Posted
Suddenly there is a massive audio delay in synfire on Win 8.1 64Bit (with vsti's AND with internal GM synth):
Mouse click on a note block in the figure editor => one or two seconds (!) later the sound is audible.
I have loaded 6 VSTis in the Global Rack. This has not been a problem before ( a few days ago), so something mysterious has happend causing the delay. I restarted the PC multiple times, pressed "Reset" in synfire, un and reloaded the audio engine...
Also I have unloaded and deactivated the whole audio engine, retarted synfire, and opened an arrangement using only the internal GM MS Synth. Still having the delay.
When I press a key on my midi in controller, there is only the normal delay of about 300 milliseconds (internal GM MS Synth), with is much less than the delay when clicking on a note.
Just noticed: there is also a massive VISUAL delay: click on a note: after 1 second the note block is selected (green border), and after another second it plays back! If I disable "Playback/immediate feedback" then there is no visual delay - but no sound too....
Any hints ?
Sat, 2015-07-04 - 16:21 Permalink
Something on your machine must have changed lately. Check CPU load on all cores. Synfire controls the audio engine over TCP/IP. Also check firewalls and other utilities.
Sun, 2015-07-05 - 10:07 Permalink
But I have already deactivated the audio engine and the delay is still present!
I've checked cpu load, but overall usage is just 10 %. Little network traffic. Also I deactivated virus scanner.
And, as mentioned, it is not only the audio delay, there is also the delayed visual feedback when clicking on a note, which is not delayed if I turn off "Playback/immediate feedback".
However the visual delay might be caused by the audio delay: When clicking next to a note, to deselect it, the green selection border disappears immediately (as no audio action is involved).
Sun, 2015-07-05 - 20:51 Permalink
Thats really strange.
How much time to you schedule ahead? Check the instrument inspector on the Sync tab.
Mon, 2015-07-06 - 19:32 Permalink
hmm, I can't find "Sync" Tab , only a "sync" checkbox (related to recording), but maybe it has another caption in the german version.
With audio engine shut down:
When I start playing an arrangement (1/4 notes @ 120 bpm), then the sound delay is always about 3/8 (~750ms).
When I press a key on my midi controller, there is very "little" delay (~100-200 ms, normal for the cheap internal synth), using the same instrument/sound
Tue, 2015-07-07 - 21:25 Permalink
To find the Sync tab, you need to croll the tab bar of the inspector to the right.
I remember experiencing a similar lag on Windows some time ago. It went away the next day without fixing anything, so I can't tell what it was, unfortunately.
You may need to think about what has changed with your computer and Windows installation that may have caused this effect. Since it worked before, something must have changed.
Wed, 2015-07-08 - 19:03 Permalink
Yes, something has changed on my computer: I turned off "Hyper-V" because of another program which requires it to be disabled. I turned it ON again and.....all delays/lags are gone :-)
So the important advice for Windows 7/8 64bit users: Ensure that Hyper-V is enabled, if available !