Appendix, Optimizing computers for 1394 (firewire ) – Stanton Mixer Control Surface/Audio Interface SCS.1m User Manual

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Appendix


Optimizing Computers for 1394 (FireWire)

When using any computer for live audio applications it is always suggested to perform certain optimizations to
ensure consistent performance. For the most part live audio is not always the highest consideration for both
hardware designers and software programmers. With that being said, Stanton has put together this guide and
included one of the most widely used troubleshooting tools (DPC Latency Checker) with the SCS1 to help optimize
your computer by performing certain tweaks, which we have found increases performance and stability
substantially.

If you are having issues getting your computer to recognize the SCS.1m then it is suggested to start with the
SidSpeed fix. If you are having issues with audio performance (drop outs) then it is first suggested to perform the
following steps:

• Disable wireless internet devices
• If running Windows on a Mac (Boot Camp), kill the process “KbdMgr.exe”
• Disable ACPI
• Perform DPC checks (below)
• Perform the SidSpeed fix (below)
• Check the brand of 1394 host controller you are using.


Please read the next page about the (DPC) Latency Checker.


DPC (Windows XP-Vista)

During the SCS.1m driver installation process, we are also installing the Deferred Procedure Calls (DPC) Latency
Checker. This useful Windows application not only analyzes how your computer is handling real-time data streams
but also helps you to find the potential cause for drop-outs (interruptions in real-time audio and video stream). In
fact, the DPC Latency Checker will allow you to find out the driver that causes the excessive DPC latencies so then
you are able to disable it through the Windows Device Manager. In other words, using this application will help you
to optimize your system so everything runs smoothly while using the SCS.1m.

Let’s take a look of its main window. (Figure A.1)

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