To fix the problem, the Speed and/or Packet Size parameters must be adjusted to account for the desired image settings. Perform the following steps to change these settings:
 

 

You also have the option to increase the Speed and/or Packet Size parameters manually. Selecting a Video Mode actually sets these two parameters appropriately for the given mode. Depending on the camera and driver type, you may be able to make adjustments to the Speed and Packet Size after selecting a Video Mode.

 

It is recommended that you set the Speed setting to the highest value possible for single camera acquisition.  This causes the driver to reserve as much bandwidth as possible for the camera, and allows image data to be transferred as quickly as possible.  Be careful not to set a packet size that is larger than what the speed setting will allow, or else the same error will occur.  Here is a table of the maximum packet size based on the camera speed:

 

Camera Speed	Maximum cumulative packet size
100 Mbps	1024 bytes
200 Mbps	2048 bytes
400 Mbps	4096 bytes
*800 Mbps	8192 bytes

There is also a nonstandard video mode (Format 7) that is available for certain cameras that allows for manual adjustment of the Speed and Packet Size. Note that Format 7 does not have a frame rate associated with it. To calculate the effective transfer rate, use the following equation:

TransferredFramesPerSecond = (BytesPerPacket * 8000) / (ImageWidth * ImageHeight * BytesPerPixel).

Please note that the time to transfer a frame is slightly faster than the time it takes to acquire a frame.

 

When acquiring from multiple cameras, it is important to carefully select the packet size and speed for each camera that is sharing the bandwidth. For example, an IEEE 1394a card is capable of packet sizes of up to 4096 bytes total at 400 Mbps across all cameras. This means that the total number of bytes per packet for each camera when added together should not exceed 4096, and the transfer rate will be up to 400 Mbps.  IEEE 1394b cameras and cards allow for 800 Mbps and 8192 byte packets.

To avoid receiving the Insufficient resources available for required video mode error when adding cameras to a card, ensure that the total number of bytes per packet does not exceed this limit.  By making adjustments to the video mode for each camera, it should be possible to reduce the total number of bytes per packet to a number less than or equal to the packet size limit.

 

To help find the most efficient packet size and speed settings will be for all of the cameras, a bandwidth calculator is attached to this document. The calculator simulates Firewire resource usage on the bus as cameras are added to the bus. Download and run this application to figure out what the settings should be for the cameras.

 

For more information on the Firewire bus, please refer to the related links below.