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Nx Head Tracking Troubleshooter

Jul 28, 2021

Consult this troubleshooter if you encounter issues using the head tracking feature of the Nx Virtual Mix Room, Nx Ocean Way Nashville, CLA Nx or Abbey Road Studio 3 plugins, via your computer camera or the Nx Head Tracker device.

ProblemPossible Solutions
Head does not move in GUI – no tracking
  1. Verify head tracking is ‘on’ in plugin GUI.
  2. Check if the head tracking app is running.
  3. Play audio through the plugin (plugin on CPU).
  4. Check tracking rate box in plugin GUI.
Head tracking app is not running
  1. Restart the head tracking app through the plugin (Nx Virtual Mix Room – ‘Restart’ button / Abbey Road Studio 3 and Nx Ocean Way Nashville – ‘Settings’ button).
  2. Inactivate/reactivate plugin.
Low tracking rate (< 20 fps) in the head tracking app when using computer camera
  1. Improve lighting conditions.
  2. In MacBook only, select “low light” mode in the head tracking app.
  3. Point the camera up slightly, for a brighter frame.
  4. Make sure that your face is well lit and not shadowed.
Low tracking rate (< 20 fps) in plugin GUI when using camera
  1. Check the tracking rate in the head tracking app.
  2. Verify audio buffer size is 1024 samples or lower.
Head tracking app often loses track of your head when using computer camera
  1. Position the camera closer and straight in front of you.
  2. Remove sunglasses, hat or anything covering your face.
  3. Improve lighting conditions.
  4. Stay within +/-30 degrees off the center of the camera.
  5. Make sure you’re no further than 5-6 feet away from camera.
Nx Head Tracker device will not connect
  1. Make sure your computer’s Bluetooth is turned on
  2. Make sure your computer’s Bluetooth is at least BT4.0 and supports BLE.
  3. Make sure the head tracking app is running
  4. Make sure the Nx Head Tracker device is on and with a good battery.
  5. Windows only – Make sure the Nx Head Tracker is paired to your computer in the system Bluetooth settings menu.
Nx Head Tracker device loses connection and doesn’t move smoothly
  1. Try using a new battery.
  2. Try to have the Nx Head Tracker and the Bluetooth receiver closer together.
  3. If you are using a BT-USB dongle on a desktop, connect the dongle on the front panel, or on an extension for better BT reception.
Nx Head Tracker device is tracking my movements but in wrong directions
  1. Make sure the Nx Head Tracker is mounted on the top of the headphone arc with the logo side facing forward (t L & R on the Nx Head Tracker should correspond to L & R on your headphones). Inaccurate positioning of the Nx Head Tracker will result in inaccurate head tracking.
Audio is not externalized enough, the virtual positions are not clear
  1. Verify your headphones’ L/R placement and routing.
  2. Verify that Nx is inserted at the last summing buss in the signal flow, with no other channels bypassing it.
  3. Verify that head tracking is working.
  4. Set the Sweet Spot (Nx Virtual Mix Room – ‘Sweet Spot’ button / Abbey Road Studio 3 and Nx Ocean Way Nashville – ‘Calibrate’ button).
  5. Increase the room ambience.
  6. Mute/unmute individual virtual speakers by double-clicking on them and listening to their position.
  7. Measure and set your personal Head Modeling parameters.
  8. Make sure the head modeling section is set to your individual measurements or to the factory default settings. Unreasonable head size settings can ruin the spatial effect.
No communication between the head tracking app and the plugin
  1. Close the head tracking app, inactivate and reactivate the plugin.
Head tracking shows some latency
  1. Try to increase the tracking rate, optimally up to 30 fps.
  2. Try to lower the buffer size.
  3. In some DAWs, in order to run in the real user-set buffer size, Nx need to be on the master buss or on a live input AUX path.