From iPiSoft Wiki

Quick Start Guide

For the impatient:

• Get the Microsoft Kinect Sensor with separate power adapter and computer with DirectX 10 videocard.
• Download and install iPiRecorder and iPiStudio
• Find a suitable space (9 by 5 feet minimum)
• Actor should be dressed in casual slim clothing, avoid shiny fabrics
• Connect Kinect to PC, point it at the actor and use iPi Recorder to record your performance
• Please ensure that the whole body including arms and legs is visible during the performance. First 1-2 seconds of video should contain background only (no actor). Then goes a T-pose. Then goes actor’s performance
• Run iPi Studio process actor performance video. Refer to iPi Soft Motion Capture Workflow from Paul Stapelberg for instructions on how to
• Import your character into iPi Studio (File->Import Target Character) to adapt the animation for your character rig
• Export your animation in a desired format

For more details see User Guide for Single Kinect Sensor Configuration.

User Guide

System Requirements

iPi Recorder

• Computer (desktop or laptop):
  • CPU: x86 compatible (Intel Pentium 4 or higher, AMD Athlon or higher), dual- or quad- core is preferable
  • Operating system: Windows 7 (x86 or x64), Windows Vista (x86 or x64), Windows XP SP3 (x86 or x64)
• Microsoft Kinect Sensor (“Depth Sensor”) with separate power adapter
  • If you bought "XBox 360 + Kinect" bundle then you need to order power adapter
• Optional: active USB 2.0 extension cables
• Optional: Kinect Adjustable Tripod Stands
• Minimum required space: 3m by 3m (10 by 10 feet)

iPi Studio

• Computer (desktop or laptop):
  • CPU: x86 compatible (Intel Pentium 4 or higher, AMD Athlon or higher), dual- or quad- core is preferable
  • Operating system: Windows 7 (x86 or x64), Windows Vista (x86 or x64), Windows XP SP3 (x86 or x64)
  • Video card: Direct3D 10-capable (Shader Model 4.0) gaming-class graphics card
    • Intel integrated graphics is not supported
    • for more info see Cameras and accessories#Video_Card

Software Installation

iPi Recorder

Before installation:

• unplug MS Kinect Sensor or Sony PS Eye cameras from computer

iPi Recorder is a tool for recording video from web cameras and depth sensors. Download the setup package of iPi Recorder latest version: http://ipisoft.com/downloads/iPiRecorderSetup.exe. Run it. In the following dialog window make sure that

• item “PrimeSensor Driver (psdrv3) Registration for MS Kinect Sensor” is selected if you plan to work with Kinect
• item “WinUSB Driver Registration for PS3 Eye Camera” is selected if you plan to work with Sony PS Eye cameras

Note that if you do not plan to use Sony PlayStation Eye cameras or Kinect then you can deselect the appropriate item in the list.

Also note that the latest version of iPi Recorder is compatible with Microsoft Kinect for Windows SDK. Thus if you have it installed then there is no need in “PrimeSensor Driver (psdrv3) Registration for MS Kinect Sensor”.

Click “Install” button to start the installation process. You’ll be asked about drivers installation:

Please read license agreement and accept it by checking the appropriate checkbox. Then press “Install” button. As soon as you get the Windows Security screen, please select “Install this driver software anyway”:

At this point the drivers will complete installation and should not give any other errors:

After that iPi Recorder itself will be installed:

After that, connect MS Kinect Sensor or Sony PS3 Eye cameras to your PC. Under Windows Vista and Windows 7 device initialization should be performed automatically and you’ll receive notification about it in the system tray area. Under Window XP you’ll be asked several times:

• “Can Windows connect to Windows Update to search for software?”
• “What do you want the wizard to do?”

In all cases answer “No, not this time” and “Install the software automatically (Recommended)” respectively:

Run iPi Recorder and make sure that there is “MS Kinect Sensor” in “Camera Selector” dialog:

Select “MS Kinect Sensor (OpenNI)” and press “Ok” button. Make sure that you can see colored “depth video” from sensor, that actual frame rate is 30 fps, that frames drop is in range from 0 to 5 and that you can change motor position using appropriate slider:

Note that values of Tilt and Roll are updated with a time lag. During recording these values cannot be updated assuming that in this case sensor should be static.

iPi Studio

Note that if you have used iPi Studio before and have Internet connection on your computer then you only need to let iPi Studio to automatically update:

iPi Studio is a core software of iPi Desktop Motion Capture (iPi DMC) solution. It’s used to process pre-recorded video and export resulted animation into most popular formats. You can use 30 days free trial. To install iPi Studio please download and run setup program: http://ipisoft.com/downloads/iPiStudioSetup.exe. Then, follow instructions of the installation wizard.

As a result of installation, iPi Studio will be executed. You will be prompted to enter your license key or start 30-days free trial period:

For more info about license protection see License.

Recording Video from Depth Sensor

Finally, after all these preparations completed, you are ready for performance.

Environment

For a single or dual depth sensor configuration, you need a minimum of 10 feet by 10 feet space (3 meters by 3 meters). At smaller space, actor simply won’t fit into view of cameras.

It is convenient to put MS Kinect Sensor on a chair or a table. The picture below will help you to understand possible capture area and required space:

Side view	Top view

Actor Clothing

Current version uses only depth information to track motions. So clothes requirements are:

• no restrictions on clothes colors (just avoid shiny fabrics)
• please use slim clothes to reduce noise in resulted animation

Recording Process

Please record a video using iPi Recorder application. It supports recording with Sony PlayStation Eye cameras, depth sensors (Kinect) and DirectShow-compatible webcams (USB and FireWire).

iPi Recorder is a stand-alone application and does not require a powerful video card. You may choose to install it on a notebook PC for portability. Since it is free, you can install it on as many computers as you need.

Please run iPi Recorder and choose “MS Kinect Sensor (OpenNI)” in Camera Selector dialog:

Using “Motor” slider, adjust direction of sensor so that you can see floor at the bottom and actor is fully visible (with hands up if needed):

Set output directory for recorded video:

Recording Actor's Performance

Press “Start Video Recording” button to begin video recording.

Important! Initial two seconds of video should contain only background and static objects. Presence of actor or any moving objects in the initial two seconds of recorded video is unacceptable. It’s because initial seconds of video are used to calculate static background necessary to separate actor from other objects of 3D scene.

As soon as recorder starts and “clear” scene is recorded for a couple of seconds, go to the capture area and stand in a T-pose:

After that you can act desired motions.

To stop recording, press “Stop Video Recording” button.

Using Windows Explorer, go to destination folder and open the recorded file with name video_YYYY-MM-DD_hh-mm-ss.avi in Windows Media Player. You should see depth information as a blue image:

Now you are ready for processing this video using iPi Studio.

Performance Tips

Recommended layout of an action video

• No actor at the start of the video
• Enter the actor.
• Strike a T-pose.
• Action

“No actor at the start of the video” rule

Remember to always record a few seconds without actor in view of cameras in the beginning of each video. This is very important. The software will need to see a couple of seconds of background of your scene (no actor) when processing the video.

T-pose

It is preferable to have actor strike a “T-pose” before the actual action. The software will need T-pose for building actor appearance model during tracking.

Takes

Take is a concept originating from cinematography. In a nutshell, take is a single continuous recorded performance.

Usually it is a good idea to record multiple takes of the same motion, because a lot of things can go wrong for purely artistic reasons.

Iterations

A common problem with motion capture is “clipping” in resulting 3D character animation. For example, arms entering the body of animated computer-generated character. Many CG characters have various items and attachments like a bullet-proof vest, a fantasy armor or a helmet. It can be easy for an actor to forget about the shape of the CG model.

For this reason, you may need to schedule more than one motion capture session for the same motions. Recommended approach is:

• Record the videos
• Process the videos in iPiStudio
• Import your target character into iPiStudio and review the resulting animation
• Give feedback to the actor
• Schedule another motion capture session if needed

Ian Chisholm's hints on motion capture

Ian Chisholm is a machinima director and actor and the creator of critically acclaimed Clear Skies machinima series. Below are some hints from his motion capture guide based on his experience with motion capture for Clear Skies III.

Three handy hints for acting out mocap:

1. Don’t weave and bob around like you’re in a normal conversation – it looks terrible when finally onscreen. You need to be fairly (but not completely) static when acting.

1. If you are recording several lines in one go, make sure you have lead in and lead out between each one, i.e. stand still! Otherwise, the motions blend into each other and it’s hard to pick a start and end point for each take.

1. Stand a bit like a gorilla – have your arms out from your sides:
   
   Well, obviously not quite that much. But anyway, if you don’t, you’ll find the arms clip slightly into the models and they look daft.

If you have a lot of capture to do, you need to strike a balance between short and long recordings. Aim for 30 seconds to 2 minutes. Too long is a pain to work on later due to the fiddlyness of setting up takes, and too short means you are forever setting up T-poses.

Takes

Because motion capture is not a perfect art, and neither is acting, it’s best to perform multiple takes. I found that three was the best amount for most motion capture. Take less if it’s a basic move, take more if it’s complex and needs to be more accurate. It will make life easier for you in the processing stage if you signal the break between takes – I did this by reaching out one arm and holding up fingers to show which take it was.

Naming conventions

As it’s the same actor looking exactly the same each and every time, and there is no sound, and the capture is in lowres 320*200, you really need to name the files very clearly so that you later know which act, scene, character, and line(s) the capture is for.

My naming convention was based on act, scene, character, page number of the scene, line number, and take number. You end up with something unpleasant to read like A3S1_JR_P2_L41_t3 but it’s essential when you’ve got 1500 actions to record.

Processing Video from Depth Sensor

• Run iPi Studio
• Press Ctrl+O or push “Open” button on toolbar
• Choose recorded avi file
• In the “Select Video Layout” dialog select the following values:
  • Depth video from MS Kinect Camera
  • Numbers of cameras: 1
  • Resolution: 640x480

• After video opened, background will be calculated automatically and position of camera will be detected based on floor plane.
• Make sure, that floor is detected correctly:
  1. Right mouse button down on 3d view port area
  2. Move mouse, as a result 3d scene will be rotated
  3. Right mouse button up
  4. Visually control that 3d points from floor are located on ground plane which is marked by squared grid

Note that you always can get back to the camera point of view by pressing 1 key on keyboard or pushing “Camera 1” button on toolbar

• Save created project by pressing Ctrl+S or pushing button “Save” on toolbar
• Position timeline slider to the frame where actor is in T-pose
• Adjust actor height using appropriate slider on tab “Actor”
• Select “Move” tool on toolbar.
• Move actor model to left or right to match roughly actor silhouette on video. Note that actor model can look smaller due to its position along axis of view. Don’t pay attention to it on this step.

• Switch to “Tracking” tab and push “Refit pose” button.
• As a result model should be matched with actor image from video. If it does not happen then delete result using item “Edit” -> “Delete pose” from main menu and repeat above actions.

• Using the slider right to the button “Show Skin” in toolbar, make sure that morph of model corresponds to the actor image. If no, than adjust arms/torso/legs morph using appropriate sliders from “Actor” tab.

• Set the beginning of Region-of-Interest (ROI) to the current frame with T-pose by pressing I key on keyboard or by double-clicking on the left edge of ROI bar under timeline.
• Switch to “Tracking” tab, check “Enable foot tracking” and “Enable shoulders tracking” checkboxes
• To start tracking just push “Track Forward” button

• Wait and watch...

Clean-up

Once initial tracking is performed on all (or part) of your video, you can begin cleaning out tracking errors (if any). Post-processing should be applied after clean-up.

Cleaning up tracking gaps

Tracking errors usually happen in a few specific video frames and propagate to multiple subsequent frames, resulting in tracking gaps. Examples of problematic frames:

• Occlusion (like one hand not visible in any of the cameras)
• Indistinctive pose (like hands folded on chest).
• Very fast motion with motion blur.

To clean up a sequence of incorrect frames (a tracking gap), you should use backward tracking:

1. Go toward the last frame of tracking gap, to a frame where actor pose is distinctive (no occlusion, no motion blur etc.).
2. If necessary, use Rotate, Move and Inverse Kinematics tools to edit character pose to match actor pose on video.
3. Turn off Trajectory Filtering (set it to zero) so that it does not interfere with your editing.
4. Click Refit Pose button to get a better fit of character pose.
5. Click Track Backward button.
6. Stop backward tracking as soon as it comes close to the nearest good frame.
7. If necessary, go back to remaining parts of tracking gap and use forward and backward tracking to clean them up.

Cleaning up individual frames

To clean up individual frames you should use a combination of editing tools (Rotate, Move and Inverse Kinematics) and Refit Pose button.

Note: after “Refit Pose” operation iPiStudio automatically applies Trajectory Filtering to produce a smooth transition between frames. As the result, pose in current frame is affected by nearby frames. This may look confusing. If you want to see exact result of “Refit Pose” operation in current frame you should turn off Trajectory Filtering (set it to zero), but do not forget to change it back to suitable value later.

Tracking errors that cannot be cleaned up using iPi Studio

Not all tracking errors can be cleaned up in iPiStudio using automatic tracking and Refit Pose button.

• Frames immediately affected by occlusion sometimes cannot be corrected. Recommended workarounds:
  • Manually edit problematic poses (not using Refit Pose button).
  • Record a new video of the motion and try to minimize occlusion.
  • Record a new video of the motion using more cameras.
• Frames immediately affected by motion blur sometimes cannot be corrected. Recommended workarounds:
  • Manually edit problematic poses (not using Refit Pose button).
  • Edit problematic poses in some external animation editor.
  • Record a new video of the motion using higher framerate.
• Frames affected by strong shadows on the floor sometimes cannot be corrected. Typical example is push-ups. This is a limitation of current version of markerless mocap technology. iPiSoft is working to improve tracking in future versions of iPiStudio.
• Some other poses can be recognized incorrectly by iPiStudio. This is a limitation of current version of markerless mocap technology. iPiSoft is working to improve tracking in future versions of iPiStudio.

Post-processing: Jitter Removal

Jitter Removal filter is a powerful post-processing filter. It should be applied after cleaning up tracking gaps and errors. It is recommended that you always apply Jitter Removal filter before exporting animation.

Jitter Removal filter suppresses unwanted noise and at the same time preserves sharp, dynamic motions. By design, this filter should be applied to relatively large segments of animation (no less than 50 frames).

Range of frames affected by Jitter Removal is controlled by current Region of Interest.

You can configure Jitter Removal options for specific body parts. Default setting for Jitter Removal “aggressiveness” is 1 (one tick of corresponding slider). Oftentimes, you can get better results by applying a slightly more aggressive Jitter Removal for torso and legs. Alternatively, you may want to use less aggressive Jitter Removal settings for sharp motions like martial arts moves.

Jitter Removal filter makes an internal backup of all data produced by tracking and clean up stages. Therefore, you can re-apply Jitter Removal multiple times. Each subsequent run works off original tracking/clean-up results and overrides previous runs.

Post-processing: Trajectory Filtering

Trajectory Filter is a traditional digital signal filter. Its purpose is to filter out minor noise that remains after Jitter Removal filter.

Trajectory Filter is very fast. It is applied on-the-fly to current Region of Interest.

Default setting for Trajectory Filter is 1. Higher settings result in multiple passes of Trajectory Filter. It is recommended that you leave it at the default setting.

Trajectory Filter can be useful for “gluing” together multiple segments of animation processed with different Jitter Removal options: change the Region of Interest to cover all of your motion (e.g. multiple segments processed with different jitter removal setting); change Trajectory Filtering setting to 0 (zero); then change it back to 1 (or other suitable value).

Export and Motion Transfer

Use “File->Export Animation” menu item to export all animation frames from within Region of Interest.

To export animation for specific take, right-click on take and select “Export Animation” item from pop-up menu.

Default iPi Character Rig

The default skeleton in iPi Studio is optimized for markerless motion capture. It may or may not be suitable as a skeleton for your character. Default iPi skeleton in T-pose has non-zero rotations for all joints. Please note that default iPi skeleton with zero rotations does not represent a meaningful pose and looks like a random pile of bones.

Default rig

Bone names

By default iPi Studio exports a T-pose (or a reasonable default pose for custom rig after motion transfer) in the first frame of animation. In case when it is not desired switch off "Export T-pose in first frame" checkbox.

Motion Transfer and Custom Rigs

iPi Studio has integrated motion transfer technology. You can import your character into iPi Studio via “File->Import Target Character” menu item and your motion will be transferred to your character. You may need to assign bone mappings on the “Export” tab for motion transfer to work correctly. You can save your motion transfer profile to XML file for future use. iPi Studio has pre-configured motion transfer profiles for many popular rigs (see below).

MotionBuilder

Use the “Export Animation for MotionBuilder” menu item to export your motion in MotionBuilder-friendly BVH format. MotionBuilder-friendly skeleton in T-pose has zero rotations for all joints, with bone names consistent with MotionBuilder conventions. This format may also be convenient for use with other apps like Blender.

3D MAX Biped

Use the “Export Animation for 3D MAX” menu item to export your motion in 3D MAX-friendly BVH format.

Create a Biped character in 3D MAX (“Create->Systems->Biped”). Go to “Motion” tab. Click “Motion Capture” button and import your BVH file.

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Our user Cra0kalo created an example Valve Biped rig for use with 3D MAX. It may be useful if you work with Valve Source Engine characters.

Maya

Latest versions of Maya (starting with Maya 2011) have a powerful biped animation subsystem called "HumanIK". Animations exported from iPiStudio in MotionBuilder-friendly format (the “Export Animation for MotionBuilder” menu item) should work fine with Maya 2011 and HumanIK. The following video tutorials can be helpful:

• Non-Destructive Live Retargeting — Maya 2011 New Features
• Motion Capture Workflow With Maya 2011
• Humanik Maya 2012 Part 6

For older versions of Maya please see the #Motion Transfer and Custom Rigs section. Recommended format for import/export with older versions of Maya is FBX.

FBX

iPi Studio supports FBX format for import/export of animations and characters. By default, iPiStudio exports animations in FBX 6.0 format using FBX SDK 2012. If your target character is in FBX 7.0 or newer format, iPiStudio will export retargeted animation in FBX 2012 format.

Some applications do not use latest FBX SDK and may have problems importing newer version FBX files. In case of problems, your can use Autodesk's free FBX Converter to convert your animation file to appropriate FBX version.

COLLADA

iPi Studio supports COLLADA format for import/export of animations and characters. Current version of iPi Studio exports COLLADA animations as matrices. In case if you encounter incompatibilities with other applications' implementation of COLLADA format, we recommend using Autodesk's free FBX Converter to convert your data between FBX and COLLADA formats. FBX is known to be more universally supported in many 3D graphics packages.

LightWave

Recommended format for importing target characters from LightWave to iPi Studio is FBX. Recommended format for bringing animations from iPi Studio to LightWave is BVH or FBX.

SoftImage|XSI

Our user Eric Cosky published a tutorial on using iPiStudio with SoftImage|XSI:

http://www.ipisoft.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=13&p=9660#p9660

Poser

Export your poser character in T-pose in BVH format (File->Export). Import your Poser character skeleton into iPi Studio (File->Import Target Character). Your animation will be transferred to your Poser character. Now you can use File->Export Animation to export your animation in BVH format for Poser.

Poser 8 has a bug with incorrect wrists animation import. The bug can be reproduced as follows: export Poser 8 character in T-pose in BVH format; import your character back into Poser 8; note how wrists are twisted unnaturally as the result.

A workaround for wrists bug is to chop off wrists from your Poser 8 skeleton (for instance using BVHacker) before importing Poser 8 target character into iPi Studio. Missing wrists should not cause any problems during motion transfer in iPi Studio if your BVH file is edited correctly. Poser will ignore missing wrists when importing resulting motion so the resulting motion will look right in Poser (wrists in default pose as expected).

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DAZ 3D

The workflow for DAZ 3D is very similar to Poser. Import your DAZ 3D character skeleton into iPi Studio (File->Import Target Character). Your animation will be transferred to your DAZ 3D character. Now you can use File->Export Animation to export your animation in BVH format for DAZ 3D.

IMPORTANT: You can use DAZ character in COLLADA (.dae) format for preview, but it is strongly recommended that you use DAZ character in BVH format for motion transfer. DAZ3D has a problem with COLLADA (.dae) format: DAZ3D Studio does not export all bones into COLLADA (.dae). In particular, the following bones are not exported: eyeBrow, bodyMorphs. DAZ3D Studio does not use bone names when importing motions; instead, DAZ3D Studio just takes rotations from the list of angles as though it was a flat list with exactly the same positions as in DAZ3D internal skeleton. As the result, when you transfer the motion to a COLLADA character and import it back into DAZ3D, the motion will look wrong. iPiStudio displays a warning about this. To avoid this problem, import your DAZ target character in BVH format - DAZ3D Studio is known to export characters in BVH format correctly (with all bones).

You can improve accuracy of motion transfer by doing some additional preparation of your DAZ 3D skeleton in BVH format. For DAZ 3D Michael 4.0 and similar characters, you may need to clamp thigh joint rotation to zero to avoid unnatural leg bending. For DAZ 3D Victoria 4.0, you may need to adjust foot joint rotation to change the default “high heels“ foot pose to a more natural foot pose.

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iClone

Current version of iPi Studio can only export animation in iClone-compatible BVH format. The iMotion format is not supported as of yet. That means you will need iClone PRO to be able to import the motion into iClone. Standard and EX versions of iClone do not have BVH Converter and therefore cannot import BVH files.

Workflow for iClone is straightforward. Export your animation using “Export Animation for iClone” menu item. Go to Animation tab in iClone and launch BVH Converter. Import your BVH file with Default profile, click “Convert” and save the resulting animation in iMotion format. Now your animation can be applied to iClone characters.

iClone expects an animation sampled at 15 frames per seconds. For other frame rates, you may need to create a custom BVH Converter profile by copying Default profile and editing “Frame Rate” setting.

BVH Converted in iClone 4 has a bug that causes distortion of legs animation. iPi Studio exports an iClone-optimized BVH correctly as can be verified by reviewing exported BVH motion in BVHacker or MotionBuilder or other third-party application. No workaround is known. We recommend that you contact iClone developers about this bug as it is out of control of iPi Soft.

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Animeeple

When importing motions into Animeeple, you may need to do the following adjustments:

• Click “Set first frame” on the “TPose” tab in import dialog.
• Assign bone mappings on the “Bones” tab:

• Set the scale to 0.01 on the “Size” tab (by default, iPi Studio exports translations in centimeters for BVH files, while Animeeple expects translations in meters).
• Set “Root position: Y:” to a correct value on the “TPose” tab, or click “Drop to floor”.

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Valve Source Engine SMD

Import .smd file for your Valve Source Engine character into iPi Studio via “File->Import Target Character” menu item. Your animation will be transferred to your character. Now you can use File->Export Animation to export your animation in Valve Source Engine SMD format.

Our user Cra0kalo created an example Valve Biped rig for use with 3D MAX. It may be useful if you wish to apply more then one capture through MotionBuilder or edit the custom keyframes in MAX.

Blender

iPiStudio can export animations in Blender-friendly BVH format (File->Export animation for Blender).

Our user radiac published a tutorial about bringing animations to Blender (please note that this tutorial is a bit outdated as it does not take advantage of Blender-friendly export option):

Tutorial - iPi Export bvh-file in Blender

Cinema4D

If you have experience with Cinema4D please help to expand this Wiki by posting Cinema4D import/export tips to Community Tutorials section of our user forum.

Evolver

iPi Studio supports importing of skinned Evolver characters in COLLADA or FBX format. Import your Evolver character skeleton into iPi Studio (File->Import Target Character). Your animation will be retargeted to your Evolver character. Now you can use File->Export Animation to export your animation.

Evolver offers several different skeletons for Evolver characters. Here is an example motion transfer profile for Evolver "Gaming" skeleton: evolver_game.profile.xml

Second Life

Import your Second Life character skeleton into iPi Studio (File->Import Target Character). Your animation will be transferred to your Second Life character. Now you can use File->Export Animation to export your animation in BVH format for Second Life.

SecondLife documentation contains a link to useful SL avatar files. The ZIP file includes a BVH of the "default pose". Be sure to have that.

See the discussion on our Forum for additional details: http://www.ipisoft.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&p=7845

Massive

Please see our user forum for a discussion of animation import/export for Massive:

http://ipisoft.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=3233

IKinema WebAnimate

Please see the following video tutorial on how to use iPi Studio with IKinema WebAnimate:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-yJ-O02SLU

Jimmy|Rig Pro

Please see the following video tutorial on how to use iPi Studio with Jimmy|Rig Pro:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wD1keDh3fCk

Troubleshooting

Tracking errors caused by wrongly configured background

This is a very common problem. It can be the source of most dramatic tracking errors.

First few seconds of your action video should have clear background (no actor in view of cameras). Failure to provide clear background will result in wrong operation of tracking algorithm.

You can quickly check your background by pushing and holding "Background" button at the top of iPiStudio window. If you see the actor in background then your background is wrong.

To fix this issue, you may need to re-shoot the video. If you have clear background at the end of your action video (or in some other part of your action video, for example, in the middle), you can fix the problem by moving the "Background" region on timeline.

Video codec problems

Potential problem: cannot open Kinect video in iPiStudio.

Possible cause: a broken Microsoft AVI Splitter installation.

One of the symptoms of this problem: unable to play Kinect video with Microsoft Media Player.

Usually this happens when users install third-party (non-Microsoft) video codecs.

At least a few users users reported this problem.

Solution:

1) For Windows XP - install (or re-install) Microsoft Media Player version 9.

2) For all platforms - the following command run with Admin rights should repair the default Microsoft AVI splitter installation:

regsvr32 quartz.dll

(On Windows7 use it like this: Start -> All programs -> Accessories -> Command Prompt -> (right click and select "Run as administrator") -> regsvr32 quartz.dll).

3) Installing XP Codec Pack may help.

We are working on a more reliable solution for this problem but it may take some time to implement.

Installation problems

Potential problem: after installation, iPiStudio crashes on first start.

Possible cause: very often, this is caused by incompatible video card. Another possible reason is broken .NET Framework installation of broken DirectX installation.

Solution: check system requirements and make sure your operating system and .NET Framework is up to date.

Two Kinects don't work together

Potential problem: two Kinect sensors do not work togethter.

Possible cause: Most probably, both Kinects were plugged into one USB controller. In this case 1 USB controller bandwidth is not enough to handle video from 2 Kinects.

Solution: Each Kinect should be plugged into separate USB controller. Please refer to documentation User_Guide_for_Dual_Kinect_Sensor_Configuration#Software_Installation

Low framerate and/or abnormally high CPU usage with Kinect

Potential problem: Low framerate and/or abnormally high CPU usage when recording a Kinect video with iPiRecorder.

Possible cause: bad USB cable or outdated Kinect driver.

Solution:

Attach Kinect directly to computer USB port. Try different ports. Make sure Kinect power supply is not broken.

Check driver information for Kinect in Device Manager (make sure the Kinect sensor is attached to USB port because otherwise the Driver Manager won't display the info). The correct driver should be named "psdrv3.sys". If you have a different driver you may need to uninstall and delete it, then uninstall and then re-install iPiRecorder.

How to report bugs and issues

When reporting bugs and issues, please specify the following info:

• exact version of your operating system;
• exact model of your video card (you can use GPU-Z to find out the model of your video card);
• the number and models of your cameras.

You can post your bug reports on our User Forum or send them to iPiSoft tech support email.

How to send a video to iPiSoft tech support

Sending your videos to iPiSoft tech support can be helpful if you experience a problem with iPiSoft's system. iPiSoft promises to use your video only for debugging and not to disclose it to third parties.

To send a video, please compress it with a suitable codec (to reduce the size), upload it to some file sharing server like filefactory.com and send us the link. For example, you can use Xvid codec and Virtual Dub for compression (Xvid and Virtual Dub are free).

IMPORTANT: When sending Kinect depth video, please do not compress it with traditional video codecs. Instead, please compress it with ZIP. Kinect depth video is very different from traditional video, and compressing it with a traditional lossy video codec distorts depth information. That's why you should use lossless compression (e.g. ZIP) with depth video.

If you cannot send a video because of its huge size, consider sending screenshots. Screenshots are less informative then video but still they are helpful for diagnosing various problems with tracking.

Video Materials

Demo video

iPiSoft Motion Capture Workflow from Paul Stapelberg

"Car scene" by JeanDellac

Click to view

Animation by NextGenReport