Blurry screen/data??

Cassady, Holleen Hope

IHELP - Is it just me or is the latest batch of ---

United States—Enlisted and Officer Muster Rolls and Rosters, 1916–1939 [Part R][M3LC-5MR] seem excessisvly blurry - I have tried everything on 17 different batches & could only read 4 of them - I checked batchs of different types & I could see those fine!! Please help!! Thanks!

maryellenstevensbarnes1

Hi @Cassady, Holleen Hope -- try enlarging print and adjusting brightness or contrast - also lets escalate this to @Melissa S Himes and @Dellory Matthews - they might know who to contact on the techi side to check the camera lens being used 😎

John Empoliti

There is sophisticated software (commercial and free) out there that can sometimes help improve the readability of text like the very blurry examples I've seen in the current part of the MIlitary Musters and Rolls project The basic Sharpen tool in Rob Latour's A Viewer For Windows is is not up to handling most of them I'm afraid. But give it a try. AV4W is great for dealing with skewed/tilted images, offers some useful enhancement features, and includes the ability to load an image using the Windows Snipping Tool. It can invoke the handy Windows Magnifier and be used in conjunction with the Web Indexing program. Here is a link to it. Rob has just released version 1.1 today. It includes an overview video and built-in help.

https://rlatour.com/av4w/

If you're interested in seeing what kind of work on de-blurring text is possible, have a look at the before and after examples in this paper from 2013 or so. I'm sure FamilySearch, Ancestry, and BYU scientists have developed their own techniques, are fully aware of these and other efforts, and are probably using them in some contexts (e.g., handwriting recognition). I'm not sure what FS would feel comfortable including in the Web Indexing program for general use, but meanwhile, you can give AV4W a try. Hopefully, the Sharpen tool will evolve a bit - after Rob takes a break for a while. If you look at this paper, you'll appreciate the magnitude of the text deblurring problem. Scan the words and equations and look at the headings for context, but mostly at the before and after pictures.

http://cg.postech.ac.kr/papers/13_Text-Image-Deblurring-Using-Text-Specific-Properties.pdf

annewandering

If you are not able to get it to the point that you feel comfortable reading your batch then just return it. Some computers and graphic cards do a better job of rending bad images. Just don't feel obligated to index if you are not comfortable with the batch. Do the best you can if you want to go ahead and do these.

Either way you are appreciated for your work!

Joyce6Smith

I am having the same problem with the muster rolls. What is going on?

Dellory Matthews

@Cassady, Holleen Hope

I verified and reported this issue. If I hear anything back, I'll let you know. But in general, this article is the answer we have:

https://www.familysearch.org/en/help/helpcenter/article/how-do-i-index-a-blurry-or-damaged-record

Dona Marie Gaughan

I too am having the same blurry issue with the muster rolls. I have encountered it before with earlier muster rolls and after a few days they would magically becomes legible again but right now with the Part R every single batch is blurry and too difficult to read. Waiting for the magic to happen!

Earl Phillip Tatlow

Regarding Military Musters and Rolls, something is definitely out of focus with the Part R project.

There should be a software fix that can be used to focus the images, but the project tools to enlarge and adjust contrast/brightness are just not fixing the problem. If the initial imaging equipment got out of focus that is one thing, otherwise there may be a problem with the program that makes the data available for Indexing. The first few batches of part R were readable, then the focus seemed to just shift a bit out of phase. These military records have been very interesting and I have enjoyed working with them. Hopefully there is an easy fix for this problem.

Toni Momi Hopkins

I had the same problem last night with the muster rolls. They must have fixed something because it's ok now. It's no longer blurry.

Dellory Matthews

Please what names you can see. Changing contrast and size of the print may help somewhat, but we know these are difficult. There is no option to refilm the project. Thank you for your willingness to do the best you can with this project.

ElaineUrbanchuk

I am working on a muster that the date is questeable . i have zoomed in and out. it can not be read at least by me.

maryellenstevensbarnes1

@ElaineUrbanchuk - share your batch - can you read any part of the date - I'd be happy to take a look