Music Sequence stops in middle of the song and goes to next

[kj11856]

I have 8 controllers and 1 CCR. My show has 11 songs running with a MP3 Director. Problem is at random, the music sequence that is playing will just stop in the middle and move onto the next sequence. I have checked all my network cable and moved the network cables away from the controller power cords thinking that they could be picking up interference. Only difference in the season from last is the computer I use to load the show on the SD card is running Windows 8 64 bit with the S3 3.8 software. I am thinking maybe Windows 8 is not loading the show onto the SD card properly causing the problem. I plan on loading the show with a older computer with Windows XP but I wanted to see if anyone else is having the same problem and could give me some suggestions.

[Don]

For MP3 directors:

Make sure the audio files are 128k constant bit rate, as I've seen oddities when they are not.

I'd also suggest making sure the SD card is formatted in the FAT16 (or just FAT) file system. If is a NTFS formatted card, it will cause problems.

[kj11856]

It’s not the bit rate and not the SD card. This is the 4^th year I have used this MP3 director and never had this problem till this year. And I do lock step in the hardware program.

[Don]

Sorry.

Those are the two most common issues, which is why I mentioned it. (Even for directors that have been used in the past.)

Aside from doing a reset of the controller, checking the firmware, and/or hitting the reset button on the Director, I don't have any other ideas.

[LOR Staff]

So are you saying that you didn't change any of the routines for this year's show? If you didn't change anything, why did you re-write the SD card with Windows 8?

If you DID change something, which I bet you did, please go back and check everything Don pointed out.

Run ALL your MP3's back through Audacity, and ensure they are CBR 128KBPS. (I can link you to a PDF if needed)

If this is a NEW CARD, ENSURE it is formatted as FAT/FAT 16. Also make sure it is LESS than 2GB in size.

After building the show, run the LOR Verifier and ensure there are no problems.

[kj11856]

I had to rewrite the sequence because I changed some controllers around. I have 3 SD cards. 1 for anytime show. 2 for scheduled shows. But I figured out the problem. I had to run the hardware utility in compatibility mode to windows XP service pack 3. So far seems to be working correctly so it has to be a Windows 8 issue with the S3 software. I just rebuilt this computer with new components and a fresh install of the operating system, Windows 8 64bit. S3 software was the first to be reinstalled.