I have 5 timers running on an infinite loop, set at 100 ms repeat to send midi cc messages. When the Bome app losses focus, after a period of time (1-2 minutes?) the MIDI CCs sent by the timers slow down, stutter, then stop. If I click on the BOME app with my mouse, such that it gains focus, the timers start up again instantly and the MIDI CCs start sending again.
Looking at the activity monitor the BOME process is taking 0 CPU cycles when the MIDI cc’s stop.
Seems like a OS process-scheduling issue but I suspect that BOME should not be put to sleep if it is sending a timer.
Hi, thanks for reporting this. We will check into it. Generally running multiple timers simultaneously is not a problem as Bome MIDI Translator is multi threaded.
Steve Caldwell
Bome Customer Care
Also available for paid consulting services: bome@sniz.biz
Thanks Steve. I’d hate for you to spend time investigating this if it turns out to be an issue on my end. I’ll do some more debugging and let you know if it keeps happening. I was just wondering, before I start extensie debugging on my end, if this was a known issue with Bome. Given it is not a known issue, I’ll start working to debug on my end.
Can you check that MIDI Translator is listed, and checked, in the following Settings → Security and Privacy categories:
Accessibility
Automation
Current is Monterey 12.6. Maybe a good idea to update macOS? It’s a bit hidden, but it is possible to update Monterey and not to Ventura (if you don’t want that).
Please report back here anything you find out. Thanks!
MIDI Translator is not listed or checked in Settings → Security and Privacy. Should I add it? The Bome installer completed without error those entries were not added.
Hi @mdac356 , have you been able to test this?
I also think that early versions of MacOS Monterey had some problems in CoreMIDI which were fixed in later Monterey updates.
Thanks. I’ve definitely confirmed and can replicate the issue. Happens not only with multiple timers but also with only one timer. I’m also seeing evidence that Bome itself stops recording incoming midi values when the issue arises.
Note that when the issue arises, according to OSX activity monitor, Bome is using 0% CPU resources which is less than when Bome is idle (~3%). Please see attached screenshots.
I also note that the # of processes under the ‘Bome’ process name drops by 1 when the issue happens, and then increases by 1 when it resolves (also see attached screen shots).
Given Bome’s CPU use is above 0 at idle, but then drops to 0 when the issue arises, it seems that the Bome itself and Bome’s child processes are being suspended by the OS.
I can resolve this issue by either 1) maximizing the Bome app or by 2) opening the activity monitor.
Do you still feel it appropriate to update OSX to a more recent version of OSX?
thank you for the thorough analysis! As said, this is the first report we’ve about such behavior, and running MT Pro in background is a very typical use case.
Absolutely. I understand if you have reasons to stick with Monterey, but updating to the latest minor version update (12.6) is relatively risk free wrt compatibility and will fix many bugs in macOS.
Additionally, we generally don’t support outdated minor macOS versions. When looking into this issue on a Monterey system, we will always use Monterey with all updates.
Hi, also if you can replicate this, please share your project file that you are using with one timer configuration, and I will see if I can replicate the issue.
Steve Caldwell
Bome Customer Care
Also available for paid consulting services: bome@sniz.biz
Thanks Steve; very much appreciated the assistance. I updated to 12.6.4 and the issue persists. I’m in process of doing some additional debugging on this issue. I’ll forward the project file as soon as I complete the debug steps Florian suggested (if the issue still persists). Bome was not added to my accessibility settings (I added it) and I’m not able to add Bome at all to the ‘automation’ setting.
yes, it installed correctly. MT Pro does not pre-request any extended rights. Instead, you will be prompted to authorize rights like Automation when using the respective functionality in MT Pro (e.g. AppleScript Outgoing action, Keystroke Input action, etc.).
Sure. Many thanks Steve. I’ll send it over later tonight soon as I get home.
The timers don’t contain any keystrokes. The timer triggers two translators one of which sends a MIDICC message instantly, while the other sends a different midi CC message after a 90 millisecond delay. The first midi CC message turns lites a button on my launch pad, while the second CC message turns the button light off. In this way the button can blinks when the timer is activated.
I recently posted a video showing how the issue happens even when there are no timers running. I initially thought where involved here. However, I now recognize that the timers just made it easier for me to notice when bone stopped responding because the lights stopped blinking. After I did additional troubleshooting I was able to document how the issue happens even when the timers are not running.
And this makes sense looking back as well. Even when the timers were not running, when I was coding the application, bome quite suddenly stopped doing what it was supposed to be doing. I thought it was some kind of algorithmic or programming problem on my end but what was really going on was bome stopped responding to incoming midi CC messages.
Please see attached Steve. I reported on the issue with the translator titled ‘Phaser Mute Blink On’ in the Preset ‘Phaser Mute-- Button Press’.
I tested the Bome project on a Windows 10 pc. Played with it for a bit, and let the timers run with the lights blinking for 2 hours. Run it in the background, foreground, with other apps open including watching a moive.
No issues at all.
So this is not an issue with the project file… and I doubt it is an issue with Bome itself. I believe if the issue originated with Bome it would have been reported already—given how significant an issue it is. I suspect a clean install of OSX on my laptop would fix it…but am not going to move forward with that. My production environment is windows 10, and as long as it works there I can deal with the issue on OSX. So I’m considering the issue closed.
But in case you want to see the project file in question, please see attached.Happy to answer any other questions if you are interested in tracking the issue down—please don’t hesitate to ask.
And many thanks for the help you have provided and your willingness to assist.
