Subject:My audio drops out randomly

Posted by: Magnificent Butcher

Date:5/23/2009 2:30:37 AM

here's the deal

about a week ago my computer suffered a catastrophic failure. i bought a new computer, retrieved all of my old files, and installed all of my software and hardware with apparent success. the computer i purchased has pretty much the same specs as my previous box. the only issue i'm having is that the audio drops out during playback every once in a while, but kicks back in without missing a beat. this is occuring even on less expansive projects. it doesn't seem to have any pattern of occurance. the only major differance between my new setup and my old is that i'm using vista as opposed to xp. should this matter? the acid software box clearly states that vista is supported. i'm pissed off! i need help! i'm in the middle of a time sensitive project.


SPECS

HP Pavillion special edition
AMD Athlon 64x2 5050e 2.6Ghz
windows vista64
4 gig ram

Presonus Firebox
Roland Juno-G
Yamaha KX-8 (88 key controller)
Yamaha psr-540
Korg KP3 Kaoss Pad
Akai MPD-16
Technics both vinyl and CD
Korg KM-202 mixer
FL8 Producers Edition
AcidPro7
Akai EWI MIDI Wind Instrument
Zoom H4

Subject:RE: My audio drops out randomly

Reply by: technicaltitch

Date:6/5/2009 2:27:11 AM

I had something similar for a while - but it was only one specific clip that would drop out - all the others would play fine (had this in v6 and v7 Pro, same clip - it was a reversed 2 second clip from a large MP3 file). Oddly enough zooming right in seemed to get the clip to play so I did this for a long time. However I Iater found out that using a WAV instead of an MP3 (otherwise identical clip) fixed the problem.

Subject:RE: My audio drops out randomly

Reply by: technicaltitch

Date:6/5/2009 4:27:22 AM

Argh - no sooner had I written that I started getting the same thing happening on a MIDI track - sometimes it plays, sometimes it doesn't, sometimes it cuts out half way through a clip, and I change absolutely nothing between plays. Freezing the track did fix the issue, but is obviously no solution as I'm not done editing it yet!

In case it is of any use, I've had this problem (assuming the audio thing is the same bug) in v6 and v7c Pro. In some cases the playback seems to be from a buffer, as the MIDI sometimes starts playing at the same point it previously started, ie, I move the start of the MIDI clip earlier, but it doesn't sound until the original point. (That said sometimes it seems completely random, finishing half way through a clip that has never ended at that point).

Hope that makes some sense.

Subject:RE: My audio drops out randomly

Reply by: Magnificent Butcher

Date:6/5/2009 5:04:53 AM

What type of computer are you using?

What type of audio interface or soundcard are you using?

What OS are you running?

Subject:RE: My audio drops out randomly

Reply by: technicaltitch

Date:6/5/2009 7:01:32 AM

Thanks for the reminder - I'm using a Dell Precision M20 (2GB, Intel Pentium M 2.13 GHz) running XP SP3, using an M-Audio Transit (although the same happens using other audio interfaces such as the built in one and a cheap Plantronics device that came with a head-mike). I'm running Sony ACID Pro 7c build 653.

Operating System
Platform: Windows XP
Version: 5.01.2600 (Service Pack 3)
Language: English
System locale: English
User locale: English

Processor
Class: Intel(R) Pentium(R) M processor 2.13GHz
Identifier: GenuineIntel
Number of processors: 1
MMX available: Yes
SSE available: Yes
SSE2 available: Yes
SSE3 available: No
SSSE3 available: No
SSE4.1 available: No
SSE4.2 available: No

Display
Primary: 1400x1050x32

Memory
Physical memory: 2,047.3 MB
Paging memory available: 3,940.2 MB
Virtual memory possible: 2,047.8 MB

Application
Path: C:\Program Files\Sony\ACID Pro 7.0\acid70.exe

CD/DVD
sfcd.cdd version: 3.0.0.1065
sfspti.dll version: 3.0.0.1065
sfcdix.cfg version: 1.2.0
sfcdix.cfg checksum: 185764

MPEG
mcplug.dll version: 2.0.0.6546
mcplug.dll path: C:\Program Files\Sony\ACID Pro 7.0\FileIO Plug-Ins\mcplug\mcplug.dll

AC3
ac3plug.dll version: 1.0.0.4871
ac3plug.dll path: C:\Program Files\Sony\ACID Pro 7.0\FileIO Plug-Ins\ac3plug\ac3plug.dll

CD Drives:

**********
Detailed information about "_NEC DVD+-RW ND-6650A 102C."
Vendor: _NEC
Product: DVD+-RW ND-6650A
Firmware version: 102C
Driver interface: SFMMCX (17)
Location: adapter(01), device(00)
Drive letter: D
Buffer Size: 2048 KB
Max read speed with current disc: 20.0X (3528 KB/Sec)
Max write speed with current disc: 24.0X (4234 KB/Sec)
ISRC Read/Write: Yes/Yes
UPC Read/Write: Yes/Yes
BurnProof technology: Supported
CD-R Read/Write: Yes/Yes
CD-R Read/Write: Yes/Yes
DVD-ROM Read: Supported
DVD-R Read/Write: Yes/Yes
DVD-RW Read/Write: Yes/Yes
DVD+R Read/Write: Yes/Yes
DVD+RW Read/Write: Yes/Yes
DVD-RAM Read/Write: No/No
Eject tray: Supported
Erase: Supported
Audio play: Yes
Lock/Unlock media in the drive: Supported
Streaming play: Supported
CD-DA Stream is accurate: Yes
CD-DA Seek is accurate: Yes
C2 pointers: Supported
Read CD-TEXT: Supported
Read bar code: Not Supported
Read Q-Data with audio: Supported
Supported recording methods: (DAO) (TAO) (RAW-SAO) (SUB-SAO)
MultiSession: Supported
Test write capable: Supported
Write subindices: Supported
Driver info:

Subject:RE: My audio drops out randomly

Reply by: technicaltitch

Date:6/5/2009 9:59:46 AM

I've just noticed that a volume envelope point seems to 'remind' ACID to play the track - it was playing at a lower volume than it should have been, the envelope flat, but when playback hit the point at the start of a fade, the sound suddenly came back. Throughout, the output meter indicates that there is sound.

(This is the first time I've had this problem where the volume is lower - previously the clip has gone silent.)

(BTW I'm putting lots of comments as I realise this may be a difficult one to nail down, not because I want to keep bumping it up - generally I don't worry too much about this as it doesn't affect the rendering.)

Subject:RE: My audio drops out randomly

Reply by: technicaltitch

Date:6/7/2009 9:21:36 AM

One last discovery, again just in case it helps track down this bug - if I change the volume (envelope or track slider), or MIDI notes of the track that fades away during playback, the track suddenly starts playing properly (for a few seconds, before fading away again). However if I change the panning it doesn't.