Sequence Editor sometimes freezes at start of play when networking

[Hank Hancock]

I run the S3 Sequence Editor (SE) on a computer that I use as a non-linear editor (plenty of horsepower). I run the S3 Visualizer on a laptop loaded up with XP so that I can see where the Sequence Editor is on the timeline and watch the Visualizer at the same time. I have a direct ethernet cable connected between both machines with both machines having static IP addresses (SE = 10.10.10.10, Visualizer = 10.10.10.11). The data rate between machines is 1 Gigabit. There is no gateway address assigned to the network adapters as there are no routers or other equipment between machines that require it. I'm running the latest build of S3 on both machines.

Most of the time, when I tap the space bar to play the sequence, it starts immediately and plays fine. About every ten minutes, when I tap the space bar the Sequence Editor freezes for up to a full minute before it starts to play. When it finally starts, it plays fine and the Visualizer is in sync as always.

While the Sequence editor is frozen, I've pinged the Visualizer machine from a command window to see if there is a network issue. The Visualizer machine always responds immediately so I know it's not a connectivity issue. My best guess is that, for some reason, the Sequence Editor is having a network issue, witness that it never freezes when I don't have the two machines interconnected. I have two network adapters on the SE machine and I've already tried disabling the second adapter with no improvement.

Any ideas on what might be causing this issue for me?

[JF1993]

I have the same issue on my computer. It always takes the sequence editor a minute to play the first sequence, but after that it's smooth sailing.

[Hank Hancock]

I noticed also that when I make changes to the sequence, it often freezes for a minute before playing. I'm not sure if it is that I'm making changes or the amount of time I'm taking to make the changes but in the course of an hour of sequencing a new song, I will typically encounter a half dozen freezes. It's a bit of a work flow annoyance but I put up with it so I can have the visualizer on a side-by-side setup (they way I do television post-production - editing on one screen, full screen monitor on the other). I don't use the Sequence Editor or Visualizer when running the show in a production environment so I don't expect this to be a problem when it's show time.

[Hank Hancock]

JF1993,

I'm curious if your computer has two or more network adapters? I'm told that networking to the Visualizer on a second machine isn't supported but I also note from other discussion threads that others are accomplishing this configuration with good success. My current train of thought is the Sequence Editor may be getting confused as to which network adapter to use in a multi-network adapter machine like mine.

Can anyone else that is networking to the Visualizer on a second machine weigh in on your network adapter count, configuration, and success? Thanks for any input from the community.

[LOR Staff]

In your ticket, I suggested that you should run your audio file through Audacity and linked the instructions. Did you do that? What was the result?

FYI: I have tested the SE and the Vis with multiple network adapters and not had a problem.

[Hank Hancock]

Hello DevMike. Thanks for the feedback. I had planned to respond to you this morning regarding your questions but needed to get some time on the SE machine to test the "Control Visualizer" question.

Yes, all songs were re-coded using Sound Forge Professional from their original AAC format to the LOR recommended CBR MP3 format. All DRM is removed. As such, no license checking is occurring. Most of the songs are from last year's show and played flawlessly up until I tried to use the Visualizer in the configuration stated.

I unchecked "Control Visualizer" and following some 30 minute of working on a particular tune I experienced no freezes - there would have been several in that timespan. So I continue to suspect that my network configuration is the root cause. I tried initially to use my wireless LAN but I have too much latency in my busy network to get it to work to satisfaction - the Vis would get "choppy" on moderate to complex sequences, indicating that my network isn't keeping up with the rate of datagrams being sent, witness that when I bypass my LAN with a straight connection, the Vis plays even the most complex sequences flawlessly, except for the occasional freezes I'm experiencing in this configuration.

I am becoming convinced the issue not rooted in either the SE or Vis applications but rather some low level (OS) issue with my network configuration. It may be that not having a router between the two machines might be problematic for UDP. I'll try inserting a dedicated router between the two machines and see if that solves the issue.

[LOR Staff]

Hmm.. It could very well be that direct connection. I have never run a networked machine without a router (or at least a hub).

[Hank Hancock]

Inserting a router between the two machines to create a dedicated LAN solved the issue. I've used null ethernet cables many times in the past to network two machines together for high speed data transfers (drive copies, distributed video rendering, etc...) without issues but the protocols have always been via a TCP/IP connection. UDP is a different beast in that it is a connectionless and multi-cast protocol. I think the reason why the router solved the problem is because the UDP stack is trying to find a gateway to route through for multicast. After waiting for replies that will never come because there is no gateway, it finally times out and falls back to sending directly to the Vis machine. It's during the wait and timeout that the SE freezes. It seems that the OS wants to retry approximately every ten minutes to find the gateway which again creates another freeze.

Anyway, that's my theory based on what networking I understand. I now have a working configuration that I tested against my most complex sequence - no hesitation at all on play in the SE and the Vis keeps up flawlessly even on the most complex parts of the sequence. Thank you for your stellar support. I know I threw a curve ball at you with the straight null ethernet cable configuration. Your suggestions on what to check and try is what set me on the right path to figuring this out.

[LOR Staff]

Wow, that's some good detective work. Thanks for checking back in and letting me know what you found. We'll add that to our stack of 'weird things that can happen'.