The Reflecta Super8 film scanner to avi conversion thread

[Neutron]

Neutron ive tried looking at how to brace the spool arms better, or tighten up the mechanism inside the Reflecta to make the arms stable, I haven't really seen anything obvious that I could just "tighten". it seems press-sealed with some washer clasps. You engineering skills seem quite advanced also do you perhaps want to take a look at this issue and make some suggestions?

I've looked too - I was thinking that very thin washers behind the circlips that hold the arms would reduce some of the wobble, but I didn't have anything suitable. Another approach would be to add extra bolts to hold the arms, but that would of course prevent them folding away. To me, although the wobble is annoying it doesn't impair the scan, so I'm prepared to live with it. Given the poor build and/or quality control we're witnessing, it may be that my scanner isn't as wobbly as some!

[litemakr]

Oh, boy, it's getting worse and worse... it stops every 20 frames or so with the "film stuck" message. One way of avoiding this is: whenever it seems that the scanner cannot move the film, I force it by pushing a little bit the upper sprocket. That moves the film a little bit and suddenly the scanner gets the frame right, saves it and goes on for a little while... until the next stuck.

The funny thing is: I had already scanned most of this particular film already, but, when I had to resume after a stop, I accidentally erased the previously saved frames and had to start all over again... and now, the scanner seems to find bigger difficulties with the same film scanned yesterday


Thank you very much.

Hi, I just got my scanner and am having the same issue. I can't get more than 400-500 frames in when it freezes on one jpg. The scanner continues to move forward, but no new jpgs are created. It is beyond frustrating. Has anyone found a fix for this or do I have a bad unit?

[Blackout]

hi Litemaker / PMBen...

I have another take on this problem. When film gets very old, and is possibly been left in an attic or in some heat, it can get "sticky" when the emulsion starts to break down.

when you grip the film in question with 2 fingers and slide your fingers gently up and down over the film, do your fingers "stick" to it? or do they run smoothly and it feels shiny and clean?

because of all the places where the film RUBS in the badly designed Reflecta (instead of gently rolling) you may very well have this sticking problem....

Cheers,
Blackout

[litemakr]

hi Litemaker / PMBen...

I have another take on this problem. When film gets very old, and is possibly been left in an attic or in some heat, it can get "sticky" when the emulsion starts to break down.

when you grip the film in question with 2 fingers and slide your fingers gently up and down over the film, do your fingers "stick" to it? or do they run smoothly and it feels shiny and clean?

because of all the places where the film RUBS in the badly designed Reflecta (instead of gently rolling) you may very well have this sticking problem....

Cheers,
Blackout

Hi Blackout,

The film is not actually stuck in the scanner. It continues to advance and appears to be functioning normally. But the software stops creating new jpegs and only shows the last frame which was successfully captured. There is no error message. Sometimes restarting the software makes it work, other times it just shows a gray screen in the preview window and I need to reboot. I finally got a good capture going last night after numerous tries on a 400 ft reel and it is still going this morning without issue so far. So this problem is very random.

[litemakr]

I finally got a film to scan and found a previously unreported problem. The sensor is very noisy. There is pattern of noise across the entire frame which looks like a fine moving grid. It's definitely NOT something on the film because it shows up clearly when the brightness is completely turned down in the cyberview app.

Here are a couple of frames captured with the brightness turned down which clearly show the problem. Is anyone else having this issue? This is a showstopper for me, it makes the scanner useless.

[Blackout]

Hi Blackout,

The film is not actually stuck in the scanner. It continues to advance and appears to be functioning normally. But the software stops creating new jpegs and only shows the last frame which was successfully captured. There is no error message. Sometimes restarting the software makes it work, other times it just shows a gray screen in the preview window and I need to reboot. I finally got a good capture going last night after numerous tries on a 400 ft reel and it is still going this morning without issue so far. So this problem is very random.

ok I have experienced this. Its not a mechanical problem. Its a USB problem. Either your USB lead is faulty, or too long, or your USB port on your PC is weak (common when you use the ports on the front of a PC) or your PC is not up to the processing required. My bet is that you are using a usb port on the front of a PC?

The contact between the Scanner and PC is lost for just a second, often because of a drop in voltage in the lead due to resistance or lack of full 5V supply, and the signal is dropped for long enough to cause the reflecta software to stop or throw weird looking frames if the drop is in the middle of the picture data transfer dump. start by using another USB port, one on the back directly on the motherboard. then try a new USB lead....then try another PC. There is a reason why they state in the Reflecta manual that you must only use the SUPPLIED USB lead. because they don't want you to use a longer one, as they know this will be the resulting problem. Plus the one they supply has the magnetic shield "lump" on it to further avoid errors. So the whole USB section of the process is important to get right.

and re: noise...yes. we all experience this, when you touch the "brightness" setting on the Reflecta software. set it to Zero (0) and do not use it! the algorithm is completely useless. Do your brightness in Premiere or Vegas or Virtualdub or whatever.

Same goes for the contrast setting in the Reflecta software. just horrific noise damage to the picture.

Cheers,
Blackout

[litemakr]

Below is a scanned frame set to brightness 0 and it still has severe noise in the dark areas. I wonder if my scanner is defective because I can't imagine this being acceptable to anyone. Taking this into Vegas and tweaking actually makes it look worse.

[newpball]

Here are a couple of frames captured with the brightness turned down which clearly show the problem. Is anyone else having this issue? This is a showstopper for me, it makes the scanner useless.

Based on the pattern it looks like a case of lack of cleanliness to me.

[litemakr]

Here are a couple of frames captured with the brightness turned down which clearly show the problem. Is anyone else having this issue? This is a showstopper for me, it makes the scanner useless.

Based on the pattern it looks like a case of lack of cleanliness to me.

It's an electronic pattern which moves, it has nothing to do with the film or the physical surface of the sensor. And it is consistent no matter what film is in the unit. If you saw it in motion it would probably be more clear.

[Neutron]

I noticed this video noise immediately and at first was extremely disappointed, but when I scanned a few films I found it didn't detract as long as the film was well-exposed!

I have found that the "Brightness" control in the software actually seems to affect gain. I've settled on a setting of +8 which as I have said, still gives a very 'flat' result, with the black level raised and all highlights below 100%. (Different scanners may need different numbers). I do this in order to lose nothing in black or white clipping. I then adjust the gamma curve in a nonlinear editor to bring the highlights and black level back to the normal range (restoring the 'contrast' to normal), but I also crush the bottom few percent (flatten the 'toe' of the curve), thus hiding the noise and losing only a little detail in the very darkest parts of the image.

This has always worked so far (see my example still frame on the previous page), but I'm prepared to use noise filtering software such as Neat Video in future if necessary. I may just have been lucky with the films so far.

If Reflecta had given us full control of black level, gain, gamma, colour balance, jpeg compression etc. in the software, we might have been able to reduce the sensor electronic gain and thus reduce the black noise when necessary. If they found that the sensor needs so much gain that this noise is unavoidable, a noise coring function would have been a useful addition.

[Blackout]

2 things....

1:/ if you are getting lots of this noise, ive found that hitting "calibrate" in the software tends to change things a lot. it seems the "calibrate" button adjusts scan STRENGTH, or more specifically, a hardware brightness / gain as opposed to a software adjustment. at any rate, sometimes it takes 2 or 3 calibrations and all of a sudden, the dark noise is reduced significantly.

2:/ when there is any noise left I use Neatvideo and it cleans it up so well that it is almost gone. I calibrate Neatvideo to the noise area and only process those few mins of "badly lit" scenes.

Cheers,
Blackout

[PMBen]

I think that having the brightness setting at 0 when calibrating may be important for better results.

[litemakr]

I've tried calibrating numerous times and brightness at 0 and 8. I am still getting a lot of noise in dark areas. Neat video helps but it also strips out detail.

[Blackout]

Leave Reflecta on for half an hour, with the usb plugged in and the software running (ie the scan light is glowing on) before hitting Calibrate. the light heats up and changes brightness.

[litemakr]

I spent most of my last weekend working with the Reflecta and I just can't get the noise to acceptable levels no matter what I try. I am going to exchange it for another one and hope that one is acceptable. If not, I will have to return it for a refund.

[Blackout]

Hi litemaker. Fair enough... It will be interesting to see if the situation is improved, please let us know.

[Monorose]

This is a question to Neutron who posted on 12th March 2015 that he had a bug warning because his Reflecta stopped working.

I bought an opened box Reflecta Super 8 Digital converter in a on-line auction just before the end of 2014. I have had two returns to the seller and am on my third machine. I would like to know more about the bug and crash that Neutron described in his post of 12th March 2015. All three machines have had some problems with irregular feeding of the film. Initially all started without problems and would develop the irregular patterns of skipping frames. The first two machines worked for about 20-30 hours over 3 days and then developed an almost constant pattern of skipping 5-10 frames. The third machine worked for about 40 hours over 4 days without skipping any frames but then suddenly moved into the pattern of skipping multiple frames in a constant pattern.

For all three machines, I stopped the capture by clicking on the capture button in the Cyberview S8 window on the computer, then clicked yes to abort the capture, removed the film being captured and shut down the power using the power button on the Reflecta. When I attempted to return capturing the film by reconnecting the Reflecta using its power button, both blue LED lights turned on but the bottom light did not change to orange indicating that the digitizer was activated. Consequently, when the CyberView software was clicked on to open an error message “CyberView S8 can not connect with the digitizer” appears. The software will not open if the digitizer is not activated. If you connect the USB cable from the computer to the Reflecta, the computer does not recognize that the scanner is present.

I have been using CyberView S8 1.1.2.14 but did not install new firmware. I am wondering if this is the problem for the machines I have been using. I really want the machine to work to convert movies I have of my now adult children.

Can you describe any details of how I would proceed to try to install the firmware update directly on the Reflecta. I know where the access to the slot is but need a detailed description of how to proceed. I have been following this strand from the first time I had problems with the first machine but until now did not see anything that seemed to match the difficulty I have been having. The wholesaler who sold this machine on auction has indicated that he thought it was a problem with my computer but I am sure that the Reflecta failed to activate the digitizer.

Thank you for any help you can offer.

[Neutron]

Can you describe any details of how I would proceed to try to install the firmware update directly on the Reflecta. I know where the access to the slot is but need a detailed description of how to proceed.

The paragraph below is what I was told by a very helpful guy at Kenro, the UK Reflecta dealer.
The Dropbox stuff may have originated from Reflecta in Germany as it is confusingly worded, but with a bit of interpretation it worked for me.

Short guide to flash the Firmware manually using an SD card.
Afterwards the machine will boot up properly.
Please follow the link below, this also includes instructions and images.

1. Unpack the Super 8 Disk Creator on your desktop
2. Unpack the SUPER8 V1.012.rar File on your desktop
3. Please use a SD card with at least 2 GB capacity
4. Follow the Create SD Card guide
5. Follow the Manual flashing procedure guide

Please use the Download link below to download all necessary data

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/fdyp94vr0w2tmw3/AAAmsfKZwzB2U5DZMUySeHjja?dl=0

I accept no responsibility (for anything at all!), but of course if your scanner won't start you've little to lose.
Reflecta should make this procedure widely known, but even better, people should update the firmware before their scanner hangs!

[litemakr]

Can you describe any details of how I would proceed to try to install the firmware update directly on the Reflecta. I know where the access to the slot is but need a detailed description of how to proceed.

The paragraph below is what I was told by a very helpful guy at Kenro, the UK Reflecta dealer.
The Dropbox stuff may have originated from Reflecta in Germany as it is confusingly worded, but with a bit of interpretation it worked for me.

Short guide to flash the Firmware manually using an SD card.
Afterwards the machine will boot up properly.
Please follow the link below, this also includes instructions and images.

1. Unpack the Super 8 Disk Creator on your desktop
2. Unpack the SUPER8 V1.012.rar File on your desktop
3. Please use a SD card with at least 2 GB capacity
4. Follow the Create SD Card guide
5. Follow the Manual flashing procedure guide

Please use the Download link below to download all necessary data

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/fdyp94vr0w2tmw3/AAAmsfKZwzB2U5DZMUySeHjja?dl=0

I accept no responsibility (for anything at all!), but of course if your scanner won't start you've little to lose.
Reflecta should make this procedure widely known, but even better, people should update the firmware before their scanner hangs!

I received my replacement Reflecta today. The first thing I did was update the firmware, which promptly made the Reflecta unresponsive. Thank you VERY much for this information because I followed the procedure and updated the firmware again with the SD card method and the unit is once again responding. This device has some serious quality control issues.

[Neutron]

I received my replacement Reflecta today. The first thing I did was update the firmware, which promptly made the Reflecta unresponsive. Thank you VERY much for this information because I followed the procedure and updated the firmware again with the SD card method and the unit is once again responding. This device has some serious quality control issues.

When you updated the firmware the first time and the scanner hung, was it to the latest "Firmware Super 8 v.1.0.13" - the same version you used with the SD card method?

If so, we need to tell people NOT to update their firmware if their scanner is still working!

The "if it isn't broke, don't fix it" idea is often advisable for "upgrades" - I preferred my Android 'phone before the recent "Lollipop" OS upgrade for example; but in this case I thought that a firmware update the easy way ought to be better than waiting until the scanner hangs and having to use the awkward SD card method!

Do Reflecta need to be told that using the v.1.0.13 upgrade on a working scanner can brick it?

[Blackout]

Neutron...I think they might need to be told. Even just one person experiencing this should report it. There will be lots of other users that do not know about this thread that may have had this problem also and reported it without us knowing. So Reflecta need to hear about it from as many ppl as possible.

im sure staying the hell away from this update!

[Neutron]

im sure staying the hell away from this update!

We need to find out from litemakr first, which version caused his hang.

My scanner was supplied with version 1.0.12 and that's the one which hung for me without provocation.

Reflecta had apparently advised their UK dealer Kenro: "that the Firmware on the Super 8 unfortunately gets hung up. On Monday [9th March] they released a new firmware version 1.0.13 on their website which will fix that hung up bug."

My worry was that anyone with 1.0.12 could experience the hang which would need the messy SD card update to fix it. Surely better to upgrade the easy way to 1.0.13 in Windows before it hangs?

OTOH 1.0.13 may have its own problems, in which case this thing does have another serious quality control issue!

Let's find out which version caused the problem for litemakr.

[Blackout]

hi Neutron, it should probably be up to litemakr to report the problem himself... but it also sounds like 1.0.13 has not fixed the problem of hanging from 1.0.12...

[litemakr]

I downloaded the latest firmware from the Reflecta site, which was 1.0.13 and used the scanning software to update the unit. The update was successful but caused it to stop responding. Odd that loading the same firmware via SD card fixed it.

Also odd is that I updated the first scanner I received (which I sent back) to that firmware and it didn't cause that unit to become unresponsive.

[Neutron]

Thanks litemakr.

It seems that the best advice is: Don't upgrade to 1.0.13 unless your scanner hangs, at which point you will have to use the SD card method.

Not good.

Perhaps there will be a 1.0.14 to fix that problem...

[Yonkini]

Hi! I sell this scanner on ebay for a good price. I ended to scan four reels for a documentary and I do not need it yet.

If you´re interested, this is the link of the auction:

http://www.ebay.es/itm/REFLECTA-SUPER-8-SCANNER-/151663264748?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&ha...item234fd5c3ec

Best regards from Europe.

[litemakr]

I got a replacement Reflecta about a week ago. The overall transport of film works better (no scratching and runs without pausing or getting stuck) but the sensor noise is just as bad. I contacted Pacific Image Electronics (the US distributor) and sent them screenshots. They said they would pass them on to the engineers. So far I haven't heard anything back, but I don't hold out hope that it can or will be fixed. This is such a huge flaw, it really renders any transfers with darker areas useless. I can't believe they thought it was acceptable to release it like that, especially with a $1600 price tag. Neat video helps but it also scrubs away detail. I will probably just end up returning this unit for a refund. Very disappointing.

[Blackout]

litemakr there are a *lott* of things about the Reflecta that I say " I cant believe they thought it was okay to sell something like this...and for $2000". this is just one of the things I shake my head about in disbelief.

granted I have only a few films that have small sections that are dark. so yes I was shocked when I saw this noise as well but it was for so few scenes in the big scheme of things for me it wasn't a dealbreaker. but certainly a disappointment. if you have a lott of film that has dark scenes then I agree you will have a bigger problem.

just as a side note, when I run Neatvideo I run it at such a low processing rate, I use it in simple mode and the top slider is at 20% and the bottom one at 10 or 15% . it seems to be more than enough to clean up the noise. by default these sliders are up around the 80% mark and yes at that position it definitely claims some detail. Try much lower settings.

[litemakr]

I heard back from Pacific Image Electronics about the noise issue:

Hello David, They have finally finished reviewing the issue, they have informed me that this is due to the limited capability of the sensors used, and that nothing can be done about scanning dark images, there can be no upgrade that would resolve this noise issue.

Wendy


So that is very disappointing to say the least. They acknowledge that it is a flaw and cannot be fixed. It's really hard to believe they would put out a product dedicated to scanning that can't scan without major noise. It's bizarre. There are plenty of sensors out there which can do this without a problem.

I think I still have time left to send my scanner back, guess I will be packing it up this weekend. Bummer.

[jagabo]

the noise issue...

Is the noise similar on each dark frame? If so there are methods you can use to subtract it out.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark-frame_subtraction