42 replies to this topic

[astrovienna]

Since a few posts have asked about this, I wrote up a step-by-step description of how I use WJ to derotate long videos. If you notice any mistakes or have any suggestions, please let me know and I'll try to modify the instructions. I'll keep the current version on Google drive, which should be publicly accessible.

I would make a video tutorial, but a) I don't know how and b) I'd like to avoid becoming even more like that guy in You Suck at Photoshop.

Kevin


WinJupos Derotation of Video Frames (the “long video technique”)

1. Capture: I take 8 minutes per channel on Saturn and 5 minutes on Jupiter. Best to take SER videos, as WinJupos doesn't seem to like AVIs much greater than 2GB. (New versions of WJ may not have problems with large AVIs - I haven’t tried.) Important: To avoid a ton of data entry work later on, capture your videos using WinJupos file-naming conventions. This can be selected in Firecapture under Settings>Capture Settings.

2. AutoStakkert: stack the first video (or whichever one was best) normally.

3. WinJupos: Recording>Image Measurement. Open the image created in Step 2. Make sure the date and time are correct (these will auto-populate if you used WJ file-naming conventions). Click the Adj. sub-tab, and click Outline Frame>Automatic Detection. Make sure the outline of the planet matches up with the orientation - especially that the poles are correct, otherwise your videos will be super-rotated, not derotated! You can manipulate the outline with the n, p, backspace, page up, and page down keys of your keyboard. Get close, but don’t agonize over this, as high precision doesn’t seem to be necessary. WJ simply uses this step to determine the planet’s orientation and size so that it knows how to derotate the videos.

4. WinJupos: Tools>Derotation of video streams. Select the video, enter the start and end times (these fields will auto-populate if the video was captured using WinJupos file-naming conventions). Enter the image measurement file you created in Step 3. Select Corrected Video, and Start. WinJupos will create a new - derotated - video in the same folder. The derotation will be centered on the middle of the time period of the original video (the "reference time").

Repeat for each video. You can use the same image measurement file for all your videos as long as the planet didn't change orientation during the night, since all WinJupos uses it for is to detect the planet’s orientation and size. (Grischa has confirmed this.)

If you have a lot of videos to derotate, WinJupos can be run in batch mode. Instead of clicking Start after you set up each video for derotation, click the Save button and the data for that video will save as a DRS file. When all your videos have DRS files, go to the Administration tab, and select Macro. Click the “...” button and create a file (I just call it “batch”) and click Open. Click Edit, Insert, and select the DRS files you created. Click OK, then Start. WJ will start the derotation process. I find derotation of each 7-8GB video can take an hour. My processing machine is quite old, however.

5. AutoStakkert: Process the derotated videos normally.

The next two steps are only for mono cameras, as they deal with the RGB merge.

6. WinJupos: Recording>Image Measurement. Create new image measurement files for each image created by AutoStakkert. Remember that the time for each image is the center time of the video it was created from. Again, the fields will auto-populate if your original video was captured with WinJupos file-naming conventions.

7. WinJupos: Tools>Derotation of RGB frames. Enter the .ims file for each color, and compile. If you get color fringes or limb sparkles in your output image, try setting the LD (limb darkening) value to less than 1.0 for the color channel that shows a fringe. This may or may not help. I usually just clean up any fringe in Photoshop.

[StrangeDejavu]

Excellent post astrovienna, thanks for taking the time to put it together.

I think this deserves a sticky, or at least a mention in the Links of Interest thread.

[ToxMan]

Thanks, Kevin. This will be very handy. I'll take longer videos next time. Looks like we might be in for a run of good seeing.

Paul

[Mike Phillips]

I might be nervous nelly here, but the risk of loosing or corrupting a single run is too much for me to think about. I always shoot short runs very frequently instead!

Mike

[Gendo]

Thanks Kevin!!

If not a sticky, a mod could add a link to this thread in that "Best Threads in Solar System Imaging & Processing " stickied thread.

[Sunspot]

Ok...here's a question. Is there anyway to change the output location and filename for a derotated video? Also, I notice that the derotated video is stored as a .ser file. Is that the only option?

Thanks!
Paul M.

[DesertRat]

Good work Kevin!

You might mention the options under Program -> Preferences -> Options as they relate to the stacking process. Ser format v3 should be supported by Autostakkert soon I suspect.

Glenn

[astrovienna]

Ok...here's a question. Is there anyway to change the output location and filename for a derotated video? Also, I notice that the derotated video is stored as a .ser file. Is that the only option?

Thanks!
Paul M.

I don't think so, Paul. Those appear to be editable fields, but you can't actually change anything in them, including the output format. It may be that WJ outputs in the same format as the original video, but I haven't tested it to see.

Kevin

[astrovienna]

Good work Kevin!

You might mention the options under Program -> Preferences -> Options as they relate to the stacking process. Ser format v3 should be supported by Autostakkert soon I suspect.

Glenn

To tell the truth, I've never used either of the options, and having looked at them, I'm not really sure what they mean. Do you know?

Kevin

[thonybear]

Thank you for your great tip to WJP users!

[DesertRat]

The video formats supported from the WJ manual are shown as below.

Looks like WJ will output separate RGB channels for bayer cameras. Unitl Ser format 3 is widely supported anyway.

I usually have ser video, converted from avi or a native capture, for derotation of video streams.

Glenn

Attached Thumbnails

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[astrovienna]

I might be nervous nelly here, but the risk of loosing or corrupting a single run is too much for me to think about. I always shoot short runs very frequently instead!

Mike

Oh, that's not a problem for me, because when I screw up I go big and wreck the entire night! Like, say, when my filter wheel malfunctions and I get no blue data.

Kevin

[Mike Phillips]

I might be nervous nelly here, but the risk of loosing or corrupting a single run is too much for me to think about. I always shoot short runs very frequently instead!

Mike

Oh, that's not a problem for me, because when I screw up I go big and wreck the entire night! Like, say, when my filter wheel malfunctions and I get no blue data.

Kevin

Haha! Seriously I don't mind sharing with anyone for their own http://creativecommo...s/by-nc-nd/4.0/
CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 style usage. IE, give credit and don't sell my stuff!

I just wanna know who's gonna bail me out when my stuff goes wrong?!

I probably spent too many years designing Enterprise Data, Voice Video networks for redundancy and fail-over. I'm surprised I don't own a second laptop and cfw for my other scopes yet!

Mike

[StrangeDejavu]

Best to take SER videos, as WinJupos doesn't seem to like AVIs much greater than 2GB. (New versions of WJ may not have problems with large AVIs - I haven’t tried.)

Bumping this topic to confirm the newest WinJupos handles large AVIs now. I just derotated a 37,000 frame red channel AVI at 4.42 GB with no hiccups. It took a 30 minutes, but it was seamless.

[astrovienna]

Good to know, Mitch. Thanks for the update.

I just wanna know who's gonna bail me out when my stuff goes wrong?!

You know you can always call on me, Mike! Don't count on my data being up to yours, though.

Kevin

[Space Cowboy]

I always thought you had to stack the reference frame (for measurement) from the mid section of each video or have I missed something?

[MvZ]

(expect a beta version of AS!2 that supports the new Ser V3 format in two days)

[astrovienna]

I always thought you had to stack the reference frame (for measurement) from the mid section of each video or have I missed something?

I remember reading that advice years ago, but it's not necessary. The time of the reference frame is irrelevant to WJ - it only uses the ref frame to determine the size and orientation of the planet. I just stack an entire 5 minute SER in AS2 and use that. It doesn't even have to be a particularly good image, it just needs to give WJ some guidance.

Kevin

[Space Cowboy]

Thanks Kevin that makes life a lot easier as I had decided de-rotating videos was too much hassle compared to de-rotating images. I shall give the video method another bash especially now the latest WJ allows larger avi files.

[StrangeDejavu]

I just derotated a 37,000 frame red channel AVI at 4.42 GB with no hiccups.

Here's the final product using Kevin's guide step-by-step. Each video was six minutes long, and ~5GB each. Final RGB is 33,200 stacked frames.

[astrovienna]

That looks good, Mitch. Good job cleaning up the edge. Sometimes I'm just too lazy to bother!

Kevin

[Bruce Waters]

Hi Kevin (and others),

This was a very useful tutorial and allowed me to get my first decent Winjupos image from a series of PIPP joined AVIs.

However, being a newbie, I must have missed something recently as Winjupos no longer saves avis for me but only sers.

At first, I thought it was my most recent files so I went back to my original AVIs which alloed me a winjupos procssed file that was an AVI.

When I reran that file, Winjupos only seems to export in ser.

Since I am using an ASI 120MC, I would rather not have to go through the individual processing if I didn't have to.

Any thoughts about what I have missed?

Thanks,

Bruce

[astrovienna]

Since I am using an ASI 120MC, I would rather not have to go through the individual processing if I didn't have to.

Bruce, if you check the post from Glenn (DesertRat) above, you'll see the output format options. It sounds like your merged AVI is over 2GB, and WJ by default outputs 3 SERs - one for each color - at that size. It sounds like you can set WJ to ouptut a single RGB SER, but I don't think Emil has implemented support for that format yet in AS2, though it's coming. For now, since AS2 can run in batch mode, you can dump all three SERs into it and it will run without user intervention. You'll then need to re-merge the colors in WJ with Derotation of RGB Frames.

Kevin

[Bruce Waters]

Thanks Kevin,

I will give that a try tonight.

Cheers,

Bruce

[hombrejota]

I need your help guys!

I make all steps described in Astrovienna's guide in order to derotate a 5 minutes-3,3 GB RGB video in AVI format.

I measure an image obtained from processing the video with Autostakker 2. (Winjupo's tutorial says that must be from a part of maximun 2 minutes of the video. I have made it from the entire video. Is this important? Why?)

After measurement, I open the "De-rotation video streams" opcion in the menu and I complete all the steps listed by Astrovienna. Finally, when I click F12... nothing happens. F12 icon does not change and derotation does not start.

 What am I doing wrong? This is making me crazy!