4 Replies Latest reply: May 6, 2011 1:57 PM by MusicConductor RSS

    Peak file handling problem?

    Brent C.N. Community Member

      At first I thought this was a video playback issue, but in fact it's more like a peak file handling or priority problem. If you insert several long audio files (>20 mins) into the multitrack you will soon see that scrolling by ctrl + mouse wheel or dragging the scroll bar at certain resolutions will disrupt metering, time display, everything. And apart from being terribly annoying, it's also a total disregard of obvious priorities. With such a program, seamless audio and video playback must have the highest priority (= THE Output), then metering, then time display. Redrawing the clips on the timeline should come at the end of the list, and under no circumstances may it hinder the functioning of the primary outputs, as it does now (on the PC and Mac alike, but it's worse on the former).

       

      I firmly believe that this issue should be adressed first, before replacing any "missing" features, because this is a fundamental conceptual problem.

        • 1. Re: Peak file handling problem?
          MusicConductor Community Member

          Brent, I don't see this on my system.  Have you altered the default scrollling settings (I do, that's why I"m asking)?  What kind of computer is this, what hardware (audio / graphics), and what kind of file are these and how many are there?

          • 2. Re: Peak file handling problem?
            Ranger Jay Community Member

            I have seen this with a short (4 minute) mutlitrack project as well. The project would play, and the volume sliders in the mixer would work, but the meters were frozen. I only saw it on one test machine, though. On my regular box, it hasn't happened.

             

            Weird behavior computer specs:

             

            Quad 9400 proc

            8 GB RAM

            Win7 SP1 64-bit

            MBox 2 USB interface w/ latest drivers

            Audition CS5.5 trial

            • 3. Re: Peak file handling problem?
              Brent C.N. Community Member

              Hi MC and RJ, thanks for the input. I actually tried two different machines. One was a Gigabyte EP35-DS4 with an E8500 proc, 2 gig mem, nVidia 7300GT graphics, with XP, with the mobo audio as well as the MOTU 828mk3 (both ASIO and MME modes). The other was a Gigabyte H55M-USB3 with Core i5 660, builtin Intel gfx, 2 gig ram, an almost perfectly clean and empty Vista 32, and the mobo soundchip. Both machines acted roughly the same. The audio files I used were ordinary 16 bit stereo files, mostly about 40 minutes long each (different ones). I install the trial (everything at deafult), load two files into the multitrack (no fx, no routing, no nothing), hit play, and with a timeline window of about 50 seconds, I drag the scroll bar from the left extreme to right extreme with a speed that it travels for 10-15 seconds. While I'm doing this, the metering and the time display (as well as the video playback, if there's a video loaded) become jerky, at times even freeze for half a second or so (audio is undisturbed). Sometimes better, sometimes worse. With mono files it's less pronounced.
              But even in simple cases, if I just hit play and not touch the scroll bar, when the red play cursor reaches the right side, and the timeline is redrawn, sometimes this is enough to momentarily freeze the video playback.
              My colleague says he saw some of this with the beta on his Mac (I don't have the specs).
              MC, are you saying you don't experience this behaviour?

              • 4. Re: Peak file handling problem?
                MusicConductor Community Member

                Not that bad, but I haven't tried AA4 with video yet either.

                 

                I'll be having a look at this again!