Video decoder options?

Tailspin45

The latest app includes a video decoder setting described as Hard Solution and Soft solution.

The Soft Solution is described as "A must hand warmer in winter, heavy compatibility, applicable to all sorts of phone systems."

Anyone know what either choice actually does?

I'm particularly interested because there is one report that Seestar AVIs are actually converted MP4s as evidenced by the fact that MP4 conversion with PIPP produces a 6x larger AVI file that is sharper with better contrast.

AstroImg@ZWO

Video decoding is the process of converting compressed video data into raw pixel data for display. Video decoding can be divided into two methods: hardware decoding and software decoding, each of which has its own advantages and disadvantages.
Hardware decoding
Hardware decoding refers to the use of specialized hardware circuits to perform video decoding. This method is usually integrated into modern CPUs, GPUs, or dedicated decoding chips.
Advantages

High performance: Hardware decoders are usually optimized for specific video encoding formats, so they can decode videos with higher efficiency.
Low power consumption: Since hardware decoders are usually more efficient than software decoders, they consume less power, which is especially important for mobile devices.
Real-time performance: Hardware decoders are able to provide stable frame rates and maintain smooth playback even when processing high-resolution or high-bitrate videos.
Low latency: Hardware decoders usually have lower latency, which is very important for real-time video transmission.
Disadvantages
Compatibility limitations: Hardware decoders usually only support a specific set of video encoding formats. If you need to support new encoding formats, you may need to update the hardware.
Cost: Although modern processors often have hardware decoders built in, the integration of these features may increase the cost of the device.
Difficult to update: Once a hardware decoder is integrated into a device, it is difficult to update its decoding capabilities to support new encoding standards.
Software decoding
Software decoding refers to the use of a computer program (usually an instruction set executed by the CPU) to decode video data.
Advantages
Flexibility: Software decoders can support a variety of video encoding formats and are easy to update to support new encoding standards.
Cross-platform: Software decoders can run on a variety of platforms, including different operating systems and hardware architectures.
Easy to debug and modify: Since software decoders exist in code form, they are easier to debug and modify.
Disadvantages
Limited performance: Software decoding usually requires more computing resources than hardware decoding, especially when processing HD or UHD video.
Higher power consumption: Software decoding requires more CPU resources, which results in higher power consumption.
Higher latency: Software decoders usually have higher latency than hardware decoders, which can be a problem for real-time video applications.
Resource occupation: Software decoders may occupy a lot of CPU resources, affecting the performance of other applications.
Summary
Hardware decoding is more suitable for application scenarios that require high performance, low power consumption and low latency, such as video conferencing, games and real-time streaming services.
Software decoding is more suitable for application scenarios that require high flexibility, easy update and cross-platform, such as video editing software and multi-platform video players.
In practical applications, in order to balance performance and flexibility, many modern devices adopt a hybrid decoding strategy, that is, using hardware decoders to process the main part of the video stream, while using software decoders to handle unsupported formats or special cases. This approach can provide better compatibility and flexibility while maintaining high performance.

clipper99

AstroImg@ZWO

OMG, you seriously used a LLM AI model to write this didn’t you? Was is ChatGTP? C’mon, you can tell us!

How do I know you used AI? Because there is nothing in that that even mentions ZWO, or Seestar or S50!!!
Here’s what my ChatGPT said:

=============================================

Hardware Video Decoding

What It Is:
Hardware video decoding uses specialized hardware components, often found in the GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) or a dedicated video decoder chip, to decode video streams. These components are specifically designed to handle video codecs efficiently.

Advantages:

Efficiency: Hardware decoders are highly optimized for video processing tasks, allowing for faster decoding with less power consumption. This leads to smoother playback, especially for high-resolution content like 4K or 8K video.
Reduced CPU Load: By offloading the decoding process to specialized hardware, the CPU is freed up to handle other tasks, improving overall system performance.
Lower Power Consumption: Since the hardware is specifically designed for video decoding, it tends to consume less power compared to software decoding, which is crucial for extending battery life in mobile devices.

Disadvantages:

Limited Flexibility: Hardware decoders are typically designed to support specific video codecs. If a new codec emerges that isn't supported by the existing hardware, the device may not be able to decode the video without a software fallback.
Dependency on Hardware: If the hardware doesn’t support a specific codec or feature, you may need to upgrade your device or rely on less efficient software decoding.

Software Video Decoding

What It Is:
Software video decoding uses the CPU to decode video streams through software algorithms. This method is more flexible since it can be updated or modified as needed.

Advantages:

Flexibility: Software decoding can be updated through software patches to support new codecs or improve existing ones, making it adaptable to changing video standards.
Broad Compatibility: Almost any modern CPU can perform software decoding, making it compatible with a wide range of devices, even those without specialized video decoding hardware.

Disadvantages:

Higher CPU Load: Software decoding is more CPU-intensive, which can lead to reduced system performance, especially when dealing with high-resolution or high-bitrate videos.
Increased Power Consumption: Since the CPU is doing all the work, software decoding can lead to higher power consumption, generating more heat and reducing battery life in portable devices.
Potential for Lower Performance: On devices with weaker CPUs, software decoding might struggle with demanding video formats, leading to choppy playback or dropped frames.

Summary of Differences

Efficiency: Hardware decoding is more efficient and consumes less power, while software decoding is more flexible but can be CPU-intensive.
Flexibility: Software decoding can be updated for new codecs, whereas hardware decoding is limited to the codecs supported by the hardware.
Performance: Hardware decoding typically offers smoother playback, especially for high-resolution videos, whereas software decoding may struggle with more demanding tasks.

When to Use Each

Hardware Decoding: Best for high-performance scenarios, such as playing back 4K videos, especially on devices like smartphones, tablets, or laptops where battery life is a concern.
Software Decoding: Useful when flexibility is needed, such as for playing new or less common video formats, or when specialized hardware isn’t available.

In many modern systems, a combination of both is used, where hardware decoding handles most tasks, and software decoding steps in when necessary.

AstroImg@ZWO

clipper99 I'm sorry, but the explanation with the help of the tool is more detailed and comprehensive than my description in just a few sentences.

clipper99

AstroImg@ZWO

The issue is the ridiculous description in the app.

When will you (ZWO) acknowledge what a horrible update this is? Go look on your Facebook page right now. I’ve given up trying to help new users.

It’s nothing but users not being able to find the moon or complaining about the decision to have the S50 auto image after a goto. I’ve given up trying to help new users. Look at my post history on the FB page. You can send me a message here and I’ll gladly give ZWO my FB name so you can check!

It’s almost like ZWO assumes it’s users are too stupid to push a big red button to record.

The auto-imaging has stopped the LP Filters from engaging.

The entire Horizontal Calibration process is so confusing…it begins to auto-image after a successful initialization and what are new users supposed to think when that starts happening?

You moved the manual focus toggle from a place where’s it’s been forever to a completely new area that most users can’t find.

An update of this significance wasn’t even beta tested properly. It is by far and away the worst experience of an update I’ve seen in the 9 months of ownership. I regret my decision to get a 2nd unit and if these issues aren’t addressed soon I will simply sell both units and invest in a Dwarf 3, maybe even 2.

This has also put me off considering ZWO for any products when I decide to upgrade to a more professional/prosumer rig in the near future.

Fix these problems!!!!

Tailspin45

I know what a video decoder is. And if I didn't I could look it up with Google (or ask for an AI explanation).

But all this doesn't answer my question. What did ZWO mean by Hard and Soft Solutions?

If ZWO meant Hardware Solution and Software Solution, are we to understand that the mobile device will be used instead of the Seestar's computer?

The "hand warmer" statement appears to be a joke acknowledging that intense processing can make a computer hot, suggesting that in fact the processing will be done off the Seestar platform and on the mobile device. But the joke is part of the Software Solution description.

I have told people that the mobile device is only a display for the Seestar computer and can be turned off after the Seestar is told what to do. If that's not true, I'd like to know to avoid giving people bad information.