Troubleshooting: acquisition

Q: I am seeing lots of dropped frames in my acquired data, why is this happening?
A: In all likelihood you are using an underpowered system for data acquisition. Most modern desktops with a discrete GPU should work, but we cannot make any hard guarantees. Collect a test dataset with the acquisition software and check the depth_ts.txt file. The difference between neighboring timestamps should be approximately 30 (as in 30 milliseconds). If you find that more than 1% of frames have been dropped, check your acquisition computer.

Q: I am STILL seeing lots of dropped frames in my acquired data, WHY?
A: It turns out a couple of Windows services can interfere with frame acquisition: Windows Superfetch and Windows Search. To inactivate them, type msc in the Windows search bar (Windows 8 or 10). Uncheck these two services under the SERVICES tab and reboot your machine. You probably also want to disable any antivirus software during acquisition.