Struggling with dropped frames

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cbwerner
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Joined: Tue Jun 05, 2018 2:56 am

Struggling with dropped frames

#1

Post by cbwerner »

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.
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admin
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Re: Struggling with dropped frames

#2

Post by admin »

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
cbwerner
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Joined: Tue Jun 05, 2018 2:56 am

Re: Struggling with dropped frames

#3

Post by cbwerner »

Robin,

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

#4

Post by admin »

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
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turfpit
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Re: Struggling with dropped frames

#5

Post by turfpit »

In my experience, VMs are ok for running databases, web servers & office software. Talking to hardware plugged into the host was never straightforward.

Dave
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