SCE Video Cues Launched with Timecode Have Persistent Sync Issue(s)
-
GerardKline
- Posts: 1
- Joined: Thu Feb 12, 2026 1:49 am
SCE Video Cues Launched with Timecode Have Persistent Sync Issue(s)
I am trying to spec Madrix for use in a timecode synced project utilizing SCE Video for custom content created in another 3D program for offline use / playback on a volumetric display.
While I have no issue setting up cues/offsets and launching them using artnetTC via the provided Madrix Timecode Generator Tool on another machine, despite testing and altering of many different variables I have yet to be successful in achieving a sync perfect output. In my testing, there is always a brief amount of latency between the cue launch and the actual visual playback which yields an output that is not frame perfect. It is a visibly obvious lag, as when the cues are loaded you can see a momentary hiccup in the madrix UI while it switches. I have tried converting the videos to .mrec and while that does minimize the amount of observable latency, it is still not frame perfect.
With video files loaded into SCE Video (launched with 24 fps TC), this latency varies from somewhere between 9-12 frames on average and with .mrec it's a bit shorter but anywhere from 5-10. Frustratingly, the amount of latency seems to vary so the problem doesn't seem to be possibly mitigated by simply "slipping" the cues to accommodate by a fixed amount as is sometimes the solution in other video-centric timecode systems.
What I have tried:
1. Numerous different encodes of my testing video file (nothing crazy: 30 seconds of HD resolution @ 24 FPS, a black background with a large TC counter to track the sync) in a myriad of different formats that include both lossy and lossless // inter and intraframe codecs (mp4 / mjpeg / prores / animation / etc etc)
2. Trying DirectShow vs. Media Foundation vs. Auto as the playback methodology
3. Creating a duplicate blacked out cue with the SCE video file that launches a few seconds before the actual cue such that the video file should already be loaded into memory and then swapped (assuming Madrix treats video memory this way) onto the original cue
4. Leaving video to 1:1/Original Aspect, no transformations that would add overhead / etc.
5. Experimented with macros that control playback/play start on load although I did not go too far down this path
6. Experimenting with different target .mrec recording frame rates/performance playback frame rates/other frame rate settings in the preferences
This is all being tested on a machine with 96 gb of RAM // RTX 4090 // fast and large NVME gen 4 drives // etc while running no other programs so I doubt that its a bandwidth/PC issue. Current Windows 11 install, updated Nvidia drivers. The rest of my Madrix file is basically empty.
Can you please assist? Is there a best practice here that I am neglecting?
The only variable in my testing that yielded a change in sync was fiddling with the preferences relative to the .mrec recording conversion window. Unsurprisingly, if I changed the target recording frame rate to one lower than my source/target of 24, the cue would still start delayed as previously described, but eventually the video would run ahead of the TC source (which makes sense given the discrepancy in frame rates). This did raise a separate question in my mind: if .mrec is the preferred file format for performance/fidelity (according to the manual) why is it that you can't input integers into the target recording frame rate for .mrec files? If the timecode source is locked to a whole number, one would expect the playback files to also utilize whole numbers, unless you were running drop frame rates. 23.8 fps (the closest option to my target of 24) isn't really ideal. My assumption is that this is because of the way DMX is being polled, but is there some kind of interpolation happening here? The conversion window inspector seems to report a frame count 1:1 with my input regardless of what frame rate I set for recording which doesn't make a ton of sense to me.
Thanks in advance.
While I have no issue setting up cues/offsets and launching them using artnetTC via the provided Madrix Timecode Generator Tool on another machine, despite testing and altering of many different variables I have yet to be successful in achieving a sync perfect output. In my testing, there is always a brief amount of latency between the cue launch and the actual visual playback which yields an output that is not frame perfect. It is a visibly obvious lag, as when the cues are loaded you can see a momentary hiccup in the madrix UI while it switches. I have tried converting the videos to .mrec and while that does minimize the amount of observable latency, it is still not frame perfect.
With video files loaded into SCE Video (launched with 24 fps TC), this latency varies from somewhere between 9-12 frames on average and with .mrec it's a bit shorter but anywhere from 5-10. Frustratingly, the amount of latency seems to vary so the problem doesn't seem to be possibly mitigated by simply "slipping" the cues to accommodate by a fixed amount as is sometimes the solution in other video-centric timecode systems.
What I have tried:
1. Numerous different encodes of my testing video file (nothing crazy: 30 seconds of HD resolution @ 24 FPS, a black background with a large TC counter to track the sync) in a myriad of different formats that include both lossy and lossless // inter and intraframe codecs (mp4 / mjpeg / prores / animation / etc etc)
2. Trying DirectShow vs. Media Foundation vs. Auto as the playback methodology
3. Creating a duplicate blacked out cue with the SCE video file that launches a few seconds before the actual cue such that the video file should already be loaded into memory and then swapped (assuming Madrix treats video memory this way) onto the original cue
4. Leaving video to 1:1/Original Aspect, no transformations that would add overhead / etc.
5. Experimented with macros that control playback/play start on load although I did not go too far down this path
6. Experimenting with different target .mrec recording frame rates/performance playback frame rates/other frame rate settings in the preferences
This is all being tested on a machine with 96 gb of RAM // RTX 4090 // fast and large NVME gen 4 drives // etc while running no other programs so I doubt that its a bandwidth/PC issue. Current Windows 11 install, updated Nvidia drivers. The rest of my Madrix file is basically empty.
Can you please assist? Is there a best practice here that I am neglecting?
The only variable in my testing that yielded a change in sync was fiddling with the preferences relative to the .mrec recording conversion window. Unsurprisingly, if I changed the target recording frame rate to one lower than my source/target of 24, the cue would still start delayed as previously described, but eventually the video would run ahead of the TC source (which makes sense given the discrepancy in frame rates). This did raise a separate question in my mind: if .mrec is the preferred file format for performance/fidelity (according to the manual) why is it that you can't input integers into the target recording frame rate for .mrec files? If the timecode source is locked to a whole number, one would expect the playback files to also utilize whole numbers, unless you were running drop frame rates. 23.8 fps (the closest option to my target of 24) isn't really ideal. My assumption is that this is because of the way DMX is being polled, but is there some kind of interpolation happening here? The conversion window inspector seems to report a frame count 1:1 with my input regardless of what frame rate I set for recording which doesn't make a ton of sense to me.
Thanks in advance.
Re: SCE Video Cues Launched with Timecode Have Persistent Sync Issue(s)
Hello GerardKline,
Welcome to the MADRIX forum.
I tried to reproduce the explained behavior of MADRIX.
In my tests MADRIX always starts playing the assigned video when the Cue was called via Time Code.
I want to investigate further but need you help a bit.
Can you please share the used Video(s), MADRIX setup file and a logfile after the setup was loaded.
To save the Setup go to "File > Save Setup as..." and enter a name.
Please navigate in MADRIX to "Tools > Logfile", click the button "Save As..." and enter a name for the Logfile.
To share the files please use a desired File Sharing plattform and send us the link to info[at]madrix[dot]com.
Thank you
Welcome to the MADRIX forum.
I tried to reproduce the explained behavior of MADRIX.
In my tests MADRIX always starts playing the assigned video when the Cue was called via Time Code.
I want to investigate further but need you help a bit.
Can you please share the used Video(s), MADRIX setup file and a logfile after the setup was loaded.
To save the Setup go to "File > Save Setup as..." and enter a name.
Please navigate in MADRIX to "Tools > Logfile", click the button "Save As..." and enter a name for the Logfile.
To share the files please use a desired File Sharing plattform and send us the link to info[at]madrix[dot]com.
Thank you