Q Light Controller+

Hello,

Currently I'm using ENTTEC DMX USB PRO and RDM USB PRO; fw 1.44, Pro RX/TX protocol. I've got this weird problem which appears to be related to driver support. I've tried two Windows 7, two Windows 8.1 desktops, and two Windows 7 laptops and they all appear to behave the same way with both dongles.

Background
Typically, in the Virtual Console, I have a button that activates a Chaser, which Holds a 5 to 10-second Show with 3 to 6 tracks, that changes light in some way, and repeats indefinitely.

(more or less) correct behavior
When ENTTEC is configured to send DMX packets at full speed ('0' = approx 43 fps), then QLC+ appears to behave normally, although I've measured that it takes about 1.1-1.2 seconds to play back 1 second.

Problem
When ENTTEC is configured to send DMX packets at less than full speed (12, 24, or 36 fps), then QLC+ lags horribly, and 1 second of the show takes 5 to 10 seconds. It does not actually matter whether I'm using a Chaser or I'm playing the show statically from the Shows tab. The problem does not appear to be related to the number of Tracks in the Show.

The problem appears even when I do not have any fixtures connected to DMX. I've sniffed and logged the DMX datastream, and it is indeed erratic.

So, the only thing that appears to create this horrible lag is the less than maximum configured packet speed.

In 4.9.0., the problem appears to be much worse and erratic than in v4.8.2.

Have you guys seen this problem before?

Which PC hardware are you using ?
How many channels/universes are you controlling ?
How much CPU is consumed while QLC+ s running ?
Are there other softwares running alongside QLC+ (antivirus, multitrack sequencer, Windows update ? )
Try Linux ?

mcallegari wrote:Which PC hardware are you using ?

All of the 6 PCs and laptops I've tried are various types of Intel Core i5 or i7, with at least 8 GB of RAM.

How many channels/universes are you controlling ?

Mostly 1 Universe, 6 different Fixtures at Channels 1-8, 9-16, 17-23, 24-31, 32-40, 41-48. I've narrowed it down to generic fixture, meaning there are no pan/tilt, etc. controls, just plain channels. I've also narrowed it down to 1 Solo channel, and it still lags. Definitely some sort of a driver incompatibility issue. (Oh, and it's not only related to a Show; Simple Console lags too.)

How much CPU is consumed while QLC+ s running ?

0% most of the time. Sometimes 0.1%.

Are there other softwares running alongside QLC+ (antivirus, multitrack sequencer, Windows update ? )

In all of the PCs I've tried, I've turned off Antivirus and Firewall.

Try Linux ?

Good idea. I'll definitely try linux.

ENTTEC also exhibits the same laggy behavior at lower than maximum speed with other control software. So it's likely an ENTTEC issue.

I stayed at 4.8.4 instead of moving to 4.8.5 because when 4.8.5 came out it appeared to update the dmx values was much slower when the enttec device was attached on windows 7. I am planning on testing 4.9.0 to check the update rate.