Autopilot Drifting Out of Sync over long duration
Posted: Sat Dec 25, 2021 14:58
Hi everyone,
I'm using the most recent update of R7. I have some long term / unmanned outdoor projection installs that run automatic sequences using autopilot. These sometimes include multiple layers that are intended to sync'd together. An example is for our Holiday show we have a background on Layer 1, and a spout input on Layer 2 displaying a Christmas countdown.
When autopiloting through several clips spanning multiple layers, the auto pilot slowly drifts out of sync even though all settings are correct. I've quadruple checked that all clip durations and transition times are completely identical across all layers that are intended to cue up together in the sequence.
This only seems to be an issue when trying to sync a source (spout, etc) with a video clip. A video clip stacked with a video clip will stay on sync, a source stacked on a video clip will not. The difference in timing seems to be very, very small - so that the drift only becomes very apparent after several hours of looping through the sequence.
I should also add that when you add decimals to the equation - if the above mentioned spout input is set to a clip duration of 60.08 to match a video of the same length below it - it simply doesn't seem to work. The autopilot will not sync with manually set durations that contain decimal places on source layers like spout. To remedy this, I've been rounding up or down a video clips duration so that it's an integer (60.03 to 60). This makes it work slightly better short term, but it still drifts over time as mentioned above.
This seems very minor, but it's a feature I use often to make sequences for long term outdoor projection installs.
Edit: This seems to be an issue of milliseconds when video is loaded (even on SSD DXV) vs spout sources which is instantaneous. Setting to BPM sync seems to have been a bit of a band-aid.
It would be nice for autopilot to have a feature such as "Launch with clip below" which would resolve this issue and ensure sync.
Any idea why I may be experiencing this?
Edit: This seems to be an issue of milliseconds when the clip is loaded (even on SSD, DXV) where the spout source is instantaneous and the video adds +1 milliseconds each cycle, etc.
It would be nice to have an autopilot feature such as "launch with clip below" which would resolve this issue and ensure sync.
I'm using the most recent update of R7. I have some long term / unmanned outdoor projection installs that run automatic sequences using autopilot. These sometimes include multiple layers that are intended to sync'd together. An example is for our Holiday show we have a background on Layer 1, and a spout input on Layer 2 displaying a Christmas countdown.
When autopiloting through several clips spanning multiple layers, the auto pilot slowly drifts out of sync even though all settings are correct. I've quadruple checked that all clip durations and transition times are completely identical across all layers that are intended to cue up together in the sequence.
This only seems to be an issue when trying to sync a source (spout, etc) with a video clip. A video clip stacked with a video clip will stay on sync, a source stacked on a video clip will not. The difference in timing seems to be very, very small - so that the drift only becomes very apparent after several hours of looping through the sequence.
I should also add that when you add decimals to the equation - if the above mentioned spout input is set to a clip duration of 60.08 to match a video of the same length below it - it simply doesn't seem to work. The autopilot will not sync with manually set durations that contain decimal places on source layers like spout. To remedy this, I've been rounding up or down a video clips duration so that it's an integer (60.03 to 60). This makes it work slightly better short term, but it still drifts over time as mentioned above.
This seems very minor, but it's a feature I use often to make sequences for long term outdoor projection installs.
Edit: This seems to be an issue of milliseconds when video is loaded (even on SSD DXV) vs spout sources which is instantaneous. Setting to BPM sync seems to have been a bit of a band-aid.
It would be nice for autopilot to have a feature such as "Launch with clip below" which would resolve this issue and ensure sync.
Any idea why I may be experiencing this?
Edit: This seems to be an issue of milliseconds when the clip is loaded (even on SSD, DXV) where the spout source is instantaneous and the video adds +1 milliseconds each cycle, etc.
It would be nice to have an autopilot feature such as "launch with clip below" which would resolve this issue and ensure sync.