Lots of issues using batch effects

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Blane & DeRosa
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Joined: Mon Jan 07, 2013 7:50 pm

Lots of issues using batch effects

Post by Blane & DeRosa »

I'm having a lot of issues using A Pro for batch mastering of audio files. Every time I try to create a workflow it hits several snags.

A few of the problems I'm running into include:

Getting an alert that I can't add the plugin because another instantiation of the same plugin is already in, even though this is not the case; After attempting a batch bounce I often get the alert "The effect XYZ could not be applied because it is already in use" which is not the case. I was disappointed that I could not use a plugin more than once, as I can on other hosts, but in these cases it's telling me that a plugin can't be used because I have used up the single usage when I have only put it in once in a batch, or sometimes not at all.

Several AU plugins that behave fine in other apps behave erratically, especially in the way of retaining settings and visual feedback of their metering;

Every time I tweak a setting in a plugin and wish to save this new setting it insists on creating a new setting, instead of simply saving the parameter change to the setting I am on, which is how the plugin behaves in other hosts;

When attempting to create a new AU rack continually getting the alert "Could Not Create new User File", with the options buttons of "yes" "no" and "cancel". Clicking yes or no repeats the alert several times until I get a rack which contains old plugins from a previous session, which I then have to delete and start over;

When I go to create a batch the plugins are often not listed in the menu. Several quits usually brings this back;

One of the biggest issues that I did not foresee when purchasing is that there is no way to adequately preview what the result of the stack of plugin settings will do. I have to create an AU rack, get the results, save settings, and then re-create this list of plugins in a batch document and re-add the settings. Then I have to just have faith that it is doing what I hope it is, because there is not visual indication of the audio or the plugins' metering. Unfortunately, when I reload the batch document Amadeus is not confidently recreating the settings so this is not working out.

Any thoughts on any of these issues would be very helpful.

Thanks,

Blane & DeRosa Prods

Blane & DeRosa
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Joined: Mon Jan 07, 2013 7:50 pm

Post by Blane & DeRosa »

I should add that this is on a MBP 2.6mhz Core2 Duo, 8 gig ram, 10.8.2.

Thanks.

Blane & DeRosa
Posts: 4
Joined: Mon Jan 07, 2013 7:50 pm

Post by Blane & DeRosa »

One thing that seems to be is that one can't treat a batch process like it's a master output which you can add processing to because there's no way to see how they plugins interact. If you change a setting of one plugin you can't determine how this changes the response of the following plugins. IOW, it seems the only function of the batch is to apply a single effect and that effect must have the results auditioned elsewhere (not while creating the batch) to hear what it sounds like and see the visual feedback (thresholding, output) of the plugin.

Is this correct or am I missing something? How can one add a string of processing to a batch and preview the results with each process, including change of a plugin's parameters, and hear the results without bouncing, reimporting, etc?

To add to this, I just did a batch test and the resulting file began being processed 3 seconds into the audio.

Thanks,

B & D

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Martin Hairer
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Post by Martin Hairer »

Hi, regarding the "The effect XYZ could not be applied because it is already in use" alert, this is probably because, by default, the batch processor tries to make use of multiple cores if available. If your plug-in does not support being instantiated multiple times (most do), this might cause such a message. You can set the number of cores used for batch processing to 1 in the preferences.

Regarding the visual feedback when batch processing, I do not quite understand what kind of behaviour you're after. The whole point of the batch processor is to let the computer do its thing without human intervention. It seems to me that allowing for manual intervention at each step would basically defeat the point? Regards,

Martin

ahmiller
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Joined: Wed Nov 11, 2009 8:18 pm

Additional Batch Issues

Post by ahmiller »

I haven't experienced the issues noted by the other user, but I'm having all sorts of problems with the batch encoder. It works fine for individual files, but if I try to drag a folder or multiple files onto the encoder, I receive a variety of errors such as

An error occured while processing ‘1sp19.mov’: The file is not a movie file.
An error occured while processing ‘1sp16.mov’: A necessary data reference could not be resolved.

There doesn't some to be any consistency in the errors, as I'm converting mp3 to Quicktime files (AAC audio), so I don't understand why I receive different errors for similar file types. In the same batch, some files manage to encode without issue.

I don't think it is an issue with the file or the batch settings as the same files will convert perfectly when I drag them individually onto the processor. While this is a temporary solution, it is most inconvenient.

I'm using the latest version of Amadeus Pro downloaded from the web site on an iMac i7.

Thanks for any help you can provide.

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Martin Hairer
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Post by Martin Hairer »

Hi, have you tried setting the number of cores used by the batch processor to 1 in the advanced preferences? It looks like it might be an issue with QuickTime and multithreading. Regards,

Martin

ahmiller
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problem solved

Post by ahmiller »

I hadn't changed that preference, but your suggestion seems to have solved my problem. Thank you.

Andrew

Blane & DeRosa
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Post by Blane & DeRosa »

Martin Hairer wrote:Hi, regarding the "The effect XYZ could not be applied because it is already in use" alert, this is probably because, by default, the batch processor tries to make use of multiple cores if available. If your plug-in does not support being instantiated multiple times (most do), this might cause such a message. You can set the number of cores used for batch processing to 1 in the preferences.
Thanks Martin, I'll try that.
Martin Hairer wrote: Regarding the visual feedback when batch processing, I do not quite understand what kind of behaviour you're after. The whole point of the batch processor is to let the computer do its thing without human intervention. It seems to me that allowing for manual intervention at each step would basically defeat the point? Regards,

Martin

Not looking for manual intervention, just to be able to verify the audible result of what the batch I'm creating will sound like. During creation of the batch it is difficult (unless I'm missing something) to create a batch with several plugins with finely tuned parameters that are reflecting the material. For example, if I've made a batch of 6 plugins, batched a folder of voiceovers and then decided I need to notch out more low end at the first plugin, it would be good to be able to check, either aurally or via their meters, how the dynamic plugins which follow need to be adjusted, so that they are responding the same and my level is the same. If I just substituted the revised eq I'd likely not be hitting the plugins that followed as they should be. But to make them correct seems unwieldy.

Again, if I'm missing a proper way to use the batching please let me know : )

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