[SOLVED: OVERHEATED COMPUTER] Isadora USB 3.0.7 playback problem
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Hi
I am trying to help @sisselromme in Copenhagen to solve a problem that has started occurring in Isadora USB 3.0.7.
Problem:
The playback is fine most of the time with a load at a few %. But after a while (i could not recreate it, seems to happen at random) the load starts rising. Somewhere around 70% the computer becomes completely unresponsive.
Patch:
The patch is very simple. Each scene contains a movieplayer and a projector, plus some midi listeners connected to scene jumpers. The single movie player is the only active process in the patch.
The content is 1920x1080 Prores HQ. Because it plays on a small led screen, only a fraction of the frame is content and the rest is black, so the data rate is only 35mb.
Clues:
Hovering over the media in isadora it says codec: apch. In the quicktime player info palette it says proRes 422 HQ.
In addition to the background movieplayers in activitymonitor there is a VTDecoderXPCService process that seems to rise in CPU usage along with isadoras load increasing.
System: mac mini late 2012 with mojave, 8MB RAM, 2.5mhz i5. Its a clean system, no additional software installed.
Any advice on how to narrow down what the problem might be would be much appreciated.
@sisselromme will be checking this thread as well, in case you want to see any files or need more information.Thank you
F
Mac M2 Ultra, 64gb — Berlin
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@fubbi said:
VTDecoderXPCService
I found this article that seems to point toward some browser video sandboxing:
https://apple.stackexchange.co... -
Thats cool... I think I saw the Photo app somewhere in the activity monitor earlier to day, it might be that one coursing it... I will try it tomorrow morning.
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Here is an idea to maybe narrow it down:
Try loading the content from that scene in a fresh patch. If that works then its probably a problem with the patch, not the content. Then try loading another piece of content in the scene that has problems, if that also fails, then it must be the file.
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@sisselromme said:
The decoder comes on when I go into certain scenes in Isadora.
VTDecoderXPCService is part of the operating system. It is totally normal that it would appear when playing video, and it is is not unique to Isadora. Just open an Apple Pro Res movie in QuickTime Player X, play it, and look in the Activity Monitor app. I can't imagine this is part of the problem.
The thing I would want to know, since you say you're only playing one movie at at time: when the problem occurs, do multiple copies of VTDecoderXPCService exist and do they have a notable CPU% usage. For example, when I play the one APR movie in QuickTime Player X, I see this:
As you can see, only one of the instances of VTDecoderXPCService show a non-zero CPU %. If you were to consistently see more than one of these with a non-zero CPU %, then that would be a clue. (Note: you will briefly see two with a non-zero CPU % when you move from one scene to the next, as one movie finishes and the other begins.)
When you see the slowdown, do you see anything else with a high CPU % in Activity Monitor? One thing that can gum things up is spotlight. You can read about how to reset it and to get it to completely re-index your drive here. (Do this when you're going to lunch or dinner or something like that; it can take a while.)
Also beware when you see "kernel_task" with a high CPU %. If your Mac is running hot, the operating system will automatically start spending time in this task doing nothing to cool down the CPU. (I had this problem once because my laptop was filthy inside and the fans essentially weren't able to do their job.)
But after a while (i could not recreate it, seems to happen at random) the load starts rising. Somewhere around 70% the computer becomes completely unresponsive.
Are you manipulating the 'position', 'play start' or 'play length' inputs of the Movie Player with MIDI? Or any other Movie Player parameters?
It's a bit of a long shot, but you could also try setting Isadora Preferences > General > Frame Rate/Tasks > Display Rate Lock to Off instead of Scaled if nothing else works.
Best Wishes,
Mark -
hey Mark! It looks like the sporlight is ok. Here is a screen shot of the activity monitor when I run the film that is stuck when we run the show.
It Might be a fan isue though or a combination of fan and something Else... I have checked the fan and was quite dirty.... -
@sisselromme said:
hey Mark! It looks like the sporlight is ok. Here is a screen shot of the activity monitor when I run the film that is stuck when we run the show.
Well, this is what I expect: VTDecoderXPCService using the most CPU, Isadora next, and one instance of IzzyMoviePlayer64 third. (IzzyMoviePlayer64 is the background app that plays the movie; but the hard work [decoding the pixels] is done by VTDecoderXPCService.)
What does it look like when things are fine? Similar?
Could it by any chance be a particular movie? Or is it truly random?
Best Wishes,
Mark -
I Think I found the reason now. I tested the whole patch having the Mac mini backcover of so it could cool and to check if the fan worked. Ithe fan didnt work.
But because the cover was of it made the loading in Isadora go Down and it ran very Nice. I delivered the computer for a rep and he told me that it was the logicboard witch trigger the fan on the computer that was broken. So it was over upheated...
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@sisselromme glad you solved it!
I was curious about the apch deisgnation in the isadora media library, here is the explanation:
- Apple ProRes 422 High Quality: 'apch' ('hcpa' in little-endian)
- Apple ProRes 422 Standard Definition: 'apcn' ('ncpa' in little-endian)
- Apple ProRes 422 LT: 'apcs' ('scpa' in little-endian)
- Apple ProRes 422 Proxy: 'apco' ('ocpa' in little-endian)
- Apple ProRes 4444: 'ap4h' ('h4pa' in little-endian)
