Author Topic: wavelab hiccups on playback - wtf? (Read 11014 times)

rabhan · « **on:** July 23, 2003, 05:00:25 PM »

okay, got another set of questions for the wavelab veterans.....

i just went d8>wavelab to test it while on battery and bc i needed to do a transfer....

the file is 16/48.....what is the procedure for changing to 16/44? also, if it was 24/48, what would be the correct steps to get it to 16/44?

now here to the issue i am having.....
when i playback the file in wavelab, i get hiccups, like a weird hesitation in the app...whereas if i rewind a little bit and play the selection again, it is error-free, so i know the wav is clean. if i open the same wav in soundforge 4.0, it never hesitates at all. it plays thru with no issues. so, the question is, is there a buffer i should pick for playback or are my playback settings wrong and need to be adjusted?
(right now, they are set at buffer number 6, size = 16384)

thanks again!

-laptop newbie rabhan

blu666z · « **Reply #1 on:** July 23, 2003, 05:02:33 PM »

I have the same problem w/ my new DiO 2496. First second or so of playback sounds skippy, poppy but then it clears up.

-Kevin

Wes · « **Reply #2 on:** July 23, 2003, 05:09:50 PM »

the hiccup you refer to could easily be caused by your computer and not wavelab itself.. Are you running any other apps while doing the transfer? Your computer should be set to be optimised for background processes, and you should do nothing else on the cpu while it is transferring/recording.

Correct process for going from 24/xx to 16/44.1 :
1:Do any editing such as fades, etc..
2:Convert sample rate
3:Dither

rabhan · « **Reply #3 on:** July 23, 2003, 05:10:14 PM »

this is actually random, it happens anywhere in the wav, and this is using the system sound for both apps just to clarify.

rabhan · « **Reply #4 on:** July 23, 2003, 05:12:17 PM »

Quote from: jbandtheboys on July 23, 2003, 05:09:50 PM

the hiccup you refer to could easily be caused by your computer and not wavelab itself.. Are you running any other apps while doing the transfer? Your computer should be set to be optimised for background processes, and you should do nothing else on the cpu while it is transferring/recording.

okay, to clarify....
the problem is NOT with recording/transfering. the problem is on playback. it happens in wavelab, it does NOT happen in soundforge.

rabhan · « **Reply #5 on:** July 23, 2003, 05:13:14 PM »

system is set for background, i am not running any other apps, again, it only happens with wavelab.

rabhan · « **Reply #6 on:** July 23, 2003, 05:15:32 PM »

Quote from: jbandtheboys on July 23, 2003, 05:09:50 PM

Correct process for going from 24/xx to 16/44.1 :
1:Do any editing such as fades, etc..
2:Convert sample rate
3:Dither

so, select "Resample" then "save as" a new file? should it take about 5-7ms to resample and another 5-7mins to resave? thats what happens on this 1.13g 640mg ram machine......

mirth · « **Reply #7 on:** July 23, 2003, 05:18:03 PM »

Yup, sounds about right. You can make it happen a little faster by right clicking the task & giving it a higher priority (I think Wavelab calls it Fast)

The resample, dither was covered in Ask the Tapers about 6 weeks ago.

rabhan · « **Reply #8 on:** July 23, 2003, 05:24:40 PM »

well, yeah, i know it has been discussed before, but i thought it couldnt hurt asking while trying to figure out the playback snafu $:-\$

rabhan · « **Reply #9 on:** July 23, 2003, 05:49:17 PM »

okay, no hiccups in winamp either, now trying media player

dmonterisi · « **Reply #10 on:** July 23, 2003, 05:54:00 PM »

Quote from: rabhan on July 23, 2003, 05:13:14 PM

system is set for background, i am not running any other apps, again, it only happens with wavelab.

could it have something to do with this background setting? I don't really know what it means but i've seen laptop guys refer to it a lot.

-damon

Simp-Dawg · « **Reply #11 on:** July 23, 2003, 06:04:28 PM »

to resample you can go to process > convert sample rate - pick the radio button, then click ok...it takes just a few minutes. to convert bit rate, i have the dither window open all the time under the level meter, i chose the uv22 hr setting (apogee algorithm), choose the bit rate i want in the pop up window, close that out, then click dither and choose create new file. i use the source name to name it and put it in a temp directory. when it's done i close out of the file (already saved), then close the original file, and DON'T save it, because i want to keep the 24/48 file for archival. i track the 16/44.1 file in cd wave, save the cue sheet, save the tracks, then load the 24/48 file into cd wave, load the cue sheet, tell it not to open the associated file, and BAM i have track marks. save it and flac it and sell it to the butcher in the store-o.

if anyone sees any flaws in my methods, please please please point them out so i may feel like a jackass.

rabhan · « **Reply #12 on:** July 23, 2003, 06:15:01 PM »

i can record in wavlab and edit in wavlab. however, i cannot playback wavs in wavelab without ramdom hiccups, these hiccups dont show up when i play the same file in winamp, soundforge, or media player, it must be a wavelab setting or something. i am not too terribly concerned bc wavelab doesnt seem to be inserting flaws, it just has issues with playback whereas the other apps dont $:-\$

dmonterisi · « **Reply #13 on:** July 23, 2003, 06:16:51 PM »

jon--so they are not showing up graphically in winamp? could be a soundcard playback issue...it's your new lappy right? try connecting headphones to the laptop headphone jack and using the standard sound device to play back and see if that eliminates the conflict.

rabhan · « **Reply #14 on:** July 23, 2003, 07:58:25 PM »

damon, thats what i am doing, playing the wavs back thru the systemboard's onboard sound thru the headphone jack. there are no graphic errors. the wavs play fine in winamp, media player, and soundforge. wavelab just gets random hiccups only on playback. if i rewind over the spot again, they are gone, it is just something with wavlabs playback buffer or something.

am i making any sense here? or is my explanation of the problem not clear? maybe i can restate it a different way?

dmonterisi · « **Reply #15 on:** July 23, 2003, 08:06:56 PM »

weird...in a minute, when i'm done compressing some files, i'll open up wavelab and start messing with settings to see if i can get my machine to do the same thing. you're making sense, i just wanted to make sure I was on the same page.

what is this background process thing that you (and others) refer to? i don't run it on a laptop.

rabhan · « **Reply #16 on:** July 23, 2003, 08:13:22 PM »

go to system properties by right clicking on my pc, go to advanced tab, select performance, you can optimize for apps or services and also adjust your pagefile settings also

dmonterisi · « **Reply #17 on:** July 23, 2003, 08:41:50 PM »

i've messed with all the wavelab settings i can and i can't get it to do what you describe, sorry.

rabhan · « **Reply #18 on:** July 23, 2003, 08:43:58 PM »

so when you play a wav in wavelab, it plays without flaws? meaning, you dont hear audible hiccups?

dmonterisi · « **Reply #19 on:** July 23, 2003, 08:49:53 PM »

no, no problems at all, i've never had the problem you describe actually and i play through wavelab when editing and mastering a fair amount, 16 bit and 24 bit without a problem.

rabhan · « **Reply #20 on:** July 23, 2003, 09:13:51 PM »

well, i am not sure bc i have the problem in both 2k pro and xp pro. i am gonna see if i have the same problem on another machine...........

rabhan · « **Reply #21 on:** July 23, 2003, 11:08:05 PM »

works fine on the other machine

The Rev. Bigbill · « **Reply #22 on:** July 24, 2003, 02:32:44 AM »

what speed processor how much ram and what os?

rabhan · « **Reply #23 on:** July 24, 2003, 02:41:41 AM »

P3 1.13Ghz 640MB ram win2k pro and it also happens in winxp pro

rabhan · « **Reply #24 on:** July 24, 2003, 10:49:27 PM »

i think i got it fixed, gordon from laptoptapers said to increase the buffer. i changed the playback buffer from 6 to 12 and it is playing back with no hiccups, i wonder if i should increase the record buffer.....

mirth · « **Reply #25 on:** July 24, 2003, 10:59:17 PM »

Insufficient recording buffers is what tanked my tape of STS9 back in June.

I believe it doesn't hurt to have too many buffers, it just increases the latency slightly.

rabhan · « **Reply #26 on:** July 24, 2003, 11:02:38 PM »

wtf does latency mean in pc term?

Main Entry: la·ten·cy
Pronunciation: 'lA-t&n(t)-sE
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural -cies
Date: circa 1638
1 : the quality or state of being latent : DORMANCY
2 : something latent
3 : a stage of personality development that extends from about the age of five to the beginning of puberty and during which sexual urges often appear to lie dormant

i dont get that^

MattD · « **Reply #27 on:** July 25, 2003, 12:07:05 AM »

Amount of time it takes audio to get into/out of your device. If you're doing monitoring, you want a low-latency system because you want to hear what is *actually* going on, not what went on 100 msec ago. However, if you're just recording, latency doesn't matter, so long as it all gets recorded. If it takes a second for the computer to actually record the data, no big deal.

-Matt

mirth · « **Reply #28 on:** July 25, 2003, 12:35:30 PM »

Yup, exactly. I'd rather have it take a second or two to record the data than have quarter or half second gaps periodically.

rabhan · « **Reply #29 on:** July 25, 2003, 12:40:56 PM »

so, if i am not having any issues at the moment, your sayin that it wont hurt to have more buffer?

MattD · « **Reply #30 on:** July 25, 2003, 05:35:32 PM »

I'm one of those "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" people. So long as you have "unused" RAM, you can increase the buffer size. You'll find that your system is more responsive when it's at its smallest, yet still working well. I think I on'y use a buffer of 1024 (not sure if that's samples or bytes or something else, didn't check) for most stuff.

-Matt