Software Resources

Bug Fixes

• RTSP Live Streaming on VLC no longer times out after a few minutes
• Network File System (NFS) Saving now works with macOS
• Setting trigger delay settings through Trigger I/O Settings -> Trigger Delay -> OK now saves the settings as expected
• Updates to the bootloader were made to handle touchscreen displays from new vendors (not something you'll notice after an update, but cameras built starting in 2022 will feature IPS displays)

Method 1 - Automatic Update

Cameras using Version 0.4.0 may be updated via the internet. Calibration data does not need to be restored using this method.

1. Connect your Chronos to the internet via the ethernet port.
2. Navigate to Util->Storage, then tap Apply Software Update -> Check for Updates

This procedure will take approximately 3 minutes.

Method 2 - Manual Update 

A. Using Balena Etcher

1. Download the software update package here: https://debian.krontech.ca/builds/chronos-voyager-20220124.img.xz
2. Use Balena Etcher to write the software to a microSD card. This is recommended as it verifies the integrity of the data written to the microSD card.
3. Unzip the downloaded file
4. Flash your new card with Balena Etcher

Note: Please make sure to use a micro SD card of 16 to 32GB capacity to optimize performance. We recommend using SanDisk micro SD cards.

You may need to start Balena etcher with the option "Run as administrator" if Balena etcher does not flash the micro SD card successfully.

For additional information on update procedures, please see this forum post: https://forum.krontech.ca/index.php?topic=687.0

B. Using Rasberry Pi

1. Download the software update package here: https://debian.krontech.ca/builds/chronos-voyager-20220124.img.xz
2. Download Raspberry Pi Imager for your operating system from here:
   https://www.raspberrypi.com/software/
3. Follow the steps outlined in our online-software update procedure video:
   

Note: Please make sure to use a micro SD card of 16 to 32GB capacity to optimize performance. We recommend using SanDisk micro SD cards.

New Features and Improvements

• Our update server is up and running again. Cameras can update over the internet again.
• Improvements while saving
  • Save speed has been increased by up to ~30%
  • Stability while saving has been greatly improved

• Trigger/IO screen improvements
  • Clarified some settings with "toggle" mode on the Trigger/IO screen. Now it specifies that it's only for buttons/switches and settings that should not be changed can't be changed when using this trigger function
  • Trigger/IO screen now has a link to the trigger delay screen, and it will offer a reminder when using triggers if the trigger delay is changed from default (in case it was set accidentally)
• The 'Disable Ring Buffer' setting is now saved after the camera reboots
• Webpage improvements:
  • Webpage has "zero-time" black calibration support (accessible from the menu at the top of the page). This feature allows for a fast black calibration to take place without the need to physically cover the image sensor.
  • Option for 'Digital Gain' added to the Main Screen / Homepage.
  • Some Chronos 2.1 color matrix options added to the webpage (for that camera).
• Miscellaneous bug fixes:
  • 'Black Cal All' doesn't crash the camera if certain specific trigger modes are used, nor will it set the trigger delay.
  • H.264 (mp4) files will not overwrite a previous file if a filename is provided (instead, it gives a warning that the filename was already used).
• Chronos 2.1 image quality:
  • A previous software upgrade introduced a horizontal "shadow" when some areas were overexposed. This has been greatly reduced in v0.7.0
  • Pink/magenta shift (especially in bright areas) reduced overall
• DNG metadata updated:
  • All cameras formerly saved DNG images with metadata that indicated they were Chronos 1.4s, but this has been fixed. Chronos 2.1 cameras now say "Chronos 2.1" and Chronos 1.4 cameras still say "Chronos 1.4".
  • Color matrix settings are saved to DNG images now. Before, color matrix parameters in DNG files were always the same and ignored the camera's settings, but now the settings on the camera get saved in DNG files.

Known Issues

• If the camera is being controlled via the web page, no messages will be shown on the back-of-camera display if the video output mode is changed between LIVE/RECORDING and PLAYBACK through the web interface.
• If the camera is powered on while connected to 10/100 (non-gigabit) network equipment, the back-of-camera display will fail to start.
• When using Live Record Mode to simultaneously record 60 FPS mp4 footage to an external storage device, the video display may momentarily blank or freeze while the stream is being written to the storage device. This will not affect the high-speed recording.
• Trying to navigate through a device after physically removing it (without properly removing it via the "Safely Remove" option) using the file browser can cause a crash
• Using both the "rotate" and "left side" display settings at the same time may not work reliably, and might require selecting these settings twice
• When saving extremely long videos (a full-buffer of very high frame rates, such as 32,667 FPS and above) as H.264 (mp4) videos, the camera's video encoder core can lock up (crash). For best reliability at very high frame rates, we suggest saving as CinemaDNG images instead, or saving shorter segments of the videos. In the event of a crash, a frame-by-frame recovery tool is available as long as the camera is left on.
• A blank/black screen will be displayed if certain combinations of higher frame rates and higher analog gain levels are used.
  • Specific common resolutions where this will occur:
    • 1024 x N at 24dB
    • 800 x N at or above 18dB
    • 640 x N at or above 18dB

Upgrading and Calibrating your Camera

Follow the instructions from this file.

New Features and Improvements

• Chronos 2.1 models benefit from an improved sensor driver configuration. The analog gain values of the LUX2100 sensor have been modified to reduce noise at higher levels of analog gain (also referred to as ISO), such as 6dB, 12dB, and 18dB. This translates to less vertical banding than in prior software versions. Adequate lighting is still highly recommended.

Note: Please download the video to desktop to ensure quality is not lost to online streamming compression. The most significant improvements can be seen along the left and right sides of the frame, and especially at 12dB.

• Chronos 2.1 models no longer require special factory calibration files. All calibrations required to use the camera with the best possible image quality can be performed by a customer in the field within 5 minutes via the Util -> Factory -> Column Gain Calibration function.
• Chronos 2.1 models benefit from newly generated Color Matrix presets, as found in White Bal -> Color Matrix. Previous software versions had color matrices that were optimal for the LUX1310 sensor in the Chronos 1.4, instead of the LUX2100 sensor found in the Chronos 2.1.
• A list of saved files on external media can now be browsed via Util -> Storage -> List Files. The same functionality exists to make it easier for users to select the save destination in Play -> Settings -> Pick Folder. The file browser also allows for users to delete files on external storage devices. This functionality is mirrored in the web page.
• Monochrome cameras can no longer open Color Matrix settings. This was mistakenly enabled in 0.5.0.
• Frame counts are no longer cut-off on the right-hand side of the display when in the Play screen when frame counts are six-digits long.

Known Issues:

• If the camera is being controlled via the web page, no messages will be shown on the back-of-camera display if the video output mode is changed between LIVE/RECORDING and PLAYBACK through the web interface.
• If the camera is powered on while connected to 10/100 (non-gigabit) network
  equipment, the back-of-camera display will fail to start.
• When using Live Record Mode to simultaneously record 60 FPS MP4 footage to an external storage device, the video display may momentarily blank or freeze while the stream is being written to the storage device. This will not affect the high-speed recording.
• Saving speed to external devices may be slower than in software versions 0.3.2 or older.
• A blank/black screen will be displayed if certain combinations of higher frame rates and higher analog gain levels are used.

Specific common resolutions where this will occur:

• 1024 x 768 at or above 18dB
• 1024 x 576 at or above 18dB
• 800 x N at or above 12dB
• 640 x N at or above 12dB

Specific common resolutions where this will occur:

Follow the instructions from this file.

New Features and Improvements

• [Chronos 2.1 Only] Update to LUX2100 Image Sensor driver to increase the voltage on an analog input to handle vertical banding in variants of sensor batches.
• Updated software to correctly propagate status of disableRingBuffer API parameter.

Known Issues:

• [Chronos 2.1 Only] The driver modification will cause black-levels to become distorted. Please perform a Black Calibration on each resolution that you intend to use to account for this.
• [Chronos 2.1 Only] The white balance may be affected by this update. Please configure your white balance as needed.

There are two methods to update to Version 0.5.1. Please ensure that you have an AC adapter connected to the camera, and your calibration settings are backed up before proceeding with the update procedure.

During this update, the power controller will also be updated, which will cause the power status indicator LED on the top of the camera to blink green and red while the fan runs at 100% momentarily. Do not interrupt or power down the camera while this is taking place..

Method 1 - for cameras on version 0.4.0+

Cameras using Version 0.4.0 may be updated via the internet. Calibration data does not need to be restored using this method.

1. Connect your Chronos to the internet via the ethernet port.
2. Navigate to Util->Storage, then tap Apply Software Update -> Check for Updates

Approximately 15 packages will be upgraded, and then the camera will reboot automatically. This procedure will take approximately 3 minutes.

Method 2 - for cameras on any software version

Cameras using Versions 0.2.x and 0.3.x require a reflash of the microSD card in the bottom of the camera.

1. Download the software update package here: https://debian.krontech.ca/builds/chronos-voyager-20200806.img.xz
2. Use Balena Etcher to write the software to a microSD card. This is recommended as it verifies the integrity of the data written to the microSD card.

For additional information on update procedures, please see this forum post: https://forum.krontech.ca/index.php?topic=531.0

New Features and Improvements

• New Graphical User Interface with Dark and Light Modes
• Ability to set preferred exposure units on the main screen
• Double-tap video display area to zoom
• Ability to record live footage to H.264 mp4 @ 60 FPS in parallel with high-speed recordings, including audio from the built-in microphone or line-in jack
• Automatic input detection and switching between the microphone and line-in jack when recording audio in Live Record Mode
• Toggle Trigger Mode to allow BNC trigger to both START and STOP a recording
• Ability to configure most camera settings via the web page
• Ability to configure Triggers and I/O configuration via the web page
• Power Manager firmware update allowing for a longer button press (up to 3 sec.) to boot the camera
• Power Manager firmware update to perform graceful shutdown when the battery is critically low
• General bug fixes and stability improvements

There are two methods to update to Version 0.5.0. Please ensure that you have an AC adapter connected to the camera, and your calibration settings are backed up before proceeding with the update procedure.

During this update, the power controller will also be updated, which will cause the power status indicator LED on the top of the camera to blink green and red while the fan runs at 100% momentarily. Do not interrupt or power down the camera while this is taking place..

Method 1 - for cameras on version 0.4.0+

Cameras using Version 0.4.0 may be updated via the internet. Calibration data does not need to be restored using this method.

1. Connect your Chronos to the internet via the ethernet port.
2. Navigate to Util->Storage, then tap Apply Software Update -> Check for Updates

Approximately 15 packages will be upgraded, and then the camera will reboot automatically. This procedure will take approximately 3 minutes.

Method 2 - for cameras on any software version

Cameras using Versions 0.2.x and 0.3.x require a reflash of the microSD card in the bottom of the camera.

1. Download the software update package here: https://debian.krontech.ca/builds/chronos-voyager-20200806.img.xz
2. Use Balena Etcher to write the software to a microSD card. This is recommended as it verifies the integrity of the data written to the microSD card.

For additional information on update procedures, please see this forum post: https://forum.krontech.ca/index.php?topic=531.0

The major focus of this release is to enable networking capabilities of the camera, and a new GUI to choose from. Under the hood, we have also replaced the operating system of the camera and will now be using an embedded build of the Debian operating system. This is the software that we are currently shipping on our Chronos 2.1 cameras, and is now also available for users of the Chronos 1.4.

Notable Changes:
- Support for the LUX2100 image sensor.
- API for camera control via JSON/HTTP over the Ethernet port.
* Examples: https://github.com/krontech/chronos-examples
- Saving of media over network to an NFS and Samba share.
- Software updates can be downloaded over the internet.
- Real-time video stream from the camera using RTSP.
- New back-of-camera GUI is available via the software update screen.
* For more information: https://forum.krontech.ca/index.php?topic=498

Fixed Bugs:
- Improved accuracy of overlay timestamps in frame trigger and shutter gating.

Minutae:
- Internal D-Bus and Python APIs for camera control.
- Move software update and GUI selection into a standalone tool.
- Add the ability to switch between GUIs via the software update too.
- Add Support for exposure trigger and shutter gating to IO3 (isolated).
- Reogranized the trigger/IO settings window to make IO1 and IO2 consistent.
- Allow specifying folders and complex paths in the save settings.

Installation instructions:

The most up-to-date instructions can be found in the chronos-updates respository on GitHub, but we have done our best to transcribe them here for you. The update procedure shown here should be familiar to anyone who has used a embedded Debian system such as the Beaglebone or Raspberry Pi.

Since this update requires a complete replacement of the operating system, we currently only offer this upgrade by completely replacing the contents of the microSD card. We are working on a more user friendly upgrade procedure that will hopefully be available in the next couple of weeks using the v0.3.2 software update procedure.

camUpdate-v0.3.2

Notable Changes:

• Automatic ADC calibration during black calibration, which should reduce column banding across a wider temperature range.
• Add a storage tab to the util menu to view, eject and format the attached storage devices.
• Speed boost at most resolutions, with a top speed of 1069fps at 1280x1024, and 40420fps at 320x96.
• Configurable automated power-on and off depending on the AC adaptor status.
• Option to disable the ring buffer when in segmented recording mode.

Minutiae:

• Factory black calibration is now user accessible from the Factory tab of the util window.
• The software update button has been moved to the storage tab of the util window.
• Shipping mode to disable power-on by battery until an AC adaptor is attached./li>
• Add a watchdog to reboot the camera in case of a power-on boot failure.
• Display descriptive error strings instead of number on failure.
• End of recording from lack of free space generates a warning dialog.
• Revert to a valid resolution when focus is lost while editing the H/V resolution widgets.

Fixed Bugs:

• Gated burst record mode may lock up after several trigger edges.
• Gated burst record mode unreliable when trigger debounce is enabled
• Memory leak in the M3 video coprocessors which could lead to a crash after lots of H.264 encoding.
• Ignore video which was recorded during zero-time black calibration (which happens after changing resolution).
• Stuttering issue on the playback window on new production LCD modules.
• Fixed deadlock in camera when restoring user settings from external media.
• Corrupted overlay text at narrow resolutions.
• Video stream would remain in playback when starting recording via auto-record.
• Opening and closing the white balance menu can lead to an unexpected change of the custom preset.
• Bug in calculating the trigger delay on boot (segmented mode only).
• Ensure a minimum of 0.25 bits/pixel when encoding h.264 video.
• Crash can occur when saving extremely short videos.
• After rebooting a camera, focus aid and zebras are sometimes not restored even if they were enabled before the reboot.
• Restore white balance correctly after reboot

Known Issues:

• The second frame of videos saved in all formats is not from the correct location in the selected region.
• The first frame of videos saved in formats other than H.264 format is corrupted.
• Very rare crashes of the video system, causing the camera to lock up on the playback/save window; MTBF seems to be somewhere in the 2-5k recordings at present.
• Gated Burst record mode only: Live display does not appear to be buffered correctly when the trigger signal is inactive.
• Speckles in image when recording below 60fps
• Black cal makes the image look very dark at low framerates when recording below about 45fps
• Saved videos will have a date modified of 7 or 8 hours earlier than what is set on the clock in the Util menu.

Installation instructions:

• Extract the .zip file into the root directory of a FAT32 formatted USB drive.
• Turn on your camera and insert the USB drive./li>
• From the main window, tap the Util button to open the utility window.
• As a precaution, tap the Backup Calibration Data button on the utility window before starting the update.
• When the backup is completed, a pop-up window will be displayed.
• Tap the Done button to close the pop-up window.
• From the utility window, tap the Apply Software Update button to begin the software update.
• A warning message will be displayed, tap the Yes button to confirm and begin the update.
• During the update, the screen will go blank and an Applying Update message will be displayed.
• After approximately 60 seconds, the update will be complete and the camera will restart.

camUpdate-v0.3.1

Notable Changes:

• New Demosaic algorithm based on AHD, which should improve color reproduction and reduce edge noise.
• Standalone daemon to operate the video system, with DBus API.
• External HDMI displays are supported at 1080p and 720p resolutions.
• Recording speed improvements.
• Add CinemaDNG and TIFF as save file formats.
• Deprecate Raw 16-bit right-justified save format in favor of CinemaDNG.
• Add a demo mode to replay a section of recorded video in a loop.
• Add option to overlay frame statistics onto processed video formats (H.264 and TIFF).
• Jog wheel can be used to adjust the exposure, and navigate the settings menus.
• New window to edit the color correction matrix.
• New video memory recovery tool to download video (slowly) in the event of a software crash.

Minutiae:

• Add whitebalance preset for 3200K/Tungsten lighting.
• Adjust highlighting of text when selecting text boxes.
• Auto-record and auto-save modes independant of one another.
• Improved algorithm to estimate framerate during file save.
• Date format in the Utility window changed to shorten the Month string.
• Display separate version strings for both the Application and Filesystem/Release.
• Add crosshairs to the white balance window.
• Add Qt stylesheet to improve UI focus visibility.
• Main window displays exposure time in microseconds and shutter angle.
• The 'close' button on the soft keyboard now also applies the entered text.
• Reorganization of the numeric soft keyboard to include a negative key.
• Animate the status window text while a file save is in progress.
• When updating from v0.3.1-RC1 or later, camera can now be updated from an SD card in the top slot. Previously, it only supported updates on USB.

Fixed Bugs:

• Crash causing the video to freeze after approximately 45 recording attempts.
• Trigger delays would scale incorrectly when using segmented recording mode.
• Abort recordings when the free space drops below 20MB to avoid crashing when the disk is full.
• UI bug causing the selected save location to always select the first mounted disk.
• First frame of a raw recording would contain corrupted NV12 image data.
• First pixel of a Raw 12-bit packed frame was sometimes being dropped.
• Corrupted pixels at the end of a Raw 12-bit packed frame.
• Black areas of the UI become transparent after HDMI hotplug.
• HDMI hotplug while on the playback window would revert to live display.
• Add missing ColorMatrix1 and CalibrationIlluminant1 tags to CinemaDNG encoding.
• Fix a possible crash of the video system when aborting a file save.
• Fix a possible crash of the UI when rapidly aborting and re-starting a file save.
• Fix a possible deadlock of the video system when switching resolutions.
• Fix color correction math so that saturating the image sensor tends towards white.
• Fix bug causing crash when opening both the full and numeric keyboards at once.
• Camapp crashes or fails to save if directory not writable
• Exposure drops every time user cancels on record settings
• Minimum exposure was around 1.2us instead of 1.0us.
• Maximum exposure wasn't quite attainable with the shutter slider on the main screen.
• Focus peaking color resets after rebooting camera, or pressing OK on Record Settings.
• Segmented record mode only: Invalid data would sometimes appear at the end of the recording.
• Gated burst record mode only: recordings would be corrupted and/or incorrect length.
• White balance doesn't work so well when framerate and gain are high
• White balance having the opposite effect as intended, the FPGA mixed up red and blue
• Focus peaking color would get reset after reboot or changing resolution
• "Restore Settings from backup" not working
• Prerecord box not showing on Record Modes if gated burst is enabled before that screen was opened.
• Minor UI issues

Known Issues:
The pixel packing order in Raw 12-bit mode has been changed for the v0.3.1 release.
Given a pair of two 12-bit pixels in hexidecmal as (0x123, 0xabc), the bytes produced by the Raw 12-bit packing mode changes as follows:
v0.3.0 and earlier: (0xab, 0xc1, 0x23)
v0.3.1 and later: (0x23, 0x1c, 0xab)

Known Bugs:

• Extract the .zip file into the root directory of a FAT32 formatted USB drive.
• The first frame of an H.264 recording is erroneously copied from the display buffer before the recording starts.
• After saving hundreds or thousands (usually thousands) of videos, the camera may lock up on the playback/save window.
• After rebooting a camera, focus aid and zebras are sometimes not restored even if they were enabled before the reboot.
• Gated Burst record mode only: Live display does not appear to be buffered correctly when the trigger signal is inactive.
• Gated burst record mode only: Trigger stops responding after multiple triggers until the recording is stopped and restarted.

camUpdate-v0.3.1

Notable Changes:

• White balance can be selected from 5 common presets in addition to taking your own as you could previously.
• Custom White Balance calibration (via Set White Balance) now works as expected, and produces vastly more realistic colours.
• Colour reproduction is greatly improved, especially reds.
• Set White Balance now calculates against 80% brightness white instead of 100% brightness white.
• File size warning when saving are generally more reliable now. (eg., 4+GB file warning now FAT32-only, since only FAT32 has a 4GB file size limit.)
• Changes to video saving settings are now applied as they are made, not just when the popup is closed.
• Keyboard behavior improved; text is now selected when you tap an edit box.
• UI can be flipped upside-down, or set to display the main screen menu on the left side.
• You can configure the "Unsaved video in RAM" popup that appears when you hit the record button with an unsaved video in memory. It can be set to "Always", "If not reviewed" (default), or "Never". The previous behavior was always "If not reviewed".
• The sliders on main screen the play screen have been made larger for ease of grabbing.
• Trigger I/O's Trigger delay input was moved to the Trigger Delay screen. A slider has been added as a visual aid and an alternate way to adjust the trigger delay. The ratio between post-trigger frames and record length in frames is kept constant between resolution and framerate changes.
• Added Trigger Delay screen and Record Modes screen, accessible from Record Settings. Selectable modes are Normal, Segmented, and Gated Burst.
• Black cal duration reduced by 10s to 15s or so at max resolution.
• Use any SD card. Previously, a class 10 SD card was required. You can now use slower cards. Of course, using a slower SD card means that videos save slower too.
• You can now auto-record after saving and/or auto-save after recording. This can loop if both are used at the same time.

Minutiae:

• Playback screen has 'region to be saved' marked. Each region saved is marked in a different color.
• There is now a Settings tab in the Util pages. This can be used to backup, restore, or reset settings, which does not include black calibration.
• Play -> Settings: bitsPerPixel, maxBitrate, saved file framerate, format, filename and save location are now saved as soon as they are changed instead of when the Close button is pressed.
• Mark In and Mark Out have been renamed to Mark Start and Mark End, probably just until the video seek bar is made horizontal.
• The Enter key has been changed to say Apply, since you have to press it to apply your changes on the record settings window.

Known Bugs:

• The first few frames in saved videos are from the end of the recording.
• The camera will freeze after saving approximately 45 videos.  Make sure to reboot before saving approximately 40 videos to ensure the camera does not freeze. This bug exists in all previous releases as well.
• The camera will freeze when saving a video that is over 4GB onto a FAT32 partition, or when storage is full.
• If auto-record is enabled, but auto-save is not, a new recording will not be started.  However, the camera will still auto-record after booting the camera.
• Warnings about filesize (over fat32 limit, or insufficient free space) can still be shown even if autosave is enabled (if autosave is enabled, the user is unlikely to be there to press Yes for the camera to continue saving).

chronos_1.4_software_v0.2

​​Installation instructions:

• Unzip the Zip file into the root directory of a FAT32 formatted USB drive
• This should result in a camUpdate folder in the root directory of the drive
• Boot up the camera and insert the USB drive
• Backup your calibration data. Tap "Backup calibration data" and wait for this to complete (about 5 seconds). The cal data is now backed up on the USB drive as cal_[serial number].tar
• To install the update, tap Apply Software Update
• A message box should pop up indicating the software update was found. Tap Yes to install the update.
• The screen will go blank for a few seconds, then the updated application will start.
• Done! No need to restart the camera.
• Store the calibration backup in a safe place in case it's needed in the future.

Features added and bugs fixed:

• Added Triggered Exposure and Shutter Gating modes
• Fixed bug where video can be saved to the mount point if no storage device is present
• Fixed minimum exposure time (now 1uS instead of an impossible 10ns)
• Added "About" tab to Util window, showing software version, serial number, and camera info
• Added missing backer Jared Reabow in backers list
• Added support for LUX1310 image sensor silicon revision 2
• Fixed incorrect bitrate computation in save settings window
• Disabled H264 profile and level controls (certain lower levels caused encoder to crash)
• Fixed incorrect shutter slider and exposure text after changing resolution
• Fixed incorrect updating of ROI indicator in Record Settings
• Fixed allowable range of window offset to proper multiples (16, 2). Record settings would not be applied if offset was set other than proper multiple
• Moved close button on keyboard to bottom right
• Changed arrows on keyboard from text eg. "Up" to unicode arrow characters

Known bugs in added features:

• Horizontal line issue is present in Triggered Exposure and Shutter Gating modes, to be fixed.

Software V0.1 - Initial release shipped on Earlybird cameras (Serial numbers 00001 to 00049)
If your camera lacks the About tab in the Util menu, you are running this version.

To downgrade to this version, follow the procedure below:

• Insert a FAT32 formatted USB drive into the USB port on the camera
• Backup your calibration data. Tap "Backup calibration data" and wait for this to complete (about 5 seconds). The cal data is now backed up on the USB drive as cal_[serial number].tar
• Use the following image file while following the instructions below: Chronos 1.4 V0.1 microSD card image