Andromeda Overview

Introduction
Andromeda is a software application that will ease your efforts of capturing realtime images from different capturing devices. It was designed with the astrophotography ideea in mind and it has been succesfully tested on capturing & processing realtime frames from webcams for planet and landscape imagery. Thus it provides powerfull tools to work with:


 * 1) Capturing and subtraction of dark frames in order to reduce thermal noise of camera chip;
 * 2) Bias frames capturing and subtraction;
 * 3) Capturing of flat frames and flat frame correction;
 * 4) Real time stacking of frames for reducing noise;
 * 5) Amplification of stacked images or output images;
 * 6) Pixel grouping for amplification of images by using 4 pixel sensors of camera as one;
 * 7) Target tracking and image alignment (drifting);
 * 8) Progressive stacking of captures;
 * 9) Overlay colour controls (brightness, contrast, gamma correction);
 * 10) Manual capturing of still frames in bmp, png, jpeg image formats (autonumbering);
 * 11) Sequence capturing thus enabling creation of movies (delay between captures can be specified);
 * 12) Texts overlay to specify the object, scope, camera, date and author.

Being a realtime capture application, it's motto will be "what you see is what you get", meaning that whatever your application screen will show to you, will also be saved on disk. After shooting sessions, you can use the captured images as they are or you can process them with a dedicated tool, such as Registax.

Distributions Available
In order to offer a guarantee of the capabilities to the end user, Andromeda is provided for purchase & download in two flavors: a free evaluation copy and a full licensed one.

The free evaluation copy will not limit the end user in using the processing capabilities in any way, so whatever addition is made to the processing core, it will be available in both the evaluation and the full licensed copy. Also, the use of the free evaluation copy is not restricted to personal use. In case when you find it to be sufficient for your needs, you are not obliged to pay for the full version. To get a copy, you will be redirected to the purchase page in order to register yourself before downloading an evaluation copy. After downloading, you may redistribute it under the same conditions, without charging anything. Limitations of the evaluation copy of Andromeda are as following:


 * 1) An RSS feed window will appear every time you run the application;
 * 2) You will be able to save captures only in the jpeg format;
 * 3) Sequence capturing will be limited to 10 minutes;
 * 4) Every 3 months a new evaluation version update will be made available and you will be required to download it (the old copy will not run anymore). We enforce this policy in order to make users seek for new updates. This will not, in any case, limit the availability of using the evaluation copy (it's not like a trial vesion you have to buy or not use it at all).

After trying the capabilities of the tool, you may want to purchase a full copy in order to eliminate the restrictions described above. Use the same method to get a full copy or send an order to sales@bitnova.ro.

Installation & Prerequisites
In order to use Andomeda, you will need a video capturing device supported by Video For Windows OS component, such as a webcam. In case your digital photo camera can be connected to the computer in the raw mode (depending on camera drivers) it is possible to connect it to Andromeda as well and expand your capabilities to use this software (a digital photo camera will provide you with some extended settings regarding exposure times and noise reductions). If no capturing device is installed, Andromeda will show only a black screen. Usually, when downloading the application from our server, it will be in the form of an executable archive file containing the files of the application, such as Andromeda_SFX_eval_xxxxxxxx.exe. When started, the executable will extract the files in a temporary directory and run the Andromeda.exe, the actual executable of the application. If no other installations of Andromeda are present, the application will enter in the self setup mode and ask you for installation options:


 * 1) Select install directory, check if you wish to create a desktop shortcut and Programs group, then click Next;
 * 2) Read and agree with the terms of End User License Agreement, then click Continue.

That's all... in a few seconds, the application will self install and restart the proper executable and you may start using the application. Whenever a new update is available, you will have to download it manually. No bitnova product will force you to install, upgrade or access content if you do not aprove. The only content brought to you automatically will consist in RSS feeds in an enclosed environment set to show only at the start-up of the application.

Technical Support
Any questions or difficulties you may have, please consult:


 * 1) The Online Product Resources (this page) which you can also access it directly from your Programs Group installed shortcut;
 * 2) The Online Documentation Pages (the wiki) which is also linked into your Programs Group;
 * 3) If the first two options did not help you, or you wish to make a feedback, send a notice at support@bitnova.ro.This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it