Minimizing Capture Delay

Reducing the delay (or latency) of a video system is a huge topic that extends beyond the scope of this manual. Here we can offer some best practice guidelines specifically to do with Hippotizer to reduce delay.

Disable Render Buffering

In output manager, there is the option to buffer the outputs. Render Buffering adds up to three frames of delay. To reduce delay, disable render buffering.

Use as high frame rate signals as possible

Delay occurs per frame; an operation that takes one frame will take 16 milliseconds (ms) at 60 frames per second (FPS), or 33ms at 30fps. Changing to 60FPS capture signal from 30 for example will reduce the delay from 200ms to 100ms.

Ensure the engine is running at full frame rate

Similar to the capture signal’s frame rate, the engine frame rate also can have a large effect on delay. Ensure systems are running at full frame rate when latency is critical.

Genlock the whole signal chain

Genlocking the Hippotizer to the capture source will slightly improve delay (less than a frame) and will improve smoothness.

How much delay to expect

Due to the nature of media servers some delay is inevitable. A fully optimised system as described here should result in 4-5 frames of delay. (80-100ms at 60FPS).