Stereoscopic Multiplexer Overview

Stereoscopic Multiplexer is a Windows driver that allows you to capture stereoscopic video from two separate cameras. It combines video data from DV camcorders, Firewire or USB webcams and most other capture hardware to a single stream in side-by-side format. It can be used within Stereoscopic Player as well as third party video software that supports WDM capture devices, for example Windows Media Encoder.

Benefits

	Use Stereoscopic Multiplexer, Windows Media Encoder and a pair of webcams, industrial cameras or DV camcorders to stream live 3D content over the Internet. Use Stereoscopic Player to receive Windows Media streams.
	Use Stereoscopic Multiplexer and any capture application to record stereoscopic videos to hard disk.
	Use Stereoscopic Multiplexer and Stereoscopic Player to get a stereoscopic preview during 3D shooting (to tape).
	Use Stereoscopic Multiplexer and Stereoscopic Player to align and setup your cameras.

Stereoscopic Multiplexer Features

	Compatible with any pair of WDM capture devices
	Works in any application supporting WDM capture drivers
	Side-by-side output format
	Native support of YUY2, UYVY, RGB 24 and RGB 32 color spaces
	Other color spaces supported by means of color space converters
	Real-time gamma, sharpness, black level and white level adjustments (in YUY2 and UYVY mode only)
	YUV range conversion from 0-255 to 16-235 (conversion to ITU-R BT.601)
	Individual horizontal and vertical flipping for left and right input
	Synchronization based on frame timestamps
	Synchronization based on frame delivery order
	Image/camera parameter synchronization
	Image/camera parameter correction
	Dropped and processed frames statistics

Stereoscopic Multiplexer System Requirements

	Windows 2000, Windows XP or Windows Server 2003or above.
	Capture or playback application compatible with WDM drivers (e.g. Stereoscopic Player, Windows Media Encoder)
	Two cameras or capture cards able to work simultaneously at the same resolution, color space and frame rate

From the technical point of view, there is no need to use two identical capture devices. However, we recommend to do so in order to minimize differences in color, brightness, contrast, focus and zoom between left and right images.

The Stereoscopic Multiplexer does not replace genlocking or other means of hardware synchronization. It searches for left and right frames with minimum time offset, but cannot eliminate the remaining mis-sync. This would require to interpolate frames, which is unacceptable from a quality point of view. For DV-Camcorders featuring a LANC port (Sony, Canon), dual camera remote controls, for example the LANC, are the easiest way to obtain almost perfect synchronization.

Important: When using DV devices, it is necessary to connect them to separate Firewire controllers. Using two jacks on the same controller does not work! If you use Firewire webcams or industrial cameras according to the 1394 Trade Association's Digital Camera Specification, it depends on the resolution and frame rate whether two controllers are necessary or not. Click here for an overview of bandwidth requirements for different video modes.