidden files, folders, and drives.
5. Click OK. You should now be able to see the directory.

Power Save Settings

Apply the following settings to your PC:

Disable Fast Startup (Windows 10 only):

1. Go to the Start menu.
2. Click the gear icon for Settings.
3. Select System.
4. Select Power and Sleep.
5. Click Additional Power Options in the upper right.
6. Click Choose what the power buttons do in the upper left.
7. Click Change settings that are currently unavailable. This requires an administrator password.
8. Uncheck the options for Fast Startup, Sleep, and Hibernate.

Power Save settings:

1. Go to Start and select Control Panel.
2. In the Search Control Panel field in the upper right, type Power.
3. Under Power Options, select Edit Power Plan.
4. For both options, select Never.
5. Click Save Changes.
6. Click Change Plan Settings.
7. Click Change Advanced Power Settings.
8. Under Hard Disk, then Turn Off Hard Disk After, set the value to 0 (Never).
9. Click OK.

Automatic Updates:

1. Go to Start and select Devices and Printers.
2. Right-click on your PC, which appears as an icon resembling an external hard drive, and select Device Installation Settings.
3. Select No, let me choose what to do and then Never install driver software from Windows Update.
4. Click Save Changes.

BIOS settings:

1. Turn on the PC.
2. During boot up, immediately press F12 to enter BIOS. You may need to press F12 multiple times.
3. On the left side under Settings, expand Performance.
4. Click on C States Control.
5. Deselect the checkbox for C States Control.
6. Return to the left side under Performance and locate Intel SpeedStep, previously called P-States. Confirm that the checkbox is deselected. If it is not, deselect it.
7. If you have a different processor such as AMD, you may see PowerNow!, Cool'n'Quiet, or PowerSave instead.
8. Click Exit.
9. When prompted to save changes, click Yes.
10. The setting change is retained and the PC finishes booting up.

Network Card Requirements

The network card must be a 1 GB adapter set to Auto-Negotiate. The following network cards are recommended:

• Intel single port, no POE network card. Requires an Axis Power Injector. See Section A.
• Basler 2-port POE network card.
• Basler 4-port POE network card.

Not all network cards are equally compatible. If you are unable to source one of the above network cards, refer to Basler's knowledge base for information on which network adapters are compatible with the Basler pylon performance driver.

If the camera is set up correctly per this document and the PC is sufficient with a supported video card and the onboard video card disabled, but camera issues persist in EthoVision, check the following settings on your network card. In Device Manager, locate your network card, right-click it, and select Properties. Go to the Advanced tab and apply the recommended changes.

If you encounter errors in Pylon such as error 0xE1000014 / 3774873620: The buffer was incompletely grabbed, refer to Basler's knowledge base article on troubleshooting lost packets or frames while using GigE cameras.

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Source: EthoVision XT 17.5 - GigE Install and Setup