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Author Topic: Alternative to Iwitness?  (Read 11107 times)

DB

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Alternative to Iwitness?
« on: June 09, 2006, 12:51:30 PM »

Has anyone found an alternative to Iwitness for recording video. I cant seem to keep activehome running for more than a few hours so it cant record video if it always crashing. Thanks for any replies.
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mike

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Re: Alternative to Iwitness?
« Reply #1 on: June 25, 2006, 08:27:38 AM »

You do know that their install program often installs an IPB camera driver rather than x10 driver, right?  If this happens, I found that even simple snap shots every 30 seconds would crash AHP anywhere from 1-20 minutes! Getting this install right per their note:

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Greetings from X10,

It sounds like the VA11A is not being loaded correctly.  If you have not done so already, please download and install the x10drivers.exe file from the website below:

http://www.x10.com/software

After installing that reboot the computer and then check in the device manager for windows.  Once there look under the imaging devices catagory to and look for the x10 va11a.  If that is not listed but you see a device there called Intel PC camera pro then follow the next steps.

1.  Right click on intel pc camera pro.  Select update driver.
2.  If it askes you to connnect to microsoft say no not at this time.
3.  Next choose to install from a list or a specific location.
4.  Then the choice that says "Dont search, I will choose the driver to install.
5.  On the next screen select the X10 VA11A Video Capture adapter.
6.  It will then begin a found new hardware and begin to install the drivers. On the next windows just choose continue anyway.  And then it should come back up with some found new hardware.  Choose to install automatcially on both of the next screens.

Follow that procedure and the va11a should now work properly.  The procedure might look slightly different that how I have described it but it will be similar.  Try it and then get backto us if there are further problems.


Thanks
-Nathan
X10 Customer Support
1-800-675-3044 Ext 2754

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So if your driver is ok, then you are victim of their bad coding in AVIdll thingy.  I found what seems so far to be a work around below.  Hope it helps....
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Seems the issue is the poorly written video dll in AHP crashes if you tell it to record AGAIN while still recording - OR MAKING THE AVI FILE AFTERWARDS - TAKES 40 SECONDS ON MY COMPUTER.   X10 could easily fix this by properly closing an open compile session beforer starting another one - this should not have to be taken care of by the user for crying out loud!

So you have to use some condition that stops a macro from trying to START RECORDING while one is in use, or for the time afterwards that it takes AHP to actual compile the Avi file - from what I can see. 

Since flags no longer work as conditions, I did the following and THINK I have a working recording multi camera system....  I sent this to tech support along with abouit 40 others and all they ever send back is canned reply that my driver is wrong, reinstall.....

Guys, I seem to have found a work around somewhat to flags not being useable for conditions.  I made a fake 2 way appliance module called B16 and am setting it when I trigger a macro for a camera that will include capturing 30 seconds of video.  I use it for the condition on the other macros so they do not start if one is already on.  Seems to work so far.

AHP takes  40 seconds - on my computer - to compile the captured video after recording stops and actually make an AVI file - it is 0 bytes long until this time is up at end of recording.  If I trigger another video capture before this time is up, it appears 50-50% chance that I will end up with the first one 0 bytes long and hence lead to the AHP crash.  Is this true?

So I've added a 40 second timer at end of each video recording macro just before I turn B16 flag back off.  So far so good....
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