© 2016 Thorlabs Scientific Imaging22
DCx Camera Functional Description and SDK Manual
2.2 Image Display Modes
The uc480 driver provides different modes for displaying the captured images on Windows
systems. We recommend using the Bitmap mode or the Direct3D functions, depending on your
specific application.
For a list of API functions for image display see How to proceed: Image display.
Attention
The "DirectDraw BackBuffer" and "DirectDraw Overlay Surface" display modes are obsolete.
Please use the Direct3D functions instead (see also Obsolete functions).
1. Bitmap mode (Device Independent Bitmap, DIB)
In Bitmap mode, images captured by the DCxCamera are written to the random access memory of
the PC. Programming the image display is up to the user. The application software uses the
is_RenderBitmap() function to initiate the image display by the graphics card. This may result in a
slightly higher CPU load as compared to the Direct3D display.
The advantage of Bitmap mode is that it is compatible with all graphics cards and that image data
in the memory is directly accessible. Programming of overlay functions is up to the user. Since the
operating system controls the image display, the image may be completely or partly overlapped by
other windows and dialog boxes.
How the Bitmap mode works
2. Direct3D mode (only under Windows with DirectX)
In this mode, the uc480 driver writes the image data to the invisible area of the graphics card. This
process runs automatically and does not have to be controlled by the application software. It
requires an installed Direct3D driver, sufficient memory on the graphics card and Direct3D function
support by the graphics card (see System requirements). For this purpose, graphics cards
generally provide better performance than graphics chips integrated on the mainboard. In Direct3D
mode, the CPU load may be lower than in Bitmap mode. You can display overlay data and also
scale the video image.
The Direct3D mode and the overlay functions can be configured using the is_DirectRenderer()
API function.
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