Lately we are having issues playing MP4 videos that we have imported into EZ worship. Some work just fine while others are terribly jumpy and the sound & video are not in sync. Can't seem to figure out why some work and some don't. Help!!

Thank you SO much for the advice, Donal. I was thinking about switching to a newer laptop (that we already have) but it doesn't sound like it will help us much. I appreciate you taking the time to give us some excellent suggestions!

Here's a link to the EW Specs page.

https://support.easyworship.com/support/solutions/articles/6000047711-system-requirements-ew-6-

Got it. So, bottom line is we need to invest in a new worship laptop that meets the recommended specs for EW. We've been considering replacing our current laptop for a while due to its age, but now we know what we need to be looking for specifically if we want to be able to use EW (and all it's future updates) moving forward.  

SO appreciate your time and expertise. 

Blessings,

Tanya

It's not strange at all that some will work and others will not unless every video uses the exact same codec, is the exact same resolution, the exact same bitrate, etc. More than likely (re 99% certain) you are using an assortment of videos from 360p (easiest to play) up to 1080p or 4k, using a variety of bitrates. I see it all the time. With your current laptop you would need to stick with 480p 1,000 kbps videos that use the H.264 (or x.264) codec to stand a chance of playing back well. Think of it like this. Some videos weigh 2 or 3 pounds and even a youngster can pick them up and carry them around. Some videos weigh 100 or more lbs and you need to be an adult and fit to move them easily. The higher the bitrate, resolution, codec, etc. the more the video weighs.

And yes, you need to stick with releases of EW 7 that start with 7.1. NONE of the 7.2 releases will work well with EITHER of those laptops as neither comes close to meeting the recommended specs to run EW. The Acer with the low end Nvidia 940MX meets the MINIMUM specs and would probably handle 720p resolution video projected to a SINGLE screen (as in NO FOLDBACK) as long as you stick with videos (or motion backgrounds) that are 720p or less and low bitrate. I wouldn't run a 7.2 release on it tho.

Sucesss!! And yes, it makes a big difference when playing our MP4 videos. I just find it strange that some videos work just fine and others don't (under the most current build...)

So does this mean we need to ignore all future EZ 7 builds??  

Also, I'm attaching a dxdiag file from our other worship laptop for you to look at. I REALLY appreciate your help with this.

It's at the very bottom of the page.

So I tried to revert back to the previous version of EZ worship 7 without success. I couldn't seem to find it on the download page. : ( 

Also, make sure to go into the Power Settings in the Control Panel and set the Power Plan to Performance. This is critical on a laptop as they normally come set to Power Saver which is designed to enhance battery life by sacrificing performance by as much as 50% or more. 

Run that DXDiag on it like you did with the other laptop and we can look at the specs and provide some advice on whether it would be much of an improvement or not.

It depends. Newer doesn't always mean faster or more powerful. Many newer laptops are designed to give better battery life so you can use it longer between charges. These tend to be slower and less powerful than a higher end laptop from 2012/13 like your HP. Essentially if it used Intel graphics no, it won't be enough of an upgrade. What you need is a laptop with Nvidia graphics that meets or exceeds the recommended requirements on the EW Support Page entitled "System Requirements For EasyWorship". And you need the RECOMMENDED specs. The Minimum specs aren't realistic for projecting videos or motion backgrounds using EW in a Sanctuary, especially at 1080p.

And moving to EW7 build 7.1.4.2 will help a lot. We use a couple of Thinkpads in our children's Church and our teen area that have very similar specs to your HP and they work quite well with 7.1.4.2, but we don't use the Foldback Monitor option. The Foldback Monitor pushes them a bit too much.

Thank you for giving us some options! 

So our laptop is several years old - would moving to a new(er) laptop fix this problem?

That laptop uses the default integrated Intel graphics that is not supported by EW. Your best option is to revert back to EW 7 build 7.1.4.2. That is available at the bottom of the EW7 download page. All of the 7.2.x.x series of EW uses more of your graphics to display EW, with 7.2.2.0 being the worst. It is possible that 7.2.3.0 might work okay, but I wouldn't count on it as a long term solution.

Hopefully I did this right!