Installation and Activation

Main Page → Motive Documentation → Installation and Activation

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Page Scope

This page explains Motive installation and activation process using software license information provided with your purchase.

Tutorial Video

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Motive installation and activation

Installation

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Host PC Requirements

Required PC specification may vary depending on the size of camera system. Generally, you will be required to use the recommended specs with a system with more than 24 cameras.

Recommended	Minimum
OS: Windows 7, 8, 10 (64-bit) Direct X9 CPU: 3.0 GHz i7 processor RAM: 16GB of memory	OS: Windows 7, 8, 10 (64-bit) Direct X9 CPU: 3.0 GHz i5 processor RAM: 4GB of memory

Download

Motive download link.

To install Motive, you must first download the Motive installer from our website. Follow the Downloads link under the Support page (http://optitrack.com/downloads/), and you will be able to find the newest version of Motive or the previous releases if needed. Both Motive: Body and Motive: Tracker shares same software installer.

Installation Steps

Note: If any of the required version of redistributables (.NET framework, Direct X, VC runtime) are missing from the machine, the installer will ask to install them along with Motive. Make sure to install these packages as well.

1. Run the Installer

When the download is complete, run the installer to initiate the installation process.

2. Install the USB Driver

If you are installing Motive for the first time, it will prompt to install the OptiTrack USB Driver (e.g. OptiTrack_USB_Driver_x64). Install this driver. This driver is required for all OptiTrack USB devices including the hardware key. After the driver has been installed, continue onto installing Motive.

3. Install Motive

Follow the installation prompts and install Motive in your desired file directory. We recommend installing the software in the default directory, C:\Program File\OptiTrack\Motive.

Installing Motive

4. OptiTrack Peripheral Module

At the Custom Setup section of the installation process, you will be asked to choose whether to install the Peripheral Devices along with Motive. If you plan to use force plates (AMTI and Bertec) or NI-DAQ devices along with motion capture systems, make sure the Peripheral Device is installed. If you are not going to be using these devices, you may skip to the next step.

Peripheral Module The Peripheral Devices, also called OptiTrack Peripheral Module, consists of the necessary plugins for integrating force plates (AMTI and Bertec) and NI-DAQ devices. If you decided to install the Peripheral Device, you will be prompted to install OptiTrack Peripherals Module along with NI-DAQmx driver at the end of Motive installation. Press Yes to install the plugins and the NI-DAQmx driver. This may take a few minutes to install.

NI-DAQmx version If you have NI-DAQmx already installed, please make sure it is version 15.1.1 or above. There is a known issue with the latest NI-DAQmx version (19.x) where it crashes Motive on startup. If you are using runtime driver version below 15.1.1 or above 19.x, it is recommended to reinstall the NI-DAQmx driver with the version provided with the Motive installer (15.1.1).

Peripheral module installation

NI-DAQmx driver installation

5. Finish Installation

This will install Motive. If you want to use additional plugins, visit the downloads page

Host PC Setup

Firewall / Anti-Virus

• Make sure all anti-virus software on the Host PC is allowing Motive.

• For Ethernet cameras, make sure the windows' firewall is configured to allow the camera network to be recognized. Disabling them entirely is another option.

High-Performance

Windows power saving mode limits CPU usage. In order to best utilize Motive, set this mode to the High Performance mode and remove the limitations. You can configure the High Performance Mode from Control Panel → Hardware and Sound → Power Options as shown in the image below.

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  Notification to enable the high performance mode.
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  Enabling the high performance mode.

License Activation

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Once you have installed Motive, next step is to activate the software using the provided license information and a USB Hardware Key.

License Types

There are three different types of Motive licenses: Motive: Body, Motive: Tracker, and Motive: Edit. Depending on the type of license you are activating with, different tracking features will be available within Motive. Motive: Body is a comprehensive license which provides all of the tracking features; including both rigid body tracking and skeleton tracking. Motive: Tracker is capable of tracking rigid bodies. Motive: Edit only features post-capture editing tools for processing captured tracking data.

For more information on different types of Motive licenses, check the software comparison table on our website.

Activation Steps

Motive splash screen: License activation.

Step 1. Launch Motive

First, launch Motive.

Step 2. Activate

The Motive splash screen will pop up and it will indicate that the license is not found. Click and open the license tool and fill out the following fields using provided license information. You will need the License Serial Number and License Hash from your order invoice and the Hardware Key Serial Number indicated on the USB hardware key. Once you have entered all the information, click Activate. If you have already activated the license before on another machine, make sure the same name is entered when activating.

Step 3. License File

If Motive is activated properly, a license file will be placed in the license folder. This folder can be accessed from the splash screen or by navigating to Start Menu → All Programs → OptiTrack → Motive → OptiTrack License Folder.

License Folder: C:\ProgramData\OptiTrack\License

Step 4. Hardware Key

Insert the corresponding USB Hardware Key. Matching hardware key will always be required to use Motive.

Step 5. Re-launch

Press Retry or re-launch Motive. Now the Motive license has been activated and you will be able to use Motive.

Duo/Trio Tracking Bars: Purchasing a license is not required when using a V120:Duo/Trio tracking bars, as the device itself acts as a USB Hardware Key and also includes a built-in perpetual Motive: Tracker license. When a Tracking Bar is connected to a PC, Motive will run without asking for license activation.

Online Activation Tool

The Motive License can also be activated from online using the Online License Activation tool. When you use the online License Activation Tool, you will receive the license file via email. In this case, you will have to place the file in the license folder. Once the license file is placed, insert the corresponding USB Hardware Key to use Motive.

License Length and Maintenance

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License Duration

The software license will be valid up to 1-year from the initial activation date, and you will be able to run any version of Motive that was released before the expiration date. When the license expires, you will no longer have access to the newer versions, but you can still use the older versions of Motive that were released up to the expiration date.

When your license expires, you can purchase License Maintenances, which will extend the license’s valid duration at a lower cost.

Activating Maintenance License

Activating maintenance license will place additional license DAT file onto the license folder. When the maintenance license is purchased, activate the maintenance license using the provided license information. This will place another license file alongside your original license. Both the original and maintenance license(s) files must be placed in the license folder for the software to be activated properly. If you are using a new computer, use the original license information to activate. This will populate all of the maintenance licenses in addition to the original license.

Notes on Maintenance License Activation Please note that licenses can be extended only up to 2 years into the future. In other words, the target license must be expiring within one year from the current date in order to activate another maintenance license.

Check License Status

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Check My License Tool

To check the status of your license, use Check My License tool on our website to monitor the license status. You will need a License Hash Code and a corresponding Device Serial Number (e.g. Hardware Key) to check the license status.

About Motive

You can also check the status of the activated license from the About Motive pop-up. This can be accessed in the splash screen when it fails to detect a valid license, or it can be accessed from the Help → About Motive menu in Motive.

Using Activated Software on a Different Computer

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OptiTrack software can be used on a new computer by reactivating the license, using the same license information. When reactivating, make sure to enter the same name information as before. After the license has been reactivated, the corresponding USB Hardware Key needs to be inserted into the PC in order to verify and run the software.

Another method of using the license is by copying the license file from the old computer to the new computer. The license file can be found in the OptiTrack License folder which can be accessed through Start Menu -> All programs -> OptiTrack -> Motive -> OptiTrack License Folder.

More Questions?

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General Questions

For more information on licensing of Motive, refer to the Licensing FAQs from the OptiTrack website:

• http://optitrack.com/support/faq/licensing.html

For more questions, contact our Support:

• http://optitrack.com/support/

Troubleshooting: Licensing

› Q : License Not Found

A:

• Use the license check tool to check the valid date of the license. Make sure the license can be used for the version of Motive you are trying to activate. Any licenses that were expired prior to the release date cannot be used to activate newer versions of Motive.
• First of all, if you haven't already done so, make sure you have activated the software license. If you have successfully activated the license, there should be a license file (DAT) placed under the license folder directory C:\ProgramData\OptiTrack\License
• Then, check to make sure the matching USB Hardware Key is plugged into the computer. You may want to open up the Windows Device Manager and check to make sure OptiTrack Hardware Key is listed under the NaturalPoint Devices category, as shown in the below image. The hardware key with matching serial number must be successfully detected in order to use Motive.
• If Motive still doesn't open up even with the license file and the hardware key set up properly, try deleting the existing license file and reactivating using the license information and the serial number on the hardware key.

› Q : OptiTrack USB Hardware Key is not detected by the device manager.

A:

• If OptiTrack Hardware Key is detected as an Unknown device, it means that the required USB is not installed properly. During the initial software installation, Motive prompts users to install the USB driver if it is not already on the machine. If the installation was interrupted in any way, it is possible that the driver might have been incorrectly set up. Try removing both Motive and OptiTrack USB Driver x64 from the controlled panel. Then, reinstall Motive and make sure it successfully goes through the USB driver installation process.
• Unplug the Hardware Key and try plugging it into a different USB port.

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