Table of Contents

Note:The new application name for DevWare is "DevWareX".

DevWareX is a multi-platform implementation of DevWare, created with a more flexible GUI-generation tool. It has the same layout and controls as DevWare, but with additional features.
Here's a link to a description of DevWareX , and its new features.

The documentation in on this page still applies to DevWareX.

Anchor
Bookmark0 Bookmark0

Anchor
_Toc372623579 _Toc372623579

1. Welcome to

...

DevWareX

Image RemovedImage Added
Application setup:
           Installation(See 2.1.1)
           Running the Application(See 2.1.2)
Application layout and options:
           Menu Commands(See 2.2.1)
           Toolbar Buttons(See 2.2.2)
           Display Screen (See 2.2.3)
Main Dialogs:
           Info Dialog (See 2.2.5)
           Sensor Control Pages(See 2.2.4)
           Presets Dialog (See 2.2.6)
           Register Dialog(See 2.2.7)
           Register Log Dialog(See 2.2.8)
           Analysis Graph Dialog(See 2.2.9)
           Magnifier(See 2.2.10)
           Peek & Poke(See 2.2.12)
           Watch Dialog (See 2.2.13)
           Embedded Data Viewer(See 2.2.14)
           Options Dialog (See 2.2.15)
Troubleshooting:
           Warning Messages(See 2.2.16)
           Troubleshooting(See 2.2.17)
           Reporting a Bug(See 2.2.18) (mail to: Aptina-IMAGING_DEMO_BUGS@onsemi.com)

Anchor
Bookmark1 Bookmark1

Anchor
_Toc372623580 _Toc372623580

2.

...

DevWareX Help

Anchor
Bookmark2 Bookmark2

Anchor
_Toc372623581 _Toc372623581

2.1 Using the Application

...

The program can now be opened by going to the start menu and selecting "Programs" then "Aptina Imaging" then "DevWareDevWareX". A popup window will appear while DevWare DevWareX probes for attached devices. Then the main DevWare DevWareX window and a dialog box will appear that is slightly different for each sensor. Select the appropriate settings and click finish. Unless an error occurs(See 2.2.17) the application will open the display dialog and start capturing and displaying sensor images.
Note: Sensor data files can be manually loaded. Click the esc key to exit automatic probe. Make sure that the box next to "Automatically probe at startup" is unchecked. Click on "Sensor..." to browse for the corresponding sensor data (sdat) file. The file will be found in C:\Aptina Imaging\sensor_data.

...

DevSuite is ready to use on the Vista and Windows 7 operating systems when installed in the correct folder, but there is a requirement that the Demo2X demo board have a FW version of 28 or newer to match to the USB driver.
Note; the Demo3 FW is already Windows 7 compatible.
Firmware Upgrade
Note that a demo board with FW older than version 28 can only be upgraded on an XP operating system since only the XP-based USB driver supports the older versions of the FW. As of May of 2010, all newly delivered Demo2X boards will have version 28 of the FW. Demo2X boards received earlier than that may have an older FW version, and the FW version should be verified on an XP-based system before proceeding.
If you aren't sure that your FW has version 28 or newer, install the DevSuite SW on an XP-based system by following the instructions thru the section titled "Starting Up the Software" as found in "DevSuite Quick-Start Guide", which can be accessed from the DevWare DevWareX menu item "Documents". Then follow the FW upgrade instructions as found in "Demo FW User Guide", which can be accessed from the DevWare DevWareX menu item "Documents -> User Guides".
If you are fairly sure that your FW has version 28 or newer, then install the DevSuite SW on your Vista or Windows 7-based system by follow the instructions thru "Starting Up the Software" section of the Quick-Start guide. Once the USB cable is connected to the Demo2X demo board, Vista and Windows 7 will automatically attempt to download the matching USB driver from the Microsoft driver web site; if the driver installs correctly then your FW is current and no further action is required - continue with the instructions found in the Quick-Start guide.
If the USB driver download fails, it is either due to downgraded FW or a network problem. You can attempt to load the USB driver manually by following the instructions in the "Aptina Drivers User Guide", which can be accessed from the DevWare DevWareX menu item "Documents -> User Guides".
If the USB driver installs correctly then your FW is current and no further action is required - continue with the instructions found in the Quick-Start guide.
If the USB driver manual load failed, you will need to use an XP-based operating system to upgrade your Demo2X demo board as described earlier in this document. 
Software Installation
Do not install DevSuite in "C:\Program Files", due to the strict system security checking performed by Vista and Windows7.
The installer defaults to the recommended installation location of "C:\Aptina Imaging". If necessary this can be changed when prompted for the installation location.

...

Command line parameters can be used with DevWareDevWareX.
Usage
Open a "CMD" window, navigate to the installation folder of C:\Aptina Imaging, and provide any of the following parameters.Note that parameters can be in all upper-case or all lower-case, and can be provided in any order.

...

• /help or ? - Display this page.  You are given the option to continue to DevWareX or to exit.  Note: if "?" is used, all other parameters are ignored.
• /ini=filename or /ini="filename" - Specify the INI file to be used, overriding the one selected by DevWare DevWareX if "Probe" is enabled.
• /preset[=name] or /preset[="name"] - Run the optionally supplied specified preset. Note that the Startup Wizard dialog will be skipped whether or not the preset name is supplied.
• /checksensor[=0 | 1 (default if not supplied)] - Disable | Force reading of sensor registers at startup. Disabled gives faster startup.
• /camera=<number in decimal> - Force a specific camera id selection, in case more than one camera was detected.
• /probe[=0 | 1 (default if not supplied)] - Disable | Force a "Probe". Note: ignored if SDAT filename is provided, and no "Probe" is performed if the parameter itself is not supplied.
• /fullauto[=0 | 1 (default if not supplied)] - Disable | Force "Full Auto" option on the Startup Wizard. Note: enabled if parameter itself is not supplied.
• /mono[=0 | 1 (default if not supplied)] - Disable | Force "Monochrome" option on the Startup Wizard. Note: disabled if parameter itself is not supplied.
• /play[=0 | 1 (default if not supplied)] - Disable | Force "Play on Start" option on the Startup Wizard. Note: enabled if parameter itself is not supplied.
• <sensor_sdat_file>.sdat - Specify the SDAT file to be used, overriding the one selected by DevWare DevWareX if "Probe" is enabled.
• /nul - start without HW needing to be attached. An SDAT file can be loaded, and Presets can be run as long as it doesn't expect register reads to provide valid data.
• /detfar - detect FAR sensor on start.
• /warnings=filename - Specify the warnings file name.
• /restorepresets - 1 to restore the additional Presets windows from the last session, 0 to not restore the windows.
• /suppressallwindows - Start DevWareX will all windows suppressed - only the image display is enabled.
• /startfullscreen - Start DevWareX in full screen mode.
• /dll=DLLname. Include a new Transport DLL. And alternative is to copy the DLL to the Plugins folder.
• <sensor_sdat_file>.xsdat - if opening an .xsdat file with no directory path given and the file doesn't exist, the sensor_data directory will be searched.

...

Anchor
Bookmark9 Bookmark9

2.2.1.1 About Plug-ins

Introduction
The DevWare DevWareX application framework includes the ability to extend and customize its behavior.  Two types of extensions are supported:

1. Dialog Plug-in - a dynamically linked library (DLL) which can be integrated with DevWare DevWareX and can be used to:
   • Display custom user interfaces.
   • Access and run DevWare DevWareX INI presets.
   • Access sensor registers.
   • Process the image data.

...

1. Midlib Transport DLL - a DLL which can be integrated with the midlib library in order to create a "driver" for midlib/DevWare DevWareX in order to support new devices.  With a midlib Transport DLL you can:
   • Support an ON Semiconductor sensor on a device other than the Demo System camera so DevWare DevWareX or any other midlib-based application will work with the device.
   • Create a software simulated camera and sensor, simulating either an existing sensor or new sensor, and be able to use DevWare DevWareX as the user interface for the simulation.

...

The toolbar is displayed across the top of the application window, below the menu bar. The toolbar provides quick access to many tools used in DevWareDevWareX.
To hide or display the Toolbar, choose Toolbar from the View menu (ALT-V, T).

...

Anchor
Bookmark11 Bookmark11

Anchor
_Toc372623589 _Toc372623589

2.2.3 Display

Image RemovedImage Added
This area is where the sensor images are displayed.
If an image is not displayed here (when expected), please refer to the troubleshooting(See 2.2.17) pages.

...

Images and Videos can be loaded for viewing, either by drag-and-drop method, or via the "File" menu via "Open Image or Video File".
Most image and video types can be viewed, including 32-bit BMP file format. See the Sensor Control dialogs of "Image Save Options" and "Video Record" for specifics.

Use the mouse wheel to zoom in, including to the maximum zoom level to see each pixel value:

Image Added

Anchor
Bookmark12 Bookmark12

Anchor
_Toc372623590 _Toc372623590

2.2.4 Control Dialog (Sensor Control)

...

For "'Raw Bayer Color - Sensor Output", disable all DevWare DevWareX ColorPipe options.

Bayer Bypass/SW FRF Advanced 
This page implements a Flat Region Filter using Sigma, Edge, and Chroma thresholds.. 
Bayer Bypass/SW Green Balance 
This page allows the user to enable Green Balance Correction for the DevWare DevWareX SW ColorPipe and adjust Highlights and Shadows.
Bayer Bypass/SW Black Color Kill
This page allows the user to enable Black Color Kill for the DevWare DevWareX SW ColorPipe and adjust its thresholds.

...

These sensor control pages are only displayed for Bayer sensors. For example, the: A-0360, A-0366, A-1300, A-1310, A-2010, A-3100, etc. For the most part, they control software image processing algorithms in DevWareDevWareX.
Note: The available sensor control pages and features depend on the type and version of the image sensor.

Anchor
Bookmark14_DataInterpretation Bookmark14_DataInterpretation

Data Interpretation Page
This page gives some control over the demosaicing algorithms that are used to convert the bayer image into an RGB color image.

...

There are two distinct modes of still capture. In the Current Displayed Image mode the still capture only freezes the currently displayed image and lets you save it to a file. No sensor registers are affected.
In the Full Resolution Image mode DevWare DevWareX will perform a still capture procedure on the sensor. It could involve changing the image size, using global shutter mode, activating a flash lamp and so on. On an SOC it would involve activating the still image sequence on the sensor.

...

Anchor
imagesaveoptions imagesaveoptions

Image Save Options Page
This dialog is used to set the various image save options that are available.
The "Save Options" selection allows the user to select the type of data to be written to files. Raw Data is the unprocessed data coming from the sensor, which will be in the format the sensor is outputting, for example Bayer or YCbCr data. The Processed Data is RGB output data which has been converted from Bayer or YCbCr by DevWareDevWareX. The image will also include any of the image processing pipeline that has been enabled. The Processed Data can be saved in either a 24bpp Bitmap file or 48bpp TIFF file. By default the register information is saved in the accompanying .TXT file.
Also available are the options on where to save the images. Note; if both "Auto File Name Increment and Save" and "Hold Still Image in Main Window" are disabled, the "Grab" and "Snapshot" will not be able to actual provide images to save.
After a Still Image is captured, the "Filmstrip" dialog appears if the "Hold Still Image in Main Window" option is selected. This dialog shows thumbnails of the captured image(s). The user can then right-click on the image for various options, including opening the image for view, saving the image, and selecting the type of image.
"Save Mouse Selection Rectangle Only"; only the saved image will show the rectangle-only - the filmstrip will show the full image.

...

You can use WMV instead of AVI for unlimited file length. DevWare DevWareX does not use compression with AVI. Usually the codec is just RGB-24. WMV is compressed in software.

• There is a frame rate value stored in the wmv file. There is a check box and numerical entry on the Sensor Control -> Video Record dialog page where you can provide a frame rate to put in the file. If that is not checked DevWare DevWareX uses the Display FPS.
• But that value comes from before recording started. During recording there could be considerable disk overhead or compression overhead so that the actual frame rate during recording is lower than it was before recording started. In that case the frame rate in the file will not match the actual frame rate of the recording.

...

• RAW files will play back in DevWareDevWareX, but will need to be converted to AVI to be imported into other applications. You can use DevWare DevWareX as a RAW to AVI file converter. Load the RAW file in DevWare DevWareX and verify that the image looks correct. On the Video Capture dialog page select AVI recording format and turn off Capture to RAM. Click the Stop button on the Toolbar(See 2.2.2). Click the Record button on the Toolbar(See 2.2.2).
• The "Frame rate" listed in the info.txt file (RAW only) is the rate displayed on the Info Panel "FPS (Display)".
  A specific frame rate can be set via Sensor Control / Video Record "Specify playback frame rate", or via the INI file using the STATE commands "VidCap Auto Play FPS" and "VidCap Play FPS".
• “Specify playback frame rate”; DevWare DevWareX video playback speed is not precise.
• MPEG-4 requires at least 20 frames to be recorded. 

...

The Info dialog appears at the left edge of the DevWare DevWareX window and displays information about the image sensor, the frames displayed and the mouse position. Additionally, it has list box controls to change the mouse selection area (for use with the Analysis Dialog(See 2.2.9)) and to select between multiple sensors (only appearing if more than one sensor is attached).
Property fields:

...

 This dialog can be used to load or save the current state of the sensor registers and color pipe settings. This information is stored within an .ini file which is loaded for each version of the sensor. For example, the file for the MT9V112 REV3 AR0544CS-REV1 would be located in C:\Aptina Imaging\apps_data\MT9V112AR0544CS-REV3REV1.ini.

All sensors have a 'Demo Initialization' preset. Bayer Sensors typically have a 'Color Processing ON' and 'Color Processing OFF' Preset as well.
INI files are plain text and can be edited by the user.

See the INI File Users 's Guide for more information about ini files and the command syntax.Save Options:
The Save Options sub-dialog allows software settings and/or specific groupings of registers to be saved.

...

Image Added

INI file and optional Initializer: Location of main INI file on first line, and optional location of Initializer file (for those sensors with separate Python-settings files).

Preset Actions: various actions available for the loaded INI file.

• Open: open an additional INI file.  Same operation as available in "File / Open Additional Presets ..."
• Edit: edit the INI file, using the edit application associated with ".ini" files.
• Edit Initializer: edit the Initializer file (when present), using the edit application associated with ".py" files.
  • Note: notepad.exe will be used if no edit application is associated with ".py" files.
• Reload: reread the INI file - to be used if "Edit" or "Edit Initializer" have modified their respective files.
• Default: go back to the default INI file - the INI file associated with the loaded SDAT file.
• Load: will load and run the Preset highlighted in the "Presets" window.
• Rename: rename the selected Preset.

  • Note that the INI file is automatically saved, but does not need to be Reloaded.

Preset Name Search: enter search terms. Only preset names matching all terms will be shown.

Presets: displays all available Presets.  Note that Dialog Settings "Options..." can be used to show "Hidden" presets.

Dialog Settings: various settings that are available.

• Warnings: Show the Register Overwrite Warnings dialog. Same operation as the "Warn" Toolbar.
  • This will check for accidental overwrite of OTPM-trimmed registers, or other inappropriate register values.
  • Checking this report should be part of the verification of any new mode presets.
• Options...: show "Hidden" presets.
• Guide: opens the on-line INI Users Guide.

Anchor
Bookmark22 Bookmark22

Anchor
_Toc372623593 _Toc372623593

2.2.7 Register Dialog

The Register Dialog allows the user to read and write registers on the image sensor. For a more user-friendly way to access registers use the Sensor Control Dialog(See 2.2.4) .
The drop-list box and tabs at the top of the Dialog (Sensor Core, Color Pipe, etc.) are used for sensors that have multiple address spaces/pages/register categories. To choose an address space, select it from the drop-list or click the appropriate tab. The tabs hold the six most recently used pages. Sensors with only one address space do not have any tabs.

...

Vectorscope
The Vectorscope graph shows the distribution of the chrominance signal in the selected area. You will need to aim the camera at a color reference chart.
NOTE: DevWare DevWareX only uses 8-bit output for Bayer Sensors by Default. To switch to 10-bit output, go to the 'Sensor Output' Bayer Image Sensor Control Pages (See 2.2.4.2)

...

• By right-clicking on a register (or bitfield) item in the Register dialog, then choosing "Add to Watch" from a popup menu.
• By right-clicking on a register (or bitfield( item in the Log dialog, then choosing "Add to Watch" from a popup menu.
• By using the Save/Load button to load a previously save watch list. DevWare DevWareX remembers your watch list when it exits and restores it when it starts up again.

...

Most fields have "Tool Tips" that can be scrolled-over for usage and INI file information.

Image Removed

...

information.

Image Added

• Display: selects the display format - for remote display of DevWareX select "No DirectX" and zoom increment.
  
• Log FIle : enables various types of logging output, from DevWare DevWareX internal errors to USB traffic.
• Sensor Base Address : allows the detected I2C address to be overridden or detectedWarning Dialogs: reset just the Warning Dialogs setting (re-enables them). Use "View→Warning Log" to see all warnings.
  
  • Detect Bad Frame Sequence: enable/disable the all-frame dropping warning message.
• Debug Settings : enables debugging of displayed images.
  • Show Dropped Frames : very useful in displaying images that aren't in the expected format, or corrupted frames such as JPEG.
  Sensor Output : allows the detected width/height/format to be overridden or detected
  • .
• Display : selects the display format - for remote display of DevWare select "No DirectX".
• Miscellaneous : various settings that could be enabled or disables as seen in the figure above.Warning Dialogs : renables various warning messages that were disabled when their associated dialogs appearedas seen in the figure above.
• Reset All : resets all settings to their defaults.

...

When the program does not behave the way intended, or you experience problems that are not covered in the help files you may wish to file a bug report(See 2.2.18) .
Check to see if any of the following sections help with the problems you encounter.
I have problems starting the application and see one of the following warning message boxes:
Image RemovedImage Added
-> Check if the USB drivers are installed properly. Refer to the driver installation document under "Start>All Programs->Aptina Imaging->Docs->User Guides->USB Drivers User Guide".
--> Check if the cables are attached to the image sensor properly. If the image sensor worked before, unplug-and-plug the cables and try again.
Image RemovedImage Added
--> Check if the application is started from the same place that holds the sensor_data directory (holding the sensor data(See 4.5) files)
The application starts without errors, but there is no image:
--> Some register settings might lead to stop the sensor from sending valid data. Quit the application and reset the sensor by unplugging it and plugging it back in.
My frame rate is really low:
--> The amount of data that is being processed is quite significant or a lot of image processing function are turned on. Reduce the size of the image on the Output Size or Context page of Sensor Control. On the Options dialog, select the Accelerated Display option. Turn off extra image processing. 
When setting registers the application freezes up:
 -->Changing registers on the image sensor might lead to changes in the data flow resulting in unexpected lockups of the application. Terminate the application as best as possible and reset the sensor by unplugging it and plugging it back in.

...

• If the trouble shooting(See 2.2.17) pages did not help solve the problem you are having you may wish to email a bug report as follows:
• In DevWareDevWareX, go to the menu Help -> Bug Report or select the picture of the "bug" from the toolbar.
• Provide as detailed as possible a bug description (mention bug symptoms like 'no image', 'distorted image', etc.)
• Provide information on how to reproduce the bug (what registers did you change, what buttons did you press before the bug showed up, etc)
• Copy the contents of the system information window to the clipboard by pressing the Copy to Clipboard button.
• Start an email and paste (Ctrl-V) the clipboard contents of system information into the text portion of the email. Edit this information as you see fit, see the note below.
• Send the email to Aptina-IMAGING_DEMO_BUGS@onsemi.com.com
    NOTE: The system information that is gathered to help us solve the problems you encountered consists of the following sections: Application version info, Camera info, Windows Operating System info, Processor info, USB Host Controllers info and Image Sensor Register settings. The application only gathers this information and does not send anything. Please look through the information and edit it as you see fit before emailing it.

  Anchor
  Bookmark34 Bookmark34

  Anchor
  _Toc372623605 _Toc372623605

  3. About ON Semiconductor's Developer Suite

  The following list provides details about folders of interest installed in C:\Aptina Imaging
  Folders:

  apps	Applications that use specialized libraries
  apps_data	.INI files for ON Semiconductor sensors
  board_data	Data files for ON Semiconductor demo boards
  capture	Storage location of DevWare DevWareX captured images DevWare
  DevWareX	Files specific to DevWareDevWareX.exe
  doc	Documents, schematics, and BOM's
  drivers	USB drivers and User Guide
  firmware	Demo board firmware files
  flashtool	Flash Tool for automotive products
  fpga	Demo board FPGA files
  include	Include files for imaging applications
  imageformats	Image format .dll files
  lib	ON Semiconductor Imaging library (midlib) files
  Plugins	DevWare DevWareX plug-in files
  samples	Sample imagine application code
  sensor_data	ON Semiconductor sensor data (.SDAT) files

  "Start Menu" Index
  Here is a list of folders and their contents, that are accessible from the Windows Start menu.
  Folders:

  Docs	Start->All Programs->Aptina Imaging->Docs Links for all documentation and schematics.
  SDK	Start->All Programs->Aptina Imaging->SDK Links provided to sample applications to help users develop their own imaging applications.
  Tools	Start->All Programs->Aptina Imaging->Tools Links for tools such as HardwareUpdate, RegPoke, Flashtool, etc.)

  
  

  Anchor
  Bookmark35 Bookmark35

  Anchor
  _Toc372623606 _Toc372623606

  3.1 HardwareUpdate Tool

  This is a Window's application that updates the firmware and FPGA code on the ON Semiconductor Imaging baseboard (Demo2X or Demo3). The tool is located in: Start menu -> All Programs -> Aptina Imaging -> Tools .
  
  
  Usage and Tips

...

• Connect two Aptina Imaging Demo cameras to the system. Make sure the cameras are recognized and the drivers are installed.
• Launch SideBySide from the desktop shortcut. The application will automatically start two instances of DevWare DevWareX and size the display windows evenly. The initial startup takes a little more time than normal, but requires no user interaction. Please be patient.
• All DevWare DevWareX toolbars and dialogs are hidden by the application. They can be manually re-enabled if access to a specific control is needed.
• Selecting Quit from the SideBySide control bar will close all DevWare DevWareX instances, it is not necessary to close each one separately.

...

Anchor
Bookmark40 Bookmark40

Anchor
_Toc372623611 _Toc372623611

4.2 File menu commands

...

...

This only occurs when you hide extra rows. In your table below the only case where you used the 'Hide' option is the right-most column, 'AR0220AT/hidden'. In all other columns you have not used the 'Hide' option, so the 'last row' is 'height' - 1.

Double-click "Mouse Selection" bar to open the dialog that allows setting of up to 8 unique mouse configurations.  Also see "Lock Mouse Selection", here.

Summary

Not using 'Hide' option: 'last row' = 'height' - 1
Using 'Hide' option: 'last row' = 'height' - number_of_hidden_extra_rows - 1

Whether the sensor outputs embedded data rows is different from whether DevWare DevWareX hides them.

...

Open or Close​

Opens the Peek & Poke(See 2.2.12) dialog. This dialog allows the user to quickly read or write registers by specifying specific addresses and values​

Anchor
Bookmark47 Bookmark47

4.7 Gray Checker

...

Fig.1 demonstrates Log(B/G) vs. Log(R/G) diagram for each GretagMcBeth color squares. Series number corresponds to McBeth color square number. B/G and R/G ratios were calculated for row data received after applying unity analog and digital gain to each color channel at four different color temperatures covering temperature range from 2800K to 6500K. Series 19-22 were received from gray McBeth chart zones and define white-points aria.

Image Removed

Fig.1 Log₂(B/G) vs LOG₂(R/G) diagram for GretagMcBeth colors received for A-3120 sensor.Image Added

White-points aria has to be specified for certain sensor and every pixel considering for WB statistic has to be tested for belong to the white aria. The given document describes method estimating distance from any point in 2-D space (current pixel) to white-points curve specified in this space by piece-wise linear curve. The given method is independent from type of coordinates and does not require a lot of resources for implementation.

...

4.10

...

DevWareX Register "Spying"

DevWare DevWareX spies on register writes, and if something that affects DevWare DevWareX changes, such as image format, then DevWare DevWareX adjusts automatically.

This includes writing to the attached device, any auxiliary boards (e.g. Dual Lane MIPI), and/or the basebase (Demo2X or Demo3).

...