HandyAvi Change Notes  

Changes from Version 4.3 to Version 5.0

  1. Added optional purchase options based on license code - 2013
  2. Added automatic Messier Marathon shooting subsystem - 2013
  3. Added Alarm for motion detect, meteor detect. - 4/13/2013
  4. Corrected OnDeviceChange at startup bug. - 12/28/2012
  5. Corrected Heap corruption . - 11/19/2012
  6. Separated file and Directory path. - 3/26/2012
  7. FTP Active/Passive installed. - 1/15/2012
  8. Sky Flats stopped on button click rather than on button control. - 12/23/2011
  9. Support SmartHome 2414U light controller and NetPower 8800. - 12/5/2011
  10. Rework of Video Display subsystem to handle H.264. - 11/30/2011
  11. Increased length of pulldowns for Device selection. - 8/23/2011
  12. Made Email a separate thread in Motion Detection system. - 7/12/2011
  13. Version 5.0A. Corrected FTP file upload time problem - 5/22/2013
     

Changes from Version 4.2 to Version 4.3 (19 December 2008 Version)

  1. Added NEW FEATURE to recycle files (see File/Preferences panel) so as to limit disk space usage when you are making Time-Lapse or Motion-Detection movies.  You can specify how many files you wish to have in the recycle set.  The oldest file in the set will be "recycled", i.e., overwritten at midnight.  File management is automatic and new files are generated as necessary up to the number of files you specify.
  2. Corrected problem with composite image display in Meteor Trail mode. 
  3. Made additional revisions to allow ETX telescopes to calibrate properly and perform planet centering function.
  4. Corrected a GDI memory leak problem introduced when date/time stamping was added to the system.  This bug prevented more than about 10,000 images to be captured during a run.  (Subtle, hard to find.  Many thanks to the customer who reported the symptoms.  We were completely unaware of this problem until it was reported.)
  5. Date/Time stamp (when selected in Preferences) was not appearing in all captured images.  Corrected.
  6. Improved Telescope calibration and autocentering routines to allow for orientation and extra mirrors in optical path.
  7. Corrected a problem in the deinterlacing (see Preferences) routine where the image size of a new camera was not conveyed properly to the first image.  This could cause the date/time text to be written outside the bounds of the image when the first frame was being handled resulting in a crash if the camera "Format" size was reduced. 
  8. Encountered a problem with the Logitech 9000 camera which we THINK is due to interference between the Logitech window that pops up when HandyAvi accesses the camera.  You might want to close the Logitech window to minimize this problem.  (We really like the resolution and clarity of the 9000 camera!)
  9. Microsoft's MovieMaker apparently does not like files compressed with IYUV.  If you plan to use MovieMaker to edit AVI files, don't create the files using IYUV compression.  (We used MJPG successfully.)
  10. We spent some time looking for a bug that turned out to be in the third-party compression routine.  In particular, PicVideo MJPG compression does not properly handle images that are not "standard" sizes like 640x480 or 320x240.  When in doubt, test using UNCOMPRESSED.  Then locate and use a better compression scheme that can handle odd-sized images...

Changes from Version 4.1 to Version 4.2 (03 October 2008 Version)

  1. Revised Telescope Control's serial interface to accommodate the slower microprocessors used in ETX telescopes.
  2. Revised time-stamp to force text type to "OEM_FIXED_FONT" to provide more consistent results across platforms.
  3. Allow video settings, TV Tuner, and Video Source buttons to be active when recording.  (Not sure why these were inhibited in earlier versions.)  Now these functions are allowed.
  4. Compression scheme Config button was sometimes active during capture and should not have been.  Corrected.
  5. Date/time stamp was overrunning 160x120 image and not displaying.  Corrected.
  6. FTP uploads not handled correctly in Astronomy subsystem.  Corrected.
  7. "Next ftp upload" should not display when "Close the capture file and start a new one" Preference is OFF.  Corrected.

Changes from Version 4.0 to Version 4.1 (17 August 2008 Version)

  1. Corrected a problem when HandyAvi was run in Windows 2000:  Video would not display.  Problem did not occur in XP or Vista
  2. Corrected a problem in the "Set allowable capture times" panel of the Preferences panel where the Duration was not displayed correctly.
  3. Corrected a problem in the "Set allowable capture times" panel of the Preferences panel where times were not obeyed properly.
  4. Improved the Start Button color updating functions so that the color changes when recording allowable time-window opens or closes.

Changes from Version 3.2 to Version 4.0 (15 July 2008 Version)

  1. Added Time-Stamp Images feature.
  2. Added feature to automatically upload Videos to a Website.
  3. Added feature to make movies from a collection of still images.
  4. Added Image Stacking - Phase Correlation Method
  5. Added feature to control allowable video capture times.
  6. Added option to eliminate log files.
  7. Added JPG Option for outputting files from the Frame Selector.
  8. Added ANIMATION Capture subsystem.
  9. Added support for CM11 Light control.
  10. Added control keys to control video when doing a full-screen display of video.
  11. Added Time-Stamp Option for all images
  12. Added progress bar to the Scan File for Meteors subsystem.
  13. Added option to save Advanced Meteor rectangles and circles.
  14. Added protection for time-lapse upper time bound.
  15. Added ability to continue Motion Detect Recording for a user-defined time-span after trigger.
  16. Added option to set theTracking rate of Telescope.
  17. Added Toolbar icons for main program control
  18. Created warning message if some other application has control of the selected camera.
  19. Corrected window-size-too-small problem in "Play Video" subsequent to "Frame Selector"
  20. Corrected several items that could lead to a crash.
  21. Corrected Sharing Violation when accessing AVI file.
  22. Corrected a problem with saving the composite images when "Create a new output file for each trail" is selected.
  23. Revised CPU time in Advanced Meteor Detection to work in Vista.
  24. Updated crash handler to report Vista version.
  25. Added Command line interfaces to facilitate automatic restart after machine crash.
  26. Corrected problem where player was not displaying full image.
  27. Corrected a problem where first image was not being displayed if it was being clipped.
  28. Corrected Frame Selector Crash - Meteor Detect and Meteor Scan routines were source of problem
  29. Corrected problem where Frame Selector was not showing modified image when View button was pressed.
  30. Quality setting is now "remembered" in Frame Selector and Crop Images tools
  31. Join Files now use STRETCH to handle frames of varying size...
  32. Corrected a problem where True Image Size could get stuck on small size.
  33. Cancel during Join operation no works.
  34. Made minor corrections to EMail transmission in MotionDetect subsystem.
  35. Scan file for meteors: post frames == 1 recorded nothing.  Corrected.
  36. If user deleted input file during Scan a File for Meteors, crash occurred on "start".  Corrected.
  37. Meteor Detect and AVI Scans were not handling pre and post frames accurately.  Corrected
  38. Double click in Movie window didn't go to full screen in Vista. - Corrected
  39. Telescope initialization sequence reported an error when there was no error. Corrected
  40. If the Audio tab of "Video Settings" for the Philips 900 NC camera is selected, a crash occurred. Bug is in Philips Driver.  Corrected by suppressing display of the Audio tab.

Changes from Version 3.2 to Version 3.2 (13 June 2007 Version)

  1. We discovered a glitch in the 7 June version in the Motion Detect subsystem.  (When changing to a larger camera resolution, the program would unexpectedly exit.)
  2. Larger resolution images also tended to swamp the system in the Motion Detect subsystem.
  3. Corrected the problems and reposted version 3.2 on 13 June.  Help/About box has the 13 June date so you can tell which one you have. 

Changes from Version 3.1 to Version 3.2 (07 June 2007 Version)

  1. If a USB Adapter or other device plugged into a USB port allows selections of a "Video Source" such as NTSC or S-Video, HandyAvi now displays a button in the "Capture Device" window that will bring up the manufacturer's source selection window which will allow you to select the source.
  2. Corrected some problems that we think might have led to a crash.  We spent a lot of time on this.  Our goals is, and always has been, to provide a trouble-free and totally reliable system.
  3. Resolved some problems with installation of SelectNthFilter.dll which is used to support "Batch Operations", i.e., making time-lapse videos from an existing video file.  We had been unaware that our compiler environment included a DLL that was needed but that didn't exist on machines where the compiler was not installed.  This surprised us...  We are now shipping the DLL as part of the installation package.
  4. Added a feature to automatically (or manually) check to see if you are running with the latest version of HandyAvi.  Upgrades are free so now you will know about them without our having to send out Email to tell you about them.
  5. The default AVI file size limit in the Preferences menu was off by a factor of 10 which allowed AVI files to be created which could not be read.  The default is now correct.  (AVI files are limited to 2 GigaBytes in length due a design limitation of AVI files, i.e., numbers bigger than 2 to the 31 won't fit in the space available...)
  6. The "Light Controls..." subsystem of the Time-Lapse Capture system will now handle the new PowerLinc 1132CU as well as the older PowerLinc 1132U.  (SmartHome stopped making the 1132U and the 1132CU is the replacement part.)

Changes from Version 3.0 to Version 3.1 (21 February 2007 Version)

1.  Lengthened the CODEC ("Compression") display boxes since some of the CODEC names could not be fully displayed. 

2.  Some older webcams appear to be available even when they are not plugged in to the USB port (one that says "Logitech QuickCam Driver" for example.)  Selecting such a device when it was not plugged in led to a problem.  That has now been corrected.  A message now comes up indicating that the camera might not be plugged in.

3.  Dragging a non-AVI file (mpg for example) into the HandyAvi window caused a problem which has now been corrected.  HandyAvi now pops up a message saying that it cannot display such files.

4.  BMP and JPG output of the new Advanced option of Time-Lapse Capture were switched, i.e., JPG data was stored in BMP files instead of JPG data and BMP data was stored in JPG files instead of JPG data.

5.  The new "Scan a File for Meteors" system sometimes had a problem if deinterlacing was being used.  (This could have affected other subsystems using deinterlacing too but we're not sure of that)  The problem has been corrected.

6.  A "crash-handler" system was installed so that in the hopefully unlikely event of a program crash, you have the option of sending us a report which will allow us to determine exactly which line of our code is experiencing a problem.  Our fervent hope is that you never see this window!  However if you do, and choose to send us the report, we will make every effort to identify and correct the problem in the NEXT release.  (Sooner if its critical to your work - call us and we will build a special release for you to download...)

 

Changes from Version 2.09 to Version 3.0 (3 February 2007 Version)

1.  Email from motion detection system

There is now an Email option to send a message whenever motion is detected.  These are some of the options:

  1. Turn the Email feature on or off.
  2. Send some text.
  3. Send the Nth frame in a capture sequence.  (Where N is 1, or 2, or 3,  or 4, etc, ...)
  4. Send the first M frames as thumbnail images in a single JPEG file. (Where M is 1, or 2, or 3,  or 4, etc, ...)
  5. Send any combination of items 2, 3, and 4 above.

There is a test button in the Email setup window so that you can check to be sure that you have entered your SMTP server name correctly and that you have entered your Email address and other information correctly so that the messages will be transmitted correctly.

2.  The Meteor Trail system now handles circular (in addition to the already present rectangular) sensitivity regions.  These may be set in the "Advanced" settings window.  This was requested by meteor detection enthusiasts who have full-sky panoramic cameras.  This allows them to place a circular sensitivity region so that the meteor detection routines are not triggered by automobile headlights or other items on the horizon(s).

5.  A new feature has been added to the Time-Lapse system to allow each frame to be saved as a JPEG and/or BMP file in addition to its being recorded to the output AVI file.  (This was requested by some people doing research with Drosophila (fruit flies).

4.  A new Tool feature that will scan an AVI file for meteors has been added.  It works essentially the same as the meteor trail system but gets its input from an AVI file instead of directly from a webcam.  This will allow existing AVI files to be searched for meteors.  A new AVI file is created which includes only the frames containing meteor trails.  (Optionally, each trail may be put into its own file automatically.)

5.  A new Tool feature to concatenate (join) separate AVI files into one file has been added.  As many AVI files as desired may be concatenated.

6.  Improved the response to an ESCape key during certain movie editing procedures. 

6.  A pesky bug that occasionally caused a crash when the program exited has, we hope, been corrected. We would GREATLY appreciate hearing about any exceptions:  Support@AZcendant.com  Our goal is to deliver perfect, trouble-free, easy-to-use software.

7.  There were more requested features that we have not gotten to yet.  If yours was one of those, we're sorry.  We will try to get to them as time permits...

Changes from Version 2.08 to Version 2.09 (1 January 2007 Version)

1.  AVI file recovery!

If a power outage occurs or HandyAvi is terminated unexpectedly during creation of an AVI file, the AVI file is missing critical information (essential file headers).  In the past, these files were useless even though they contained all of the images recorded.

Version 2.09 (and beyond) of HandyAvi will now attempt to recover these files when you open them for viewing.  Our testing has demonstrated that HandyAvi will recover these files successfully 100% of the time.  (Please note:  we cannot recover files created with versions of HandyAvi older than release 2.09...)

2.  Tools/Batch Operations...

a.  Added an option to specify an output directory for converted files.
b.  Removed Compression Scheme Configure button since we
     could not find a way to reliably cause the camera vendor's
     settings to be used.
c.  The Quality slider is now displayed only when the Chosen compression
     scheme supports image quality control.
d.  Improved Escape key handling to provide more immediate response
     when attempting to abort write operations.
e.  Previously used Compression scheme is now "remembered"
     when HandyAvi is closed and then re-executed.
   

3.  Capture modes (Time-lapse, Motion-detect, Astronomy, Meteor Trail

a.  The Quality slider is now displayed only when the Chosen compression
     scheme supports image quality control.
b.  When the capture device is changed (switched from one webcam to another)
      the Preview window and other functions begin working immediately.
c.  Deinterlacing, if selected, is now immediately applied to images as
     they are captured.  (Previously, deinterlacing was only applied during
     Tools/Frame Selector and Tools/Crop and Save movie writing operations.
d.  Hand-typed capture paths are now checked for existence of directories
     in the path. 

4.  Tools/Frame Selector and Tools/Crop and Save

a.  Improved Escape Key handling to provide more immediate response
     when attempting to abort write operations.
b.  Added option to Frame Selector to write out ALL selected frames as .bmp
     files.

5.  File/Preferences...

a.  Added new interlace/deinterlace functions.