Short interruptions in playback en very tiny hickups since y3 and y4

[ed linssen]

Hi Peter ,

Since the last two versions I had a lot of sound-interruptions. Playing stopped regularly for one to sometimes eight seconds. Sometimes more than once per track.
After fiddling around with the settings, I invented that it stopped after having unchecked :"running time OSD." and "OSD text".
The only things ,I think until now, that have left are very tiny hickups.  On an irregular and rare base. Must say very small. I could maybe live with it and it could be possibly corrupted files!
Hope this information is of any use for you,
Ed

[PeterSt]

Hi Ed,

Yea, I think I start to recognize this from other reports, and it should be solved by using Core Appointment Scheme 3. It is not my intention to use the Appointment Schemes for that (but merely to choose the best sound), so it is not the way to go. But can you try this please (or maybe you did already) and let me know the results ? (and of course reinstall te OSD stuff).
If it helps I must be able to solve this.

Btw, you do switch off those Services right ? (at this moment I'm not even sure whether you can use the OSD things without shutting them off, but it really is necessary to do to).


No ticks should be there whatsoever. So let's hunt that too. If you have normal wav files, the Glitch function (under Analyse -> rightclick the track in the Playlist Area or otherwise (similar) in the Library Area for a whole album) may show you "glitches". If not, the track should be fine. Notice that right now this only works for wav files (not flac etc.).

If you have an example, you could try "Copy to XX drive" and see whether it brings a difference (I'm talking about the small ticks here).

You may also higher your Q1 a bit (like to 8 ) and see whether that makes a difference. For sure when you are using USB it may (can't tell that from you sig right now).

By the time you know more ... let me know.
Peter

[PeterSt]

Ed - One more thing : I think you just started using the PCI interface while before you used USB. PCI is much more prone to small ticks. So, if you are at all saying that the small ticks are since the last version I think they can have been always there for you, if you had only used PCI always. And keep in mind your Mini ITX ... (theoreetically being more difficult to begin with)

[ed linssen]

Hi Peter,

Thanks for your thoughts!
My other pc , still on Vista, gives the same problems. It was the main reason to make a totally new setup on a different comp. Although I didn't look for solutions until now.
For y3 and 4 I did not use my nos-dac since I can't work on higher res. than 16/44(48). The NOS-dac is the USB dddac from Doede.(36dacs in parallel, battery powered).
I dont use it for the moment.
The other computer, on Vista, Works with a PCI-card as well. The Prodigy HD2. 24/192 too.
On the W7 computer program and music in not on the same disc anymore. To seperate discs on resp. sata 0 and 1.
Yes, I tried changing Core app. too, without succes. I did switch Services off.(checked) Problems exist on both Attended and Unattended. And No, I don't remember any ticks or stops of the same kind on older versions.
Btw, I experienced one( only one) more halt of half a second for the last listening hours since Yesterday!
This for now, try to find out more,
Thanks again Peter, for now I have to sit down and undergo: " XXMusical treatment", with capital TREAT!
Bye for now,

Ed

[PeterSt]

Thanks for your thoughts!

Yeah. Glad to be of so much help.
Not.

Ed, if you are not 100% sure this was on 0.9y-3 also, I may have another reason for this. Please let me know if you are (or not).


Then, I am not sure if you are saying that it was with the DDDac as well. If you never tried (with these later versions) you might. Not to solve it, but to give me some additional thinking.

Lastly, if you still can find some regularity in the ticks, try to lower your "Split file at size" by half of what you currently have. If it starts to happen twice as much (or a change in general), let me know.

I don't know anything else at this moment.
Peter

[ed linssen]

Hi Peter,
Update.....
Unfortunately I had some more halts from about one second during the last hour.
My music is stored in FLAC.
Gr,

Ed

[ed linssen]

Hi Peter,
Yes, I had it (the stops) on my Vista PC on Y3. Ididn't have Y4 on it! I took it apart for that reason..
My Vista PC is momentarely spread in parts all over my table. I am looking for solutions first on my W7 thing. If that one will not end up working properly think about building a faster computer, again mini-ITX(I like the size)with a Pentium Core2 duo 7000 or 8000 line.
Although I am affraid not to get it cooled without a lot of fuzz! Passive cooling can be perfecly done with the Atoms.
BUT, it has always worked flawlessly soundwise, though a bit slowish, and I was happy with that.
I toggled with split file size without succes.
I did not have the stops with the dddac, I used that one before the Y versions.
We just move on..

Ed

[ed linssen]

Hi Peter ,

I went a lot further with the : "split file" setting.
Put it on 75! I had only played with settings between 100 and 200.
I think it is a solution for me.(until now?)
I checked running time OSD text and OSD text again and it still works. No stops for about a whole hour! And what about ticks? I am not shure yet.
I keep you informed,

Ed

[ed linssen]

Peter,

I am sorry, it is still there, the stopping, even at setting 50mb.
We move on..

ED

[PeterSt]

Must be something very weird ...
Or at least something I completely overlook.



I'll grab a beer here. I may help ...

[ed linssen]

Hi Peter,

Keep your beer in the fridge for the coming four hours or so.
Dont ruin your brains by thinking about stops or glitches!
I think I am getting warm by having changed my priority settings from low to below normal and from realtime to high.
Went with split setting back to 125. 75 was not the solution afterall.
Life goes on...

Nice Sunday evening and thanks again for the effort,

Ed

[PeterSt]

I just came back here to ask you to do the other way around. But you apparently already did ...

My psychological problem is : I recognize it all, but the things which helped me I already told you.

[ed linssen]

Hi Peter,

The problem , halts (half- to five and more seconds) in the middle of tracks, is still there. It happens on a very irregular base, sometimes one halt per track, another time three or four stops. It is very random.
I would however advice you not to bother anymore, i'll just wait for y5, and see what happens then.
Somehow I feel it will solve itselves.

Thanks so far,

Ed


 

[PeterSt]

Your feelings are better than mine Ed. But I will try something ...

Thanks for the confidence ... and your patience !

[PeterSt]

Ed,

Something is wrong;
In the current version there's a bug that re-assigns the Core Appointment wrongly when only one core is available. This happens at the exact moments you describe. The program should die on that when only one core is available. And as far as I know the Atom has one core only ...

Besides this, with one core I don't think the things can be done which are needed (and indeed this is CoverArt-OSD related !), unless the processor is very powerful ... which it is not.
Also, indeed in this area things have changed, but at this moment I am not sure whether this was at 0.9y-3 or a version (or two) earlier.

In the end this is all about the CoverArt Wallpaper re-showing at the exact right moment, which it did not with 0.9x (etc.). There the change came too soon. Now, what I described elsewhere, is that there is a bug in at least Vista (most probably in W7 just the same) that changes the priority (in this case to "low" -> the PlayerPrio setting) in the calling process, where it is actually the called process doing that to itself. I avoided that to a certain extend, but I guess in your situation (poor processor) this is not enough.

I can look at this again whether it can be improved, but I guess the real solution is an option (parameter setting) that lets it work the old (0.9x) way. But on the other hand :

When you say this happens in the middle of tracks just the same, to me it looks that this can not be OSD related, and besides it is unrelated to Wallpaper changes. Also, I don't think you confirmed my below quesion :

Lastly, if you still can find some regularity in the ticks, try to lower your "Split file at size" by half of what you currently have. If it starts to happen twice as much (or a change in general), let me know.

and

I toggled with split file size without succes.

And if this really has no relation in your eyes, I am afraid you have to examine the PC for doing things it shouldn't. You may do this :

Use Arc Prediction and Double (or Quattro if you can), and set the Split file size to 120. Set the Wallpaper and OSD stuff On. Set Start Engine3 during conversion to On. Set the Core Appointment to 3, PlayerPrio to the lowest, ThreadPrio to Realtime. Load an album with tracks lasting 3 minutes at least (try to avoid over 10 minute tracks), use UNattended, press play at the first track and :

1. Tell me the length of the first track and after how many seconds audible playback starts after pressing Play;
2. Tell me how far the highlighted tracks are when playback starts to be audible (at the third, the 5th, all gone, etc.);
3. If gaps in playback occur at the beginning, tell me what you see happening on the screen related to that (you could say : gaps occur until the OSD shows in full (wallpaper, text, running time);
3. When everything is at rest, watch the disk light; Tell me once per how many seconds you see it lit for a longer time like 1 sec. at least, and how long the litting lasts per time. Notice the litting should be perfectly regular, like once per 48 seconds;
4. In the mean time with 3, try to make a relation with gaps occurring, and the disk light; An answer could be : always a gap 2 seconds after the disklight stopped being lit.
5. Tell me whether you see other disk activities in between the larger regular "bursts" and try to indicate their length or heavyness. Of course again try to relate that to the gaps.

and when you are listening for gaps anyway, in the mean time you may notice ticks and see *their* relation to things.

You may have better things to do, and I am not sure yet what I can do with your information, but I guess something comes from it, up to seeing what I do wrong in the program. Please keep in mind : the program can be wrong all the time, but someone like me will never see it because of a too powerful processor. This is all the most delicate stuff and things are driven to their limits to begin with.

Thanks,
Peter