I/O Buffer Overflow

absameen · **Joined:** Sun Feb 05, 2012 11:30 am **Posts:** 7

Hello, I'm using the Dual Kinect setup and I keep getting the I/O Buffer Overflow error. I read on here that I need to enable compression or lower the fps, but I can't find the option to change those. Where is it?

Also, someone mentioned that upgrading to a SSD drive will solve the problem. I'd like to know if that will definitely solve it before putting down the cash for an upgrade. Thanks.

Greenlaw · **Posted:** Mon Feb 06, 2012 12:05 am

Have you tried disabling the RGB stream? This can reduce your data considerably. The RGB capture is nice to have for visual reference but not at all necessary for tracking.

SSD can help but first you need to be sure your computer is even capable of capturing from two Kinects. Are you sure you have two onboard USB controllers, and are you sure you have the Kinects connected to each and not both in the same controller? You didn't mention any specs so all we can do is guess.

G.

absameen · **Joined:** Sun Feb 05, 2012 11:30 am **Posts:** 7

It runs fine for a few seconds and even produces a video file that works with iPi Studio. However, I want to capture longer motions. I tried disabling RGB but that didn't help. Should I get an SSD drive or is there another way?

Greenlaw · **Posted:** Mon Feb 06, 2012 12:22 pm

FWIW, adding an SSD worked out well for me. I can't guarantee it will solve your problem since I still don't know anything about your hardware/software specs. There are other things that can cause problems like this, like inappropriate USB cables, use of a hub, not enough controllers, driver/device conflicts, number of cores and cpu speed, etc. A good SSD *might* solve your I/O problems but it could easily be something else.

If you decide to get an SSD, make sure you get a good one--really cheap SSD's may not necessarily be faster than a regular hard disk. I use a 120GB model made by Corsair, which was much more expensive than a typical fast/large hard drive but fairly inexpensive by good quality SSD standards, and it works quite well for me (much better than my old RAID.) IMO, it's not necessary to get a huge SSD to use just for mocap. The capture files are really not that enormous and if you plan your sessions efficiently, a smaller drive should be fine. For example, my sessions are rarely over 20GB and that's actually a lot of data. And after a session I always move the data to a regular hard drive for tracking and editing, clearing SSD space for the next time I want to capture motion. FWIW, another use here got a 40GB model and it worked well for him (in fact, he was the one who recommended Corsair to me.) That said, you'll want to get as large a drive as you can afford because it's better to have extra space than not enough.

You're mileage may vary of course--it depends on what you want to capture and how you plan your sessions.

G.

Carder · **Joined:** Wed Sep 28, 2011 3:28 am **Posts:** 96

I had the same kind of problems with my I/O Buffer overflow and the software dropping frames etc.

I kept trying to blame the software, but the fact of the matter was I had a shitty laptop. (Not suggesting anyone has the same BTW)

I went out and bought a Sony VAIO SSD i7 laptop. CPU: Intel (R) Core(TM) i7-2620M CPU 2.70GHz, 4Gb RAM.

It hurt financially, but I now breeze through the takes in ipi Recorder without even breaking a sweat...AND I have my RGB feed too.

I recommend a serious upgrade/investment to all people with I/O Buffer issues.

chck · **Joined:** Wed Mar 07, 2012 6:08 am **Posts:** 2

I am also constantly getting this error.

Am working on a decent workstation with an ssd drive, 12GB ram, and a dual 6 core xeon processor on 64-bit.
This should be more than enough to work with right?!

What am I missing here?!

I get max about 30 sec of recording time.

Also iPi Studio seems extremely heavy to run, and sometime crashes my whole computer when trying to open te 'open' window..

Can anyone advise me?!

absameen · **Joined:** Sun Feb 05, 2012 11:30 am **Posts:** 7

Just to let you know, I upgraded my rig with a faster processor (intel i5) and a new motherboard. The error is gone for the most part. But I do get it sometimes after a solid 10+ minute recording session.

I am using a 7,200 hdd and it works fine. I might upgrade to an ssd in the future if I need to do longer recording sessions.

Greenlaw · **Posted:** Wed Mar 07, 2012 3:25 pm

absameen wrote:

...I do get it sometimes after a solid 10+ minute recording session.

...I might upgrade to an ssd in the future if I need to do longer recording sessions.

Congratulations on getting it working...but 10+ minutes??? IMO, the length of this video is a bit long and may be impractical to work with in iPi Studio because you can't zoom or pan the timeline view. (Tip: it helps if you have a very wide screen.) FYI, I try to keep my videos down to about four minutes in length or less--a lot less if possible. After you've tracked and cleaned up a few very long motions files in Studio, you'll understand what I mean.

Hope this helps. :)

G.

I/O Buffer Overflow

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