How do I sync two live video inputs?

I have two live video streams coming into MATLAB. When I take a snapshots, I need them to be from exactly the same moment in time. How can I sync them so that there is no delay between the video streams coming in?

Answer 1

[Vidip Jain]

I understand you have two live video streams coming into MATLAB and want to take snapshots, which must be from the same moment in time.

To ensure that two live video streams in MATLAB are synchronized and that snapshots are taken from the same moment in time, you need to carefully manage the capture and processing of frames from both streams. Here's a general approach to achieve synchronization:

1. Synchronize Frame Acquisition: Since capturing frames from two different sources might not be perfectly synchronized due to hardware and software variations, you can introduce a synchronization mechanism. One way to achieve synchronization is to use a time-stamping mechanism based on the system's clock.
2. Capture and Process in a Loop: Run a loop to continuously capture and process frames from both video streams. In each iteration of the loop, capture a frame from both streams and then process them.
3. Time Stamping: As you capture frames from each stream, record a timestamp indicating when each frame was captured. You can use the MATLAB function tic to get a timestamp in each iteration.
4. Frame Processing: Once both frames are captured, you can process them as needed. The processing could involve synchronization, alignment, or any other required operations. Finally adjust for timing difference using value obtained from ‘tic’ function.

Refer to this documentation for more information: https://www.mathworks.com/help/matlab/ref/tic.html