Serato Video General Discussion

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 Serato Video General Discussion
Serato Video dropping out
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Serato Video dropping out

horacemorris 2:02 AM - 25 May, 2019
I recently DJed an 80s video dance party and after about an hour of playtime, the video started dropping out. The screen would go to black for a couple seconds, then the video would come back up for a couple seconds, and repeat. In a desperate move, I unplugged my Serato mixer and plugged it back in, but then couldn't get the video back at all. Though the video was cutting out, the audio played fine. I was pretty disappointed because I just bought a new computer for this specifically because I was advised that my Macbook Air was underpowered for Serato Video.
So, here are my spec's:

Macbook Pro 15" 2018
Processor: 2.6 GHz Intel Core i7
Memory: 16 GB 2400 MHz DDR4
Graphics: Radeon Pro 560X 4 GB

I'm playing mp4 videos (up to 1080p, but most are lower) downloaded from Smashvision.
Videos are on an external USB-C portable hard drive
I'm using the Pioneer DJ DJM-S3 2 Channel Mixer and turntables to control

I followed the Mac optimization guide for Serato (disabling app nap, wifi, indexing, etc.)
I also disabled automatic graphics switching.
I believe in my Serato video output settings, I set the video buffer to 1 GB and output quality to "high"

Does anyone have any idea what might be going wrong?

Thank you in advance!
popnwave 4:30 AM - 25 May, 2019
The plug in itself is probably to blame at this point...no real updates in years. Your laptop is plenty strong, most of us have switched over to Mix Emergency for this reason.

Only other thing I can think of is whatever connection is feeding the screens. Did the video still look ok on your previews?
DjLaZaRuSrOcKs 10:06 AM - 25 May, 2019
Your computer is blazing fast. It should eat through videos.
Firstly, make sure your OS is the most up-to-date. Some people have had issues with the T2 chip in the newer macs, but recent updates supposedly fixed it.
Secondly, it could by the video connection and hdmi adapter.
As popnwave said, you might want to try MixEmergency. It's much smoother and has more features that Serato Video. It just runs on top of Serato so it very easy to use.
horacemorris 5:02 PM - 26 May, 2019
Thank you both. I DJ'ed a set last night with a movie playing on an external display (but not using Serato video at all), and I had the same problem. So, the issue must be with the computer or connections.
That said, I will still try MixEmergency, since you both recommended it as more stable.

Thanks again!
DJ Marv the Maverick 5:20 PM - 29 May, 2019
Quote:
Thank you both. I DJ'ed a set last night with a movie playing on an external display (but not using Serato video at all), and I had the same problem. So, the issue must be with the computer or connections.
That said, I will still try MixEmergency, since you both recommended it as more stable.

Thanks again!


How long is the HDMI cable length?

Could be the HDMI length causing visual drop outs.
Richie De Bell 12:59 PM - 30 May, 2019
We have the same setup (since 5 days) I also had a few problems
1. Faulty 1,5m cable
2. Faulty 10m cable changed them problems solved
3. make sure your cable are at leased 1.4 compatibility at best 2.0 (at the moment)
you have to be careful with cables over 5m length, best thing is a switch which sends the signal over 5-15m cables, check the specs before you buy the switch! I bought an ATEN VM0404HB Rack switch since then no probs.
I Just tried a USB C to HDMI (without PD), with all connected at first it didn't work then I read somewhere to unplug the USB C, turn it upside down and reconnect it, sounds stupid but it worked. no I don't know why.
In Serato be carefull with your usb buffer, not to low.
hope this helps.