Quick Start Guide: Basic eCapture Pro Usage

After installing eCapture Pro, validate that you can use it to connect to an Emergent Vision camera and view streaming images.

Procedure 1: Start eCapture Pro

1. Start eCapture Pro:
   • Windows: Double-click the eCapture Pro desktop icon. Or run eCapturePro.cmd (typically C:\Program Files\EVT\eCapturePro).
   • Linux: Launch eCapture Pro from your applications list. Or run eCapturePro.sh (typically /opt/EVT/eCapturePro/).
2. Continue based on what you see:
   • If eCapture Pro opens the license screen (figure 1), click the Trial button to open the main screen. Then go to Procedure 2.
   • If eCapture Pro opens the main screen (figure 2), go to Procedure 2.

Verify success: You see the main eCapture Pro screen.

Figure 1: eCapture Pro license screen

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Figure 2: eCapture Pro main screen

Procedure 2: Configure hardware on the System tab

Use the System tab to add your hardware to the system graph.

1. Open the System tab.
2. Add the local server:
   • In System Actions, click the add button (+).
   • If prompted, enter the server password.
3. Add the NIC connected to the camera:
   • Select the server node.
   • In Selected Nodes, under Add network interface, click + beside the correct NIC.
4. Add the camera:
   • Select the server node.
   • In Selected Nodes, click + beside the camera you want to add.
   • If the camera is not listed, confirm the camera is connected to the selected NIC.
5. Connect nodes in the graph:
   • Select the source node, then drag the node’s connector onto the destination node.
   • Typical path: camera → NIC → server.
   • Camera nodes connect to NIC nodes (not directly to servers, storage, or other cameras).
6. Recommended: Auto-configure NIC and camera networking:
   • Select the server node.
   • Click the gear icon.
   • Select Auto re-configure interface + cameras IPs.

Verify success: Camera, NIC, and server appear as nodes and are connected (camera → NIC → server).

Figure 3: A graph of connected hardware nodes on eCapture Pro's Live View tab with the selected node's parameters in the left panel

Procedure 3: Stream and display images on the Live View tab

Important: Live View shows a reduced-resolution preview image to keep the UI responsive.

By default, Live View shows any cameras you added to the System tab graph. Live View can stream and display a camera’s preview images whether or not a pipeline is running.

1. Open the Live View tab.
2. In Image Display Groups View (left), select a group (for example, DefaultGroup). Add the camera to the group if needed.
3. If the camera view shows Streaming Disabled:
   • Streaming Disabled means the Live View preview stream is off for that camera.
   • Enable the Live View stream for that camera using the stream controls in Image Display Groups View.
4. Optional: Adjust camera settings:
   • Select the camera to open Camera Parameters (right).
   • Adjust key settings such as Exposure and Frame Rate.
   • Use tools such as Histogram, Focus Tool, or LUT if needed.

Verify success: You see a live preview image (not Streaming Disabled).

Figure 4: A streaming image displayed on the Live View tab in eCapture Pro and the camera parameters in the right panel

Optional procedure: Validate a one-task pipeline

Validate a one-task pipeline (Image Display). Live View can show the camera preview without a pipeline. Live View shows images from an Image Display task only when the pipeline is running.

1. Open the Processing tab.
2. Select the target server in the left panel (for example, 127.0.0.1:6666).
3. Add an image display task:
   • Under Add Processing Tasks, click + beside Image Display.
4. Connect the camera to Image Display:
   • Drag from the camera/source node to Image Display.
   • If a connection is not supported, eCapture Pro will not allow it.
5. Start the pipeline:
   • Go to the Live View tab.
   • Click Start Pipeline to run the pipeline you built in the Processing tab.

Verify success: The Image Display tile shows images when the pipeline is running.

Figure 5: A graph of connected pipepline processing nodes on eCapture Pro's Processing tab with available processing tasks and custom plugins in the left panel

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Figure 6: Images before and after pipeline processing displayed on the Live View tab in eCapture Pro

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See Also

For information about how you can use eSDK Pro to replicate systems you configure in eCapture Pro, see Correlating eSDK Pro with eCapture Pro.

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