Failed to Connect Camera on Jetson Orin Nano Dev Kit via NoMachine

Issue Overview

Users are experiencing difficulties connecting and operating a camera on the Nvidia Jetson Orin Nano Developer Kit when accessing the device through NoMachine. The specific problem occurs when attempting to run the camera using gst-launch from NoMachine. This issue is affecting users of the Jetson Orin Nano Dev Kit running Ubuntu 20.04 with JetPack 5.1.2 and an IMX219-160 Camera.

The error manifests as a failure to create a FrameConsumer, resulting in an invalid thread state. This prevents the camera from initializing properly and causes the pipeline to terminate prematurely. The problem has been persistent for some users, lasting up to 5 days without a clear resolution.

Possible Causes

1. NoMachine Configuration: The remote desktop software may be interfering with the proper initialization of the camera hardware or the GStreamer pipeline.

2. Driver Compatibility: There might be incompatibilities between the camera drivers and the specific JetPack version or Ubuntu distribution.

3. Hardware Issues: The camera or its connection to the Jetson board could be faulty or improperly configured.

4. Software Conflicts: Other software running on the system might be conflicting with the camera initialization process.

5. Permission Issues: The user running the gst-launch command through NoMachine may not have the necessary permissions to access the camera hardware.

6. EGL/OpenGL Issues: The error mentions EGL contexts, which could indicate problems with graphics drivers or OpenGL support in the remote session.

Troubleshooting Steps, Solutions & Fixes

1. Verify Basic Camera Functionality:

   • Use V4L2 IOCTL to check if the camera is working correctly without GStreamer or NoMachine.
   • Run the following command in a terminal:

     v4l2-ctl --list-devices
     

   • If the camera is detected, try capturing an image:

     v4l2-ctl --device=/dev/video0 --set-fmt-video=width=1920,height=1080,pixelformat=MJPG --stream-mmap --stream-count=1 --stream-to=test.jpg
     

2. Check Camera Permissions:

   • Ensure that the user has the necessary permissions to access the camera:

     sudo usermod -aG video $USER
     

   • Log out and log back in for the changes to take effect.

3. Test Without NoMachine:

   • Try running the gst-launch command directly on the Jetson device without using NoMachine to isolate whether the issue is related to the remote desktop software.

4. Update JetPack and Camera Drivers:

   • Check for any available updates to JetPack or camera drivers:

     sudo apt update
     sudo apt upgrade
     

5. Verify GStreamer Installation:

   • Ensure that all necessary GStreamer packages are installed:

     sudo apt install gstreamer1.0-tools gstreamer1.0-plugins-good gstreamer1.0-plugins-bad gstreamer1.0-plugins-ugly
     

6. Check for Conflicting Processes:

   • Use the ps and lsof commands to check for any processes that might be using the camera or interfering with its operation.

7. Examine System Logs:

   • Check system logs for any relevant error messages:

     journalctl -b | grep -i camera
     journalctl -b | grep -i gstreamer
     

8. Test with Different GStreamer Pipeline:

   • Try a simpler GStreamer pipeline to isolate the issue:

     gst-launch-1.0 v4l2src device=/dev/video0 ! videoconvert ! autovideosink
     

9. Investigate EGL/OpenGL Support:

   • Check if EGL and OpenGL are properly supported in the NoMachine session:

     glxinfo | grep "OpenGL version"
     

10. Consult Jetson Developer Guide:

    • Review the Jetson Developer Guide for any specific instructions or known issues related to camera usage on the Orin Nano.

11. Contact NVIDIA Support:

    • If the issue persists after trying these steps, consider reaching out to NVIDIA support or posting in the Jetson category of the NVIDIA Developer forums for more specialized assistance.

Remember to document the results of each troubleshooting step to help identify the root cause of the issue. If a particular solution works, consider sharing it in the NVIDIA Developer forums to help other users facing similar problems.