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    Please do not post a support request without first reading and following the advice in https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/3/read-this-first

    Colecovision sound stutters

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    colecovisionsound issue
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    • BuZzB
      BuZz administrators @raymate
      last edited by

      @raymate thanks. I will try and reproduce and debug it.

      To help us help you - please make sure you read the sticky topics before posting - https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/3/read-this-first

      mediamogulM 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • mediamogulM
        mediamogul Global Moderator @BuZz
        last edited by mediamogul

        @BuZz

        Over the past couple of days, I've been thinking here and there on what changes might have been implemented in RetroPie since the last time I successfully used CoolCV, which was about two weeks ago. While there are no doubt many changes that I'm not aware of, the automatic USB mount addition came to mind. Although it was introduced in December, I was using the fstab method at the time and only decided to use auto mount last week when I was redoing my setup. After looking at the CoolCV release page to see if anyone there was having issues, this post stood out as also mentioning the use of external USB. Is it possible the new USB auto mount is different in any way from the fstab method that could affect performance?

        RetroPie v4.5 • RPi3 Model B • 5.1V 2.5A PSU • 16GB SanDisk microSD • 512GB External Drive

        edmaul69E 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • edmaul69E
          edmaul69 @mediamogul
          last edited by edmaul69

          @mediamogul i dont have mine on a usb mount and it lags directly on the sd card too. I also tried different versions of the emulator. Same issue. Really slow and laggy

          mediamogulM 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • mediamogulM
            mediamogul Global Moderator @edmaul69
            last edited by

            @edmaul69

            Are you using this particular method?

            RetroPie v4.5 • RPi3 Model B • 5.1V 2.5A PSU • 16GB SanDisk microSD • 512GB External Drive

            BuZzB edmaul69E 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • BuZzB
              BuZz administrators @mediamogul
              last edited by

              @mediamogul I don't think that can be related.

              To help us help you - please make sure you read the sticky topics before posting - https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/3/read-this-first

              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • edmaul69E
                edmaul69 @mediamogul
                last edited by

                @mediamogul nope. Two ways it doesnt work for me are having the es_systems.cfg point to my sd card or my hard drive. I dont use that method at all.

                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • mediamogulM
                  mediamogul Global Moderator
                  last edited by

                  Pardon my language, but shucks.

                  RetroPie v4.5 • RPi3 Model B • 5.1V 2.5A PSU • 16GB SanDisk microSD • 512GB External Drive

                  S 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • S
                    svc123 @mediamogul
                    last edited by

                    Hi there. I'm the one who posted the same concern as this on the CoolCV support forum. I did a fresh install of Retropie 4.1 and installed the CoolCV script from the retropie setup. I then updated CoolCV to the latest version manually. I tested games running from the microSD card and a manual USB mount and as long as I dont update the Retropie setup script CoolCV performs fine. As soon as I update the Retropie setup script everything messes up.

                    Hope this helps.

                    E 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                    • E
                      EVEGames @svc123
                      last edited by

                      @svc123 said in Colecovision sound stutters:

                      I did a fresh install of Retropie 4.1 and installed the CoolCV script from the retropie setup. I then updated CoolCV to the latest version manually. I tested games running from the microSD card and a manual USB mount and as long as I dont update the Retropie setup script CoolCV performs fine. As soon as I update the Retropie setup script everything messes up.

                      I agree with svc, I recently updated the CoolCV core manually and I have encountered no slowdown or stutter whatsoever. RPi3, RetroPie 4.1.12. Is my assumption correct that at this time, when you update the CoolCV core through the RetroPie GUI, you do not get the very latest version, which is v0.6.4? I say this because after updating through RPi, the multi-keypress input binding option did not work for me, but after manually updating with the binary from coolcv_v0.6.4_all.zip, it did work. Not to mention, the byte count of the binary from the zip is bigger than the latest one I was able to obtain through the GUI.
                      Can we get the RPi update script pointed at the very latest release?
                      Sorry if these are newbiesque questions, I'm still learning RPi.
                      Thanks,
                      -Dave

                      herb_fargusH 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • herb_fargusH
                        herb_fargus administrators @EVEGames
                        last edited by

                        @EVEGames I'll have to look at the binary we have hosted on our server. I feel like there was a reason we left it... Or maybe just forgot to upgrade. I'll have a chat with @BuZz .

                        If you read the documentation it will answer 99% of your questions: https://retropie.org.uk/docs/

                        Also if you want a solution to your problems read this first: https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/3/read-this-first

                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                        • D
                          dman2552
                          last edited by

                          I recently built a Retropie box from image on a SD card with a Pi 3 B and can confirm the CoolCV sound issue. I've updated to Retropie 4.1.14 and manually updated CoolCV to the latest with no difference. The game slows slightly when there is lot's of sound and although the sound stutters, it doesn't seem to be related to CPU load. I thought I would see the CPU load spiking when there was stuttering sound but the load actually reduces. While playing Ladybug with it's short sfx sounds, CPU was sitting around 25-27%. When it plays it's little tune where the audio is continuous, CPU would drop to 18-20%.

                          Darren

                          RetroPie 4.1.18, RPi3B, 32GB microSD, Logitech F310, mini wireless keyboard

                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                          • R
                            raymate
                            last edited by

                            Any updates on this, its still unplayable, keep updating each week with the hope it's fixed

                            :( miss the coleco

                            RPi 1b / 2b / 3b / 3b+ / Zero W
                            iBuffalo gamepad / Logitech F310 gamepad / NeoGeoX ArcadeStick / Retroflag case and Controller

                            mediamogulM 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                            • mediamogulM
                              mediamogul Global Moderator @raymate
                              last edited by

                              @raymate

                              The author of CoolCV is aware of the situation and has shown possible recent interest in updating the software with a few new features. If that happens, I'm sure he will address this slow down on the Pi as well. Be sure to watch this space for updates.

                              RetroPie v4.5 • RPi3 Model B • 5.1V 2.5A PSU • 16GB SanDisk microSD • 512GB External Drive

                              R 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                              • R
                                raymate @mediamogul
                                last edited by

                                @mediamogul Good stuff, thanks for the info and reply

                                RPi 1b / 2b / 3b / 3b+ / Zero W
                                iBuffalo gamepad / Logitech F310 gamepad / NeoGeoX ArcadeStick / Retroflag case and Controller

                                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                                • BuZzB
                                  BuZz administrators
                                  last edited by BuZz

                                  I have been debugging this, and it is the sdl2.0.5 update that has caused the issue.

                                  Unfortunately as it is closed source, I am unable to debug it further (at least debugging coolcv), and don't know what in SDL2 would have affected it as other SDL2 apps seem ok. (Changed my mind - I can debug SDL of course)

                                  To help us help you - please make sure you read the sticky topics before posting - https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/3/read-this-first

                                  mediamogulM 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                                  • mediamogulM
                                    mediamogul Global Moderator @BuZz
                                    last edited by

                                    @BuZz

                                    Thanks for taking the time to look into this. I've passed the information along to the developer here.

                                    RetroPie v4.5 • RPi3 Model B • 5.1V 2.5A PSU • 16GB SanDisk microSD • 512GB External Drive

                                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                    • BuZzB
                                      BuZz administrators
                                      last edited by

                                      It's quite likely it's an issue with SDL2.0.5 (SDL 2.0.5 has had heaps of problems on the rpi) - I am going to try and git bisect it, but this will take some time.

                                      If I find the commit in SDL, I will revert it or backport any fix if there is one. If I can't (and the coolcv author cannot work around it), I may be forced to switch back to SDL2.0.4 again...

                                      To help us help you - please make sure you read the sticky topics before posting - https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/3/read-this-first

                                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                                      • BuZzB
                                        BuZz administrators
                                        last edited by

                                        I have found the commit that causes the issue (this references our git mirror, not the original repository)

                                        commit f0a9a821497b8e9d3e2496a5c5ab844cdddc5e4c
                                        Author: Sam Lantinga <slouken@libsdl.org>
                                        Date:   Wed Oct 12 22:25:19 2016 -0700
                                        
                                            Work-around for a hang when USB devices are unplugged, contributed by James Zipperer
                                        
                                        diff --git a/src/audio/alsa/SDL_alsa_audio.c b/src/audio/alsa/SDL_alsa_audio.c
                                        index 3fdbd82..574d51b 100644
                                        --- a/src/audio/alsa/SDL_alsa_audio.c
                                        +++ b/src/audio/alsa/SDL_alsa_audio.c
                                        @@ -314,9 +314,20 @@ ALSA_PlayDevice(_THIS)
                                             swizzle_alsa_channels(this, this->hidden->mixbuf, frames_left);
                                         
                                             while ( frames_left > 0 && SDL_AtomicGet(&this->enabled) ) {
                                        -        /* !!! FIXME: This works, but needs more testing before going live */
                                        -        /* ALSA_snd_pcm_wait(this->hidden->pcm_handle, -1); */
                                        -        int status = ALSA_snd_pcm_writei(this->hidden->pcm_handle,
                                        +        int status;
                                        +
                                        +        /* This wait is a work-around for a hang when USB devices are
                                        +           unplugged.  Normally it should not result in any waiting,
                                        +           but in the case of a USB unplug, it serves as a way to
                                        +           join the playback thread after the timeout occurs */
                                        +        status = ALSA_snd_pcm_wait(this->hidden->pcm_handle, 1000);
                                        +        if (status == 0) {
                                        +            /*fprintf(stderr, "ALSA timeout waiting for available buffer space\n");*/
                                        +            SDL_OpenedAudioDeviceDisconnected(this);
                                        +            return;
                                        +        }
                                        +
                                        +        status = ALSA_snd_pcm_writei(this->hidden->pcm_handle,
                                                                                  sample_buf, frames_left);
                                         
                                                 if (status < 0) {
                                        

                                        I will see if this has been changed in newer versions and either revert or update.

                                        To help us help you - please make sure you read the sticky topics before posting - https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/3/read-this-first

                                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                                        • BuZzB
                                          BuZz administrators
                                          last edited by

                                          Please can you update retropie-setup and update coolcv and let me know if that sorts it (I reverted the problematic commit in sdl2).

                                          To help us help you - please make sure you read the sticky topics before posting - https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/3/read-this-first

                                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                                          • BuZzB
                                            BuZz administrators
                                            last edited by

                                            Issue has been reported upstream to sdl here - https://bugzilla.libsdl.org/show_bug.cgi?id=3599

                                            To help us help you - please make sure you read the sticky topics before posting - https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/3/read-this-first

                                            edmaul69E 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
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