Stage 1: Signal stretch and contribution calibration

In this setup stage, pixels that will be affected in the visual spectrum image will show narrowband signal, while pixels that will not be affected are clipped to black. This will allow you to gauge how the image will be transformed by the parameters you choose here.

The first screen allows you to fine control which areas will receive narrowband enhancement. The procedure and, hence, interface is closely related to the AutoDev module. Familiarizing with AutoDev is key to achieving good results with StarTools, and being able to use it effectively is a prerequisite to being able to use the NBAccent module.

One notable difference compared to AutoDev, is the way the stretched narrowband data is presented; areas that will not be considered for the final composite, will be clipped to black. Areas that will be considered in the final composite, will appear sretched as normal. The other difference from the AutoDev module, is the removal of the 'Detector Gamma' parameter and its replacement by the 'Threshold' parameter; this parameter allows for intentional clipping of the narrowband image, for example to avoid any background imperfections being added to the final composite. It is important to note that this parameter should be used as a last resort only (for example if the narrowband accent data is of exceedingly poor quality) as it is a very crude tool that will inevitably destroy faint signal.

It is important to understand that the signal as show during this first stage, is merely signal that is up for consideration by the second stage. Its inclusion is still contingent on other parameters and filters in the second stage. In other words, during this first stage, you should merely ensure that, whichever signal is visible, is actual useful narrowband signal, and not the result of background imperfections or other artificial sources.

For your convenience, the NBAccent module will, by default, use the same Region of Interest that was specified during AutoDev.