LOR S5 stuttering and now not responding

[jdblue]

I've started getting a display ready for a lighted boat parade at the end of the month.  I hooked up a few props and I started up the LOR S5 Sequencer to test and found that it played the music but would only update the lights and pc window occasionally.  I.e. stuttered.  Even with no lights connected and just using the preview it didn't respond correctly.  I was running an older version of S5, v5.4.2 Pro, so I update to the latest release of v5.6.8 Pro hoping it would solve the issue.  The latest version is hardly responding at all.  It won't even try to start a sequence after its loaded.  If I watch it using the Task Manager the Sequencer process flashes "Not Responding" every few seconds even if I'm not actively trying to use it.

Using the same laptop I used last year when everything worked find with v5.4.2.

Where should I begin to troubleshoot this?

Thanks, JDblue

[jdblue]

Seems as though S5 responds correctly to an animation only file.  However, if a sequence with music associated with it is open then the animation only file will stutter during playback.

[MattBrown]

Versions 5.6.0 and later do additional analysis on the audio file in the background after you open the sequence. Depending on the speed of your computer and length of your sequence, this can take anywhere from 15 seconds to several minutes. While this processing takes place, the rest of the computer can seem slow. You can turn the additional audio analysis off (and speeding things up) by opening the sequence, then going to Sequence > Sequence Info and setting the Audio Info field to "Waveform Only".

https://www1.lightorama.com/help/sequence_information_dialog.htm

You can also set this when you start a new musical sequence.

[jdblue]

Thanks for the quick reply.  I tried your suggestion and it didn't make a difference.

[MattBrown]

Task Manager should be your friend here. Is the Sequencer using all of the cpu and memory? Are there other programs running that are using the CPU? Windows Update? Virus scan? Are you running Windows 10? Is it up to date? How many channels are you trying to control? How much memory do you have? What processor? SSD or hard drive?

[jdblue]

CPU usage runs about 30%, Memory is 4.8 of 8GB usage.  i5-6200U @ 2.30GHz

Using an SSD and there doesn't seem to be any memory swapping going on

No other programs running

Running Windows 10 and it is updated

Using Bitdefender Antivirus

Display stats are as follows

Number of Master Props: 21
Number of Sub-props: 0
Number of Hidden Props: 0
Number of Bulbs: 848
Number of Channels: 1,074
Number of Groups: 3

Number of RGB Pixel Props: 11
Number of RGB Pixel Bulbs: 348
Number of RGB Pixel Channels: 1,044

Number of Dumb RGB Props: 10
Number of Dumb RGB Bulbs: 500
Number of Dumb RGB Channels: 30

[jdblue]

I created these sequence a few years ago and have run them many times with no issues.

I did just update Bitdefender last week.  I will disable it and see if that makes a difference.

[jdblue]

Looks like turning off Bitdefender allows Sequencer to run properly, at least in preview mode.  I'll check it out with the actual props tomorrow.

Thanks, JDblue

[jdblue]

Sequencer controls the lights correctly with Bitdefender disabled.  I setup an exception in Bitdefender for LORSequencer.exe.  Hope this won't expose me to any viruses.

Really not sure why stuttering is an issue with just musical sequences.  If only an animation sequence is open then no issue.  However, if a musical sequence is open and not playing then the playback of the animation only sequences is affect.

[David Rise]

TG! I was having this same issue and read through and found this.  Thanks!  Worked like a champ.

[Chrisoco]

Funny mine just started doing this, I had bit defender on the laptop before. Wondering if they have made some changes. I’m going to try shutting down bit defender and see if it help me.