# Anthology loading time



## SBK (Mar 25, 2018)

Hi I am talking about 8Dio Anthology Strings,

This patch it takes so long to load that I can go and cook, eat and get back and still will be loading.

Is there a way to fix this? I think I tried to do batch resave but didn't help

Maybe I am doing it wrong?

The hard drive isn't ssd, but no other library takes so long!

Any help would be much appreciated! Its very frustrating like this that you don't want to load them ever!

Thanks a lot!


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## jtnyc (Mar 25, 2018)

Check out this post by fellow VI-C member Storyteller. He's talking about Century Strings, but it's the same engine as Anthology. 

This is what he wrote - 


Like many others, I've recently taken the dive into Century Strings. Beautiful library! Gorgeous actually. One giant issue....

*Load times. *

Like 26 seconds of beachballing (OSX, Violins 1 patch) before the samples start to load. This is on an i7 iMac with SSDs over thunderbolt. After a week of banging my head against a wall to troubleshoot this, I finally found a solution. This fix will work for everyone, and I am really excited to share it since these load time issues have apparently existed for all users since 8Dio introduced their new GUI with Anthology. So, here ya go! Video below.



*TLDW* - The video shows how to create single mic position NKIs by removing all references and groups to the other microphones, effectively reducing 5/6th of the references that cause CPU bottlenecking at load. But, this also increases performance in the patch by removing group/zone clutter.


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## Paul SAS (Mar 25, 2018)

While I am definitely recommending a SSD can You do something for a bit more efficiency. You load the patch once. Then unload all articulations in the articulation browser and maybey load some basics like sustain. Last resave it (maybey with "Lite")So now not all samples will be loaded into ram on start. Of course that is only helping if You're just loading a new instrument and not reopening an existing session. SSD is the way to go if You see lonv term.

Best,

Paul


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## SBK (Mar 26, 2018)

Thank you guys! jtnyc that helped I think, except if it won't be the same after a computer restart.
Should work much faster for sure though!


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## Colin O'Malley (Mar 28, 2018)

Guys, 

This came up in another thread. I appreciate the help from that video, but you shouldn't have to go to those lengths to make the library load correctly. Simple system optimization will solve this far more easily. 

The loading issues are usually related to virus scanners and firewalls in Windows. They're actually slowing down loading of ALL Kontakt instruments (not just 8dio). Because Anthology and Century have all the instruments in a single NKI you just notice the long loading time a lot more. Please try the steps below. *I'm also happy to troubleshoot individual systems. *We've solved all of the loading issue that I've run across. Please don't hesitate to contact composerATcolinomalley.com or [email protected] / ask that it be forwarded to me. 

Thanks, 

Colin

FROM OTHER THREAD:

Batch resave is always a good idea for large Kontakt libraries. It rewrites file paths to your specific hard drive names, and helps Kontakt move faster. 

Try disabling "Windows Firewall" and "Microsoft Antimalware Service" in Windows Services. This is going to help you with all audio performance (not just 8dio instruments). Windows Defender and other virus scanners can also slow down Kontakt. 

WORD OF WARNING: If you're using your DAW for web browsing, please be careful. Disabling these makes your computer more vulnerable. Ideally, it is best to have your audio PC online only for authorizations and updates, but that's not always possible. 

If your PC is not a custom audio build, or you don't feel comfortable messing around in Windows, this company is a great option for optimizing existing off the shelf PCs. They can walk you through optimization settings over the phone. http://studiocat.com/opencart2/index.php?route=product/category&path=67 40$ bucks is a steal. They are well versed in all issues relating to Windows and Audio performance. I just bought a new slave from them, and it's fantastic. As libraries become more and more robust, optimization will be more and more important.


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## EvilDragon (Mar 29, 2018)

If other large libraries open much faster than Anthology on the same system, the issue is not that of firewall or antivirus, Colin, with all due respect.


It is well known that Kontakt instruments which have hundreds/thousands of groups and dozens of thousands of samples, coupled with a LOT of group effects and scripts with bajillion of persistent variables, WILL load slower than those which are more optimized for their purpose. i.e. Spitfire libraries are just as large, but they definitely load much faster than yours. Orchestral Tools has the same problem.


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## Colin O'Malley (Mar 29, 2018)

EvilDragon said:


> If other large libraries open much faster than Anthology on the same system, the issue is not that of firewall or antivirus, Colin, with all due respect.
> 
> 
> It is well known that Kontakt instruments which have hundreds/thousands of groups and dozens of thousands of samples, coupled with a LOT of group effects and scripts with bajillion of persistent variables, WILL load slower than those which are more optimized for their purpose. i.e. Spitfire libraries are just as large, but they definitely load much faster than yours. Orchestral Tools has the same problem.



Is this the REAL EvilDragon????

I know you are VERY familiar with the ins and outs of Kontakt. Century and Anthology instruments do have a lot of groups. All arts are housed within a single NKI, with an internal browser to build templates. The steps I have outlined will make large NKI’s load faster (that includes NKI’s with lots of groups from other developers). 

I’m not dismissing the need for further code optimization of our instruments. We’re looking at that as well, of course. 

If an Anthology or Century instrument is taking more than 5-10 seconds to load on your system, don’t hesitate to contact me. I’ll do whatever I can to fix it - composerATcolinomalley.com 

Colin


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## EvilDragon (Mar 29, 2018)

Colin O'Malley said:


> Is this the REAL EvilDragon????



The one and only. 


BTW, I do know how to optimize a system, I've been with Windows for 20+ years  I have disallowed scanning of the sample drives by the antivirus (Windows Defender in my case) over here - however firewall has nothing to do with files on your hard drive so leaving it enabled if you're browsing the Internet from the same computer is definitely recommended.

There are still notable differences between how long various big sample libraries take to load - indicating the fact that some are simply a lot more optimized.  I'm not necessarily talking Anthology over here (since I don't own it), but I do have some other big sample libraries, and this is pretty evident. In any case, Spitfire's are the most optimized of the bunch.


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