Time delay in hoster display

[Picolo Porco]

I agree. This is a major, major problem for me. I bought a new computer, new video card--both just short of very high end specs--and still have sync issues (about a half second video lags audio) with Hoster. I don't have the same problem with other video players and files using the same multi-monitor setup, and I don't have the same problem if the computer is in single monitor mode (i.e., the singer's monitor isn't enabled via extended desktop).

Unfortunately, I have a big investment in Hoster with over 9,000 songs imported and am basically held hostage, hoping that some future release will fix my problems.

[ddouglass]

Originally Posted by Picolo Porco

I agree. This is a major, major problem for me. I bought a new computer, new video card--both just short of very high end specs--and still have sync issues (about a half second video lags audio) with Hoster. I don't have the same problem with other video players and files using the same multi-monitor setup, and I don't have the same problem if the computer is in single monitor mode (i.e., the singer's monitor isn't enabled via extended desktop).

Unfortunately, I have a big investment in Hoster with over 9,000 songs imported and am basically held hostage, hoping that some future release will fix my problems.

Your problem does not sound like the same thing as Singsation. His problem is a slight delay between the 2nd monitor and the Preview screen display.
Video requires much more resources than a standard CDG does. When you throw in a second monitor/display then that taxes the system even more.
You say you bought a high-end system and video card, but this doesn't really tell us anything about your system.
Is it a laptop or desktop?
Vista or XP?
Processor speed?
Memory (RAM) amount?
Video card type and amount of memory on it?
Power Supply size (does it matter....yes it does)

[Picolo Porco]

Here are the specs, and please don't just point at Vista and say that it's its fault. I am running well above the minimum specs and have everything set as per MTU's instructions. Also, I was having the exact same problem with XP MCE SP3 which is why I bought a whole new computer.

Desktop
Core 2 Quad Q6600 @2.4GHz
4 GB RAM

Vista Ultimate 64 bit
ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT @ 800MHz w/8.552 driver and 8.11 Control Center
512 MB DDR3@700 MHz

350 GB free on the system disk
kma files are on a separate partition

first screen is a Dell monitor via DVI at 1280x1024@60Mhz
second screen is a plasma HDTV via DVI. I've tried 1080i and 720p

I always have a delay of at least a quarter second when running with extended desktop and a singer's display. Both the new player and the old player give the same results.

[ddouglass]

Originally Posted by Picolo Porco

Here are the specs, and please don't just point at Vista and say that it's its fault. I am running well above the minimum specs and have everything set as per MTU's instructions. Also, I was having the exact same problem with XP MCE SP3 which is why I bought a whole new computer.

Desktop
Core 2 Quad Q6600 @2.4GHz
4 GB RAM

Vista Ultimate 64 bit
ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT @ 800MHz w/8.552 driver and 8.11 Control Center
512 MB DDR3@700 MHz

350 GB free on the system disk
kma files are on a separate partition

first screen is a Dell monitor via DVI at 1280x1024@60Mhz
second screen is a plasma HDTV via DVI. I've tried 1080i and 720p

I always have a delay of at least a quarter second when running with extended desktop and a singer's display. Both the new player and the old player give the same results.

You did not list your power supply rating. This can effect the performance. According to ATI, for that card a minimum of a 400 watt power supply is needed.

For the second screen what resolution are you using?
Hoster is only set to run in 1024x786 or 800x600 (for the secondary).
The big question that comes to mind is why are you using HDMI when Hoster's (Windows Media Player) output does not support HD.
Have you tried it with SVideo analog output?

I would try the above first then the following if that still won't fix the delay.

Leave Hoster 4.06 closed and open Hoster 3.4.
Go to Tools/Playback Offset. Set it for -0.5 and close Hoster 3.4.
Open Hoster 4.06 and try a couple songs to see if this helped. If it isn't enough go back and do it again setting it down to -1.0.
Even though this offset was removed from 4.0x version 3.4 still will set it in the registry and it does effect 4.06. Because of this discovery this control has been added back in version 4.10 so you won't have to do it this round about way if needed.

[marklwood]

Originally Posted by Picolo Porco

Here are the specs, and please don't just point at Vista and say that it's its fault. I am running well above the minimum specs and have everything set as per MTU's instructions. Also, I was having the exact same problem with XP MCE SP3 which is why I bought a whole new computer.

I would really like to help you solve these ongoing issues. I was wondering what these two systems have in common. Do you have the same software on both machines other than Hoster? Are any of these running in the background? Specifically, I am inquiring about anti-virus, anti-spyware, "helper" programs for your video card, sound card, or maybe a printer. Do you know what services are running? We can go through these one at a time until we find an answer.

[Singsation]

Just a thought, you could make sure A/V sync is turned off on the plasma display as it might be waiting for a audio singnal to sync up with.
worth a try,

[Picolo Porco]

I have not tried disabling my anti virus (NOD32) because the box is hooked up to the Internet. If this is potentially the problem, let me know and I will unplug and try it.

My power supply is 600W.

Attached are pics of taskman's services and processes running.

The HDMI A/V sync issue on the monitors, themselves isn't an issue. I run VLC Player for music videos (mp4's with H264 encoding) with no video lag at all--and it would be much more noticeable on a video if lips were out of sync. Why not use VLC's codecs or ffmpeg's if WMP is such a pain?

HDTV resolutions on the second monitor are either 1280x720 at 60 Hz (720p) or 1920x1080 at 30 Hz (1080i). My displays are DVI because that is how my entire bar is wired. The signal gets split out to 4 HDMI sets. We do not only do karaoke, and the high def signal is both necessary and would be a royal pain and expense to supplement with an analog signal. Also, I'm convinced that this is not the problem, as this setup worked fine at one point with an earlier version of Hoster (though I don't remember which one) and the same monitors setup.

I will definitely try the suggestion of bumping the sync using the controls in v.3.x. Thanks for the idea. I'll let you know how it works, though from a purist point of view, I still think it would be ideal to fix the root cause of the issue.

[ddouglass]

Originally Posted by Picolo Porco

The HDMI A/V sync issue on the monitors, themselves isn't an issue. I run VLC Player for music videos (mp4's with H264 encoding) with no video lag at all--and it would be much more noticeable on a video if lips were out of sync. Why not use VLC's codecs or ffmpeg's if WMP is such a pain?

Are you running the audio to the TVs too? If so then the A/V sync could very well be an issue. As far as the codecs all the programs use the same codecs for any particular type of file that they support. Since neither Hoster or WMP support MP4s and karaoke videos don't come in MP4 then that is hardly a fair comparison.

Originally Posted by Picolo Porco

HDTV resolutions on the second monitor are either 1280x720 at 60 Hz (720p) or 1920x1080 at 30 Hz (1080i). My displays are DVI because that is how my entire bar is wired. The signal gets split out to 4 HDMI sets. We do not only do karaoke, and the high def signal is both necessary and would be a royal pain and expense to supplement with an analog signal. Also, I'm convinced that this is not the problem, as this setup worked fine at one point with an earlier version of Hoster (though I don't remember which one) and the same monitors setup.

Is everything out of sync or just Video type karaoke songs?
Hoster is optimized to work with 1024x768 or 800x600 and not those resolutions which may be why the sync is off.

[marklwood]

Originally Posted by Picolo Porco

Attached are pics of taskman's services and processes running.

I have only had time so far to go through your task manager attachment. Here are my initial thoughts.

dwm.exe is Vista Aero. Why oh Why is this running? Did you not read the install instructions for Hoster? This is your problem right there.
wmpnscfg.exe is Windows Media Player network sharing service. Do you need to share music files with an Xbox-360 while you are doing your show? Get rid of it.
MOM.exe is either an ATI "helper" program or is a spyware app. See if it is in programfiles\mom\mom.exe. If so, it is spyware. If not, you can still do without it, but it is probably OK.
jusched.exe is a java update program. It is a huge waste of space. It's only purpose is to check for updates to Java. You can do that yourself. Get rid of it.
Firefox.exe Do you really need to be on the internet during your show? Get rid of it.
egui.exe is Norton Anti-virus. A resource hog in itself. Not only that, it is difficult to un-install. They have a fix for the un-install on their website. Try a nice free anti-virus like AVG that doesn't steal as many resources and can be easily turned off during your show.
cthelper.exe is soundblaster's "helper" program. It is not necessary. The soundcard will plug and play without the bloated software.
Ati2evxx.exe is an event driver for WindowsNT and Windows 9xx. Get rid of it.

Do this for me. In Task manager, kill these processes one at a time and run a test of Hoster. If your system becomes unstable, you haven't done anything a reboot won't fix. If I am correct, you will soon narrow down the culprit. When Hoster runs in sync, you will have found the problem child.

When I get some more time tomorrow, I will look through the services.