Intermittent Problems running SCS10.7.5 on windows 7

[ADBLive]

Hi,
I am currently running sound effects on SCS 10.7.5 on a windows 7 laptop and using an Edirol UA25 external audio interface.

I keep experiencing several intermittent problems.
The first is that sometimes playback will start to stutter on certain tracks.
The second is that sometimes cues won't trigger properly. SCS says that they are loaded and ready to play but once I try to trigger them it says the file is playing but no audio comes out and the playback cursor stays at 0.00

Both these problems seem to be completely intermittent. I can sometimes run through the cues with no problems other times I will struggle to get through the show at all.
Sometimes re-starting SCS will temporarily sort the problem, other times I will have to completely re-boot my computer to get things running smoothly again. None of the audio files I am running on this show are particularly large (the longest being about 5 seconds) and it doesn't seem to matter if they are WAV or MP3 files.

Any advice you could offer would be greatly appreciated.

[Mike Daniell]

What settings do you have under Permanent Options / Audio Driver? If you have the option set to "Use SCS internal mixer", then change this "Do NOT use SCS internal mixer". Also make sure the buffering options are set the defaults. After changing the "internal mixer" option, click OK and then close and restart SCS. Note that if you have been using ASIO outputs then you will need to change these to non-ASIO (WDM) outputs.

[ADBLive]

Thanks but having looked at these options they seem to be already set as you suggest. I have attached a screen-shot of the Permanent Options window.

[Mike Daniell]

On the General tab, increase the 'Max. No. of Audio Files to pre-open'. The default is 5 but I suggest you increase this to 20. This probably won't help the stuttering issue, but will probably help the issue of files not playing.

Could you also email me your cue file (the .scs file) and tell me which cue(s) you've noticed stuttering on?

[jmgordon]

Have you considered any extraneous forces? Are you in a theatre situation at the moment?
At our most recent production, using SCS10.7.6 in Windows 7 on a Sony Vaio laptop, I had similar symptoms. SCS had worked fine at home and, indeed when checking levels before the tech. However, as soon as we started the tech the program misbehaved, failing to run the second cue, although it indicated "playing" but with no audio and no cursor movement. Restarting SCS we made some more progress but not much. The misbehaviour seemed to coincide with lighting changes.

I then noticed that the laptop's WiFi light was on, the switch at the front of the case having been knocked. Switching this off solved the problem. It appeared that the laptop might have been trying to talk to the only WiFi network in the building, the Zero 88 Leapfrog 96 remote control, which the lighting op was using (desk and remote 75' from the laptop). The error occurred at the same time as a lighting change. Or that might have been a concidence and the WiFi was just hunting, or trying to talk to someone's phone (not mine!). Anyway, SCS was evidently confused by this, I have no idea why.

I promptly put some LX tape over the WiFi switch to prevent a recurrence and had no further trouble.

This may have no relevance to your problem, but it might be worth checking.

Malcolm

[ADBLive]

Thanks for your help.

It appears that the Edirol UA25 I have been using has been causing the problem.

I have been using the same external audio device for years on previous versions of SCS and other laptops with no problems, so I have no idea if the issue is with SCS or windows 7. I tried uninstalling the Edirol drivers and re-installing them but the problem still persists.

Anyway having removed the Edirol, everything is running fine and I haven't had a single problem during the last three runs of the show.

[Eric Snodgrass]

Thanks for your help.

It appears that the Edirol UA25 I have been using has been causing the problem.

I have been using the same external audio device for years on previous versions of SCS and other laptops with no problems, so I have no idea if the issue is with SCS or windows 7. I tried uninstalling the Edirol drivers and re-installing them but the problem still persists.

Anyway having removed the Edirol, everything is running fine and I haven't had a single problem during the last three runs of the show.

Sometimes these portable devices just die. I had an M-Audio Fast Track Pro for almost 4 years and this past December it started to intermittently output this horrible static for no discernible reason. I look at this as an opportunity to upgrade. The Fast Track Pro was relatively inexpensive and served its purpose. Now I'm looking at a Focusrite Scarlett 8i6. It's larger than the Fast Track but it is USB 2.0, compared to the Fast track, which is USB 1.1.