FirstLight not working properly

[Lauri Kettunen]

Have Windows 7 64 bit version and latest version of Prospect 4K 4.1.3 b228. Several problems with Firstlight:

a) File import does nothing,
b) hitting play does nothing, but can scroll the file back and forth with the bar,
c) although all adjustments are enabled, nothing happens to the image. And
d) Firstlight crashes all the time

[David Newman]

a) what does that actually mean?
b) how would playing doing anything if you have no imported files.
c & d) see a)

See the problem with your report, no lead to go on?

Starting from scratch try:

1st!
Install the LUTs pack (included in the download link email.) This can help fix a issue with Win 7.

Make sure you have
HKCU/Software/CineForm/LUTPath
pointing to a location you have permission to write. Under 7 we uses C:\Users\Public\CineForm\LUTs, but some older installs got this wrong.

Run as Administrator once, no idea why, but everything works perfectly after that. I use win 7 x64 at home, and First Light working great.

[Lauri Kettunen]

Originally Posted by David Newman

a) what does that actually mean?

Right, the comment was ambigious. This means the only way to import a file to Firstlight is to drag the file from Windows Explorer. Importing from the menus does not work.

I'll try the other things you suggested later on today. Thanks.

[Lauri Kettunen]

David, running Firstlight as an administrator solved all issues. Thanks a lot.

[David Newman]

Lauri,

It should only require that once. Likely Window 7, other than that one weirdness.

[Lauri Kettunen]

David, before I was able to mix CFHD files into Red R3D sequences in Premiere Pro CS4 but now in such case the CFHD files makes Premiere Pro CS4 to stuck. In other words the system says Premiere is "Not responding". Running plain R3D files is just ok.

For some reason Windows Media Player shows now also all the time the histogram when playing CFHD avi-files. Haven't found a way to switch it off. Is it possible to disconnect the link between CFHD avi-files and Firstlight?

[David Newman]

Turn off Histogram in First Light and you will be fine, some systems don't like the histogram on in CS4 (we think that is fixed in the next version.) This is likely your playback issue in CS4. First Light not connected to AVI clips, FL and Clip are both connect to the database (not to ask other,) if you don't make any First Light modification you don't have any impact on the decoder. If you what to global reset all you looks, either turn off primaries, looks, etc. in First Light (above the histogram checkbox) or create new database in First Light.

[Lauri Kettunen]

David, thanks again for your help. Although I clicked the 'Historgram' checkbox did not manage to remove the histogram from images. However, once I rebooted the machine and ran first Firstlight as administrator, then was able to set the histogram off and now everything is ok also with Premiere. Summing up, in my machine one has to run FL as an administrator.

[David Newman]

Do you set the LUTPath to a writable location? Sounds like FL doesn't have permission write and the registry controls this.

[Lauri Kettunen]

Yes, it is a writable location. It's perhaps something else for just discovered that dpx2cf does not work. When I type

dpx2cf x:\y\*.dpx z:\w.avi q=5 f=25

it first says something odd:

incorrectly formed option q=5
incorrectly formed option f=25

and then as it should

sort DPX files
xx frames found
Loaded: xx.dpx
.
.
.

and runs through the files but does not generate a CFHD file anywhere.

[David Newman]

Switches for dpx2cf where upgrade to match our other tools

Usage: DPX2CF path2*.dpx output.avi|mov [switches]
[options -qX quality(1,2,3,4,4+,5,5+,6), '+' means equal RGB weighting
-fX (e.g. -f23.976)
-nX (maximum number of frames to convert)
-iX in-frame for all continuous frames
-oX out-frame -- continuous from the in-frame number)
-sT or -sF (sort based on internal (T)imecode or (F)ilename (default))
-cYUV or cRGB (default RGB)]
version 2.12 8-September-09

example dpx2cf frames*.dpx seq.avi -q5+

[Pete Bauer]

Originally Posted by David Newman

Turn off Histogram in First Light and you will be fine, some systems don't like the histogram on in CS4 (we think that is fixed in the next version.)

Not sure if it ISN'T fixed on the latest beta (PHD 4.1.4 b230), or a different histogram issue has popped up. If I have the FL histogram ON, I get a 100% repeatable memory crash dialog (see attached) in CS4.2.1 the instant I touch the CTI or click the play button in the program window, and FL may or may not still play files (black display FL window if it won't). If CS4 will still run at all, the CTI will progress but the Program Window display stalls almost immediately after hitting Play and stays on the frame where it stalled (I'm no software expert, but kinda sounds like an overlay issue). Close FL and CS4, uncheck the histogram, restart and all behaves normally. The histogram does not appear to affect WMP.

I don't mind unchecking the histograms when move from FL, but there's definitely a Cineform bug in there somewhere.

Also, since I mentioned overlay...do I understand the purpose of the overlay checkbox: to cause the histogram to either display or not display in the overlay of other applications, such as PPro and WMP? If so, it doesn't work for me. The histogram is either on or off for FL and all other apps (CS4, WMP) by using the Histogram checkbox; the Overlay checkbox doesn't appear to do anything.

Currently using trial version on a Dell Latitude dual core laptop, 4GB, XP32 SP3, single HDD, files were newly converted to Cineform AVI, medium.

[David Newman]

I thought I replied to this, but it seems to have gone.

Still likely source clip related as I'm not getting many reports of this, most went away with the last build. We had a single machine that produced this error and it was fixed with the last build. Could you tell me the types of clips that have this problem: source, resolution, age, etc. Maybe upload a small sample.

Overlay is for burn-ins -- see the passive metadata tab (more info here CineForm Insider: Displaying Metadata.)

[Pete Bauer]

Thanks for the clarification on the overlay checkbox. I did have that UNchecked for everything I've described.

Here's the info on the clips:

These were newly shot Canon HF10 PsF30 AVCHD clips at 17mbps, converted by HDlink from the same build 230 beta version of PHD to Cineform AVI at medium quality, imported into a new PPro CS 4.2.1 project. None of the AVI's was particularly large; all well less than a GB. The sequence used the Cineform 1920x1080 HD 29.97 preset.

The system was updated to CS 4.2.1 first, then the Cineform beta was installed (no other Cineform product ever on this system). No other video-related plug-ins or software except CS4 Master Collection.

The only other oddity I've noticed is that the project seems to be generating a string of five additional empty sequences all labeled "Timeline: no sequences." I didn't create them, they don't appear in the Project Panel, and don't see a setting in PPro that would cause additional sequences to be created. Deleted them yesterday; opened the program today (without opening First Light) and there they are again. Maybe an Adobe bug, maybe a setting I don't know about.

My bandwidth is extremely limited right now, so upload may not be practical. I really doubt there's anything wrong with the source AVCHD clips from which the AVI's were generated; they're new, play fine natively in CS4, and I was able to do a brief test export clip using AME to an F4V file and it worked fine. If it becomes absolutely necessary, at a later time I may be able to access better upload capability.

[David Newman]

Ooopps! We just don't do enough testing with that style of file (basic YUV 4:2:2 I-P 2-frame GOP.) It will be fixed in the official release.

In the meantime this will fix CS4.
http://www.miscdata.com/cineform/CFHDDecoder.zip

Unzip and copy over CFHDDecoder.dll in
C:\Program Files\CineForm\Tools