Jerky fades

jkowtko · Post by **jkowtko** » Mon Mar 10, 2008 3:21 am

Mike,

I still have that problem that I told you about a while ago -- when I have a large program where all audio files have not been loaded yet, a trigger of a fade cue first loads the next-in-line audio file, and then resumes the fade of the current cue.

The result is that the fade appears to "jerk" and not start smoothly. And from what I can tell, the audible volume change jerks as well.

I can correct this by setting my "file pre-open" number high enough to cover all of the cues in the program (assuming I have the memory in my PC to cover it).

Maybe for SCS9 raising the pre-open file count is a reasonable workaround, but for SCS10 would you consider making sure the fades are smooth in light of other operations that need to happen when a fade or level change cue is issued?

Thanks. John

jkowtko · Post by **jkowtko** » Tue Mar 11, 2008 7:01 am

Just another tidbit of info --

The pre-buffer length has a direct affect on the jerkiness of the fade. if you reduce the buffer from it's default of 5000ms to something much smaller (like 1000ms or even 200ms) the jerkiness is reduced dramatically.

Mike Daniell · Post by **Mike Daniell** » Tue Mar 11, 2008 12:47 pm

For the information of others (John and I have been discussing this and other matters by email), you can safely reduce the size of the playback buffer and pre-buffer if your computer will not go into idle mode between cues. Make sure your power saving settings are turned off when using the computer for productions, so hopefully your disk will not spin down after a timeout period. SCS defaults the buffer sizes to 5000ms (5 seconds) to give time for the disk to get back to operating speed if necessary, but if the disk doesn't spin down then much shorter buffer sizes can be used.