Skip to content

Solution Design

The Photobooth solution is basically a PC with a camera and a display.

The question is what PC, what camera and what display (and what sensors if needed). This will depend on:

  • The content being shown.
  • The space where it's installed.
  • The interactions being performed.
  • The target quality of the pictures or video being recorded.

  1. PC
    1. How "heavy" is the content being shown?
    2. Will it have video composition? HD Video? 4K video?
    3. Will it have 3D effects?
    4. What resolution are we capturing and processing?
  2. Camera
    1. What quality are we targeting?
    2. Which are the lighting conditions of the space?
    3. How far is the target (person photographed)?
  3. Display
    1. How large is the display?
    2. What technology? Flat TV? LED Wall?
  4. Space Design
    1. How large is the space?
    2. Will it include decoration?
    3. How far is the target (person photographed)?

Physical Setup: Camera

  1. The camera is to be mounted using a ¼" screw adapter or similar on top of the screen, pointing down.
    • It can also be mounted below or to the side, but the content has to adapt to this POV.

  1. There are plenty of adapters for the camera on the market depending on your space constraints.
    • Important: the aim of the camera can be fine-tuned to take perspective-correct pictures.
    • Important: the adapter has to be able to be stably locked once set.

  1. You can use a camera simulator tool to calculate the distances, field of view and correct placement of the camera to take the picture.

Camera Orientation

  1. Depending on the screen orientation (vertical vs portrait) the camera might be set up rotated 90º to acquire a larger photographic area.
  2. The image will arrive rotated to the PC software. Use either Broox Vision Node or OBS or similar Windows webcam software to rotate the image for use in the Broox Media Player.

USB3+ Cameras

  1. In case of USB 3+ cameras the USB cable should not exceed 1.5m and be of good quality.
    • Good quality USB3 extension cables with repeater can be used to extend the range.
    • Be cautioned though that there is much variability in cable quality. Check the Intel Realsense guides.
  2. Has to be connected to a USB3 port on the NUC or poor performance is to be expected.

Physical Setup: Monitor/TV Mounts

  1. Standard VESA TV mounts can be used for temporary setups.

  2. Those VESA mounts can also hide behind a small size Intel NUC for the video generation.

  3. For decorative purposes, a cardboard canvas can be put in front of the screen to "hide" the bowels of the montage.

  4. A hole must be provided for the camera, either in vertical or horizontal placement.

Physical Setup: PC Placement

  1. Usually the PC is bolted or zip-tied behind the monitor.

    • This ensures a minimal length of cable between PC, monitor, and most importantly camera.