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Mac SW Functional Issues

(55 posts) (15 voices)

Started 2 months ago by Joey Butera
Latest reply from Joey Butera

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barnettart
Member

I think I fell thru the cracks on the OS wide for Mac betas in that I did get the first but have not seen links or notifications re any further betas...things were nuts here when the first one arrived and I had no shane to test.

Would someone take me by the scruff of my neck, treat me like a complete imbecile and tell me how to get back on track, please? I have a week where I can test undisturbed, and am highly motivated to try out the pros and seek out the problems, but just need a leg up! I do own a 3 seat license, have it on my iPhone (are there plans to incorporate the iOS version into iTunes on the iPhone or is their too much proprietary trouble doing so? If there is, could we at least look into a build that will import playlists of non-DRM music from iTunes so the wheels don’t have to be reinvented? I too am wondering if an iOS wide App might not be of very high interest!) as well as my new MBP running Lion, which I can’t seem to find anything stating non-compatibility yet...chaos rules my life for now, so I apologise for the idiocy factor—poverty has a way of befuddling one’s sense of self;TMI, I know, but it’s why I appear so lame. Donations accepted!! ;—(

Posted 2 months ago #
Joey Butera
Audio and Computer Systems Engineer

lol!

I've made it easier for everyone! We set up this beta program to require a little too much manpower so we have decided to simplify things. Here is the download link for the latest version:

http://help.dpsplugin.com/wiki/doku.php?id=beta_rush_download_sector

This is an interim build that will expire January 16th, 2012. Since things go confused with the versioning we are starting over with 0.1a and this version actually displays this version number (instead of 3). The next will be 0.2a etc.

Let's keep the feedback and discussion coming here to the forum. You can always reach me at xaqmusic@bmtdps.com if you have questions but it is easier to get a feel for how this is progressing by watching your discussions here.

Posted 2 months ago #
lordsod
Member

Hi Folks,

i just noticed that i got latency issue (approximately 300ms delay) with the newest beta (new 0.1a).
With the help of VLC audio delay (-300ms) i made a temporary "fix" since it bothers me only with video files.
The Issue isn't program specific. (Tested with iTunes, VLC, Quicktime Player, Youtube Flash in Safari)
Reinstall and reboot didn't help.

Any suggestions?

Posted 2 months ago #
Joey Butera
Audio and Computer Systems Engineer

VLC can be is bit strange at times with Mac SW. VLC should have automatic latency compensation like most media players. Some users have reported that if the latency is too far off then turning DPS off then on again (from the menu bar icon) fixes the problem. Has anyone else experienced this?

Also, are you using the latest version of VLC?

Posted 2 months ago #
vpasq
Member

Still have the same problem that the DPS does not "turn on" upon launch. Is this what is intended???? (can't imagine why) I ask only because this was reported in the first go-around, and by more than myself, but yet it isn't fixed. (or is it something complex that is "noted") If that's the case please tell us Joey so we don't keep reporting repeat errors.

This latest build installed nicely and appears to be working (except as mentioned above). I'll keep working with it to see if anything else occurs. Thanks for letting us "beta" this release.

Posted 2 months ago #
nukefixer1
Member

Greetings everyone,

Build 0.1a downloaded and installed okay, I forgot to turn off and quit the previous beta build but it was a no never mind as the beta build 0.1a did all that upon installation and overwriting the previous build. So far I have not experienced the latency issue mentioned by lordsod, and as I have not turned off my MacBook Pro in a few days, I have not yet experienced the issue mentioned by vpasq in that it does not turn on by default launch of the application, although that was a previously reported issue by me with the previous build? I have not tested this build with my issue of the bluetooth wireless connected speaker.

Joey, what do you think of someone at Bongiovi, after a few beta builds, creating a punchlist of things you would like everyone to test, that way we could narrow down problems/issues and have a consistent logical approach to the testing, and work through things common to everyone initially, rather then everyone doing their own thing?

For this and maybe the next build, people will have issues that are not common to all, such as my wireless speaker issue, or maybe that's resolved based on the test/instructions you had me perform? As we work through the punchlist we can mark the issues/problems complete if resolved through successive builds?

Just my two cents......

By the way, I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, not sure if that's appropriate to this beta forum, but there it is........

nuke

Posted 2 months ago #
Joey Butera
Audio and Computer Systems Engineer

Good idea, Nuke. Here is what is on our plate at the moment:

1) USB and Bluetooth external devices - In some cases external devices are no problem. Just select the device you want from the Output menu in DPS. However, there seems to be strange automatic driver behavior with Bluetooth devices and other non standard setups. Please try using DPS SW with as many external audio devices you can find. Let us know what devices you have tried and what issues you found.

2) Embedded Quicktime video playback and media player compatibility - There has been some issues with web embedded Quicktime videos (like those on Apple.com) and the VLC player not adjusting for audio latency. Please try DPS SW with various media possibilities and let us know what you find. Please use the latest versions of any media players you test and be sure Quicktime is up to date on your system.

3) Accessibility for blind users - We are working closely with a number of blind users who are fans of the iTunes plugin. The iTunes plugin works great with the Voiceover utility however Mac SW does not. As a menu bar item, Voiceover cannot access the DPS menu so blind users cannot yet use the software. We are looking to implement an icon in System Preferences that opens the DPS settings window. There are technical considerations here so we are investigating the various possibilities to provide access to everyone.

Posted 2 months ago #
Joey Butera
Audio and Computer Systems Engineer

Here is an update for item #3. We have a build for blind users to test that opens the DPS Preferences window using an OSX app handling URL. Here is the link if you are interested in trying it: http://avalonrecords.com/Pub/Mac_SW_beta_01a_VO_access.zip

If you have already installed the app there is no need to use the install pkg included in this zip file. Just run the included Digital Power Station VO app. Then use the included DPS Settings link to open the Preferences window.

Posted 2 months ago #
JimD
Member

With the DPS iTunes plugin I could access the profile for my Audio Engine A2 speakers.

Is there a way to do that with the Beta DPS sys Plugin?

Notwithstanding access to the A2 Profiles,
the DPS sys wide is working cleanly with iTunes, Pandora, and Spotify on OSX Lion on my iMac.

DPS sys wide works better for me than the Hear app.

-JimD

Posted 1 month ago #
nukefixer1
Member

Joey,

Build 0.1a, still experiencing issues with a bluetooth wirelessly connected speaker and MacSW beta plugin, when I turn on the bluetooth connection on the Bose wireless speaker, it turns off the beta plugin, if I then turn on the MacSW beta plugin, I lose all sound, so at this time, if using iTunes, I turn of MacSW beta, turn on my iTunes DPS plugin and activate my bluetooth connection and listen to tunes with the wireless speaker, at present its just impossible to use the speaker and MacSW beta, other then this issue, reported in last beta build, everything else with MacSW beta version 0.1a works fine for me.

Nuke

Posted 1 month ago #
goansky
Member

Joey,

Here's a problem I've noticed with the new beta. In Safari (the latest version) all videos have out of sync audio when the beta is on. When turned off the audio sync is perfect. This takes place with many sites video - Showtime, Xfinity, Twit. I'm testing to see if effects video outside the browser and will get back. I'm using Lion on a dual core mini.

Posted 1 month ago #
Joey Butera
Audio and Computer Systems Engineer

Goansky,

When video and audio get out of sync usually just turning DPS OFF then ON again will fix the issue. This has to do with the latency involved with different players, codecs etc. Let me know if this helps.

Posted 1 month ago #
Joey Butera
Audio and Computer Systems Engineer

JimD,

I haven't updated the profile list for Mac SW since we are still in beta. However, if you want a certain profile you can download it using the iTunes plugin. Mac SW and the iTunes plugin share the same profiles directory. Just be sure Mac SW is not running when you do this as I don't think the list refreshes automatically.

Nuke,

Bluetooth and other external device compatibility is front and center on our bug fix list. I'm sure the boys will get it sorted soon. I'll keep everyone posted on our progress in this area.

Posted 1 month ago #
JimD
Member

Joey,
Thanks I had un-installed the iTunes plugin.

Re-installed the iTunes plugin, went to the profiles portion of the plugin pref, clicked 'get profiles' got the Audio Engine a2 profile. Quit the iTunes plugin and now am able to access the custom profiles in the Mac sys plugin.

Works like a charm.
And it sounds real good!

Cheers,
JimD

Oh, it's a nice plus that there are the treble/bass sliders in the DPS sys plugin. The A2 custom profile was a bit bright on some content. Now that I can tweak is slightly it is darn near perfect.

Posted 1 month ago #
goansky
Member

Thanks, Joey. Unfortunately, the out-of-sync fix does not work for me. Even after turning the DSP off/on the lag is quite noticeable. Any other suggestions? Any specific codecs that have this problem? Maybe, Flash?

Posted 1 month ago #
nukefixer1
Member

Build 0.1a , still having the same reported issues as previously reported in that when starting computer, Mac SW beta does not actually start even though its selected to start, It goes to menu bar, but I have to manually turn it on, but currently for me, this is a plus.

I use the Bose Bluetooth Portable Speaker and this build, 0.1a still has issues with Bluetooth connectivity and external devices. So when I use iTunes, I use the Bongiovi iTunes DPS Plugin and turn off the Mac SW Beta, the Mac SW Beta actually turns off my Bluetooth connected speaker, the iTunes plug in does not!

Posted 1 month ago #
Joey Butera
Audio and Computer Systems Engineer

That makes sense, Nuke. As far as the Mac's audio system is concerned, iTunes is working same as usual whether or not DPS is running as an iTunes plugin. The complexities arise when we throw another audio driver in the mix as with Mac SW. Mac SW seeks to switch the drivers in the background so clearly the problem is in this logic when a Bluetooth device is connected.

Posted 1 month ago #
nukefixer1
Member

Joey,

Your last comment to me is understood....I will for now, turn off the Mac SW beta when I listen to iTunes with the bluetooth connection, the rest of the time Mac SW runs non stop.

Thanks for the info.

nuke

Posted 1 month ago #
andreasJ
Member

Hi,

I have reckon a problem with channel output. When I have the DPSplugin installed and turned off the channels between right and left speaker is swapped for some reason. The sound that sould come out of the right speaker comes out from the left speaker.

For me this is true for all applications I have tested and even reboot and quit DPS does not solve the problem.

When the DPS plugin is turned ON, it is switched back to normal, that is right is right and left is left.

This is really annoying if your listening through my headphones, as I then turn off the DPS plugin.

Andreas

Posted 1 month ago #
Joey Butera
Audio and Computer Systems Engineer

That certainly is odd! Check your configuration:

1) Open the Audio MIDI Setup application in Applications/Utilities
2) Be sure you are viewing the Audio window
3) Select your Built In Output.
4) Click Configure Speakers
5) It should be set to Stereo and Front Left is channel 1 and Front Right is channel 2
6) Select the DPS Reflector Output
7) The same should be true for the channels as Front Left is "D 1..." and Front Right is "D 2..."

Let me know if this solves your problem.

Posted 1 month ago #
andreasJ
Member

Didn't think of that, thanks for the help!

Posted 1 month ago #
brd2929
Member

Just wanted to say that I'd been having sync issues that have been driving me nuts since the most recent build. I've recently had bad ram issues so I thought it was linked to that because the effect was system-wide (flash videos on browsers, itunes (with itunes dps turned off), VLC, etc.)

So far the on/off/on routine seems to correct the issue.

I have intermittent issues while using Amplitube since it requires specific input/output audio settings that are apart from the system prefs. Basically, going into Amplitube will force DPS SW to turn off. If I try turning it back on, it'll shut back down or quit entirely. Personally, I prefer it off anyway but it's an odd bug. My guess is that it's having trouble competing with two different outputs at once.

Posted 3 weeks ago #
Joey Butera
Audio and Computer Systems Engineer

It sound like the driver switching logic is still at issue. Perhaps a control to disable automatic switching is in order for power users. This would enable creative routing with applications like Sound Flower for all kinds of interesting possibilities.

In any case, as I mentioned in the version number forum, we are moving development of Mac SW to the fine folks at Art & Logic who developed the Windows SW version with us. They are great at getting to the bottom of these types of issues. I'll have updates as to the progress of this soon.

Posted 3 weeks ago #
woid
Member

I've continued to have relentless feedback problems with the beta — to the point that, when the last version expired two weeks ago, I didn't come back here to download the new one. This morning I did, but I haven't tested it yet to see if the feedback issue is still happening. I'm guessing yes, since it hasn't really been addressed in this forum. Is anybody else reporting this?

Symptoms: Often when viewing videos, or when playing audio on iTunes (with the iTunes plugin turned off), there'll be a short glitch in playback, followed by a crescendo of slapback-type feedback (the same brief moment of audio echoing louder & louder). The iTunes plugin doesn't do this, just the system-wide app.

The feedback happens at unpredictable times, but it always happens sooner or later. I have to quit DPS and restart it (usually in a rush, while the feedback is becoming deafening).

My system: 2 GHz Macbook 2006 running Snow Leopard, 2 GB of RAM.

Posted 3 weeks ago #
Joey Butera
Audio and Computer Systems Engineer

No, I have not had that problem yet! Are you sure the mic input is muted on your Macbook? Unless there is some other application like Sound Flower running there is no way to route an output back onto itself. The output device in Sound Preferences should be DPS Reflector (when DPS is engaged) and your preferred output (headphones, built-in, digital etc.) is set within the Digital Power Station app. Let me know what you find.

Posted 3 weeks ago #