Introduction to VISTA Tape 1

1 Introduction to VISTA Tape

First developed in Canada in 1985, VISTA® is among the industry’s fastest selling 2D/3D
Seismic Data Processing software package. VISTA® which was the market’s first PC-
based seismic data processing software is also available for the LINUX environment.

It delivers proven algorithms for optimal quality control of seismic data in the field or the
office.

VISTA® provides robust algorithms for Land, Marine and VSP processing and offers
intuitive flows for complete seismic data processing. By taking advantage of VISTA®’s
flexibility, reliability, and ease of use, processors increase their efficiency while maximizing
the dependability of their results. VISTA® is available in four modules, 2D/3D Field QC,
2D/3D Field Processing, and 2D/3D Full Processing, and VSP.

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1.1 Contact GEDCO

If you have any questions or problems with installation, or usage of VISTA, contact Client
Support at:

GEDCO Office: 1.403.262.5780

Software Services Support: 1.403.538.8999
1200, 815 - 8th Avenue, SW Fax: 1.403.262.8632
Calgary, Alberta Email: support@gedco.com
CANADA Web site: www.GEDCO.com
T2P 3P2 FTP site: Contact GEDCO

We respond to all reported user problems within 48 hours.

GEDCO correct errors in programs and/or documentation. Errors should be reported to

GEDCO through one authorized representative of the user, to the GEDCO contact person.
GEDCO will supply the user with a solution to the problem within 7 working days. If the
problem is not solved in that period, GEDCO will advise the user and provide an estimate
of when the problem will be solved. Regular updates containing bug fixes and
enhancements applicable to all software purchased and maintained by the user will be
supplied at least once a year.

While GEDCO Programs have been extensively checked and tested it is possible that
errors will arise.

We like to receive reports on any error you come across. It helps us considerably if the
error can be isolated as repeatable in a simple situation. The following information, while
not essential in every case, will usually be required:

Status before the error (Appearance on the screen).

Input sequence that caused the error(s) (What was typed?).
Status after the error.
Did re-booting the PC solve the problem?

In many cases, a phone call will be adequate to document a problem. Please try to
provide us with as much information as you feel we will need to solve your problem.

Telephone Support : 1.403.538.8999

GEDCO provides at least one trained technician on staff during normal business hours to
give support, advice and assistance on programming problems as required by the user.

Normal business hours are 8:00am – 4:30pm Monday through Friday MST. (GMT plus 7

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 Introduction to VISTA Tape 3

hours.)

Fax Support : 1.403.262.8632

GEDCO will provide a 24-hour fax line for users who wish to report software problems via
fax, and will reply to such problems within 48 hours with either a solution or an estimate
of the time required to fix the problem.

E-Mail Support : support@gedco.com

GEDCO will provide 24-hour email for users who wish to report software problems via email
and will reply to such problems within 48 hours with either a solution or an estimate of
the time required to fix the problem. Standard procedure allows users to download fixes
from the GEDCO/FTP site.

1.2 Copyright
© Geophysical Exploration & Development Corporation 2012

Copyright Information

Geophysical Exploration & Development Corporation (“GEDCO”) welcomes written

communications regarding its products: Suite 1200, 815-8th Ave S.W., Calgary, Alberta,
Canada T2P 3P2.

OMNI 3D™ Seismic Survey Design & Modeling and VISTA™ 2D/3D seismic Data Processing
are trademarks of GEDCO. All other product names are trademarks of their respective
holders.

Copyright Acknowledgment and Disclaimer

The software in this product along with this help file, are protected by copyright, and
GEDCO reserves all rights. Lawful users of this program are licensed solely for the purpose
of executing the programs. Failure to comply with the provisions of this product’s license
agreement may be a violation of copyright law or a breach of the license.

While a great deal of effort has gone into the preparation of this document, no liability is
accepted for any omissions or errors contained herein. GEDCO makes no representations
or warranties with respect to the contents hereof and specifically disclaims any implied
warranties of merchantability or fitness for any particular purpose.

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2 SCSI Tape Driver

VISTA Tape requires a separate SCSI driver installation in order to detect SCSI devices
attached to the computer.

[VISTA Tape Taskbar before and after the SCSI driver is installed]

In order to use a SCSI Tape drive in VISTA, the GEDCO SCSI Tape driver must be loaded.

VISTA SCSI Tape Driver (Optional) for 32-bit Operating Systems Steps
The files needed to install the driver are in the “ScsiTape” sub-folder under the VISTA
installation directory.

The SCSI driver for VISTA Tape must be installed manually. When you open VISTA Tape
you will receive a message if the driver has not been installed.

1. Browse to the VISTA installation folder and open the ScsiTape sub-folder.

2. Double-click on the file ‘gedscsi.reg’ to install. You will be asked to confirm that
you wish to make an entry into the Windows registry.

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3. Copy the file ‘GEDSCSI.sys’ into your C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers folder. (The

path and drive letter for the system32 folder may differ from above.)

4. Restart the computer to complete the driver installation.

5. After the restart, open VISTA Tape. The status bar at the bottom of the dialog
will now read ‘GEDCO Tape Driver Loaded’.

3 SCSI Long Block Reading

A SCSI device can only read in 64K bytes or chunks of data in one operation. These
chunks of data goes into a "bucket" of memory.

The bucket needs to hold the largest block record that reading or writing will encounter.
The memory bucket is known as a buffer.

The buffer needs to be contiguous; you may need a very large buffer for de-multiplexing.

The buffer size is specified in the VISTA Tape Program Defaults located on the menu bar
under Operation | Program Defaults.

If you get an error message similar to the following while trying to execute Vista
Tape:

"Could not allocate 4000000, got 300000 bytes"

You need to set the SCSI Tape Maximum Buffer size smaller than 400000 so
that it can allocate contiguous memory chunks of less than 400000 bytes.

VISTA SCSI Tape Long Block Driver (Optional) for 32-bit Operating Systems Steps
For NT systems, we can get around the 1 MByte limit by using the a special system driver
for NT system(Windows NT/2000/XP/VISTA 32-bit).

This driver is needed for allocating large blocks of memory for tape demultiplexing of large
data sets or copying large tape blocks.

The files needed to install the driver are in the “ScanBuff” sub-folder under the VISTA
installation directory.

1. Browse to the VISTA installation folder and open the ScanBuff sub-folder.

2. Double-click on the file ‘nt_scanbuff.reg’ to install. You will be asked to confirm

that you wish to make an entry into the Windows registry.

3. Copy the file ‘SCANBUFF.SYS’ into your C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers folder.

(The path and drive letter for the system32 folder may differ from above.)

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4. Restart the computer to complete the driver installation.

5. After the restart, open VISTA Tape and increase the Maximum buffer size as
required.

This driver allows ability to read blocks up to 64MBytes in size. Check out Long Block
Data for more information.

4 Tape Functions

Tape Functions (also known as VISTA Tape) is a tape utility which can read, write,
convert and copy from any attached SCSI tape drives.

It can read various Seismic Data Formats and convert them to SEGY.

You need a Adaptec SCSI card and the card driver to connect the SCSI tape drive
(s) to your computer.

The Tape device and SCSI card must be compatible.

The GEDCO SCSI Tape Driver will need to be installed.

If you are going to be reading Long Block Data (Multiplexed Data, Super-Block
SEGD) you need to load the SCSI Long Block Driver as well.

Troubleshooting

If VISTA does not seem to recognize your SCSI device, check the following:

Does the device name appear during the Computer boot-up?

Is the SCSI card and device compatible as described above.
Is the proper driver for the SCSI card loaded?
Is the GEDCO SCSI Driver loaded?
Is the Long Block Driver loaded?
Is the driver for the device loaded as described above?
Is the device terminated properly?
Can the SCSI card work with other tape drives?

Vista Tape Formats

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Input data can have any of the following formats: SEGA, SEGB, SEGC, SEGD, SEGY, SEG
RODE and can be read in from any device.

The data can either be converted to SEGY format, or a copy of the data can be made to
any other output device.

Vista Tape is able to support a wide variety of tape devices including 9-track tapes,
Exabyte, DLT's and 3480, 3490, 3590.

Vista Tape supports SEGA, SEGB, SEGD (8015, 8022, 8024, 8042, 8048, 8058, 8036,
8038, 8058), SEGY.

Vista Tape also supports SEGB, SEGD formats written on CD ROM.

If you come across a tape format that Vista Tape seems unable to handle, please
contact GEDCO.

Vista Tape can support tapes outputted from a variety of instruments including Sercel
368 and 388, Input/Output (I/O) System One, I/O System Two, I/O System 2000,
Compuseis, and RAPS.

Reference

The reference for the various tape formats is "Digital Tape Standards" published in 1997
by the SEG.

5 Overview of Using Vista Tape

The first window that appears when the program starts is the Vista-Tape Command
Window show below:

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[Vista-Tape Com m and Window ]

The normal sequence in performing a data conversion (ie. Demuxing SEGA/B/C, reading
SEGD tape, reading SEGY files), or copying data is:

1. Choose the input device by selecting a device from the drop down list.

If your SCSI devices are listed as being available during your system boot up,
then should be listed in this drop down list

1. With Unit Status displayed in the drop down list of tape commands, hit EXEC. This
will "re-set" the device, and show that it is working properly.

2. Select either one of the SEGY, SEGD, SEGABC icons. You will be brought into the
Vista Tape Data Conversion Window.In this window, select the Input device and
the Output device, and then hit READ. You will be prompted for the input and/or
output file, if you have selected disk input or output.

3. For tape copy choose the SEG GEN icon and then hit EXEC. You will be brought into
the Vista Tape Read Generic Window. In this window, select the Input device and

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the Output device, and then hit READ. You will be prompted for the input and/or
output file, if you have selected disk input or output.

4. If you are converting SEGD input to SEGY disk file, shot point numbers, shot line
numbers, field station numbers, and receiver line numbers will be multiplied by 100.
This is to take into account fractional stations and line numbers of the SEGD input.
When you are adding the converted SEGY disk file into a VISTA data set, the SEGY
file's trace headers must be read into VISTA using the VISTA Tape PC Format SEGY
Dictionary. This will divide the shot point numbers, shot line numbers, field station
numbers, and receiver line numbers by 100.

5. A SCSI device can only read in 64K bytes or chunks of data in one operation. These
chunks of data goes into a "bucket" of memory. The bucket needs to hold the
largest block record that reading or writing will encounter. The memory bucket is
known as a buffer. The buffer needs to be contiguous; you need a very large buffer
for de-multiplexing. The buffer size is specified in the VISTA Tape Program Defaults
located on the menu bar under Operation | Program Defaults. For NT systems,
we can get around the 1 MByte limit by using the a special Long Block Driver for NT
system(Windows NT/2000/XP). This driver allows ability to read blocks up to
64MBytes in size.

6 File Menu

[File Menu]

Print - Prints the current active window.

Print Setup - Select and initialize the printer to be used. It is recommended one uses the
Printer setup available through the Control Panel to assign printer drivers.

Exit VISTA Tape - Exits the VISTA Tape program.

7 Edit Menu

[Edit Menu]

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8 Operation Menu

[Operation Menu]

The Operation Menu provides a quick way to get to the various windows for performing
different tape or conversion operations.

Tape Commands Window Opens the Tape Command Window.

Read Data Read SEG-Y - Opens the SEG-Y Read/Write window.

Read SEG-D - Opens the SEG-D Read/Write window.

Read Multiplex(A/B/C) - Opens the SEG-A/B/C

Demultiplex Conversion Window.

Read SEG Rode - Opens the SEG RODE Read Window.

Read Generic - Opens the Generic Bit for Bit Copy

Window.

Program Defaults Opens the Program Defaults window.

View Tape Logs Opens the Tape Log View window.

SEG-Y Reel-Header Default Opens the SEG-Y Reel Header Edit Window.

8.1 Tape Command Window

Tape window allows executing tape commands on a user defined input device. User

chooses tape command to execute from list and then presses the to execute the
tape command.

Window appears as shown:

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[Tape Com m and Window ]

ASCII/EBCDIC view area

Display hex buffer as ASCII(or EBCDIC) character values. Use to toggle between
options.

[ASCII/EBCDIC View in Tape Com m and Window ]

Use the to display the HEX Display View of the data read in.

The is used to toggle the Information Display View. The Information View uses the
Information List button to define what information to display.

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[Inform ation Control button Setting]

The list control selects how the information in the buffer will be displayed.

First, select the input device from the drop down device list in the Tape Commands
Window. You will see options for your available SCSI tape drives as well as for Disk
(SEGY) files. In addition, Tagged Disk File and Vanguard Disk Files may also be used as an
Input device.

Tagged disk files may be SEGA/B/C/D file that have been written to a disk device such as
a CD.

In a tagged disk file, all the seismic records are contained in 1 disk file.

You may then read from this disk and convert it to SEGY or simply copy it to Tape.

In a Vanguard disk file(s), each seismic record has been written to 2 separate files: a
header (*.hd) file and a seismic data (*.sd) file. For example, a SEGD format of shot
record 101 would be contained in 2 files named File00101.hd and File00101.sd.

Next, select a VISTA Tape command from the drop down menu.

Execute the displayed command by clicking the EXEC icon .

A record of executed Tape Commands is shown in the VISTA Tape Log Window.

8.1.1 Tape Command Side toolbar

Tape control icons are located in the side toolbar of the Tape Control Window.

Tape control vertical toolbar.

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The commands operate on the currently loaded tape unit(SCSI Tape, Tagged Disk
file, ...).

Performs an Input Read.

Performs an Input User defined Block Read.

Rewind Input.

Device Unload

The next group of icons perform operations related to FILE skipping.

Forward / Reverse or user defined FILE skip on Input unit.

The next group of icons perform operations related to BLOCK skipping.

Forward / Reverse or user defined BLOCK skip on Input unit.

8.1.2 Hex Display View

Hex Display View is shown below:

[Hex Display View of tape com m and w indow ]

Press to toggle hex view on. Program displays current buffer of data in hex format.

Also on the right side of the view is displayed each line in either displayed as ASCII or
EBCDIC characters.

Toggle ASCII/EBCDIC display by pressing the icon:

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ASCII Characters.

EBCDIC Characters.

8.1.3 Info Display View

Info Display View is shown below:

[Info Display view from Tape Com m and Window ]

Press to toggle Info Display View on. Program displays current buffer of data
according to the selected view type in the list box:

Each view type determines how to display information on the current buffer

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SEG-Y Reel Header: Will display the buffer as the SEG-Y reel header (40
column X 80 Character buffer of ASCII or EBCDIC).

The EBCDIC or ASCII display of the reel header is toggled by pressing the

icon.

8.1.4 Using Tape Functions - Tape Commands

First, select the input device from the drop down device list in the Tape Commands
Window.

You will see options for your available SCSI tape drives as well as for Disk (SEGY) files.

In addition, Tagged Disk File and Vanguard Disk Files may also be used as an Input
device.

Tagged disk files may be SEGA/B/C/D file that have been written to a disk device such as
a CD.

In a tagged disk file, all the seismic records are contained in 1 disk file.

You may then read from this disk and convert it to SEGY or simply copy it to Tape.

In a Vanguard disk file(s), each seismic record has been written to 2 separate files: a
header (*.hd) file and a seismic data (*.sd) file. For example, a SEGD format of shot
record 101 would be contained in 2 files named File00101.hd and File00101.sd.

Next, select a VISTA Tape command from the drop down menu.

Execute the displayed command by clicking the EXEC icon, . A record of executed
Tape Commands is shown in the VISTA Tape Log Window.

The Tape Commands Window is useful for checking tape errors. If you get a tape error
when you are using the any of the Data Conversion functions, you should try to check
the tape contents by using the Read Device Tape Command.

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The Tape Commands of the drop down menu are:

Unit Status - Sends a message to "re-set" the device. In general you should use this
command before trying to read a SCSI device. The device name will be shown in the Tape
Log window. If the input is a disk file, you will be asked to input its name.

Load - Loads the media onto the device.

Unload - On self loading devices, this will completely unload the media.

Read Device - Read the next block on the media. If defined input is disk file, must first
run Unit Status command to load the file. Each time a block is read, its contents are
displayed in the buffer view.

You may then view the buffer's header contents by selecting the the view type and the

icon to display the Info Display View.

Read Device[User Block Size] - Only works for disk files, allows user to determine how
many bytes to read. An example is input is SEG-Y disk file, first read should be 3200
Bytes(Reel Header). Next read should be 400 bytes (Binary Header)

Rewind [WAIT Return] - Rewind the device and wait for it to finish before returning to
the Tape Command window. A yellow bar at the top of the screen indicates the tape is
rewinding. When the rewind is finished, you will be returned to the Tape Command
Window. You should rewind your tapes using the WAIT option instead of the Immed
option.

Rewind [Immed Return] - Rewind the device immediately and return to the Tape
Command window. No status is given for the rewind operation.

Forward File Skip 1 - Move the media forward one file mark (just past EOF).

Forward Block Skip 1 - Move the media forward one block (one tape record ).

Reverse File Skip 1 - Move the media back one file mark (just past EOF).

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Reverse Block Skip 1 - Move the media back one block (one tape record).

Forw/Rev File Skip # - Move the media forward a specified number of file marks.

When this command is executed, the following window opens up:

Forw/Rev Block Skip # - Move the media forward a specified number of blocks.

When this command is executed, the following window opens up:

Skip to EOD [End of Data] - Move the media to the end of the data.

Get Density - Returns density code of the media.

Set Density - Select the density of the media with the following dialog:

[Set Density Tape com m and param eters]

The density settings for the top are read in from file "VISTAPE.DENSITY" contained in the
VISTAPE install directory.

Write File Mark FMK - Write an End of File Mark on the media.

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Get Min/Max Block Size - Returns a value for the minimum and maximum block size on
the media.

SCSI Bus Scan - Scans and returns a listing of SCSI devices attached to your computer.

Save to File Current Buffer - Allows the user to save the current contents of the buffer
to a binary disk file.

8.1.5 Data Selection Window

Use this spreadsheet to select data traces based on trace header values.

For instance, you need to delete all traces with an offset greater than a certain value.
You could view all shot records in offset order and manually pick the traces that have an
offset greater than this certain value, but a more efficient method would be to select all
traces that have an offset greater than this value in the Data Selection spreadsheet.

Exit the Data Selection Window.

Exit using OK button to save your selection, CANCEL to discard changes.

View all data selections.

View shot selection spreadsheet.

View receiver selection spreadsheet

View CMP selection spreadsheet.

View Filter selection spreadsheet. This spreadsheet allows you to select

header items on the basis of logical tests.

Add a selection - one of the above selection spreadsheets must be open.

Delete selections with the two choices below.

Delete ALL current defined selections whether or not you are in a

selection spreadsheet.

Delete a highlighted selection - one of the above selection

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spreadsheets must be open.

Example of Selection Using Shot-Spread

To select all traces of shot point number 18, we open or view the shot selection
spreadsheet by selecting the icon.

[shot selection spreadsheet]

Next click on the icon to add a selection row. You will see the following.

Edit both the SHOT STN-FROM and SHOT STN-TO values to be 18 as shown below.

Exit using the OK button to save your selections.

8.2 Read Data

Read Data - VISTA Tape can read the following data formats:

Read SEGY data and write it to a SEGY file.

Read SEGD data and convert to a SEGY file.

Read Multiplexed Data (SEGA/SEGB/SEGC) data and output a demultiplexed file to

SEGY format.

Read SEG RODE format input and write out encapsulated data from it.

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Generic Copy. Select this option to perform bit-to-bit copying (eg. tape copying of
tape files, copying tarred file to disk) from one tape device to another tape device,
or from tape device to disk file.

8.2.1 SEG-Y Read/Write

This will open the following window.

[Vistape SEG-Y Read/Write Window ]

Save current LOG messages to an output text file.

Scan an Input SEG-Y device. Program will display SEG-Y information in LOG
Window view.

Execute SEG-Y read oepration.

If you have selected Disk files for Input and Output, you will be prompted for their file
names.

Once you have specified the Input/Output devices and the Input/Output file names, you
will a dialog similar to the following.

Description Tab

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The values for Trace Start, Trace End, Trace Incr., Time Start, Time End are read from
the Input SEGY file.

You may force a time window by specifying values for Time Start, Time End. As well, you
may limit the number of sequential traces to input by using the Trace Start, Trace End,
Trace Incr. boxes.

For tape input, the values of Trace Start, Trace End, Trace Incr. are 1, -1, 1
respectively. This indicates that all traces are being read in.

The input data type is shown(Grayed out) in the format description. To override this you
need to change the SEG-Y definition for this input.

Go to the Options tab to set the input type.

[Input Data Description]

Use the Output list button to set the output data format for the SEG-Y. The default is to
use the same output as input.

[Output Data Description]

Options Tab

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[SEGY Read/Write Options Tab]

Write SEGY Headers - Writes a SEGY file header on the output device. This should
always be checked for the first output per reel, but may not be checked if you want to
append traces from multi-reel or multi-file input.

Re-set Trace Counter - Check this for multi-reel or multi-file input, otherwise the trace
counter will be set to "1" for each input reel or file.

Screen Update Skip - Specifies how often to update the screen trace information.

Force Data Description - Force the Input data format to be user defined. With this
checkbox on set the other parameters to set the SEG-Y input format.

Trace Header Dictionary - Use this option to map header values when reading non-
standard SEG-Y data sets.

Reel Header

[SEGY Read/Write Reel Header Tab]

SEG-Y Reel Header output as ASCII reel header or EBCDIC reel header.

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WRITE - Write out the current SEGY Reel Header to a text file.

READ - Read in a SEGY Reel header from a text file or SEGY disk file.

RESET - Reset the SEGY Reel Header back to original header read in.

Binary Header

[SEGY Read/Write Binary Header Tab]

Simply shows the settings of the SEGY binary header.

Selection

[SEGY Read/Write Selection Tab]

Select Traces by Header Values - Traces can be selected using trace headers.

Selection Header - Specify header to select on. Specify defined header CMP, FIELD#,
Source Point or User define.

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Selection Range - Set the range of the headers to be read and testing function for
selection.

Polygon

[SEGY Read/Write Polygon Selection]

Select Traces by Polygon Area - Define a selected area using Header 1 to define the X
location and Header 2 to define the Y location. The ASCII Input file is made up of twos
columns of text X, Y.

Use the ASCII Input button to input the X,Y text file. The View button can be used to
view the X,Y defined file.

[SEG-Y Read/Write Polygon Selection Area]

Use Inside Polygon / Outside Polygon to define selection method using the defined area.

Upon completion of the data conversion the screen shown below will appear.

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8.2.2 SEG-D Read/Write Conversion

This will read SEGD files and output SEGY files. Currently these are the SEGD formats
which are supported:

8015 De-Multiplexed, 8022 De-Multiplexed, 8024 De-Multiplexed, 8036 De-Multiplexed

8038 De-Multiplexed, 8042 De-Multiplexed, 8044 De-Multiplexed, 8048 De-Multiplexed
8058 De-Multiplexed
0015 Multiplexed, 0048 Multiplexed

The SEGD Data Conversion window looks like this:

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Click the READ icon to start the reading and conversion process. You will be asked to
specify an output SEGY (sgy) file.

If your selected input device is a Tagged Disk File Input or a Vanguard Disk File Input,
you must also specify the input file(s) in addition to the output SEGY file.

To specify the input Tagged Disk File, choose one(Or More) *.DAT file. All field files
contained within the *.sgd file will then be read in sequentially.

To specify the input Vanguard Disk File, choose a *.hd file. SEGY file will be output for all
subsequent files from this *.hd file.

For instance, if you select File0001.hd as the input file, then all seismic record files
numbered from File0001.sd upwards will be sequentially read in.

After the input and/or output files have been specified, the Vista Tape log window will be
"filled" with information from the first shot file as shown.

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The Read SEGD dialog will also appear as shown below.

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[Read SEG-D Param eter Dialog]

Parameters

File Read Parameters

# Files to Skip - The starting file to read. A value of 0 says "read files beginning with the
first file". A value of 2 says "skip the first 2 files and start reading on the third file".

# Files to Read - The number of files to read starting from the # Files to Skip file.

# Files to Incr - The increment to use when reading files. This should be a value of 1 or
greater. An increment of 2 says "real all files, incrementing by 2 files".

Read ALL Traces - Refers to traces of each shot file. If you check this option, all traces
of each shot file will be read. If this option is not selected, then you specify the number
of traces to be read for each shot in the Trace Start, Trace End, Trace Incr. boxes.

Re-set Trace Counter - Check this for multi-reel or multi-file input, otherwise the trace
counter will be set to "1" for each input reel or file.

Write SEGY Headers - Writes a SEGY file header on the output device. This should
always be checked for the first output per reel, but may not be checked if you want to
append traces from multi-reel or multi-file input.

Convert to SEGY - Convert SEGD to SEGY output. Handy to not convert if writting out
to Tagged or Vanguard disk format.

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Time Start, Time End - These 2 values specify the time window to be output.

Header Mapping of SEG-D headers.

[SEG-D header Mapping]

Set the checkbox for each type of header to map from and use the appropriate user
defined Header Dictionary.

Record Options

[SEG-D Reading Record Options]

Ignore All AUX Channels - Check this option to NOT include auxiliary traces.

SEG-D Super Block Format - Special format of SEG-D. Multiple traces written to a
single tape block.

Force # of Traces/Record - Check this option to force the number of traces per record
to the specified value in the # Traces/Record box.

Apply MP Descale to Data - Apply (Multiple) SEG-D MP scaling value from trace headers
to the data samples.

Output Separate SEG-Y File for Each - Check this option to output a separate SEG-Y
disk file for each SEG-D record or for each input SEG-D Disk file.

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The above buttons allow the user to:

SELECT FILES - Select a range of field record # values (ie. Field File ID values) to be
read with the following dialog.

[SEG-D Select files based on user selection range]

Specify the file ranges to select from the read. Use the ADD / DELETE buttons to create
the file # list.

You should check the If Encounter File # Greater STOP Operation box, otherwise Vista
Tape will attempt to read in all files which are numbered greater than the specified file
number. Remove a selection from the window by clicking on it and hit DELETE.

OMIT FILES - Specify the range of files numbers (based on Field File ID number) to
ignore(Omit) when reading in files.

[SEG-D Om it files based on user selection range]

Specify the file ranges to omit from the read. Use the ADD / DELETE buttons to create
the file # list.

Usually you want to omit test records (test records are usually in the range from 900 to
999).

Remove a selection from the window by clicking on it and pressing the DELETE.

SELECTION - Opens the data selection window where you can select a range of

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channels, shot points, traces. etc. for input.

The example above shows that channel numbers less than 100 are selected to be read
by Vista Tape.

DATA DESCRIPTION

[SEG-D Data Description tab]

Force Data Description - Check this box if you have altered the inital default data
description shown in this dialog box, and you want to force the data to follow the
description you specify in the parameter boxes Format Code, Sample Rate, Time Length,
# of Traces.

Format Code - Select a format code from the drop down list. The choices are:

8015 De-Multiplexed, 8022 De-Multiplexed, 8024 De-Multiplexed, 8036 De-Multiplexed,

8038 De-Multiplexed, 8042 De-Multiplexed, 8044 De-Multiplexed, 8048 De-Multiplexed,
8058 De-Multiplexed

Record Type - Specify the type of SEG-D this can possibly help the program to read
more information when converting(Shot#, Shot Line #, ..)

If the default values of Sample Rate, Time Length, #of Traces (per shot record) are
wrong, then you can alter them.

REEL Header

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Allows the user to modify the out going SEGY Reel Header.

Upon completion of the SEGD conversion, you will see a display similar to the following:

8.2.3 SEG-A/B/C Demultiplex Conversion

This option will open the following window.

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The parameter settings box, brings up the following dialog.

Demux Data Description

Force Data Description - Check this box if you have altered the inital default data
description shown in this dialog box, and you want to force the data to follow the
description you specify in the parameter boxes Sample Rate, Time Length, Bytes/Scan, #
of Traces.

AUX Channels

Ignore All AUX Channels - Check this box to ignore auxillary traces.

Place AUX START of Record - Set the auxillary traces to be placed at start of each shot
record.

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Place AUX END of Record - Set the auxillary traces to be placed at end of each shot
record.

Record Header

This gives a description of the type of SEGA, SEGB, SEGC headers for each record.

File Marker Between Records - If file markers are present between records, check this
option.

Headers Separate - This is the default. Other choices are Headers Attached or No
Headers.

Sync Description

Fix Data Sync Errors - Click here here fix data sync errors. Data sync errors may
happen if the scan code is missing.

However from other information on the tape, the length of each scan is known.

Scan Code (Hex) - Enter the scan code in hexadecimal format.

Start Scan (Bytes) - If the Start Scan is missing, it will be replaced by this value.

Apply Gain Code - Click on this box to apply gain code.

Block Multiplexed Data - The data block which follows the record header may be
written out in 32K byte groups. These groups are known as blocks. Vista Tape can read
blocked data by accumulating each block until the original data block is restored.If you
know your data is blocked, check this box, otherwise accept the default.

File Number Byte Packed - FFID number's are stored as BCD packed or unpacked for
reading.

The SELECT FILES and OMIT FILES function as described above for SEGD conversion.

8.2.4 SEG RODE Read

This option will open the following window.

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[SEG RODE Read Window ]

When READ command is executed the SEG RODE dialog will appear as shown below.

Program will write out encapsulated SEG RODE input to the chosen output.

8.2.5 Generic Bit for Bit Copy

Select this option to perform bit-to-bit copying (eg. tape copying of tape files,
copying tarred file to disk) from one tape device to another tape device, or from tape
device to disk file.

Select your input and output devices from your list as shown in the example below.

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Next select the button.

You will see the following dialog box.

Select a Copy Mode:

Block Copy - Copy blocks from sequence # to sequence #. Input values for Block Start
and Block End.

File Copy - Copy files from sequence # to sequence #. Input values for File Start and
File End.

Copy Entire Input - Copy entire contents of input device.

Long Block Read - Check this option for reading long blocks(If read will encounter blocks
> 64 KBytes in size).

Block Write

(Large Data Blocks) to Output - Write out long data blocks by writing sections of data.
Break the long block into smaller blocks defined by:

'Max Block Size" parameter.Max Block Size Set the maximum block size in bytes to write

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out.

PARAMETERS - This button will open the following dialog.

Screen Update Skip - Update progress displayed on screen by the specified file
increments. An increment of 1 means the screen will be updated every time a new record
is read.

SEGY Output Format - Not used by Generic Copy.

SET - Change the name or location of the log file.

VIEW - Display the currently defined log contents.

CLEAR - Erase the contents of the defined log file.

LOG File On - Check to output the specified (from using SET) log file.

8.3 Program Defaults

Program Defaults - This opens the Parameters dialog below.

Screen Update Skip - Update progress displayed on screen by the specified file
increments. An increment of 1 means the screen will be updated every time a new record
is read.

SEGY Output Format - Default output of SEG-Y format output.

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SCSI Tape Maximum Buffer Size -

Note: How to Modify the Max Block Buffer size in VISTA Tape

The maximum value displayed in the image below is set by the device driver
when it is installed.

[Block Size = 200,000]

To increase the Maximum Block size to a larger amount, you have to modify
and load the registry file below. After you load this registry file, you will need
to reboot your computer.

1. Go to Vista installation directory and open the ScanBuff folder.

2. Right click on the registry file: ‘nt_scanbuff.reg’ and choose Edit.
3. Change the setting for the ‘BufferSize’. Note that it is displayed in Hex.
4. To change it to be 4000000 for example, modify it to be 3d0900 and
save the file.
5. Load the new registry settings by simply double clicking on it.
6. Copy the driver file "scanbuff.sys" into the following directory:
<<WINDOWS_INSTALL>>\SYSTEM32\DRIVERS
7. Reboot the system and you will see the max value has changed.

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[Block Size = 4,000,000]

Query User on Encountering Double FMK - Ask user to continue if program encounters
double file mark.

8.4 View Tape Logs

View Tape Logs

8.5 SEG-Y Reel-Header Default

SEG-Y Reel-Header Default - When converting from various seismic data formats to
SEG-Y a SEG-Y Reel header is required.

Instead of simply creating a blank Reel Header, VISTA Tape has a default SEG-Y reel

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header that is used in writing out the SEGY.

The SEG-Y Default dialog is shown below:

You can edit the text manually or read in SEG-Y reel from another SEG-Y disk file (Or text
File).

This file is stored in the Vista install directory under the name: REELHEADER.DEFAULT

9 Utilities Menu

[Utilities Menu]

9.1 Plot SEG-Y Data

After choosing SEG-Y disk file to display, the seismic will be displayed in a window similar
to the following:

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[Vista Tape SEG-Y display Disk file]

The two icons in the top toolbar control the display.

The first icon:

Contains sub-tools

Options icon controls the number of seismic windows to display and how they are to be
viewed.

Plot Parameters icon controls the actual display parameters and bottom annotation.

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Display color-bar will show the currently defined color-bar for displaying seismic in variable
density display.

Hide color-bar will hide the currently defined color-bar.

Right mouse button pressed will display the following menu:

Allows quicker access to the display parameters.

Plotting a data file will bring up a window display where you may annotate the display as
explained below.

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9.2 View/Modify SEG-Y Headers

After choosing the SEG-Y (Or SEG-2) file, the following window will be displayed.

Use the list box to select a header to view and press the to add it to the display
screen.

The allows selected headers to be display graphically.

To select a header, double click on it's title name. Selected headers will be shown in red.

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[3 Header w ords selected above]

9.3 Edit SEG-Y Reel/Binary Headers

Select Utilities | Edit SEG-Y Reel/Binary Headers from the VISTA Tape menu bar. Browse
for an input SEG-Y file and click 'Open'.

[Brow se for SEG-Y form at file]

Reel Header Tab

The edit window will open displaying the ASCII Reel header. We can manually edit the real
header by left clicking in the text box and typing in the edited characters. Clicking 'OK'
will prompt a confirmation to save the changes. Click 'SAVE' to confirm the edits.

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[Reel Header]

Binary Header Tab

We can manually edit the binary header by left clicking in the 'VALUE' column of the text
box and typing in the edited numbers. Clicking 'OK' will prompt a confirmation to save the
changes. Click 'SAVE' to confirm the edits.

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[Binary Header]

SEG-Y Binary Header Dictionary - If a custom SEG-Y Binary Header dictionary is

required to read the SEG-Y file it can be selected from the drop down list.

Big Endian(WorkStation) - Select this checkbox to change the byte order of the
header values.

9.4 Vibroseis-Correlation SEG-Y Disk File

9.5 View Data Files

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9.6 Convert Data Files

9.7 Tape Mapping Dictionaries

10 License Menu

[License Menu]

The various license menus help to setup and check the license (Soft Key/Hard Key) for
the VISTA program. Note that depending on the license options some sub-menu options
may be grayed out.

Options Soft/Hard Key - Sets up which license VISTA should be checking for.

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[VISTA Select License Key Dialog]

Current License Status - Displays the current state of the VISTA Tape licenses.

[Current License Status Dialog]

10.1 Licensing Options

There are two types of licenses provided for the VISTA program, HardKey or SoftKey
licenses.

HardKey is a hardware dongle that is attached to a work station. VISTA uses Sentinel

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 License Menu 49

dongles for hardware based licenses.

HardKeys are a device that must be plugged into USB port of a machine. There are 2
different types of dongles:

Sentinel HASP Key (USB Dongle)

Sentinel SuperPro (USB Dongle)

SoftKey is a software license. VISTA uses RLM - (Reprise License Manager) software to
issue licenses electronically.

One may run VISTA with either a Hard Key (a dongle which attaches to a USB port on the
computer) or a Soft Key (a license file *.lic which is generated by GEDCO). When one
evaluates or purchases VISTA, one will receive either of these licenses.

You can check the license status under the Current License Status menu as shown
below:

[VISTA License Sub-Menu]

This will display a dialog window with the information on the currently defined licenses.

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[Current License Status Dialog]

10.2 Soft Key

Trial /Standalone Activation

A Trial Activation will upgrade the Demonstration license and allow you to work with your
own data.

1. Run the Application in Demo Mode.

2. On the menu bar select License | Options Soft/

Hard Key.

3. Select the option under Choose Key Type = RLM

Reprise Soft Key.

4. Click <OK> to accept changes.

5. Request an Authorization Code by clicking on

License | Soft Key | Authorize RLM License. Send
your Host ID to support@gedco.com and a client
services representative will email you a trial
license file (*.lic).

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6. Place a copy of the license file sent from GEDCO into the folder opened by clicking on
Step 2 <Open License Files Folder>.

7. Click the button in Step 3, <Refresh the License> to read the new license file.

8. Choose <Done> to close the window.

10.3 Hard Key

Each Sentinel Pro Key is programmed to run a single copy of the licensed application
locally on a computer, or float a single copy of the license to a remote computer. In order
for the USB key to operate, the Sentinel Protection Installer driver or HASP Run-Time
Driver must be installed on the computer with the USB key. The latest drivers can by
downloaded here.

Sentinel HASP Key Sentinel Pro Key

Standalone Configuration

Required for Sentinel Pro: The GEDCO Software Application and Sentinel
Protection Driver are installed on the local computer and the New Sentinel Pro
Key is attached.

Required for Sentinel HASP: Both VISTA and the HASP Run-Time Driver are

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installed on the local computer and the HASP key is attached.

1. Run the Application.

2. On the menu bar select License | Options Soft/Hard Key.

The following window will open;

3. Select the option under Choose Key Type = Sentinel Pro

Key (Smaller dongle or USB) or Sentinel HASP Key

4. Click the Hard Key tab, and select the option under Hard
Key Parameters = Hard Key on this Installation (Local).

5. Click <OK> to accept changes.

Single-Seat Floating Configuration

Required for Sentinel Pro: The GEDCO Software Application and Sentinel
Protection Driver are installed on both the local and remote computers. The New
Sentinel Pro Key is attached to the local computer.

Required for Sentinel HASP: Both VISTA and the HASP Run-Time Driver are
installed on the local and remote computers. The HASP key is attached to the
local computer.

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Local Computer

1. Run the Application.

2. On the menu bar select License | Options Soft/Hard Key.

The following window will open;

3. Select the option under Choose Key Type = Sentinel Pro

Key (smaller dongle or USB) or Sentinel HASP Key.

4. Click the Hard Key tab, and select the option under Hard
Key Parameters = Hard Key on this Installation (Local).

5. Click <OK> to accept changes.

Remote Computer

1. Run the Application.

2. On the menu bar select License | Options Soft/Hard Key.

The following window will open;

3. Select the option under Choose Key Type = Sentinel Pro

Key (smaller dongle or USB) or Sentinel HASP Key.

4. Click the Hard Key tab, and select the option under Hard
Key Parameters = Hard Key on another Installation
(Floating). Where the Server = The IP address of the local
computer.

5. Click <OK> to accept changes.

Multi-Seat Floating Configuration

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Each Sentinel SuperProNet Key is programmed to run multiple copies of the license
application from a remote computer.

Required for Sentinel Pro: The GEDCO Software Application and Sentinel
Protection Driver are installed on both the Server and Workstation computers.
The SuperProNet Key is attached to the Server computer.

Required for Sentinel HASP: Both VISTA and the HASP Run-Time Driver are
installed on the local and remote computers. The HASP key is attached to the
local computer.

License Server (Local)

1. Run the Application.

2. On the menu bar select License | Options Soft/Hard Key.

The following window will open;

3. Select the option under Choose Key Type = Sentinel Pro

Key (smaller dongle or USB) or Sentinel HASP Key.

4. Click the Hard Key tab, and select the option under Hard
Key Parameters = Hard Key on this Installation (Local).

5. Click <OK> to accept changes.

Workstation (Remote)

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1. Run the Application.

2. On the menu bar select License | Options Soft/Hard Key.

The following window will open;

3. Select the option under Choose Key Type = Sentinel Pro

Key (smaller dongle or USB) or Sentinel HASP Key.

4. Click the Hard Key tab, and select the option under Hard
Key Parameters = Hard Key on another Installation
(Floating). Where the Server = The IP address of the local
license server.

5. Click <OK> to accept changes.

Updating the Hard Key

The Sentinel Super Pro / HASP keys will require updating in order to enable the latest
version of the software. Once the security key is updated, previous versions of the
software will continue to run.

1. Run the Application.

2. On the menu bar select License | Hard Key | Update Attached Hard Key. The following
window will open;

3. Under Step 1, click the button <Press to Get Site Code>. A code will be automatically
entered into Step 2.
4. Send your Site Code to support@gedco.com and a client services representative will
forward you an authorization code that you can paste into Step 3.
5. After you paste the authorization code into Step 3, click the button <Step 4:Press to
Update the Key>.
6. The License Status window will appear displaying the current licensed modules.

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11 Font Menu

[Font Menu]

The font selected here will be use as the default font for various windows in VISTA Tape.

12 Window Menu

[Window Menu]

Arrange the appearance of the various opened or minimized VISTA Tape windows by
choosing one of the display options. The display options are Cascade, Tile Vertically, Tile
Horizontally, Maximize (the current window).

Close All - Close all opened or minimized windows.

© Geophysical Exploration & Development Corporation 2012