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Problems processing PTM vs HSH?


Ansley

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Has anyone had trouble processing a PTM when an HSH would work? 

 

Our latest batches of rock art photos will not process as PTM's, but when I use the HSH method, it does work.

 

As a test, to make sure I had all the former software issues cleaned up, I re-processed (as a new project) an old photo set that had worked in the past, and it processed as a PTM again with no problem. 

 

I am stumped. 

 

Thanks for any ideas.

 

Ansley

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Ansley -  I moved this topic over to the processing forum, since it is a processing question (you originally posted it inthe highlight capture forum)

 

I have seen cases where ptm worked, but not HSH, usually due to a permissions problem with HSH needing to write to a cache file.  Hmm, never seen this go the other way.  Can you upload your project .xml file?  There is usually more information in there about what is going on that can help us trouble shoot.

 

Carla

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  • 2 weeks later...

I have tried reprocessing an HSH as a PTM and still get the dreaded "Unknown error detected" message box.

 

I tried processing another old batch of photos as a new PTM project again too and it worked fine.

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Hi everyone. I'm just ending a few months' sabbatical. I don't really want to go back to work, but someone has to pay for my beer.

 

I'm intrigued by Ansley's processing problem.

 

I read the XML file she posted, and her images appear to be tagged .JPG, e.g  jpeg-exports\CA-LAN-374_p1_spJ_e21-12.JPG.

 

We had a similar problem some months ago, finding that the software recognized only lower case tags (.ie .jpg) and not upper case (i.e .JPG).

 

I note she wrote " I re-processed (as a new project) an old photo set that had worked in the past, and it processed as a PTM again with no problem. "

 

Is she perhaps using a new camera, or another RAW-to-jpeg conversion program?

 

 

I'll be posting soon details of how the local fairies (common in Ireland) crashed my colleague's bicycle (with him on it) into a ditch, and how this minor catastrophe resulted in the construction of an inexpensive but accurate RTI light positioning system....

 

Beer beckons!

 

Good night.

 

John Anderson

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John,

 

Excellent insight. I changed computers and the OS in the middle of the project. Our old files are indeed .jpg and the new files are .JPG. The next hurdle is figuring out if I can change .JPG to .jpg.

 

I have only been using the j-pegs and have not been doing any conversions.

 

Thank you and cheers!

Ansley

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Ansley, go to

 

http://www.den4b.com/?x=downloads&product=renamer

 

ReNamer renames file tags. Download the (free) installer version from the page above. Just install and run. You specify the change you want (in this case change JPG to jpg). You can select individual files to change, or batch run a number of files in a folder.

 

We use it to convert from Adobe's .JPG to .jpg. It's easy to use. If you have any problems, please PM me!

 

John.

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John, 

 

Good catch!!  I didn't see that.  

 

I'll note that this issue is a limitation of the ptmfitter from HP, and therefore not something we can fix.  In the new RTIBuilder we will detect this issue and issue a more useful error messsage.

 

This is also discussed in this thread:

 

http://forums.culturalheritageimaging.org/index.php?/topic/241-error-processing-ptm-stack/?hl=renamer&do=findComment&comment=539

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Hi Carla,

 

Greetings from the Emerald Isle! Well, I'm back at work just one week and already well into my supply of Prozac and Valium, washed down with an endless supply of office coffee!

 

The .jpg v. .JPG problem has caught out quite a few users; an error message would be great, and I hope my recent post clarifies the matter.

 

While I was away, Mike our chemist managed to drive his bicycle (although he insists a leprechaun pushed him) into a ditch. A damaged front wheel gave me an idea for a low cost, simple, but precision light array for RTI. Construction is within anyone's capabilities. More details soon.

 

With best wishes,

 

John.

 

 

PS Expect a few $$$ donation soon.

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  • 2 months later...

Hi Carla and all,

 

@Carla: Above (20 March 2014) you mention: "...usually due to a permissions problem with HSH needing to write to a cache file". Are there details anywhere on the Forum about how to address this problem. I searched around but did not see anything. I am having a problem with RTIBuilder on my new Mac. (Granted I was a PC user for years, so still getting up to speed on Mac and might be overlooking something basic?)

 

Machine:

MacBook Pro Retina, OS X 10.9.2 (13C64)

 

Symptoms:

1. PTMs fit fine

2. HSH/*.rti  fit with no error messages. The resultant *.rti file is c.400 KB?! It should be over 200MB based on the same data being fitted on my old PC. The Mac-processed smaller file, of course, will not open in RTIViewer.

 

Tests:

1. Stab in dark: Changed the permission from "read only" to "read and write" in my library for the cache file folder "everyone" and "wheel". The "system" already had these permissions. This had no effect on the fitting.

2. Tried fitting when the folder was in my normal directory structure, ensuring no spaces in file names

3. Tried fitting with the folder on the desktop

4. Copied the HSH fitter to another location so I could be sure the Builder "knew" where to find it -- in case the built in path/location was faulty

5. Finally, I made sure OS was up to date and restarted computer. Still no joy: fitting appeared to happen normally without errors but file was again ridiculously small and useless.

 

I am stumped and after scanning the xml file it is not clear to me what the problem might be. I attach the xml file from my most recent attempt. I am grateful for any advice on how to solve this problem!

 

Best wishes - Kathryn

fit-test_after_restart.xml

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Kathryn -

 

Thanks for the details.  I have never seen or heard of this problem occurring on a mac.  As you noted there have been instances on PCs.  I can say that we have one machine running Mac OS 10.9 (Mavericks) and the hshfitter is working, so it doesn't appear to be a general problem with Mavericks.  Also, the fact that the hshfitter is running and is producing a file (even though it isn't a correct one) rules out some issues like spaces in pathnames.

 

Also, just to be clear about the permissions issue, it isn't a question of whether the user has permission to execute the hshfitter (since the program is clearly running) it is a question of whether the user has permission to write to the temporary Cache file - which is a file created within the RTiBuilder app directory structure.  One thing you could check is whether your user login has administrative privileges.  I know there have been a number of changes in the default security settings with Mavericks, and while I don't know that that is related to what you are seeing, it seems worth trying a few experiments.

 

Carla

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Hi Carla,

 

Thanks for this feedback. I can confirm that I have administrator privileges. I have not been able to figure out how to check that the Cache file aspect is happening properly. Is there anything I should look into? I am getting pretty desperate to fit my growing pile of RTI data that needs to be done using HSH (the PTM fitting is working just fine).

 

Is anyone out there using Mac OS 10.9.4 and successfully producing *.rti files?

 

Many thanks - Kathryn

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Kathryn, I'm using OS 10.9.4 and I didn't run into any problems processing both .rti and .ptm files.  I'm sorry I can't think of much to suggest, except running the disk utility to repair permissions.  Sorry to hear you're having this trouble; it can be very frustrating.  I could also offer to process some files for you if you're in a crunch.

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Thanks for your reply Taylor, and for your generous offer to process data for me. I am happy to report that the problem is now fixed and I am able to get these exciting IR RTI images of the Herculaneum papyri into the hands of eager  papyrologists!

 

So -- as a new Mac user as of a few weeks ago, the first time I installed RTIBuilder I think I must have run it from the desktop and at that point also dragged the icon onto the dock. I did not appreciate that I had to drag the dmg file into the applications folder first. I soon corrected the location of the dmg file but failed to update the icon on the dock (or rather assumed it had happened automatically since, after I had deleted the incorrectly located dmg file and downloaded a fresh copy for correct installation, I was able to click happily on the dock icon and successfully fit PTMs. As mentioned previously, I could seemingly fit using HSH, but the file turned out to be "empty" (about 40kb in size). It is curious that I received no error and the xml shows a successful HSH fit.

 

Thanks to the xml file you sent me for comparison, I was able to spot the problem, highlighted below. Only then did I realise that the dock icon was not launching the software from the correct location (i.e. the Application folder). Here are the key differences to look out for in the xml toward the end of the process:

 

GOOD: LEVEL="Information" USER="">HSHfitter Path found : /Applications/RTIbuilder-v2.0.2.app/Contents/Resources/Java/Fitters/HSHfitter/hshfitter</xc:event>

 

BAD: LEVEL="Information" USER="">HSHfitter Path found : /Volumes/RTIbuilder 2.0.2 beta/RTIbuilder-v2.0.2.app/Contents/Resources/Java/Fitters/HSHfitter/hshfitter</xc:event>

 

In addition to making sure there are no spaces in the file path, one must also make sure that RTIBuilder is in /Applications and not /Volumes. In the latter case, another clue that something is wrong is the presence of /RTIbuilder 2.0.2 beta.

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Hi Carla and All,

 

Carla, you mentioned on 20 March 2014 that sometimes the HSH fitter won't work where the PTM fitter will "due to a permissions problem with HSH needing to write to a cache file." I think I may be having this problem but if so, don't know how to fix it.

 

I am not able to build RTIs using the HSH fitter on my new computer (a Macbook Pro Retina with OS X 10.9.4). The PTM fitter is working completely fine. When I try to build an RTI using the HSH fitter, everything works perfectly until the very end of the cropping process, when I receive an error popup that says "Unknown Error Detected!"

 

Any suggestions?

 

Cheers,

Emily

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Emily,

 

Hmm - when the HSHFitter can't write to the cache (which is in a temp file) it usually doesn't fail with an error, you just get a tiny (like 4kb) file as a result.  The fact that you are getting the "Unknown error" is usually something different. Can you post your project .xml file and that might give a clue.  You can look yourself toward the end of the file and see if there is an error message there.  If there is an issue with publishing that publicly, you can email it to me "info at c-h-i.org" and I'll take a look.  I'm at a conference for the rest of the week, so I won't be able to look at it until tonight.

 

Carla

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Thanks Carla,

 

I've sent two .xml files to your email to check out.

 

A few examples of the errors from the .xml files are:

error on line 313 at column 19: Failed to parse QName 'xc:xc:

error on line 510 at column 19: Failed to parse QName 'xc:xc:'

error on line 510 at column 19: Failed to parse QName 'xc:xc:'

error on line 507 at column 19: Failed to parse QName 'xc:xc:'

error on line 426 at column 19: Failed to parse QName 'xc:xc:'

 

It is quite interesting actually; I've tried messing around with my file location and the way I process the source images. I have deleted and re-downloaded the software and tried a number of computers. As a result, I was able to get two more RTIs to build with the HSH fitter. However, when I repeat my workflow exactly, it fails to work again. Every time I receive the same unknown error. 

 

Looking forward to your insight!

 

Cheers,

Emily

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Emily -

 

The problem seems to be the number one issue when processing RTIs which is that you have spaces in your path name.  This should actually fail on both PTM and HSH, so possibly you moved the files between trying to build them with the different fitters?

 

The telling line in the XML file is near the top:

 NAME="ProjectPath" VALUE=".../Desktop/Dissertation/IoA Corner Base"/>

 

Note the spaces in IoA Corner Base

 

The same issue appears in this one: NAME="ProjectPath" VALUE=".../Desktop/Dissertation/IoA Large Tile Impression"/>

 

Please read the description here: http://forums.culturalheritageimaging.org/index.php?/topic/72-the-feared-unknown-error-message-in-rti-builder/

 

In the planned update to RTIBuilder we will detect this error and provide a more useful error message. 

 

Carla

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  • 1 year later...

Hi Carla and all, 

 

I am having the same problem Ansley reported in March 2014 with the batches I have been processing during the last months. I am not being able to process them with the PTM fitter while the HSH works perfectly well. I have checked and there are no spaces in paths, .jpg is always in low case and I have tried in different PCs (with Windows 7 and 8). The only thing I can recall that I have changed is the camera I work with (now a Nikon D800e) but I cannot see how that could be a problem.

 

Any help would be very much appreciated. Just in case this helps here I attach the xml file of the last batch that worked with the HSH fitter and that has failed to process with the PTM fitter.

 

Many thanks in advance.

 

Marta

 

 

 

Bisonte.xml

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Dear Marta -

 

I took a look at your .xml file.  The error is returning from the ptmfitter.  RTIBuilder manages your images, light position file, etc, then it calls a separate piece of software (called a fitter) to do the calculations to make the final file.  the HSHfitter is shipped with RTIBuilder, but due to license restrictions, we can't ship the ptmfitter.  So, you have to get it from HPLabs and install it yourself and then tell RTIBuilder where you installed it.

 

RTIBuilder is looking for the ptmfitter here: \\soton.ac.uk\ude\personalfiles\users\mdgu1v11\mydesktop\PTMfitter\PTMfitter.exe

 

Can you double-check that the ptmfitter is in this location, and is set with permission to execute?  Have you ever been able to build ptms on this computer, or only HSH?  There isn't really an installation program for the ptmfitter, you should just need to put it anywhere on your system where you have execute permissions and it should work.

 

The other potential issue, is that the Nikon D800 is a 36MP camera, and you may not have enough memory to process files that large.  You could try creating a set of jpegs that are smaller  (try about 20MP) and see if it will work.  The ptmfitter can successfully build large image sets, but it does require more memory on your computer.  Unfortunately, the ptmfitter software is a command line tool and doesn't issue a lot of useful error messages, so RTIBuilder has no information about why it failed.

 

Hopefully this experiment will help figure it out.  I'll note that the ptmfitter was written in 2001 when a 3MP camera was a marvel.  It's kind of amazing it has stood up this well to ever increasing image sizes.  I know people have successfully built pmts from images that large, but you may need to have a machine with more RAM (how much RAM do you have?)

 

Carla

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  • 2 years later...

Hi,

 

I have been using RTI for my work since January and had no problems with the previous version of RTIbuilder on a PC with Win 7. However, now on a new PC with Win 10, I am getting all kinds of problems, even after updating java and reinstalling the software. It does not process either in HSH or in PTM. When using HSH, it has an error that says: Improper call to JPEG library in state 200.  Whereas, when attempting to process PTM, I get a message of Unknown error with the following output information:

 

"Polynomial Texture Map (PTM) Fitter

Copyright Hewlett-Packard Company 2001. All rights reserved.
See included readme and license files.
 
C:\RTIbuilder_v2_0_2\Fitters\PTMfitter.exe usage:
  -i filename
    Full filename for lp file specifing input files and light positions. 
 
  -PTM <path>/<file.ptm>
  -o <path>/<file.ptm>
     Output file name.
 
  -RGB | -LRGB
  -f format (format either 0 for RGB or 1 for LRGB
     Create either an RGB or LRGB PTM. (Default: LRGB)
 
  -BIVARIATE | -UNIVARIATE
  -b basis  (basis either 0 for biquadratic or 1 for univariate
     Calculate a least squares fit of one independent variable:  -UNIVARIATE
                                   or two independent variables: -BIVARIATE
     (Default: BIVARIATE)
 
  -version
    Prints software version
 
  -h
     List command line options"
 
Does anyone have any suggestions on how to solve this?
 
Thanks!
Adriene
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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 3 months later...

We have a binary version of our rewritten ptmfitter (by John Cupitt) here for Windows (Mac one coming soon!) find it in:

 

https://custom-imaging.co.uk/software/

 

it still prints the same things - and has the same parameters - to maintain compatibility with the ancient ptmfitter ;-) But it copes with the large iomages we now use.

 

for reference it builds a 128 36Mpix image set in 39s on my PC. We also have a friendly Windows helper if you use it on windows a lot - see RTI Processor.

 

Enjoy!

Kirk

ps I know this looks like a very old thread but it has the right name!

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