Direct Ethernet Connection to PC: What real-world download speeds are you getting for RAW DNGs?

[emk_prod]

Hi everyone,

I am planning a workflow for an upcoming shoot where the Chronos 2.1-HD will be mounted on a camera crane. Because of this, I want to connect the camera directly to my laptop/PC on the ground using a long Gigabit Ethernet cable (direct link, no router) and control it via the web interface.

My main goal is to download the RAW DNG sequences directly to my computer's SSD after triggering.

Before I purchase the cables and set everything up, I would love to ask the community:

1. Has anyone used this specific direct-connection setup? Are there any networking "gotchas" or stability issues I should be aware of when using long LAN cables (around 15-30 meters)?

2. What real-world download speeds (in MB/s) are you actually getting when transferring RAW DNGs over this connection? How long does it typically take to download a full 16GB (or 8GB) RAM buffer to the PC?

I would highly appreciate any tips, experiences, or real-world numbers you can share!

Thanks in advance!

 

[hummingbirdography]

Hello, welcome to the Kron Technologies forum!

This sounds like a fun upcoming shoot. However there will be a few challenges with the objectives you described. Particularly if your SSD must be connected to your computer instead of the eSATA/USB port on the Chronos 2.1-HD, in combination with saving in CinemaDNG format.

Here's what I would recommend for a crane setup:

• Securely connect your SSD to your Chronos to achieve maximum write speeds
• Use a 2.5" (5V) SSD with a SATA III 3Gbps interface because the USB interface operates slower
• Monitor the video using a long HDMI cable or wireless video transmission system
• Record 60FPS proxies of the HDMI feed using your monitor (or PC via UVC or HDMI capture)
• Alternatively save H264 proxies to the SSD, but note the 2.1 save is typically longer than playing the buffer & recording the HDMI feed
• Control the Chronos over Ethernet or wirelessly via a travel router or Ethernet-to-WiFi adapter

It is possible to have the SSD tethered to your computer instead of the Chronos 2.1-HD, however there are some complications:

• The web interface can only trigger one file download at time, making retrieval of image sequences impractical
• Only SMB version 1.0 or NFS versions 1 through 4 are supported by the Chronos 2.1-HD
• SMB version 1.0 support is typically disabled by default due to its security vulnerabilities and slower speeds
• Due to a software bug, only NFS version 4.0 shares may be remotely mounted (so if you're using an older version, you would need to mount the NFS share from the camera's LCD interface before raising the crane)

The setup process for tethering your computer (or phone/tablet) directly to your camera's Ethernet port will vary per platform, however generally speaking involves enabling "sharing" of the device's network interface. If you let me know which platform you intend to use, I can provide the setup instructions for it.

As for saving speeds, the Chronos 2.1-HD is honestly quite slow. For a DNG sequence, I would plan for an average save rate of 10 FPS with 1920x1080 resolution footage, which will obviously result in significant down time between shots

 

[emk_prod]

Hello, hummingbirdography! Thanks for the quick reply! And let me ask you, is it possible to control Chronos 2.1 by connecting the camera to the computer with a wire? I'm just about to buy Chronos, and I don't know much yet. But it is critically important for me to understand that I will be able to control the camera by connecting it directly to the computer and I will have no delays. So that I can see the camera interface from my computer or laptop, so that I can crop extra frames and save the material to the SSD.

Hello, welcome to the Kron Technologies forum!

This sounds like a fun upcoming shoot. However there will be a few challenges with the objectives you described. Particularly if your SSD must be connected to your computer instead of the eSATA/USB port on the Chronos 2.1-HD, in combination with saving in CinemaDNG format.

Here's what I would recommend for a crane setup:

• Securely connect your SSD to your Chronos to achieve maximum write speeds
• Use a 2.5" (5V) SSD with a SATA III 3Gbps interface because the USB interface operates slower
• Monitor the video using a long HDMI cable or wireless video transmission system
• Record 60FPS proxies of the HDMI feed using your monitor (or PC via UVC or HDMI capture)
• Alternatively save H264 proxies to the SSD, but note the 2.1 save is typically longer than playing the buffer & recording the HDMI feed
• Control the Chronos over Ethernet or wirelessly via a travel router or Ethernet-to-WiFi adapter

It is possible to have the SSD tethered to your computer instead of the Chronos 2.1-HD, however there are some complications:

• The web interface can only trigger one file download at time, making retrieval of image sequences impractical
• Only SMB version 1.0 or NFS versions 1 through 4 are supported by the Chronos 2.1-HD
• SMB version 1.0 support is typically disabled by default due to its security vulnerabilities and slower speeds
• Due to a software bug, only NFS version 4.0 shares may be remotely mounted (so if you're using an older version, you would need to mount the NFS share from the camera's LCD interface before raising the crane)

The setup process for tethering your computer (or phone/tablet) directly to your camera's Ethernet port will vary per platform, however generally speaking involves enabling "sharing" of the device's network interface. If you let me know which platform you intend to use, I can provide the setup instructions for it.

As for saving speeds, the Chronos 2.1-HD is honestly quite slow. For a DNG sequence, I would plan for an average save rate of 10 FPS with 1920x1080 resolution footage, which will obviously result in significant down time between shots

 

[emk_prod]

Hello, welcome to the Kron Technologies forum!

This sounds like a fun upcoming shoot. However there will be a few challenges with the objectives you described. Particularly if your SSD must be connected to your computer instead of the eSATA/USB port on the Chronos 2.1-HD, in combination with saving in CinemaDNG format.

Here's what I would recommend for a crane setup:

• Securely connect your SSD to your Chronos to achieve maximum write speeds
• Use a 2.5" (5V) SSD with a SATA III 3Gbps interface because the USB interface operates slower
• Monitor the video using a long HDMI cable or wireless video transmission system
• Record 60FPS proxies of the HDMI feed using your monitor (or PC via UVC or HDMI capture)
• Alternatively save H264 proxies to the SSD, but note the 2.1 save is typically longer than playing the buffer & recording the HDMI feed
• Control the Chronos over Ethernet or wirelessly via a travel router or Ethernet-to-WiFi adapter

It is possible to have the SSD tethered to your computer instead of the Chronos 2.1-HD, however there are some complications:

• The web interface can only trigger one file download at time, making retrieval of image sequences impractical
• Only SMB version 1.0 or NFS versions 1 through 4 are supported by the Chronos 2.1-HD
• SMB version 1.0 support is typically disabled by default due to its security vulnerabilities and slower speeds
• Due to a software bug, only NFS version 4.0 shares may be remotely mounted (so if you're using an older version, you would need to mount the NFS share from the camera's LCD interface before raising the crane)

The setup process for tethering your computer (or phone/tablet) directly to your camera's Ethernet port will vary per platform, however generally speaking involves enabling "sharing" of the device's network interface. If you let me know which platform you intend to use, I can provide the setup instructions for it.

As for saving speeds, the Chronos 2.1-HD is honestly quite slow. For a DNG sequence, I would plan for an average save rate of 10 FPS with 1920x1080 resolution footage, which will obviously result in significant down time between shots

I have windows os

 

[hummingbirdography]

The Chronos 2.1-HD may be remote controlled by wire using either a Micro USB cable or Ethernet cable. Alternatively, a BNC trigger cable may be of interest if the only control you need is record start & stop.

The web interface enables remote control of nearly every camera operation you would find on the LCD interface, including the ability to select the region of video you wish to save (instead of saving the entire buffer). However, the web interface's "live" preview of the video is not a reliable solution for monitoring- it only displays about 1 frame per second. Therefor you will need a secondary solution for monitoring, such as VLC for displaying the camera's RTSP video stream, or leveraging the camera's HDMI output.

To setup a wired Ethernet connection between a Windows PC and a Chronos 2.1-HD:

1. Right click on the Start menu and select Network Connections
2. Click on "Change adapter options"
3. Select the network adapter you plan to use
4. Right click on it and select Properties
5. Go to the Sharing tab and check the box for "Allow other network users to connect through this computer's Internet connection", then press OK
6. Power on your Chronos 2.1-HD and connect an Ethernet cable between it and your PC
7. Look for the IP address in the camera's Util -> Network Settings screen
8. Navigate to that IP address in your web browser

To setup a wired USB connection between a Windows PC and a Chronos 2.1-HD:

1. Download & unzip this file:
   
   https://www.krontech.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/RNDIS-driver.zip
2. Right click on the Setup Information (RNDIS.inf) file and click "Install"
3. Power on your Chronos 2.1-HD and then connect it to your PC using a Micro USB cable
4. Navigate to the web address 192.168.12.1

Additional USB setup documentation is available here:
https://assets.krontech.ca/2024/04/RNDIS-Driver-Tutorial.pdf

Additional documentation on remote control & monitoring is available here:
https://www.krontech.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Network-Control-v0.6.5.pdf

 

[emk_prod]

Thanks for the help! I would also like to know if you have any Cinema DNG raw materials? I really want to learn how to work with them and do color correction. I found a couple of links to dropbox on the forum here. I would appreciate additional sources that I could work with. Thank you in advance!