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output flicker

Used SDJ Pro 2.0.0 with ME 3.2.0 and a Denon 6000 and noticed flickering on my main output window. It was mainly when I moved my x-fader, like it was having a hard time refreshing so it would flicker. Only on the extended display.

Using 2012 15" mbp with 16 GB ram with a 2.6 ghz i7. Graphics switching is disabled. I think my ME buffer is around 200 or 300? I tried making it higher but I got some kind of warning. On High Sierra. Using HDMI adapter. Also have smc fan control running. Videos are HD from Xtendamix.

I definitely didnʻt have flickering when I was on Yosemite. Canʻt remember when I made the jump to HS if it had any flickers when on SDJ 1.9.0.

Iʻm guessing something is taxing my graphics card. Any suggestions?

Comments

  • It could be a number of things. Do you have frame blending enabled in the Preferences? There used to be a bug with regard to this that could cause similar symptoms. If you take MixEmergency out of full-screen mode, and have the output window on the extended display, does the output window still flicker? And if so, does the entire display flicker or just the MixEmergency output window?

  • Hm. Actually, it mightʻve been with my Denon 8000. Will try again next week when I have some time. Busy weekend coming up. Will try to check the frame blending and full-screen mode options on the extended display.

  • Just tried with a Hercules Starlight. Frame blending was not checked/enabled. Still flickered when I did enable.

    No flickering when NOT in full-screen mode. Flickering only when in full-screen mode.

    Iʻm also testing this on SDJ 2.1.0.

  • Can you try MixEmergency without any controller connected (and Serato DJ not running)? Does this flicker?

  • Still does the flicker.

    At first I thought it might be my tv (4k) and it just couldnʻt handle it now so I hooked it up to another tv and my projector (both 1080p) and it still happens.

  • Does it flicker if you use MixEmergency 3.1.1? http://www.inklen.com/download/246/MixEmergency3.1.1.dmg

  • unfortunately, yes. hm.

  • If you don't move your crossfader at all, does the flicker stop? It's odd that it's only or mostly occurring then.

  • it only flickers when the xfader moves. it only seems like it does that for a while then goes away. it seems to come back when a new video is loaded. maybe something in buffering to memory?

  • That's interesting. I'm wondering if there might be a MIDI conflict, or something like this (the crossfader might be mapped to some control), that is causing the issue.

    Can you see if the flickering happens if you autofade in MixEmergency without moving your controller's crossfader?

  • +1 for me on this Nick. I have noticed it recently but it's intermittent. It's like a flickering grey for me - using Mojave, ME 3.2 - Mid 2015 MacBook

  • Nick - at the last test I did, it was only my laptop and no controller. xfading either by dragging mouse or by using auto-crossfade button.

    geeebeee - i think my flicker is different. itʻs like the screen refreshing.

  • Ok, cool. When you say flicker, is it strobing? Or is it more like vertical-sync issues?

  • Hard to explain for me, it's like interference, kind of strobing. It only seems to affect certain transitions though

  • Hmm, it's hard to diagnose these sorts of issues without seeing them. If you put the spinning cube transition in the middle (where it just spins by itself), do you see a line "tearing" in the video?

  • oh shoot...i had a video but deleted it...iʻll try to make another when i get a chance.

  • itʻs in the first few seconds

  • Wow - it's happening at pretty much every transition there. Can you send me an e-mail (support@inklen.com) regarding this and I will see if a new version might have any changes to the problem.

  • hi u doing nick I have the same problems for 2 years
    flicker horizontal and vertical
    Mac OS high Sierra
    Mac book pro (Retina 15 inch mid 2016)
    processor 2.2 Ghz intel core I7
    memory 16 gb
    graphics intel Irish pro 1536 mb

  • I know how to fix this horrible problem

  • What fixed this for you?

  • I think he meant to say he DOESNʻT know how to fix it.

  • In his other discussion he said that it took him 3 days to fix, so I assume that he has figured out what fixed his problem.

  • Care to share Walbert?

  • Solution
    1) Go to System preferences
    2)Displays
    3)Resolution moved to scaled
    4)click on default (its the middle option out of the 5 options)
    5)Gather windows
    6)ensure that you are using the correct HDMI Splitter (I use the "KanexPro 2-port 4K D+HDMI Splitter" or 4 port also works, I will also upload a picture of the one I use )
    7)Resolution moved to scaled
    8)click on default (its the middle option out of the 5 options)
    9)click the color tab and calibrate (on the right) your display

    https://www.amazon.com/Kanex-Pro-SP-HD1X24K-2-Port-Splitter/dp/B00UTXKSJG

    Feel free to contact me if you have any questions

  • same settings with hdmi splitter or with out

  • edited January 2019

    I don't think that'll work for me - I output mine to 720p - are you saying i need to do something else??

  • I can only choose default or scaled.

    when i choose scaled, i only have 3 options. default scaled is the top option, not the middle.

    i calibrated both laptop display and extended display.

    no change in results.

  • extended display (samsung tv) has 4 options for scaled. laptop display has 3.

  • however.....tinkering around.....i changed my extended display refresh rate from 60 Hz to 30 Hz. that seems to have worked.

  • That's interesting. Do you have any other options for the refresh rate of the external display?

  • Mine's set at 60hz. Will see what happens if i drop to 50hz tonight

  • 24, 25, 30, 50, and 60

  • tried it at 50. once in a while i would get my glitch. back down to 30 and itʻs running smoothly.

  • edited February 2019

    works

  • I sent to nick the picture
    I don't know how to upload a picture

  • hi u doing geebe !!!
    are u using hdmi splitter or direct hdmi cable?

  • hi u doing skinny guy
    are u using hdmi splitter or direct hdmi cable?

  • this is the right resolution 2560 X 1440

  • We're using one of those HDMI to RCA converters unfortunately so it's either an NTSC or PAL 50 or 60hz option. Anything other than 720p output is causing issues with general smoothness of picture. I guess we all have our quirks in setup...

  • @walbert - no splitter for me. just one hdmi cable to one tv.

    laptop > thunderbolt to hdmi converter > hdmi cable > tv

  • something weird i noticed on extended display.

    if i manually stretched the MEʻs output window to the size of the extended display (to the best of my ability), then there would be no glitching.

    if i double click on the output or use the ME button to maximize the window, i would get the glitching.

    hope this helps.

  • Still an issue - any plans to resolve, Nick? :)

  • It sounds as though you have a slightly different issue to the other users. Are you able to upload a video of the problem to YouTube for me to look at?

  • I have the same problem as skinnyguy youtube video posted above. I also noticed that I get screen tearing if text is scrolling or a cube transition is used. Any fixes?? It seems as if framerate is off but I cant adjust it. Im on a 15inch MBP Mid 2014, 10.13.6.

  • Do you have the preference "Sychronise Output to Screen Refresh" enabled in the Advanced section of MixEmergency's Preferences?

  • OMG I feel sooooooo dumb. That fixed the problem. Thanks a lot Nick!!!

  • Cool - glad to hear it. If anyone else has a similar issue, please start a new discussion for assitance.

  • still have the issue with the public beta

  • Are you able to reproduce this at home?

  • yes. you think maybe my machine is running too close to minimum requirements? worked great with yosemite. ever since i went to high sierra itʻs been doing this. at least the workaround is to run at a lower refresh rate which still looks fine. is high sierra too taxing on video resources for my lappy? and itʻs only when the display is expanded

  • I don't know why this is happening with this version of macOS. It certainly shouldn't be. Can you e-mail me your MixEmergency log file, with a reference to this discussion, and we can look into it further. My e-mail is: support@inklen.com

  • how do i find my log file again?

  • You can find it at:

    ~/Movies/MixEmergency/MixEmergency.log

  • cool. email sent.

  • hey nick. just wanted you to know i still have to do those tests you suggested. iʻve just been swamped with mobile events and i only do club/vj events once in a while now and iʻve had to prioritize my time accordingly. but i WILL get back to you when i get a chance. just wish i had some results for you so something couldʻve been in the 3.3 beta. hopefully something in there resolves it by chance.

  • No hurry :)

  • Here we are, 2 years later...

    So I updated serato to 2.4.6 (newest is 2.5.x) just to test things out.....and I think itʻs gone... =D

    Then I updated ME to the newest version....and itʻs still gone! Either that or Iʻm not noticing it. Yaaaaay.

  • That's good to hear. Fingers crossed that's the end of it.

  • Okay, so I noticed it on my 13" but not my 15". And the weirder thing is when I load a video to the other deck, I notice a slight pause on the video output on the 15" but not the 13". I always thought my 15 was the better machine....odd.

  • Hey @Nick

    if my 15" has the graphics power to run video transitions smoothly, where would I look to adjust if I want to get rid of that pause for the loading of the next deck?

    Iʻm pretty sure the 13" doesnʻt have the graphics card chops like the 15" discrete, which is my guess why thereʻs the flicker for the 13". But loading songs on the 13" doesnʻt seem to cause any pauses in video output like the 15" does.

    Would it be a serato buffer or the ME buffer? I think I tried adjusting the memory buffer on ME on the 13" and got the warning to that the laptop was too weak.

    They both have 16 gb ram and usb 3. Using same external for each. But the fans on the 15" tend to kick on earlier than the 13". I feel the 13" is in better "shape" for what it is yet the 15" has better cpu and graphics.

    Trying to save up my pennies for the next MBP with M1/M2/MX chip to come out.

  • The source of this pause may be many things (reading or writing to the drive, memory, graphics, etc), so it could be difficult to track down.

    What do you have your video cache size set to in the Advanced panel of MixEmergency's Preferences? You could try setting this to the minimum value to minimise memory usage by MixEmergency.

  • Thanks for answering, Nick. Right now, I have it set around 700 mb, since the dedicated VRAM is 4096 Gigs. Should it be lower than that?

  • This is always a difficult question to answer. On most modern computers it's fine to set this quite low. The only time it really needs to be high is if you're looping a certain part of the video and noticing unacceptably long pauses.

  • So, ideally, you want to use as little buffer as possible for ME? I thought using more memory would make things run smoother, since videos would be running virtually in ram...?

  • Like I said, it's difficult to answer. It really depends on your hardware (GPU, and whether or not the videos are being decoded on the GPU) and videos. I prefer to keep this low, but when videos have issues buffering (perhaps they've been poorly encoded, or they have high dimensions, etc) it can be useful to push the buffer size higher.

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