Pulsar 3.01b and sfp3.1 on same computer

ernest@303.nu · Post by **ernest@303.nu** » Fri Aug 23, 2002 6:33 am

Hi there
I'm still working on 3.01b, mainly because of some of the bugs in sfp3.1 (the reported problems of currently-working 3.01 s/pdif-setups not working at all, or clicking, in sfp3.1 being the most important issue for me)

But now that I have the Vinco and Miniscope (

) I'm in the mood of installing sfp3.1a next to my 3.01b-installation.

So my questions are:
- anyone succesfully running 3.1 next to 3.01?
- if I am to believe the ReadMe.rtf that comes with 3.1a, it's no problem installing the sfp in a seperate directory and choose whatever version I want to run whenever I want. But I'm fearing problems with things like ASIO, s/pdif etc, as there will probably just one set of Windows drivers for both versions (is that true? No way for me to find out except from installing the bunch and hurting my nose or asking it here)

(BTW I'm currently running a heavily stripped and tuned WinME system on a P-IV-2GHz)

Thanks in advance!
Ernest

[edit] I've to add that I had some friends with problems running any version after installing the initial 3.1 release next to 3.01b, that's why I'm being cautious.... And I'll be getting sfp3.1b today, I'm curious how 'fixed' that version is

) [/edit]

[ This Message was edited by: ernest@303.nu on 2002-08-23 09:16 ]

subhuman · Post by **subhuman** » Fri Aug 23, 2002 11:08 am

Check the <a href=http://www.planetz.com/forums/viewtopic ... rum=10>SFP thread</a>, lots of good info there, in the thread on page4, I give a bunch of useful SFP links. This one comes to mind: <a href=http://www.planetz.com/forums/viewtopic ... um=1&1>SFP Version Coexisting</a>.

mainly because of some of the bugs in sfp3.1 

You know, I actually don't think there is a bug in SFP, but maybe even a SPDIF fix. I think in pre-SFP, CW's SPDIF was too lenient, it let there be 2 masterclocks in a system and "work." Unfortunately it only seemed to work, but every say 10-15 minutes there would be a small click due to clock problems (2 master clocks should not be allowed in a digital system). Unfortunately, many many SPDIF devices require themselves to be Master, meaning you must set SFP as Slave for this to work. Many effects boxes, synths, etc, require the Master setting... That said, all my SPDIF devices work perfectly in SFP - a synth (Q), mixer w/ SPDIF, etc. Of course, I could be wrong, but maybe look again at your digital clocking: do you have more than one Master clock?

Sorry if you totally know this and this is way off, I just am not seeing any problems with the way SPDIF is working at all. Some problems in the past perhaps (I personally never had any, but I know one person who's gear wouldn't mesh). BTW: What devices are connected digitally in your studio, and what are their clock settings, master, or slave?

subhuman · Post by **subhuman** » Fri Aug 23, 2002 11:14 am

Coexisting summary:

They will work perfectly together. The only "catch" is you must choose which one auto-runs on startup in the background (just a little extra hint):
1. Start
2. Run
3. type in msconfig
4. Startup Tab
5. Uncheck either SFP or Pulsar, depending on which you want to start automatically when you turn-on or reboot your machine.

ernest@303.nu · Post by **ernest@303.nu** » Fri Aug 23, 2002 12:17 pm

I haven't encountered any s/pdif problems with sfp3.1, simply because I didn't dare to upgrade yet... some of the s/pdif-related stories on PlanetZ frightened me enough to not take the chance! And of course there were some other minor problems reported with 3.1 (and later 3.1a). Together enough for me to play safe with my trusty WinME/3.01b-combination

I know about the master-clock issues and will certainly try all possible combinations as soon as I'm wearing the sfp-hat.... Point is that my external s/pdif-sources are very probably running a less stable clock than my Creamware stuff (other pc's with low-fi and med-fi soundcards for softsynths etc). So slaving sfp3.1 would at least degrade Pulsar's sampling- and analogue playback capability and possibly even the internal sound-quality (depending on how things are working inside those SHARCs). Not very appealing

I know about the occasional sync-loss when running multiple masters at once, but personally I've never actually heard those clicks. For me the old pre-sfp 'not-fully-s/pdif-compliant-mode' worked perfectly, and there is always still the choice to slave 3.0 if absolute sync is necessary. So my choice for SFP3.1c would be to add an 'allow multiple clock'-option for easy connection of external digital sources, for people that don't hear (or can live with) the tiny clicks!

About the 'catch' posting: I've removed the auto-run program for my 3.01b-setup months ago, and didn't notice any difference except from no icon in the taskbar and slightly faster booting and slightly less memory usage. Is the boot program necessary at all? Or just for sfp3.1

thanks for your extensive reply sub!

subhuman · Post by **subhuman** » Fri Aug 23, 2002 1:01 pm

Is the boot program necessary at all?

Well you won't hear any sound out of Windows at all if it doesn't load. Plus, with SFP, you can simply click the icon and click "SHOW" - and your project is there, ready to go - in previous versions, you would start Pulsar or wahtever, and the background project would be unloaded, then the default project loaded. This is no longer necessary, and I think having it load in the tray is ideal...

ernest@303.nu · Post by **ernest@303.nu** » Fri Aug 23, 2002 4:18 pm

That sounds like a good reason to have those systray-position display pixels occupated

In 3.0 I found little use for the icon just to detonate one program...

I use WinKey, fully recommended

Fire up all audio software and utils using the never used (winkey)-(key) combination with this very small and (for me) proven stable software. It's the only software util I'm running (except for now testing CPUidle)

(winkey)-(w) gives me waves
(winkey)-(a) gives me acid
<winkey>-(p) gives me pulsar
etc

timesaver!

[edit]: typo[/edit]

[ This Message was edited by: ernest@303.nu on 2002-08-23 17:23 ]