FAQ - Questions with answers

Products ::  Topaz Moment ::  FAQ - Questions with answers

Why is there no picture displayed after capturing?

Topaz Moment uses Windows Image/Fax Viewer to preview captured images. In Windows 2000 or certain system installations this viewer cannot be found and nothing will be displayed.

To fix this problem, go to "View|Option..." to open the Option dialog. Click on "Save Settings" under "Enhancement" in the options tree on the left. The bottom panel contains an "Image Sent To" option. Select "The Following Program" and "Browse" for your favorite image viewer.



I can't see the video even though it seems to be playing.

Sometimes the video display appears black even though Topaz Moment tells you the video is playing. To fix this, change the "Output" settings under "View|Options...". Click on "Output" under "Playback".

Experiment with changing the DirectShow Video settings (VMR7/VMR9) with using different surfaces and render options. In other words, try using different combinations of "VMR7"/"VMR9" with "Use regular offscreen plain surfaces"/"Use texture surfaces and render in 2D"/"Use texture surfaces and render in 3D". One or more of these combinations should fix the problem. Restart Topaz Moment after each combination to have the changes take effect. Note: RealMedia Video and QuickTime Video DirectX settings should correspond with the DirectShow Video settings. For example, if DirectShow Video is set at "VMR9 (renderless)", then RealMedia and QuickTime should both be set at "DirectX 9". For more help on this issue please email us at support@topazlabs.com.



Why do I get an error when opening a video?

There are two possible causes of this problem:

1. You need to install a decoder. Usually the error message will tell you that it cannot find a proper codec. In this case you can find it on the Internet on sites such as www.free-codecs.com, which contains decoders for almost all video formats. However, only install the ones you need.
2. You are running Windows 2000 and have not installed DirectX 9.0. Topaz Moment requires DirectX 9.0 and above. If you have not done so already, you may get it directly from Microsoft.

If you still cannot resolve the problem, please contact us with detailed description of the problem.



Can I capture pictures from a miniDV camcorder?

Unlike V2.x, Topaz Moment V3.x does not support capturing images directly from miniDV devices.

To get around this, use software to first capture the DV into a video file. Topaz Moment can then capture and enhance images from this video file.



Can I capture pictures from video files from the Internet?

Definitely! You can capture frames from videos downloaded from the Internet. However, these videos tend to be of low resolution and low quality. Try to select a frame of decent quality to capture, and don't use too large of a zoom factor on low-quality videos.



How do I get the best quality in my image captures?

Many factors affect the captured images, the most important of which is the quality of the original video. Topaz Moment is capable of greatly improving video images, but it can't create video pixel information that doesn't exist! Because of this, try to always select clear frames in the video to capture. When capturing analog videos into a digital video format, use the highest resolution and lowest compression setting for best results in Topaz Moment. In addition, try to select frames with relative small movement so that Topaz Moment can make more effective use of adjacent frames for its enhancement engine.



Why does Topaz Moment take a long time?

Topaz Moment takes a large amount of computation to enhance a picture due to its use of multi-frame super-resolution algorithms. You need a fast computer (>1GHz) and large memory(>256MB) - the faster they are the faster Topaz Moment will process. We are also working hard to improve its speed - please make sure to check often for the latest version.



Why can't I just use my video editing software's frame export function?

Well, you can, if you just want a raw frame grab without any improvement in quality.

Topaz Moment enhances the picture using an advanced multi-frame super-resolution technique that synthesizes adjacent frames into one high-quality digital still, while frame export functions in video editing software just saves a raw frame into a picture file. The quality of your result using Topaz software would be beyond comparison.



How can I capture an image directly from a TV show?

If you have a TV tuner card you can use it to capture show into a video file and open it in Topaz Moment. Otherwise, you need to hook up your TV(or VCR) output to an analog capture device.



What do I need to capture pictures from my VHS/8mm tape?

First, you need a video capturing device on your computer like a video capture PCI card or USB video capture device. Connect the output of your video camera/VCR output to the input of the video capture device and save the video onto a directory in your computer. You can then use Topaz Moment!(TM) to open the video file and capture and enhance pictures as usual.