FAQ
Is the Beta Free?
Section titled “Is the Beta Free?”Yes. It is also by invitation: we are adding testers in small groups. To join the waitlist, email support@alphapixel.ai, and we will write to you when there is a place.
Does It Need an Internet Connection?
Section titled “Does It Need an Internet Connection?”Once on each computer, to activate it. After that it works offline for 30 days at a time: whenever you use Wavefront Restore while your computer is online, it renews its license by itself. See Working Offline.
Which Versions of PixInsight Are Supported?
Section titled “Which Versions of PixInsight Are Supported?”PixInsight 1.9.5 or later. If you are on an older version, update PixInsight first, through Resources › Updates › Check for Updates.
Which Operating Systems Are Supported?
Section titled “Which Operating Systems Are Supported?”- Windows 10 or later.
- macOS Sonoma (14.0) or later, on Apple silicon. Intel Macs are not supported.
Linux support is coming soon.
Does It Run on the GPU or the CPU?
Section titled “Does It Run on the GPU or the CPU?”On the GPU when it can:
- Windows: NVIDIA graphics cards.
- Mac: Apple silicon.
Without a supported GPU, for example on Windows with an AMD or Intel graphics card, Wavefront Restore falls back to the CPU by itself. That works, but it is very slow on large images, so keep the CPU for previews and small crops.
How Long Does It Take?
Section titled “How Long Does It Take?”On a Mac mini with a 12-core M6, a 62-megapixel image takes about 12 minutes. On Windows, a fast graphics card such as an RTX 5090 takes 5 minutes or less. Smaller images and previews are quicker, and the CPU is much slower.
We will add more machines here as testers report them, so please tell us your times.
How Much Memory Do I Need?
Section titled “How Much Memory Do I Need?”It depends on how large your images are. On a Mac, where the processor and graphics share the same memory:
| Image size | Memory |
|---|---|
| Up to about 62 megapixels (for example, the IMX455 sensor) | 8 GB |
| About 100 megapixels (for example, the IMX461 sensor) | 16 GB |
On Windows, we are still measuring this. We expect an NVIDIA card with 8 GB of graphics memory to be enough, and will update this answer once we have tested it.
Drizzled images and mosaics have more pixels than your sensor, so go by the size of the image you are processing, not the size of the sensor. A 2× drizzle has four times the pixels.
Does It Work on Color Images?
Section titled “Does It Work on Color Images?”Yes. Mono, color and one-shot-color images are all supported. Some color images show dark spots on bright stars; see Known Issues.
Where Does It Go in My Workflow?
Section titled “Where Does It Go in My Workflow?”- After gradient removal.
- Before stretching. Wavefront Restore works on linear data, and is tested only on linear data. On linear data the image is exactly the scene blurred by your optics, which is what it reverses; a stretch changes bright and faint parts of the image by different amounts.
- Before star removal. Wavefront Restore reads the blur from your stars, so it needs them in the image.
- Before or after color calibration and noise reduction. Either order works.
Can I Use It With Other Deconvolution Tools?
Section titled “Can I Use It With Other Deconvolution Tools?”Not on the same image. Other deconvolution changes the shape of your stars, and that shape is what Wavefront Restore reads the blur from. Run it on an image that hasn’t been deconvolved.
Does It Work on Drizzled or Binned Data?
Section titled “Does It Work on Drizzled or Binned Data?”Yes. We have only tested these a little so far, so feedback is especially welcome.
What About Narrowband?
Section titled “What About Narrowband?”Try it both on each channel separately and after combining them; both should work. If you see problems either way, please tell us.
What If My Image Has Few Stars?
Section titled “What If My Image Has Few Stars?”It still works with few stars. It may not work well on an image with no stars at all, which is another reason to run it before star removal.
Can I Use It in Scripts and Batches?
Section titled “Can I Use It in Scripts and Batches?”Yes. It works with process icons, ProcessContainer and ImageContainer, like any other PixInsight process.
Can I Install It on More Than One Computer?
Section titled “Can I Install It on More Than One Computer?”Yes, on up to three of your own computers at a time, and testing on both Windows and a Mac is especially useful. To use it on a fourth, activate as usual and choose which of the three it replaces, or remove one first on your account page. Please don’t share your license code: anyone who wants to test can join the waitlist. See Up to Three Computers.
Which Computers Is My License On?
Section titled “Which Computers Is My License On?”Your account page lists them, with when each last renewed, and lets you remove one. Sign in with your email address: we email you a link and a code, with no password. See Your Account Page.
What If I Lose My License Code?
Section titled “What If I Lose My License Code?”Choose Forgot your code? in Wavefront Restore’s license dialog, or Email me a new code on your account page, and we email a new one to your address. Our license server keeps only a fingerprint of each code, so it can’t send your old one again. See Lost Your License Code?.
Can I Sharpen Stars and Nebulae by Different Amounts?
Section titled “Can I Sharpen Stars and Nebulae by Different Amounts?”No, and that is deliberate. Your stars show Wavefront Restore how your optics, mount and sky blurred the image, and at any point in the frame they blurred a star and the nebula behind it in exactly the same way. So Wavefront Restore reverses that blur the same way for both, across the whole image. The correction varies across the field, because the optics do, but never between stars and everything else. How It Works explains this, and lists the few exceptions.
Making stars smaller for the look of the picture is a different job from deconvolution. If you want it, do it as a separate step afterward.
What Isn’t It For?
Section titled “What Isn’t It For?”Planetary, solar and lunar imaging. It is also not yet suitable for scientific photometry.
Are My Images Uploaded Anywhere?
Section titled “Are My Images Uploaded Anywhere?”No. Wavefront Restore processes images on your own computer. The only thing it sends anywhere is its license check, which never includes images; the Privacy Policy lists what it does send.
Something Looks Wrong. What Should I Do?
Section titled “Something Looks Wrong. What Should I Do?”Check Known Issues first. If it isn’t listed, email support@alphapixel.ai with:
- your PixInsight version, operating system and graphics card (or Mac model),
- the Correction and Amount you used,
- a crop of the original linear image, before Wavefront Restore.
Can I Publish My Results?
Section titled “Can I Publish My Results?”Yes. You are welcome to post before and after images publicly.
Why Does My Beta Build Stop Working?
Section titled “Why Does My Beta Build Stop Working?”Beta builds expire 45 days after they are built. Keep PixInsight’s update check on to receive new builds.