I am on Macs running OS 10.13 on one and 10.14 on the other running CT8. Lowering the dropdown for the lip sync meme editor causes the software to hang up and sometimes crash. It seems to work fine until I try to edit the lip sync. The problem does not reproduce on CT7.

 Since this happens on both computers I think it might be a bug in the software. Since I opened a ticket with Reallusion support in November about this and all I got back so far was they have sent it to the developers, I thought I would crowd source a solution.

Anyone know why this might be happening? Is there a fix or work around that would allow me to edit the memes?

Thanks

Hi...

Sorry to hear you are having these problems.

I'm using the Windows version and can't reproduce the problem so it may be a Mac specific problem.

However, as we haven't got a lot of reports of this issue on Macs it may be linked to some hardware or other software/drivers installed on your computers. If you haven't heard back from Support for a while please feel free to get back in touch with them to check the status of this issue. Hopefully they can find a solution for you.


                                                                

Peter
Forum Administrator

www.reallusion.com

Thanks for your kind reply.

I did send reminders that I am still waiting for an answer.

I certainly can't rule out any potential cause. However since these computers are running two different operating systems and are from different years and work fine with CT7, I am disinclined to continue to look for causes on my end. Also I sent the requested logs etc. and they have not suggested what the problem might be.

Actually I have heard nothing from the developers. 

I have a project in progress that anticipates using CT8 to create avatars. The software has been useful in this way in past versions. I am hoping not to have to completely reimagine the project but this is taking a bit long to resolve.

I just received this reply from the support team.

"The only think we could suggest you is not to make your project more than 1 min long, else you'll have such problem."
This project is only 2.5 minutes.

Does this sound right? Is this a known and acceptable limitation to every customer/user but me? I have not seen it in any of the promotional materials. Is this supposed to be a "bug or a feature"?

For me the limitation represents a severe limitation and time waster. The work flow accommodation will be cumbersome. It makes the otherwise useful software feel like a grade school toy. 

I hope they will fix it.

Does this happen with the PC version also or just the Mac version? 

Hi...

It sounds like Support are suggesting a workaround rather than a solution. If the issue doesn't occur with shorter projects (under a minute) then that would enable you to export your work to video and edit all the videos together to complete your projects. Of course this isn't ideal but I'm guessing Support were unable to reproduce the problem and so offered this as a way for you to continue working without the crashing.

Generally software bugs will affect everyone or a large number of users. When these occur it is normally easy to diagnose the cause and fix the problem. When issues like this one only affect a small number of users it makes it harder to find the cause, especially when it is isn't possible to reproduce the issue during inhouse testing.

One thing worth trying if you are using the Pro or Pipeline versions is to break the audio into smaller parts rather than have a single two and a half minute audio clip. This may allow you to edit the lip-sync without crashing but still have a project longer than one minute. Sadly if you are using the Standard version then this only allows a single audio track per project.


                                                                

Peter
Forum Administrator

www.reallusion.com

I am using the Pro version.

If I can reproduce this on two different computers using different operating systems with different sets of software, it is hard to understand why only my computers have this problem.

I did try their solution and the problem does go away. But this is a cumbersome and time consuming work around.  I have hours of this planned and invested in. It is going to take the profit out of a project I am committed to. It is quite frustrating when things like this happens. It is one reason I hate updating software.

I was rereading the manual for CT8. It says the maximum frames is 54000 and 15 minutes at 60 fps. I asked support if there was any way to get my software to perform according to the manual?They responded, "Our suggestion is 3000 frames per project, if you're using Lips Editor. FYI, there's no further enhancement will be make on CrazyTalk 8, it's an old legacy program."I was not aware that this was the case. I did not see this on the site. It was quite disheartening to hear. I think people should know this before they buy it and all of the add ons. Very painful. It does not encourage more purchases from Reallusion. It does not encourage me to do further beta testing of Reallusion products. It does not encourage me to continue being an "unpaid evangelist" for Reallusion products.

I do understand the frustration but CrazyTalk 8 is certainly not a beta product. It received several updates since the original 8.0 release to bring to version 8.13. While of course it is no consolation to you, most users have no problems with the software and from my own experience with the Windows version it has been a very stable and reliable product.

Sadly there may not be any further development to CrazyTalk 8 but the software itself is still fully working and all add-ons for sale will work with it. While it is true CrazyTalk is on hiatus in terms of development, that doesn't mean there won't ever be a CrazyTalk 9. It just means that at the moment development resources have been allocated to other products.

Unfortunately it may be that certain Mac configurations have issues with project sizes but this doesn't seem to be a general issue as we would have seen many more reports of the issue after the initial release. However as I mentioned previously you should still be able to export the smaller projects to video and then edit them together afterwards if you need to create longer projects. Not ideal I know but it should allow you to fully use Crazytalk for your planned projects.


                                                                

Peter
Forum Administrator

www.reallusion.com

Well in desperation I edited and recut and reproduced animation to 56 seconds and the problem reduced slightly but it is still there. It still hangs but so far has not crashed.

I understand that it is not beta, but I didn't think it had a life span like bananas :-). The reason I try to wait until software is "mature" is to avoid problems like these. While looking for a solution elsewhere I did come across others who have experienced the same thing.  Seems no one found an answer for them back when they complained about it. Maybe it was just never worth fixing for the small Mac market.

I am thinking that the reason you haven't received many complaints is that the Mac version has inferior quality control and the initial lip syncing of the software will work for most people so few people struggle with further editing.

I was forced to settle for what the software could deliver due to a deadline that was missed and product that had to be delivered. It was not the quality I expected to deliver but the client got something. More work less profit. :-(.

I am now retreating to CT7. While there are features in CT8 that caused me to purchase it, I have to cut my losses.

If they do come out with a CT9, I hope they will produce marketing materials, tutorials  and manuals that accurately reflect what the software can and can not do. If the Mac versions are going to be bastard kids, there should be some discount for the inferior product or at least let Mac users know what to expect.