Vimba X for macOS Release Notes

Version: 2023-4

Summary

Main changes in this release:

First release with macOS support
New Vimba X Viewer feature: Sequencer tab (for firmware 13 and higher)
USB TL: Event support
Event example

Supported hardware

Mac mini with M2 chip
MacBookPro with M2 chip

Tested platforms and accessories

Tests were performed with:

macOS Sonoma 14.1.1

Tested accessories:

USB Adapter StarTech ST USB31CAADP
USB Adapter DELOCK 83677
QNAP QNA-T310G1T

Components and applications

Transport Layer	Version
GigE Transport Layer	1.9.5*
USB Transport Layer	1.4.6*

APIs	Version
VmbC API	1.0.5*
VmbCPP API	1.0.5*
VmbPy API	1.0.4*
Image Transform Library	2.0.1*

Tools	Version
Vimba X Viewer	1.3.0*
Vimba X Firmware Updater	2.0.3*

Applications

Vimba X Installer
Vimba X Removal Assistant
Vimba X Viewer
Vimba X Firmware Updater
VimbaXFirmwareUpdaterConsole
Vimba X Documentation

Examples

Vimba X includes precompiled examples that you can find in the /Users/Shared folder.

Note for IP configuration: By default, IP Configuration Mode is set to DHCP. You can use the IP Configuration dialog of Vimba X Viewer to apply changes or to force the IP address.

Known issues

The following issues are known:

Camera detection:

If multiple IP addresses are configured on one physical Ethernet adapter, then Vimba X sends GVCP discovery requests only to the last added IP address. Therefore, the camera is detected only if its IP address was added last.

Vimba X Viewer:

With some camera models, the message “Vimba X Viewer is not responding” appears for a few seconds when the camera is opened.
If the IP address is changed within the same network, the camera list doesn’t update automatically. Please click the Refresh button.
Sporadic issue: If a GigE camera was opened and then closed with Vimba X Viewer, it is displayed as locked and Vimba X Viewer does not open it again. Workaround: Close and open Vimba X Viewer.
Goldeye cameras: No inputs and outputs are shown on the Trigger IO tab.
Advanced Trigger tab, PWM preset: TimerTriggerActivation needs to be “FallingEdge” for the PWM signal to work.

Firmware Updater:

With some Alvium camera models, the firmware update may take up to 5 minutes.

Vimba X APIs:

When API startup and shutdown is performed excessively within the same process, camera initialization may fail sporadically, which may cause exceptions. We recommend to have only one API session during one process.
Load/Save Settings: Not all LUT settings are saved.

GigE Transport Layer:

If many dropped frames occur especially with a small ROI, set GVSP Timeout to a higher value.

Examples:

If a camera is already open, sometimes a misleading error message occurs (“Bad parameter”).
The ListFeatures example does not list all Interface features.
Sporadic issue of the AsynchronousGrab and Chunk example: stopping the stream causes an exception.

Vimba X Removal Assistant:

If Vimba X is installed on multiple volumes, Vimba X Removal Assistant removes Vimba X from all volumes.

TL not found after reboot:

Before rebooting, please close all Vimba X related applications and Terminal windows.

Installation

Vimba X comes as a .dmg file. Do not drag & drop it into the Applications folder.

To install Vimba X:

Double-click the .dmg file to mount it.
Open Vimba X installer.pkg and follow the instructions.
Please log out and then log in again. Please make sure to quit the Terminal app if it is still open, so that it can find the new environment variable when you open it again. Opening a new Terminal window without quitting the application is not sufficient.

Changes and release history

Changes in Vimba X 2023-4

VmbC:

Added macOS support

VmbCPP:

Added macOS support

VmbPy:

Added macOS support

ImageTransform:

Added macOS support

USBTL:

Added macOS support
Added Event support

Vimba X Viewer:

Added macOS support
Added Sequencer tab

Vimba X Firmware Updater:

Added macOS support

GigETL:

Improved Adjust PacketSize

Changes in Vimba X 2023-2

VmbC:

Convenience functions for image acquisition take minimum announced frames into account (TL feature)

VmbCPP:

Convenience functions for image acquisition take minimum announced frames into account (TL feature)

VmbPy:

Changed Frame.convert_pixel_format method and added example
Convenience functions for image acquisition take minimum announced frames into account (TL feature)
Fixed string representation of enum classes for Python >= 3.11

Vimba X Viewer:

Added a Bandwith Manager for Allied Vision GigE and USB cameras, accessible from the main window

Documentation:

New component: VmbPy Function Reference

GigETL:

Added Event support

USBTL:

Fixed: Unknown USB DeviceLocation

Firmware Updater:

Added “About Qt” dialog

Changes in Vimba X 2023-1

VmbC:

Fixed: Open camera by IP may take 15s
Added Exclusive Access mode

VmbCPP:

Fixed: Open camera by IP may take 15s

VmbPy:

Fixed: Open camera by IP may take 15s
Fixed type hints for Python <=3.7.5 and =3.8.0
Updated AccessMode enum for consistency with VmbC
Added option for visibility level to list_features.py

Changes in Vimba X 2022-1

VmbC:

New API (similar, but not compatible to VimbaC)

VmbCPP:

New API (similar, but not compatible to VimbaCPP)

VmbPy:

New API (similar, but not compatible to VimbaPython)

Image Transform:

Added supported transformations (supports pixel formats of NET cameras)
Renamed VmbGetVersion to VmbGetImageTransformVersion
VmbSetImageInfoFromString: removed stringLength parameter

Vimba X Viewer:

New Viewer (based on Vimba Viewer)
Additional features: Chunk support, 5x5 Matrix, Scheduled Action commands

GigETL:

Display name: AVT GigE TL (instead of Vimba GigE TL)
Scheduled Action Commands support
Chunk support

USBTL:

Improved: standard conformity of resend for control channel commands
Display name: AVT USB TL (instead of Vimba USB TL)

Firmware Updater:

Added “About Qt” dialog