Heavily modified sequence (with RGB channels) became confused

[JonB256]

I have a relatively short (43 second) animation sequence. In it are 80 RGB channels. It started as 60 seconds, then I trimmed it to 45, then to 43 seconds. I moved a lot of things around (channel order) as I made it more like I wanted.

But, the more I edited, the less reliable it became. Not unstable, just that what I saw on screen was NOT what I saw in the yard. It was a jumbled mess, seeming to play some sections ahead of time or overlayed at the wrong times. I played with Network Speeds and could make it worse, not better. I don't think it is a Communication problem.

But, this helped a lot:

I exported my new and optimized channel layout. Created a new, blank animation of 43 seconds. Imported the channel layout, then copy / pasted from old to new, saved and ran it.

MUCH BETTER!

So, I'm wondering if there isn't a way to FORCE LOR S2 to totally rewrite the XML file it is maintaining? Would a simple SAVE AS have done it? (that just occurred to me, so I'll try it and report back)

[JonB256]

I tried doing a simple "Save As" and was encouraged when the new file was the same size in Kilobytes as my Copy/Paste file.

But, a peek with an XML editor showed me that the Original (not working so good) file and the Save As file were also the same size and exactly the same internally.

So, my original method of creating a new, blank sequence, importing the Channels, then Copy/Pasting, seems the best. I can easily understand how the XML got confused because I made a lot of fundamental changes. XML is just a database structure for this purpose and can probably benefit from a good cleanup when channels get added/deleted/moved/renamed etc.. etc..

Am I missing an "Optimize" or "recompile" feature somewhere?

[JonB256]

I will add this comment - at no time did LOR crash during my edits, potentially corrupting the XML file.

and I am using the Advanced version, so there is no encryption involved.

[bob]

The XML is completely rewritten every time the file is saved.

I'm having a difficult time imagining why a sequence wouldn't work, but an exported/imported/copied version of that same sequence would. Could you please send me (bob@lightorama.com) copies of the original sequence and the modified sequence, and clearly indicate which one is which? Thank you.

[-klb-]

Is it a multi track animation sequence? If so, when you shortened it, did you shorten all tracks?

[JonB256]

It is a multi track (2 tracks) and no, I didn't shorten track 2 (because I didn't think I needed to).

I'll send the files to Bob for exam.

And - Track 2 was still 60 seconds long. That could easily explain the overlapping confusion.

I'll test a changed version (where both tracks are the same length) and get back.

ps, did it say somewhere to change all tracks in an animation (or in a Musical sequence)? Or is that just a "gotcha" in Animation sequences since they aren't tied to a media file length?

again a ps - looking at the Help, it says in one place that Musical Sequences automatically adjust ALL tracks. It doesn't say there that Animation sequences Don't auto adjust all tracks. It does elsewhere, though. Ooops.

[bob]

I just looked at the files. Yes, the problem is that in the original file, the two tracks were of different lengths. So when the shorter one reached its end, and looped back to its beginning, the channels that were in both tracks were now getting two different sets of commands, one from the start of the sequence, and the other from after the end of the second track.

To avoid this problem, you can either have the tracks be the same length, or avoid sharing channels between tracks of different length.

Incidentally, this is one of the potential problems that the Light-O-Rama Verifier will check for (it's warning #32, "Channels in tracks of conflicting length").

looking at the Help, it says in one place that Musical Sequences automatically adjust ALL tracks. It doesn't say there that Animation sequences Don't auto adjust all tracks. It does elsewhere, though. Ooops.

Am I understanding correctly - are you saying that there's a spot in the help file where it says that adjusting the length of a track in an animation sequence will automatically change the length of all other tracks in that animation sequence?

If so, could you please tell me where it says that? It needs to be changed, because it doesn't do that (by design).

[JonB256]

Bob, I now fully understand why it did what it did. Thanks.

No, the help files don't contradict, but they can be easily misread (like, by me!).

I only use Animation sequences for testing, and I'd never changed sequence lengths involving tracks. Just caught me by surprise, so this thread becomes a Lessons Learned.