ASIAIR v2.1 Beta Video FPS

w7ay

I had earlier reported that the guide rate of v2.1 Beta has improved substantially that you can now get 2 FPS guide capture rates without having to resort to Bin x2.

Since the TestFlight release notes also mention video rate having improved in v2.1, I decided to measure the frames per second (FPS) from some of my non-cooled ZWO cameras.

The tests are done using ASIAIR V2.1 Beta (Build 9, Firmware 10.66), using a fourth generation ASIAIR (also called "ASIAIR Plus," same as the third generation, but the 4th generation ASIAIR uses a RockChip processor instead of the Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4).

Exposure is set to 5ms so it will only be the limiting factor for FPS of two of the cameras here. The storage is a Samsung T5 SSD. Capture mode was set to AVI only.

All cameras are USB 3.0, except for the ASI220 mini, which we know is a USB 2.0 camera implemented in a USB-C connector. It struggled at 1080p ROI.

For memory intensive sensors, the external SSD clocked in just a little faster than the internal eMMC storage. The ASI294MC ran at 16.8 FPS with the Samsung T5, while it ran at 16.3 FPS with the internal eMMC storage, for example. A faster SSD may or may not be any better than the T5, since it depends on the USB bus.

As to be expected, a Bayer camera (ASI178MC) and a Monochome (ASI178MM) camera came in with exactly the same FPS, so only one of them is listed above.

With a 5ms exposure time, I suspect that the ASI174MM and the ASI678MC are limited by exposure time. I.e., a 1 ms exposure might result in a faster FPS.

The ASI678MC is a surprise, the 197 FPS at 480p ROI is not a typo.

Chen

starlancer

I don't suppose there is a beta download for this?

w7ay

starlancer I don't suppose there is a beta download for this?

https://testflight.apple.com/join/yAuk7e7Z

Caveat: for some unexplicable reason, I often see a TestFlight version of ASIAIR before some others see it. So if you don't see the ASIAIR Beta yet in TestFlight, just be patient, it wil appear in a week or two. It has never failed to not eventually appear.

Caveat 2: be sure you know how to revert your ASIAIR's firmware to the original factory default before you download a Beta. You will need to do that when you come across a bug in the Beta that you cannot find a workaround for (and no one to help you). Betas are for those willing to chance it, and willing to report bugs that they run across, and know how to get out of trouble.

You will first need to download the TestFlight app from Apple to your iPad, or to an Apple silicon Mac.

ASIAIR 2.1 Beta Build 13, firmware 10.68 just dropped earlier this morning for me. Among other things, it added support for four more Sony cameras, and allows camera gains to be specified in AutoRun (and Plan) modes.

Interestingly, this Beta Build did not have a new firmware payload for a first generation ASIAIR. So all the changes between Build 9 (January 18) and this build are changes in the app itself, and in the firmware for second thru fourth generation ASIAIR.

(I was pleasantly surprised to find that the build actually fixed a camera gain bug that I submitted a report just last week for the previous 2.1 beta. I reported the bug using direct email of course; I didn't want my computers/iPad to go directly through a foreign server without knowing what other information is being carried along with the report when using the app itself to report a bug -- your tolerence for computer integrity and personal privacy could be different from mine.) Feeding back through TestFlight instead of through the ASIAIR app should be fine.

Chen