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Hi,
I currently use Breakaway Live with SAM using the dsp_livelink.dll to route the audio through the processing before going to the encoder. This works perfectly 99.9% of the time except for occasional problems.
I experience short dropouts a few times a day. It’s as if the processing gets bypassed temporarily for about 2 seconds. No other glitches…just as if I’ve hit the bypass button on, then off again.
I have checked CPU usage & latency and made changes to buffer sizes & CPU priorities but no joy. OS is XP with a dedicated machine doing nothing else.
It’s so rare (maybe 3-4 times a day so that’s 8 seconds of glitch out of 86,400 seconds!) but it’s still bugging me.
Any ideas?
Thanks, TDCat.
Does it happen at the end of a track/ track change?
Also, as you are using dsp_livelink.dll I would guess you are using the built in Sam encoder… I am not a fan of it and switched to Edcast about 2 years ago – much better 😛 The main reason (apart from the improved sound quality) was the plugin section of Sam is unreliable imo, you are not sure where in the chain a particular plugin is until you re-shuffle it.. causes quite a problem for attenuation (to avoid clipping in Breakaway).
quote :Does it happen at the end of a track/ track change?No. It seems to be quite random.
quote :Also, as you are using dsp_livelink.dll I would guess you are using the built in Sam encoderI am indeed. I must admit, I have never used Edcast on my current setup. I might get that setup to see if it eliminates the problem.
Thanks for the responses!
TDCat.
Can anyone tell me if it’s still possible to still ‘touch’ the SpacialNet side of things and use Edcast for the actual encode?
I have now implemented the full Edcast encoder solution rather than using the encoders in SAM. I just have a couple of questions…
1. In my Edcast metadata, I am pulling my titles from a text file generated on every song change. What’s a good frequency to update this? Is there any impact in using a pretty short time (5 seconds) or is a higher amount more normal?
2. Certain tracks cause red flashes in Breakaway. Is this a problem? Should I reduce the volume on e.g. each of the SAM decks? Where would be the best place to do this to provide a good input level to Breakaway?
Other than that, it seems to be working OK. We’ll see how it performs long term regarding the processing dropouts (see original post title).
For convenience, I have zipped up all the dlls I used for this into one file. http://tdcat.com/STORAGE/Audio_Tools/breakaway_edcast_dlls.zip
TDCat.
quote :1. In my Edcast metadata, I am pulling my titles from a text file generated on every song change. What’s a good frequency to update this? Is there any impact in using a pretty short time (5 seconds) or is a higher amount more normal?Never even considered it, or looked at that option. I assumed that it detected the text file had been modified and updated automatically.
quote :2. Certain tracks cause red flashes in Breakaway. Is this a problem? Should I reduce the volume on e.g. each of the SAM decks? Where would be the best place to do this to provide a good input level to Breakaway?The red flashes in Breakaway are you overloading the input. This can cause unpleasant noises (crackles for example). Use an attenuator to bring the level down a touch. http://www.claessonedwards.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=80
2dB is the one I always end up using.quote :Never even considered it, or looked at that option. I assumed that it detected the text file had been modified and updated automatically.Not when using Edcast…I don’t believe so…honestly not sure though. Can anyone clarify?
quote :Use an attenuator to bring the level down a touch.Doh! I never thought to use an attenuator in SAM before sending to Breakaway. I have one in line in Breakaway to drop the output to the encoder by 1dB. Not sure if it’s required but my understanding of mp3 overshoot suggests that it’s better to allow a bit of headroom.
Thanks for the quick response!
quote :I have one in line in Breakaway to drop the output to the encoder by 1dB. Not sure if it’s required but my understanding of mp3 overshoot suggests that it’s better to allow a bit of headroom.An attenuator in Breakaway will only attenuate the input to Breakaway itself – it does nothing to the output. If you want to lower the output/stream audio, lower the ‘Peak Ref Level’ in the ‘settings’ box. Alternatively, I believe the new version of Edcast (there is a recent post on this forum) has attenuators so you can lower streams individually.
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