The RC Astro tools have become a staple of my image processing, so in this tutorial I'm walking through how to install them in PixInsight so you can use them directly inside the application. I'll use BlurXTerminator and NoiseXTerminator as the examples, since those are the two I've actually paid for, but exactly the same process applies to StarXTerminator and the rest of the family.
It's a simple enough sequence once you know it, but there's one step that catches people out, which I'll flag when we get there. You'll need an up-to-date version of PixInsight installed before you begin; if you're on a Mac and haven't got that far yet, my PixInsight installation guide covers it.
Find your licence details
Start on the RC Astro website. Go to the account section, then to Licenses, and log in when prompted. You'll see a table with all of your licence information: one row for each plugin you've purchased, showing the licence key and a link to the installation instructions.
Each plugin has a module URL, and they all follow the same pattern with just the utility name swapped out. Copy the URL for each plugin you've bought.
Add the module repositories in PixInsight
Launch PixInsight and go to Resources, then Updates, then Manage Repositories. Add a new repository entry for each plugin, pasting in the module URL. In my case that meant one entry for BlurXTerminator and another for NoiseXTerminator. Click OK to apply them.
Check for updates and restart
Go back to Resources and Updates, but this time choose Check for Updates. PixInsight will detect the new repository entries and trigger a download of the modules. There may be some updates to PixInsight itself in the list too, but scroll down and you should see your new plugins waiting. Apply the updates and let them download, which is normally pretty quick.
Here's the step that catches people out: downloading is not installing. You have to restart PixInsight for the install to actually happen. Quit the app, and when it prompts you, confirm that you want to install the updates and restart. Once it relaunches, the install should report as successful.
Verify and license the plugins
To check everything worked, open the process explorer. Under All Processes you should now find BlurXTerminator and, further down, NoiseXTerminator. Alternatively, look in the category sections: BlurXTerminator lives under Deconvolution, and NoiseXTerminator under NoiseReduction.
The final step is to link each installed process with your licence. Open the process, for example BlurXTerminator, and click the preferences icon, the little spanner in the bottom right corner. It will prompt you for an email address and a licence key. The email is the one you registered with RC Astro, and the licence key is the one from the Licenses page in your account. Just make sure you use the right key for the utility you're licensing; they look very similar and it's an easy mix-up to make.
Repeat the same thing for NoiseXTerminator (or StarXTerminator if you have it): open preferences, enter the email and the matching key. Once that's done, the tools are ready to use, and I can promise you'll wonder how you ever processed without them.
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