Loss of lyrics on client IPad

Lishy

Hi Peter, I tested ST4 at rehearsal tonight and when one of the slave/client iPads lost connection their screen went blank/they lost their lyrics completely.
I’m not sure if this expected behaviour or not as when it happens on ST3 the lyrics stayed on screen at least.

AnthonyB

I had noticed the same with every ST4 build to date (currently 1848)

Easy repro

Start Hosting Session on iPad 1 (i.e. Host)
Join network session on iPad 2 (i.e. Client)
Start playing a song on iPad 1 - iPad 2 shows same lyric sheet along with timestamping, etc. if created
On iPad 1 (Host), go into Network Sessions and Stop Hosting (simulate a dropped connection, network outage, etc.)
On iPad 2 (Client) the lyric screen goes blank, the Queue (if visible) shows as Empty, title bar says "No Song Selected"

While I am sure the new Network Sessions network protocol is (hopefully 🙂 ) a LOT more resilient that in ST3, we have to assume there might be some reason for disconnection or network dropout.
In that scenario, the ST3 behaviour of the 'last loaded' lyric sheet being displayed, stays on screen, would be the preferable outcome. This at least lets the musicians get through the song and then deal with the problem and reconnect after end of song.

On that last note, and I will raise this as a feature request in another thread, I would really love to see the ability for a Client to automatically reconnect to a Host.

peter

Yes, that's because the moment you loose connection, the app switches back to showing local content. I could remember which song was opened. If you work with local lyrics, it would even be possible to still see the same song. But if you show remote content, it will definitely snap back to a local song.

AnthonyB

peter I assume ST3 was essentially 'caching' the current song, which is why it would keep that lyric sheet open? In fact, if you had timestamped lyric sheets, even though on ST3 you would get the 'Connection Closed' dialog, behind the dialog your Client lyric sheet would still continue as though it had cached not just the lyric sheet but also the timing. This was a godsend if you had a network dropout mid-son live on stage.

ST4 behaviour is different which may cause a little angst. The way ST3 at least got you through to the end of the song.

peter

AnthonyB ST3 had a dedicated network view which just stayed open until you closed it.

ST4 with the remote features does not use a dedicated view, instead all database access is rewired through a network layer to communicate with the host instead of the local database. That way the UI does work just like with the local data. But once the connection is lost, all UI updates jump back to the local database and there is no form of preserving the last received state possible.

AnthonyB

OK, finally got around to posting my Feature Request that I think is the best/right way to solve this - https://support.stagetraxx.com/d/3608-st4-feature-req-network-session-client-auto-reconnect

You could argue that it would still be good to keep ST3 Client behaviour even if my above suggestion was implemented, because what happens if your WiFi Router loses power mid-performance? At least your Client devices will continue to end of song, allowing you to more gracefully resolve the issue.

peter

Found a way to keep lyrics on the screen. And possible even implement automatic reconnects.

Lishy

peter that’s amazing work, thanks so much. I’d have been incredibly hesitant in using ST4 live and running the risk of that happening.

peter

Lyrics stay visible on disconnects in build 1865

AnthonyB

Brilliant outcome!! Thank you Peter!
Works perfectly!