SLA-1500-HDMI Interface Board Setup

& SLA-1500-OEM Configuration

July 24, 2015

Copyright 2015
All Rights Reserved
HDMI Setup and 1500-OEM Configuration August 28, 2015

Summary
This document describes how to install and configure your SLA-1500-OEM to use the SLA-1500-HDMI
interface board.

For the purposes of this document the SLA-1500-OEM encompasses SLE versions. Hardware and setup
for these two product lines is identical. Depending on the license purchased, the board will be either an
SLA or SLE version.

Figure 1 below displays a side-on view of the SLA-1500-OEM board connected to the SLA-1500-HDMI
board. The two boards can be secured together with screws, nuts, and standoffs.

Figure 1

Note: The HDMI input connector is a standard type A HDMI input socket.

Software and Hardware Compatibility

Software Compatibility: The HDMI interface board is supported by SLA Firmware 2.20 or higher, and
FPGA version 5 or higher.

Hardware Compatibility: Before proceeding, also review Appendix B of this document: It notes a legacy
hardware 1500-OEM board configuration that impacts support of the HDMI board.

All SLA firmware and Panel Plus software revisions are available for download on the SightLine
Applications Website http://www.sightlineapplications.com/support/software

Supported Cameras
Appendix B contains a list of supported cameras and subsequent settings for required values related to
frame size, vertical and horizontal front porch, flags, and frame step. If your HDMI camera is not listed
please contact us at sales@sightlineapplications.com.

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HDMI Setup and 1500-OEM Configuration August 28, 2015

HDMI Setup Procedure

1. HDMI Camera Output Video Settings

Using the camera settings / controls, set your HMDI cameras output frame rate to be either 720p/30 or
720p/60.

The SLA-1500-OEM board will only produce a 720p/30 output stream from either of these two camera
inputs. While 1080p input to the SLA-1500-OEM board is supported, we are recommending only using
720p as the maximum input frame rate. Output frame rate will drop significantly when processing at
1080p and utilizing multiple video processing library functions simultaneously.

2. Setting up Hardware
2.1. Connect the SLA-1500-HDMI board to the SLA-1500-OEM board using the supplied screws and
offsets.

The picture here displays the completed

assembly of the SLA-1500-OEM video processor Molex cable HDMI cable
board mounted on top of the SLA-1500-HDMI with network,
interface board. serial, & power
connections

The J3 connector is providing power, network,

and serial connections. The pinout of this J3
connector is also contained in the ICD-SLA- 1500-OEM
1500-OEM noted above.

Screws, nuts,
& standoffs
Figure 2

2.2. Connect the HDMI interface cable to your camera and the SLA-1500-HDMI board.
2.3. Connect your Ethernet network, serial, and power cables to the SLA-1500-AB (or your
accompanying interface board see Appendix C below for a description of other interface
boards).

Note: Figure 3 (below) shows a complete SLA-1500-OEM hardware setup with a SLA-1500-AB
providing standard connections for network, serial, and power.

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HDMI Setup and 1500-OEM Configuration August 28, 2015

Power to the GoPro in this example

is provided by a standard USB
connector. This GoPro Hero 3+ Black
was configured to output the frame
rate of 720p/60.

Figure 3

3. Checking FPGA and Software Versions

3.1. If not done before, download and install the SLA-Panel Plus software. The latest version can be
downloaded from our website: http://sightlineapplications.com/support/software/
3.2. From the Connection tab select the button Connect to Board. Once connected, verify the
version of firmware and the FPGA code. Firmware 2.20 or higher, and FPGA code 5 or higher
are required. This information will located just under the Connect to Board button.

On the Connection tab (once

connected) the current firmware and
FPGA code version of the SLA-1500-
OEM will be displayed.

Figure 4

4. Generic Digital Driver & Setting Acquisition Parameters

Each camera and inbound frame rate has required configuration settings. The following steps outlined
here are based on setting up the SLA-1500-OEM board to process video from a GoPro Hero 3+ Black.

4.1. Select the Multi Camera tab inside the SLA-Panel Plus. Under the Primary Camera Select, press
the Advanced Acquisition Settings button.

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HDMI Setup and 1500-OEM Configuration August 28, 2015

4.2. Using the dropdown menu for Camera Index, select Digital. Using the dropdown menu for
Camera Type, select Generic Digital. Then press the Apply button.

Set Camera Index: Digital

Set Camera Type: Generic Digital

Press the Apply button

Figure 5

4.3. Now enter the other HDMI camera settings, such as frame height, width, etc., for your specific
camera. See tables in Appendix B for supported cameras.

Example GoPro Hero 3+ Black

settings:

Set Height: 720

Set Width: 1280
Set VFP: 20
Set HPF: 222
Set Input: YUV

Press Apply. The button will

revert back to gray

Close the window by pressing

the X in the top right corner of
the box. Figure 6

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HDMI Setup and 1500-OEM Configuration August 28, 2015

5. Change Encoding Algorithm

There is a specific HD encoding algorithm that needs to be selected. This algorithm will encode the
entire HD input frame

5.1. Go to the Compression tab. In the second section, select the H.264 HD encoder radio button
option. On the legacy Panel application this encoder option is labelled H.264 (alt).

Selecting the radio button for H.264

(HD). Optionally you can also set
other attributes such as Bit Rate, I-
Frame Interval, etc. then press the
Save Output Settings button.

Figure 7
Note: You will see a prompt in the video display window that states On-the-fly codec change is not
supported. This message is normal.

6. Saving the Configuration

6.1. Go to the main menu and select Parameters/Save to board. This will save the generic digital
configuration to the boards parameter file.

Save the parameter

and then power
cycle the SLA-1500.

Figure 8
Note: As a general rule, adding new or changing any configuration settings to any SightLine board with
either SLA-Panel, SLA-Panel Plus, or with our SLA-Protocol, it is required to save parameter settings and
the board restarted. After the reset of power cycle you will see the new configuration changes.

You should now be able to see the expected video in the Panel Plus video display window.

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HDMI Setup and 1500-OEM Configuration August 28, 2015

This completes the configuration sections and required steps in getting the SLA-1500-HDMI board up
and functioning. The remaining sections cover optional steps and recommendations for processing
HDMI video. Setting and switch cameras, plus reviewing impact of higher processor loads related to
processing digital video are discussed.

7. Setting Primary Camera (optional)

7.1. To set the HDMI camera as the Primary, connect to the SLA-1500-OEM board and select the
Multi Camera tab.
7.2. Press the Cam 2 button in the Primary Camera area.

7.3. You can switch back and forth by selecting either Cam0 or Cam2

Select: Cam 2 (2)

The button will blink and then the underline we
be displayed under the CAM 2 label.

Figure 9

8. Switching Input Camera Channels

8.1. Select the Swap button in the Order area at the bottom of the Multi Camera tab to switch
input displays.

The SLA-1500-OEM will always

process the first position
selected as the input. If you have
an analog camera connected
you can change the order by
pressing the Swap button.
Figure 10

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HDMI Setup and 1500-OEM Configuration August 28, 2015

9. Selecting Output Frame Size

9.1. Go to the Compression tab and set the Output Frame Size of the output video. For HDMI you
can select either 1280x720 or 960x720. Selecting SD here allows for the best processed output
frame rate (see section 9 for more details).

Using the dropdown menu in the Output Section,

select an Output Frame Size.

Figure 11

9.2. Set your preferred Frame Size.

9.3. Go to the main menu and select Parameters/Save to board

9.4. Restart the SLA-1500-OEM to see the newly selected output frame.

10.Impacts of Frame Size on Frame Rate

Consideration for processor rates and latency needs to also be weighed when selecting input and output
frame size. The SLA-1500-OEM optimally can run very close to frame rate when processing HDMI input
of 720p with the 720x960 frame size selected. Processing time will increase for each function enabled. If
adding stabilization, tracking, MTI, (and so forth) there will be an impact to overall processing and
latency, which then is reflected in output frame rates.

This is a result of increasing the amount of processing being placed on the encoder (encoding larger
frames).

You can review on the Compression tab the

output video streaming statistics. The
Statistics area displays the average output
frame rate.

Figure 12
The statistics are averages of the outbound stream. There are different ways to allocate more
processing to the encoding and increase the output frame rate. If using the system as an encoder only,
one of these options is to disable Stabilization.

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HDMI Setup and 1500-OEM Configuration August 28, 2015

Go to the Video tab. Press the

Advanced button.

Figure 13

In the Set Advanced Registration & Stabilization window, there is the checkbox for disabling
stabilization and telemetry tracking. Turning these functions off will improve overall processing and
increase the frame rate output.

Optionally check the box for Disable Stab-Track.

The go back to the Compression tab to review
the impact to output statistics.

Figure 14

While 1080p input to the SLA-1500-OEM board is supported, we are recommending only using 720p as
the maximum input frame rate for the SLA-1500-OEM when utilizing multiple video processing library
functions simultaneously.

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HDMI Setup and 1500-OEM Configuration August 28, 2015

Appendix A Board and Assembly Drawings

The following HDMI board and assembly drawings are available on our website:

Dimension drawing: SLA-1500-HDMI (PDF file)

Step Model Zip File: SLA-1500-HDMI (ZIP compressed file)

The SLA-1500-OEM and the SLA-1500-HDMI boards are connected via the 1500s J4 connector. More
information for the J4 digital 50 pin connector is located in the interface control document (ICD-SLA-
1500-OEM).

Or please visit our website here:

http://sightlineapplications.com/support/documentation/

You can find the latest versions of these in section SLA-1500 Assembly & Model Drawings.

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 HDMI Setup and 1500-OEM Configuration August 28, 2015

Appendix B Board & Camera Support Information

Many older SLA-1500-OEM boards did not have the I2C driver chip installed. This chip is necessary for
communication between the SLA-1500 and the HDMI board. The board on the left has the I2C Driver U7
installed, the board on the right does not. If this U7 chip is not installed please contact us at
sales@sightlineapplications.com.

U7 Installed U7 Not
Installed

Figure 15 Figure 16

Camera Support
The following cameras have been tested and verified to work with the SLA-1500-HDMI board. Again, if
your camera is not list here, please contact sales@sightlineapplications.com for inquiries.

GoPro Hero3+ Black (CHDHX-302)

This camera can only be run in 720P and 480P modes. The 1080P mode defaults to P60 frame rate and
cannot be acquired. The following values will generate 720P30 and 480P30 video.

H V D VFP HFP Flags Frame Step Camera Setting

480 720 8 30 60 1 1 WVGA 240 FPS
720 1280 8 20 222 1 2 720 60 FPS

GoPro Hero3 White (CHDHE-302)

This camera can be run in 1080P, 720P and 480P modes. The 1080P mode defaults to 1080I60 and the
HDMI board de-interlaces the video. The following values will generate 180P30, 720P30 and 480P30
video.

H V D VFP HFP Flags Frame Step Camera Setting

480 720 8 30 60 1 2 WVGA 60 FPS
720 1280 8 20 222 1 2 720 60 FPS
1080 1920 8 38 148 1 0 1080 30 FPS

Canon HD CMOS PRO Camcorder (XA-25)

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HDMI Setup and 1500-OEM Configuration August 28, 2015

This camera can be run in 720P and 480P modes. The following values will generate 720P30 and 480P30
video.

H V D VFP HFP Flags Frame Step Camera Setting

480 720 8 30 60 1 1 Auto HDMI
720 1280 8 20 222 1 1 Auto HDMI

Sony Handycam Camcorder (HDR-CX220)

This camera can be run in 720P and 480P modes.The following values will generate 720P30 and 480P30
video.

H V D VFP HFP Flags Frame Step Camera Setting

480 720 8 30 60 1 1 Auto
720 1280 8 20 222 1 1 Auto

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HDMI Setup and 1500-OEM Configuration August 28, 2015

Appendix C Accessory Boards Network, Serial, and Power

Optional interface boards can be used to provide Ethernet network, analog video in/out, serial, and
power. List in this section are a few of these options. Please review SLA-1500-OEM accessory board
section on our website for full listing of available boards and options.

SLA-1500-AB accessory board with

standard connectors for network,
serial, RCA video (two in and one
out), power, and full signal access to
both OEM connector J3 and J4.

Figure 17

SLA-1500-mAB - smaller standard

interface board with one analog in
and one analog out, serial port and
Ethernet network connections from
OEM J3, FFC connector for digital
video interface to OEM J4,.

Figure 18

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HDMI Setup and 1500-OEM Configuration August 28, 2015

SLA-1500-nAB smallest interface

board for providing power, analog in
and out, serial and Ethernet network
from OEM J3.

Figure 19

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HDMI Setup and 1500-OEM Configuration August 28, 2015

Export Controls
Exports of SightLine Applications, Inc. products and technical data are governed by the US Export
Administration Regulations (EAR) (15 CFR parts 730-774) administered by the US Department of
Commerce. Classification of SightLine products has been defined as ECCN 4A994 for documentation and
hardware/firmware, and ECCN 4D994 for licensed software. Customers acknowledge re-export
responsibility and certify that their sale or distribution of SightLine products (whether incorporated into
another system or otherwise) may constitute a new export and as such must be in accordance with the
requirements of the EAR.

Contacts
SightLine Applications, Inc. SightLine Applications, Inc.
1107 13TH STREET 524 N Tillamook Street Suite 101
HOOD RIVER, OR 97031 Portland, OR 97227

Sales sales@sightlineapplications.com
General info@sightlineapplications.com
Website www.sightlineapplications.com

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