I am using Sharpcap 3.1.5164 in Windows 10 within a VM on a Mac with an ASI294MC-Pro. I have had everything working great on a couple of occasions, but my last two times out with the telescope I have had *every* frame dropped (with identical equipment and connections). I've tried adjusting settings to no avail. I'm a total newbie with the software so I am sure it's user error on my part, but I'm completely stumped.
I checked the log after tonight's attempt - could someone tell me what this means? It seems to be the only reason frames were dropped:
"Warning: 21:31:41.7023888 Thread:ASI Grab Thread#21 SharpCap.Cameras.ASI.ASICameraProxy.GetFrameData(Int32 timeout, BufferFrame frame) :: Fetching still frame from ZWO camera failed with ExpFailed, exposure is 2000, timeout is 7200"
Thanks in advance!
Chris.
Struggling with dropped frames
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Re: Struggling with dropped frames
Hi,
it basically means the camera has stopped responding to the computer - running USB3 based cameras inside a virtual machine is very hit and miss unfortunately (you'd be better off booting Windows directly using bootcamp). If you must stay within a VM, things you can try are
* turn down the Turbo USB control to minimum
* use a USB2 cable instead of a USB3 cable to force the camera into USB2 mode which is sometimes more robust in this sort of circumstance.
cheers,
Robin
it basically means the camera has stopped responding to the computer - running USB3 based cameras inside a virtual machine is very hit and miss unfortunately (you'd be better off booting Windows directly using bootcamp). If you must stay within a VM, things you can try are
* turn down the Turbo USB control to minimum
* use a USB2 cable instead of a USB3 cable to force the camera into USB2 mode which is sometimes more robust in this sort of circumstance.
cheers,
Robin
Re: Struggling with dropped frames
Robin,
Thanks for the prompt response. The USB tweaks did not work, but tonight it's working swimmingly in Boot Camp. Thanks again!
Chris.
Thanks for the prompt response. The USB tweaks did not work, but tonight it's working swimmingly in Boot Camp. Thanks again!
Chris.
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Re: Struggling with dropped frames
Good to hear you've got it sorted by using boot camp. Macs seem very prone to that sort of glitch when using virtualization (VMWare, Parallels, etc).
cheers,
Robin
cheers,
Robin
Re: Struggling with dropped frames
In my experience, VMs are ok for running databases, web servers & office software. Talking to hardware plugged into the host was never straightforward.
Dave
Dave