[UM S5] Camera feed stopping

[danieledge123 4]

@Ultimaker again, your flagship top of the line s5 multi thousand dollar printer, marketed for professional and commercial use has a software issue with the camera and the WiFi fails regularly. It’s great that there is a healthy community able to step in and resolve issues, but I’m sure we all purchased what we thought was a fully supported professional piece of equipment from what I thought was a credible manufacturer of 3d printers. I understand bugs can creep in from time to time, but this issue has been around for months. What other issue could be a higher priority than stabilising basic functions on your flagship printer ? 

 

Is it about to be replaced and all investment and development resource diverted on to the next iteration and model  ? A clear response would be appreciated. 

 

 

[SandervG 1,521]

Hi @danieledge123, thank you for your message. 

It is true that the camera sometimes loses connection and this has been known for a longer period of time, but it doesn't mean it has gone ignored or that we never tried to fix it. We have launched fixes in the past which improved the connection with the webcam, but not entirely yet.

 

3 hours ago, danieledge123 said:

It’s great that there is a healthy community able to step in and resolve issues, but I’m sure we all purchased what we thought was a fully supported professional piece of equipment from what I thought was a credible manufacturer of 3d printers

 

I like to think it is a fully supported professional 3D printer. Unless I am wrong we are talking on a platform we have created where you can talk and learn from peers and where you can talk to our developers directly, and our developers are actively working on fixing this issue in the next firmware. 

 

I am happy one of the other users has found a way to make the stream more reliable for you, and if it works for you I see no reason why you should stop using it. But technically, we wouldn't recommend increasing resolution to the webcam, as the increased resolution could contribute to loosing the feed. Increasing the timer to 10 seconds we see no harm in this, and our developers also took note of it and will evaluate if it can be used to further improve your experience. 

 

I hope this helps and shines a slightly different light on the situation, knowing that it does have our attention and a fix is underway. Hopefully you have a good weekend, thank you for your time!

[Admehnistrator 5]

3 hours ago, SandervG said:

But technically, we wouldn't recommend increasing resolution to the webcam, as the increased resolution could contribute to loosing the feed. Increasing the timer to 10 seconds we see no harm in this, and our developers also took note of it and will evaluate if it can be used to further improve your experience. 

 

 

 

 

Absolutely agree... the resolution increase was to just see how it will behave, it's not much better (cant really tell a difference).  you can set it lower though.

resolutions[] = {
	{ "QQVGA", 160, 120 },
	{ "QCIF", 176, 144 },
	{ "CGA", 320, 200 },
	{ "QVGA", 320, 240 },
	{ "CIF", 352, 288 },
	{ "PAL", 720, 576 },
	{ "VGA", 640, 480 },
	{ "SVGA", 800, 600 },
	{ "XGA", 1024, 768 },
	{ "HD", 1280, 720 },
	{ "SXGA", 1280, 1024 },
	{ "UXGA", 1600, 1200 },
	{ "FHD", 1920, 1280 },
	};

 

 

But the restart timer looks to be a way to improve performance... maybe longer than 10 sec will work better, i just passed 5 days with out a failure, but i had to restart the printer for other reasons (relocation).

 

the web page camera viewing is set to a smaller size (600 x 450) so really... if we wanted to optimize the best for the web page... we should force the res to VGA in the config file.  This would be the closest size, and theoretically be the lightest from a memory/utilization standpoint.

 

Edited May 8, 2020 by Admehnistrator

[jkcz 12]

On 5/6/2020 at 6:24 PM, Admehnistrator said:

modify /lib/systemd/system/mjpg-streamer\@.service to the below:

 

enable Dev via the front touch panel.

 

 

SSH to the S5 as user root pass ultimaker

 

vi /lib/systemd/system/mjpg-streamer\@.service

 

 

========================================================

[Unit]
Description=mjpg-streamer, Webcam streaming for all on /dev/video%i
BindsTo=dev-video%i.device

[Service]
Type=simple
User=ultimaker
Environment=LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/usr/lib/mjpg-streamer
ExecStart=/usr/bin/mjpg-streamer -i "input_uvc.so -r SXGA -d /dev/video%i" -o "output_http.so -p 808%i"
Restart=always
RestartSec=10
TimeoutSec=1

========================================================

 

systemctl daemon-reload

systemctl restart mjpg-streamer@0

 

Disable Dev mode via the front touch panel.

My video feed is stable but the resolution increase looks interesting, you mentioned somewhere else that you don't really notice a difference though? Also, where can I find a guide on how to do these changes? I'm new to these kinds of modifications but if it is straightforward I am willing to try.

[Admehnistrator 5]

On 5/10/2020 at 12:01 AM, jkcz said:

Also, where can I find a guide on how to do these changes? I'm new to these kinds of modifications but if it is straightforward I am willing to try.

 

no guides... this is just digging through the system and googling the source. mjpg-streamer is a common opensource app that is used in many many applications/DIY/projects.  I'm just googling and trying things since it was annoying to me (and everyone else here) that Ultimaker had yet to fix this issue with all the firmware updates they regularly post.

[danieledge123 4]

Seems like the camera is stable since the change but the WiFi connection drops after a few hours. I guess I’ll be connecting over Ethernet.

 

@Ultimaker is this also being addressed in the next firmware update ? Seems to be an issue reported by many.

 

Thanks,

 

Dan 

[SandervG 1,521]

9 hours ago, danieledge123 said:

Seems like the camera is stable since the change but the WiFi connection drops after a few hours. I guess I’ll be connecting over Ethernet.

 

@Ultimaker is this also being addressed in the next firmware update ? Seems to be an issue reported by many.

 

Thanks,

 

Dan 

 

Hello, that is more difficult to say because many factors can contribute (or undermine) a stable wifi connection outside of the Ultimaker. Like the amount of other devices connected to the same network can make the connection less stable. So if you have the option to select Ethernet, I would always recommend this for stabilities sake. 

[dxp 23]

On 5/7/2020 at 1:13 PM, dxp said:

Let's give it a try. Tomorrow i will report 🤞

Well, it is working in the long run. But the printer reports

(Printer cannot be reached.)

And a few seconds later:

 

 

So it is unstable in a reliable way. I can get a picture if i wait. The printer has ethernet connection.

(BTW: How to switch Cura Connect to english?)

 

Edited May 12, 2020 by dxp
removed wrong picture, added ethernet info

[danieledge123 4]

I see this as well.. 

[SandervG 1,521]

So if I understand it correctly you are saying it first can not be reached, but then it starts anyway?

 

28 minutes ago, dxp said:

(BTW: How to switch Cura Connect to english?)

 

You can do it in your browser. This video might help: 

 

[dxp 23]

2 hours ago, SandervG said:

So if I understand it correctly you are saying it first can not be reached, but then it starts anyway?

It is interchanging. Some seconds there is a connection and then it breaks, then it comes back again. I didn't stop the times. Better than a black image, but there is ample room for improvement.

 

2 hours ago, SandervG said:

You can do it in your browser. This video might help: 

As you can see, the video helped 😀

[Admehnistrator 5]

On 5/12/2020 at 4:13 AM, SandervG said:

 

Hello, that is more difficult to say because many factors can contribute (or undermine) a stable wifi connection outside of the Ultimaker. Like the amount of other devices connected to the same network can make the connection less stable. So if you have the option to select Ethernet, I would always recommend this for stabilities sake. 

 

 

My S5 has always had this spotty problem with nginx... (whether on ethernet or wifi) the device is pingable in both cases.. but nginx fails to serve requests timely.

 

I'll start poking at it and see if i can come up with a 'temporary' fix for it.

 

 

Edited May 18, 2020 by Admehnistrator

[danieledge123 4]

Thanks @Admehnistrator -  I'll dig a bit deeper in to this as well and share anything that I find, didnt realise the s5 was running apache ..

[danieledge123 4]

This is what happens .. note no IP address listed, generally during a long print

 

Power cycling restores..

[krknopp 0]

I have the same problem as danieledge123 on nearly every print.  The WiFi generally stays connected if I'm not printing, but then ping times go way up and the disconnects start after a print starts.  Really seems like the WiFi process is set too low in the printer's priorities at the OS level.  

[manujoe 2]

Hi,

I just receive my S5, few days ago, ok she's doing the job...

 

But i don't understand why such issues (wifi/camera) after  more than one year on the market.

With the latest firmware it display on screen 3m23m  instead of 3h23m ...

 

When i'm connecting with SSH, the cpu charge is always between 60 --> 100 % (during a print).

Maybe some services can be turned off during a print (rfid for instance)

 

My first impression : 

Seems some quality lack from dev, is there continous integration of the firmware?

 

Hope i'm wrong, and some force will be added to have a good firmware

 

Regards

 

 

 

[danieledge123 4]

This was my overall impression unfortunately. Hardware is great, software really lets it down and in minor but frustrating ways. It's just lacking the polish that I expected from a printer at this price point.

 

My biggest concern is that the product has been out for some time and won't remain the flagship forever at which point I'd expect even slower progress on rectifying these issues. If this isn't the reason already.

 

We are far from click print and forget with 3d printing so I didn't expect every print to be trouble free. But I also absolutely didn't expect I would need to tinker with the software running on the printer and deal with flaky network connectivity and camera. I thought I'd be instead focusing on 3d printing. It's frustrating to see updates to cura being released whilst basic software issues with their flagship printer remain unresolved.

 

At this price point, customers expectations will be high and not unreasonably so, responsiveness on a forum and promises that a firmware release is coming at some undefined point in the future, isn't good enough and is frankly just disappointing for a product positioned as it is.

 

What is really needed is a firm commitment and a timeline by which these issue will be resolved and for those issues to be resolved by that date.  My camera is slightly more stable since I made the changes suggested in the thread above so it is worth looking at that, but this is besides the point, if a member of the community can invest the time to investigate and present a workaround, Ultimaker themselves should have addressed the issue. Unless, focus is elsewhere.

 

For now, my £10 raspberry pi and £5 camera addresses at least one of the issues that I experience with my multi-thousand pound printer.

 

 

Edited May 19, 2020 by danieledge123

[manujoe 2]

Yep !

I think the dev are fighting with dependencies in the program and a lack of CPU...and some lean/agile training

 

I 'll do the suggested modification of the config file, thanks.

On my side , i'll fighting with my boss ... he'll ask me why i choose this buggy expensive stuff...

 

Regards.

[Roli4711 11]

Hi all,

 

You always speak of WLAN 😞

 

I couldn't even connect my device to WiFi. But with LAN over a stable network (measured several times) and with a Gbit / s connection, it works just as little.

 

It really can't be. The longest period that worked was 3 days. And both from CURA (Progress Bar just stops) and from the website (xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx/print_jobs) there is a regular message that there is no connection. Then it comes back and after 2-3 minutes the connection is gone again.

 

Roland

[manujoe 2]

Hi,

I confirmed that it works sometimes with a good LAN.

With Cura also, same for me -->  no progress bar... but we have the link to the printer's web site 😉

 

SandervG --> Please let us know about a firmware roadmap to fix these bug.

We request transparency 

 

Regards.

[SandervG 1,521]

17 hours ago, manujoe said:

Hi,

I confirmed that it works sometimes with a good LAN.

With Cura also, same for me -->  no progress bar... but we have the link to the printer's web site 😉

 

SandervG --> Please let us know about a firmware roadmap to fix these bug.

We request transparency 

 

Regards.

 

Hello, we are currently testing the firmware and this will dictate the release schedule. Once we have more definite information you'll be the first to hear. Thank you for your time and patience! 

[Roli4711 11]

4 hours ago, SandervG said:

 

Hello, we are currently testing the firmware and this will dictate the release schedule. Once we have more definite information you'll be the first to hear. Thank you for your time and patience! 

 

Hi Sander

 

Sorry, but the first release date of the firmware which "works" (a little bit) was in December 2019, 3-4 months after the start of the sale (ok, this was withdrawn again in September, few days after start). Since December 2019, there was one small fix of the firmware (5.5.12). 

 

Hey: What do you do? You're selling a product that doesn't work the way you sold it. Isn't that just a fraud to us customers`?!? And the Pro Bundle as a worth of over 10'000...

 

The idea is great but the actual status isn't.

 

Roland

[SandervG 1,521]

@Roli4711, It works. There are a lot of happy customers. And there is also a lot of nuance you are overlooking that differentiates 'not working / a fraud' from improving a product through optimisations. Thank you for your comment, let's keep a constructive conversation. 

[Roli4711 11]

1 hour ago, SandervG said:

@Roli4711, It works. There are a lot of happy customers. And there is also a lot of nuance you are overlooking that differentiates 'not working / a fraud' from improving a product through optimisations. Thank you for your comment, let's keep a constructive conversation. 

 

Nice comment. I ask me, why there are a lot of threads, that the feed doesn't work if there are a lot of happy customers. I think too that the idea is great. But it doesn't working properly! And this since I have my S5 (September 2019).

[danieledge123 4]

Fraud is a bit strong. I think the message is as clear as this thread can make it and has as such run its course. 

 

The s5 is, in reality, an impressive piece of kit, let down in frustratingly minor ways. I agree with the sentiment that we should keep feedback constructive.

 

I genuinely hope Ultimaker take note of the feedback and focus effort on what are technically minor issues in comparison to the engineering achievement that went in to the printer itself.

 

The price point, demands a certain level of polish and I genuinely hope that Ultimaker resolve these software issues promptly and apply the same engineering focus and attention to the software as has clearly been applied to the hardware.

 

.. I write this having just taken a very impressive and flawless print off the print bed.

 

I trust Ultimaker understand the frustration and the customer perspective and beyond this, the only meaningful update to this thread at this point is the confirmation from Ultimaker of a firmware update that addresses both the network connectivity issue and the camera reliability promptly

 

Happy printing