Capture 2 cams to pc and remote trigger

[Sebastien F]

Hi people,

I am looking into setting up some reference video for motion capture (mocap), and need some help on hardware/software.
The setup I need is 2 HD cameras somehow streaming to a capture PC. The capture software is then triggered from the mocap PC (on REC strat/stop) over network connection, and records a file for each camerafeed.
The video stream must have as little delay as possible to sync it up with the mocap data. A few frames or less if possible, unless it's consistent, then we can fix that on all files by code. I am not sure we want to use timecond/genlock to sync as it requires some very expensive hardware for the mocap system.
Aaaaand, it needs to be fairly cheap as in consumer cameras etc.

Here are my thoughts and questions so far:

Cameras:
either consumer DSLRs or camcorders. I read somewhere that DSLRs might overheat when streaming for a long time, and they also just stop automatically after some time.
What about webcams? would they do the trick or is there too much delay? The video quality doesn't need to be very high as it is only for reference.

Videocard:
I will need a card if I want to use DSLRs/camcorders. What input would work best? HDMI? Video?
I have a BlackMagic Intensity Pro but i'm not sure that can take 2 input.
Any other cards or devices that would work?

Software:
That needs to record 2 feeds in separate files on PC.
Also it would be awesome if it could be triggered over network so the REC is started/stopped by sending a signal from the mocap software. And maybe even take a shotname the same way.


I have spent some time looking into it, but cant find any good/cheap solutions, and I haven't had the possibility to test much.
Any ideas in which direction to go?

Thanks in advance,
Sebastien

[smrpix]

Your objectives -- multiple streams, wireless and affordable seem unrealistic.

This looks interesting (if it works: ) https://neuronmocap.com/ They are theoretically shipping in the next couple of months.

[Sebastien F]

Hi smrpix,

Not wireless (probably not reliable enough), and simply 2 x 720p video stream recorded on PC. We have the mocap system and just want to upgrade our reference video.

I have heard about this https://neuronmocap.com/ and was told that it is fairly accurate. Downside is though that you are wearing all the gear and can't really do stunts/ fights etc.

[smrpix]

What system are you using? Get a couple of low priced video cameras then. Sony, Panasonic and Canon all make decent ones. (quick example: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?atclk=Brand_Canon&ci=1871&N=4294548093+4259332489...570227&mxp=300 most have direct hdmi outputs, some have wifi.)
From what I understand (and I'm not their advocate) neuronmocap uses small (1cm) wireless sensors specifically to allow unimpeded motion

[Sebastien F]

We are using and old Vicon MX setup. Looked into the Bonita cameras but that was way over the budget we want to spend right now.
Any suggestions for the software?

What I meant was that you can't really do crazy stunts, like rolling around, and you also have cables that could get in the way doing close combat.