Movie degradation over time

I have sometimes had movies degrade over time. I have one specifically that I am looking at now that is a gray scale microscopy movie was made in 2006 with Cinepak and looked fine when first made. Now the first frame and several other frames (but not all) are dramatically posterized to a uniform gray. Sometimes I have seen a different degradation where you get blocks of pixels that turn uniform gray was if you reduced the resolution of the image. Is this a Cinepak issue or a Quicktime issue? Is there any way of recovering the data or preventing it from happening?

Grandpa,
Sadly, writable media DOES degrade over time - sometimes after a year or so. Cheap media (and sometime not-so cheap media), improper storage conditions (hot, sunlight, high humidity) and high burn errors during burning (result of high burn speeds over 4x) can all contribute to degradation.
Roxio's new Toast Titanium 8 now includes the ability to recover data from some damaged discs - it's probably worth trying.
Problems with the long term storage of digial images remain digital imaging's 'diry little secret' - see http://www.frontiernet.net/~fshippey/archiving.htm for an article I wrote on the subject.
F Shippey

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160N Version 1 - Wireless Range Degrading Over Time

Hello,
I have owned a version 1.0 160N now for about 5 months and all was well with everything. The range was better than any router I owned in the past until about three weeks ago when connectivity to my furthest outlying wireless adapters began to get worse. It has been slowly degrading to the point that I cannot get a reliable connection unless the computer is within 30 foot clear line of sight. Symptom is that PING to the router is not reliable and Web pages will not load even though the connection is made and maintained. I was wondering if any others have experienced this degradation in range over time. It is to the point now where I may ditch it and go get a 54G if I can find one. Will a hard reset and configuration reload possibly solve the issue. I also see that a firmware upgrade is available that is supposed to "improve wireless range" is available for the 1.0 version. Has anyone done this upgrade with ill effects or a noticiable increase in range? It is a total pain to have reconfigure all the MAC filtering and Port Forwarding but at this rate I will soon have a shiney, sleek, black doorstop. Thanks for any insight you can provide.

Yes you can Upgrade the router's firmware as it would improve your wireless range...
Download Firmware 2.89MB...
Follow these steps to upgrade the firmware on the device: -
Open an Internet Explorer browser page.In the address bar type - 192.168.1.1
Leave the username blank & in password use admin in lower case...
Click on the 'Administration' tab- Then click on the 'Firmware Upgrade' sub tab- Here click on 'Browse' and browse the .bin firmware file and click on "Upgrade"...
Wait for few seconds until it shows that "Upgrade is successful" After the firmware upgrade, click on "Reboot" and you will be returned back to the same page OR it will say "Page cannot be displayed".
Press and hold the reset button for 30 seconds...Release the reset button...Unplug the power cable from your router, wait for 30 seconds and re-connect the power cable...Now re-configure your router...

Internet performance degrades over time with AirPort Extreme

Hello, we have an AirPort Extreme (802.11n) which is about two years old, and I've noticed lately that if I don't reset it for say, a month or so, internet speeds become extremely slow, and there is no way to regain normal speeds without resetting it... I was just wondering if this is normal for an AirPort Extreme, and also, could this be due to the age of the unit (i.e. do AirPort Extremes slowly lose performance over time, and is buying a new one the only answer)? Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks!

U have to find a good channel.
on 2.4ghz this is 6 unless other routers in the area are using it. if so use another channel.
Other things that can interfere: Microwave oven, frige - any thing that emits em fields
5ghz is better.
vicinity of your laptop makes a big difference - i get up to 57Mbps on speedtest net in vicinity of time capsule @ 5ghz.
Best performance is on ethernet cable.
Hope this helps

Please help me figure out why this thread's performance degrades over time

Hello.
The code below is from a Runnable that I've tested inside a Thread operating on a TreePath array of size 1500; the array 'clonedArrayB' is this TreePath array. The code is designed to create a more stepped version of setSelectionPaths(TreePath[]) from class JTree.
The performance decrease of the thread is very rapid; this is discernible simply from viewing the println speed. When it gets to about 1400 TreePaths added to the JTree selection, it's running at roughly 1/10 the speed it started running at.
I know there's no problem with maintaining a set of selected paths of that size inside a JTree. I also know that the thread stops when it should. So it must be some operation I'm performing inside the brief piece of code shown below that is causing the performance degradation.
Does anyone have any idea what could be causing the slowdown?
Many thanks for your help. Apologies if you would have liked an SSCCE, but I very much doubt it's necessary for this. Either you can see the problem or you can't. And sadly I can't x:'o(
int indexA = 0;
public void run() {
     // Prevent use of / Pause scanner
     try {
          scannerLock.acquire();
     } catch (InterruptedException exc) {
          Gecko.logException("Scanner lock could not be acquired by expansion thread", exc);
     while (!autoExpansionComplete) {
          while (indexA < clonedArrayA.length) {
               int markerA = indexA + 10;
               for (int a = indexA; a < markerA && a < clonedArrayA.length; a++) {
                    pluginTreeA.addSelectionPath(clonedArrayA[a]);
               indexA = markerA;
               System.out.println(indexA + "," + clonedArrayA.length);
                    if (autoExpansionComplete) {
                         break;
               stop();
};

Well, since I've had no responses, I tried to think of other ways to speed the code up.
I'd already made nearly every tweak I know. The only additional thing I could think of was to use addSelectionPaths(TreePath[]) on a subarray of the cloned array, instead of addSelectionPath(TreePath) on the cloned array's elements, since obviously it would be fewer method calls. It has sped things up an awful lot (my new code is shown below - I've left in some things I chopped out above, so you can see exactly what I see). The problem is though, obviously an increase in initial velocity doesn't solve the problem of deceleration occurring, if you get me.
// Clone the selection arrays to non-volatile arrays for better access
// speeds
final TreePath[] clonedArrayA = selectionPathsArrayA.clone();
final TreePath[] clonedArrayB = selectionPathsArrayB.clone();
// Create a new runnable to perform the selection task
Runnable selectionExpander = new Runnable() {
     /** Position within cloned array A */
     int indexA = 0;
     /** Position within cloned array B */
     int indexB = 0;
     /** Length of subarray grabbed from cloned array A */
     int lengthA;
     /** Length of subarray grabbed from cloned array B */
     int lengthB;
     /** Subarray destination */
     private TreePath[] subarray = new TreePath[100];
     public void stop() {
          autoExpansionComplete = true;
          automatedSelection = false;
          scannerLock.release();
      * Grabs 10 blocks of each selection paths array at a time, adding
      * these to the tree's current selection and then moving to the next
      * cycle
     public void run() {
          // Prevent use of / Pause scanner
          try {
               scannerLock.acquire();
          } catch (InterruptedException exc) {
               Gecko.logException("Scanner lock could not be acquired by expansion thread", exc);
          while (!autoExpansionComplete) {
               while (indexA < clonedArrayA.length || indexB < clonedArrayB.length) {
                    // Set subarray lengths
                    lengthA = subarray.length;
                    lengthB = subarray.length;
                    // If subarray length is greater than the number of
                    // remaining indices in the source array, set length to
                    // the number of remaining indices
                    lengthA = indexA + lengthA > clonedArrayA.length ? clonedArrayA.length - indexA : lengthA;
                    lengthB = indexB + lengthB > clonedArrayB.length ? clonedArrayB.length - indexB : lengthB;
                    // Create subarrays and add TreePath elements to trees'
                    // selections
                    System.arraycopy(clonedArrayA, indexA, subarray, 0, lengthA);
                    pluginTreeA.addSelectionPaths(subarray);
                    System.arraycopy(clonedArrayB, indexB, subarray, 0, lengthB);
                    pluginTreeB.addSelectionPaths(subarray);
                    // Remember the latest index reached in source arrays
                    indexA += lengthA;
                    indexB += lengthB;
                    System.out.println(indexA + "," + clonedArrayA.length);
                    System.out.println(indexB + "," + clonedArrayB.length);
                    if (autoExpansionComplete) {
                         break;
               stop();
// Create and start new thread to manage the selection task runner
selector = new Thread(selectionExpander);
selector.start();I really can't think what could be causing the slowdown. I've done everythng I can think of to increase the velocity, such as cloning the source arrays since they're volatile and access could be slightly slower as a result.
Nothing I try gets rid of the slowdown effect though :(
- Dave

REALTEK AUDIO DEGRADING OVER TIME WITH FLME - PC WINDOWS 7

I am having a real issue with the onboard Reatek audio card and The Flash Live Media Encoder. I am providing the signal to the onboard Realtk audio card via the mic in source on my computer. The video is coming from my DV cam. At first, the audio sounds fine but after a period of time, the audio begins to degrade until it becomes totally useless - muffled and weak. If I use the onboard DV mic, it's OK. Problem seems to be with the onboard Realtek card. Some times it appears to be related to making some changes in the FLME settings. If I reboot the computer, it fixes it for a while and then the problem starts again. Running a PC with Windows 7. Anyone else, experiencing this? I have had the same problem on two different machines.

There is no way to do it from windows direct to the TC.
It only presents AFP to the WAN side. And most ISP block SMB from internet access due to risks. There is AFAIK, no suitable AFP protocol utility for windows at the moment. If you google and find one, be aware it probably will not work to your satisfaction anyway.
You must use a Mac to access AFP but even then it is not a secure protocol and I would recommend against it anyway.
So basically if you had have asked before purchasing, I would have said, TC is unsuitable product. It is a backup drive for a Mac. It is not a NAS.. it is not designed for remote access by any computer other than a Mac. It does not support any other file protocol to the WAN interface.. and no secure protocol even there.
A NAS with Time Machine extensions from QNAP, Synology, Netgear all are designed for web access and are far more suitable. Researching a purchase beforehand is always worthwhile.
Anyway, your choices are.. return the TC and buy something more suited to the job.
Or if return is now impossible sell the TC on ebay.. etc and do the same thing.. buy a more suitable NAS.
Or buy a cheap mac mini (even second hand) and use that for communications with home.
Or, replace your current router with something that includes vpn. This is actually a good and commercially sound decision. VPN is generally used by business to connect to remote locations, because it is secure and will allow the greatest flexibility of connection. How hard or easy depends on the current setup. I would recommend a combined modem router with vpn server if you have adsl. Or for cable you can find plenty of routers with combined vpn. You can also use those for adsl if your ISP allows pppoe with bridged modem. The TC will have to be bridged as well. For other broadband it might be harder to find the right kind of box.
Once you setup a vpn you can access it from work using the appropiate vpn client in your work computer.

Sensor Mapping Express VI's performance degrades over time

I was attempting to do a 3d visualization of some sensor data. I made a model and managed to use it with the 3d Picture Tool Sensor Mapping Express VI. Initially, it appeared to work flawlessly and I began to augment the scene with further objects to enhance the user experience. Unfortunately, I believe I am doing something wrong at this stage. When I add the sensor map object to the other objects, something like a memory leak occurs. I begin to encounter performance degradation almost immediately.
I am not sure how I should add to best add in the Sensor Map Object reference to the scene as an object. Normally, I establish these child relationships first, before doing anything to the objects, beyond creating, moving, and anchoring them. Since the Sensor Map output reference is only available AFTER the express vi run. My compromise solution, presently, is to have a case statement of controlled by the"First Call" constant. So far, performace seems to be much better.
Does anyone have a better solution? Am I even handling these objects the way the community does it?
EDIT: Included the vi and the stl files.
Message Edited by Sean-user on 10-28-2009 04:12 PM
Message Edited by Sean-user on 10-28-2009 04:12 PM
Message Edited by Sean-user on 10-28-2009 04:16 PM
Solved!
Go to Solution.
Attachments:
test for forum.vi ‏105 KB
chamber.zip ‏97 KB

I agree with Hunter, your current solution is simple and effective, and I can't really visualize a much better way to accomplish the same task.
Just as a side-note, the easiest and simplest way to force execution order is to use the error terminals on the functions and VIs in your block diagram. Here'a VI snippet with an example of that based on the VI you posted. (If you paste the image into your block diagram, you can make edits to the code)
Since you expressed some interest in documentation related to 3D picture controls, I did some searching and found a few articles you might be interested in. There's nothing terribly complex, but these should be a good starting point. The first link is a URL to the search thread, so you can get an idea of where/what I'm searching.You'll get more hits if you search from ni.com rather than ni.com/support.
http://search.ni.com/nisearch/app/main/p/q/3d%20picture/
Creating a 3D Scene with the 3D Picture Control
Configuring a 3D Scene Window
Using the 3D Picture Control 'Create Height Field VI' to convert a 2D image into a 3D textured heigh...
Using Lighting and Fog Effects in 3d Picture Control
3D Picture Control - Create a Moving Texture Using a Series of Images
Changing Set Rotation and Background of 3D Picture Control
Caleb Harris
National Instruments | Mechanical Engineer | http://www.ni.com/support

Ever since installing on my 64bit Windows 7 install, Firefox has continually gotten more sluggish as time moves on, hangs for 10-15 secs at a time and just gets worse over time with the updates and everything.

Ever since installing on my 64bit Windows 7 install, Firefox has continually gotten more sluggish as time moves on, hangs for 10-15 secs at a time and just gets worse over time with the updates and everything. It was fast when I first installed, but over the last six mos has slown to a crawl.

upgrade your browser to Firefox 8 and try
* getfirefox.com

How do I make an XY-Graph plot points over time?

I am building a program to plot and take data of a relationship between two voltages. One is voltage is uniquely dependent on the other. So far I have successfully built an XY-Graph to plot the voltages against each other (Voltage1 along the x-axis and Voltage2 along the y-axis). However, the XY-Graph only diplays the point (V1, V2) at the instantaneous time I am looking at it, and does not continuously plot different points as I vary the independent voltage. I need the graph to display all the points that occur as I vary the independent voltage. As of right now, all I see is one little cursor that moves all over the graph as I vary it. My program consists of a While Loop that contains all of the following: two seperate data anolog input functions that take both voltage separately from my board. The the output samples from each 'AI Sample' function are then bundled into one cluster using the 'bundle' function. The cluster output from the 'bundle' function is then wired to a 'build array' function. The 1-D array output from the 'build array' function is then wired to my 'XY-Graph'. How do I get the XY-Graph to plot a point every millisecond or so?

Bundling and then using the Build Array is not correct. Yuo can see the correct method in the help for an XY Graph below. In order to use the normal XY Grpah, you would have two shif registers. One for the X array and one for the Y. Bundle the two arrays and then wire to the graph.
The other way is to use the Express XY Graph. With that, you can just wire your scalars to the X and Y inputs and set the Reset input to false.
Message Edited by Dennis Knutson on 11-12-2007 06:32 PM
Attachments:
XY Graph 1.PNG ‏21 KB
XY Graph 2.PNG ‏6 KB

In fcp7 there is a "close gap" option so you don't have to highlight and move everything every time you delete a small section in the middle of a video. Is it possible to do this in fcpx? I can't seem to find it...Thanks!

In fcp7 there is a "close gap" option so you don't have to highlight and move everything every time you delete a small section in the middle of a video. Is it possible to do this in fcpx? I can't seem to find it...Thanks!

This isn't the actual clip, I fixed it by highlighting and moving everything over but it'd still be a good thing to know for the future. This is essentially the situation i'm talking about. I would never use it for something this simple, but when more complicated editing is being done it isn't so easy to just move all the clips over.

Plotting amplitude of one spectral peak over time

Hi,
I am trying to create a VI where the DAQ continually aquires, plots and saves a waveform in millisecond timeframe (which is already done in this instance), then takes that waveform, finds a specific peak (most likely the first one), and plots the amplitude of that peak over time (30+ minutes, one point every scan that is obtained). Essentially, I have a very fast detector attached to a Gas Chromatograph, and I want to select a single ion and monitor the amplitude of that ion. I can plot the waveforms over time and do this in post processing, but what I would like to do is have the "slow" plot continuously update and display as it moves through time. Attached is the VI this will go into, using IMS Software V1.3.vi, the subsection is the "GC Mode" it seems like I should be using the "peak detect.vi.", but I am unfamiliar with how this works, and so I do not know how to show a continuously updating graph or pull the amplitudes out and plot them. Thank you for your help,
<>< Eric
Solved!
Go to Solution.
Attachments:
IMS Software v1.llb ‏612 KB

Eric-WSU wrote:
i get an amplitude over time plot, but it does not appear until after all of the iterations have stopped
I have not looked at your VI (because I am in a previous version of LabVIEW), but this is probably because your graph is outside of the loop.
Here is how you can get a graph of the peaks (all of the peaks, per iteration):
Or if you only wanted a certain peak (and how that peak changes over many iterations):
Message Edited by Cory K on 01-21-2009 05:51 PM
Cory K
Attachments:
simple.PNG ‏3 KB
pick peak.PNG ‏7 KB

Why hasn't Adobe navigation and user interface design improved as much as it could have over time?

I haven't tried CS6. I'm sure it's great based on what i've seen alone. But as a user of adobe products for a number of years, i have to noticed there are still a lot of stagnant,awkward, stiff, irriating, slowing down elements found in the navigation and user interface on cs3-cs5, that i'm sure could have been eliminated or improved on at least from 2005 or 2007 onwards. I find some of these things inexcusable and unprogressive from bad traits that defined 1980's and 1990's general computer navigation and so on.
CS5.5 has lessned this a bid bit and is more fluid in bits and pieces but for those using cs3-cs5 and in general, i find some things just horrid. As a graphic designer no one is supposed to admit the flaws or irrations of these programs. We must hail them as god, never critisize, and always adjust to new things which i think is a bit fascististic and silly
The way the tools, options are laid out can be improved to be quicker, and easier to find and use. Using your voice as a commanding system would be helpful as well.
A lot of cmds are too complex to remember, they can be simplier or resemble the name of the tool or option. Its makes a chore to follow this system and competition for the smart *** who memormized all the cmds.
The way in which you loose floating side boxes, and the amount of tools or names hidden in the bars sometimes seem random and its always a constant search to find them incase you forget where they are.
The inability to open cs4 or 5 files in cs3 is just beyond extremly annoying. Whey shouldn't you be able to open cs1 or 2 files or photoshop 9 files as well? Every five years work expires as well?
The layering system gets tricky and seems that a lot of things don't work when you normally move things. Its about going back, remembering and clicking on this or that, looking it up to make everything work. Sometimes which leaves you in a rut and wastes a good amount of time. You will always find this even after you've been using it for years.
The use of the fill paint/airbrushing, clone tool, lasso tool, pen tool, history being two steps back can be vastly improved to be much better to use
Masking and tools that have more complex features should find a way be automatically done or sampled. They can also have less complex steps and tha ability to be previewed, automatic or simpler ( in case you can't remember how to do something or aren't getting it)
A lot of the special effects, and blending modes are useless, outdated, super-ugly and don't resemble true darkroom effects ( such as polarization, and bas-relief for example) which they could much more vividly done. There also could be more options that are closer to repro cameras/CTP software for halftoning and more complex digital effects.
Having to press or get used to pressing muliple keys or clicks for the most basic things simultaneously can be reduced to be easier
Adjusting text, new documents, photos should have a smoother, quicker navigational experince where things a lot of room to be , clicked back, re-done, saved in the wrong place etc..
Indesign could use more shapes, include more features that illustrator has, and possibly even photoshop to save time.
There should be a way to remind you of features, complex things you've forgotten, other than history and daily usage/practice of the programs
The help should resemble more of "visual -learners" guide books with voice features.
There are a lot more
Regarding other things:
I think the price encorages more piracy and allows people to not have a concept of what is means to owning software.
The loss of a manual or lessening of them for certain programs is a loss because it's always useful to physical info you can flip through while looking at your program.
I think adobe should make entirely better products for professionals or people in the industry rather than spoonfeeding the same software to all.
They should also make less expensive add-ons like before for graphic software.
What do you adobe could have improved over time and if so what do you think they could have improved on?

You have this wishform to suggest improvements to Adobe products:
https://www.adobe.com/cfusion/mmform/index.cfm?name=wishform
and the Creative Suites forums are here:
http://forums.adobe.com/community/creativesuites
This specific forum is only for discussions on the forums themselves, so you are not very likely to get any change by posting your comments here.

I have downloded ITunes to a new laptop and signed in this let's me download previous purchases in to the librery but can't get the films I have bought quite a lot over time any idea how I can get them ???

I have downloded ITunes to a new laptop and signed in this let's me download previous purchases in to the librery but can't get the films I have bought quite a lot over time any idea how I can get them ???

You cannot.
You buy one and only one download of movies. it is your responsibility to backup your purchases.
Copy everything from your old computer or your backup copy of your old computer to your new one.

I tried renting a movie, but every time I try to play it, it gives me an iTunes error code -42110. What is the deal?

I tried renting a movie, but every time I try to play it, it gives me an iTunes error code -42110. What is the deal?
- Cratin

Something like this happened to me, where something went wrong on Apple's end and a movie I rented wouldn't play. I contacted Apple over the phone and they gave me back my money and fixed the problem for future use.

Color Filling Over Time Help

Hello, I am working on an audio template. I am trying to make a waveform similar to the one you can see in Soundcloud. I've managed to program an expression to generate the waveform. But I am having an issue with filling up the waveform with a color with respect to time. For example, do you see on soundcloud how the waveform fills up orange as the song progresses? This is the concept I am trying to work on. Here is what I have so far:
I want the blue bar to move to the right over time, but I only want the white parts of the waveform to turn blue as it progresses (the rest of the blue solid hidden). How would I go about doing this? My knowledge in After Effects is limited so any help is GREATLY appreciated! Thank you
Please let me know if you need more information

So just to clarify you are trying to create a levels representation for the duration of an audio file and not an animated audio frequency analysis. If that's what you're doing just pre-compose those hundreds of layers or nest the comp in your main comp and then use the track matte. If it were me I'd probably just import the audio layer into the comp, press the L key twice to reveal the audio wave form, press the ~ key to make the timeline full screen, expand the wave form, take a screenshot, add the screenshot to the comp, apply Keylight, then add a shape layer below the screenshot, set the screenshot as an inverted alpha track matte for the animated gradient and be done with it. This comp would be nested in my main comp to complete the effect.
If I wanted a different look for the waveform I would edit the screenshot in Photoshop or use a Premiere Pro or any other program to capture a screenshot of the waveform. Since you've done all the work of creating your hundreds of layers I'd just pre-compose them all, drop a shape layer with an animated gradient below the pre-comp and set up the track matte.

Burnt DVD's jumping over time?

I have given my client 4 DVD's burnt in DVDSPro about 2 months ago, now he is having problems with them, they keep sticking and jumping at different parts in the film. They were ok for the first few months, I use Maxell 1-16x speed blanks.
Do DVD's deteriate over time? Is this possible? He has tried them in various players but the same thing keeps happening, could it be a bitrate problem?
The film is about 1 hour long with chapter menus, should I be using Compresser to encode the film to MV2 and ac3? Usually I export directley from FCPro to Quicktime for the video then Compresser for the audio to ac3.

I have given my client 4 DVD's burnt in DVDSPro about 2 months ago, now he is having problems with them, they keep sticking and jumping at different parts in the film. They were ok for the first few months, I use Maxell 1-16x speed blanks.
Maxell's are usually pretty reliable
Do DVD's deteriate over time? Is this possible? He has tried them in various players but the same thing keeps happening,
As mentioned they can go bad, scratches and dirt occur which will affect playback (I have seen it often from movies I have rented on replicated discs. Some of my players will be able to play the movies while others will not.)
could it be a bitrate problem?
It could be coupled with the scratches/dirt other detoriation issues. DVD Players have error correction built in and some handle scratches and dirt better than others.
(Take a look at http://www.videohelp.com/glossary?E#Error%20Correction)
And when there is a higher bitrate, error correction can take a hit
http://www.adobeforums.com/cgi-bin/webx/.3bbe302a
So to the extent their is a scratch, dirt or detoriation, there is a chance it is exacerbated by the encoding rate
he film is about 1 hour long with chapter menus, should I be using Compresser to encode the film to MV2 and ac3? Usually I export directley from FCPro to Quicktime for the video then Compresser for the audio to ac3.
Encode outside DVD SP and make sure to A.Pack the audio, that will keep rate alot lower

Movie degradation over time

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