Axon Sync

I've been playing with collage on our 2 axons. I'm having trouble getting the fixtures to stay in sync when sitting in the same look for a while. (10 minutes or less)

I've tried the media mode rewind preset and letting them go at the same time, which works great, but they still drift apart.

I've also tried using the sync to settings, but one thing I'm not sure of is do you have to set a value for in and out frame for sync to to work? Also if you let it run for a long time and it gets out of sync, then try to use sync to to rope it back into sync that doesn't seem to work. Should it?

I am running 1.4 on both machines, and they were bought at the same time. They are older units though if that makes a difference. Render time is consistently 100-200 higher on one machine. What is the accepted range for the same piece of content?

Thanks!

Oh yeah, I've read through the other posts and seen questions about gigabit ethernet. What is the difference? Aside from it being faster.
  • Billy,

    There are quite a few things that need to be done correctly to get sync working, and by far the most important thing is the encoding of the content. The content MUST be encoded using all I-frames. The DL/Axon software uses these I-frames to determine where in the movie the playback is on the master, and where the slaves should be.

    Secondly for the sync, the "Fixture IDs" must all be unique in your fixtures on the network. This is true as well for servers that might be on the network that aren't being used in the sync set-up. If they are not, I would recommend setting them unique and then rebooting all the servers in the network.

    As far as the programming set-up, select a server to be the master server for the sync playback. All of the other servers that are sync'ing to this server should have their "Sync to" parameter on layer 1 set to the fixture ID of the master server. Then you have to select the "sync type" to the appropriate value. "Layer 1" will sync the playback to layer 1 of the master server, "Layer 2" will sync to the playback to layer 2 of the master server and so on.

    One important note about the "Sync to" and "Sync Type" parameters: The "Sync to" parameter should be set on Layer 1 of the slave servers. This parameter on layer 1 applies to layer 2 and layer 3, so you cannot have different layers on a server sync'ing to multiple master units. The "Sync type" parameter can be set differently for each layer, but will only take sync information from the single master server set with the "Sync to" parameter on layer 1.

    Another note on programming: Any thing that you do on the master server as far as playback settings (playback mode, inframe/outframe, etc) should be mirriored on your programming for the slave servers. When programming your collage, after you have set all the sync parameters, just make sure you are grabbing all layers involved in the collage into your programmer at the same time so they all keep the same playback settings.

    If the content is correct, the fixture ID settings are correct, and all of your network set-up is done properly, the sync will keep movies in syncronous playback for long periods of time. I have personally done tests with units sync'ing for 72+ hours.

    Sync can be a bit wonky to set-up the first time, but once you get it set-up and working correctly that one time, it becomes much easier to do it in the future. Please let me know if you have any questions and I'll answer them the best I can.

    Thanks!
  • Thanks for the quick reply Matt.

    Yes, the content is encoded according to the High end guide. It is a higher resolution though, 1920x1080. Would that make a difference in sync behavior?

    The servers are on a gigabit network, addressed as servers 1+2. I am running CMA on my laptop. there is a 100mbps router hanging off the gigabit switch handing out I.P. addresses.

    I have the info screen up and notice that both machines keep sending sync packets, but neither says they have recieved any.
    I've tried telling each machine to sync to the other, but neither seems to respond.
  • Here's a test I'm running:

    Pick the same stock media file on both servers on layer 1. set sync to to 1 on both, sync type layer 1 on both. in frame and out frame are not touched. now I'll grab server 1 and breifly pick a different media file then go back to the original so that they're out of sync, but on the same file.

    Question is should they sync back up? Because they don't.
  • Billy,

    Yes, they should sync back up.

    If you are not seeing either of the servers receiving sync packets then something is blocking the network traffic. If there are no sync packets, there can be no sync.

    One thing to try real quick: Remove your router from the network then reboot all the computers on the network (Axons, CMA computer, etc). Then try the sync set up again.
  • Matt,

    Only things in the network now are 2 Axons(Ids 1 and 2), 10/100/1000 switch, and cma laptop. IP's are auto-negotiating as:

    Axon1:169.254.242.80
    Axon2:169.254.127.133
    CMA: 169.254.157.64

    Running the same test as before the machines do not re-sync, and the syncPkts:in stays at 0 on both machines. Is that referring to the global clock or to frame clock as I am trying to do? (for that matter is there a document explaining all the fields in the stats screen?) SyncPkts Out increments steadily.

    Do I need to call you at this point?
  • You say you have wireless router in the system to handle DHCP.....are you sending ArtNet instead of 5-pin DMX to the servers by chance?
  • Hey Billy,

    I got your message and will be in contact shortly. I am working with the Axons here to make sure I can reproduce/fix your issue.

    Talk to you soon.