01 - Video VBOX Introduction

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The Video VBOX is a multi-camera, solid state video recorder with GPS data-logging and graphical overlay.

Included on the SD card are two software packages:

Circuit Tools - Lap analysis
Video VBOX Setup - Graphics and logging control

Both of these software programs can be downloaded from here.

Software Installation

To install the above software, insert the SD card into the SD card reader of your computer or download the software from one of the above links. Double click the Setup.exe file and follow the steps until the software is successfully installed.

Note: The software requires Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 Service Pack 1 or higher to run. The installer contains the required .NET installation package. In order to playback the AVI Video files, the XVid Codec pack must also be installed. This will be installed as part of the installation process.

Video VBOX Registration

So that Racelogic can continue to provide you with notification of the latest software releases, firmware upgrades and to offer technical support, please register your Video VBOX.

Please register your unit here.

Terminology

Throughout this guide we will be referring to the following:

Scenes

A Scene is the setup file (‘.SCN’ file) which defines the layout of the graphical overlay and sets the system parameters such as PAL/NTSC, CAN channels, lap-timing information etc.

Elements

These are graphical items in the scene, such as gauges, text, picture-in-picture, bar graphs, Track maps etc.

LED Indicators

Video VBOX Pro

LED	COLOUR	INDICATES
PWR	Red	Power on
CAMERAS	Green	A camera is connected
CAN	Red	Correctly connected to a device and receiving CAN signals. Note, must be configured to receive in VVB setup software
SER	Green	Recognised serial information is being received. e.g. From a connected DriftBox
USB	Red	USB logging media is connected
GPS	Red / Green	i) Red indicates no satellite lock held ii) Green indicates SAT lock achieved
MEMORY	Red	i) Amount of memory used in the attached logging media (incrementing sequence) ii) Status of scene upload or firmware upgrade (incrementing sequence) iii) Searching for media (in/out sequence)
REC	Blue	Data being recorded to media.
REC Button	Blue	i) Solid indicates that the unit is ready to log – media inserted ii) Flashing indicates uploading of either a scene or firmware is taking place

Lite / Waterproof

LED	COLOUR	INDICATES
PWR	Green	Power on
STATUS	Green	i) Solid indicates that the unit is ready to log – media inserted ii) Flashing indicates uploading of either a scene or firmware is taking place
GPS	Green	i) Flashing indicates searching for satellites after GPS cold start ii) Solid indicates SAT lock achieved
RECORD	Green	Data being recorded to logging media

Tank circuit

Every Video VBOX contains a small internal battery to prevent loss of video should the power supply be interrupted for any reason. This battery is continually recharged during normal operation.

When the power is interrupted, the unit will start to beep, and the symbol on the right will appear on the video.

If after 5 seconds the power is still not present, the unit will close the Video file and shut the box down safely.

File formats

The Video VBOX will log either to an SD card or a USB drive (requiring cable RLCAB073).

Two files are logged, an ‘.avi’ Video File (compatible with the Xvid codec which is installed with the software package), and a synchronised ‘.vbo’ data file which contains all of the GPS (and CAN, if applicable) data in ASCII format, recorded 10 times a second (or 20 if you are using a VVB Pro 20 Hz unit). The files are stored under the ‘media’ folder.

The maximum size of files for SD cards in FAT32 format is 2 GB. If you record for more than 50 minutes, a new ‘.avi’ file is created. Therefore a single ‘.vbo’ file can be associated with multiple ‘.avi’ files.

Video format

Standard definition uses 720 x 576 pixels at 25 frames per second for PAL and 720 x 480 pixels at 30 frames per second for NTSC. All video is interlaced, this is the DVD standard as it was originally designed for a scanning line TV set. When replayed on a Computer screen instead of a TV, you may see ‘motion artefacts’ which are the result of the interlaced format. When you upload your content to YouTube, or display on a normal television, the interlacing is removed.

Windows Media Player does not render the video as well as other media players, so for better quality, Racelogic recommend the free, but excellent, VLC player (http://www.videolan.org/vlc/) which has a de-interlacing filter (Video - De-Interlace - Blend).
For a detailed explanation of interlacing also see here: www.100fps.com