Kontakt 7 issues and upgrade to Kontakt 8 policy question.

Bluebeat3

I have an existing problem with Kontakt 7, with VST window flickering to the point where it puts strain on eyes. Sharp>Blurred>Sharp. Whenever I can, I use Kontakt 6, which doesn't have this issue. I've started a ticket / reported the issue on February 2024 (!). Even made & send them a video. It was never resolved. Web champion EvilDragon also confirmed that it's a known issue.

I have latest version of Kontakt 7 / Windows 11. No other plugin I own have this flickering.

I have absolutely no desire of upgrading to new Komplete 15. Zero. As I feel NI sold me a defective product last year and failed to address the issue in many months, while I put my trust and purchased expensive new instruments that only work in Kontakt 7 with hope that issue will be fixed.

The only incentive for me to upgrade is that they fixed FLICKERING in Kontakt 8 that is present in 7. If it was not fixed, would I be able to ask for a refund?

Kindly let me know.

Thank you.

Vocalpoint

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/36094/kontakt-7-issues-and-upgrade-to-kontakt-8-policy-question

Tons of users out there are using the latest version of Kontakt 7 and Windows 11. With no flickering.

What exactly flickers? Is this Kontakt as a VST or standalone? What DAW are you using?

What kind of PC do you have? Monitor? Graphics card? (Which does requires the following):

Graphics hardware support for OpenGL 2.1 or higher and Direct 3D 11.1 (Feature Level 11_0) or higher.

And most importantly - what video resolution are you running at?

No details on K8 will be known until Sept 23 but it would help to understand your PC environment a bit more.

VP

Bluebeat3

VP,

thanks for trying.

"Tons of users out there are using the latest version of Kontakt 7 and Windows 11. With no flickering."

That is true. But the issue is known and some, including me have it.

Exactly flickers = Whole Kontakt 7 VST plugin window. Standalone doesn't flicker.

Kontakt 6 doesn't flicker. Never did, so as K5 for that matter. None of my other plugins ~200+ plugins from 3 dozen of other companies have this issues. Flickering, just as I described in my OP: goes sharp, then blurry, then sharp again, etc. NI ticket was opened in February. No follow ups.

Thinkbook i7-12700H 1tb nvme, 32g ram. Direct X 12
Intel Iris XE. Resolution 3072x1440.

Not sure if video links are allowed here. I couldn't record screen, so had to do it with phone camera. That "flickering" is happening every few second. In the video it could be seen on 3rd and 8th seconds.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncbT7c-IWHY&t=11s

Vocalpoint

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/178316#Comment_178316

Checked out the vid. I see what you mean.

And is this Reaper?

One thing is now clear - if it does not flicker in Standalone - that removes Kontakt (in general) and your machine/graphics chip/resolution/ from the equation. Which is good.

Which only really leaves Reaper as the "host". And as the the host - it controls a lot from how things get displayed on screen to of course - the audio end of things.

Staring at this vid for a few laps at regular speed and then about 10 laps slowed way down - this (to me) is not actually a "flicker".

I can almost see the DAW "pumping", with microscopic GUI "redraws" happening at specific spots (I slowed it right down). Also the CPU levels are bouncing around like crazy and there is some sort of meter flashing back and forth in the upper right - all with nothing playing.

If I do the same here and load K7 with your exact library in Studio One V6.6.2 - and leave it onscreen like you have - not only is there no flickering but there is no CPU activity either.

There is definitely something weird going on here but I am not convinced it is all 100% due to Kontakt based on your vid.

VP

Bluebeat3

"One thing is now clear - if it does not flicker in Standalone - that removes Kontakt (in general) and your machine/graphics chip/resolution/ from the equation."

Hmmm…

Issue is happening Cakewalk by Bandlab (current) and Pre 2018 Sonar and only with K7. No other plugin I own (VST or VSTi) have this issue.

Vocalpoint

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/178327#Comment_178327

So what DAW is in the video?

Cakewalk? Sonar?

VP

Bluebeat3

Cakewalk.

I have tried resolving this from different angles. Cakewalk forum, VI forum, NI ticket… As of now nothing that was suggested worked. I feel, it's some kind of incompatibility between K7 and Cakewalk and hardware combination. My best guess it has something to do with DPI awareness that is very specific to K7.

I feel it's unlikely that this will get resolved for me, especially with K8 around the corner. I am willing to try K8 to see if this was addressed, but if it's not… I wonder if they will give a refund?

Vocalpoint

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/178330#Comment_178330

Unless you can verify with 100% certainty that Cakewalk is a supported (and fully tested DAW) under Kontakt 8 - I would not pursue an upgrade until you know it works.

If it were me - I would not make any moves especially in the early going with K8. 6-12 months from release - maybe.

Just feel like NI won’t be keen to refund you if you buy it next week and it doesn’t work because NI has yet to test it with Cakewalk.

It is up to them to choose their own test platforms - remains to be seen whether Calkwalk is in that lineup or not.

VP

Bluebeat3

A member who experienced similar issue found a solution.

"High DPI scaling override" in Properties / Compatibility.  Unchecking that box, makes flickering disappear.

So obvious, don't know how I overlooked that. It was turned on long time ago because of UI issues with some other plugin I have. However, what is strange flickering is happening only with Kontakt 7 when that box is checked. Other plugins (made in the last ~5 years) work fine.

I hope this will help somebody who experiencing similar.