Chart Delay

[paperblue46]

Hi,

I have been running side by side charts with various other charting software, Web and windows based programs, and I have noticed that there is a delay against all other charting programs I have tried.

For NT8 I have a chart with no indicators, on default settings. The other platforms are charting faster. It cant be more that a 1/4 of a second, but they all are faster.

I'm feeling an edge loss as users of other platforms will have that extra time to react and place their orders.

I'm hoping there is a setting I can change or something that can be looked into.

Thanks!

[NinjaTrader_JustinD]

Hello paperblue46,

Thank you for using NinjaTrader.


Please write into PlatformSupport[AT]NinjaTrader[DOT]Com along with your log and trace files and a link to this forum post. In your response, please also include 'ATTN Justin Ticket # ' in the subject line so it arrives in my inbox.

Follow the steps below to manually attach your log and trace files to your response so I may investigate this matter further.

• Open your NinjaTrader folder under Documents.
• Right-click on the 'log' and 'trace' folders and select Send To> Compressed (zipped) Folder.
• Send the 2 compressed folders as attachments to this email.
• Once complete, you can delete these compressed folders.

Thank you in advance for these files. I look forward to assisting you further.

[paperblue46]

Sent! Thank you Justin.

[brucerobinson]

#paperblue46 - there are a couple of things I'd recommend you familiarise yourself with that you are otherwise unlikely to be made aware of, and make your own informed decisions as to course of action

1. The chart refresh rate is hard-coded in Ninjatrader at 250ms, so 1/4s is the fastest refresh you will get with the default platform. That of course does not mean this is responsible for the 1/4s slower than other platforms you perceive as those will not be zero, but it is the fastest possible in the default platform. It is perceptible even without direct comparison (many noticed the change made from NT7 to 8), and for many Users not considered fit-for-purpose. Of course many will be unaware that they are disadvantaged in this way as you have. If you search on this Forum and others using 'chart refresh rate' you will find extensive feedback from users that this is insufficient, it is a downgrade from NT7 which allowed 100ms and was user-configurable. Ninjatrader has failed to react to the many requests for this to be reverted to NT7 speeds, so a User developed a workaround called 'TickRefresh' - a small and light add-on Utility available on the Ninja Ecosystem.

2. The default platform with no indicators can itself become a processing bottleneck causing chart lag. In a similar vein to 1. above, a User has coded a small utility to show when this is occurring called 'ChartLagTime' and 'ChartLagMeasurement' (same concepts, slightly different implementations) available on the Ecosystem. This shows Server time and PC Clock time and difference - hence chart lag.

Of course most Users are unaware of 1., and that at times they may be lagging behind the rest of the world

Hopefully these tools and info may assist you.

Best,

[paperblue46]

brucerobinson,

Thank you for the insight! I am new to NT and had a feeling I wasn't getting the full story from support. Working with support we left it at it is what it is, check your PC, with no history as you just shared.

I really wish I would have known this development history before I purchased the lifetime license and migrated over to NT for my brokerage. I don't think I would have went this route had I known the history, but, I am very excited to see if the recommendations you provided will help since I have already made the NT investment. I will still be looking at other options as loosing that time edge and not having full disclosure from NT has turned me off from NT even though the community has pulled together and made an indicator, I don't like giving my commissions to a company that operates this way.

Especially now with all the competition in this space, the deception is very bad business.

Thank you again for the history lesson and the indicators. I have them installed now, and will see if it makes a difference this week.

Happy trading!

[Lancer]

The script ChartLagTime can be downloaded here.

[paperblue46]

I want to say thank you to everyone who replied to this thread and I want to share for anyone else who finds this thread, after installing the 'ChartLagTime' add-on my lag was many times over a second.

I then installed the 'TickRefresh' add-on. What a difference! I left the settings on the default, which were 10ms. NT8 was then refreshing notably faster. I cant describe how faster other than lightning faster, than all of the competitor charting programs that I tested against. I did notice a slight hicup every now and again. I imagine it being due to all the various charts and programs I trade with being open. I left my main trading chart on 10ms and bumped the other charts that supplement my trading to 100ms.

Everything has been running solid all day.

Thank you again to all who replied!

NT Justin - Maybe put these addons into any notes you guys may keep about delayed charts or chart lag to help the next guy that figures out his charts are lagging and contacts support. Save the community some time.

[brucerobinson]

#paperblue46,
Glad you were able to improve your situation to one that works for you.
I feel a bit of obligation to also offer a word of caution re: use of TickRefresh - in downloading you'll have seen NT''s advice against it. I've never found a problem in my use nor heard of anyone doing so. But I heed NT's caution and use it sparingly (the freedom I had available in NT7)

There is encyclopaedic quantities of history on chart lag and chart refresh rates on this Forum over the years if you're minded to look. My only further input is don't use TickRefresh where you don't need to i.e. you say you've gone for 10ms and 100ms. Personal opinion I doubt 10ms offers benefit over 50 or 100 (say, and your latency will be more, human reaction times blah blah blah, there's plenty stuff from the gaming world etc. Sounds like I'm 'liking the sound of my own voice' here ;-], which I'm not - just depends on what you're after), and no point in 100ms on an hourly chart, if you see what I mean.

I've no idea what your future plans are, but for example you don't want to be rendering unnecessarily then scale up your workspaces with additional charts and find you're maxing out graphics or whatever, causing future problems for yourself

Problem was Ninja capping it at 250ms which I and many NT7 users immediately noticed and found not fit-for-our-purposes, as have you & hence TickRefresh.

For example, I have many charts and instruments open but only use it on NQ and RTY fast tick charts for high volatility
And of course chart rendering bottlenecks begat chart lag, platform lag, becomes pernicious.....

Hope that makes sense and may be of some relevance to your own situation about which I know little
Good luck
Best,.

[paperblue46]

Thank you brucerobinson for the insight.

I understand what your saying and I think I will re-evaluate the specific settings I plugged into each chart and make some adjustments based on the time scale of the charts. I got excited and applied them all over! You make great points.

Thank you again for the information and guidance.

Happy Trading!