Max/Jitter problems after projector failure
Can shutting down the projector connected to Mac running Max/Jitter via HDMI cause Max to freeze?
I'm trying to figure out why my Max patch stropped responding during a performance. The patch uses Mubu (not in a very computation intensive way) and Jitter (very simple: two clips - texture outputs - that are crossfaded). There are 3 audio inputs to Max, 6 channels routed to Live (Blackhole 16) and stereo pair out with a Scarlett.
I've been running this patch for the past two weeks with no issues at all during rehearsals even under stress (triggering commands like a monkey, leaving it on for a couple of hours, etc). The only difference is I wasn't using an external monitor or projector.
At the show I was projecting via HDMI and everything worked flawlessly for the sound check, dress rehearsal and even a final quick run-through of the entire program. However, during the show, at the start of my piece, the video was jumpy, slowly got worse, and eventually the entire patch stopped responding (or responded to some things and not others). The audio also got worse but Live responded. I even shut of the DSP in Max and turned it back on to see if that liberated something.
POSSIBLE CAUSES/ALARMS I CAN THINK OF:
Minutes before the concert started, someone tripped over a cable and the video router/mixer to which I was connected was shutdown. It had to be restarted and reconfigured. A quick test showed that my video out (just video) was going through. Disconnecting the HDMI suddenly is the only thing that changed from the other 3 run throughs with the same equipment.
Before starting my performance, Abelton set off a message that it couldn't run with 0 sample rate (or something like that...not wearing glasses) and disconnected the audio driver. I reselected the Blackhole16 inputs and the Scarlett outputs and checked if audio went from Max to Live. OK.
the DSP monitor in Max was around 2-5% and Live around 13%.
I've run through my patch looking for mistakes or memory traps or...Help please!
I don't think there is anything wrong with your patch specifically. I believe that, since the HDMI output is also seen as an audio interface by the OS, the shutdown of the video router triggered a sort of reset and rescan of the available interfaces, and this somehow caused both the error in Blackhole and the Max choking.
When accidents like this happen, in my experience it's safer to restart the computer entirely, or at least Max.
An other solution could be using an EDID-Emulator.
Thank you. I feel much better ;) The setup routine for the patch takes about 5 minutes and we were already running late so...but never again!