Thread: What Does Optimization Do?

Lots of users have asked this question. Here is the answer I received from David.

"The sequencing grid knows how to sequence with the effects, it does not know about how or what the output will need to do to accomplish the sequenced patterns.

During optimization, the sequencer travels over a selected time range of the sequence and prompts each of the controller/plugins to generate the commands it needs to perform the actual light display. Each plugin has its own needs, based on protocol requirements and design. at this time necessary calculations are made based on the grid.

Ultimately the plugins return the commands that they will need to receive, to generate what the user designed on the sequence grid.

During playback, these optimized commands are sent to the plugins and the plugin pushes them to the hardware without having to do much of anything else."


Hope that helps understand the reason for the optimization.

Is optimization necessary to view effects as related to the channel labels or the visualizer? If so, and if optimization is only related to generating the output for the plug-ins, can optimization be eliminated until you are ready to actually send commands to the controllers? Or is there some other need to optimize a sequence during the show "build" process?

Just thinking of ways to reduce CPU demands. Personally, unless there's something absolutely necessary about generating the commands to be used by plugins/controllers, I would love to have the sequencer focus on giving me an accurate visual representation of what I'm building and save the compiling of controller data for when it's actually needed, if that makes any sense.

Originally Posted by tonypalermo

Is optimization necessary to view effects as related to the channel labels or the visualizer? If so, and if optimization is only related to generating the output for the plug-ins, can optimization be eliminated until you are ready to actually send commands to the controllers? Or is there some other need to optimize a sequence during the show "build" process?

Just thinking of ways to reduce CPU demands. Personally, unless there's something absolutely necessary about generating the commands to be used by plugins/controllers, I would love to have the sequencer focus on giving me an accurate visual representation of what I'm building and save the compiling of controller data for when it's actually needed, if that makes any sense.

Hi Tony,

Yes there is, just turn auto optimize off and prompt to optimize on in the configuration screen.

Hope that helps
Mike

Originally Posted by mmulvenna

...just turn auto optimize off and prompt to optimize on ion the configuration screen

So sequence building (playback/scrubbing/visualizer/effects insertion) is unaffected if you DO NOT optimize?

Originally Posted by tonypalermo

So sequence building (playback/scrubbing/visualizer/effects insertion) is unaffected if you DO NOT optimize?

Correct..... If Output is not turned on.

One caveat. If your changes dont appear in the vis, you might have to optimize.

Originally Posted by mmulvenna

Correct..... If Output is not turned on.

One caveat. If your changes dont appear in the vis, you might have to optimize.

So an un-optimized sequence does not affect "transport" controls and effect tools efficiency with the Output function disabled.

But optimizing a sequence might be necessary for effects playback in the visualizer while building a sequence, as the results of your edits might not appear in the visualizer until you optimize the sequence.

Originally Posted by tonypalermo

So an un-optimized sequence does not affect "transport" controls and effect tools efficiency with the Output function disabled.

But optimizing a sequence might be necessary for effects playback in the visualizer while building a sequence, as the results of your edits might not appear in the visualizer until you optimize the sequence.

That is my understanding...................

So optimization seems like a form of deferred processing ... probably done to increase performance while sequencing.

to clarify,
optimization is ONLY needed to generate the commands used to send to the hardware during live output.
the visualizer only needs the sequence grid infomation and channel configuration to render animations.

the optimizer is highly efficient & multi-threaded in v2.