Core hardware requirements

Computer hardware

Minimum specifications

Depthkit Core requires the following minimum specification to run successfully:

• Intel Core i7 Skylake (i7-6XXX) Quad Core CPU or better/newer
• Memory: 8 GB of RAM or more
• Any of the following graphics cards:
  • Radeon Pro 555 or AMD Ryzen 5 APU or faster
  • Nvidia GeForce 1060 or faster
• A dedicated USB 3 port for the sensor

We recommend Windows 10 with the latest updates. Depthkit is incompatible with the macOS operating system, but if you have an Intel-based Mac, you can install Windows on your Mac using the Boot Camp Utility - Macs which use Apple Silicon chips are unspoorted.

Depth sensors

Depthkit is designed to access a variety of hardware to capture volumetric depth information. Our recommended sensor is the Microsoft Azure Kinect.
Supported Sensors include:

• Microsoft Azure Kinect DK
• Microsoft Kinect for Windows V2 / Kinect for Xbox One + Kinect for Windows adapter

We have experimental support for Intel RealSense D400 Series as we have observed stability issues as well as lower than acceptable data quality. Please use at your own risk and not in a critical production setting.

Experimental Support

• Intel RealSense D435
• Intel RealSense D435i
• Intel RealSense D415

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Due to the experimental support of RealSense depth cameras, we strongly suggest that you capture with the Kinect until further development.

Microsoft Azure Kinect

The Microsoft Azure Kinect offers some great features:

• High resolution depth
• High resolution and quality video
• Manual control of white balance and exposure settings
• Selectable field of view

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Recommended Depth Mode

640x576 Narrow raw provides maximum depth resolution and maximum quality at the highest available frame rate.

Hardware & Power Requirements

Due to the impressive video resolutions available with the Azure Kinect, the sensor may require a more powerful computer if recording above 1920x1080. Beyond requiring a sufficiently powered machine, Azure Kinect also has some restrictions on its USB compatibility. See details on hardware recommendations in Microsoft's Azure Kinect documentation.

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Always Test Your Hardware Before You Shoot

There are many variables with performance across different hardware. While we try our best to give you the best recommendations, your results my vary. There is no better guarantee than testing all your hardware prior to going into a production.

USB Ports & Controllers, & USB extenders

You'll need a compatible USB cable - we recommend the one which comes with the sensor - and a computer with a compatible USB port. See Sensor connection issues section for notes about compatible USB ports.

It's often convenient to extend the USB cable long distances between the capture computer and the sensor. See Sensor connection issues section for notes about compatible USB ports.

Microsoft Kinect for Windows v2

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Required

Installation of the Kinect For Windows SDK is required to run Depthkit with a Kinect.

Kinect for Windows V2 vs Kinect for Xbox One + Windows Adaptor

These two Kinects are identical in how they function. If using the Kinect for Xbox One you will just need the addition of the Kinect Adapter for Windows, which usually needs to be purchased separately.

Intel RealSense

❗️

Due to the experimental support of RealSense depth cameras, we strongly suggest that you capture with the Kinect until further development.

Depthkit provides experimental support for the RealSense D415, D435, and D435i. When we refer to experimental support, this means that we do not recommend relying on these sensors for production.

What RealSense depth camera is right for me?

The primary difference between these two models is the sensor's effective distance. They also have different resolutions, fields of view and the shutter types. Learn more about sensor differences. The D415 also has higher pixel density, making it more accurate than the D435. On the other hand, the D435 has a smaller, min z. This is the distance from the depth sensor to the object being captured. In other words, you can get closer to your subject with the D435.

Known Issues with RealSense

See the RealSense issues section for a list of known issues.