Espixelstick with vixen runst extreem slow

**kermisbrian** · 03-02-2021, 10:05 PM

Hi guys.
I have a problem.

I receive my espixelstick last week so i try to look what it can do, so i start up vixen and grap the stroboscoop tool and set it cylce time to 100.
I discovered it runs very slow so i try cycle time 200 where it stil looks glitchy.
So i tried x lights and there i can strobo what i want without any problems on any speed.

But i really like using vixen so who can help me and tel me where the problem may be ?

Kind regards

Kermisbrian

**MartinMueller2003** · 03-03-2021, 07:40 AM

This question should get moved to a Vixen thread. There is apparently nothing wrong with the PixelStick (aka controller) or the pixels. What version of Vixen are you using? What are the computer specifications for the machine playing the effect? How are you playing the effect?

**kermisbrian** · 03-03-2021, 08:01 AM

Hi Martin, No there is nothing wrong with the pixelstick i am extremely happy with it. Works amazing !

I run the newest version of Vixen 3.7u4 and currently work it on boodcamp on my i mac with the following specs 3,5 GHz Intel Core i7 - 16 GB 1600 MHz DDR3 - VIDIA GeForce GTX 780M 4 GB.

**sctwohig** · 03-03-2021, 08:28 AM

Do you have more controllers configured in vixen than just the Pixelstick? I believe vixen will tend to lag if you have controllers configured and not connected.

Thanks,
Shawn

**kermisbrian** · 03-03-2021, 09:10 AM

Hee Shawn the controller is connected with vixen.
I play real-time with the lights connected to see if it all works.
After trying out some stuff I figure out there is an update interval option in vixen that was set on 100. After setting it on 1 everything like to work fine and the problem is solved.
Or is changing the update interval from 100 to 1 harmful for your computer or your led?

**MartinMueller2003** · 03-03-2021, 09:15 AM

I run mine at 25ms. The lower the number, The higher the CPU load and the load on the network. You cant break anything but you can impact your wife using her tablet

**MikeKrebs** · 03-03-2021, 09:16 AM

And to go along with that idea...does the controller have an appropiate number of channels defined on both Vixen and in the espixelstick?

**jchuchla** · 03-03-2021, 11:59 AM

Originally Posted by kermisbrian

Hee Shawn the controller is connected with vixen.
I play real-time with the lights connected to see if it all works.
After trying out some stuff I figure out there is an update interval option in vixen that was set on 100. After setting it on 1 everything like to work fine and the problem is solved.
Or is changing the update interval from 100 to 1 harmful for your computer or your led?

The update interval should be at 50 as a default. You can experiment with lower values. But I would not recommend anything lower than 25ms. And even at 25ms, that requires a strong computer and will not scale well to a large show. The lower the value the more frequently the software will update state for all elements and controllers. It's not harmful in the sense that it will break something, but it will cause a lot of overhead for the system and will perform poorly.

In general, there's no need for the update interval to be any lower than the desired framerate of your show. If you're aiming for a 40fps show, then 25ms is your value. With wireless, you'll also need to consider how frequently the access point will forward packets to your controller. Most APs have a default beacon interval of 100ms, so having your source transmit frames at more than half that interval will likely cause buffering at the AP.