Re: Why .avi format ?

Tom Rauschenbach:
> From reading this newsgroup I understand that .avu format seems to be the
> conventional file format for digital imaging. I usually associate that
> format with motion pictures.

That's exactly it. People make motion pictures of solar-system objects,
then they use software such as Astro IIDC, Keith's Image Stacker,
Registax, etc. to select the best frames, which are then combined by
the software to produce a better image than could be obtained with a
single exposure.

> Why is that the format used for
> time exposures through a telescope ? I undertstand that .jpg wouldn't
> give one access to the data on a per pixel basis, but wouldn't a .bmp file
> work? Is the .avi format chosen only by Toucam users ?

Users of the ToUCam and similar cameras who use Macs use the QuickTime
format. Windows users use AVI.

> I'm also surprised by the heavy prevelance of Windows software for this.

No prevalence at all for me :>)
<http://www.davidillig.com/astromac.shtml>

> Are FreeBSD, OSX, Linux, Solaris really as rare as they seem to be within
> the Astro imaging crowd ?

All of those together don't approach the Windows share in amateur
astronomy. In /professional/ astronomy, a 2005 survey published by the
Illinois Institute of Technology showed the following OS prevalence.
Numbers are percentages.

OS 2003 2004 2005
Linux 37.5 42.2 40.8
Mac OS X 08.5 13.3 33.4
Sun OS 33.4 26.7 14.2
Windows 13.3 14.7 11.6

The reason Windows isn't as popular in professional astronomy is that
it can't run Unix apps natively; the other OS's listed are all Unix
based. The growth in OS X is attributed to the fact that it can run
both Unix and mainstream apps such as MS Office, Photoshop, et cetera,
simultaneously, out of the box -- no HD partitioning or dual booting
required.

Davoud

--
usenet *at* davidillig dawt com
.

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