Corrupted feed from ASI290MM mini as 2nd camera

Post Reply
User avatar
AstroNikko
Posts: 24
Joined: Thu Feb 06, 2020 12:06 am
Contact:

Corrupted feed from ASI290MM mini as 2nd camera

#1

Post by AstroNikko »

Hi all!

I’m looking for suggestions with this issue. Not sure where to start troubleshooting.

Last night I attempted to run 2 instances of SharpCap 4.0, each connecting to a different camera. The first camera is a modified 2MP Logitech QuickCam Pro for Notebooks (2007 model; later listed as model C905), while the second camera is the ZWO ASI290MM Mini.

The Logitech has no issue with its video feed. However, when connecting to the ASI290MM Mini with the 2nd instance of SharpCap while the first instance is still connected to and capturing video with the Logitech camera, the feed from the ASI290 appears corrupted with horizontal banding. Disconnecting the Logitech camera in the first instance fixes the issue.

Both cameras are connected to a powered USB 3.0 port through a powered USB 3.0 hub. The computer is a 2013 Asus ZenBook UX31A running Win10 Home 64bit with an Intel i7 processor, 4GB RAM, and 1TB SSD.

Thanks in advance,

Nikko
Mount: CEM120, Celestron AVX
Scope: ES N208CF f/3.9, Meade 2080 8” f/10 SCT, Meade 290-P 60mm f/15, WO SpaceCat 51 f/4.9
Camera: QHY268C, Fuji X-T100, P1 Neptune-C II (IMX464), P1 Mars-M (IMX290), ZWO ASI290MM Mini, Logitech C905
User avatar
admin
Site Admin
Posts: 13122
Joined: Sat Feb 11, 2017 3:52 pm
Location: Vale of the White Horse, UK
Contact:

Re: Corrupted feed from ASI290MM mini as 2nd camera

#2

Post by admin »

Hi,

the first thing to suggest would be to bring the two cameras back to separate USB ports on the computer if at all possible and see if that helps. Also try one on the powered hub and one back to the PC. Some types of horizontal banding can result from noise fluctuations in the USB 5V supply (see an example in the SharpCap user manual - https://docs.sharpcap.co.uk/4.0/#!2!Pre-processing). If you are seeing something like that then I wonder if the Logitech camera being active is introducing noise into the 5V USB supply.

cheers,

Robin
User avatar
AstroNikko
Posts: 24
Joined: Thu Feb 06, 2020 12:06 am
Contact:

Re: Corrupted feed from ASI290MM mini as 2nd camera

#3

Post by AstroNikko »

Thanks for the reply, Robin. And thanks for the suggestions. That was really helpful.

After troubleshooting this a bit, I suspect the issue may be related to a 2m USB cable extension that I use with the Logitech. The camera cable is only about a meter long. So I needed an extension to reach the computer/hub. Which I think is probably the weakest link in the whole chain. I was still seeing the issue, albeit to a lesser extent, when connecting the cameras to the computer instead of the USB3.0 hub. Although I realize now that I also neglected to perform the test without the USB extension cable.

To clarify, the banding looks more like corrupted frames due to data loss, as opposed to the type of banding you'd normally see with noise. Looked somewhat like frame tearing, except sometimes it would appear as blocks in addition to the hard split in the frame.

I've since purchased one of the new Player One Neptune-C II cameras, though. I can report that I no longer experience the same issue when using the Neptune-C II with the ASI290MM mini connected through a second instance of SharpCap. Works great!

Thanks again,

Nikko
Mount: CEM120, Celestron AVX
Scope: ES N208CF f/3.9, Meade 2080 8” f/10 SCT, Meade 290-P 60mm f/15, WO SpaceCat 51 f/4.9
Camera: QHY268C, Fuji X-T100, P1 Neptune-C II (IMX464), P1 Mars-M (IMX290), ZWO ASI290MM Mini, Logitech C905
User avatar
admin
Site Admin
Posts: 13122
Joined: Sat Feb 11, 2017 3:52 pm
Location: Vale of the White Horse, UK
Contact:

Re: Corrupted feed from ASI290MM mini as 2nd camera

#4

Post by admin »

Hi Nikko,

good to hear that you have everything working nicely now - clear skies!

Robin
Post Reply