Master Edition – imatest https://www.imatest.com Image Quality Testing Software & Test Charts Mon, 01 Jun 2020 15:05:28 -0600 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.3 5.2 MacOS Mojave system freezes during file operations https://www.imatest.com/2019/09/5-2-macos-mojave-system-freezes-during-file-operations/ https://www.imatest.com/2019/09/5-2-macos-mojave-system-freezes-during-file-operations/#respond Tue, 10 Sep 2019 19:57:32 +0000 http://www.imatest.com/?p=28207 On some MacOS systems, the 5.2 Imatest release has an issue where the system temporarily freezes for under 60 seconds when file dialogs are opened.

We have traced this to the new 2019a MATLAB compiler runtime and are working with MathWorks to resolve the issue.

As a partial workaround, you can enable the file selection by going to options II and selecting “use the new uipickfiles dialog.  Display previous batch of files”.

If you are experiencing this problem, please contact us at support@imatest.com so we can understand the scope of users affected by the issue and update you when the problem has been corrected.

Our sincere apologies for any inconvenience that this causes you.

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Imatest won’t launch on Mac OS (Catalina, Mojave) https://www.imatest.com/2019/08/imatest-wont-launch-on-mac-os/ https://www.imatest.com/2019/08/imatest-wont-launch-on-mac-os/#respond Thu, 22 Aug 2019 22:25:20 +0000 http://www.imatest.com/?p=27849 For users of Mac OS Catalina

Due to incompatibility with MATLAB runtimes in older releases. Please note that Catalina is only compatible with Imatest 2020.1 and later releases. You will also need to follow the below instructions.

For users of Mac OS Mojave and Catalina

The program may not start after attempting to open it.  A window may breiefly open with an error message:  “SafeFile invalid default property logger.”

Solution

1) Open a terminal window
2) Issue the following command:

sudo chown -R `whoami` ~/Library/Application\ Support/Imatest/

3) Enter your associated Mac OS account password
4) Start the program again.

If the issue still persists, please contact Imatest support.

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How to capture frames from a video stream or RTSP camera https://www.imatest.com/2018/04/rtsp-capture/ https://www.imatest.com/2018/04/rtsp-capture/#respond Sat, 14 Apr 2018 15:23:05 +0000 http://www.imatest.com/?p=19491 Imatest is still working on implementing RTSP streaming support and other video stream protocols within the software. In the meantime if your streaming protocol has the capability of outputting MP4s or other common video file formats, you can load this video into Imatest to analyze. Alternatively, you can use a program like FFMPEG or VLC to split the video into its individual frames, then analyze the frame as an image in Imatest. Heres how.

 

Using FFMPEG

  1. Download a static FFMPEG build from a reputable source.
  2. Install FFMPEG according to the directions of your current OS:

Windows:

  1. Use a program like 7-Zip to unpack the files to your preferred location.
  2. Open up the command line with administrative privileges.
  3. Run the command:

setx /M PATH "path\to\ffmpeg\bin;%PATH%"

OSX:

a. Install homebrew by running the following in a terminal:

/usr/bin/ruby -e "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/master/install)"

b. Once homebrew is installed, just enter in a terminal:


brew install ffmpeg

Linux:

a. Install ffmpeg


sudo add-apt-repository ppa:mc3man/trusty-media
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install ffmpeg
sudo apt-get install frei0r-plugins

b. With FFMPEG installed you can now call it from a command line or bash terminal to split your video file into frames:

ffmpeg -i myfile.avi -f image2 image-%05d.png

Using VLC

coming soon

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Reading an Imatest Plot Episode 2: Noise and Dynamic Range https://www.imatest.com/2017/04/reading-an-imatest-plot-episode-2-noise-and-dynamic-range/ https://www.imatest.com/2017/04/reading-an-imatest-plot-episode-2-noise-and-dynamic-range/#respond Mon, 03 Apr 2017 19:23:12 +0000 http://www.imatest.com/?p=18581

 

In this video, learn about reading noise plots in Imatest, including how to determine dynamic range (as defined by ISO 15379).

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Reading an Imatest Plot: Tonal Response, White Balance, and Gamma https://www.imatest.com/2017/03/reading-an-imatest-plot-tonal-response-white-balance-and-gamma/ https://www.imatest.com/2017/03/reading-an-imatest-plot-tonal-response-white-balance-and-gamma/#comments Tue, 21 Mar 2017 19:25:27 +0000 http://www.imatest.com/?p=18446

Learn how to use an eSFR-ISO chart in the interactive Rescharts module in Imatest to measure tonal response, gamma, and white balance of a camera.

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How to get support for your image acquisition hardware https://www.imatest.com/2017/01/how-to-get-support-for-your-image-acquisition-hardware/ https://www.imatest.com/2017/01/how-to-get-support-for-your-image-acquisition-hardware/#respond Thu, 05 Jan 2017 23:03:05 +0000 http://www.imatest.com/?p=17531 Not all hardware is supported by Imatest or Imatest IT’s acquire image routine. In order to obtain support there are a number of possibilities:

1. Implement a standard image acquisition library

The quickest path to getting support for your device within the current version of Imatest is to implement a standard acquisition interface such as DirectShow or GenICam.

2. Integration Consulting

We can add support for your custom image acquisition SDK on a statement of work basis. Contact testing@imatest.com for a quote.

3. Get Support in MATLAB Image Acquisition Toolbox Adaptor

Many of our supported devices come courtesy of the Image Acquisition Toolbox. If you create a MATLAB imaq adaptor a future version of Imatest IS will be able to load that adaptor from a plugin folder. Please contact us if you are interested in this option.  

You might also request hardware support from Mathworks, but that could be a long process  for them to implement your device, release a new version of MATLAB and for us to upgrade to it.

 

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How to store and retrieve region selections https://www.imatest.com/2015/05/how-to-store-and-retrieve-region-selections/ https://www.imatest.com/2015/05/how-to-store-and-retrieve-region-selections/#comments Wed, 27 May 2015 16:41:52 +0000 http://www.imatest.com/?p=12075 Imatest can store Regions of Interest (ROIs) for most modules that use manual region selection.

Regions of Interest can be stored in small named ini files that only contain region information, and can be retrieved whenever needed.

This can be done for most modules that use manual region selection (even when automatic selection is an option). These modules include

SFR, Colorcheck, Dot Pattern, Distortion, Multicharts, Multitest, Random/Dead Leaves, Log Frequency-Contrast, Star, and Wedge, and Rescharts (with the four preceding modules)

Stepchart (with a restriction: method 1 (below) should not be used)

[Omitted: Blemish Detect, Uniformity, which usually use the entire image. Automatically detected Rescharts modules like SFRplus and eSFR ISO ]

Saving the region selection

The ROI can be saved by one of the following methods.

1. The Save ROI settings… button in the settings window

When you open a module, select a Region of Interest, then press Yes (not Express mode), a settings window opens that that contains a Save ROI settings… button, typically located somewhere in the Settings section. Its location is not consistent: it can be different for different modules. This method is not recommended for Stepchart*. Examples:

Save ROI settings… button for Random/Dead Leaves and SFR modules

2. The Save ROI settings… button in the Save results window that typically appears when a run is complete.

3. From the Imatest, Multicharts, or Rescharts windows:

INI File Settings –> Save ROI Settings can save settings from the most recently run module (if you didn’t save it in the Settings window).

*The Stepchart Settings window differs from other modules in that it lets you select the grayscale chart type. The Fine ROI adjustment window opens after the Settings window, so it is never a good idea to save the ROI from the Stepchart Settings window. You can set it afterwards with methods 2 or 3 (described above). This is one of several reasons that Multicharts and Multitest (which can analyze color as well as grayscale charts and display more noise detail) are recommended.

 

Selecting Save ROI settings… opens a window that lets you select the file for saving the ROI settings.

Save ROI settings window

The Optional Navigation Area assists with navigation: It affects the initial folder that appears when you click Save ROI Settings. The ROI settings INI file contents list box displays the ROI file contents, described in the gray box below. When you press Save ROI settings you can navigate to the desired folder and specify the file name.

All modules except for SFR and Wedge store image width (nwid_save), height (nht_save), and Regions of Interest (roi) for up to 20 recently-run images (where images are distinguished by their height and width). The most recent image size is first. Each image has a single width and height and either 4 or 8 numbers describing the ROI. SFR and Wedge store multiple regions for a single image.

4 ROI numbers, sufficient for describing rectangles, are used in SFR, Wedge, Dot Pattern, Distortion, Uniformity, and Blemish Detect. Each set of four numbers consists of [UL(x) UL(y), LR(x), LR(y)], where UL = Upper-Left and LR = Lower-Right (location in pixels relative to the upper-left corner of the image).

8 ROI numbers, sufficient for describing four-sided polygons (quadrilaterals), which generally contain inner rectangles, are used in all other modules. Each set of eight numbers consists of [UL(x) UL(y), LR(x), LR(y), UR(x), UR(y), LL(x), LL(y)].

Retrieving the region selection

Because the region selection window opens first for most modules (before the Settings window) you need to load the ROI before running the module. This can be done from the Imatest, Multicharts, or Rescharts windows by clicking

INI File Settings –> Load (merge) ROI Settings

This opens the following window that lets you select a previously-saved INI file. It will be merged into the main INI file (imatest-v2.ini, unless otherwise specified).

Load ROI settings window

The upper box (OPTIONAL NAVIGATION AREA) assists with navigation by helping to locate the initial location for reading the ROI Settings file. It is completely optional and may be ignored.

Loading the region requires three steps.

  1. Press 1. Read ROI Settings file.  You can specify the actual file location to load in the Open dialog box.
  2. Examine the contents of the ROI settings file, which are displayed when the file is loaded.
  3. Press 3. Load (Merge ROI Settings). If this operation is successful a message will be displayed to the right of the button.
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Troubleshooting errors with video files https://www.imatest.com/2015/04/troubleshooting-errors-with-video-files/ https://www.imatest.com/2015/04/troubleshooting-errors-with-video-files/#respond Fri, 03 Apr 2015 15:50:00 +0000 http://www.imatest.com/?p=11415 The video file formats that are compatible with Imatest vary based on operating system and installed codecs. For a list of video file formats compatible with Imatest, please see the image file formats and acquisition devices documentation page.

If you are working on Windows and using a video file that is listed as compatible with Imatest and see the following error:

Reference to non-existent field ‘hVideo’.

Then you may not have the appropriate codecs installed. Installing K-Lite Codec Pack Basic may resolve this issue.

If, after installing the appropriate codecs, you see the following error:

Error using VideoReader.read
Expected index to be a vector.

You need to update to Imatest 4.1.3 or later.

For further questions regarding video files, please contact support@imatest.com.

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Acquiring video from Analog sources https://www.imatest.com/2013/12/acquiring-video-from-analog-sources/ Mon, 02 Dec 2013 07:01:21 +0000 http://www.imatest.com/?p=7281 320px-PAL_2_linesImatest is integrated with the the MATLAB Image Acquisition toolbox and can acquire images from a multitude of analog frame grabbers. The following manufacturers provide frame grabbers that support a variety of standard and non-standard analog cameras including NTSC, PAL, RS-170, CCIR, and progressive scan. Please see vendor’s Web site for more details.

Frame grabbers will become part of the image processing pipeline, and therefore could either enhance or degrade the quality of the video signal.  Not all frame grabbers will behave the same.

Supported Frame Grabbers

BitFlow  – Alta-AN1, Alta-AN2, Alta-AN4

Data Translation – 3120, 3130 Series,  3152,  3152-LS,   3153, 3154, 3155 – requires drivers included with the Data Translation Omni CD version 2.2 or above

Matrox – CronosPlus, Helios XA, Helios eA, Meteor-II, Meteor-II/Standard, Morphis, Morphis QxT, Orion (Legacy), Solios eA, Solios XA, Vio, Genesis-LC, Corona-II, Meteor-II/Multi-Channel

National Instruments – PCI-1405, PCI-1407, PCI-1409, PCI-1410, PCI-1411, PXI-1407, PXI-1409, PXI-1411 – requires driver version 3.8.0 to use National Instruments hardware. Troubleshooting information

Teledyne DALSA – PC2-COMP Express, PC2-Vision Express, PC2-Vision, PC-RGB, PCVision, PCVisionPlus, Xcelera-AN LX1 Quad, X64-AN Quad – Requires either Imaging Sapera LT version 6.3 or 7.2, or Foundation Classes (IFC) version 5.8.

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INI file corruption issue – How to reset Imatest INI file https://www.imatest.com/2013/06/ini-file-corruption-issue-how-to-reset-imatest-ini-file/ Thu, 27 Jun 2013 17:32:05 +0000 http://www.imatest.com/?p=6292 Imatest does not support international characters in file name paths.  Using files with international characters will corrupt the Imatest INI file and lead to an INI file error.

You should only use folders and filenames with latin characters or you will encounter this problem.

Resetting your Imatest INI is the easiest way to solve this problems.  You can do this through the following menu entry:

INI_reset_defaults

 

This will remove the settings that you have made within imatest.

To correct the problems with your INI File you can follow the troubleshooting information information available here

 

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