2026-10-09 APP 2.0.0-beta48 has been released !
This is mainly a bug fix release for the reported bugs in beta47. In addition it has a significant User Interface performance improvement noticable when you need to process 1000s of images in APP.
2026-10-03 APP 2.0.0-beta47 has been released !
This is a very big release... many code optimizations/rewrites, many parts of APP are much faster and more precise, especially star analysis and registration are much faster ! Big mosaics will go much faster 🙂
And we introduce a new preview filter, which includes the new Adaptive Deep Sky Stretch and a General Levels Stretch, this has been long over due. The old preview filter (the panel on the right side to stretch and preview your data) has not been updated for a couple of years and it is a critical part of any APP session.
Adaptive Deep Sky Stretch or ADSS is a much more intuitive stretch algorithm. It is also color preserving (which is a great new addition in itself ! ) which means that the highlights are no longer bleached, color is maintained from the linear data while stretching. You can simply stretch your data using the sky background level and signal width sliders which work much easier and more intuitive. You no longer need to fiddle with the old complicated sliders with zoom buttons. All the zoom buttons for the sliders are made redundant. And you can enter slider values in the slider value fields yourself. I will make a youtube video in the coming days to explain and fully introduce ADSS. Once the video is ready, it will be highlighted on the forum.
RGB Combine upgrade !. The RGB Combine Tool has been rewritten mostly. The tool is faster and easier to use and most importantly, the Luminance slider to inject a luminance channel or channels into the RGB composite is now working correctly. It no longer bleaches the RGB colors. Combined with the new ADSS preview, you will get much better and easier great composites with great color! I will also explain this in a new youtube video.
Hi Mabula,
Is there progress on this super important upgrade of APP ( long time
ago advertised to be implemented)??
I am very much aware of the complications and all of the work implied and
only want to ask about the status and/or timeframe expected to get it done.
Stay well,
Mert
Hi Mert @lammertus,
It will take more time than anticipated unfortunately. And we have other priorities at the moment in terms of adding more functionality in APP. I have performed testing of course, but to implement this robustly in a first module is something that will done hopefully later in 2021. I don't expect this to happen in the first half of 2021 to be honest.
Using Vulkan will not add more possibilities, it will only speed up processing on computers with good videocards which of course will be very nice.
Once an initial module in APP works with Vulkan for GPU parallel processing, I will convert more and more modules that will benefit from GPU parallel processing of course 😉
Kind regards,
Mabula
Hi Mabula,
Greatly apreciated your quick response!!
Now that in the near future I will have a lot more spare time available I will plan for a nice desktop computer to do the computing with a lot of CUDA cores in the graphic card. Great to hear this has not been archived and still is in the "near" future. Computing power is really needed to get things going with ease. I sincerely hope all is well with you due to the Covid history for all of us and I'm looking forward to see this getting implemented, we are all going to get huge benefit from this!!
Stay well in these difficult times,
Mert
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