Instrumentation Monthly Test | Measurement | Control
IDS Imaging Development Systems has issued a new technical note showing how its range of uEye GigE cameras can be configured for multicast use. Available for download, this new publication describes how to configure any uEye GigE camera as a multicast master or client using IDS Camera Manager Software.
Multicast operation is a powerful mode that enables the possibility of additional manufacturing and quality controls to be implemented in factory automation applications. In addition, it offers the possibility of multiple simultaneous views of the same video stream in logistics applications.
IDS Camera Manager is part of the IDS Software Suite supplied with all uEye cameras. The ‘ETH network service’ feature enables the network adapter to be assigned with the necessary IP addresses for multicast operation. Multicast operation allows the camera to send image data to a multicast IP address, thus enabling multiple client PCs to receive and display the image data simultaneously. However, only the master PC can control the camera.
Since in multicast mode the data is sent only once to each of the specific group of participants in the network, the transmitter only requires the same data transmission rate as would be required for a single receiver. Another key benefit of the multicast mode is that the network switch distributes the data and not the camera or the host PC. Thus, there is no additional load on the master PC.
