Forum Announcement: JamKazam July 13th Update
July 13th, 2021

Site Changes

Expected latency to other players is now shown on the Find Session screen, to help you decide if that session would be a good one to join.

June 16th, 2021

Site Changes

Expected latency is now shown reliably when hovering over users in the Find Session screen, or your friends list, or search-users list.     GOOD, FAIR, POOR, UNACCEPTABLE, or UNKNOWN is shown.   UNKNOWN implies either you or the other user have not run the JamKazam application for at least a few minutes -- the application gathers latency info against the JamKazam relay network -- if both of you have collected that info, then we are able to provide the prediction.

Also, you can see the breakdown of the other users internet latency, as well as their audio latency, next to the GOOD/FAIR/POOR/UNACCEPTABLE/UNKNOWN badge.

Media Relay Network Changes

There are new Audio Relay Servers in:
  1. Cape Town, Africa
  2. Sydney, Australia
  3. Mumbai, India
  4. Milan, Italy
June 14th, 2021

App Changes

The 'Audio System Unstable' message should be fixed on the MacOS app.  Windows has been much less affected by this, but also the fix was added to the Windows app as well.

Site Changes
If you hover over a user in either the Find Session screen, or your friends list, or search-users list, you should see predicted latency to that user. You may see GOOD, FAIR, POOR, UNACCEPTABLE, or UNKNOWN.    UNKNOWN implies either you or the other user have not run the JamKazam application for at least a few minutes -- the application gathers latency info against the JamKazam relay network -- if both of you have collected that info, then we are able to provide the prediction.
 
UPDATE: Too many UNKNOWNS are being returned for latency info.  This is a new feature; we are investigating and will fix ASAP.

June 8th, 2021

App Update

The MacOS application will now play JamTracks again.  Note, there is an error when you close the JamTrack; click Keep Trying when the dialog shows and it should proceed normally.

For both Windows and MacOS, a bug was fixed in which ARS latency scoring would occur endlessly, even after an ARS was scored.   



May 19th, 2021

App Update

After yesterday's release, there are reports of the application freezing while playing in session.  We released a potential fix for this.    We can not recreate this freeze on your own machines, but know what is the likely addition in the last release that would be the cause of it.   

Of course, if your application is still freezing after this update, we would like to hear about it.

We continue to work on the problem with JamTracks loading in the app.  We know the general issue, but a fix is not easy so far.


May 18th, 2021

App Update
  1. Bug fix to prevent audio subsystem shutdown error on MacOSX
  2. Users should not see 'Network Send Error' messages any longer; networking code is rewritten and simpler. 
  3. Groupcasting now enabled; this is a ARS feature which will let clients need less upload bandwidth to use JamKazam with 3 or more people.
  4. Moved network-related controls from Booster+ dialog to Network/Route dialog.
  5. Fixed several bugs that caused app corruption (crashes) in audio processing.
  6. Make the Network/Route dialog honor the ISP bandwidth setting (slow, medium, fast) to configure how client operates with network usage.
  7. Added more logic to avoid no-audio events
  8. User can now change preferred communication path from P2P/ARS/Lowest Latency and see effect immediately
  9. On shutdown, a confirmation prompt is now shown.  In that prompt, a new option to no longer show prompt is provided.  On Windows, closing the app now will always close the app; not just minimize.
New Bug: JamTracks will not open in the app --  we are working on a fix ASAP. You can continue to use JamTracks in your browser in the meantime.  We apologize for the inconvenience.

April 26th, 2021

App Update
  1. Notifications stay on the screen for 8 seconds.  
  2. Hovering over a notification with your mouse will stop it from disappearing.
  3. Important notifications should stand out more with a highlighted color in the notifications sidebar.   Important notifications are: Friend Request, Friend Request Approved, Session Invitation, Session Invitation Approved.
April 7th, 2021

-- ROLLED BACK -- 
Some users reported crash on session startup.   We'll fix this and try again.

App Updated
  1. For Mac users -- we have a new UDP peer-to-peer stack -- should mean much fewer 'network send' errors.  This fix is coming for a Windows release ASAP.
    While we think this should be much better, we left the ability to go back to the previous mechanism for UDP sending, by going here: “Manage->Network Settings->Use New P2P” (requires restart).
  2. For Mac users -- we've upgrade some internal audio code, which we believe should resolve the 'I/O subsystem failed to start' error that occurred only on Macs.
  3. Windows received an update as well, but it only affects how we generate metrics to help us do remote support & debugging ('internal' feature).

Mar 22nd, 2021

App Updated - 
  1. Give user more control over route setting (Manager > Route + Connection > Dialog)
  2. Ability to delete all configuration files (Manage > Support > Delete ALL Configuration option)
  3. Avert audio setting configuration corruption by only saving settings at user request
  4. Ability to request rescore of ARS latency using the Network Status dialog
  5. Show the in session latency of both P2P and ARS path in the network status dialog
  6. Improved recovery from some no-audio situations
  7. Prevent computer from sleeping while in session

Mar 1st, 2021

App Updated - Should be less no-audio upon joining a session.    This is one of our most complicated, and troublesome, parts of the application, and we are still focused on making '2-way audio' always work.   This is a step in that direction.

Feb 9th, 2021

Mixes Back Online - The mixing & recording feature has been fixed.    Whenever you make a recording in a JamKazam session, and if you choose to 'Keep' the recording when done, after you leave the session, your high quality local version of your tracks were recorded and get uploaded to our servers for a final mix.  The same is true for all participants in a session.

Here are some quick steps to use the feature until we get it better documented.  We also have a bug or two still.  We are still working to make the feature bullet-proof:

  1. Make a record in the session.  

  2. In the popup that shows, click Keep recording.

  3. Leave the session.

  4. If you leave the app open, and click the File Manager link at the bottom of the window, you should see download/upload activity.     You should get notifications that mixes are working too after a short delay (the amount of time depends if others are recording too on JamKazam or if you have a longer recording).  If you click the SHARE button on one of those notifications, and click COPY LINK, you can hear the recording after it's done via a web player. You could give that link to others outside of JamKazam.   Also, the recording will show on the JamKazam feed, if public, here: (https://www.jamkazam.com/client#/feed)

  5. One bug we are still trying to resolve:  After the tracks all show 'Green' in the File Manager, click the Export link.   You should see .ogg file for all the local tracks as recorded on the machine of every participant (highest quality), and a Mix.ogg which is a server-recorded mix of all those local tracks too.  However -- the Mix.ogg has not been showing until you restart JamKazam once.  You will however see a StreamMix.ogg - this is the recording as you heard it live -- which isn't ideal because of internet-induced quality issues.    If you restart JamKazam once, though, the application will then finally download Mix.ogg as it should have done more promptly -- without having to do the restart. We are of course looking to fix this issue. 

Feb 8th, 2021

  1. In-Session Hover 'Net Path' fixed.    This feature now shows both TX Net Path (is internet traffic leaving your computer going P2P or through the Audio Relay Server (ARS), and now shows RX Net Path (is internet traffic entering your computer going through P2P or ARS).
  2. ARS Connection Status shows more information
Feb 2nd, 2021

  1. Less Notifications: Reduce notifications related to scoring with the audio relay server (ARS)
  2. Less No-Audio: Improvements in connecting, and recovering, when using ARS instead of P2P audio. Also better handling of a P2P connection failure, with subsequent failover to ARS
  3. Audio Interface Error Detection:  Audio Interface stalls sometimes are the actual source of 'no audio' -- application notifies of this condition.  The error may not be fixed, but at least the user can see it's an audio interface issue instead of network issue.
  4. ARS Connection Status: There is now an option in the systray icon to see the ARS connection status, and to even trigger a reconnect to the ARS if it fails. Right-click on the systray icon and select 'Connection Status', or under the Menu > Network Settings > Connection Status
Jan 21st, 2021

Avatar Uploads are working again.     Because of subscriptions, we were able to upgrade our account with the external service that handles how Avatar uploads work!  Please let us know if it doesn't work for you.

Jan 17th, 2021

UI Update:
  1. Session Hover: If you hover over another person's 'status bubble', you can now see if your internet traffic is going Peer-to-Peer (P2P) or via a JamKazam audio relay server (ARS).   If you experience audio trouble, it can be helpful for JamKazam support to know which path your audio went through.

  2. If you change your existing plan in the account subscription screen, the screen now does a much better job about indicating what your current plan is, and what your future plan will be. 

  3. Sessions are sometimes left open with ghosted participants.  After 2 days of no activity, a 'phantom session'  will be automatically cleaned up.
Jan 11th, 2021

UI Update
  1. https://www.jamkazam.com/client#/account/subscription will show your time remaining for the month -- relevant for Free and Silver plans
  2. Band Search fixed (in top-right, enter something to search, when the results show, change the dropdown to 'Band')
Client Update
  1. Enable user to select prefer P2P routing – override sever policy - found in Manage > Network Settings > Route > Prefer Peer-to-Peer Path.  Can be used when experiencing audio problems and suspect it's the JamKazam ARS server.

  2. Fixed logic that enables a user to disable Hot-Keys as these become a problem with some international keyboards

  3. Added hot-keys for "Reset volume to Default."

  4. Fixed logic that could result in some corner cases where users get no audio even though user joined session successfully

  5. Add logic that to make large group session work much more smoothly by managing packet rate and group casting

  6. Suppressed "Audio Configuration Report" notification – users can get to from the menu
Jan 6th, 2021

Server Update
  1. The Audio Gear Wizard will default to a frame size of 2 instead of 2.5 for ASIO devices.   This is to help Focusrite drivers pick a much smaller buffer size.    If you hear crackling at a frame size of 2, re-enter the Audio Gear Wizard, increase your frame size to 2.5, 5, or 10, until it sounds OK.   You want frame size as low as you can while still having good audio quality.
  2. Accounts marked as 'teacher' can now enter payment in the payment screen.     

Jan 1st, 2021

Windows & Mac Client Update
  • Fixed crashes caused by 'Subscription video' notice.  You may have to update manually by downloading and installing the application from https://www.jamkazam.com/downloads 
December 29th, 2020

Windows & Mac Client Update
  • Improved connection establishment
  • Shortcut (ALT + L) to generate support logs
  • Video remembers user position in layout. Automatically restores video position
  • Notify user of sub-optimal audio setup and generate report of where improvements can be made 
December 28th, 2020

Websocket Gateway Update and Server Update
  • Performance changes made to websocket-gateway and web server to alleviate 'Disconnected From Server' messages and speed up performance overall of the site.
December 22nd, 2020

Windows & Mac Client Update
  • Improved connection establishment
December 11th,2020 - Take #2

Server update
  • fixed main reason for high CPU usage (a loop in the web/UI code).
December 11th,2020

Windows Only Release for High CPU Usage issue
  • We believe this fixes the recent issue with high CPU usage causing audio issues. 
  • Mac Client wil come tomorrow
  • If improves, or doesn't, feel free to send us an email at support@jamkazam.com
December 8th,2020

'Recorded Audio' fixes
  • A scenario was found in which you could not close a backing track / recording / jam track.  The condition happened when another person in the session, who did not originally open the media, tried to close the file.     This would not work; also the original opener of the audio could no longer close the media either.
  • For Backing Tracks and Jam Tracks, only the person who opened it 'the opener' can close it.  The UI more clearly indicates this for the people who did not open the track.
December 7th, 2020

Client Stabilty Release
  • Fixed condition creating audio dropouts
  • Turned off 'audio auto-throttle' logic by default after users reported it caused audio issues
  • Improved the 'subscription downgraded' notification logic
November 9th, 2020

Client Stabilty Release
  • Connection stability improved when using media relay server
  • Show connection status in tray icon
  • Show server setup status in systray as connections are created
  • Fix intermittent audio drop caused by flapping between P2P and media relay server
  • Bug fixes for application resiliecency

[u]October 17th, 2020[/u]



Client Stabilty Release


  • When using a JamKazam server for audio & video, all participants will use same server as the session creator.
[u]October 17th, 2020[/u]


Client Stabilty Release
  • Multiple bugs fixed
[u]October 5th, 2020[/u]

Client Stabilty Release
  • Video affects audio quality less.
  • Faster ARS connectivity -- faster connectivity on session join
  • Better ARS fastest-path logic -- lower latency in some cases
  • Fix for client crash
[u]Sept 28th, 2020[/u]

In-Session 'Mixer' Behavior Updated

Please hover over the '?' when in session next to audio inputs, personal mix, recorded audio, and read over the changes.

The behavior is more intuitive, and gives you the right sort of control over your 'global' volume and your personal mix.   

If you experience any issues, please let us know at support@jamkazam.com or here in the forum.  essions the creator makes until the client is closed or the blocked user cache is cleared
  1. The blocked user cache can be cleared, allowing previously blocked users to join session.