SOLVED: DMXIS suddenly acting sluggish and chases are choppy

velimatti
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SOLVED: DMXIS suddenly acting sluggish and chases are choppy

Post by velimatti »

I use DMXIS (as Ableton VST plugin) to control lights for my band. I have 10 fixtures (led/laser) AND I just recently got these LED pixel tubes so I'm actually cranking up all 512 channels to control them (thank god for the oscillator + possibility write your own macros). I have wireless dmx transmitter/receivers and the whole rig has been working great. All oscillator animations (color fades, chases etc) have been smooth and awesome. Last last week during our set the lights started misbehaving. The wireless system stopped working suddenly and the lights froze, so during the intermission I replaced the wireless setup with normal DMX cables to save the show -> It kind of works when using a DMX cable, but there is a huge issue - the control is very very sluggish, animated chases are super choppy and there is a huge lag. All of my scenes which were sync with the songs look terrible now. If I adjust a slider, there is a huge lag, and the data is not transmitted smoothly. It feels like the DMX data is sent only couple of times per second. The wireless transmitters seem to work, but not with this DMXIS module anymore.

Please see this video demonstrating the issue. The issue is really bad if I connect multiple fixtures, because they're all doing different things and the cool chases I had are now just choppy. I used on e single LED fixture here. The fade should be smooth, but you can see that even with one fixture the light jumps from dim to bright and skips everything between.



And yes, I know the speed/data limitations of DMX protocol, but I'll say again that the whole rig has been working great and smoothly for over a year and this issue appeared out of nowhere during our set. Now it seems that the DMX data is sent only couple of times per second. Here is an example what my LED tubes did the previous day:



...Now that same blue animation updates/moves only couple of times per second. It looks awful and is very choppy. Note that the animated blue lights are done using the DMXIS oscillator and animating ~400 channels. Did that fry the IC?

Here is what I've tried:

- uninstall/install DMXIS 1.4.3 software
- downgrade(1.42)
- and upgrade to 1.5 beta
- Tried different usb cables, powered usb ports, connected directly to computer usb port
- tried different wireless transmitters / receivers
- tried multiple different dmx cables
- tried dmxis on different computer (both OSX)
- tried dmx as a standalone and as a plugin

...Nothing helps. I'm assuming my DMXIS unit is somehow fried and doesn't run in the correct frequency anymore. Any suggestions, or do I need to buy a new DMXIS unit only after 1.5 years?
Last edited by velimatti on Thu Jul 07, 2016 12:03 am, edited 1 time in total.
velimatti
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Re: DMXIS suddenly acting sluggish and chases are choppy !

Post by velimatti »

+ Tried to reset the device using the Pro manager (firmware 111.9)
+ Tried to fiddle with the DMXIS Mark After Break (MAB in µsec) settings etc, but no nothing changes.

...Shoot, I have another show tomorrow and no one here sells these things so I could get a replacement...
Dave Brown [admin]
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Re: DMXIS suddenly acting sluggish and chases are choppy !

Post by Dave Brown [admin] »

In your video, the DMXIS software fader moves smoothly and the light responds sluggishly, which does suggest a hardware issue. Especially when considering that the problem happens on different computers.

Does the sluggishness persist if you plug just ONE light (with a terminator) into the DMXIS box? I'm wondering if one of your lights has developed a problem, rather than the DMXIS box itself. One bad fixture can screw up your entire rig.

Do the LEDs on the DMXIS box look normal? (i.e. two solid on the USB side, one flashing on the XLR side when the software is connected)

BTW, I highly recommend you reinstall DMXIS 1.4.3 - you really don't want to compound the problem by using beta software in an already confusing scenario.

One final observation - it's not possible to "burn out" the DMXIS box by controlling extra channels in the software. The DMXIS software continually transmits 512 channels of data to the box, even if you only have 1 fixture in your show.
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NCN
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Re: DMXIS suddenly acting sluggish and chases are choppy !

Post by NCN »

Just as an outside opinion, it does appear like one device is failing to relay the DMX signal along the chain. this could be because of bad electronics in the device or a bad connector (all that plugging and unplugging).

Dave's idea of trying a known good device is a good start to rule out everything up to the start of the rig. After that, you may have to divide things in half and half again to isolate the bad device. It really kind of looks like it's signal dropout and reestablishment. When the fixture DOES react it looks like it's in proper sync with the fader.
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Re: DMXIS suddenly acting sluggish and chases are choppy !

Post by Dave Brown [admin] »

One further question - does your rig respond sluggishly when controlled from the "DMX Send" tab of the PRO Manager utility?
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Textures
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Re: DMXIS suddenly acting sluggish and chases are choppy !

Post by Textures »

With that sort of problem, I have to suspect an issue in the daisy chain. That's exactly what I have run into a couple of times- even with termination at the end of the chain, some DMX fixtures can introduce new noise into the chain and cause erratic behavior, even when every cable is perfect and the chain is terminated.

Because I have run into similar issues with my gear, I have invested in a DMX splitter that repeats the signal out 4 additional outputs, all isolated from each other. By cutting the full rig into smaller runs, I have been able to much more quickly troubleshoot issues when they pop up.

To echo what other users have said, try building the chain one cable and fixture at a time. Test things and take notes. Run the same programs each time to make sure you're seeing the same output each time.

I wish you the very best of luck- DMX is a very simple standard, and it has no error checking/correction built in. This means that problems can come and go intermittently, and without any obvious cause!
velimatti
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Re: DMXIS suddenly acting sluggish and chases are choppy !

Post by velimatti »

This issue wasn't about conflicting fixtures or daisy-chaining issues, because I was trying to make it work with one fixture (after it broke) and tried with several different fixtures and cables (also with different terminators)

I went and bought another DMXIS unit and I'm back in business. All of my fixtures work with my wireless DMX controllers or with cables. If I switch back to the old module, it doesn't work. ...Luckily I still have one month warranty left (got an extended warranty from my dealer)!

Anyway, if anyone experiences obvious huge lag when switching presets (could be seconds), and smooth fadeins are impossible (because it seems like the light is receiving the data couple of times / second so the lights pretty much have on/off switch via DMX) -> try with one fixture -> if things are still super laggy -> try with a different module.

Thanks for your help guys! I really appreciate it!
NCN
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Re: DMXIS suddenly acting sluggish and chases are choppy !

Post by NCN »

Good news that you were able to recover by quickly obtaining a new unit.

the USB
For me, the DMXIS has been reliable. But I DID recently have a problem with the splitter everyone might want to be aware of.

Now this was my fault, but I accidentally powered the ENTEC splitter via a dimmer. It seemed to be OK and still transmitted the DMX stream. HOWEVER, some how or another it must of done something such that the USB connection to the DMXIS box to the computer was messed up that the touch interface on my yoga 2 was munged. It's hard to see how this could happen,but it did. A new splitter solved the problem. Therefore, it seems that it is possible for the DMXIS to load the USB in such a way as random things can happen. Perhaps there is an issue when the DMXIS box is driving the DMX cables or the load impedance goes crazy. In any event, the DMXIS isn't totally failsafe with the USB. So it's nice that you don't need external power, but there seems to be a downside.
JeremyAtEnttec
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Re: DMXIS suddenly acting sluggish and chases are choppy !

Post by JeremyAtEnttec »

Have you raised a support ticket with ENTTEC on this interface? I don't recall seeing it there, but maybe someone else caught it and replied. If not, we'd like to have this in the database so we would recognize the symptoms if it ever happened to someone else. I don't think I can recall a similar case, in the past 5 years since DMXIS was launched, but it's nice to have thorough records. This is on top of any help we can do in terms of repairing it, potentially. I'm not sure where you're located but if it's the USA or Canada I'll be able to lend a hand in a more direct way. Otherwise, one of the other offices will perhaps draw the case.

Glad you're back in business on performing, but do write to support@enttec.com when you can.

Jeremy
velimatti
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Re: DMXIS suddenly acting sluggish and chases are choppy !

Post by velimatti »

Now my DMXIS unit is doing the same thing again. Night before our album release show. My moving heads are suddenly acting choppy, my LED bars take forever to update. I can't do strobe FX using the oscillator , can't do smooth fades etc.

I sent my old unit to get fixed and I don't know what they did to it. Last time I fixed this issue by buying a new one before getting my own back from the repair center. Any idea what they did to it, or did I just get a new unit back?
JeremyAtEnttec
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Re: DMXIS suddenly acting sluggish and chases are choppy !

Post by JeremyAtEnttec »

I can look into that for you. What's the serial number of the unit you got back?
velimatti
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Re: SOLVED: DMXIS suddenly acting sluggish and chases are ch

Post by velimatti »

The hardware itself is fine, but something just got messed up with the DMXIS settings.

I resolved the issue by resetting the DMXIS firmware AND fixing the frames/sec setting which had dropped to minimum speed.

Step 1)

Download the PRO MANAGER software (Which was a pain in the ass to find)

http://www.enttec.com/index.php?main_me ... s&pn=79003

NOTE: I couldn't get this software to detect my DMXIS unit even the DMXIS app itself was detecting the unit just fine. I was running the version for OSX Yosemite. Luckily I had another laptop with El Capitan installed, and it was able to detect the unit.

Step 2)
I'm not sure if I needed to reinstall the firmware or not because my unit was partly working, but just being incredibly slow. I did the reset anyway - you can check this video how to do it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FkSn90S2is

Step 3)
After your device is happily connected, find 'SETTINGS' button in the PRO MANAGER software. Now check the settings that they're all set to 'default' values. My frames / sec value had dropped to minimum from the default value 40.

==> Basically my scenes didn't work because the DMXIS unit was transmitting data in a vary slow speed. This just happened suddenly when I was using the unit and I have no idea why. I hadn't added any new fixtures to my setup and I've been successfully running the lights for a year. Luckily now I know how to fix this.

Thanks!
Mudmavis
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Re: SOLVED: DMXIS suddenly acting sluggish and chases are choppy

Post by Mudmavis »

THANK YOU! I had the exact same experience recently. My movers were very choppy getting to their positions and scene changes were lagging. I downloaded the Pro Manager and luckily (as was for you) I had an older Mac with El Capitan and was able to view the DMXIS internal settings. All three were wonky. I wonder how that can happen?!

I changed them back to default values and tried again using Capture visualizer. I noticed this first using Capture and just thought it was my computer having a video problem (no issues before this). Not so much. My band gigged that afternoon and sure enough it was happening on the entire rig as well.

I really appreciate this thread and the fix. Thanks man.
John
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Re: SOLVED: DMXIS suddenly acting sluggish and chases are choppy

Post by floodstage »

I tried this on windows and the website errorred out on me
(Windows system)
Dave Brown [admin]
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Re: SOLVED: DMXIS suddenly acting sluggish and chases are choppy

Post by Dave Brown [admin] »

Here is the current link to the ENTTEC PRO Manager utility
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floodstage
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Re: SOLVED: DMXIS suddenly acting sluggish and chases are choppy

Post by floodstage »

Used a different computer and got Entec Pro Manager to work.

I reloaded the firmware on both of my dongles (they showed that they were on the current version, so I just re-flashed)
After I did, I checked the settings
Both of my dongles showed these settings:

packet refresh rate - 40 (default is 25)
Mark after break - 213 (default is 10)
Break time - 533 (default is 96)

I changed them to the default settings and will try things and see how they work
Evil Patrick
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Re: SOLVED: DMXIS suddenly acting sluggish and chases are choppy

Post by Evil Patrick »

Sure enough, it happened to me as well.

Something snorked those 3 default settings on my DMXIS and my lights wouldn't smoothly run the sine wave. It turned into a choppy stepper.

I started with the obvious: get the show down to one light with a different DMX cable, and change the USB cable. No luck. Reinstall the app and hope for the hidden defaults. No luck.

So, I searched the forums and found this thread.

Downloaded DMX PRO Manager, installed, rebooted (it's a driver necessity), and it found my device. The settings were absolutely wHaCkEd. I reset to the recommended defaults and bada boom, bada bing.

As a computer scientist, I can speculate on several possibilities for this random failure, but hopefully Dave is already narrowing the issue down. Until this issue is resolved, I'm fully expecting this problem to rear its ugly head once again. I hope it's not in the middle of a song!

Thanks for the easy workaround!
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Re: SOLVED: DMXIS suddenly acting sluggish and chases are choppy

Post by Dave Brown [admin] »

Evil Patrick wrote: Wed Dec 08, 2021 3:10 am...hopefully Dave is already narrowing the issue down...
Hardware issues like this can only be resolved by ENTTEC - I'm just the software guy :)
Dave Brown - db audioware
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Evil Patrick
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Re: SOLVED: DMXIS suddenly acting sluggish and chases are choppy

Post by Evil Patrick »

LOL!

I cannot count the number of times that the SW teams I managed had to develop workarounds for glaring HW issues.

Fess up, Dave. You've had to clean up HW messes too!
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