PMX freezing/ losing takes. MacBook Pro?

[Mark Lemaire]

Hello! I hope you are all doing OK in this weird COVID time?
 
I have an issue that MAY have to do with video card overload. Let me explain:

I am recording on a 2018 MacBook Pro laptop used as a PC (using Bootcamp to accomplish this). Also using an auxiliary, USB-powered side screen for a 2 screen display. Recording 24 tracks live: 48k/ 24bit. "Draw Waveform while Recording" is being used.

During recording, I often cannot resize tracks, zoom in and out, etc in the timeline window without the timeline screen freezing up, often showing multiple cursors.. 

Second (worse) problem: When I stop recording and want to label/ save the 'red' take, I have had instances where the window prompting me to label and 'finish' the take disappears. I cannot access that window, and PMX is 'frozen', waiting for me to save the take before proceeding with anything else. My only option is hit 'esc' (bad take), or CTRL/ALT/DEL and tell the PMX program to close, losing the recording.

With a 24 track, 50 minute orchestra take lost, you see the problem.

My CPU is hardly being used- 8% use at most. BUT: Am I overloading/ asking too much of my video card? If so....
Shall I find ways to lower the video card's load? Suggestions?

Thanks!

[fl]

Well, for starters, what specifically do you mean by "Draw Waveform while Recording"? Do you mean that the waveform is displayed on the screen while you are in Record? Turn that feature off, particularly for sessions with more than 8 tracks. There is another setting that sets things so that the pk2 file gets created while recording, as opposed to being done in a burst of processing and file writing after you hit "Stop" - that should be okay to leave enabled.

Basically, anything you can do to lighten the load on your GPU is going to be beneficial. For some reason, Pyramix makes heavy demands on graphics processing, so it doesn't take much to push things over the limit. I would think that running a second monitor via USB - unless it's a USB3/Thunderbolt connection would require extra processing, which could be taxing your system. Resizing tracks while recording seems like tempting fate to me as well. I know on my location machine, things began to run more smoothly when I adopted a more conservative approach to display features.

When you Stop recording, and the pop-up appears asking for the name for the new take, what happens if you just hit "Enter"? Have you enabled the Auto Take Numbering feature? Are you using the "append unique identifier to recorded File names" option? Pyramix will lock up if you attempt to overwrite an existing file with one with the same file name. If you're worried about naming a new take with an incorrect name, you can always rename it in the Media Manager after the fact.

Should you still have to crash out of Pyramix when it locks up following a recording, know that the material is very likely still there on your disk - it's just that Pyramix can't see it because the file header is missing or corrupted. You use the Recovery Tool, a separate piece of software you can get from Merging Support, to get your take back. Read over the instructions carefully so that you know the information the Tool will need you to enter to recover a lost Take.

BTW, if you ever experience Pyramix locking up in the MIDDLE of recording a take, don't panic - don't do anything until the performers stop. Then crash out of Pyramix and re-start. Even locked up, Pyramix continues to record to your hard drive, so just let it run to capture all you need, and use the Recovery Tool later to get it back. Yes, it's finicky, but it sure beats having to tell the clients that you lost a take...

[Mark Lemaire]

Thank you, Frank.

I would like to keep using my USB extra screen, but understand that if I cannot stop these crashes implementing the other suggestions you make, I might have to.

I use Unique Identifier, so unlikely that that is a issue.

"what specifically do you mean by "Draw Waveform while Recording"? Do you mean that the waveform is displayed on the screen while you are in Record?"

Yup. I'll defeat that. I will also collapse the 24 (grouped) tracks of display to one on the display.

"When you Stop recording, and the pop-up appears asking for the name for the new take, what happens if you just hit "Enter"?"

This is my usual method. I have already (typically) set up my preferred name, ready to just hit 'enter'. And then the window disappears!

I could set up to NOT have the prompt window appear. In this case, hitting 'stop' while recording names and saves the take without prompting me to approve it. But....this is beside the point. I need to keep the graphics card from overloading, it seems.

'Should you still have to crash out of Pyramix when it locks up following a recording, know that the material is very likely still there on your disk - it's just that Pyramix can't see it because the file header is missing or corrupted. You use the Recovery Tool, a separate piece of software you can get from Merging Support, to get your take back. Read over the instructions carefully so that you know the information the Tool will need you to enter to recover a lost Take.'

Good idea! I currently record to 2 machines, and use the backup (JoeCo Bluebox) when PMX crashes. I'm glad there is another option.

THANK YOU, Frank!