Configuration Options¶
To make generic configurations for video recording and image capture, navigate to the menu option in IC-Recorder. This launches the Options dialog, where you can make settings on various tabs as described below.
Hardware¶
On the Hardware tab, you make settings related to the hardware used during recording.
In the Input field under Source, select one of the following options:
Video Hardware
Still Camera
Marshall Encoder
The available fields on the tab depend on your selection in this field. See below for detailed information about each.
Video Hardware¶
Video Hardware can be any device that implements Microsoft’s DirectShow interface. This includes nearly every video capture card, sound card, or USB capture device. A video hardware device begins recording when an inspection is started.
If you choose Video Hardware from the Input field, you can make settings in the following fields:
Field/Checkbox Name
Description
Select Devices - Video
Select the device that you use for video capture. If you are running several IC-Recorders, you should choose a different video capture device for each. In general, you can’t use one video capture device twice.
Click the Properties button to make settings specific for the device. This opens a dialog provided by the hardware driver. Note that this dialog is not designed by us, and its appearance will vary based on your specific capture device. In some cases, certain device drivers may not offer a Properties dialog at all, resulting in no action when clicking.
Select Devices - Audio
Optionally, select the device that you use for audio capture. For the primary video channel, it’s advisable to record audio. However, for other channels, you can consider not recording audio to prevent echo during multi-channel playback caused by slight synchronization differences. When in doubt, prioritize recording audio on the main video channel.
Click the Properties button to make settings specific for the device. This opens a dialog provided by the hardware driver. Note that this dialog is not designed by us, and its appearance will vary based on your specific capture device. In some cases, certain device drivers may not offer a Properties dialog at all, resulting in no action when clicking.
Video Preview - Type
This option controls certain behaviours of the underlying Windows Media encoder. Its default setting, labelled as “Software - Most CPU for compression/Some CPU for Preview,” is suitable for most scenarios. With this configuration, if your CPU lacks sufficient power, the preview may appear jerky, displaying only a few frames per second. However, the recorded video will still be smooth. If you encounter jerky preview, consider recording a test video with substantial movement and then play it back using Windows Media Player or another tool to assess its smoothness. Even if you experience no preview at all, perform a test recording and playback, as there are cases where the Windows Media encoder fails to deliver a preview but still records flawlessly.
Still Camera¶
Still Camera mode allows IC-Recorder to treat the camera device as a snapshot-taking device, rather than a video recorder. This means that if you start an inspection in IC-Inspection, the device will not begin recording immediately.
If you choose Still Camera from the Input field, you can select the relevant device from the Camera field. Click the Properties button to make settings specific for the device. This opens a dialog provided by the hardware driver. Note that this dialog is not designed by us, and its appearance will vary based on your specific capture device. In some cases, certain device drivers may not offer a Properties dialog at all, resulting in no action when clicking.
Marshall Encoder¶
The Marshall VS-103E Encoder is an external hardware device that takes a single video signal, converts it into a digital stream, and transmits it to IC-Recorder over an Ethernet connection. IC-Recorder then saves this stream to disk as a file. The key advantage of this setup is that it minimises CPU overhead on the computer running IC-Recorder, as most of the processing is handled by the Marshall Encoder. Additionally, the Marshall Encoder can overlay text onto the video feed under the direction of IC-Recorder.
If you choose Marshall Encoder from the Input field, you can set up Marshall Encoder as follows:
Field/Checkbox Name
Description
IP Address
Specify the IP address of the Marshall Encoder.
Username
Enter the username that you set up in your Marshall Encoder.
Password
Enter the password that you set up in your Marshall Encoder.
Use Authentication
Enable this option to allow authentication.
Channel
Set the value to 1.
The remaining fields on this tab are informational only.
Once you’ve made these adjustments, clicking OK displays a preview of the video feed from the Marshall Encoder.
Video Format¶
The Format tab allows you to configure video format settings. Note that this tab is not relevant if you’ve selected Still Camera mode on the Hardware tab.
If you’ve selected Marshall Encoder on the Hardware tab, there are no format options because the encoding is performed by the Marshall Encoder itself, not by IC-Recorder. When controlled by IC-Recorder, Marshall Encoder video recordings will always be in AVI format.
For system hardware (cards or USB devices directly connected to this PC), there are a variety of video format options to configure.
Under Video Format, select one of the following options:
AVI
WMV
Your choice determines the fields available on this tab. Think of this choice as an “envelope” for digital video. Just like a paper letter can be placed in different envelopes, digital video can be encoded with various codecs and then wrapped in different video format “envelopes” (such as AVI or WMV). When a computer plays back a video file, it first handles the envelope (format), and then processes the video streams within. If you’re certain that the video will only be played back on Windows computers, WMV is a good choice because all Windows systems have pre-installed WMV support. However, support for other formats depends on the operating system version and the installed codecs. Installing a codec on a specific client computer may require cooperation from corporate IT.
Note
Whichever format you choose, during recording, IC-Recorder creates a file with a “.part” extension (for example, “video.part”). Once recording completes, the “.part” extension is removed, resulting in a final file (for example, video.wmv or video.avi). Configure backup processes to ignore “.part” files.
AVI¶
If you choose AVI, make settings as follows:
Field/Checkbox Name
Description
Video Input - Resolution
Shows the default resolution of the video. If you click Change next to this field, you can configure “Capture Pin Properties”. The term “Capture Pin” is specific to Windows Media and refers to a concept related to video capture. The options available for modification here may be restricted by the codec you are using. If possible, ensure that the device resolution and frame rate match the actual input from the device. Note that “Capture Pin Properties” is quite technical, and in most cases, you won’t need to adjust or delve into these settings.
AVI Settings - Codec
For video files to be playable on a specific client computer, an appropriate codec must be installed on that machine. Therefore, selecting a widely supported codec is crucial. Next to the Codec field, you’ll find an Advanced button. Clicking this button reveals the configuration dialog provided by the codec. Note that the appearance and functionality of this dialog will vary depending on the specific codec, and some codecs may not offer a configuration dialog at all.
Audio
Under Audio, you can find a number of fields that allow you to make settings for capturing audio during video recording.
WMV¶
If you choose WMV, make settings as follows:
Field/Checkbox Name
Description
Video Input - Resolution
Shows the default resolution of the video. If you click Change next to this field, you can configure “Capture Pin Properties”. The term “Capture Pin” is specific to Windows Media and refers to a concept related to video capture.
WMV Settings
You must select a profile, which defines encoding settings, including resolution, frame rate, and quality.
Ensure that the incoming video resolution and frame rate match those specified in the chosen profile. If they match, a green message confirms the validity; if not, a red message indicates an invalid configuration. Adjust either the incoming resolution or the profile settings to achieve a match. Note that if the resolution does not match, you will not be able to record.
IC-Recorder is shipped with a predefined set of profiles. Profiles are stored in the Profiles folder (usually located at C:UsersPublicDocumentsIC-RecorderProfiles). If you’ve installed Windows Media Encoder and copied WmProEdt.exe ((usually found in C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Media Components\Encoder) to the Profiles folder, you can edit settings within a profile using the Edit button.
You can also use the Open Folder button to access the Profiles folder conveniently, making it easier to copy profiles into the designated location.
Video Standards
See below for information about supported video standards:
Standard Definition (SD) Video:
NTSC video operates at 60 interlaced fields (equivalent to 30 full frames) or 59.94 fields (approximately 29.97 frames) per second. Its vertical resolution is around 486 lines.
PAL video runs at 50 interlaced fields (25 full frames) per second, with a vertical resolution of 576 lines.
Analogue video lacks a fixed number of horizontal pixels, but common values during conversion to digital include 768, 720, and 704.
NTSC and PAL encode colour differently, so if you choose the wrong format, you may get black and white video.
High Definition (HD) Video:
HD video has a minimum height of 720 pixels, with 1080 pixels being the most common resolution. The aspect ratio is typically 16:9 (e.g., 1280x720 or 1920x1080).
HD video can be either interlaced (“i”) or progressive (“p”).
Common frame rates include 25, 29.97, 30, 50, 59.94, or 60 fields per second. For instance, “1080p25” refers to a 1920x1080 pixel image delivered 25 times per second, while “1080i50” delivers 50 interlaced fields per second (equivalent to one full frame). So when using progressive video, it is fine for the final number to be half the size. Progressive video is generally preferred over interlaced video due to easier encoding and avoidance of artefacts like “combing.”
SD video is typically delivered as analogue video, often using composite connections. HD video is commonly transmitted via SDI (Serial Digital Interface), a digital format. That is, SD usually isn’t SDI. SDI intentionally uses the same cable types and connectors as analogue video, allowing TV studios to reuse existing infrastructure. However, mixing digital and analogue signals (for example, feeding a digital signal into an analogue capture device) will not result in successful video capture.
Project Location¶
On the Project tab, you specify the location of the created video files as well as the camera name as follows:
Field/Checkbox Name
Description
Project Location
Determines where IC-Recorder saves video files as they are created. It’s recommended to record video to a local drive rather than a network drive to avoid issues related to bandwidth, latency, and dropouts.
The path that you set up here will be the generic recording folder. In NEXUS IC, you can also set up relative asset-specific recording subfolders, if necessary. For more information, see Specify Project Path for Recording.
If you’re running multiple IC-Recorders, you can specify the same recording folder for all IC-Recorders, in which case each recorder will have a different camera name to distinguish files. Alternatively, you can assign a different folder for each recorder (for example, “C:\Video\Port\”, “C:\Video\Centre\”). Note that if two copies of IC-Recorder attempt to record the same filename at the same time (for example, “C:\Video\2018-01-01 120000 Digital Video.wmv”), one of them will fail.
Camera
Specifies the name that will be used in video files. It’s a free-text field with some presets available. Note that if your IC-Recorder is controlled by IC-Inspection (which is the common use case), file names are determined by IC-Inspection. Therefore, configure the camera name in IC-Inspection, not here. For more information, see Add Video Devices.
Recording¶
The Recording tab allows you to configure various settings related to recording:
Field/Checkbox Name
Description
Recording Settings
Allows you to select whether to include the video count in the video filename.
Filename Offset
You can select to automatically calculate the recording start time and include it in the filename.
Hard Disk Space
Allows you to set thresholds for when the system should trigger a warning or stop recording based on available disk space. By default, a warning triggers when there are 500 MB remaining, and recording stops when only 100 MB are left.
Borderless
When enabled, IC-Recorder hides its border, toolbars, etc., when you start recording. This can be useful if you want to maximise the amount of monitor space devoted to video. To revert, right-click the video area and deselect Borderless Mode in the pop-up menu or double-click within the video area.
Record Limits
Allows you to reduce the video to manageable “chunks” based on time or file size. For example, if you want files to stay below 2GB (to fit FAT32 file size limits), specify a time limit that ensures files remain within this size. Alternatively, use a File Size Limit.
Remote Access¶
On the Remote tab, you can specify settings for remote access of your recording device.
Field/Checkbox Name
Description
Remote Access
You can specify a port to listen on (the default port is 4500).
Time Sync
Allows you to enable IC-Recorder to synchronise its time with IC-Inspection when connected.
Advanced¶
On the Advanced tab, you can make some advanced configurations for IC-Recorder.
Field/Checkbox Name
Description
Show Overlay Text Shadow
When enabled, this feature adds a white border around dark text or a black border around light text in your overlay. This enhances text legibility when the underlying video colour is similar to the text colour. Note that enabling this option consumes slightly more CPU power. If your CPU usage is near 100% during recording, consider disabling this option.
JPEG Quality
This percentage value determines the image quality of JPEGs captured by IC-Recorder. Even if you manually capture a frame in IC-Recorder, it will always be in JPG format, regardless of the file type specified in IC-Inspection’s frame capture settings.
Logging
You can set the logging level for debugging purposes. The higher the level, the more verbose the logging becomes. As a general practice, leave the logging level setting at its default unless directed otherwise by technical support. While more verbose logging can provide detailed information helpful for identifying and resolving bugs, overly verbose logging may slow down the system.