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Retiga 3000 USER MANUAL
Appendix A
USB Information
USB 2.0 Chipset Incompatibility Notice
The USB 2.0 hardware used in the Retiga 3000 cameras is incompatible with new computers using native Intel
USB 3.0 host controllers. A third party PCIe USB 3.0 card is required to resolve the problem.
Newer computers from leading manufacturers including Dell and HP predominately use Intel based internal
hardware and chipset controllers for managing the different components of the PC. Nearly every computer
now also includes the latest interface ports including USB 3.0 SuperSpeed. However, up until the Fall of 2013,
while USB 3.0 interface ports were being introduced onto laptops and desktop computers, the internal drivers
and host controllers were actually from companies outside of Intel including Renesas and Texas Instruments.
With these computers, QImaging USB 2.0 based cameras, including the Retiga 3000, were tested and qualified
to be fully functional.
However, starting in the Fall of 2013, Intel released a new version of their mother board chipsets (Series 7/
C216, Series 8/C220 and later) with a native Intel based USB 3.0 host controller (USB3 extensible host
controller, xHCI in the Device Manager). On these newer PCs, the Intel USB 3.0 host controller does not
communicate properly with some traditional USB 2.0 chipsets to the extent where data is not properly
delivered. This hardware incompatibility is unfortunately the cause of recently discovered bugs with the Retiga
3000 cameras and new Dell and HP computers. These problems manifest as black frames or failed frame
deliveries when attempting to view live or capture images and is only seen on PCs that have USB 3.0 ports and
native Intel host controllers.
If a PC or laptop has only USB 2.0 ports or USB 3.0 ports that use third party host controllers, the cameras
will be fully functional. However, most new computers purchased in 2014 will likely have Intel based host
controllers. To alleviate this problem, each Retiga 3000 camera now includes a StarTech 2 Port PCI Express
SuperSpeed USB 3.0 Card Adapter. This card installs an independent Renesas host controller which allows the
Retiga cameras to run properly even on newer desktop computers. As this workaround requires a separate USB
3.0 card, this solution is only viable for desktop computers and not laptops. For the immediate future, there is
no solution for laptop computers which are therefore are not supported by these cameras.
QImaging is currently working with the engineering team at Intel to further investigate this issue and will
continue to work towards a long term solution that will not require a third party USB card. For any further
questions and assistance, please contact QImaging technical support.
Summary of Contents for Retiga 3000
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