OK, starting with basics. How does Viewport flipbook work.

I open the Flipbook options

They are set to

Frame Start/End/Inc $RFSTART $RFEND 1
Output ip
Visible Objects *
Append OFF
Scoped Chanell OFF
Initialize Simulation OP OFF
Motion BLur OFF

Audio OFF

Zoom 100%

ACCEPT

Nothing happens.
No matter how I set the options, nothing happens. The options window closes and Houdini just sits there as if nothing has been initiated.
It must be an 8.1 bug! What else could it be.

All Houdini environment variables are set. The application launches and works. However working with OpenGL textures will eventually freeze the application. Using FileIN to read in baked BGEO sequence, eventually causes 8.1 to build up its ram usage beyond 1.5gb at which point it crashes with OUT OF MEMORY error.

I have QuaddroFX4500 512 PCIe. You can't tell me its the video card. Its the same card that sits in thousands of other workstations. Mine is an Alienware MJ12 Quad Opteron with 4GB of ram.

Ok, let's try to narrow this down.

In the Flipbook options set the range to 1 to 100 (not $RFSTART and $RFEND). When you click accept do you see the current frame going from 1 to 100 in the playbar?

Nothing happens.

It must be an 8.1 bug! What else could it be.

Given everyone else has been using it without problems, wouldn't you say it might be something local? With attitudes like “don't tell me it's the graphics card”, then obviously this has turned into a confrontational question, like many of your posts lately.

This is a user-supported forum, not tech support. Feel free to ask questions, but it's not SESI tech support. People posting answers are just trying to help.

Do what should be standard operating procedure when odd things are happening - simplify. Don't mix different issues(like loading lots of files). Fresh session, NOTHING in Houdini, *don't* touch the settings - just do a default flipbook - does it work? If not, rename your $HOME/houdini8.1 and try again. All these things help you hunt down what's causing the problem. Also, you don't mention what release you're running. Or the platform for that matter. Are you running dozens of other windows(Windows can't handle that very well)? Are you combining this with massive file loading that takes you to the edge of memory on a windows platform? If so I'm not surprised trying to open a flipbook isn't working.

Problem solving. If flipbook just plain didn't work, then it would be a huge issue and a fix would be out the next day.

J.C.

Doesn't work at all. On empty scene, in fresh session.

Did you try moving your $HOME/houdini8.1 directory?

Do you have any other applications running while Houdini is up?

David, with all due respect, a lot of us are taking the time to even trying to replicate your problems, thus far none of us are able to duplicate it. Instead of just saying along the line of “it doesn't work therefore it must be a bug”, please help us here. And not to be offensive here, your way of presenting problem simply doesn't help us help you solving it.

I am running on XP PRO sp2 with Quadro FX1500 using H8.1.851, I tried various settings, everything else turned up normal here. I even tried running inside cygwin environment, it's all normal to me. I literally just start up a fresh Houdini session and put down a sphere (just to see something) and just hit Flipbook wiht all its default settings – Mplay popped up just fine.

So, just out of curiosity (and I don't think this is a problem at all), what does the path to your Houdini installation looked like? (“CProgram Files/Side Effects Software/Houdini 8.5.851” etc)

As everyone asked, have you tried moving or deleting the $HOME/houdini8.1 directory? (i.e.: C:\Documents and Settings\alex\My Documents\houdini8.1) and then launch Houdini again afterward?

I highly doubt this is an issue here, but what version is your graphics card driver?

If all else failed, have you gone to SESI site and download the latest Houdini build, then uninstalling your current Houdini installation, and install that latest build?

If that still fails, have you contacted SESI support literally? You're in LA right? I am sure calling the SM office doesn't cost you any money to your phone bill unless you're on your cell?

And to reiterate what John was saying, for Mplay simply not a open up when flipbooking is a very serious bug in a production environment. I've flipbooked day in day out at work and don't remember it not worked. So, please put in the effort to check things locally as much as you can.

I've unistalled and installed builds of 8.1 701-859 right now on 859. The problems are identical.

Houdini launches. Flipbook does not work. The app severely leaks memory, untill Houdini process goes over 1.2gb then crashes with Memory Allocation error.

I install Houdini using defaults. It puts itself into C:\Program Files\Side Effects Software\Houdini 8.1.build number. Right now I only have one build and that is 859. But issues I have are identical from prom production build 701.

I do not beleive the problem has a solution. I think that Houdini simply has a compatability issue with my Quaddro4500.

I have Nvidia drivers 9.1.

Have you tried moving your $HOME/houdini8.1 directory?

It should be in Cdocuments and settings/_USERNAME_/houdini8.1

Try renaming it to houdini8.1_backup then try again.

DavidRindner
I do not beleive the problem has a solution. I think that Houdini simply has a compatability issue with my Quaddro4500.
I have Nvidia drivers 9.1.

That's fine, but you might have the surprise that things don't work even if you change the graphic card.
Of course you did follow the advice to rename the houdini8.1 folder in your home folder?

BTW, at this link: http://www.nvidia.com/page/partner_certified_drivers.html [nvidia.com] the listed certified drivers for Houdini are not 9.1.

Dragos

I know the 8x.xx series drivers and above don't play nice with Houdini on Windows. Could this be it? If it hasn't been suggested maybe try installing the older 77.xx drivers. I know I had some really odd things happening with the 8x.xx ones when I was still on Win,

OK

Thank you

I went to the Nvidia site and dl approved drivers. Installed them fine.
Problem persists.

Moved home directory around, and back,with low expectations. That made no difference. I didn't see how it would.

Uninstalled, and reinstalled Houdini and hard shutdown.

No difference.

Nothing that I do makes any difference.
The application severely leaks memory, flipbook does not work at all. There is a basic incompatability between Houdini and my system.

I think that this one got by SESI.

DavidRindner
OK

Thank you

I went to the Nvidia site and dl approved drivers. Installed them fine.
Problem persists.

Moved home directory around, and back,with low expectations. That made no difference. I didn't see how it would.

Uninstalled, and reinstalled Houdini and hard shutdown.

No difference.

Nothing that I do makes any difference.
The application severely leaks memory, flipbook does not work at all. There is a basic incompatability between Houdini and my system.

I think that this one got by SESI.

Have you tried installing an earlier build? a later build? If no luck, then it may be a good idea to contact support.

Hi David,

Has the flipbook worked for you at all? Did you happen to block mplay by any chance? The first time mplay launches, the Windows Firewall will ask if you want to block it. Just wondering did you click on Block instead of Unblock?

You can open the Windows Firewall, turn if off temporarily then flipbook a sphere for 1 frame to see if mplay comes up.

If you're using other firewall programs, please disable them for the test.

Cheers!
steven

Mplay works fine.

The application functions, except Flipbook does not work, and 8.1 leaks memory and eventually crashes. The problem is tied, I think to my Quaddro, but I have installed 77.56 drivers as recommended and it made no difference.

So you can render to Mplay via a viewport render (from mantra)? Starting Mplay on its own wouldn't run into any firewall issues; it's only when Houdini attempts to communicate with it. If you can render, just not flipbook, then the firewall likely isn't the problem.

Also, during the flipbook process, Houdini writes out a flipbook cache file to your temp directory, which is very likely c:\temp. The temp directory is defined by the environment variable HOUDINI_TEMP_DIR, or TEMP if HOUDINI_TEMP_DIR is not set. If neither are set, c:\temp is used. So,

1) make sure that if either environment variable is set, it points to a valid dir.

2) make sure that the temp dir isn't full (thousands & thousands of files in one dir can sometimes cause problems), and that the parent drive isn't full or close to full. The flipcache file can be quite large.

If you don't want to use C: as your Houdini temp dir, you can set HOUDINI_TEMP_DIR to a temp directory on some other drive (esp. if that drive is a RAID0 stripe).

My variables and directories all work. Flipbook does not function becouse Houdini has OpenGL issues with QuaddroFX. Directories or env. variables also would not make Houdini leak memory so severely.

There was another user on this forum who had problems with Quaddro untill he deinstalled drivers and installed 77.56 drivers. I did that to except in my case it not solve Flipbook and memory leak issues.

I've done everything that can be done, aside from replacing the video board. NOTHING has made any difference. Absolutely nothing.

I found this interesting bit online (in a review of the QuadroFX 4500):

One additional issue running like a red thread throughout any OpenGL benchmarking is the sensitivity to driver revisions. In the case of consumer cards, it usually takes a full generation of driver revision to reach some performance increments that are beyond the noise. In the case of OpenGL cards, the situation is quite different since one driver may favour one application, whereas the next driver revision may boost one other application by some 40-50% - alas, at the expense of everything else.

A case in point are the nVidia drivers. Up to the Forceware 77.37 revision, both professional OpenGL and consumer DirectX were running in parallel, later revisions of the 7x.xx series, though, primarily favoured DirectX at the expense of OpenGL and only the 81.xx sort of unified the two branches again. Beware though, there are major differences between even those revisions.

There is not much value in showing data of what we found was inadequate, even though we spent the better time of 3 weeks just going through different driver revisions. The bottom line is that of all currently available drivers, the 82.65 version yielded the BEST results - by a landslide.

May not help for Houdini, though. This is also from an article a year old, so take with a grain of salt. Unfortunately, there aren't a lot of workstation class video card reviews out there.