WoW!!! Did you all see this incredibly CLEAR communication from Andrew Bregman from MOTU...on Facebook?
BRAVO!!!!
Thanks for digging this up and posting toodamnhip! Weird. Why Facebook? I can't even find it. Here'e a dyslectic-friendly formatted version.
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"As most of you know, the 9.13 update is now live at motu.com. This update mostly resolved bugs which included issues with the Hardware Insert plug-in, Melodyne, Softube Console 1, RME drivers and VEP MAS to name a few. 9.13 is also the first version of DP available with a German translation (tell your friends in Europe!). We are working on new features and the next update will include a completely new and improved pitch and time stretching engine.
If you've been experiencing problems since updating to 9.1, please read the following. It’s likely that this information will help you.
With the DP 9.1 update MOTU introduced two new major updates to the audio engine. Pre-gen is a function that renders audio tracks and virtual instruments ahead of time. Testing has shown this provides up to a tenfold increase in how many virtual instruments and effects can be run within DP.
The second major change was how DP handles buffers and latency with audio patch through and live VI triggering. At the same buffer size DP9.1x will now have half the latency as with previous versions.
For the majority of DP users these changes have provided dramatic increases in efficiency in their work flow. For a small group of DP users there have been problems with these updates.
The first thing to understand is that the pre-gen feature is completely separate from the latency updates. If you are experiencing a problem with one of these features you may not be having a problem with the other. Because MOTU promoted the new pre-gen efficiency, this feature generally gets the blame, even if that is not the actual cause.
The latency update cuts latency in half but that is still at the expense of CPU. A lower buffer setting means lower latency, but also at the expense of higher CPU hit. When upgrading to DP9.1x the DP user may notice no other difference besides faster patch through and triggering. However if the computer was working at close to maximum capacity under a previous version of DP (9.02 or below), upgrading to DP 9.1x will keep the same buffer setting but double the load on the CPU. This can cause performance problems. The solution here is raise the Buffer Size. For example a Buffer Size of 128 in DP8 is a real world latency of 256. In DP9.1 a Buffer Size of 128 is a real world latency of 128. DP9.1 is now as fast as Logic.
Pre-gen works with recorded audio tracks and recorded MIDI parts triggering virtual instruments. Pre-gen can not work on a real time audio signal or record-enabled virtual instrument. Essentially pre-gen is “recording ahead” into RAM to lower CPU load. Some plug-ins work outside DP and therefore can not have the benefit of pre-gen. Examples of this include VEP and UAD plug-ins. Also, because the plug-in is rendering ahead, the graphic response (aka level meters) of a pre-gen plug-in will not match what is happening at the time in the track. For these reasons we have included the ability to disable pre rendering when a plug-in window is open. Choose "Run Open Instances in Real-time" in any plug-in's mini menu to force into real-time. For plug-ins that run outside DP, pre-gen is always disabled.
Suggestions for users having issues with 9.1.
1.) Experiment with various Buffer Size settings. Remember that a higher Buffer Size in 9.1 doesn't necessarily mean slower performance when compared with an earlier version of DP. The newer 9.1 audio engine is faster and therefore can be more taxing on certain computers.
2.) Make sure that Virtual Instruments are not record enabled when they don't need to be. Record enabled MIDI tracks are always patched in real time. It's not possible for pre-gen to work on any record enabled track (there's no audio information for DP to process pre real time). If you've got a heavy plug-in (Omnisphere for example) and it's record enabled during playback, you're not going to get the processing benefits of pre-gen. Also make sure that any plug-in windows set to run in real time are closed when not needed.
3.) Keep open plug-in windows running in pre-gen. If there is no visual meter, there is no reason to run the plug-in in real-time.
4.) Consider loading your template into a new project created in 9.1x. Use the File menu, Load, select the DP project file and then choose the Chunk to load. Doing this has resolved issues for several users.
5.) Several third party plug-ins did not play nice with 9.1 upon initial release. We have resolved issues with the third party developers for all problems that we know of. Make sure you are on the latest updates for your OS version. Also, consider updating to OSX 10.11 or 10.12. DP9.13 is supported from 10.6.8 to the latest update of 10.12. Certain users have reported improved performance when updating to 10.11 or 10.12.
If the 9.1 update has given you problems, give 9.13 a try and let us know how it goes.
Thanks to you all!
Andrew and the DP team"