Apple M1 support/performace?

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xonefs
Posts: 64
Joined: Sun Jul 18, 2021 7:30 am

Apple M1 support/performace?

Post by xonefs »

Hello, I am currently evaluating startools. Are there plans to update it to run natively on apple m1? I managed to install it on mac and go through the hoops to get it to work, but performance running through rosetta 2 emulation seems really bad. Like just pressing a button to open a file there is a huge lag and it seemed to just hang up at one point. I use other astro software through emulation and it is not as fast as it potentially could be but not unusable like this. Is anyone successfully using startools on apple m1?

I do like the idea of the software and having another alternative, and i have an intel mac at home as well (currently on the road), but I am curious if there is commitment to supporting mac and the new macs in the future.
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admin
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Re: Apple M1 support/performace?

Post by admin »

Hi,

The 1.8 alpha has already been ported and confirmed to work natively on M1/ARM via a universal binary without problems.

I have, however, not heard of any terrible slowdowns via Rosetta, particularly when it comes to simple tasks like opening files, so something else may be at play.

It is possible the files you are importing are stored in a format that is "not ideal" (for example floating point format - integer format is preferred), contain out-of-bounds pixels, and/or do not report the used dynamic range (MIN/MAX) in their headers.

In such cases, importing may take longer depending on, for example, the amount of aberrant pixels (if any). In the latter case StarTools will substitute every singularity's pixel with "plausible" values, so that subsequent processing will not be disturbed by their presence (this, for example, avoids the propagation of ringing artefacts, or prevents algorithms that rely on local neighborhood pixels from backing-off).

Your stacker of choice will often allow you to avoid such things. Is your stacker listed here?

I can also point you the closed alpha, but - it being an alpha - I probably would not recommend learning the ropes with that.

Clear skies!
Ivo Jager
StarTools creator and astronomy enthusiast
xonefs
Posts: 64
Joined: Sun Jul 18, 2021 7:30 am

Re: Apple M1 support/performace?

Post by xonefs »

admin wrote: Mon Jul 19, 2021 1:28 am Hi,

The 1.8 alpha has already been ported and confirmed to work natively on M1/ARM via a universal binary without problems.

I have, however, not heard of any terrible slowdowns via Rosetta, particularly when it comes to simple tasks like opening files, so something else may be at play.

It is possible the files you are importing are stored in a format that is "not ideal" (for example floating point format - integer format is preferred), contain out-of-bounds pixels, and/or do not report the used dynamic range (MIN/MAX) in their headers.

In such cases, importing may take longer depending on, for example, the amount of aberrant pixels (if any). In the latter case StarTools will substitute every singularity's pixel with "plausible" values, so that subsequent processing will not be disturbed by their presence (this, for example, avoids the propagation of ringing artefacts, or prevents algorithms that rely on local neighborhood pixels from backing-off).

Your stacker of choice will often allow you to avoid such things. Is your stacker listed here?

I can also point you the closed alpha, but - it being an alpha - I probably would not recommend learning the ropes with that.

Clear skies!
Thanks for the info, that's all good to know and reassuring. I use Astro Pixel Processor for calibration/stacking, then I believe I had cropped and saved them in pixinsight. I do not recall the specifics of file format but they were saved with the default fits parameters which I believe are integer. So I am not sure the answer to your first question but I would guess they should be fine.

I would be interested in trying the alpha- again I have not purchases the software yet but I just would like to make sure it will run smoothly/snappy on my system and I think that would make learning a lot easier.

edit: actually maybe pixinsight saved them floating point? I tried again making sure a different image was interger. It loaded eventually but still seems sluggish.
Russ.Carpenter
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Location: Green Valley, Arizona

Re: Apple M1 support/performace?

Post by Russ.Carpenter »

Hello, I am currently evaluating startools. Are there plans to update it to run natively on apple m1? I managed to install it on mac and go through the hoops to get it to work, but performance running through rosetta 2 emulation seems really bad. Like just pressing a button to open a file there is a huge lag and it seemed to just hang up at one point. I use other astro software through emulation and it is not as fast as it potentially could be but not unusable like this. Is anyone successfully using startools on apple m1?

I do like the idea of the software and having another alternative, and i have an intel mac at home as well (currently on the road), but I am curious if there is commitment to supporting mac and the new macs in the future.
Hello,

I have run version 1.8 (the alpha version) on my diminutive McBook Air M1 with no issues. StarTools also performs well on my Intel iMac.

Russ
hixx
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Re: Apple M1 support/performace?

Post by hixx »

Hi Xonefs,
you may want to try load the APP stack directly in ST. No need to Crop in another system beforehand, since ST has its own Crop module
After step 6) (Integration) APP should auto save the integration file as 32bit Integer by default if I am not mistaken. This is the one to use for ST
Not sure about the loading time you are seeing - yes it appears a bit "laggy" when loading full frame DSLR stacks for me as well, so it's BAU
I have like 20 seconds on my 2015 imac when using the Open function, but my stack files are 300+ MB.
However I found it payed off to spend some premium seconds on the good results - as Ivo explained, its not just the window opened that takes the 20s ;)
clear skies,
jochen
xonefs
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Re: Apple M1 support/performace?

Post by xonefs »

I just had a chance to download and try the alpha and it is much much better and very quick. I have not really tried to process an image from scratch (my quick test did not yield results I am used to or looking for with the color balancing/stretch) but so far startools just seems worth it from the great sharpening function.
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