playlist generator is hanging (delaying)

[callinger]

RadioBoss 5.8.1.0
I am running RadioBoss on 2 computers - one primary, and one as backup and for troubleshooting this issue. on the backup computer RadioBoss is good. (mostly). On the primary computer (Windows 10, 8 gigs ram) there is often (but not always) a significant delay between "Command "generate [pro] xxxx Preset" and "Loading generated playlist". Sometimes it is only a few seconds, sometimes it is 25 seconds or more. note the image:

The next time the same playlist is generated it may delay for longer or shorter time. It is not consistent.
Sometimes the server connection is lost, sometimes not.
When it hangs I have dead air for those seconds. As everyone knows, dead air is BAD! Any help or suggestions? Thanks!!

 

[southernfm]

With regard to the command itself, I usually run the generation commands independantly and don't time them in to the same procedure. This is due to my playlists being 12 hours long and it taking some time for the command to execute. I have a cart wall button that loads the completed playlist and it comes up within 1/2 a second.

Some other things to consider if you can't adjust the command structure:

Are you running the 32 bit version or 64 bit version?

If you are running the 32 bit version, try installing the latest version of the 64 bit version. Or the other way around if you're currently running the 32 bit version. Both should be able to operate independently.

You could then test the command to see if the issue occurs in the newer version or not. There have been code changes made over time that may have sorted it out or improved the speed.

If it occurs in the latest version as well, consider checking the task manager to see if there are any bottle necks, with disk / RAM etc. hitting 100% and causing delays.

 

[djsoft]

The next time the same playlist is generated it may delay for longer or shorter time. It is not consistent.
Sometimes the server connection is lost, sometimes not.
When it hangs I have dead air for those seconds. As everyone knows, dead air is BAD! Any help or suggestions? Thanks!!

Creating a playlist takes time. It needs to load categories, read tags etc. First suggestion would be to use the newer RadioBOSS version. The one you use is very old and a lot has changed since then. Another suggestion is to generate playlists in advance, and then load them as needed, please see this https://manual.djsoft.net/radioboss/en/automatic_playlist_generation.htm - on the last step enable the "Save generated playlist to a file (do not start playback)" option, then create another event to start this playlist.

 

[callinger]

Thank you very much! generating the playlists early fixed the delay problem. After much experimentation I am convinced that the underlying problem is the slower processor on this computer rather than RAM. Eventually I plan to upgrade to the latest version of RB but that is not in the budget right now.

There is still a remaining issue - occasionally I get the following errors:

Server connection closed (output 3) Restarting... and
[E46] cannot start broadcasting (output 3) Error 46 (the device is busy)

Can you please tell me what this means?

 

[djsoft]

After much experimentation I am convinced that the underlying problem is the slower processor on this computer rather than RAM

For speed, CPU is more important. Playlist Generator does not require a lot of memory.

Server connection closed (output 3) Restarting... and
[E46] cannot start broadcasting (output 3) Error 46 (the device is busy)

This is a network issue, either on your side, or somewhere between you and the server you're streaming to.

 

[callinger]

Do you have any thoughts as to what is the most like ly cause? is it because we are using a poor quality streaming service?

 

[djsoft]

Do you have any thoughts as to what is the most like ly cause? is it because we are using a poor quality streaming service?

If you use a free streaming server, there's about 100% chance that it's an issue.