Performance Issues
 

Hi guys

I recently acquired a new laptop so upgraded to the new Hoster version and installed it.

I am using my older laptop as a backup but not upgrading that one - don\'t want to fix what isn\'t broken right...

It seemed to be fine for the first few performances but then one night it started jumping and the lyrics went out of sync and every song kind of stuttered. Then it crashed :m - I set up my old laptop and the rest of night went on without a hitch. :w

I set it up at home again and went through all of the requirement changes needed for a new laptop - it does remind you that all of the Windows upgrades need to be up-to-date so I checked and sure enough there was an optional Windows upgrade sitting there so I did that. I tried about 20 odd songs at home and it seemed to run fine so I assumed that was the issue.

My next gig I set up the new laptop again and it seemed all good for the first couple of hours and then it started stuttering again :f - although no where near as bad as the night it crashed ... in fact we managed to just finish the night without swapping it over.

I checked again from home and all windows updates are done so now I am stuck as to what the issue is :?

Any advice would be great :g

Re: Performance Issues
 

Have you installed the latest codecs? Also you might go to tools/audio and at the bottom there are settings for audio and graphics. You might try settings the graphics to above normal. Also make sure your power settings are set for performance. I believe Hoster is suppose to set the power settings automatically but I have see where it didn\'t. Hope this gives some direction. I am sure Roy will jump in and he may have a better input. He is the guru of Hoster! Good luck!

Re: Performance Issues
 

Try Waltr suggestions first but if no luck can you post the computer make and model ?
Are you playing conventional karaoke files or mp4 types ?
If your playing a mix of all types is the stuttering more prominent on any one particular type ?
Also do you run any other software in conjunction with Hoster ?

Re: Performance Issues
 

Thanks for the advice :g

I have changed the graphics setting to \'above normal\'

The \'power scheme\' is on so that is okay

I am 90% sure the CODECS was loaded because I went through the list the day I got the laptop and remember doing it. How would I check that this is running correctly?

Tried a couple songs and seems okay but I guess the real test is when I perform live. :w

The laptop is LENOVO 80EC - I am not an expert on computer\'s but this is a retired office laptop used for accounting auditing (about 4yrs old)

I just play regular Karaoke songs - no mp4\'s

I don\'t use any other software at the same time that I run Hoster - except SongBook DB of course :c

Re: Performance Issues
 

One last thought, do you know how much ram you have? I believe the recommendation for Hoster is a minimum of 4GB. As far as the codec, check in your program list to see if it is installed on your computer.

Re: Performance Issues
 

8GB Ram so that should be all good - and Codec is there.

We have a GIG in a few days and I will report back - hoping the change to the Graphics performance does the job :w

Re: Performance Issues
 

Update

No luck unfortunately :?

I have been using the backup laptop for a couple gigs and last night I tried again with the main laptop and it was worse than ever

The main problem is when I work on Hoster while somebody is singing it often stutters and jumps so I started adding people songs in between singers which was better but painful that I have to do that.

But even then - when I am singing and nobody is on the laptop it sporadically jumps as well.

After about an hour I switched back to the old laptop to get through the rest of the night.

Do you think possibly it is the laptop? How do I find what maybe happening in the background to make it problematic when I run Hoster? I am not really a tech person so no idea how to check that painfully. The laptop wasn\'t brand new when I got it but it was empty so any issues is what I have created myself.

I guess I should just be happy that I live in NZ and am able to GIG anyway at the moment although that status often changes at a moments notice.:s

Re: Performance Issues
 

Ok, go to \"Device Manager\" in windows. Scroll down to \"Display\" and click on it. When it opens the tree you will see what Graphics Adaptor you have. Write down the model and go to the Lenovo web site and see if there is a updated driver for your graphics display. If so download and install. If all goes well your problem will be solved. This the only thing I can think of. Check back and let us know if you need additional help.:?

Re: Performance Issues
 

Thanks Walt

You were right - my graphics driver did need updating - Lenovo site wasn\'t very helpful but I right-clicked on the driver and asked it to update which it did by the looks of it.

Only issue is... still not working.

I just quickly tested it to see where it is failing. When I play Hoster it seems ok but I clicked on the internet and did a google search at the same time and it stuttered and jumped... this is the problem when it is live. Potentially I need to invest in a new Graphic Driver? or maybe I have to change settings in the one I have ... not sure ... not sure if it will help but I have gone into the Graphic Driver details and copied them below.

OVERVIEW:
Radeon Software Version - 16.6
Radeon Software Edition - Crimson
Graphics Chipset - AMD Radeon(TM) R7 Graphics
Memory Size - 1024 MB
Memory Type - DDR3
Core Clock - 554 MHz
Windows Version - Windows 10 (64 bit)
System Memory - 8 GB
CPU Type - AMD FX-7500 Radeon R7, 10 Compute Cores 4C+6G

SOFTWARE:
Radeon Settings Version - 2016.0707.1524.25901
Driver Packaging Version - 16.30.2201-160707a-304882C-Lenovo
Provider - Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
2D Driver Version - 8.1.1.1564
Direct3D® Version - 9.14.10.1209
OpenGL® Version - 6.14.10.13447
OpenCL™ Version - 2.0.6.0
AMD Mantle Version - 9.1.10.136
AMD Mantle API Version - 98309
AMD Audio Driver Version - 10.0.0.1
Vulkan Driver Version - 9.1.0.10.17.0

HARDWARE:
Graphics Card Manufacturer - Powered by AMD
Graphics Chipset - AMD Radeon(TM) R7 Graphics
Device ID - 1309
Vendor ID - 1002
SubSystem ID - 3988
SubSystem Vendor ID - 17AA
Revision ID - 00
Bus Type - PCI
Current Bus Settings - PCI
BIOS Version - 015.040.000.001
BIOS Part Number - 113-SPEC-X24
BIOS Date - 2013/12/17 04:52
Memory Size - 1024 MB
Memory Type - DDR3
Memory Clock - 800 MHz
Core Clock - 554 MHz
Total Memory Bandwidth - 25 GByte/s
2D Driver File Path - /REGISTRY/MACHINE/SYSTEM/ControlSet001/Control/Class/{4d36e968-e325-11ce-bfc1-08002be10318}/0000

Let me know if I need to send anyother informatijon that will help

Thanks in advance

Re: Performance Issues
 

Am I understanding you correctly when you say Hoster is working fine but it is when you open the internet connection is when you have problems with Hoster? If you turn off your wifi and use Hoster, does the problem still happen? If there is no problem when you turn off your Wifi connection, why not do that before you start a show? I am confused by your last post. I often shut my wifi down before running a show just to make sure there is no outside interference with Hoster. I don\'t go online to get songs requested that I don\'t have. Of course if I am using SongbookDb I can\'t shut down my wifi but the crowd I play for very rarely will use SongbookDB to make requests.

Re: Performance Issues
 

Thanks Walt

I do use SongbookDb most nights at my shows which does require WIFI.

However... using the internet while playing hoster at home was just an example of what happens normally at a show.

My wifi does stay on but I don\'t use the Internet. The jumping and skipping happens sporadically throughout the show but it is worse when I am adding songs while somebody is performing. If I add a song to the playlist while somebody is singing it is jumping. Not all the time but probably 1 out of 3 times. It is almost like something is happening in the background which is overloading it like a RAM issue however I have no idea how to check that. And it does have 8gb RAM which should be enough I would expect to run a number of things at once in the background.

I guess I am looking for a way to find out how to check what is happening. As I say this laptop wasn\'t brand new but it is clean and about 5 years newer than my backup laptop I am currently using which has no issues ... however I am running an older version of Hoster on that

Re: Performance Issues
 

It may be a problem with the ram memory. I assume you have windows 10. If so, go to the start menu, lower left corner of the main screen. Type in, Control Panel. It should show up after you do that. Click on control panel to open. When it opens, go to the upper right corner of the screen and there should be an area to search. Type in memory, and you should get a pop of screen with a couple of choices. Click on Memory Diagnostics and follow the prompt. This will run a check on your ram memory and tell you if there are any problems. Hope this helps.

Re: Performance Issues
 

Opening Edge or internet Explorer while Hoster is playing generally does cause a stutter. Best practice is to start edge and leave minimised on taskbar till needed. Also if you have edge set to open on microsoft default home page it loads lots of news flashes etc.
best to set it to open on a specific page without a lot of clutter like https://www.google.co.uk/
You can do that various ways. Example on edge click the 3 dots top right of browser and select settings from list. Then choose (on start up) Then (choose Specific Page) then where it shows the existing home page select the dots again at the right and choose edit then type or paste the above google address or an address of your choosing.

Settings in Hoster that can help:
Tools settings general tab make sure the box is ticked for (use MTU Hoster power scheme)

Also in the Hoster audio settings play around with the two bottom boxes settings.

Graphics card settings experiment with these, Hard to point you in the right direction here but when you right click on your desktop does it show switchable graphics option ?
If so play around with those settings see if you get any improvement.

Re: Performance Issues
 

Thanks Roy & Walt

I have being playing around with it for the last hour or so Adding and deleting songs quickly. Lots of jumping and stuttering... internet on / off - Edge on / off etc...

I then saw Roy\'s post and made those adjustments on Edge .... you are right - Edge shoots straight to 100% CPU. I made that adjustments as recommended and it seems to have helped quite a bit.

I also turned off my Virus Software which has helped as well i think.

I did have \'Graphics\' as \'above normal\' but I put that back to \'normal\' and changed \'Audio\' to \'above normal\' to see what that does

Played with it since and it seems a lot better... I am adding and deleting songs aggressively to test it and there is the odd stutter but clearly I wouldn\'t be that aggressive live.

I quickly checked the graphics card setting and confusing so I will leave that for now and worry about it if still not 100% after next GIG

Would Windows Defender be enough do you think? or would you recommend keeping the anti-virus software going - I do try to tap into the WIFI at each venue or I Hotspot my phone for SongbookDB so I do have some vulnerability

I will report back in about 5days once I test it live again

Thanks for all of the ideas guys :)

Re: Performance Issues
 

I use windows defender and have not had any problems. I used to have Norton but dropped it a few years ago.

I would do that memory check on your ram when you get a chance.