Author Topic: VUMeter Plugin  (Read 58465 times)

sveakul

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3317
Everything was running much better before. I initially had this same slow down, but one of your earlier updates pretty much fixed that up. It seems like after I did one of the MB3.6 updates - can't say which one, the performance went downhill again
Do you mean a VUMeter plugin update, or a MB update that temporarily fixed things before another MB 3.6 update?  What other plugins/visualizations are you currently using with MusicBee?

What VUMeter version are you using now?  Steven had indicated elsewhere that since the meter is acting only on a chosen individual file, library size should not affect its action.  Have you tried using a different VUMeter version to see if the problem is fixed?  I have the whole 2.x series still if you care to try.  I currently use 2.6.3 without problems with MB 3.6.9305.

Mr. Trev

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 492
Everything was running much better before. I initially had this same slow down, but one of your earlier updates pretty much fixed that up. It seems like after I did one of the MB3.6 updates - can't say which one, the performance went downhill again
Do you mean a VUMeter plugin update, or a MB update that temporarily fixed things before another MB 3.6 update?  What other plugins/visualizations are you currently using with MusicBee?

What VUMeter version are you using now?  Steven had indicated elsewhere that since the meter is acting only on a chosen individual file, library size should not affect its action.  Have you tried using a different VUMeter version to see if the problem is fixed?  I have the whole 2.x series still if you care to try.  I currently use 2.6.3 without problems with MB 3.6.9305.

I was referring to an earlier VUmeter update. I have no idea what version of VU I was running at the time, and pretty much forgot about the plugin all together until I saw the recent postings and decided to see how it was running. The 2 most recent updates of VU didn't do anything to improve the performance

sveakul

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3317
I was referring to an earlier VUmeter update. I have no idea what version of VU I was running at the time, and pretty much forgot about the plugin all together until I saw the recent postings and decided to see how it was running. The 2 most recent updates of VU didn't do anything to improve the performance
Here is what I have of the 2.x series.  You could work backwards from versions and see if you get one that works for you.  Be aware though that if you go too early you will start to lose meter type compatibility, so try to only use the meter type you were used to (AIMP, LVU, etc.). https://mega.nz/file/zcBzyDRY#PCB6JeSHktZmLNrV2ONy0coEXaySBTcV1QvVSkpi1x4

BTW you didn't answer my questions if you use other visualizations and plugins.  You could see if removing one or more of them has any effect.

hiccup

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 9172
You could work backwards from versions and see if you get one that works for you.  Be aware though that…
What is the relevance of these comments?

Both I, Mr. Trev, and Boringname have clearly established that there is a clear issue with the plugin.
Let Boringname figure this out.
And if he wants anyone to do some specific testing, I'm sure he will let us know.

BoringName

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 951
New Version - VUMeter_2.7.0

Changes
- Updated the SharpGL library to enable a new render method that solves the increased CPU usage on large libraries.
- Reduced unnecessary rendering particularly during startup and skin changes when a track is not playing.

I don't know if this will fix the stutter/slowdown issues as I didn't really experience that but the CPU usage reduction with large libraries is substantial so I'm fairly confident it will.

For certain foobar skins you will notice RAM usage may fluctuate quite a lot. It depends how they are designed and the resolution of the images used to create the skin. Unfortunately it's the nature of how foobar skins are drawn. Deja Vu Compact - Fischers Lovebird gives a good example of fluctuating ram usage.

On my system this skin fluctuates between 250mb and 1gb. While it might look unsettling it's not really an issue. Here is some info on Garbage Collection if you are curious.

I think one of the reasons the old render method was using so much CPU was due it calling garbage collection manually for every frame. This new method lets the process happen automatically like it should, hence the fluctuating ram usage. The fluctuating RAM is only and issue for certain foobar skins where most of the VUMeter window has to be redrawn every frame.

For other skin types and older foobar skins you probably won't notice anything. It will mainly be with some of the newer skins Hiccup has created because they use higher resolution images and some of the methods used to create the needle movements just take more resources. Most just require the needle to be calculated each frame but some create needle movement by having a gap in the background image that moves, these are the foobar skins that will use the most ram.

boroda

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 5310
new version shows only blank (black) rectangle. right-click menu is inaccessible too.


BoringName

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 951
new version shows only blank (black) rectangle. right-click menu is inaccessible too.

Well that's disappointing. Is there anything in the error log?

edit: Also just a reminder if you use the uninstall button on the plugins tab it will remove your skins folder so make sure you back that up first. I should really put in a prompt for that.

edit2: and I've just noticed some notification errors in the error log when a track is played. It doesn't seem to effect functionality but it's something I need to fix. Nope, that's related to the upnp plugin.... something else for the list...
Last Edit: July 05, 2025, 02:31:48 AM by BoringName

Steven

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 35003
Its working fine for me and fixes the CPU issues we were looking at

boroda

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 5310
new version shows only blank (black) rectangle. right-click menu is inaccessible too.

Well that's disappointing. Is there anything in the error log?

no, nothing related to VUMeter in error log. clean plugin reinstallation didn't help either.

p.s. i noticed that SharpGL library(-ies) is not included in plugin's zip. is this OK?

kimt1688

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • Posts: 113
I have about 40,000 tracks in my MusicBee.
After installing 2.7.0, the CPU usage dropped from 12-13% to 6-7%.
I also use the 3DBee plugin, but I haven't changed any settings there, yet I'm seeing this behavior.

BoringName

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 951
p.s. i noticed that SharpGL library(-ies) is not included in plugin's zip. is this OK?

I use Costura.Fody, it bundles everything into one DLL.

I'll look into it. I'll probably send you a test version tomorrow.

BoringName

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 951
I also use the 3DBee plugin, but I haven't changed any settings there, yet I'm seeing this behavior.

I haven't updated 3DBee with the new render method yet, that's next on the list once I get this working for everyone. I suspect that will bring your CPU usage down a bit more.

BoringName

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 951
new version shows only blank (black) rectangle. right-click menu is inaccessible too.

The good news is I have a system here that is behaving the same way so that should make it easier to troubleshoot.

The bad news is I still don't know how to fix it.

It's producing a MissingMethodException error for the command that sets the new rendering method. But the method is there because it works on other machines.... I thought it might be a NET version issue but the plugin is set to target Net 4.6.2 and the machine has that installed.

Open to ideas.... I've tried cleaning and rebuilding it in Visual Studio but no dice.

boroda

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 5310
could you set the project to target .Net 4.8? (4.8, but not 4.8.1, is the last .Net version available for Win7)

at least MB itself is targeted to 4.8

BoringName

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 951
could you set the project to target .Net 4.8? (4.8, but not 4.8.1, is the last .Net version available for Win7)

at least MB itself is targeted to 4.8

I could be wrong but I believe 4.6.2 is the highest you can go for plugins. If you target higher they won't initialise in Musicbee.

Both systems I have here are on the exact same version of windows 10. Works on my main PC but the other one throws the exception. Tried installing all the 4x net versions but the installer says they are already installed.

I compiled my own SharpGL DLL's and set them to target 4.6.2 and get the same result. The nuget package only targets 4.5 and 4.7.2

I've had a few bourbons and bad things happen when I troubleshoot half tanked so I'll give it another crack tomorrow.