DRS™NOVA 5.5 Release

DRS
1

Latest Release DRS™NOVA Version 5.5
5/5/2023
DRS™NOVA v5.5

User Guide

Previous Versions

2

DRS Nova 5.0 b6139 release notes 8/30/2021

GENERAL

  • The "Get Original Values function (right mouse button-select) in all tools by default now uses a brush to select the pixels to revert rather than having to draw a rectangle around the area. You can switch between the brush and the rectangle by pressing Ctrl+Alt.
  • When viewing History overlays, a GOV action reveals the Original Values. Pressing T toggles between the fix and the original pixels. A rejects any change. G reverts the fix to the original values.
  • For all tools that include Presets, interaction was enhanced by allowing you to select a preset without recalling the values saved in that preset.
  • Fixed some issues with the Reticle Overlay Editor.
  • Fixed various memory leaks and security issues.

LUT SETTINGS EDITOR

  • Added ability to read, apply, and write 1D and 3D display LUTs (.cube files).

DPX FILES

  • Fixed a bug where 10-bit monochrome files might be written incorrectly, resulting in corrupt frames

PROJECT MANAGER

  • Simpler clip creation functionality.
  • New ability to create “Sub Clips” from the marked range of a master clip.
  • New “Clip Properties” dialog to show detailed information about a clip.
  • Improved robustness by preforming multiple retries when SAN file system I/O fails.
  • Fixed a bug where you could discard or commit frames for a version clip that itself has versions.

DRS TOOL

  • Removed the Color Bump function, which is now performed by the Mistime sub-tool of the Deflicker tool.
  • Added an override to specify which RGB channels should be processed.
  • You can now select debris to fix by using a brush instead of having to draw a rectangle, lasso, or bezier around the dirt.
  • Fixed a Replace mode bug, where the wrong frames might be used as the replacement source.
  • Improved repair speed for some modes.
  • Added the ability to use a brush to execute fixes.
  • Added Brush+ for use with Hard Motion that allows multiple brush strokes executed over a marked range of frames.

PAINT TOOL

  • Added an override to specify which RGB channels should be processed.

DEFLICKER TOOL

  • New Mistime sub tool, which replaces the Color Bump function that was in the DRS Tool.
  • New Mistime automated fixes based on optionally fixing the first and last frame of each shot.
  • Added a brush to the Mistime sub tool.

DEBRIS TOOL

  • Added the SHINE filter, a new automated dirt and fleeting scratch repair tool (Note: this feature is in Beta test and will be enhanced continually in the coming months.)
  • Fixed a bug in Autofilter where the green overlay might be shown for a frame that is not the current frame.

FILTER TOOL

  • This tool was removed. Aperture correction can now be done in the Grain Tool.

GRAIN TOOL

  • New post-grain-reduction sharpening step (aperture correction).
  • Added an override to specify which RGB channels should be processed for Aperture and Create Grain
  • Removed brush function

MOTION TOOL

  • New tool to compute camera motion, breaking each shot of a clip into “motion segments” which are classified as having static, low, or high camera motion. Certain tools (only Stabilization-Auto Mode in the current release) are able to use these motion segments to determine which user settings should be applied to them.

DRS Nova 4.2 b5058 release notes 5/18/2020

PAINT TOOL

  • faster mask function

DEFLICKER TOOL

  • Enable red Stop button

STABILIZE AND DEWARP

  • Default “Use ProcessingRegion” check box to OFF

DRS Nova 4.2 b5001 release notes 4/15/2020

PROJECT MANAGER

  • Always display the “Create Clip” panel in Project Manager

  • Sped up project manager list generation.

  • Change “Frame Rate Changed” clip status to show the value it was changed to as, e.g., “FPS → 24”.

  • Fix a bug where when you create version clips and want the history to go to a separate “metadata tree”, you would get error pop-ups and the history would end up going to the media folder instead.

PDL VIEWER

  • After double-clicking on a PDL entry, the focus is no longer switched to the main window.

  • Fix issue in the PDL viewer where key presses were no longer passed to the main window after double-clicking on an entry.

DEFLICKER TOOL

  • Fix issue in Global Deflicker where graph does not update while graphing

  • Fix preset selection shortcuts (1, 2, 3, 4) in Zonal Flicker. They were changing Global Flicker presets instead.

GRAIN TOOL

  • Fixed an issue where, when adding grain, the grain pattern was often exactly the same for each of the 4 frames in an iteration.

PAINT TOOL

  • Fix bug in paint where doing a GOV after a reveal with a “locked” import frame, the import frame index was wiped out so was then reset to be the first frame of the clip.

  • Fix bug in paint reveal mode with “locked” import timecode. When you ran a macro, on one frame it was using an import offset that was off by one, then leaving it set to the new, erroneous value.

STABILIZE TOOL

  • Improved paralleization of Auto-Stabilization analysis by trying to use all available processors.

  • Added “Source is Animation” option to Auto-Stabilize. This allows the tool to operate correctly when the animation contains duplicate frames.

GENERAL

  • The calculation of number of processors available for tool processing now maxes out at 60 instead of 32.
                 DRS Nova 4.2 release notes 1/12/2020

DPX FILES

  • Added a command in the Project Manager to strip the alpha channel from RGBA media, turning them into 25% smaller RGB files.

  • Added a command in the Project Manager to set the frame rate values in the DPX file headers of the clip’s media.

  • Fixed a potential crash when a clip contains files both with and without an alpha channel.

EXR FILES

  • Fixed issue where output may be uncompressed files, rather than using the compression mode of the source file.

  • Fixed issue where the timecode was not being read correctly from the EXR file header.

  • Fixed issues that occurred when using the Scratch tool on EXR files.

PROJECT MANAGER

  • Added a “Relink Media Folder” to the clip pop-up menu which can be used to reset the media pointers of a clip when the media is moved to a different folder, avoiding having to make new clips.

  • Added a “Strip alpha channel” to the clip pop-up menu which can be used to remove the alpha channel information from RGBA media. This is only implemented for clips based on RGBA DPX files.

  • Fixed issues with using UNC files names (look like \machine_name\path, as opposed to paths with a drive letter like D:\path).

DRS TOOL

  • Implemented vastly improved Color Bump algorithm.

DEBRIS TOOL (renamed, was named Autofilter)

  • Enable Max Size slider for alpha filters.

  • Fixed memory leak when selecting Min Size > 1.

  • Fixed an issue where a crash might occur when switching to the Debris tool after starting DRS Nova with the Scene Cut timeline hidden.

DEFLICKER TOOL

  • Added constraints to Zonal mode, allowing setting of either head and tail anchor frames, or a single reference frame that other frames are matched to.

  • Implemented improved smoothing algorithm for Zonal mode rendering.

  • Fix PDL rendering crash in Zonal mode if the analysis database could not be read.

  • Greatly sped up creation of PDLs in Zonal mode.

  • Fix Global mode issues with the blue line not appearing or being incorrect.

GRAIN TOOL

  • Implemented channel mask for grain creation so different grain can be added to the individual R, G, and B channels.

PAINT TOOL

  • Fixed crash when Paint brush is too big (radius > 2048).

  • Fixed issues in “Alternate Clip” mode when in “compare” mode.

  • Fixed an issue where Paint changes could be lost if the History file could not be written to.

GENERAL

  • Fixed a crash when trying to play a corrupt media file.

  • The size of the font of the timecode information at the bottom of the main widow is now changed dynamically depending on the size of the main window.

DRS Nova 4.2 b4970 release notes 3/20/2020

bug fixes in Paint Tool

DRS Nova 4.2 b4904 release notes 1/12/2020

DPX FILES

  • Added a command in the Project Manager to set the frame rate values in the DPX file headers of the clip’s media.

DEBRIS TOOL

  • Fixed Black and White filter bug, if both were enabled then white filter would not work

DRS Nova 4.2 release notes 10/04/2019

DPX FILES

  • Added a command in the Project Manager to strip the alpha channel from RGBA media, turning them into 25% smaller RGB files.

  • Fixed a potential crash when a clip contains files both with and without an alpha channel.

EXR FILES

  • Fixed issue where output may be uncompressed files, rather than using the compression mode of the source file.

  • Fixed issue where the timecode was not being read correctly from the EXR file header.

  • Fixed issues that occurred when using the Scratch tool on EXR files.

PROJECT MANAGER

  • Added a “Relink Media Folder” to the clip pop-up menu which can be used to reset the media pointers of a clip when the media is moved to a different folder, avoiding having to make new clips.

  • Added a “Strip alpha channel” to the clip pop-up menu which can be used to remove the alpha channel information from RGBA media. This is only implemented for clips based on RGBA DPX files.

  • Fixed issues with using UNC files names (look like \machine_name\path, as opposed to paths with a drive letter like D:\path).

DRS TOOL

  • Implemented vastly improved Color Bump algorithm.

DEBRIS TOOL (renamed, was named Autofilter)

  • Enable Max Size slider for alpha filters.

  • Fixed memory leak when selecting Min Size > 1.

  • Fixed an issue where a crash might occur when switching to the Debris tool after starting DRS Nova with the Scene Cut timeline hidden.

DEFLICKER TOOL

  • Added constraints to Zonal mode, allowing setting of either head and tail anchor frames, or a single reference frame that other frames are matched to.

  • Implemented improved smoothing algorithm for Zonal mode rendering.

  • Fix PDL rendering crash in Zonal mode if the analysis database could not be read.

  • Greatly sped up creation of PDLs in Zonal mode.

  • Fix Global mode issues with the blue line not appearing or being incorrect.

GRAIN TOOL

  • Implemented channel mask for grain creation so different grain can be added to the individual R, G, and B channels.

PAINT TOOL

  • Fixed crash when Paint brush is too big (radius > 2048).

  • Fixed issues in “Alternate Clip” mode when in “compare” mode.

  • Fixed an issue where Paint changes could be lost if the History file could not be written to.

GENERAL

  • Fixed an crash when trying to play a corrupt media file.

  • THe size of the font of the timecode information at the bottom of the main widow is now changed dynamically depending on the size of the main window.

DRS™NOVA v4.1 Release Notes
1/30/19
NEW FEATURES

-GPU SUPPORT
Dewarp, Stabilize, and Deflicker Tools

IMPROVEMENTS
-DPX FILES
Correctly handle “upside-down” images.
Correctly handle big-endian unpacked 12-bit files.

-AUTOFILTER
Improved “Min Size” processing by reducing the range and increasing the granularity.
Grain Suppression Threshold parameter
Alpha channel defect map fix-indicator
T and Shift-T hot keys changed to reflect mode

-DRS
Fixed occasional issue with lower right corner of the frame.

-DEFLICKER
Processing region is now disabled by default in Zonal mode.
Zonal mode processing now correct with enabled mask.
GPU rendering for increased speed.
GPU zonal mode for faster previewing.

-DEWARP
GPU preview and rendering for increased speed.

STABILIZE
Faster Auto-stabilzation mode pre-processing.
GPU preview and rendering for increased speed.

DRS™NOVA v4.0 Release Notes
7/9/18

General Enhancements
Cache now is alway enabled
Only a single instance of DRS Nova can be run simultanously
Frame cache can not be cleared in preferences
Added clip corruption detection and limited auto-repair of clip
Added outline to masks that shows the blending extent
Updated help for all tools
Added tooltips to all controls
Increased time tooltips are shown

General Bug Fixes
Fix issue where DPX alpha data might be corrupted when files are written
Fixed issue where that prevented byte swapped monochrome frames from being written
Updated error reporting when history cannot be written
Fixed frame corruption with 16 bit DPX files
Fixed failed startup if clip no longer exists

Paint Tool
Enhancements
Added ability to paint from Alternate Clip

Bug Fixes
Fixed paint bug disapping bobs in original values mode
Fixed disaperaring proxy
Fixed control shift not working in some modes
Fixed issue of auto-accept in ctrl-W mode
Fixed issue where switching to DRS in clone mode corrupted clip
Fixed issue with grain that may have produced line artifacts
Fixed issue with reverse range macro
Fixed banding in paint on odd frame widths

DRS Tool
Enhancements
Added color overrides
Speed up color bump fixes

Bug Fixes
	Fixed multiple DRS replace frame bugs
	Fixed issue where sometimes when doing a DRS fix the DRS setup would fail
	Fixed bug where color bump would not work if selected less than full frame
	Fixed issue with grain that may have produced line artifacts

Auto Filter Tool
Enhancements
Added minimum size to filter controls
Allows maximum filter size to go to zero
Faster rendering

Bug Fixes
	Fixed bug in images larger than 4K
	Fixed max dust size not used correctly

Three Layer Tool
Bug Fixes
Fixed hang in three layer tool

New Flicker tool replaces Color Breathing
Enhancements
Two differnt types of flicker
Color breathing becomes Global Flicker
Added Zonal Flicker mode
Faster preview and rendering in both Zonal and Global mode

Stabilize
Enhancements
Added an Auto stabilize mode
Redid the GUI for manual mode
Reduced blur when stabilizing in subpixel mode

Bug Fixes
	Fixed popup error messages when tracking was aborted
	Fixed updates of tracking graphs

Project Manager
Bug Fixes
Fixed multiclip creation dialog
Fixed timecode not being pulled from DPX headers properly
Fixed deleting version with versions, now all versions are properly deleted
Fixed out of memory error on cut detection
Fixed multiclip create crash when selected source is a media folder
Fixed issues with page/up page/down
Fixed issue with EDL importing adding extra cuts

Player
Enhancements
Improved caching performance
Added wiper for split screen
Added side by side display for two clips
Shows EXR values in normalize float rather than hex

Bug Fixes:
	Fixed problems with DPX display when frame cache is enable
	Improved file reading performance for DPX, TIFF and EXR
	Fixed player could hang if stopped on a missing or corrupt frame
	Restricted EXR to only RGB and RGBA files
	Fixed reticles display issues

DRS™NOVA 2.3 Release Notes
12/6/16

NEW FEATURES:

Presets in Stabilize and Dewarp
Image zoom and position using Mouse (wheel) while holding down Z key
Use dirt map in alpha channel of 16-bit RGBA files to guide the Autofilter tool.
Make a clip from a sequence of DPX files where some of the files contain alpha
Choose Folder or File to create clip. Folder speeds up clip creation.
When modifying 16-bit RGBA files, preserve alpha channel instead of zeroing it out.
In Paint, pressing and holding the middle mouse button will now show the import frame when in Reveal or Clone modes (same functionality as pressing and holding the Ctrl and Shift keys).

BUG FIXES:

Fixed an issue where the scratch tool was unable to fix EXR-format frames.
Fixed an issue where EXR frames were displayed with incorrect gamma applied. channels (RGBA) and some do not (RGB).
Fixed a bug related to tracking in Stabilize where occasionally during tracking an error dialog appears
Fixed Dewarp error dialog when trying to track when there are fewer than three tracking boxes.
Fixed Stabilize bug, if you pause tracking then change the marks, tracking would stop
Fixed issues with tracking dialogs in Paint.
Fixed TIFF issues with big-endian and RGBA files.
Added width to timecode field in Color Breathing tool so it isn’t cut off.

DRS™NOVA 2.0 Release Notes

In the Project Manager, allow editing of comments for multiple clips at once - the
same comment is set for each selected clip.

If desired the W and keys can be swapped. Their state can be set in
File/Preferences/General. When checked, the behavior is: W shows blue history
boxes and Shift+W shows original values. Unchecked swaps behavior.

Removed the “4K multithread” preference. Now defaults to multithread.

2.0 adds version of version feature. You can now create a version of a version by
right clicking on the version and selecting Create Version of Version. This allows
you to do non-destructive testing on a range of frames that you already have
approved without first having to commit them.

Replaced flicker tool with new Color Breathing and Flicker tool. CTRL CLICK on up
or down on spin boxes gangs all Color Breathing spin boxes together.

Sped up rendering in all full frame tools by 40 to 60%.

For DPX files, handled image descriptor = 0 properly.

Added support for monochrome DPX files.

In Paint always auto-accept in place. Only go back to the accepted frame if the
user presses G or presses the “Accept” button.

Don’t allow timeline to undock.

Don’t resize the picture when doing Shift+L while in presentation mode to toggle
the toolbar ribbon visibility.

Fixed issue with 12 bit DPX clips, render is now 60% faster.

Fixed shifted frame in a 16-bit monochrome clip with 3K header.

Fixed frame cut detection for monochrome files packed as
IF_PIXEL_PACKING_1_10Bits_IN_2Bytes_L

The untracked tracking boxes are drawn in yellow instead of red.

Fixed crash when loading tracking points in Dewarp and Stabilize.

Fixed issue in Dewarp where when you try to drag a point, some unselected points
move as well.

Fixed bug where painting original values painted garbage if the frame has no
history.

Fixed bug where Paint would randomly switch from COLOR to REVEAL mode in midstroke.

Fixed issue where the timeline right click menu item “Run cut detection” did
nothing.

Fixed issue in 3 Layer where doing a preview would leave the analysis/processing
region controls in the incorrect enabled state when analysis region is turned off.
Should fix issue where 3 layer was always using the processing region, even if the
box was unchecked.

Fixed issue with 3Layer Auto Per Shot setting in PDLs.

Fixed ALT+Numpad5 (focus on reticle selection combo box) - works like old Correct
now.

Fixed timeline visibility not remembered when you close and reopen Nova. Restore
last height of main window top panel when Nova restarts.

Fixed timeline zooming.

Fixed cut marks not showing up when you show the cuts timeline.

b1569 1/11/16
Fixes to Color Breathing Tool renders

b1894 8/3/2016

b2150 3/7/2017
Fix handling of EXR source files (eliminate residual artifacts surrounding fixed regions)