GDTF causing Vision 2024 crash

[David Lapham]

When I open an MVR or VSN in that contains a specific GDTF fixture, the program crashes immediately upon any attempt to interact with any instance of that fixture.  This includes selecting it in the scene graph menu, selecting it in the 3D model, or changing any DMX value from the console.  Other fixtures, including other GDTFs, behave fine.

 

The GDTF in question is for the Elation Fuze Wash 500, created by Elation and downloaded from the gdtf-share website (attached).

 

I have tried this with multiple MVR exports from VW 2024, I have tried it on different (Windows) computers running Vision 2024, and I have created MVR files from scratch containing only this GDTF fixture, with the same result.

 

This behavior does not occur when I use the same MVR files in Vision 2022 - everything works perfectly.

I don't know how to tell if this is a Vision problem or an issue with the GDTF.  Has this happened with any other files?  Is there a workaround?

 

Thanks in advance to anyone who can help.

Elation@Fuze_Wash_500@24-26-04_Release.gdtf

[bbudzon]

I saw something similar very recently, and was able to find a workaround. Your issue sounds like it might be something different though. Can I ask what hardware you are running on?

[David Lapham]

I have an Acer tower, Core i7-7700 CPU @ 3.60GHz, 16 GB ram, running Windows 10 at the office (also the machine that has Vision 2022 on it that works fine), and an HP Spectre laptop, 13th Gen Core i7-1360P @ 2.20 GHz, 32 GB ram running Windows 11 Pro.  The crash behavior is exactly the same on both - I can work with the file as normal in every way within Vision and from the console, until I either manually select or send DMX data to one of these fixtures, at which point I see the little blue "working on it" circle next to the mouse arrow for about 3 seconds and then Vision closes instantly.

 

 

[bbudzon]

Unfortunately, the issue I was seeing was only on M-series Mac Processors. Intel Macs and PCs worked fine.

You might try using Vision native content rather than GDTF. That would be the only workaround I can think of.

This can be done by assigning a Fixture Mode in VW instead of a GDTF Fixture Mode in the OIP.

 

I greatly appreciate you bringing this to our attention though. I'll try to provide updates here as more information becomes available on our end.

If you wouldn't mind, posting your VWX file would be helpful. If it cannot be shared publicly, you can DM it to me.

[David Lapham]

The Fuze Wash 500 does not (yet?) have any fixture modes available in VW, so the GDTF is the only option for pre-viz.  I can work with Vision '22 for now on the office desktop, but it would be great to hear back if you can figure out what's happening.

 

Link to vwx -

https://stagetechinc-my.sharepoint.com/:u:/p/dlapham/EdjwcYxQfvtOj1GXyHDAnDYB-dw7E-Wo6rHScooI-bFQOA?e=Lf7LmK

[bbudzon]

So, I have a lot more information now... A small change was made to improve Vision's handling of degrees and radians. This change made things more accurate and with better performance. However, GDTF was apparently relying upon certain bugs and performance issues in the old code. So, Vision 2022 worked by chance more than by design.

 

I was able to, with a bit of effort, update the GDTF code so that it worked well with this new handling of degrees and radians. And, the color wheel which was causing the crashing is now handled more correctly. We still need to do proper testing and verification of this new code, however. I'm not sure when this fix will ship as risk assessment must be done due to the large changes required to GDTF code in order for things to work.

 

All of this being said, I met with the entire GDTF group to discuss this particular GDTF because there seemed to be some issues with it. They confirmed my suspicions. So, the GDTF you linked in your original post is somewhat invalid. It is a GDTF that does not adhere to the current standards.

 

You should, once my fix ships, see similar behavior between 2022 and the latest version. You certainly shouldn't see any crashing. But just be aware, we will be looking for and flagging this GDTF on the share with a report. This should trigger the manufacturer to take a closer look and hopefully update the GDTF to meet our current standards. You could reach out to them as well asking for the report from the share to be investigated. Perhaps, they will even provide you with updates as to when they resolve things on their end.

 

I hope this was helpful! Once I know what version we will be shipping our fix, I'll do my best to post an update here. Sorry for the inconvenience!

[bbudzon]

Just popping in here to say that we should be on track to ship a fix for the GDTF crash with 2024 Update 7.

 

 

I just want to reiterate this paragraph from above:

 

Quote

All of this being said, I met with the entire GDTF group to discuss this particular GDTF because there seemed to be some issues with it. They confirmed my suspicions. So, the GDTF you linked in your original post is somewhat invalid. It is a GDTF that does not adhere to the current standards.

 

[bbudzon]

2024 Update 7 is live. Feel free to grab this whenever you have time. It should resolve your issue!

[Tomas Lohin]

I've fallen into something similar. My Vision 2024 crashes or gets "rainbowballed" when I import Robe Tetra 2 mode 4 and try to interact with it.

[bbudzon]

2 hours ago, Tomas Lohin said:

I've fallen into something similar. My Vision 2024 crashes or gets "rainbowballed" when I import Robe Tetra 2 mode 4 and try to interact with it.

I took a quick peek at the GDTF, namely because there is one known issue with devices that have more than 100 slots in a wheel. The Robe Tetra 2 has 67. So, you shouldn't be running into the issues related to our 100 slots per wheel cap.

 

If you can post your VSN along with a DMX Recording demonstrating the issue, we can try to take a look and figure out what is going on.

 

EDIT: I did also just notice that there is a rainbow effect on this device for Mode 4 that may be improperly defined. I wonder if this has something to do with it...

[bhundertmark]

Hey I am having issues with my .MVR exporting to vision wanted to see if this issue was also a GDTF issue.

 

What are the common issues with GDTF that cause this problem?

 

Also what are some good rules to follow when making a GDTF to assure it follows the standards?

 

Thanks man! 

[bhundertmark]

Posting the .MVR so you can help me further 

WaveForm Stage.mvr