FPV Codecs and Windows Search

[thomas.]

Hi All,

Does the Windows Search Indexer use the codecs? I'm asking because the search indexer always hangs at image files (like .pef etc.). I have this behavior on two systems, both running Windows 7.

Thank you
Thomas

[Axel]

Yes the metadata is accessible to Windows Search, however we have Pentax files from several cameras in our image library (K-7, K-x, K10D, K20D, K200D) and we did not see any particular issues with them.

[thomas.]

Hi Axel,

Thank you for this fast reply. The symptom is as follows:

The Search Indexing Task occupies 100% of one CPU kernel as soon as it processes one of the mentioned files. When I cancel the process and remove the corresponding file types from the indexing list everything works fine. Until now I noticed the problem with .arw, .nef, .pef and .dng. Displaying the files in the right explorer window works fine and fast.

BTW, I removed the Pentax Raw Codec and installed the FPW codecs 1.64.

Is there a way to make sure that the indexer uses your codecs instead of the ones that come with Windows?

Thanks again
Thomas

[Axel]

There are no raw codecs bundled with Windows. We also never heard of problems similar to what you describe in 6 months of availability and well over 100,000 installs. I suggest that you clean any previously installed codecs, manufacturer's or otherwise, and use our current version.

[thomas.]

And how can I make sure there are no other codecs installed if none appear in the list of installed software except the Adobe dng codec?

[HotShot]

The Adobe DNG Beta Codec is known to cause huge problems with the Windows Search (see its official support site & forum). So the behaviour you experience is probably no surprise if you decide to keep it on your computer...

[thomas.]

Thank you very much for your superfast assistance. I'll uninstall this. Two last questions:

- Is this also known to cause problem with .pef and .tif files?
- Do the FPV codecs completely replace functionality of Adobe's version?

Thanks again very much!

[HotShot]

- Adobe's DNG Codec should not cause issue with other file types, no
- As far as I know, FPV's DNG Codec is far better than Adobe's: faster, has more metadata-related features, configurable to show embedded previews vs. full raw processing, and available in both 32/64-bit versions...

[thomas.]

Thanks for this reply.

I'd only like to know what causes the delays with the other mentioned file types.

[Axel]

Codecs register themselve not only for file extensions but for "binary patterns" present in the files themselves. WIC "sniffs" files and passes them to all codecs who registered a matching pattern, then pick the best one according to certain criterias.

Depending on how Adobe's codec registered itself, it is possible that it gets a shot at every images on your system, in particular, since DNG files look like TIFF, and that most other raw formats also looks like TIFF, their codecs probably gets involved at least with every TIFF-like file formats on your computer.