DT3157 Data Translation PCI Frame Grabber for Digital Cameras

The Measurement Computing / Data Translation DT3157 PCI Frame Grabber for Digital Cameras has been designed specifically for digital sources. This gives you two critical benefits: First, the board is more cost-effective because it does not include unnecessary analog hardware. Second, hardware interfacing is simplified since there are no extra pins, jumpers, or signals to contend with.

The DT3157 uses a modified version of the AIA standard 68-pin connector, so interfacing to cameras that use this standard can use a standard cable, freeing users from having to buy or make expensive custom cables. For other popular cameras that have not yet implemented the AIA standard, Data Translation supplies optional interface cables. In addition, supporting software for the DT3157 includes camera set-up files for an expanding list of cameras.

The DT3157 has an extremely flexible front end, so it is compatible with the vast majority of digital cameras available today. It can acquire images up to 4096 pixels per line by 4096 lines per frame (4 mpixels max) in single-channel mode, and 1024 pixels per line by 1024 lines per frame in dual-channel mode. Maximum data rate is 40 MB/s. Pixel grayscale resolutions of 8, 10, 12, 14, and 16 bits are fully supported. In addition, both single-channel and dualchannel (Kodak dual-format 8-bit) cameras are supported.

The DT3157 employs the industry-leading MACH Series architecture for real-time image display. Taking advantage of the PCI bus' high speed; up to 132 MB/s, the DT3157 can transfer an unlimited number of consecutive frames, in real-time, across the bus to host memory. And by using the DirectDraw (DDI) standard built into Windows 98/NT 4.0/2000/ME, you can display live video with non-destructive overlays without having expensive display hardware on the frame grabber. By using a separate VGA card for display, you are free to choose the graphics card that satisfies your particular application needs and performance requirements.

Because system resources are not involved in transferring data with the DT3157 Bus Master design, your computer's CPU is free to perform high-speed image processing on the data you acquire. You can acquire a second image while using the host CPU to process the first.

The DT3157 is compatible with single-and dual-channel cameras. The acquisition and transfer rate of the board varies depending on the number of input channels and the pixel bit depth of the camera.