Why does the live video streaming from my microscope sometimes appear choppy?

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	Why does the live video streaming from my microscope sometimes appear choppy?

Answer

The problem is not with the microscope but with the computer displaying the video.

A video stream’s demands on a computer’s hardware depends on the resolution and frame rate of the video as well as factors like the number of colors and intensity levels that are displayed. As each of these quantities increases, more processing power is needed. Any motion recorded by the camera also takes more number crunching by the computer.

Video processing in a computer is done by both the CPU and the hardware on the video or graphics card. Older computers and small computers such as netbooks and tablets have relatively low-power CPUs and either no graphics card or one with modest capabilities. When these devices are used with one of our microscopes at high resolution and or with rapid image motions in the microscope’s field of view, the computer is using 100% of its video processing power and it is still not enough to keep up with the camera’s output. Not every video frame is displayed, resulting in gaps that make the video look choppy or the subject appear to jump.

A possible solution is to use the microscope at a lower resolution. To do this, use the settings in the image capture program you are using. For example, if the resolution giving the jerky video is 1200x1600, try settings of 1280x1024, 1024x768, etc. Also adjust the frame rate and shutter speed to lower numbers and see if this helps.

A PC with a 4-core processor design or better, 2.6 GHz or faster processor and 2GB free RAM or more is recommended to minimize these problems.

Article Details

Article ID:

2546

Created On:

Sep 30 2011 12:11 PM