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PrecisionHD 4X Camera Failures

Recently we have seen camera connectivity and camera boot issues with PrecisionHD 4X cameras in the field.   We have managed to narrow down the reported problems to two scenarios:

1.  Wake from Standby:


Certain Precision HD 4X cameras may also display the following after working for a period of time:

1.  System is configured for standby;

2.  System goes into standby;

3.  When system resumes from standby, camera cannot be controlled by the codec - no PTZ control from any input device no video on self-view.

This issue is documented in the following bug:

CSCts05788    PrecisionHD 1080p 4x Camera losing connectivity after going to standby

Workaround:

- Rebooting the camera, or rebooting the entire system with the camera attached, may allow the camera to reestablish a connection.

- Turning off standby on the system may prevent the issue from recurring.

- Powering the camera separately with its own power supply will also prevent the issue (PSU-CAM-V=).

- Connecting the camera to a codec running TC 5.1.2 or later should upgrade the camera version 20010, as a fix for this issue.  Faster booting codecs such as C40, C60 or C90 are more likely to successfully upgrade a camera with the older firmware.

Corrective Actions for Wake from Standby:

The permanent fix for the issue is to upgrade to TC 4.2.3 or TC 5.1.2, which contains camera firmware 20010 that resolves this issue.  Images can be found here:

http://www.cisco.com/cisco/software/release.html?mdfid=283645026&flowid=21869&softwareid=280886992&release=TC5.1.2&relind=AVAILABLE&rellifecycle=&reltype=latest

2.  Failed Camera Boot:

Customers are also reporting the following symptoms on new installs, new replacements, or after rebooting their codec on a previously working installation for certain Precision HD 4X cameras:

1.  Orange LED present on camera at all times

2.  Green LED present on base of camera

3.  No PTZ control from any input device (e.g. touchpanel, remote, etc.)

4.  No video on self-view from camera.

5.  The admin CLI command "xstatus camera 1" shows "Connected: False" and no other camera information is displayed.

xstatus camera 1

*s Camera 1 Connected: False

*s Camera 1 HardwareID: ""

*s Camera 1 Manufacturer: ""

*s Camera 1 Model: ""

*s Camera 1 SoftwareID: ""

*s Camera 1 SerialNumber: ""

*s Camera 1 IpAddress: ""

*s Camera 1 MacAddress: ""

*s Camera 1 Position Pan: 0

*s Camera 1 Position Tilt: 0

*s Camera 1 Position Zoom: 16

*s Camera 1 Position Focus: 4000

*s Camera 1 Capabilities Options: ""

*s Camera 1 Flip: "Off"

** end

OK

6.  Power cycling the camera or codec does not allow codec control of the camera.

As a result of the above, the camera cannot be controlled by the codec.  There currently is no workaround once the camera gets into the above state, other than to manually apply a firmware image via the USB port on the camera (see below).

Corrective Actions for Failed Camera Boot:

If camera control becomes lost after several power cycles of the codec and/or camera, and control cannot be regained, there are troubleshooting steps and potential corrective actions that can be taken. 

1.  If possible, plug the camera into another working C40, C60, or C90 codec at the same TC software level to see if camera control is regained.  From the admin CLI, run "xstatus camera 1" and verify if the camera shows as connected, and verify the software ID.

2.  If the C20 codec is running TC 4.X, upgrade to TC 4.2.3, which contains camera firmware ID 20010.  The camera should upgrade the firmware ID to 20010; verify the camera status from the admin CLI as above.  Powercycle the codec at least three to five times to see if camera control returns; be sure to verify the camera status after each reboot.

3.  If the C20 codec is running TC 5.0 or 5.1.1, upgrade to TC 5.1.2, which also contains camera firmware ID 20010.  The camera should upgrade the firmware ID to 20010; verify the camera status from the admin CLI as above.  Powercycle the codec at least three to five times to see if camera control returns; be sure to verify the camera status after each reboot.

4.  If camera control has not returned after the above steps, plug the camera into another C40, C60 or C90 codec (not C20) running TC 4.2.3 or TC 5.1.2.  The camera should upgrade the firmware ID to 20010; verify the camera status from the admin CLI as above.

If all of the above fail, then the only way to recover the camera to a working state is to apply firmware ID 20010 manually via USB. 

USB Recovery Procedure:

In order to recover the camera image via USB, we connect directly to the camera via the serial port.  The USB recovery procedure will recover the camera to a working state for a period of time; however, the potential does exist for the codec to lose camera control at some point in the future.

Required Cables

  • In order to perform          a USB upgrade, serial/console access to the camera is required.  You          must connect the camera directly to your PC and access the unit via          serial connection.   The cables needed are:
    • VISCA camera           control cable (shipped with the C20, DB9 M to RJ45)
    • Null modem cable           (DB9 F/F)
    • Serial to USB cable           (DB9 M to USB M)
    • External power -           12V/2A - use the C20 power supply if needed, this has been tested and           will power up the 4X camera.
    • USB cable (USB A           male to micro USB B)

The pinouts for the null modem cable are below, if you     wish to make one.  They can be purchased at any large computer outlet     as well.

pinout.jpg

Here is what the USB cable looks like; the USB cable     needs to have USB A (male) connector, and 1 micro USB B connector.

usbserial.jpg

Please remember:  the camera needs to be     powered by means of an external power supply - either use the power supply     from the C20 codec, or use the external 12V/2A power supply for the 4X camera; part number PSU-CAM-V=.  See also http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/ps7060/ps11307/ps11335/data_sheet_c78-669051.html

Required Software

  • Terminal Emulation program - To access the camera via the serial port one needs to have a terminal emulation program which can talk to a serial COM port set to 115200 bps, 8 bits, 1 stopbit and no parity.  PuTTY, which works  well, can be downloaded at http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/download.html
  • For the USB control we need to install LibUSB-Win32 drivers on the PC (only tested with Windows XP - the drivers do NOT work on Windows 7 x64) combined with a  program named tb_usb.  The tb_usb program provides a USB shell to upgrade the camera firmware; this cannot be done via the camera  console cable.  A copy of the camera software named sangam.pkg is also required.
  • The required files can be downloaded below:        

Cisco can provide the files on an as-needed basis.

Installing  Required Software on Windows XP

Again, the USB recovery procedure was only tested on Windows XP.  Unpredictable results were obtained when testing with Windows 7 x64.

  • Install the  executable libusb-win32-filter-bin-0.1.12.1.exe
  • Unzip the complete  folder name usb_shell to your PC, e.g. under C:\Program Files. 
  • Create a directory  named C:\cosmos and copy the sangam.zip and fu.zip into that   directory.  Unzip both files so "sangam.pkg" and   "fu" are present in this directory.

Connect to Serial Port of  Camera

1.  Connect PC via  serial cable to the camera.  Connect the cables as follows:

Camera control RJ45 port --> Camera control DB9 M  port -->  DB9 F/F Null modem cable --> USB to serial DB9 M  --> PC USB port

Once the cables are connected, open up PuTTY and connect via Serial  connection.  The COM port number can be determined by opening up  Device Manager and expanding "Ports (COM & LPT)" and checking which COM has been assigned to your USB to Serial connection.  In the  below example, the system assigned COM5 - please note that your COM port number may be different:

device1.jpg

device2.jpg

2.  Once PuTTY is configured correctly and opened on the COM port, plug in the external power supply to the camera.  You should see the boot process of the camera; press the Enter key just after boot, during the "boot_delay" messages below.  You should now see the SANGAM prompt.

Verify Failed Camera Boot from Serial Connection: A camera not detected by the codec, i.e.  "xstatus camera 1"     shows "Connected: false", will show something similar to the below error on initial boot from console - note the "Checksum     validation fails" lines present.   Keep in mind there can be     variations of the below, but the camera will always fail to initialize.  When the camera fails to initialize, the base LED will be solid green, and the camera LED will be solid amber/orange:

DM365 chip initialization done
Board id : 00000001  Version id : 00000006
version 5
Configuring FPGA
Done
boot_delay : 3
boot_delay : 2
boot_delay : 1
boot_delay : 0
version1 = 3308 version2 = 3628
Checksum validation fails
Checksum validation fails
Looking for factory image....
Checksum validation fails
No valid Uimage presentSANGAM#

In order to recover a camera in this state, the USB     recovery procedure must be performed to apply a valid image
3.  Once at the SANGAM prompt, enable USB mode by setting the     variable USB_mode 1.  Be sure to save these settings, as shown below:SANGAM#setenv USB_MODE 1
SANGAM#saveenv
Connect to USB port of camera

1. Start the program tb_usb on your PC.  Be sure to start the  tb_usb.exe program from the "C:\Program Files"  directory. 
2.  Reboot the camera; you should see the camera startup in the tb_usb window.  Press enter in the USB shell window. You should get the same  SANGAM prompt as on serial connection, but now in the USB shell.
3.  Execute the command /u0/fu /u0/Sangam.pkg –d which will copy the sangam.pkg on the camera.  Below is a screen capture of a correct upgrade.

SANGAM#
SANGAM# /u0/fu /u0/Sangam.pkg -d
-
total file size read: 4375240
Package file size = 4375240 read = 0
Id is correct
Version check passed
Package checksum is correct
File size checksum correct
File table offset = 0000002C
Number of files= 00000005
Optional field len is = 00000012
======================================================
file table record len 66
Optional len = 0000001C , filelen = 0000001B , Filetab file offset = 0000016C
Tandberg Signature found sucessfully
(1.)File name = /system/upgrade/sid.bin
File checksum for file1 matched
Files checksum = 000003F5 ;
======================================================
file table record len 67
Optional len = 0000001C , filelen = 0000002B , Filetab file offset = 00000188
Tandberg Signature found sucessfully
(2.)File name = /system/upgrade/sid2.bin
File checksum for file2 matched
Files checksum = 0000060E ;
======================================================
file table record len 49
Optional len = 0000001C , filelen = 0001A800 , Filetab file offset = 000001B4
Tandberg Signature found sucessfully
(3.)File name = bl_tts
File checksum for file3 matched
Files checksum = 00A8613D ;
======================================================
file table record len 51
Optional len = 0000001C , filelen = 0001C800 , Filetab file offset = 0001A9B4
Tandberg Signature found sucessfully
(4.)File name = fpga_tts
File checksum for file4 matched
Files checksum = 00519277 ;
======================================================
file table record len 53
Optional len = 0000001C , filelen = 003F5114 , Filetab file offset = 000371B4
Tandberg Signature found sucessfully
(5.)File name = uImage_tts
File checksum for file5 matched
Files checksum = 212E9ADF ;
======================================================
Pkg is a valid package and its contents are uncorrupted
 
Invalid file name for file 0
Invalid file name for file 1
TBL upgrade : src_buf = 0x834FB0B0, sz = 0x0001A800
Min Version = 0, max version = 3748
Current version = 3749 New version = 3749
block_start: 1, block_end: 12
TBL upgrade successful
 
FPGA upgrade : src_buf = 0x835158B0, sz = 0x0001C800
Min Version = 0, max version = 2542
Current version = 2543, New version = 2543
block_start: 406, block_end: 445
FPGA Upgrade Successful
 
UImage upgrade : src_buf = 0x835320B0, sz = 0x003F5114
Min Version = 0, max version = 3749
New version: 3749 Len total = 4149524
block_start: 600, block_end: 919
block written to: 600
Updating Env... done
UImage Upgrade Successful
 
SANGAM#

4.  After the files have been downloaded completely, we need to turn USB mode off .  Once back at the SANGAM prompt, disable USB mode:

 
SANGAM#setenv USB_MODE 0
SANGAM#saveenv

5. Power cycle the camera. USB access is now disabled, so the VISCA serial connection is now active.

6. Verify using serial access that the camera boots to linux properly. You should no longer see any checksum errors; you should see the camera go straight to "Booting Linux..."

7. Once verified, hook up the camera with its newly programmed software to the codec.

8. Verify the camera is successfully connected using "xstatus camera 1" and that it shows a firmware ID of 20010.

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