12/18/2005 11:06:52 AM

Well, I installed the new ATI drivers and still no joy.

I can apply the motion background to a song, but by the time I go through all the presets, I get a big black rectangle, with the words reversed, showing the image behind it. This is real similiar to the problem I have with the fireworks background.

The error I get is the same, as well:

An unexpected error occured when processing a frame. The display may not look as expected. Please contact technical support if the problem continues.

12/18/2005 12:44:54 PM

Whoo Hoo! Another reinstall!! ;-) I know this is nothing compared to Job's problems...

I think I'll go the "dual boot" option, in case I have problems getting the re-install to work, and relegate the x64 version to a 1 second option, so everyone will default to the 32-bit version.

12/19/2005 7:51:40 AM

This might be a bit off topic, but I think I read somewhere that one can't simply upgrade to Win64, but that every driver has to be replaced with a 64-bit version.

Is that true, and if so, what kind of an effort is involved in tracking down and installing all those 64-bit drivers, and did you have trouble finding any 64-bit ones?

12/20/2005 12:14:18 AM

I should also remind all that it is not recommended that you use SSP 5.on any dual core system, even when using Windows XP x32.  SSP V7 is compatible with dual core systems, however.

12/23/2005 9:24:44 AM

Woo Hoo!

I just got off the phone with David and we (he) figured out that I hadn't turned hyper threading off!

Now Christmas Lights seems to work and Fireworks seems to work as well. I have not been able to get them to fail.

This probably explains some of my other general instabilities that I've seen lately, as well.

Now, on to the Christmas weekend programs!


So, Merry Christmas to all!
And to all, a good screen presentation for your Christmas services!

1/9/2006 9:20:38 PM

After I installed the update SspComplete.2005-12-12.exe to take a look at the Christmas goodies, the clouds motion background has vanished. We're running 5.5. Did uninstall something by mistake? Any ideas before I go back to SspComplete.2005-04-25.exe?
Thanks,
Mark

1/10/2006 5:06:34 AM

I'd rerun the installataion and select all the visualizations. That should reinstall the clouds.

1/10/2006 7:31:27 AM

We turned off hyperthreading and still have problems. I've uninstalled, reinstalled, uninstalled, reinstalled the old version that came by CD and no matter what, we have sloooooow backgrounds. When we first installed, no problem. It's when we installed the latest update a few weeks ago that the problems started and we've been unable to get it to work since.

The only fortunate thing is that I run one projector, but two computers (one for backup). The backup works fine (save one issue) and that one I never ran the update on. The one problem was a few weeks ago when suddenly the words disappeared but the background remained.

Very odd program so far. When it works, it's great. But I don't mind saying I'm a bit disappointed with all the issues we're having.

1/10/2006 7:40:09 AM

Have you called tech support?  They're usually very helpful.

1/10/2006 8:36:45 AM

Must have missed the post with your actual problem? I assume its with Motion backgrounds (video Mpeg / avi ??)

So are you installing the Latest version, or an older one from CD??

what are the specs on the PC / video card etc. SP2??

It sounds like it might be a codec problem if it is only your motion backgrounds affected...?

Has anyone installed some other programs on the machine IE Power DVD?? that might have upset the codecs?

Have you defragged the hard drive lately??

Rod

1/10/2006 10:19:41 AM

There are a couple of people that have reported that since the udpate that videos have been running very choppy and performing badly.  So far in each case it's been WinDVD 7 installed on the system. 

If you are still having chop in motion backgrounds or video I would check the following things:

1. Do you have WinDVD 7 installed?  If so uninstall it and see if things are working better.

2. Do you have any other DVD playback software installed?  If so, uninstall them.  You should only need ONE DVD player on your system. 

3. Do you have Power DVD or one of it's derivatives like Asus DVD?  If so, uninstall them.  SongShow Plus is not compatible and doesn't play well with them on the system.  We suggest WinDVD 4 or WinDVD 6.  (Each can be found on Ebay for as little as $10)

4. How old are your vide card drivers?  Anything more than 6 months old is too out of date and will need to be updated.  You can download drivers for your card at www.nvidia.com or www.ati.com  (Just a note, the newest ATI drivers require you to have .net installed on your system.  You can get around this by installing the "driver only" option instead of the bundle.)

5. If you have a Pentium IV system that's running at 2.4 GHz or faster go into your system BIOS and turn of Hyperthreading. 

Let us know if none of those things fixes the problem.

1/11/2006 6:45:34 AM

Perhaps the above message should be posted as a sticky for awhile, and updated as new information is discovered.

1/11/2006 7:20:14 AM

You know what else should be a part of that sticky?  The fact that yes, you can uninstall version 7.0 if you want to and if you uninstall it, be sure to uninstall the promodules that go along with it.  That way, you will see the version 5.5 you are used to. 

1/11/2006 7:59:36 AM

So, who wants to be the one to move them to sticky?

1/11/2006 10:41:42 AM

Actually, it might be better to move them to the knowledge base over on the support page.

1/11/2006 3:26:04 PM

Karen - no, haven't called Tech Support.  I'm unable to be at the computers during weekdays, don't believe they're available on Saturdays.  Could be wrong.

Specs -  Windows XP, 3.0 ghz, 2 gig ram, nvidia GeForce 6600 (I think, on the number) video card.  Hyperthreading turned off.

First installed from CD in November, updated from web site.  Ran perfect.  Then updated mid-December with the Christmas Goodies and it stopped working.  Uninstalled, reinstalled CD version and it doesn't matter, doesn't work.

Other system still operating on the same first install.  That one's had just one problem, one time it locked the background and lost the words.  Both systems are identical in hardware, built at the same time.

Codec problem sounds interesting.  How would you go about troubleshooting that?

1/11/2006 3:28:37 PM

David, thanks for the ideas.  We'll see about the DVD software on Saturday and see what happens.

1/11/2006 3:39:04 PM

Just to let you know, technical support is available 7 days a week.  We realize that many of your are volunteers and have "real" jobs during the week. 

1/11/2006 3:40:51 PM

I guess I got the idea because I called on December 26th and no one was available. Most had that as a holiday, I realize (thus the reason I was able to call ).

1/11/2006 4:13:17 PM

Thanks for clarifying that, David.  I have heard that before from several members, but never actually knew when tech support was there.  Are there certain hours they're available?  I only call them during the day and I do volunteer, but I don't have another job. 

1/14/2006 4:31:41 PM

David,

It appears to have been PowerDVD.  I uninstalled it this morning and...whalla!...everything was back to normal.

Thanks for your help.

John

1/24/2006 12:28:21 PM

To answer the questions on the availability of tech support:

Fowler productions offers 24/7 emergency technical support for SongShow Plus.  Our office hours are Monday-Friday 8am-6pm Central time, but there is always a technician with a cell phone on call.  If you call after hours, please be sure to leave a message because if the technician is on the phone with another customer they will not break that call to answer another one.  We do stress that after hours support is for emergencies, not training issues.  Although most of the techs will happily answer a question or two, they just can't take the time to teach you how to fully use SSP on that line.


Just for clarification.