Why isn't the blue playback cursor in synchronization with the sound?

Music Notation Software for Everyday MusiciansSince 1994
	20 May 2013

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	Why isn't the blue playback cursor in synchronization with the sound?

Solution Notation products play sound through one or more MIDI devices you select. Some MIDI devices, called software synthesizers, produce the sound based on a simulation of instruction sounds that requires some amount of computer processing. Such MIDI software synthesizers have a fixed delay in time typically somewhere between 2/10ths and 6/10ths of a second, that is, between 100 and 600 milliseconds. One common software synthesizer is the Roland Virtual Sound Canvas (VSC), with a delay of 460 milliseconds.

If you observe a delay between the beat of the blue playback cursor and the notes you actually hear, this likely means that your MIDI device has a delay. It does not mean that your computer is too slow, or that Notation is too slow.

Notation enables you to adjust the playback so that the blue playback cursor will become synchronized with the sound. Use the MIDI Device Configuration command in the Setup menu. In the MIDI Device Configuration window. Right-click the name of the MIDI device that has the delay. In its Device Properties dialog box, enter the delay value, measured in milliseconds, in the Anticipate Playback Delay field. For example, enter 460 milliseconds for the Roland VSC.

You might not know what the delay value should be. In that case, try different values until you find one that works. Good values to try are 200, 400, 500, and 600 milliseconds. The manufacturers of the software synthesizers usually use round numbers.

After you have found the right delay value for your MIDI device, we would appreciate your sending that information to us so that we can share it in this FAQ and add it to Notation's automatic setup for these devices.

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12 Dec 2003 07:33 PM