DiyLightAnimation
Hardware => Lynx EtherDongle => Lynx Conductor => Topic started by: lonewolf41 on December 21, 2012,
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I finally switched over to the conductor to run the show. The longer it runs, the more off the music gets from the lights. By the end of the third song, the song is like 1/2 a second behind the lights. When it goes to start the 4th song, the lights just go crazy while the music plays. I mean, it is not playing the sequence at all, the smart strings are just turning all through the rainbow. I wanted to disconnect it from the computer, but that may not be possible.
Thoughts?
Thanks,
-Keith
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mine is doing the same thing. i will be sure to pay attention to this thread.
duane
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what kind of temperatures are you guys getting while it's happening? Also, id the Conductor/EtherDongle inside or outside.
It might not have anything to do with it, but it's still a shot in the dark (or crazy illuminated dark)
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got to be a conversion issue. I don't about the other beta guys but I ran a show 45 minutes long on mine in testing night after night 4 times a night and it was spot on always. Is this an issue everyone is seeing or only certain people? I need to know. I have not been able to be around much lately so I will have to catch up with everyones experiences after the new year.
RJ
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my conductor is located inside the house. i only tried it once, and it seems to run the first song fine but after that it was drifting. i honestly put it on the back burner due to the show running rock solid with the usb dongle. i will mess with it some more this weekend.
duane
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This is what daytime light show enjoyment is for. We decorators have Christmas light day vision. :)
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Mine is inside. I didn't have it going long enough to find a definite pattern, but the longer songs were worse as it seemed to get worse the longer the song played. It would also start over with the next song. Each song would start out in time, but by the end, it would be way off. It seemed like the ones that were having trouble were ones I downloaded from itunes vs. ones I ripped from a CD. The itunes ones also had a 320kbps bitrate while the other ones were 192kbps. Don't know if that is relevant or not but it is one difference in the music files. Although the grinch seemed to do it as well and it is 192.
I am leaving town tomorrow...thus the reason I was trying to get the conductor going...but I will be back Monday. I can try some more experimentation then. Tonight I was just trying to keep the lights going. Most traffic I have had and the show was awful. Finally got the etherdongle firmware loaded back on and running from Vixen again. The other fun part of this was a program I installed yesterday on my computer killed the ability of the computer to talk to the ED. Finally figure that out and got going again. Frustrating night none-the-less but at least it is running.
If you have things to try, let me know and I can try it on Monday.
Thanks,
-Keith
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Add me the list... Some of you may already know my sequences are very tight so I would like to think I can speak with some authority as to the music light sync. Out of 5 sequences I tried I have one that works fine, the others lose sync. I looked at mp3 formats and find no correlation to this issue there. In fact the sequence that is fine is 192k. I tried converting some mp3s with audacity and found no help there. What is odd is I ran the conductor for about a week and had no issues whatsoever. :o Later I got cocky and started fooling with the control panel and added some more sequences and later developed the above issues. Yes, I did try going back and loading only what I did before but still had problem.
I admit I am biased toward the RTC since mine was bad and was subsequently replaced with one with the same date of manufacture. What is odd, is in addition to the sync issue, the fm transmitter is also affected. I also had a reoccurring flash about every 10 seconds. Info in this thread: http://diylightanimation.com/index.php?topic=10659.0 (http://diylightanimation.com/index.php?topic=10659.0)
I am using LSP and have the conductor inside.
I think the conductor is a killer piece and I am confident we will get this resolved. As of now I am running the LSP scheduler with success and I am enjoying my show have no plans to change anything.
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I do not have a conductor yet but am wanting to get one for next year. Everyone might want to post the number of channels they are using. Just trying to help, many the # of channels might be a contributing factor.
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Perhaps it would help RJ if people who have this problem would mention what sequencing program they use and what software the conversion to conductor format was done in to see if it is a particular software problem.
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I am using Vixen with 6400 channels...although only about 6300 of those have data...the rest are dummy/blank channels.
-Keith
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Not seeing it on my conductor works perfect and has for the last 4 weeks. Mine is in my cold garage.
1500 channels by light show pro. Songs are all 192. 6 total songs almost 20 min long for all of them.
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I am using last 32 bit release of LSP and it's export function for conductor. Similar to Keith, I am using 6300 channels in LSP but actual channel count probably around 6,200. (boy did that idea save my skin!)
Some additional data if it matters to anyone, my largest sequence when exported to .seq format is 118mb [118,000kb] but is only 35mb as .msq. For some reason I thought the file size would go down when converted to conductor format as it was a simpler? In addition, my smallest sequence is 51mb exported to .seq but only 5mb as .msq. That's over 10x larger...
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i have 4096 channels but only using about 2600. i am using vixen sequencing and xlights to do the conversion.
duane
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I am using last 32 bit release of LSP and it's export function for conductor. Similar to Keith, I am using 6300 channels in LSP but actual channel count probably around 6,200. (boy did that idea save my skin!)
Some additional data if it matters to anyone, my largest sequence when exported to .seq format is 118mb [118,000kb] but is only 35mb as .msq. For some reason I thought the file size would go down when converted to conductor format as it was a simpler? In addition, my smallest sequence is 51mb exported to .seq but only 5mb as .msq. That's over 10x larger...
your sequencing software might export only the channels you have setup. the conductor would need the full universe filled, i think. (i.e. you send 4 channels on a universe, but the conductor still sends all 4096?)
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I have been running my conductor for about 2 weeks with zero problems. I started with Vixen sequences from last year, I set the interval on my Vixen sequences to 50mS because I knew that was the conductor interval and imported them into LSP. I set the sequence interval in LSP to 50mS, added the RGB components using LSP and then I exported the sequences from LSP to seq files. I ran the 4 MP3 files through Audacity. My seq files are between 37 to 86 meg. My first 512 channels are for DMX single light control. Channels 520 to 4096 are RGB channels.
After getting much help from this group learing how to set up the conductor files I got my conductor running the 4 sequences. It has been smooth since then. I no longer look out the window every few minutes to see if the show is still running.
Rick S
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I have been running my conductor for about 2 weeks with zero problems. I started with Vixen sequences from last year, I set the interval on my Vixen sequences to 50mS because I knew that was the conductor interval and imported them into LSP. I set the sequence interval in LSP to 50mS, added the RGB components using LSP and then I exported the sequences from LSP to seq files. I ran the 4 MP3 files through Audacity. My seq files are between 37 to 86 meg. My first 512 channels are for DMX single light control. Channels 520 to 4096 are RGB channels.
After getting much help from this group learing how to set up the conductor files I got my conductor running the 4 sequences. It has been smooth since then. I no longer look out the window every few minutes to see if the show is still running.
Rick S
The timing on a conductor is always 50ms. Is this part of the issue. are you ising odd timings other than 50ms and this is why we are seeing sync issues? just a thought, the convertors were suppost to handle this and give me the status at each 50ms but maybe there is an issue with this.
RJ
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Mine has been running perfectly since Dec 1... When I started the season... Running about 6000 channels... Pixelnet and LOR boxes running DMX thru active hubs... Using LSP to sequence and output to conductor format...
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I have been using my Conductor exclusively this year. I do get extra flickers now and then, but timing has been rock solid, I had many issues to begin with, but right now I seem to have a good process that works for me. For those having issues I would suggest trying another conversion to the .seq files. Early on I had some bad conversions that really messed things up. If using LSP try Franks "Light Elf" conversion. All others I would use Xlights. I sequence with LSP and have used both LSP conversion and Light Elf with good luck on both. Just my $.01 worth.
BTW I am pushing 15,000 channels this year. Need slave firmware to do much more! ;)
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I have been running my conductor for about 2 weeks with zero problems. I started with Vixen sequences from last year, I set the interval on my Vixen sequences to 50mS because I knew that was the conductor interval and imported them into LSP. I set the sequence interval in LSP to 50mS, added the RGB components using LSP and then I exported the sequences from LSP to seq files. I ran the 4 MP3 files through Audacity. My seq files are between 37 to 86 meg. My first 512 channels are for DMX single light control. Channels 520 to 4096 are RGB channels.
After getting much help from this group learing how to set up the conductor files I got my conductor running the 4 sequences. It has been smooth since then. I no longer look out the window every few minutes to see if the show is still running.
Rick S
The timing on a conductor is always 50ms. Is this part of the issue. are you ising odd timings other than 50ms and this is why we are seeing sync issues? just a thought, the convertors were suppost to handle this and give me the status at each 50ms but maybe there is an issue with this.
RJ
I used xlights 2012d to convert my sequences. They are originally done at 50ms timing. Should have some time this week to try some different things to try and narrow down the issue.
Thanks,
-Keith
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I'm using LSP 64 bit on win 7, with my conductor outside secured under a porch and in a waterproof container.
5 out of my 7 songs sync perfectly, but two definitely drift. I assumed all along that it was an LSP problem and the thought never crossed my mind that it could be the conductor. All my music is 128kps 44.1 MP3's - and I haven't found any differences between the music that would cause the lag on some but not others.
-John
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Have you tried directly from lsp to the etherdongle on those 2 songs to see if they do it there?
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I am also seeing this drift on just Jingle Bell Rock. It only drifts off by 0.5-1sec. I sequenced in LOR and converted all them with xLights 2012b. Not sure if this help but here is my playlist of songs and the bit rates:
TSO-Wizards in Winter - 128k
Jingle Bell Rock - 192k
TSO-Sarajevo - 160k
Carol of the bells - 128k
I do also remember that I had to covert Jingle Bell Rock in Audacity from 282k to get LOR to read it in.
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i had a chance to mess with the conductor tonight. i have 6 songs this year and i have noticed that the songs that i built from scratch all play fine and spot on. i have 3 songs that were given to me to help me get started, they were originally LOR sequences that i converted to vixen. they play just fine when running the usb dongle or etherdongle off of my computer, but when running with conductor firmware threw the cf card, the 3 songs that i copied and pasted into my sequence, the music is behind on the sequence by at least 2 seconds. if the songs didn't play fine threw the usb dongle, i would think the song and sequence were off, but they play just fine.
duane
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My conductor has been running for 4 weeks now without any issues.
If you are using LSP, the audio files must be 44.1k. Serveral LSP users have reported issues with loosing sync over time when other formats are used (LSP as the scheudler.) When you export from LSP to conductor, you basically are "playing" the show to generate the effects at 50ms so timing could be effected by the audio file format. My suggestion is to convert the file using Audacity and try 128kbps or 196kbps using 44.1k sampling rate and export the files again.
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This is not a conductor issue, but the topic comes up all the time. I have one audio file that always sound fuzzy in my show. If I bring it up in audacity, all I see is that it is 44100Hz and 32 bit float. How do I tell what bps it has been recorded / saved at? I have moved thru the menus and do not see anything that tells me this. Not being a musician I don't even know what most of the options / terms mean. i know I could save the file and specify the bps, but the question is how to tell what it currently is. Thanks
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This is not a conductor issue, but the topic comes up all the time. I have one audio file that always sound fuzzy in my show. If I bring it up in audacity, all I see is that it is 44100Hz and 32 bit float. How do I tell what bps it has been recorded / saved at? I have moved thru the menus and do not see anything that tells me this. Not being a musician I don't even know what most of the options / terms mean. i know I could save the file and specify the bps, but the question is how to tell what it currently is. Thanks
I just right click the audio file in windows explorer and just choose "media info". It tells you in that screen. I don't know how to see it in audacity but when you export the mp3 you can change the bps there.
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OK, I was able to do so trial and error now that the show is off. I took two different sequences from my show and 3 different versions of the MP3's and mixed and matched them. I also had two different versions of each sequence. One that used a profile and one that has the profile flattened into the sequence. Here is what I found.
One of my original MP3's was 192kbps, the other was 320kbps. All versions of the .sho using these MP3's had the music way behind the lights by the end of the song. One song was 3 minutes the other was 4 and the 4 minute song was off by around 1 second by the end of the sequence. The 3 minute sequence was off between 3/4 to 1 second by the end. I made 128 & 64kbps versions of the MP3's and ran those with the same .seq files from the previous run and the music and lights were still in sync by the end of the song. So it appears that the bit rate of the MP3's was causing one of my issues.
The other issue that I had was when the 4 minute sequence ran, the light just flashed random colors. The music played, but the lights were nothing like they should of been...they just flickered randomly. Strangely enough, this only happened with one sequence; however, if I flattened the sequence before converting it, this issue went away.
So as of right now, if I use a flattened sequence before converting and use 128kbps MP3's, I think I can get my conductor to work well enough to run a show. I also found out what was going on with my one string that I discussed here: http://diylightanimation.com/index.php?topic=10507.0 but I'll cover that over there.
I guess there is a learning curve to this...or maybe it has already been covered elsewhere and I just missed it. Maybe some of this will help other that are having trouble.
Thanks,
-Keith
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I wonder if it has to do with differences in the MP3 encoding. You might want to look to see if your problem MP3s have been encoded with variable bit rate (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Variable_bitrate) - this is basically a cheat that allows MP3 files to be smaller when less data is needed. I know that I've heard of sequencing issues in the past using MP3s that use VBR.
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You want to run 128 - 192 mp3 non variable rate on the conductor. I thought we posted that somewhere but my memory is bad.
RJ
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MP3 Info: You want to run 128 - 192 mp3 non variable rate on the conductor
Quote from the Wiki...
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You want to run 128 - 192 mp3 non variable rate on the conductor. I thought we posted that somewhere but my memory is bad.
RJ
[/quo
my conductor had 3 songs that played fine and 3 songs that weren't in sync. the 3 songs that played correctly have an mp3 bit rate of 320 kbps and the 3 not working properly have a bit rate of 128 kbps. keep in mind all 6 songs play just fine threw the etherdongle prior to adding the conductor firmware. should i attempt to convert the bit rate of the 3 songs not working and see if it works? or should i make all the songs the same rate?
duane
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my conductor had 3 songs that played fine and 3 songs that weren't in sync. the 3 songs that played correctly have an mp3 bit rate of 320 kbps and the 3 not working properly have a bit rate of 128 kbps. keep in mind all 6 songs play just fine threw the etherdongle prior to adding the conductor firmware. should i attempt to convert the bit rate of the 3 songs not working and see if it works? or should i make all the songs the same rate?
duane
variable, or non variable bitrate?
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[
variable, or non variable bitrate?
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not sure how to check that. when i right click on the mp3 file, go to properties and that is where i found the bit rate but i do not see whether it's non-variable or variable. do i load it into audacity to find that out? i will check
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You really need to use an audio program to determine the bit rate - windows explorer isn't the right tool. Audacity may do it - not sure. There's a free program called Mr QuestionMan (http://www.burrrn.net/?page_id=5) that will inspect the files for you, or if you're good with a hex editor, you can see for yourself according to the spec (http://mpgedit.org/mpgedit/mpeg_format/MP3Format.html) - the 9th hex character should be 0 for VBR.
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I wonder if it has to do with differences in the MP3 encoding. You might want to look to see if your problem MP3s have been encoded with variable bit rate (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Variable_bitrate) - this is basically a cheat that allows MP3 files to be smaller when less data is needed. I know that I've heard of sequencing issues in the past using MP3s that use VBR.
Is there a way to tell if they use VBR? Two of my songs I ripped from the CD and two were downloaded as part of the TSO promotional. The TSO ones were the 320kbps files. I usually use 160 or 192kbps when I rip from a CD. Probably overkill, but want/like to make sure I have good sound.
Thanks,
-Keith
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I just looked at the program I use to rip the CD's (Real player) and "Use Constant Bitrate" is checked. I assume it has always been that way as I don't remember ever changing it. So my guess is the 192kbps MP3 was recorded/ripped using a constant bitrate. I may try re-ripping with a different program and see if it makes a difference. Just another variable to eliminate.
I used VLC player to convert the 192kbps song to 128 & 64 and both of them worked so I may try using it to rip the song from the CD at the higher bitrate and see if it will play. Maybe it is Real player that is doing something. I am using a pretty old version...12.0.0.343.
Thanks,
-Keith
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I use winamp - watch the bitrate as you play the song. If it changes, it's VBR.
winamp screenshot (http://imgur.com/p3Xnx) You can find an old copy of a non-bloated winamp (v 2.74) here (http://www.oldapps.com/winamp.php?old_winamp=105).
Before everyone gets crazy checking all their songs though, I think it would be more prudent for someone confirm one of their problem sequences is due to VBR.
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As a user of LSP 2.5 I must use 44100 HZ 16bit with a 128kps bit rate MP3 files or I am like to experience problems such as delay between lights and sound. While there are many audio tools out there I use Audacity because it is free and it work great. Any song I decide I want to use in my show I bring it into Audacity and export it as a MP3 with 44100, 16, 128 settings and I am good to go even if the original was a MP3 is still export it to make sure I don't have to worry about it later. Audacity is also works well for editing songs or splicing tracks together. YMMV but working with 128kps bit rate files is the way to go with most software out there.
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As one more point of reference, I ripped the same song using windows media player instead of real player. I set the bitrate to 192kbps. I played the MP3 in VLC player and checked the bitrate while playing. It was mostly 192. Every so often it would go to 191 for a split second, but i figure that was just some error in the calculation or something. Anyway, this new MP3 also played slow...or at least the music was way behind the lights again. I guess that has been a question of mine. Is the audio file being played a little slow, or is the sequence getting played a little fast? I have not tried to time it to see, but that would be a good check.
Anyway, I guess as it stands, for me a 128kbps file seems to play OK. I will just need to make sure all my files get converted before using them in the conductor. Is there a specification sticky somewhere that spells out these standards that we need to follow? If there is, I missed it. If there is not, it would probably be a good idea to make one.
Thanks,
-Keith
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I'd have to say that your song that was going between 191 and 192 is VBR. The bitrate is a lookup value in each frame of data, ie, no calculation is required if the bitrate value in the given frame is non-zero, and 191 isn't one of the lookup values.
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I'd have to say that your song that was going between 191 and 192 is VBR. The bitrate is a lookup value in each frame of data, ie, no calculation is required if the bitrate value in the given frame is non-zero, and 191 isn't one of the lookup values.
Here is a screenshot from Mr. QuestionMan. Does this say it is variable or constant? I don't see either.
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I think this is something other than a mp3 spec issue since I fooled around with this some time ago...
Is there a (legal) way to post the .seq and .mp3 files to see if others who are not having issues try files on their conductor? Then, assuming the files play fine on another conductor, what would that mean?
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I think this is something other than a mp3 spec issue since I fooled around with this some time ago...
Is there a (legal) way to post the .seq and .mp3 files to see if others who are not having issues try files on their conductor? Then, assuming the files play fine on another conductor, what would that mean?
I don't mind posting mine if someone wants to try it. Of course the channel layout might be an issue and I'm not sure how you would know if the lights are in sync if they do not match the layout anyway. There is a good chance that you could tell, but it might be more difficult. I thought about trying a different ED/conductor combo altogether to see if it played differently on different hardware. Unfortunately, I only have the one. May get a spare this year, but will be too late to test while I have my gear up...at least I hope it is. :) Good ideas though.
-Keith
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I still have all of my lights up and if you have a particular item in your show that you could easily tell if it is off, I can play it and video that (Those) channel number(s) in my show. If you want to try, I am game. Let me know if you want me to try some different stuff.
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Here are two of mine that are causing problems. Both of these end with the music way behind the lights. I suspect you will be able to tell the sequencing even if the layouts/channel mapping are not the same.
I also noticed that my flattened sequences that worked for one of my songs was a different size than the one created by using the profile. For the other song, files created both ways in xlights were the same size. I think this explains why the one sequence just produced random flashes, but I'm not sure why this happened since the other files seemed to convert fine by using the profile.
Hopefully these will attach. I have trouble with attachments sometimes.
Thanks,
-Keith
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Well, I can't get the attachment to upload. I guess I will have to do it via email. If someone wants to try, I guess PM me your email.
Thanks,
-Keith
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Well, I can't get the attachment to upload. I guess I will have to do it via email. If someone wants to try, I guess PM me your email.
Thanks,
-Keith
There are restrictions on file types and size. Did you try a zip file?
Allowed file types: doc, gif, jpg, mpg, pdf, png, txt, zip, hex, asm, xls, wmv, mp3, mp4, flv, dll, vix, apk, pro
Restrictions: 5 per post, maximum total size 100000KB, maximum individual size 100000KB
Rick R.
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Well, I can't get the attachment to upload. I guess I will have to do it via email. If someone wants to try, I guess PM me your email.
Thanks,
-Keith
PM Sent
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Well, I can't get the attachment to upload. I guess I will have to do it via email. If someone wants to try, I guess PM me your email.
Thanks,
-Keith
There are restrictions on file types and size. Did you try a zip file?
Allowed file types: doc, gif, jpg, mpg, pdf, png, txt, zip, hex, asm, xls, wmv, mp3, mp4, flv, dll, vix, apk, pro
Restrictions: 5 per post, maximum total size 100000KB, maximum individual size 100000KB
Rick R.
Yes, I zipped them. One file was 6,138KB and the other was 7,683KB. I could not upload together or individually. I was under the posted limits, but I have never been able to upload a very large file. Seems like 2MB each and 8MB total or so is all I can get uploaded.
Thanks,
-Keith
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Well, I can't get the attachment to upload. I guess I will have to do it via email. If someone wants to try, I guess PM me your email.
Thanks,
-Keith
PM Sent
Should be in your inbox.
Thanks!!
-Keith
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Testing has begun with some interesting results from the start! First I am very embarrassed to say that my display looks much and I DO mean much better with Keith's sequences. I have done no channel mapping changes at all. Keith you can sequence for me anytime!!!! <res. <res. <res.
Now to intial test. 2 songs 1 @ 192kbs constant the other @ 320kbs constant.
Test 1: Song 1 (seq name=1kg_fl_c.seq) (mp3 name=1kg) @ 192kbs played fine, song 2 (seq name=ihm_fl_c.seq) (Mp3 name= iham) would not start
Test 2: Song 1 @ 192 play fine, song 2 run through audacity and set to 192kbs would not play
Test 3: Rename song 1 to 1 @192 and song 2 to 2 @ 192. Both songs play and play fine. Timing on first play through looked good. Show still playing will update later.
Note: I have a post that states that I was having issues playing songs that were within the specs under 8 characters . After renaming to simple numbers my issues went away.
Update: 1 hour 5 min all in time. I am starting to get some audio Glitch at the end of each song, but timing is still on.
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Test 4 (Day 2): Rename Song 2 @320kbs to the Number 2 , build show and run. Song 1 @ 192 played fine, song 2 @ 320 Will not run no matter what I have tried.
If I get a chance, I will run a show tonight @ 192 and do some video. Then tomorrow run a show @ 128 for a comparison. (I want to run a show for 4 hours each and see what happens over time).
Take into consideration that there are only 2 songs so they are repeating much faster than a usual show would. I would also like to test the 2 songs using different bit rates for each song to see if that has any affect.
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Update: Last night I came home to a dark house...No lights were on and they were scheduled to. I was too tired to mess with it last night so I tried again this morning and no matter what I have tried it will only play song 1 then stop. I have tried several things, but so far no luck. I will keep plugging away as I get time.
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I had some issues with the shows not starting at the correct time. Ended up I needed to replace the battery. Actually have had to replace it twice.. Because of the storms we have been having here, the power bumped quite a bit, and caused issues with the conductor and playback
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Based on Roger's feedback, I tried renaming my MP3 & sequence file to 1.MP3 & 1.seq. I created a show called 1.sho that used those files and played it. It made no difference in playback for either song done that way.
I did one other thing. I timed the song and it appears that the MP3 is playing correctly as I timed it and the song played by the conductor played for the same amount of time as the MP3 played on just a computer. This therefore leads me to believe that the conductor is actually playing the .seq file slightly fast.
Thanks,
-Keith
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Based on Roger's feedback, I tried renaming my MP3 & sequence file to 1.MP3 & 1.seq. I created a show called 1.sho that used those files and played it. It made no difference in playback for either song done that way.
I did one other thing. I timed the song and it appears that the MP3 is playing correctly as I timed it and the song played by the conductor played for the same amount of time as the MP3 played on just a computer. This therefore leads me to believe that the conductor is actually playing the .seq file slightly fast.
Thanks,
-Keith
Keith, I don't know what has happened on my end. The first night I was able to play both songs as a show all night. Since then no matter what, I can play each song 1 time (no matter how long I schedule the show) and only the first song will play. After the first song the Conductor Utility says "not connected briefly" then goes back to waiting. I have run both of the songs through Audacity and set to 192 and 128kbs. Still no go. I even ran the one vix file that you gave me through xlights. I really am not understanding what is wrong. The second night I did not change a thing except the schedule time. I am going to run my show right now and make sure that it will run. I'll post results shortly.
Update: 3 small spots into my show and all is well. My show runs for 1\2 and hour exactly so we will see what happens....
Update 2 (for tonight): My show is on it's second cycle and all is well.
Keith can you send me your other vix file? I would really like to try some more. The audio glitch that I was getting in the end was very annoying. I would like to see if I can get it to repeat.
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I did one other thing. I timed the song and it appears that the MP3 is playing correctly as I timed it and the song played by the conductor played for the same amount of time as the MP3 played on just a computer. This therefore leads me to believe that the conductor is actually playing the .seq file slightly fast.
Thanks,
-Keith
Have you looked at the actual time in audacity to the time it plays?
Adding a note to my above post. Renaming your files only worked the first night. When I started having issues your files names had the same result.
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I did one other thing. I timed the song and it appears that the MP3 is playing correctly as I timed it and the song played by the conductor played for the same amount of time as the MP3 played on just a computer. This therefore leads me to believe that the conductor is actually playing the .seq file slightly fast.
Thanks,
-Keith
Have you looked at the actual time in audacity to the time it plays?
Adding a note to my above post. Renaming your files only worked the first night. When I started having issues your files names had the same result.
I did not do anything in Audacity. I just used a stop watch to check it.
Thanks for your work/help,
-Keith
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So I have narrowed it down (on my end) to being a problem with 1 king, but I don't understand it at all. I can play the MP3 with none as the .seq in a show and it will continue to play. If I play the .seq and none for the MP3 it will continue to play. If I combine them a run a show it will play 1 time through and stop. Any ideas about why?
BTW "I Had a Memory" will play in a show fine so I am going to built a show with just that 1 song and see what happens.
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Here is a video looking out my front window on the last song of the night after about 2 1\2 hours. No editing and No audio glitching.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gtc9fUstHW8 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gtc9fUstHW8)
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Video marked private
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Video marked private
Well I can watch it! ;) <fp. Try again.
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well I have been loosing time on this topic hehehehehe
<fp.
Rick R.
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<la.. Then give us a solution as to WHY!!!!
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WOW, that was pretty cool. Actually interesting seeing it run on someone else's gear. It was plain to see that it was still in time however. It still sounds like you are having (other) issues as well though. The only thing that seems to work...at least on my conductor...is to run the MP3's @ 128kbps. Did you try that?
I hate to waste more time on this issue since there seems to be a workaround by using a specific bitrate. I was just hoping to find out what the variables were and how they affected the conductor since I had trouble using it to run my show. I hope this was not an exercise in futility as it seems to me that there are some definite issues/concerns that the same files perform differently on different...albeit supposedly the same...hardware. The fact that I am apparently not the only one having this issue gives me some comfort as it leads me to believe that it is not something I am doing. Still, the fact that the same files are in time on your gear, but out of time on mine really has me puzzled. I wished I understood more of the mechanics to be able to troubleshoot.
I would be willing to share my files with anyone that can help troubleshoot and/or fix this.
Thanks,
-Keith
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WOW, that was pretty cool. Actually interesting seeing it run on someone else's gear. It was plain to see that it was still in time however. It still sounds like you are having (other) issues as well though. The only thing that seems to work...at least on my conductor...is to run the MP3's @ 128kbps. Did you try that?
I hate to waste more time on this issue since there seems to be a workaround by using a specific bitrate. I was just hoping to find out what the variables were and how they affected the conductor since I had trouble using it to run my show. I hope this was not an exercise in futility as it seems to me that there are some definite issues/concerns that the same files perform differently on different...albeit supposedly the same...hardware. The fact that I am apparently not the only one having this issue gives me some comfort as it leads me to believe that it is not something I am doing. Still, the fact that the same files are in time on your gear, but out of time on mine really has me puzzled. I wished I understood more of the mechanics to be able to troubleshoot.
I would be willing to share my files with anyone that can help troubleshoot and/or fix this.
Thanks,
-Keith
I was not joking when I said how good it looked in my show. "1 King" looks even better! One thing to remember with this is yes I did try 128, but that was after I started having issues. If you want I would like to have the vix file for 1 king and see if I can get them to both run again. I am almost wondering if there is an issue with the .seq file of that song. I was having audio issues when I ran them both for a while. That might be something for you to try as well. Just run each song seperately and see if they all stay in time or if 1 song drifts off. I also wonder if it is because they are not all the same bit rate.
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In your inbox.
Also, I think I did forget to mention...I did run each sequence individually. In fact, that is how I have done 90% of my testing and they performed the same...lights out of sync and ahead of the music.
Thanks again,
-Keith
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Keep trying different stuff. I am watching, this is what will help me find the issue when I get back working on the firmware. I need as much info to help me make sense of it as I can.
Seeing that it works on some hardware and not on a different one has me thinking one thing but the next attempt of stuff could show me I am wrong.
I did not have a show this year again so no personal input. I and the beta testers did not see this and in fact it was never an issue as opposed to one we thought was fixed. So it is truely only some units doing it. i have received a lot of pms of people that was thanking me saying the conductor was the only way they get their shows with high ch counts to play smooth.
I am sure it is just a tweak once we have a good idea on it.
RJ
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In your inbox.
Also, I think I did forget to mention...I did run each sequence individually. In fact, that is how I have done 90% of my testing and they performed the same...lights out of sync and ahead of the music.
Thanks again,
-Keith
Keith, is it off right away or over time? If over time how many cycles?
Keep trying different stuff. I am watching, this is what will help me find the issue when I get back working on the firmware. I need as much info to help me make sense of it as I can.
Seeing that it works on some hardware and not on a different one has me thinking one thing but the next attempt of stuff could show me I am wrong.
I did not have a show this year again so no personal input. I and the beta testers did not see this and in fact it was never an issue as opposed to one we thought was fixed. So it is truely only some units doing it. i have received a lot of pms of people that was thanking me saying the conductor was the only way they get their shows with high ch counts to play smooth.
I am sure it is just a tweak once we have a good idea on it.
RJ
Thanks RJ. With a couple of exceptions, one of them I have documented on DLA and the other being some intermittent flickering, my show ran flawless with the conductor!
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In your inbox.
Also, I think I did forget to mention...I did run each sequence individually. In fact, that is how I have done 90% of my testing and they performed the same...lights out of sync and ahead of the music.
Thanks again,
-Keith
Keith, is it off right away or over time? If over time how many cycles?
It is not off right away. It starts out in sync. By the end of the song, the lights are about 1 second ahead of the music. It gets gradually worse the longer the song plays. It is like it is playing the lights at 1.004 times the speed that it should. Not much, but those 0.4% differences every second add up over the length of a song/sequence.
Sorry if I wasn't very clear about what was happening. I'll try and video what it does tonight.
Thanks,
-Keith
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It is not off right away. It starts out in sync. By the end of the song, the lights are about 1 second ahead of the music. It gets gradually worse the longer the song plays. It is like it is playing the lights at 1.004 times the speed that it should. Not much, but those 0.4% differences every second add up over the length of a song/sequence.
Sorry if I wasn't very clear about what was happening. I'll try and video what it does tonight.
Thanks,
-Keith
Ok. That is not what I was expecting. I was thinking that the longer the songs played through out the night that they would be off, not just one time through. I can tell you that even 1 King is in fact on time, 1 time through. I will video as well tonight.
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OK, here is a video (shot from inside the house) showing what happens.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9auI7VUz0w
For reference, here is the original/correct timing version.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1p0SYQUsHHY
I think the differences are pretty apparent.
Thanks,
-Keith
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Here is my video. It is much more difficult to tell on mine, but I think that it is ok. Your mapping of your DMX channels are on 1 1\2 strings of my mega tree and some are under the snow. Let me know what you think. Once again raw unedited and the same .seq that you used.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJRZmRFPkRw
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJRZmRFPkRw)
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I did not use my conductor (as a conductor) this year, but I just looked at the red audio board. It has what appears to be a Crystal Oscillator chip on it. Mine says 12.288 on it for frequency. Could yours be running slower than spec? About 0.4% ??
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I guess anything is a possibility. I just don't know enough to be able to troubleshoot it any further. Like I said, at least I can get around the issue...or at least have been able to so far. If no other solution comes up, I will just make sure all my MP3's are set to 128kbps or less for next year. It is just funny how the MP3 bitrate affects how fast the lights are played.
-Keith
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Not really because the rate of play of lights is directly tied to the music in the conductor. this is what is suppose to keep it synced. for example, If you slowed the music to half speed playback on the mp3 module, the lights would wait every second for the music to catch up before continuing.
RJ
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I sent you a pm on this, check it out and lets see if we can figure the issue out so you don't have to deal with it this coming year.
RJ
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Email sent. Let me know if it doesn't make it for some reason. Just curious if this is all somehow related to the issue I had in ED mode with channel 6143/6144 discussed here:
http://diylightanimation.com/index.php?topic=10507.msg146032#msg146032
since the issue I was having in this post was not present with conductor firmware. Just something I was wondering.
Thanks,
-Keith
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Ok here is the outcome of my test. I removed the underscore of the file name of the seq as I still feel I need to work on file name handling in the basic file system I am using. If it worked it would not be a factor I just wanted a clean name to work with.
So loaded both and setup a show using them. Ran it with the DMX out of the hub connected to the DMX grid Mike created for me so I could see 512 channels at one time.
I did not know you show but could tell from the music where you intended things to happen. It played spot on. The ending was as on time as the beginning.
Do not dispair this is what I expected based on my current hypothesis.
I believe it has to do with varations in the clocks on different units and yours might be on the outside of fast for what my firmware is doing to keep things synced.
I will have a test firmware for you to try against these same files for me soon.
RJ
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<pop.. Thanks!
Any thoughts as to the transmitter issue? I would think they are two are separate issues however both issues occurred at the same time for me.
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Keith,
Could I talk you into letting me pay to have you send your whole conductor to me so I can test with a unit that is know to do this?
It would really help me test new code that will fix this issue for you.
RJ
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<pop.. Thanks!
Any thoughts as to the transmitter issue? I would think they are two are separate issues however both issues occurred at the same time for me.
Not at this time.
RJ
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Keith,
Could I talk you into letting me pay to have you send your whole conductor to me so I can test with a unit that is know to do this?
It would really help me test new code that will fix this issue for you.
RJ
Absolutely...especially if it will help fix a problem that others have or may have. Sorry I haven't had an opportunity to test myself. Like I said earlier, it seems like it has been raining, snowing, and/or freezing for the last few weeks.
In fact, I'll pay the shipping to you. Just pay to ship it back and I'll be good. I'll get it in Monday's mail.
Best regards,
-Keith
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Thanks,
Yes I am well on the way to a have a total solution done that will insure that the lights and sound is never out of sync. But since my units never were out of sync before I want a known "trouble maker" if you know what I mean to test against also.
The fix will allow me to add so high end features like (fast forward/ start at a certain spot) that I wanted to anyway so it really is a move in the right direction. I want to get the system to be able to test in the yard with your phone not just play shows.
RJ
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Ok got your conductor.
Ran your show on mine and it is spot on and in sync. Run the same show on yours and it gets way off. It looks like it is as I thought. You have a conductor and the clock is running fast and it is enough faster than it breaks the syncing code in the conductor. So only some units would display this and in fact this is what we are seeing.
I then loaded the new firmware on your conductor, this is the firmware I am testing using your same show and the show was then spot on all the way to the end. So this shows the new firmware should resolve this issue for everyone. And with the way I am doing it the show should always be sync since I can get an extremely precise time index down to the millisecond. This requires we use Ogg vorbiis file format but this take 15 seconds in free software to run your mp3 through to get it. you can use MP3 as normal to do your seqencing but just as you convert the Seqence to a Conductor file format you also will convert the mp3 file to a Ogg file and copy it to your conductor card. OGG is very high quality and can be smaller than mp3. Plus it is a free open source format support by most software now.
I use Audicity, cause its free and I really like it, to convert but almost any free audio software works. I will do instructions on it. In audicity you open your mp3 then under the file menu choose export and in the file save dialog in the drop down for type select ogg vorbis.
Thats it, the difference is the OGG file contains accurate timing marks so it allows me to sync and do other new capabilities in the conductor. There is a new version of the control panel that goes with the new firmware and I am finishing up adding features to the system. I will need to redo the andriod app to add the new features also.
RJ
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That all sounds great RJ. Cannot wait to try the new stuff out! <res.
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Thanks RJ. My conductor worked great this year. Looking forward to the improvement. Than you for your efforts.
Rick S
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If you are one of the people that had sync issues this year with the conductor and want to test the new firmware at it current state.. Not finished still have stuff to add and clean up. please pm me I need a couple to add to the Conductor beta group and test it while I add the other features.
If you are one of the people having transmitter issues and want to test the circuit I posted for me please pm me also as I will add a couple for this issue also so we test it out.
RJ