Microsoft Kinect SDK v 1.0 Beta 2 Released

Microsoft has released the Beta 2 for Kinect SDK v1.0. The Microsoft Kinect for Windows SDK provides the native and managed APIs and the tools you need to develop Kinect enabled applications for Windows.

Version:
1.0.0.45
Date Published:
11/4/2011

Download From:

http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=27876 

Taken from Microsoft Download Center

Changes in this release

Since the Beta 1 Refresh release, the following changes have been made:

• Significant improvements to skeletal tracking:
  • Accuracy has been improved overall, resulting in more precise tracking.
  • Skeletal Frame delivery is faster, resulting in reduced latency.
  • Skeletal Tracking is now multi-threaded and can take advantage of multiple CPU cores.
  • When using 2 Kinects, developers can now specify which one is used for skeletal tracking.
• API support for detecting and managing device status changes, such as device unplugged, device plugged in, power unplugged, etc. Apps can reconnect to the Kinect device after it is plugged in, after the computer returns from suspend, etc. See the Shape Game sample code for the best example.
• Developers using the audio within WPF no longer need to access the DMO from a separate thread. You can create the KinectAudioSource on the UI thread and simplify your code.
• The driver, runtime, and SDK work correctly on the Windows 8 Developer Preview for desktop applications.
• The SDK can be used to build 64-bit applications. Previously, only 32-bit applications could be built.
• NuiImageBuffer has been replaced by INuiFrameTexture, defined in MSR_NuiImageCamera.h. It is no longer necessary to include the file NuiImageBuffer.h in your project.
• The SDK install structure and default location have changed. The install location is in the environment variable %KINECTSDK_DIR% which defaults to C:Program FilesMicrosoft SDKsKinectv1.0 Beta2
• Sample code changes:
  • There are is a new C# sample: KinectAudioDemo.
  • The samples have been updated. Also the C# samples use helpers, KinectWpfViewers, that may be useful in your apps.
  • The samples are now installed to Samples folder of the SDK directory, which defaults to C:Program FilesMicrosoft SDKsKinectv1.0 Beta2Samples. Unzip the samples file to view the source code. We recommend that you unzip them to somewhere outside of the Program Files directory.
• Driver and runtime stability and performance improvements, especially for the managed API layer.

Problems and known issues:

• When extracting the samples from the zip file, the sample source files are by default Read Only. If modifying them in Visual Studio, it will prompt to verify if it is ok to overwrite. In other text editors, to modify them, you may have to first change their file properties to read write.

• The Kinect for Windows drivers have encountered compatibility problems with certain USB host controllers, such as the Intel 5 Series/3400 Series Chipset USB host controller. On those hubs, you may encounter a problem, such as a Not Ready status, when plugging/unplugging a Kinect. If this happens to you, you may have to restart your app or reboot your computer.