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🛡Home Security => Home Security General => Topic started by: Mr. Jones on September 12, 2011, 02:09:49 PM
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Well I was able to get everything hooked up ok. I was able to install the drivers for the VA11A. I got PCC up and running along with AHP but I have some questions about the programs themselves.
AHP
This program doesn’t do anything but talk to other modules to turn things on and off? Plus, for what I am using it for, talk to PCC and keeping logs of the cameras turning off and on? If I didn’t have PCC, I would have to buy a different program to see my cameras? Reason being, once I set-up my room which I called “Cameras” that is all I used AHP for. The manual just showed me how to set-up my room, timed events, macros, and controlling lights. I could see that AHP was logging events because when a car went by it logged those triggers as “camera ON” but it doesn’t do anything else, as far as I could see. So, I went on to PCC.
PCC
I must be missing something because I used the “read me” file (manual) and it got me going well enough but the manual kept telling me it was going explain things later and after I finished, it didn’t. Am I missing another document I should have downloaded?
I was able to load the drivers for the VA11A and I noticed that the device manager saw it as “VA11A” but not in the Universal Serial Bus. It just read “X10 compliant”. Maybe this help s you guys maybe it doesn’t but I just thought that I would add it.
Camera view page loaded and I was able to configure the 3 cameras and label them to house codes as A1, A2 and A3. This is where I get a bit lost and maybe if I were to download the rest of the manual I may be able to figure it out but….I clicked on each camera on the left part of the screen and I got the “not responding” message first and it finally loaded but the screen was first solid green, and then when an image did come up, it was scrambled. You know, remember when you would try to watch TV movies when they scrambled the screen so all you saw were wavy pictures with no audio? That’s what all three cameras look like. I moved the receiver around and saw interference of me doing that but no solid good picture. That’s where I am at right now. That is my problem; I can’t see the cameras clearly. Plus, multi camera view didn’t do anything at all.
Also, when I hit the “record” button on the camera view page and went out to trigger the motion sensor, (I had it set up to take one picture every second it saw motion) all I got was error messages that read “files not found” every second it was supposed to take a picture. So, it kept pumping out errors and when I clicked stop, it wouldn’t, and I had to use “Ctrl+Alt+Delete” to make it stop. It seemed that it was looking for a file to load the pictures too. When I tried to create a file to load the pictures too, it came up with “OpenFile” so I figured sure, why not. Another error popped up saying file not found. How do I/ where does it, save the pictures it was taking too?
I notice that I have the trial version but wondered why in the camera set up page that the house code, name, and address were in “red” at the top? It look as if the first 4 cameras would be okay but adding more couldn’t be done because it needed the full version. Is that correct? To get the full version, do I have to bring that tower back down to load that full version? Or can I load the info on a jump drive to finish the install? Or do I even need that upgrade?
I really appreciate all your help on this. I feel I made some progress and felt like I was “oh so close” but I had to leave with the whole house unprotected. Right now I have nothing watching the place. Any help would be really appreciated so I can get this up and running.
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If you Plan to us AHP for capturing images you'll need the video plug-in pack other wise you don't need it running.
As for the Manual for PCC, that is an on going project that never seems to get completed. :-[
It is possible you have an outdated manual or I just haven't got to adding the info you need :-[ .
You Can get the latest manual Here (http://tuicemen.com/downloads/companionmanual.zip)
It sounds like you may not have the va11a drivers installed correctly.
see:
VA11A does not work (http://forums.x10.com/index.php?topic=8083.msg49642)
I'll look into the issue of the error message it may be the result ofthe va11a not set up right or may be a issue with the code.
However you don't need to press the record button. That could be the issue as well your telling it to record then trying to trigger stills as well.
video and stills should be saved to the video foldewr of PCC unless told else where in the cam setup page.
PCC trial only allows 4 cam recording full version enables I think 12 cams. ::)
A new download isn't needed to get the full version the program will switch to full version with a password.
>!
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I plan on using PCC not AHP so I think I’m fine where I’m at….
If I understand you correctly…Are you thinking because it wasn’t listed in the Universal Serial Bus that the VA11A wasn’t load correctly? Or is it because the picture wasn’t displaying properly?
I’ll read the new manual link and see if I do indeed have an outdated manual.
Record button; I see your point about grabbing one or the other…Video or stills.
“video and stills should be saved to the video foldewr of PCC unless told else where in the cam setup page.” I don’t I did but I’ll look into the video folder of PCC and see if there is a folder there. What is the name of that folder where to pic.’s should be stored in, in the Video folder of PCC?
4 cameras is all I’ll ever need so I think I’m fine there.
Oh, by the way. Nice job on the program! :)%
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If I understand you correctly…Are you thinking because it wasn’t listed in the Universal Serial Bus that the VA11A wasn’t load correctly? Or is it because the picture wasn’t displaying properly?
may be both
I’ll read the new manual link and see if I do indeed have an outdated manual.
I hope thats all it is And I didn't forget to follow up
“video and stills should be saved to the video foldewr of PCC unless told else where in the cam setup page.” I don’t I did but I’ll look into the video folder of PCC and see if there is a folder there. What is the name of that folder where to pic.’s should be stored in, in the Video folder of PCC?
both stills and video are stored in the same folder video saved as avi and pics saved as jpg
Oh, by the way. Nice job on the program! :)%
Thanks, I'll dig into the code just to be sure Murphy didn't get into it and mess with it! ::) :'
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This may be the problem,at least it was with me
In pcc when you select the cam you have to change "select capture device at the top of the cam setup page.
On mine when I change to the correct device it will show the cam but every time i switch cams it changes back to tv tuner instead of composit.
Just figured this was a setback of using the trial.
I am still working things out with my system and really only use pcc for my automated sound files (which works great by the way :)%)awesome Job tuicman.
Was having problems with x10wavplayer and pcc fixed it.
Any way hope this helps.
>!
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This may be the problem,at least it was with me
In pcc when you select the cam you have to change "select capture device at the top of the cam setup page.
On mine when I change to the correct device it will show the cam but every time i switch cams it changes back to tv tuner instead of composit.
Just figured this was a setback of using the trial.
It appears this issue is windows 7 and maybe vista related and not an intentional trial limitation by me
this doesn't happen in XP at least not in my tests.
I'm working on this but may take a bit to nail down. :(
Update:
I think I've found the issue with the save file. It seems when I was rebuilding PCC with extra commandline options and single instance code a bug was introduced which wasn't caught in the beta testing. :-[
I'll go threw the rest of the camera code to see if I can find anything else that was missed and try to have a updated installer ready before the week end.
>!
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Dude, you are amazing! You don't have rush on my account. I'm just very thankful you are helping me.
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Ditto to what Mrjones said But wow Thanks for all your effort :)%
Fix that and I will have to donate just on principle
THANKS TUICMAN !! :)% :)% :)% :)% >!
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Thanks for the complements guys!
This issues has been a little difficult to pin down since I move my deveopment over to a win7 64 bit machine.
The Va11a won't work on Windows 7 and the VA12A has to be recalibrated each time a camera switches or the program is restarted.
I'm not sure why the VA12A is showing the possibility to use video composite, video tuner or s-video as a video source B:(
In my case it defaults to tuner ??? I don't even have a tuner in my PC!
This maybe a question for X10 programmers to look at although I didn't recall seeing that on my XP machine.
Watch the PCC thread (http://forums.x10.com/index.php?topic=14508.0) for the next release or my forum (http://tuicemen.com/forum/index.php)
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I'm not real sharp on programing
But could it possibly be a problem with the microsoft wdm capture software
Just a thought
I noticed that in ahp and vanguard you can change that info and mine is locked at microsoft wdm in pcc.
By the way my system info mite be helpful here it is
Brand new emachine el1852g
3 gigs ram
3.6 gig dual core processor
windows 7 x64 ultimate sp2
If there is anything else i can do to help just let me know >!
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Just fired up a Xp machine seems the VA12A Driver is the culprit.
It is telling windows moviemaker it has 3 lines for input maybe X10 Is planing a upgrade to this or added this bit of code so it only works in their software.
Good thing Mr.Jones you picked up a VA11A as this works fine in PCC and other programs not made by X10.
I'll look at another method for capture to see if the VA12A will work without having to reconfigure each cam switch.
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Good for me! Once you get things figured out, do you think you can give some direction to what i need to do to fix my issue? I know you're still fixing/ figuring things out. Thanks!
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I've posted a new version that should fix your issues.
You can download the new version and place it on a flash drive or cd and take to your other place that doesn't have internet.
UpDate link (http://www.tuicemen.com/downloads\PC_Companion_UpDate.exe)
>!
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Wow thanks! Now, do I uninstall the version of PCC I have from that computer? And load this version, or does it act like an update?
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No need to uninstall.
This works like a update.
I distribute a full installer as well as this one so those on dial up don't spend all day downloading. ;)
The link above doesn't give key componets for an initial first install.
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Okay great! I will download the update that you posted, and also download and reload the drivers for VA11A. By what I discribed at the beginning of the thread, is there anything else I need to do before returning to that computer?
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Nothing that comes to mind.
Windows will only allow one program to use the camera drivers at a time. So make sure no other camera software is running. >!
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Oh! so don't have AHP up and running while PCC is? Just run PCC only as you mentioned up top?
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Just run PCC, if AHP has the camera plug-in it will mess with PCC and vice versa.
You don't need AHP running for PCC to work.
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Okay got it! I'll give it a try this weekend. As you know, if I have problems, I'll post on Monday. Thanks again for all your help.
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Hey Tuicemen
Tried what you said about not having ahp running with pcc
Didn't work same problem B:(
defaults to video tuner and like you "I have no tuner card" >*<
Just thought you might wanna know :angel:
Here is my info again so you don't have to search it :)%
Emachines el1852g
3 gigs ram
3.something I forget now dual core pentium processor
windows 7 x64
va12a
cm19a
vr47 a video reciever
AHP newest version with smart macros ( if this is even relevent) :'
intell g4 graphics chipset
realtech on board sound(sucks really but works) :P
cm19a with antenna mod (will post later) wow made a heckuva difference for 6 bucks and no labor :)%
vr47a antenna mod with router antenna (again major improvement)Thanks everyone >! :)%
1 terabyte hard drive
::)
I know most of this stuff isn't relevent but in my business (automotive repair) to much info is way better than not enough :)%
Thanks again for all your time everybody :)%
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The defaulting to video tuner is a VA12A issue.
After considerable testing this also behaves like this on XP.
I had thought it was only noticable in Vista and Win7 but thats not the case.
Once I can dig deeper into the driver I'll see if I can find why I can't change the default.
I had thought I had it figured out but my test code made no difference.
And your right you can never supply to much info
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OkeeDokee
Thanks for the reply,and good luck
Not sure if this will help , reading up on it now but it's pretty technical(you know,crap I don't understand "yet" rofl)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kernel-Mode_Driver_Framework (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kernel-Mode_Driver_Framework) -:)
You probably already know bout it but can't hurt to try :D
Take a look and see if it's relevent seems to address a lot of issues we are havin
The i/o address issues and forward compatibility caught my eye.
I downloaded it but am scared as heck to install(You know I'm gonna do it anyway,I'ma glutton for punishment >*< rofl
Doin full backup and drive image as I type.
>!
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Okay, I got the VA11A working. I can see the cameras and I can switch them on and off but I cannot record any photos. I just get error messages, one for every second it’s supposed to take a picture and I have to hit ctrl+atl+delete to stop it. It seems like it’s looking for a file to load the picture too. I looked in the “video” folder and only found two files in there and they are 1) donate.html and 2) plug-inpack donate.html. The error I get when I trigger the cameras is “error with 9-24-2011_c2_2.jpg”. That goes for the same when I click the “send to clipboard” button. The errors I got the last time I was working on it was also the date (9-11-2011 etc.). This is a neat feature because I can tell when the pic was taken.
When I first did the update there was an error so I tried again (and maybe after a reboot I can’t remember) and it seemed to work. I don’t know if it was the update or me not turning AHP on but like I said I can see the cameras (although the cameras looked better on VHS tape then they do on the computer but I fine with that.) When I looked at the “Universal serial bus” VA11A is NOT list yet again. It has a list of files and at the bottom it reads “ACPI.compliant”. I notice that I get many errors and PCC crashes a lot. One error I get when switching from camera to camera is a pop-up called “Video Source” and has a pull down that asks “Capture Source” and it only has one choice and that is “X10 video capture, VA11A version 2.55”. So, I click “apply” and then “OK” and nothing seems to happen or no changes happen. This pop’s-up a lot. I sometimes get a 3 tab window labeled “Change Capture Device” and I can click on “Device Settings” which is cool because I can adjust the video level and contrast of the cameras but I can’t tell which window will pop up and when. I hope all this info helps you I also wrote down my system spec.’s hoping that may help too, here they are.
XP Pro ver. 2002 Service pack 3/ Pentium 4 2.26.GHz and 1.25 GB RAM.
I have other questions but I’ll save them for later because they are just functional operation stuff of the program. I just wanted to give you all the info you needed to help you resolve my issues and like I’ve mention before many times…THANKS A MILLION!
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Sounds like a corupt install as a subfolder in the video folder called "Stills
should have been created. ::) :'
I'll give the update a test run on my note book however I don't have a VA11A here at the cottage.
I think I can rig up another cam to test the capture part.
>!
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OK looks like the issue is at the server.
For some reason it wasn't downloading the correct version.
Not sure if it was reset or I goofed when I uploaded to it! :-[ ::) :'
The link Should work now (at least I got the correct version)
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Thank you! So, just use the same link up top and do another "update" type load?
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Thank you! So, just use the same link up top and do another "update" type load?
Yes.
Same link should give you a update installer for ver. 3.0.9.7
This should fix most camera issues.
If this still throws errors try to copy the error info and post it in my forum for PCC Support (http://tuicemen.com/forum/index.php?board=16.0)
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I have the .7 version but one question...You said something about "Sounds like a corupt install as a subfolder in the video folder called "Stills" Does this version fix that issue or do you think I need a fresh new install?
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originaly I thoughtit was a corupt install however you had just installed an old version.
This new version should create the new folder but I believe it doesn't do that until first pic is saved.
You shouldn't need to uninstall just run the update.
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I got it working!! Woo Hoo! Thank you so much for all your help! Now, where do I donate? I do have some questions about the software and I'll post them on your PCC forums page. Thanks a million again! #:) >!
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I got it working!! Woo Hoo! Thank you so much for all your help! Now, where do I donate? I do have some questions about the software and I'll post them on your PCC forums page. Thanks a million again! #:) >!
Good to know your running! :)%
Although I'd love the donation, do test run it for a while.
When Your ready there is a PayPal Link @ the PCC webPage (http://www.angelfire.com/in2/ontkoi/X10AHP/PcCompanion.html).
There also are links built into the program but require internet connection which you don't have at the remote location.
I look forward to seeing you @ my Forum!
>!