VICON Firmware Manager Application Software User Guide

VICON Firmware Manager Application Software

Vicon Firmware Manager

Vicon Firmware Manager is a tool that allows users to update the firmware on their Vicon devices. It can be started in two ways, either from the Vicon application software or as a standalone application. The tool can check for firmware updates automatically and notify users if an update is available.

Installation

To install Vicon Firmware Manager, users can visit the Vicon website and download the latest version. Alternatively, they can start the installation process from within the Vicon application software.

Usage

Users can start Vicon Firmware Manager from within the Vicon application software by following these steps:

1. Start the Vicon application software or connect Vicon devices to the system.
2. Check if any devices require a firmware update.
3. If an update is required, click the icon in the toolbar to open the Firmware Update Available window.
4. Click “Yes” to open Vicon Firmware Manager and close the Vicon application software.

Alternatively, users can start Vicon Firmware Manager as a standalone application by following these steps:

1. Start Vicon Firmware Manager from the start menu or desktop shortcut.
2. Select the devices that require a firmware update.
3. Download the latest firmware bundle from the Vicon website.
4. Select the downloaded bundle and click “Update” to update the selected devices.

Users should not start any other Vicon software while Vicon Firmware Manager is running, as this may interrupt the updating process. If users do not have continual internet access, their Vicon application software will be unable to notify them when a new version of the firmware is available. In this case, users can refer to the “Update firmware on machines without internet access” section of the user manual for instructions.

Conclusion

Vicon Firmware Manager is an essential tool for maintaining and updating Vicon devices. By following the instructions provided in the user manual, users can easily update their firmware to ensure that their devices are always up-to- date and functioning correctly.

Copyright 2023 Vicon Motion Systems Limited. All rights reserved. Revision 1. For use with Vicon Firmware Manager 1.0 Vicon Motion Systems Limited reserves the right to make changes to information or specifications in this document without notice. Companies, names, and data used in examples are fictitious unless otherwise noted. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, by photocopying or recording, or otherwise without the prior written permission of Vicon Motion Systems Ltd.Vicon® is a registered trademark of Oxford Metrics plc. Other product and company names herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners. For full and up-to-date copyright and trademark acknowledgements, visit

• https://www.vicon.com/vicon/copyright-information. Vicon Motion Systems is an Oxford Metrics plc company.
• Email: support@vicon.com
• Web: http://www.vicon.com

BEYOND MOTION

Each Vicon camera and connectivity unit is programmed with firmware to control its operation. Periodically, Vicon supplies firmware updates to correct or improve device functionality. You are automatically notified when any component of your Vicon system is running out-of-date firmware, and given the opportunity to update to the latest version. You apply the firmware updates to your Vicon devices via the Vicon Ethernet network using Vicon Firmware Manager. This guide provides information on how to install and use it. Note that in versions of Vicon application software earlier than Tracker 3.10, Shogun 1.9, Nexus 2.15, and Evoke 1.6, the Vicon Firmware Update Utility performs the same function as Vicon Firmware Manager and is used in the same way.

Important

• To ensure optimum performance and access to all the latest functionality, we recommend that you update to the latest firmware whenever it becomes available.
• Ensure the firmware is the same for all cameras – check this carefully if you run a mixed system.

Install Vicon Firmware Manager

To install Vicon Firmware Manager:

• Install your Vicon application software (Nexus, Shogun, Tracker, Evoke). Vicon Firmware Manager is installed automatically as part of the installation.
• Download and install Vicon Firmware Manager from the Camera Firmware1 page on the Vicon website.

Start Vicon Firmware Manager

You can start Vicon Firmware Manager in either of these ways:

• Start Firmware Manager from your Vicon application software, page 4
• Start Firmware Manager as a standalone application, page 4

When you have installed and started Firmware Manager, to enable it to communicate with the cameras and update their firmware, make sure it is not blocked by the Windows firewall.

Start Firmware Manager from your Vicon application software

1. When you start your Vicon application software or connect any Vicon devices into your system, Firmware Manager checks whether the firmware for all your devices is up-to-date. If your devices aren’t using the latest firmware, a yellow warning triangle is displayed in the toolbar to let you know that a more up-to-date version of the firmware is available.
2. Click the icon to display more information.
3. In the Firmware Update Available window, click Yes to open Vicon Firmware Manager* and close your Vicon application software.

Tip
You can also find out the status of your Vicon system’s firmware and, if necessary, open Vicon Firmware Manager, from an option in the Help menu (Help

Check for firmware updates).

If you don’t have continual internet access, your Vicon application software is unable to notify you when a new version of the system firmware is available. To find out how to handle this situation, see Update firmware on machines without internet access, page 8.

• Note that in versions of Vicon application software earlier than Tracker 3.10, Shogun 1.9, Nexus 2.15, and Evoke 1.6, the Vicon Update Utility opens.

Start Firmware Manager as a standalone application

• From the Windows Start menu, click Vicon > Vicon Firmware Manager.

Use Vicon Firmware Manager

Vicon Firmware Manager enables you to download the latest version of the Vicon firmware and update the connected devices in your Vicon system.

Important
Do not start other Vicon software while Vicon Firmware Manager is running as this may interrupt the updating process.

• Update to the latest firmware version, page 6
• Update firmware on machines without internet access, page 8

Update to the latest firmware version

To update to the latest firmware version, you must first download the latest firmware bundle, then select the devices and update them.

Download the latest firmware version

1. When you start Vicon Firmware Manager, page 3, in the Firmware section at the top of the window, a message warns you if a more recent version of the firmware than you’ve previously downloaded is available.
   The location of the currently loaded Vicon firmware is displayed below.

2. To download the latest version of the firmware, click Download.

If you do not have continual internet access, Vicon Firmware Manager is unable to notify you when a new version of the system firmware is available. For information on how to handle this situation, see Update firmware on machines without internet access, page 8.

Update connected devices
The Devices list shows all the system devices and, if they are connected, their current firmware version and other details. From the Options menu, you can filter which devices are displayed in the list and choose whether to omit devices that are already up-to-date from the update. By default, all devices are displayed and up-to-date devices are omitted:

To update selected devices:

1. At the top left of the Devices list, select the checkbox to select all the devices. (Unless you’ve cleared the Skip Up To Date Devices option in the Options menu, when you click Update, any up-to-date devices are omitted from the update process.) If you don’t want to update some of the devices, in the Devices list, clear the relevant check box(es).
2. Ensure that the devices that you want to update are selected and then click Update. A progress bar indicates the percentage of the update that is complete and a message is displayed warning you not to run other Vicon software while the firmware update is in progress.  When the update is complete, success is indicated by green bars and text in the Firmware section at the top of the window and the Update section at the bottom, and Succeeded bars in the Update Progress column.
3. If the any of the devices fails to update, check that the relevant devices are correctly connected and retry the update. If you have any further issues, contact Vicon Support2.

Update firmware on machines without internet access

If you do not have continual internet access, Vicon Firmware Manager is unable to notify you when a new version of the system firmware is available. In this case:

1. Install Vicon Firmware Manager, page 3 on an internet-connected machine to detect and download the latest version of the firmware.
2. Transfer this download to an accessible location on the local machine.
3. On the local machine, start Vicon Firmware Manager, page 3, click the Load button to the right of the firmware path field and browse to the required firmware version.
4. Select and update the devices in the normal way (see Update connected devices, page 7).

• mailto:support@vicon.com

Vicon Firmware Manager Quick Start Guide 13 March 2023, Revision 1 For use with Vicon Firmware Manager 1.0

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