2 notes
Posted 1, April, 2014

Extending the PS4 Camera Cable

It seems there is a rather large community of PlayStation 4 owners who find the length of their camera cable rather limiting. There have been some seemingly unsuccessful attempts to modify the camera to a USB3 header and then extending it with an active extension cable. 

This 5 meter extension cable actually works great with my computer and the camera, at least with the limited functionality that is currently available. However, the PS4 refused to display video with the camera connected directly to the extension cable. At least the camera turned on briefly but power would quickly shut off. The exercise seemed futile… until extending a USB3 hub.

image

The above picture shows an active USB3 extension cable connected to a powered USB3 hub, and then the PS4 camera plugged into that hub. There is a blue light on the hub indicating that power is being supplied to the camera, and a red light on the camera indicating that it is recording. Before attempting this process I made sure the camera worked when plugged directly into the front USB ports. The PS4 may need to be powered cycled to properly recognize the camera.

Hopefully soon Sony or some third party will release an extension cable, or even better AUX to USB3 converters. In the meantime good luck and happy hacking!

4 notes
Posted 14, March, 2014

More photos of cable wiring, to clarify how the PS4 camera cable might be spliced onto a USB 3.0 cable.

Top photo shows how the ground drains and shield are individually soldered, and the matching wires soldered with heat shrink tubing for insulation.

Bottom left photo shows the individual communication pairs plus ground drain insulated with electrical tape, with an outer layer of protective tape removed.

Bottom right photo shows how the camera cable would be wired to a USB 3.0 female B header.

Remember to watch the overall cable length. USB 3.0 standards say 3 meters (9.8 feet) or less, but there is likely to be some signal loss with cable modification so shorter is better.

Drivers are still in the process of being developed, so please avoid modifying your camera unless you are willing to assist in that process.

Posted 1, February, 2014

Initialized PS4 Camera in Linux

$ sudo lsusb -v -d 05a9:058a

Bus 004 Device 002: ID 05a9:058a OmniVision Technologies, Inc. 
Device Descriptor:
  bLength                18
  bDescriptorType         1
  bcdUSB               3.00
  bDeviceClass          239 Miscellaneous Device
  bDeviceSubClass         2 ?
  bDeviceProtocol         1 Interface Association
  bMaxPacketSize0         9
  idVendor           0x05a9 OmniVision Technologies, Inc.
  idProduct          0x058a 
  bcdDevice            1.00
  iManufacturer           1 Omnivision Technologies, Inc.
  iProduct                2 USB Camera-OV580
  iSerial                 0 
  bNumConfigurations      1
  Configuration Descriptor:
    bLength                 9
    bDescriptorType         2
    wTotalLength          311
    bNumInterfaces          2
    bConfigurationValue     1
    iConfiguration          0 
    bmAttributes         0x80
      (Bus Powered)
    MaxPower              128mA
    Interface Association:
      bLength                 8
      bDescriptorType        11
      bFirstInterface         0
      bInterfaceCount         2
      bFunctionClass         14 Video
      bFunctionSubClass       3 Video Interface Collection
      bFunctionProtocol       0 
      iFunction               2 USB Camera-OV580
    Interface Descriptor:
      bLength                 9
      bDescriptorType         4
      bInterfaceNumber        0
      bAlternateSetting       0
      bNumEndpoints           0
      bInterfaceClass        14 Video
      bInterfaceSubClass      1 Video Control
      bInterfaceProtocol      0 
      iInterface              2 USB Camera-OV580
      VideoControl Interface Descriptor:
        bLength                13
        bDescriptorType        36
        bDescriptorSubtype      1 (HEADER)
        bcdUVC               1.00
        wTotalLength           77
        dwClockFrequency      125.000000MHz
        bInCollection           1
        baInterfaceNr( 0)       1
      VideoControl Interface Descriptor:
        bLength                18
        bDescriptorType        36
        bDescriptorSubtype      2 (INPUT_TERMINAL)
        bTerminalID             1
        wTerminalType      0x0201 Camera Sensor
        bAssocTerminal          0
        iTerminal               0 
        wObjectiveFocalLengthMin      0
        wObjectiveFocalLengthMax      0
        wOcularFocalLength            0
        bControlSize                  3
        bmControls           0x0000000a
          Auto-Exposure Mode
          Exposure Time (Absolute)
      VideoControl Interface Descriptor:
        bLength                 9
        bDescriptorType        36
        bDescriptorSubtype      3 (OUTPUT_TERMINAL)
        bTerminalID             2
        wTerminalType      0x0101 USB Streaming
        bAssocTerminal          0
        bSourceID               3
        iTerminal               0 
      VideoControl Interface Descriptor:
        bLength                11
        bDescriptorType        36
        bDescriptorSubtype      5 (PROCESSING_UNIT)
      Warning: Descriptor too short
        bUnitID                 3
        bSourceID               1
        wMaxMultiplier          0
        bControlSize            2
        bmControls     0x0000165f
          Brightness
          Contrast
          Hue
          Saturation
          Sharpness
          White Balance Temperature
          Gain
          Power Line Frequency
          White Balance Temperature, Auto
        iProcessing             2 USB Camera-OV580
        bmVideoStandards     0x1a
          NTSC - 525/60
          SECAM - 625/50
          NTSC - 625/50
      VideoControl Interface Descriptor:
        bLength                26
        bDescriptorType        36
        bDescriptorSubtype      6 (EXTENSION_UNIT)
        bUnitID                 4
        guidExtensionCode         {8a0f88dd-ba1c-5449-8a25-f7875967f0f7}
        bNumControl             1
        bNrPins                 1
        baSourceID( 0)          1
        bControlSize            1
        bmControls( 0)       0x01
        iExtension              2 USB Camera-OV580
    Interface Descriptor:
      bLength                 9
      bDescriptorType         4
      bInterfaceNumber        1
      bAlternateSetting       0
      bNumEndpoints           0
      bInterfaceClass        14 Video
      bInterfaceSubClass      2 Video Streaming
      bInterfaceProtocol      0 
      iInterface              0 
      VideoStreaming Interface Descriptor:
        bLength                            14
        bDescriptorType                    36
        bDescriptorSubtype                  1 (INPUT_HEADER)
        bNumFormats                         1
        wTotalLength                      177
        bEndPointAddress                  129
        bmInfo                              0
        bTerminalLink                       2
        bStillCaptureMethod                 0
        bTriggerSupport                     0
        bTriggerUsage                       0
        bControlSize                        1
        bmaControls( 0)                    27
      VideoStreaming Interface Descriptor:
        bLength                            27
        bDescriptorType                    36
        bDescriptorSubtype                  4 (FORMAT_UNCOMPRESSED)
        bFormatIndex                        1
        bNumFrameDescriptors                3
        guidFormat                            {59555932-0000-1000-8000-00aa00389b71}
        bBitsPerPixel                      16
        bDefaultFrameIndex                  1
        bAspectRatioX                       0
        bAspectRatioY                       0
        bmInterlaceFlags                 0x00
          Interlaced stream or variable: No
          Fields per frame: 2 fields
          Field 1 first: No
          Field pattern: Field 1 only
          bCopyProtect                      0
      VideoStreaming Interface Descriptor:
        bLength                            42
        bDescriptorType                    36
        bDescriptorSubtype                  5 (FRAME_UNCOMPRESSED)
        bFrameIndex                         1
        bmCapabilities                   0x00
          Still image unsupported
        wWidth                           3448
        wHeight                           808
        dwMinBitRate                  5571968
        dwMaxBitRate                167159040
        dwMaxVideoFrameBufferSize     5571968
        dwDefaultFrameInterval         166666
        bFrameIntervalType                  4
        dwFrameInterval( 0)            166666
        dwFrameInterval( 1)            333333
        dwFrameInterval( 2)            666666
        dwFrameInterval( 3)           1250000
      VideoStreaming Interface Descriptor:
        bLength                            46
        bDescriptorType                    36
        bDescriptorSubtype                  5 (FRAME_UNCOMPRESSED)
        bFrameIndex                         2
        bmCapabilities                   0x00
          Still image unsupported
        wWidth                           1748
        wHeight                           408
        dwMinBitRate                  1426368
        dwMaxBitRate                 42791040
        dwMaxVideoFrameBufferSize     1426368
        dwDefaultFrameInterval          83333
        bFrameIntervalType                  5
        dwFrameInterval( 0)             83333
        dwFrameInterval( 1)            166666
        dwFrameInterval( 2)            333333
        dwFrameInterval( 3)            666666
        dwFrameInterval( 4)           1250000
      VideoStreaming Interface Descriptor:
        bLength                            42
        bDescriptorType                    36
        bDescriptorSubtype                  5 (FRAME_UNCOMPRESSED)
        bFrameIndex                         3
        bmCapabilities                   0x00
          Still image unsupported
        wWidth                            898
        wHeight                           200
        dwMinBitRate                   359200
        dwMaxBitRate                 10776000
        dwMaxVideoFrameBufferSize      359200
        dwDefaultFrameInterval          41666
        bFrameIntervalType                  4
        dwFrameInterval( 0)             41666
        dwFrameInterval( 1)             83333
        dwFrameInterval( 2)            166666
        dwFrameInterval( 3)            333333
      VideoStreaming Interface Descriptor:
        bLength                             6
        bDescriptorType                    36
        bDescriptorSubtype                 13 (COLORFORMAT)
        bColorPrimaries                     1 (BT.709,sRGB)
        bTransferCharacteristics            1 (BT.709)
        bMatrixCoefficients                 4 (SMPTE 170M (BT.601))
    Interface Descriptor:
      bLength                 9
      bDescriptorType         4
      bInterfaceNumber        1
      bAlternateSetting       1
      bNumEndpoints           1
      bInterfaceClass        14 Video
      bInterfaceSubClass      2 Video Streaming
      bInterfaceProtocol      0 
      iInterface              0 
      Endpoint Descriptor:
        bLength                 7
        bDescriptorType         5
        bEndpointAddress     0x81  EP 1 IN
        bmAttributes            5
          Transfer Type            Isochronous
          Synch Type               Asynchronous
          Usage Type               Data
        wMaxPacketSize     0x0400  1x 1024 bytes
        bInterval               1
        bMaxBurst              15
        Mult                    2
Binary Object Store Descriptor:
  bLength                 5
  bDescriptorType        15
  wTotalLength           22
  bNumDeviceCaps          2
  USB 2.0 Extension Device Capability:
    bLength                 7
    bDescriptorType        16
    bDevCapabilityType      2
    bmAttributes   0x00000002
      Link Power Management (LPM) Supported
  SuperSpeed USB Device Capability:
    bLength                10
    bDescriptorType        16
    bDevCapabilityType      3
    bmAttributes         0x00
    wSpeedsSupported   0x000c
      Device can operate at High Speed (480Mbps)
      Device can operate at SuperSpeed (5Gbps)
    bFunctionalitySupport   2
      Lowest fully-functional device speed is High Speed (480Mbps)
    bU1DevExitLat          10 micro seconds
    bU2DevExitLat          32 micro seconds
Device Status:     0x0f0c
  (Bus Powered)
  U1 Enabled
  U2 Enabled
Posted 7, November, 2013

The two cameras can be used together for depth-sensing of objects in its field of vision, akin to the Xbox 360’s Kinect peripheral. Alternatively, one of the cameras can be used for generating the video image, with the other used for motion tracking. Wikipedia

Posted 7, November, 2013

PS4 Camera Hacking for Fun and Profit

Nearly three years ago open source drivers were released for the Kinect not more than a week after its release. The PS4 camera promises to be even more versatile in its modes of operation, from depth sensing, to image tracking, and 3D video.

The camera auxiliary port on the PS4 is actually a USB 3.0 only port, and by modifying the cable of the camera it is possible to connect it to a computer using USB 3.0. 

Only a little bit of information is available on the chipset, it appears to be an OmniVision 580 ASIC chip, although there is currently no documentation on their site pointing to such a thing. It appears that Digikey is selling their product, but also no links to a datasheet.

Hopefully with the release of the PS4 next week the USB 3.0 traffic can be analysed and a driver quickly developed. Anything that you can do to help contribute towards that effort is greatly appreciated.