Datastead GenICam Vision Source
The Datastead GenICam Vision Source is a DirectShow video capture source filter that exposes any GenICam / GenTL compliant camera (USB3 Vision, GigE Vision, ...) as a standard Windows video capture device named Datastead GenICam Vision Source.
Because it registers as a regular video capture device, the camera shows up in everyday DirectShow applications, exactly like a webcam: OBS Studio, VLC, ffmpeg, AMCap, recording, streaming and conferencing tools, GraphStudioNext, the TVideoGrabber SDK, or your own DirectShow application. No vendor SDK or viewer is needed to get a live picture: pick Datastead GenICam Vision Source in the camera list of the application.
The package contains a single 64-bit binary, Datastead_GenICam_x64.ax, and its runtime DLLs.
How it works
The filter is a generic GenTL consumer: it talks to the camera through the vendor's GenTL producer, a .cti file installed with the camera driver (for Allied Vision cameras, the VimbaUSBTL.cti shipped with Vimba X). The filter does not include any vendor transport layer, so a .cti must be present on the machine. See GenTL producer (.cti).
The camera settings are exposed three ways:
| Way | For | See |
|---|---|---|
| The property pages of the filter (Device, Image, Exposure, Trigger, Features, About) | any DirectShow host showing the filter dialogs | Using the capture device |
The standard DirectShow interfaces IAMCameraControl and IAMVideoProcAmp |
the usual "camera control" and "video quality" dialogs of the host | Using the capture device |
The custom IGenicamControl / IGenicamControl2 COM interfaces |
applications driving the camera without any dialog, down to every GenICam (SFNC) feature | Programmatic control, Interface reference |
Pixel formats
The filter delivers the frames to the graph as RGB24 (BGR8 with on-board debayering), Y800 (Mono8), UYVY (YCbCr422_8) or raw RGGB Bayer (BayerRG8, debayered by the host), in a FORMAT_VideoInfo media type. The format is selected on the Image page or with SetPixelFormatPreference; in Auto mode the filter picks the best format the camera supports.
Requirements
- Windows 11 or 10, 64-bit. The package ships the 64-bit (x64) filter: the host application and the GenTL producer must be 64-bit too.
- A GenTL producer (
.cti) for the camera, installed on the machine. - The Visual C++ 2015-2022 Redistributable (x64).
Download
The evaluation package can be downloaded here:
https://www.datastead.com/downloads/
License
Two licenses are available, depending on how the filter is used:
- Developer license (royalty-free): for applications built with the TVideoGrabber SDK or with DirectShow. The application passes the key at run time, and the licensed filter is redistributed with the application: the end users need no license.
- Workstation license (one per PC): to use the camera from OBS Studio, VLC, ffmpeg or any other DirectShow application, without writing code. A license file is copied once on the PC, without any activation or internet access, and unlocks the filter for every application running on that PC.
Prices and purchase: https://www.datastead.com/purchase/. How the key is passed or the license file installed: License key.
Limitations of the evaluation version
The evaluation version is fully functional, but every frame carries an evaluation watermark (a nag-screen overlaid on the video), and the raw Bayer output is limited to 60 seconds. This does not affect the configuration or the API; it only marks the delivered video. The licensed version, with a valid license key, delivers a clean, unrestricted stream.
Contact
Email: contact@datastead.com for sales and general enquiries, support@datastead.com for the technical support.