Tips for improving playback speed? Struggling!
  • jane5984
    junior Member
    Posts: 3
    Joined: Tue May 30, 2017 5:55 pm

    Tips for improving playback speed? Struggling!

    by jane5984 » Tue May 30, 2017 6:36 pm

    Hi

    I'm a newbie to this forum but I've been using MadMapper for a while for artwork projections..

    I'm using MadMapper 2.2.4 on a Mac Mini to run 3 projectors.

    I project onto a 3D printed object so need to do a bit wth the mesh function (2 x 3 grid) to make final tweaks to the surface mapping.

    To see what I'm doing

    https://vimeo.com/179540389

    This all worked out great in the past, shown the work a few times using a 180MB video file 2160*1280 (so it can be split across 3 projectors that are each 128*720). The project is an artwork, I just got the kit back from an exhibit and did my set up sing some still images I use for calibrating. All good. Then I loaded a new video (4GB). Playback is fine but I get the spinning wheel of death and cannot edit anything once I load the video and click on "Show Info" to Enable Preview.

    So, I reloaded the previous, smaller, video. Same problem. I also tried with a new version of the 2nd video, saving it as a smaller file (180MB) using H264 Codec (the HAP Codec made the file 8GB ). Specifically it is when I click on "Show Info" to Enable Preview that it all goes horribly wrong. I have to Force Quit to get out. The video is running OK through the projectors, I just can't edit (manage surfaces).

    I was wondering if there's a way of changing the preview settings? Changing them so they do not slow everything down?

    I cannot afford to buy a better playback machine right now which I guess would solve this with the set up as it is.

    I'm reluctant to upgrade to newer version of MadMapper in case the whole thing stops working (another exhibition is next week).

    Any advice gratefully received

    Jane
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  • mad-matt
    garageCube team
    Posts: 1474
    Joined: Mon Sep 09, 2013 5:50 pm

    Re: Tips for improving playback speed? Struggling!

    by mad-matt » Wed May 31, 2017 11:36 pm

    You can collapse the previews if your performance hit is on GPU side.
    What does Activity Monitor says about CPU usage ? Memory ?
    You should use MadMapper 2.5.1. It contains lots of improvements. You can keep the previous version anyway, and files are fully compatible.
    You can also use "Hardware Acceleration" on your H264 movies (in the video parameters at the bottom)
    Does anything helped ?
  • jane5984
    junior Member
    Posts: 3
    Joined: Tue May 30, 2017 5:55 pm

    Re: Tips for improving playback speed? Struggling!

    by jane5984 » Thu Jun 01, 2017 4:06 am

    Thanks, mad-matt. I backed up via Time Machine then took your advice.

    1. Upgraded to latest Mac OS
    2. Upgraded latest MadMapper software

    I can move between menus now, though still very laggy. But better! Video is running through projectors just not at 30fps

    Using Activity Monitor prior to this, CPU usage was 120---140%

    With above changes CPU usage is 115-130%

    (goes away and takes next bit of advice...)

    I have turned on hardware acceleration. HUGE IMPROVEMENT. I am so grateful for your advice. Thank you very much.

    Do you recommend a different Codec? My current file is actually 1280 x 2400 as I;m running 3 x 1280 x 800 images from one panoramic type video file. My file is 180MB. I'm assuming that the HAP Codec (file size 8GB) is NOT the way to go, but what do you think?

    Grateful Brit Jane
  • mad-matt
    garageCube team
    Posts: 1474
    Joined: Mon Sep 09, 2013 5:50 pm

    Re: Tips for improving playback speed? Struggling!

    by mad-matt » Thu Jun 01, 2017 8:06 am

    I have turned on hardware acceleration. HUGE IMPROVEMENT


    So the bottleneck was on the CPU, and using hardware acceleration, you moved video decompression to the graphics card.

    I'm assuming that the HAP Codec (file size 8GB) is NOT the way to go, but what do you think?


    It's not a problem until your hard drive is fast enough to read it. With SSD there's no issue, with a disk drive, it depends on the bandwidth of the drive and the bitrate of the file (file size in mega bytes * 8 / movie duration in seconds = bandwidth in Mega Bits Per Second - mbps).

    For performances, some advices:

    - Collapse previews if you don't need it (menu View / Collapse Views)
    - Be sure "Displays have separate spaces" is turned off (in OSX system preferences / Mission Control)
    - Check that no other process on the computer is using CPU (application Activity Monitor)
  • jane5984
    junior Member
    Posts: 3
    Joined: Tue May 30, 2017 5:55 pm

    Re: Tips for improving playback speed? Struggling!

    by jane5984 » Thu Jun 01, 2017 4:58 pm

    Thanks for explaining why this worked, it really helps me understand more about what's going on and gives me info that helps when planning future projects in MadMapper. :D

    I think a lot of new users would LOVE to easily find some sort of chart that shows your calculation ---- SSD vs. disk drive, and the bandwidth of the drive / the bitrate of the file (file size in mega bytes * 8 / movie duration in seconds = bandwidth in Mega Bits Per Second - mbps.

    Any chance that might be added to the FAQ section of the website?

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