Member Avatar for Azmah

I am looking at getting into all this Kinect technology and bringing my ideas to life. I have combed the web for connecting Kinect, yet it seems that they speak of Kinect having a USB and mine doesn't. I got mine in a bundle, it has the 'orange tipped cable' (I couldn't find it's proper name but I do know it's function). By the way, no pun intended.

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— the “orange‑tipped” lead you describe is almost certainly the Kinect’s proprietary power/data cable (the Xbox bundles didn’t use a standard USB‑A plug). That cable won’t plug straight into a PC USB port: the original (v1) Kinect needs an external power/USB breakout (often sold as the “Kinect AC/power adapter”) and the Kinect v2 (Xbox One) requires Microsoft’s USB‑3.0 adapter kit to work on Windows. See Microsoft’s SDK notes about powering the sensor and required USB bus. (Kinect SDK v1.8 download / install notes).

Quick identification and what each needs: the first‑generation Kinect (Xbox 360 / Kinect v1) ships with a thick proprietary lead and a separate power brick/breakout; the Kinect for Xbox One (v2) uses a different connector and only works on PCs with the official “Kinect Adapter for Windows” (USB 3.0 + wall power); the modern Azure Kinect developer kit is a different product entirely. Microsoft documented the v2 adapter and SDK when it was released. (Microsoft blog on SDK 2.0 & adapter, Kinect overview).

Software/drivers: on Windows use the matching Kinect runtime/SDK (v1.x with v1 sensors, v2/SDK 2.0 for v2). For non‑Windows or alternate drivers, the OpenKinect projects provide libfreenect (v1) and libfreenect2 (v2) implementations and extensive troubleshooting/build docs. These projects are the safest way to run a Kinect on Linux/macOS or when Microsoft drivers aren’t available. (libfreenect, libfreenect2).

Practical troubleshooting notes: always plug the Kinect into its wall power before connecting the USB, use a dedicated USB root (no passive hubs), and for v2 prefer motherboard USB3 ports with Intel/NEC controllers (many third‑party USB3 controllers can be flaky). If the sensor isn’t seen, install the correct SDK/runtime first, then replug and check Device Manager for “Xbox NUI”/Kinect entries; libfreenect2’s docs include common USB/driver tips for v2. (libfreenect2 USB notes).

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Member Avatar for AndreRet

Try looking here, might contain what you need. Search for serial cable...

Member Avatar for Azmah

Thankyou so much, AndreRet :D

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