Thijs Koerselman

I really like to clear some things up about the patch below. My problem is:

- 40fps doesn't look smooth, even though there is almost nothing going on

- raising it to 60fps makes it smooth but kills the max interface.

I don't want to believe that jitter can't generate this simple animation

fluently on my computer. I can't raise the framerate to 60 because it'll

kill my cpu if I want to do more interesting stuff than this. I really hope

there is something wrong about the way I'm experiencing this patch, please

winmax 4.5.6, jitter 1.5.2, nvidia go6800, pentium m1.86, 1gig ram.

- 40fps doesn't look smooth, even though there is almost nothing going on
and my cpu is at 7%
- raising it to 60fps makes it smooth but kills the max interface.

I don't want to believe that jitter can't generate this simple animation
fluently on my computer. I can't raise the framerate to 60 because it'll
kill my cpu if I want to do more interesting stuff than this. I really hope
there is something wrong about the way I'm experiencing this patch, please
have a look.

smooth-animation-test

Try connecting a number box to the right inlet of [line] and sending it 

some low values - around 1 or 2. The default time grain for [line] is 

20ms, which could be the problem. Feeding it a time grain of 1ms 

smooths things right out on my machine (Max 4.5.6, Jitter 1.5.2 ,1.5Ghz 

Try connecting a number box to the right inlet of [line] and sending it 
some low values - around 1 or 2. The default time grain for [line] is 
20ms, which could be the problem. Feeding it a time grain of 1ms 
smooths things right out on my machine (Max 4.5.6, Jitter 1.5.2 ,1.5Ghz 
AluBook OSX.3.9). - David


I forgot to set the interval for the test patch. In my own patch I had it at

5ms, and it helps, but doesn't completely smooth out the animation. Still 60

fps runs a lot smoother. I this also true on your powerbook? I don't

understand why this can't run perfectly smooth at 30 or even 40 fps.

I forgot to set the interval for the test patch. In my own patch I had it at
5ms, and it helps, but doesn't completely smooth out the animation. Still 60
fps runs a lot smoother. I this also true on your powerbook? I don't
understand why this can't run perfectly smooth at 30 or even 40 fps.

Well, on my machine the jerkiness was very minimal to begin with - no 

large hesitations or jumps - just some chunky movement at the rate of 

the [line] time grain. 60 fps looks pretty much the same for me, 

although the responsiveness of the UI does take a hit, of course. Is 

the rough rendering really dramatic on your system?

Well, on my machine the jerkiness was very minimal to begin with - no 
large hesitations or jumps - just some chunky movement at the rate of 
the [line] time grain. 60 fps looks pretty much the same for me, 
although the responsiveness of the UI does take a hit, of course. Is 
the rough rendering really dramatic on your system?


No it's not dramatic at all, but noticeable. I just don't understand why it

has to be this way. A framerate of 30 fps with just one moving object is not

a lot to process. You can do far more complex jitter and max processing

without this getting worse, so I guess it's just always there. If Jitter can

do all this fancy stuff, I don't understand why a simple smooth animation at

a normal framerate is impossible. Maybe it has to do with the low priority

No it's not dramatic at all, but noticeable. I just don't understand why it
has to be this way. A framerate of 30 fps with just one moving object is not
a lot to process. You can do far more complex jitter and max processing
without this getting worse, so I guess it's just always there. If Jitter can
do all this fancy stuff, I don't understand why a simple smooth animation at
a normal framerate is impossible. Maybe it has to do with the low priority
jitter processing? O well, so be it.

You can definitely get "smooth" animations if you work at it. It's 

complex because there are many ways to approach timing in your Jitter 

patch, some of which won't be so smooth. My current approach is to 

run everything as closely to the DSP as possible. A single train~ 

object generates bangs which are sent to a dsptime~ object that 

clocks my patch, including spatial things. Scheduler in audio 

interrupt and overdrive are on. This works well for me-- and like 

yourself, I am cursed with an eye for detail.

You can definitely get "smooth" animations if you work at it.  It's  
complex because there are many ways to approach timing in your Jitter  
patch, some of which won't be so smooth.  My current approach is to  
run everything as closely to the DSP as possible.  A single train~  
object generates bangs which are sent to a dsptime~ object that  
clocks my patch, including spatial things.  Scheduler in audio  
interrupt and overdrive are on.  This works well for me-- and like  
yourself, I am cursed with an eye for detail.

That's good news! I'll give it a try tomorrow. Hopefully I can integrate

something like that into my patches without too many adaptions. It's also

good to know that I'm not the only one who cares about stuff like this.

That's good news! I'll give it a try tomorrow. Hopefully I can integrate
something like that into my patches without too many adaptions. It's also
good to know that I'm not the only one who cares about stuff like this.

Or forget using [line] and use [bline] - looks very smooth on my 

computer, without having to write your own audio-rate clocking system.

If that's a little jumpy, you can always throw in a [jit.qball] 

somewhere to smooth out the rate of incoming bangs.

Or forget using [line] and use [bline] - looks very smooth on my 
computer, without having to write your own audio-rate clocking system.
If that's a little jumpy, you can always throw in a [jit.qball] 
somewhere to smooth out the rate of incoming bangs.

That is a really nice and easy solution if you're doing animation that isn't

time sync. I need it to be as time sync as possible. On my system the two

different framerates automatically create different speeds in movement. The

inconsistency in position is solved but by sacrificing overall timing

accuracy. I think the actual problem still remains, which would be the

timing of rendering bangs/events. Or am I missing something?

That is a really nice and easy solution if you're doing animation that isn't
time sync. I need it to be as time sync as possible. On my system the two
different framerates automatically create different speeds in movement. The
inconsistency in position is solved but by sacrificing overall timing
accuracy. I think the actual problem still remains, which would be the
timing of rendering bangs/events. Or am I missing something?

changing the millisecond sampling rate for line didnt solve this?

> changing the millisecond sampling rate for line didnt solve this?

No not really. On my system 60fps looks smoother than 40fps, even with 1ms

line interval. I think Randy's solution is the only way to go, but I

No not really. On my system 60fps looks smoother than 40fps, even with 1ms
line interval. I think Randy's solution is the only way to go, but I
haven't found the time to try it yet.

smooth animation test