I’ve done a presentation using PM6 (January '24 release). I did most of the editing on a Mac mini M1/2020, connected to a Samsung 4k monitor. That was fine.
For the presentation I moved the file to a MBP M2Pro. That was fine, too. Until I connected an external monitor, or a beamer. Then the animations sometimes were super jerky. I never saw this happen on the primary display (the only one connected to the Mini, or the built-in on the MBP). The problem really only was with the external display on the MBP, which was connected using HDMI. This is particularly painful as I was using the MBP’s display as a teleprompter.
Has anybody else seen this issue?
Hi @Michael_Herger_8766 Thank you for using FotoMagico and I’m very sorry about the troubles you experience. It is quite strange that the faster, more powerful computer would display jerky video. Did you try different external devices (projector and display) or was it just the one projector? Was the projector connected directly to the other end of the HDMI cable that was plugged into the MBP? The reason I ask is because I’ve seen projectors connected through “switchers” either because there were multiple devices (such as a wireless receiver) connected or because the cables would have been too long. Sometimes those “switchers” or cable extenders can cause frame drops which is perceived as jerky video. For business PowerPoint presentations this is usually not an issue, but for FotoMagico it is.
I tried two beamers (4k, Full HD) and a monitor (2560x1440). The 4k beamer was connected directly using HDMI, the monitor using an OWC dock’s HDMI, through USB-C (firewire?). The HD beamer was using HDMI. But I don’t know the full chain, as it was the on-site installation, not under my control.
Are you using the same versions of FotoMagico on the Mac Mini and the MBP? I just remembered an issue with very early versions of FotoMagico 6 that caused playback issues with certain photo and video files but that has been fixed long ago.
Can you test playback with the MacBook Pro with the same Samsung 4K monitor you used with the Mac Mini?
v6.5.6 - I didn’t dare installing the latest version the day of the presentation.
Now here’s a very interesting observation: I mentioned that I saw the issue mostly in presentation mode, when using an additional monitor. Now I’ve connected the MBP to the 4K monitor. As long as it is the primary monitor (eg. the MBP’s lid closed), the animation is smooth. As soon as I open the lid and have the “teleprompter” on the built-in monitor, the slides on the same 4k monitor, the animation becomes jerky. In both cases the monitor is connected over the same, single USB-C cable which powers the MBP. The only difference is to have the teleprompter or not (lid open or closed).
Hi @Michael_Herger_8766 Thanks for the report. I will see if I can reproduce the issue.