This is exactly the problem. SMART goes crazy and makes "poor choices" when the quotes are off. The only solution I know is the one Mr.NBBO gave above. Also remember, that IB quotes are NOT complete. TWS only shows us quotes from the market centers they support. Compare to eSignal to see the difference.
Actually you're out of date. IB provides a true data feed (5 second bars) that is correct for extreme ticks etc. I use SierraChart and it lets you combine the 5 second bars with the real time feed to give a correct and timely output chart. And it has no lag in fast markets.
In Sierrachart you just put the suffix -TD on the symbol and out it comes. It probably depends on whether your charting package developer has got around to supporting it yet. The SC boys are very prompt.
It is the default feed for IB's own charts. Its not the old API feed. Its requested differently. So for a new charting package it might be the default (or not) as its a developer decision.
kiwi, does that mean you have two parallel charts for the same symbol? one chart with 5 second bars and one chart with a real time feed? i just switched to sierra, and am experimenting with setups.
kiwi, i just found your answer in the sierra support board... (scroll down to post #29) http://supportboard.sierrachart.com/showthread.php?t=12769&page=3
IB was not the only Broker having issues with frozen quotes. I have feeds from 2 other brokers and they both were having issues at the same time with Frozen quotes on the QQQQ. It most likely is an exchange issue not a brokerâs issue. IB does seem to have some issues with ARCA . I can not get ARCA book in Total View , neither can tech support at IB ! They have been looking into this for a week and need to get this resolved. I did notice a lot of quote issues started with ARCA after they were bought out by the NYSE last year. I always run quotes from multiple sources just to play it safe when I trade.