Ubuntu Manpage: vgrabbj.conf - configuration file for vgrabbj

NAME

       vgrabbj.conf - configuration file for vgrabbj

OVERVIEW

       vgrabbj purpose is to read data from a v4l-device and put it in a file, formatted as jpeg,
       png, or pnm. Except for the ftp-options described below everything can also handled on the
       commandline.  Here the configuration statements are described.

       Syntax  is <keyword> <value>. Comments start with a ';' or '#'. Those lines are ignored by
       vgrabbj. Case of the keywords and named options doesn't matter except  for  the  timestamp
       option as well as any filename.

       The configuration file is parsed line by line. If any keyword appears twice or more often,
       the last one is the one used.

       On  startup,  the  pre-defined  configuration  file  /etc/vgrabbj.conf  is   read.   Then,
       commandline  parameters are evaluated one by one, the last is the most significant, if one
       option is provide twice or more often.  Same applies  for  the  commandline  parameter  -c
       <config-file>.

GENERAL OPTIONS

DaemonSeconds seconds
Daemonize & loop with seconds intervals (min. 1).

Daemon microseconds
Daemonize & loop microseconds intervals (min. 1). Same as -l except you can control
it more precisely.

AutoBrightness On|Off
Defines if vgrabbj's brightness adjustment is used. This option works only if the
device supports data fetch via read and RGB24 videopalette. See ForcePalette on
how-to set RGB24. Some device do not support RGB24, hence, Brightness is ignored.

ImageQuality quality
Sets the quality of a jpeg output to quality (1-100, default: 75).

ImageSize imagesize
Sets the imagesize of input device, where imagesize is one of:

sqcif= 128x96, qsif = 160x120,
qcif = 176x144, sif = 320x240,
cif = 352x288, vga = 640x480,
svga = 800x600, xga = 1024x768,
sxga = 1280x1024, uxga = 1600x1200,

(default: cif)

ImageWidth width
Sets the width of the image to width. Needs -H. The v4l-device has to support the
image width you set with this option.

ImageHeight height
Sets the height of the image to height. Needs -w. The v4l-device has to support
the image height you set with this option.

OutputFormat format
Sets the output to format (either jpeg, png, or pnm, default: jpeg). Alternative,
you may provide jpg for jpeg.

OutputFile <filename>
Output is written to filename (default: /dev/stdout)

Archive <path/filename>
Additional output is written to path/filename (default: not set), whereas the path-
filename can include any strftime component. The path- filename must not be on a
different filesystem as the output defined above. Additionally, you need to take
care of the number of files stored. There is no upper ceiling for archiving.

VideoDevice <device>
Sets the input device to device (default: /dev/video)

OpenOnce On|Off
Defines if vgrabbj opens the device only while image data is grabbed (Off) or keeps
it opened while it is running (On). Setting it to Off is helpful if you need
access to the device besides vgrabbj. This use is discouraged though, due to
possible problems with memory fragmentation. Default is On.

SetImageSize On|Off
Defines if the image size (see -i, -H, and -w) of the device is set by vgrabbj.
Necessary for certain v4l-devices which do not support to be set to a particular
image size (e.g. IBM-usb-cam, QuickCam). For these devices you have to specify the
size at module load time. Default is On.

SwitchColor On|Off
Switches colormap from BGR to RGB (or vice versa) if set to On. Default is Off. Use
if you have odd colors.

SwapRL On|Off
Swaps left and right of the image like a mirror. Default: Off. is Off.

SwapTB On|Off
Swaps top and bottom of the image like a mirror. Default: Off. is Off.

NoUseMmap On|Off
Turns off the use of mmap'ed (better) memory allocation for grabbing frames. Some
(very rare) cams cannot use mmap'ed memory and have to use read. If you want to
switch easily, use this switch. If you don't know what I'm talking about, leafe it
like it is: Default is Off.

DebugLevel value
Sets the loglevel of vgrabbj. Valid for value are 0, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7 (default: 4). 0
means no messages at all, 7 is debug. Don't use 7 if you are running vgrabbj in
daemon mode, it'll surely fill your syslog. Be aware, that loglevel 7 will also
post you ftp-password (if defined) in the logfile!

UseTmpOut On|Off
Sets the use of the temporary outputfile. Default is On. Ignored in case the
default output (/dev/stdout) is used. If set to Off, the data is written directly
to the file defined by OutputFile.

If filename is different from /dev/stdout (given via -f parameter or OutputFile,
vgrabbj defaults to use a temporary file called filename.tmp to write the image.
This file is then renamed to filename to shorten the time period corrupt data may
be read from filename.

Exec commands
Ask vgrabbj to launch an external program. May be used to pass the picture through
ImageMagick or others filters. The first '%s' instance in the command line will be
replaced with filename. If UseTmpOut is On, commands will be run before the file is
renamed.

ForcePalette palette
Force the usage of the specified palette. If palette is not supported by either
vgrabbj or the v4l-device, fallback to a palette supported by both is provided. If
no common denominator is available, vgrabbj exits. Supported palettes are marked
with * below. Possible values are (copy from videodev.h):

1 VIDEO_PALETTE_GREY Linear greyscale
2 VIDEO_PALETTE_HI240 High 240 cube (BT848)
3 VIDEO_PALETTE_RGB565 565 16 bit RGB
4 *VIDEO_PALETTE_RGB24 24bit RGB
5 *VIDEO_PALETTE_RGB32 32bit RGB
6 VIDEO_PALETTE_RGB555 555 15bit RGB
7 *VIDEO_PALETTE_YUV422 YUV422 capture
8 *VIDEO_PALETTE_YUYV
9 *VIDEO_PALETTE_UYVY
10*VIDEO_PALETTE_YUV420
10 VIDEO_PALETTE_YUV411 YUV411 capture
11 VIDEO_PALETTE_RAW RAW capture (BT848)
12 VIDEO_PALETTE_YUV422P YUV 4:2:2 Planar
13 VIDEO_PALETTE_YUV411P YUV 4:1:1 Planar
14*VIDEO_PALETTE_YUV420P YUV 4:2:0 Planar
15 VIDEO_PALETTE_YUV410P YUV 4:1:0 Planar
16 VIDEO_PALETTE_PLANAR
17 VIDEO_PALETTE_COMPONENT

(no default, depends on v4l-device).

DiscardFrames value
value images are grabbed and immediately discarded. Only the last image is written
to the output. This might be helpful if your v4l-device needs to take a couple of
images to auto-adjust to the current light.

ARCHIVE OPTIONS

       The following options are useful if you want to keep a certain  amount  of  images  in  an
       archive.  Currently,  the  archive is only supported if kept on the same filesystem as the
       images taken.

       Archive <archive-filename-pattern>
              The archive-filename-pattern is evaluated as a timestring, hence the  same  applies
              as to TimeStamp (see below, default: /tmp/arch/cam-%Y-%d-%m-%H-%M-%S.jpg)

       ArchiveEach <value>
              Defines  how  many  images  have to be taken before a copy is made for the archive.
              E.g. if defined 1, each image is put in the archive; if defined 5 every fifth image
              is put in the archive.

       ArchiveMax <value>
              Sets the maximum number of images to be put in the archive.

TIMESTAMP OPTIONS

The following options are available only if vgrabbj was compiled with the freetype library
available. The timestamp will only be enabled if all values evaluated (including defaults)
lead to a valid configuration and UseTimestamp is set to On.

UseTimestamp On|Off
This is the essential setting to enable timestamps if defined in the config file.
Without this being set to On, it just won't work (although, if there are options
set to have an invalid configuration, it won't work either). This is different to
the handling on the commandline.

FontFile filename
The TrueType font to be used for the timestamp (default
/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/TrueType/Arialn.ttf).

FontSize size
Set the fontsize to size for timestamp (3-100, default: 12).

TimeStamp format-str
Defines the timestamp. format-str can be plain text or any strftime format. Any
'""' at the beginning or the end will be eliminated for compatibility reasons, i.e.
they are not necessary (default: "%a, %e. %B %Y - %T" - see strftime(3) for
details).

Position value
Alignment of the timestamp in the image. Possible value:

ul = upper left, ur = upper right,
ll = lower left, lr = lower right,
uc = upper center, lc = lower center

(default: upper right). You can use either the short or the long version.

Blend value
Defines the blend between font background and image (1-100, default: 60).

BorderSize value
value pixels will be used as border around the timestamp string (1-255, default:
2).

FTP OPTIONS

There are no options for ftp-upload on the command line. This is due to the need to
provide a password which would be visible via the ps(1) command.

EnableFtp On|Off
Ftp-Connection will only be opened if set to On. Be aware that this might bring up
a dial-up connection. See also KeepAlive. (default: Off)

RemoteHost hostname
Host to which a ftp-connection will be established everytime an image has been
written (see also: Daemon, DaemonSeconds, KeepAlive, default: camimage.jpg).

RemoteDir path
The path consists of the full path on the remote host defined by RemoteHost
(default: /).

RemoteImageName filename
The filename consists of the full path and filename on the remote host defined by
RemoteHost (default: foo.bar.com).

Username username
The name of the user to log on the remote ftp-server (default: foo).

Password password
The password of the user to log on the remote ftp-server (default: bar). Be aware,
that the password is kept unencrypted in memory, it might be read by others.

KeepAlive On|Off
If set to On, the connection will be kept. This will cause a dial-up line to be up
all the time, which in turn may cost a lot of money! If set to Off, the connection
will be established after an image was written to the OutputFile. After
transmission, the ftp-connection will be ended. This may also result in phone
charges, for which Author takes no responsibility. See License.

Passive On|Off
If set to On, passive ftp will be used. This can help connecting to ftp servers
from the inside of a NAT-ed network.

TryHarder On|Off
Not implemented, yet.

HARDWARE SETTINGS

       With the following options you may alter the settings  of  your  hardware  (the  cam),  if
       supported  by the cam. Be aware, this might break your hardware, as there are no checks if
       the values supplied are valid, allowed, or supported!

       -W <value>
              Whiteness definition.

       -r <value>
              Color definition.

       -x <value>
              Contrast definition.

       -b <value>
              Brightness definition.

       -u <value>
              Hue definition.

BUGS

       At my own machine running vgrabbj, the %F in a Archive-Filename causes memory  corruption.
       This is not validated by any other machine. No further bugs are known at this time.

AUTHOR

       This  manual page was originally written by Michael Janssen <janssen@cns.uni.edu>, for the
       Debian GNU/Linux system and enhanced by Jens Gecius <devel@gecius.de>.

                                        February  24, 2002                        VGRABBJ.CONF(5)