intermittent download of longer *.avi files in BYN

[Andante_2]

Hello,

My BYN setup intermittently downloads longer (see below) *.avi files using Planetary Mode. The data collection and "memory" wheel in BYN both time out, there is a wait of some 20-60s, and then sometimes there is a download, sometimes not. This happens whether my camera is hooked directly to the "Thunderbolt" port on my dual-boot (here, Windows 10) Apple Air or whether I hook the camera through a Startech hub. My setup is as-follows:

--Camera: D5600, either battery-powered or using AC adapter (no difference),

--computer: Apple Air, running BYN in the Windows 10 environment, 2TB WD disk drive hooked either directly to computer using Thunderbolt port or using the hub (no difference),

--iso and integration time settings make no difference,

--number of frames in *.avi file (important): 500--always downloads, 1000--often downloads, 2000--sometimes downloads.

What is going on and how can I get consistent downloads using long *.avi frames? Incidentally, it turns out to be difficult to merge *.avi frames, and hence my interest in fixing this.

Thanks,

Don

[astroman133]

BYN does not download AVI files. It downloads individual LiveView frames and after the requested number have been collected, it assembles the individual frames into a video (AVI) file.

You never said which version of BYN you are using. This could be important and should always be provided. Please provide the full version number, not "the latest".

Someone else reported Planetary issues with longer video files. Their issue was resolved by enabling the BackgroundWorker on the Advanced Settings dialog. You should also download BYN 2.1.0.

[Andante_2]

Thank you "astroman133,"

I am using BYN v2.0.10 and "Background/Worker" is not enabled. I will update my version and enable the latter  but 'cannot get to it for a few days. I will report results.

Don

[astroman133]

No real problem.

However, you do not need to waste dark sky time to test this. Since you don't really care what you capture during the test, you can test this anytime, right at your kitchen table.

[Andante_2]

Hello,

Per "astroman133's" suggestion, I downloaded v2.1.0 and set "Background/Worker" to "enable." Otherwise, all HW and configuration settings are as I specified in the first post. I'm still having the same problem, no change. I've noticed the following:

--500 frame *.avi-s seem to download with no problem,

--1000 frame *.avi downloads can have one of three outcomes: (1) the file downloads correctly to my HD, (2) the file--weirdly--gets downloaded to a directory BYN creates on my laptop's C: SSD, or (3) the *.avi file simply never downloads anywhere. If (1) or (2) happens, the write can take upwards of about a minute. Also, the BYN "bell" doesn't read if outcome #2 occurs, and

--2000 frames: same outcome as for 1000 frames.

If I had to guess, I think the write is creating a bottleneck for BYN. Somewhere within the BYN write library, an interrupt is generated and sometimes the *.avi file is written to the SSD instead of the internal disk, or sometimes no write at all occurs.

Any more ideas?

Thx,

Don

[admin]

Anyone doing planetary and insisting on having AVI should really consider using VirtualDub.  I have posted a how-to over 5 years ago on how to do this. 

 

 

[Andante_2]

On 8/14/2020 at 5:00 AM, admin said:

Anyone doing planetary and insisting on having AVI should really consider using VirtualDub.  I have posted a how-to over 5 years ago on how to do this. 

 

 

Thnak you. I will try this. BTW, I noticed a large number of planet images waiting to be processed into an *.avi file in BackyardTEMP. I continue to suspect the process to encode *.avi files indeed sometimes overwhelmed a resource and triggered interrupt(s), which is what your previous post suggests. We'll see if VirtualDub works better.

Best,

Don

[Andante_2]

Hello,

... and thanks for the useful suggestion re: VirtualDub. After several days of thick smoke due to wildfires nearby, I was finally able to try it out. It seems to work.

Thx,

Don