Re: Mobius memory management

[Jeffrey Larson <jeff@zonemobius.com>]

On May 6, 2006, at 11:00 AM, Rainer Thelonius Balthasar Straschill  
wrote:

 > as I see you're still online here and listening to Mobius users'  
questions,
 > let me put forward this one:

I'm happy to answer questions on LD, but since these often turn into  
lengthy
discussions I prefer they be posted to groups.yahoo.com/group/zonemobius
so we don't bore non-Mobius users here :-)

 > Is there any way one can get Mobius' memory management to work in  
a way more
 > close to the EDP - say, by assigning a total of 128MB to Mobius and a
 > maximum of 32MB to each stereo track. And while we're at it - can  
one setup
 > tracks to be mono (so to save memory)?

It isn't exactly like the EDP, but you can set the preset parameter
"Max Undo Layers" to restrict the number of layers we keep around
for undo.  So if you set this to 10, and left overdub on forever,
we would only keep the most recent 10 layers in memory and start to
recycle the older ones.  A feature I hope to add soon is the ability
to "checkpoint" layers, so you can mark only the important ones
you want to keep for undo, and we can automatically recycle the
ones in between.

 > I recently had this Mobius encounter where I accidentally left a  
track in
 > Overdub (I think that was the reason), and a long time later, the  
computer
 > ceased to function as intended because Mobius' (I think) memory  
claims went
 > over the edge...

That's possible, did you notice that the "layer list" of little
vertical rectangles across the top growing to fill the screen?  Mobius
will try to avoid creating another layer if the level of the overdub
did not exceed a certain threshold.  If you left overdub on but weren't
actually playing anything and saw layers being added, try raising the
global parameter named "Noise Floor".

 > And while I'm asking questions: could anybody put me to the right  
place how
 > to save (and restore) my track settings (like sync mode, Loop/ 
Delay/Expert
 > mode etc). I believe there is a way - but simply storing the  
project didn't
 > work for me.

Sync Mode and Interface Mode are stored in the preset, so first you
have to make a permanent change to one of the presets by bringing
up the Preset window.  If you're making changes in the "instant  
parameter"
list in the main window, these are temporary and will not be saved in  
the
project and will be lost the next time you select a different  
preset.  Once
you have the preset saved, the project should save and restore the
preset used by each track.  The project will also save the current
levels of the input, output, feedback, secondary feedback and pan  
controls
for each track.

If you use the File->Save Project dialog to save the project, you have
to use the File->Open Project dialog to load it the next time, Mobius
will not automatically load the last project you were using.  If you
have a track configuration you want to use frequently, you can
use the Save->Save Default Project menu item.  The default project
is loaded automatically when Mobius starts.  A good enhancement might
be to popup a dialog asking to automatically restore the last project
you were using when Mobius is started rather than always starting
with the default project.

If this doesn't seem to be working for you, post a message to the
Yahoo group and we can explore it further.

Jeff