Bursts of white noise
 

Hi,
I've been experiencing random bursts of white noise upon playback of my audio regions ever since I upgraded to os x. I'll be editing along and I'll hit playback and this noise will burst loudly from my speakers or headphones. This occures sporadically but persists until I restart the computer. I've tried every version of protools le for os x and the problem continues. I've also tried every suggestion in the setup and general troubleshooting guide with no success. And searching the user conference hasn't shed any light on the problem either. Please help!

I'm running protools 6.1.2 on a quicksilver 800 with os 10.2.8 and 512 k ram. I'm also running a miro card with the xact driver for os x.

Danielle

Re: Bursts of white noise
 

Some folks were getting this with Waves prior to 4.x. Probably not the case since you're in OSX but thought I'd throw it out there. Peace.

Re: Bursts of white noise
 

You described the white noise as sporadic so this may not be the problem, but I'll throw this out there. Certain demo plug-ins produce bursts of white noise until you register them. However, chances are that if you reinstalled several times you have probably tried it without using any third party plug-ins.

Re: Bursts of white noise
 

Hi

Thanks for your suggestion but I'm not using any demos or non-standard plugins.

I've noticed that many more people are now posting about this problem. I've tried everything digi has suggested but it still hasn't gone away. I was considering upgrading to panther but according to other posts this doesn't seem to help. Is this a problem with my mbox? Maybe there's a bum bunch out there. Digi will you please address this issue!

I'm running G4 Quicksilver 800, 512 k ram, OS 10.2.8, Protools 6.1.2 LE, mbox with firewire drives that meet the 7200 rpm, Oxford 911 chipset requirements. I am not running any Waves plugins. The only deviation is that I use a Miromotion DC30+ for my picture.

Danielle

Re: Bursts of white noise
 

Maybe try it without the DC30+ running? Just try to narrow it down. If you have a friend w/ an Mbox, try yours on his/her system. Then at least you'll know whether the Mbox itself has an issue.

Re: Bursts of white noise
 

This post seems pretty old but I was having this same problem recently and found no answers on the boards, but I think I finally found the solution (knock on wood) for my system anyway.

Go to Setups > Playback Engine. Under the DAE Playback Buffer section, set it to Level 4 or higher. Mine was set to Level 2 (default). When I set it to Level 4, it fixed the white noise bursts right away and I didn't even have to quit and restart the application.

The white noise was driving me crazy. It was litterally happening about 15-20 minutes into a session and I would have to quit and restart PT just to have it happen again in another 15-20 mins. After I made this adjustment, the blast of white noise has not come back.

Re: Bursts of white noise
 

Okay, this seems to solve my problem as well, at least temporarily. I find that it makes the noise go right away but it still comes back on the Level 4 setting. I'm now trying to work at Level 8 but this makes my system behave oddly. So I think I'm only part way to solving this. I'm curious if you have any thoughts on why this solves the problem for you and what this level setting effects.

Thanks,
Danielle

Mbox, Protools 6.1.2.
Os 10.2.8.
Quicksilver G4, 800

Re: Bursts of white noise
 

Having the same problem, random bursts of white noise on playback.

OS 10.3.2
PT v 6.2.2 LE
1.25 G4 powerbook
1 Gig RAM
Mbox
Smartdisk "Firelite" external drive

Re: Bursts of white noise
 

The Waves white noise bursts were in OSX.

C

Re: Bursts of white noise
 

I don't have Waves installed and it happens to me. What I've discovered is that it's the external FW enclosure that my drive is in-- the controller can't seem to keep up so it just blasts the white noise. If I watch the activity light on the drive while it's happening, the white noise activity correlates with the blinking.

I had been using the drive internally on my tower for months -- no issues at all with my current software. As soon as I put it into the FW enclosure (I purchased a 002R and wanted to be able to use it with my laptop), the "white noise" problem started.

So now I'm looking to buy another enclosure-- this time with the Oxford 911 controller chip. You get what you pay for-- when will I ever learn. If you're having the same issue-- I'd take a look at your drive.
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c