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TAS5766M: PurePath Console 3 suddenly not working properly

Josh Heiner
Intellectual 860 points
Part Number: TAS5766M

I've been working with the TAS5766M for several months.  I've gone through the process of characterizing and tuning our speaker many times now, including all of the electroacoustic measurements, Smart Amp parameter design, and EQ design.  Without any change to my process or the software, my setup suddenly isn't working.  Here are the specifics.

1.) I start PPC3 and initiate the "Learning Board" app to begin using the PP-SALB-EVM board.  I connect the board physically and in software by pushing the "connect" button.

2.) I run through the standard battery of tests using the "Characterization" command.  The workflow is guided from that point and completes successfully.

3.) In the process of designing the filters, I normally load several reference audio tracks I'm very familiar with and listen to them to assess my progress and fine tune the design.  I can no longer do that.  When I attempt to point the browser dialog of the built-in audio player to an MP3 file, it simply doesn't appear in the queue like it used to no matter how many times I attempt it.  I've no idea why.

4.) After finishing work in the Characterization app, I save my measurements and settings to a .ppc3 file, exit the app, and start the TAS5766M app.  From there, I go into the "Tuning and Audio Processing" part of the app, click the "import" button in the upper right, and load the .ppc3 file I just saved with the characterization app.  I can see that my file actually loads because there are settings and values visible that clearly came from the previous steps.  This seems to preclude any file corruption of such severity that the file won't load at all, though I suppose it could still be corrupt in other ways.

5.) After loading my .ppc3 file, things fall apart in two ways.  First, if I attempt to go into the equalizer portion of the app, I can't.  Instead, I see this, and the app essentially hangs (can't clear the dialog box, can't do anything else, have to forcefully kill the entire program):

Second, if I attempt to dump all of my register settings into a .h file using the "End System Integration" part of the app, it fails in the sense that it does nothing.  If I try to output the settings to a file, no file is created.  If I try to dump them to an output window, nothing whatsoever appears in the window.

I'm mystified by these issues and am under a lot of pressure to have the PPC3 software work - has anyone run into issues this and resolved them?  I've tried all of this on two computers with identical results, so seems unlikely that the cause is a corrupt PPC3 installation or something like that.  Both computers formerly worked just fine.

Thanks,

Josh

  • 0
    TI__Genius 9190 points
    Hi Josh,

    I want to make sure if your process flow is as stated in point 1 through 5. Also, it'd be great if you could provide us with the PPC3 file that you're working on so I would be able to visualize your questions.

    Best regards,
    -Roy Hsu
    Texas Instruments
  • 0 in reply to Roy Hsu
    Intellectual 860 points

    Yes, my process flow is as I stated in steps 1-5.

    I've attached two .ppc3 files - one that worked fine in the past and my most recent one, which produced the results in my original post.

    Here's the really weird thing: I tried both just now, and they both worked normally.  You can see from my screen shot that the error really happened, but suddenly I can't replicate it with the same input.  I got these errors on two different days with two different files and two different machines, so they certainly seemed repeatable at the time.  I don't know what's going on here - I'm glad it seems to be working, but I worry about it breaking again for some reason(s) I can't readily discern.

    Josh

    P.S. - When I tried to attach the .ppc3 files to this post, I got this notice:

    Given that I'm trying to attach files created by TI's own software in a format that TI presumably created, you guys should probably get this restriction lifted in your forums.  I've zipped up the files and attached them again.

    ppc3_samples.zip

  • 0 in reply to Roy Hsu
    Intellectual 860 points

    Roy,

    I've made several more attempts to make PPC3 work and wanted to document my findings.

    In trying to import my .ppc3 file into the TAS5766M app in PPC3, I experienced several crashes and hangs.  I neglected to mention it, but PPC3 often reports that it experienced an error upon startup (from the previous session) and asks if I want to send the reports to TI.  I always do.  Are they reaching anyone or doing any good?  This has been typical behavior for me since I started using the software, but it has just been an annoyance up to this point rather than something that blocked my progress.  These are typical of the things I see on both of my machines:

    I was unsuccessful in getting my main machine to work.  I did, however, get my .ppc3 file to import and generate a register dump file on my alternate machine.  I have no idea why it worked this time; this is one of the same machines that wasn't working previously and which prompted me to create this post.

    I really think PPC3 needs some refinement and stability improvements.  Aside from this crashing and file importing issue, there are other things about the workflow that feel very inefficient.  For instance, the whole process of measuring, saving those results as a .ppc3 file, then having to import them into another app in the same program is really clunky.  There should be a much more direct way of generating register dump files, since that is really the whole end goal anyhow.  It took me a long time to figure this out when I was first using the software.  When I open the TAS5766M app to begin the register dump process, I really dislike the fact that I can't go directly into the Tuning and Audio Processing part to import my .ppc3 file; the program pops up a dialog that tells me I must complete system checks first:

     

    I have no intention of using the dev board, which I don't even have connected at this point, so there's no point to performing system checks.  To work around this, I have to fake out the program by starting the system calibration and aborting after the first step - then it will let me go into Tuning and Audio Processing.  This is silly, IMO.

    PPC3 is crucial, mission-critical software for anyone working with these parts in a production environment.  It needs to work well.  Please let me know if I can provide further information to help improve the program.  If I continue to experience other crashes and such I'll post them here.

    Josh

  • 0 in reply to Roy Hsu
    Intellectual 860 points
    Hereby registering my great disappointment that no help with these serious problems has been forthcoming. A month later... zip.
  • 0 in reply to Josh Heiner
    TI__Genius 9190 points
    Hi Josh,

    I've tried with the two PPC3 files attached and did not see any of the problems mentioned in your post.

    Due to the fact that software can be influenced by various factors, what I can do now is collect every bit of
    information of your testing setup then try to figure out the cause.

    Could you please provide :
    1. The operating system of your computer
    2. The version of PPC3 installed ( go to the upper-left corner then click "About" )

    Besides, do you see the same problem on PPC3 recently?

    Thank you.

    Best regards,
    -Roy Hsu
    Texas Instruments
  • 0 in reply to Josh Heiner
    TI__Genius 9190 points
    Hi Josh,

    The mechanism of speaker characterization requires all of the sensors on PP-SALB-EVM to read all the data from the speaker for the GUI to process. Since TAS5766M EVMs are mostly used for tuning and end-system integration, we do not incorporate any sensor on it. That's why you'll need to import the data you've got from the "Learning Board" app to the "TAS576M" app.

    In addition, the system calibration which is required before entering the audio processing block is to make sure that you have all background settings such as power supply, sampling frequency and audio playback correctly set up. It is to make sure that users can proceed with audio processing without worrying about missing any essential setup.

    We understand that there is still room for improvement in PPC3 and we will take your suggestion into consideration when designing our future products.

    Thanks for the feedback!

    Best regards,
    -Roy Hsu
    Texas Instruments