Camera Initialization Issue on Jetson Orin Nano CAM0 Port

Issue Overview

Users are experiencing difficulties initializing a camera on the CAM0 port of the Nvidia Jetson Orin Nano development board. While camera initialization on CAM1 is successful, attempts to enable a camera on CAM0 result in error messages and failure to capture video. The issue occurs during the setup process when trying to use the gst-launch-1.0 command to initialize the camera on /dev/video0.

The error messages indicate problems with the VI (Video Input) channel and NVCSI (NVIDIA Camera Serial Interface) stream initialization. Users observe timeout errors, NULL VI channel messages, and failures in opening and closing CSI streams.

Possible Causes

1. Incorrect CSI Port Configuration: The initial setup may have been attempting to use the wrong CSI port for CAM0, leading to initialization failures.

2. Lane Polarity Issues: Orin Nano has a specific requirement for lane polarity on CSI0 D1 and CSI1 D0 P/N, which may not have been properly configured in the device tree.

3. Limited Lane Support: Orin Nano may have limitations on the number of lanes supported for CAM0, potentially causing issues with cameras requiring more lanes.

4. Device Tree Misconfiguration: The provided device tree configuration might not accurately reflect the hardware setup or required settings for the specific camera model being used.

5. Driver or Firmware Issues: Underlying problems with camera drivers or board firmware could contribute to the initialization failures.

Troubleshooting Steps, Solutions & Fixes

1. Correct CSI Port Configuration:

   • Modify the CSI port-index in the device tree to "1" for CAM0.
   • Example configuration:

     rpi22_ap1302_csi_in0: endpoint@0 {
         port-index = <1>;
         bus-width = <2>;
         remote-endpoint = <&rpi22_ap1302_out0>;
     };
     

2. Lane Polarity Configuration:

   • Add the lane_polarity property in the device tree to address the P/N swizzling on CSI0 D1 and CSI1 D0.
   • Refer to the reference device tree file: $public_sources/kernel_src/hardware/nvidia/platform/t23x/p3768/kernel-dts/cvb/tegra234-camera-rbpcv2-imx219.dtsi

3. Verify Lane Support:

   • Confirm that your camera’s lane configuration is compatible with Orin Nano’s capabilities.
   • Note that CAM0 may only support 2-lane cameras, while 4-lane support is currently limited to CAM1 (specifically for IMX477).

4. Review and Update Device Tree:

   • Carefully review the entire device tree configuration for tegra-capture-vi and nvcsi.
   • Ensure that the number of channels, port indices, and bus widths are correctly set for your specific camera setup.
   • Double-check that remote endpoints are properly linked between VI and CSI nodes.

5. Check Virtual Channel Support:

   • Orin Nano supports up to 16 virtual channels (VC).
   • If using multiple cameras on a single CSI port, ensure proper configuration of virtual channels in your device tree and camera setup.

6. Update Drivers and Firmware:

   • Ensure you are using the latest Jetson SDK (JetPack) version for your Orin Nano.
   • Check for any available updates to camera drivers or board firmware.

7. Diagnostic Commands:

   • Use the following command to check camera detection:

     ls /dev/video*
     

   • Verify camera properties:

     v4l2-ctl --all -d /dev/video0
     

8. Alternative Initialization Method:

   • If gst-launch-1.0 fails, try using the nvgstcapture-1.0 tool provided by NVIDIA:

     nvgstcapture-1.0 --camsrc=0 --mode=2
     

9. Consult Documentation:

   • Refer to the "Jetson Virtual Channel with GMSL Camera Framework" developer guide for advanced configurations and troubleshooting.

10. Community Support:

    • If issues persist, consider posting detailed logs and your updated device tree configuration to the NVIDIA Developer Forums for further assistance.

Remember that support for 4-lane camera configuration on CAM0 is currently limited and may require future updates from NVIDIA. For the most up-to-date information on hardware support and configurations, always refer to the latest Jetson Orin Nano Series Module Data Sheet and developer documentation.