BitFlow, the world’s leading innovator of frame grabbers for machine vision, semi-conductor and scientific imaging, is demonstrating its continuing support for customers who use legacy differential vision systems by introducing the new Neon-DIF differential frame grabber. Able to capture images at cameras’ highest frame/data rates, the Neon-DIF leverages today’s PCIe high-speed technologies merged together with a camera link front end featuring a 32-bit differential interface, circa 1997.  

By delivering a simple, cost-effective upgrade path, the Neon-DIF allows differential users to keep their existing LVDS and RS-422 cameras, cables and code, while benefitting from BitFlow’s FlowThru™ architecture which is built into every frame grabber the company manufacturers. FlowThru architecture lets the Neon-Dif control, acquire, reformat and transfer video data directly into the user’s application at camera speeds with zero CPU usage and almost zero latency.   

“The Neon-Dif is ideal for manufacturers that require the high-speed performance of a PCI Express bus with a differential interface, and one of the lowest price points in the industry,” said Donal Waide, Director of Sales & Marketing for BitFlow. “Another niche the Neon-DIF fills is differential applications where the PC needs upgrading, but the frame grabber has a PCI interface. Motherboards with PCI slots have become difficult to find.”   

According to Waide, customers that want to port their application to 64-bit Windows are discovering that their current differential frame grabbers are not supported on newer operating systems. The Neon-Dif can handle these situations.    

Adding the Neon-Dif to an application is simple with the BitFlow SDK, which supports both 32-bit and 64-bit operating systems. The SDK provides high level APIs for sophisticated buffer management and low-level direct access to the board for speedy custom control.