More trouble with ToupLite

[Lilly Begonia]

I don't know why, but lately ToupLite keeps freezing up on me while I'm scanning slides. If I quit and restart it I get the message "ToupLite cannot preview at this time, re-plug the device and try again." This is happening a lot in the last two days. Sometimes I have to re-plug 2 or 3 times before it will work again.

Also, when I first started using it the viewer would come up at 75%, now it only comes up at 33%, and I'm not sure why that is either. This is on a Mac Mini with 16gb memory running Sierra. It's proving to be quite unreliable software.

[JimT]

Can you return it?

[Lilly Begonia]

Can you return it?

I'm not sure what to do about it at this point, other than to call the company in the morning and tell them what problems I'm having. There might be other software I can use with this camera, or they might have some solution. They were closed today being it's Sunday. I'll just have to see.

[amanda1]

Try Altami Studio program, the program is suitable for Mac OS. you can download it here (https://altami-studio.soft32.com/), or just search the internet. At least it works properly, I have USB 3.0 camera Point Gray Flea3. I also used with UCMOS camera

[Lilly Begonia]

Try Altami Studio program, the program is suitable for Mac OS. you can download it here (https://altami-studio.soft32.com/), or just search the internet. At least it works properly, I have USB 3.0 camera Point Gray Flea3. I also used with UCMOS camera

Thank you Amanda, I shall give it a shot.

[mrsonchus]

I don't know why, but lately ToupLite keeps freezing up on me while I'm scanning slides. If I quit and restart it I get the message "ToupLite cannot preview at this time, re-plug the device and try again." This is happening a lot in the last two days. Sometimes I have to re-plug 2 or 3 times before it will work again.

Also, when I first started using it the viewer would come up at 75%, now it only comes up at 33%, and I'm not sure why that is either. This is on a Mac Mini with 16gb memory running Sierra. It's proving to be quite unreliable software.

Hi, I've been using TV for about 3 years, but with a Windows 10 PC.....

But, there may be a setting that will help - that is the resolution of the live image (which of course is the one you see in the window on the PC as you 'scan'. The live image resolution may be set lower than the actual resolution at which the camera will take it's pictures - which presumably you'll want to be the maximum of the camera.
For example, set the live image to say 2mp and the actual capture image to the camera's maximum (in my case 5mp). I found that it made no real difference to my live view and focusing was exactly as good as when in maximum res live view....

The captured images will still be in the (set by you) maximum resolution - the lower scanning resolution simply lightens the load upon your PC as you ask it to show you the live (moving also whilst scanning of course) image.

You've probably tried this but it's worth a go if you haven't.

p.s. try a different USB port on your PC as they aren't all created equal - this also may really make a difference. Use the same USB every time for the camera as this may also avoid some rather pesky problems with the operating system's resource allocation tables, which with Windows at least will occasionally become hopelessly confused...

Hope it may help, John B.

p.p.s. Toupview is definitely worth persevering with as it's a simply superb program when it works well, as it has for me but on a Windows machine. The measurement facility alone is excellent,let alone the super-convenient stacking and stitching routines built-in - a really capable piece of software.

Last edit - promise!
The actual USB cable can also make a huge difference to performance and/or stability - not simply on a 'how much it cost' basis - simply a random choice - most of my several USB cables perform differently (not according to price) - often very significantly so. Definitely worth attention - often the cable you think is the weediest-looking junk will give you better performance than the shiny-gold super-cable that cost 15-times as much!

[Pat Thielen]

One other thing to consider is wether or not the USB port powers itself off. Because this seems to be happening when you're using it probably isn't a thing, but with some systems (I don't know about Macs) the USB ports will be powered off to save power. On a Windows system you can go into some deeply buried settings and disable this feature.

Anyway, just a thought. I hope everything gets worked out.

[wporter]

Sounds like it might be a dodgy connection. I second the suggestion for a better cable; though it might be the connection socket on the camera that's bad, in which case you would have to return the camera.

[Lilly Begonia]

Well I think I've found the reason tor my problems with ToupLite, and it stems from the fact that while the microscope camera is on a USB 3.0 hub, the hub is plugged into the Mac Mini's USB 2.0 port. That's a bottleneck to be sure. Fortunately this Mac has a Thunderbolt port, which can do USB 3.0 through an adapter I've ordered. So soon I should be able to get video that looks as good at what I see on my screen as I'm shooting it, and the program won't go unresponsive on me as it did recently, so that I had to unplug the Mac to get it back. I also have a FireWire port on this Mac, and I might be able to use that too.

[MichaelG.]

... the hub is plugged into the Mac Mini's USB 2.0 port. That's a bottleneck to be sure. Fortunately this Mac has a Thunderbolt port, which can do USB 3.0 through an adapter I've ordered.

Hopefully, that will do the trick, and bring you great joy !

MichaelG.

[Lilly Begonia]

... the hub is plugged into the Mac Mini's USB 2.0 port. That's a bottleneck to be sure. Fortunately this Mac has a Thunderbolt port, which can do USB 3.0 through an adapter I've ordered.

Hopefully, that will do the trick, and bring you great joy !

MichaelG.

It will if the video output is as good as what I see on my screen! Currently it's just not even close. I also note that I have to record for several minutes to get a video that's less than a minute long and sped way up, and that's just not right.