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[richard-ec2]

I am using MC23 on a Windows 10 PC hooked up to an Anthem MRX 520 A/V receiver.

My problem is, I can't enhance the sound of my 2.0 channel stereo files using the surround effects on my A/V receiver (AnthemLogic-Music, Dolby Pro Logic and DTS Neo) because JRiver doesn't output these files as 2.0 channel files - it outputs them as 5.1 files, and therefore these effects are not available.

I already figured out why this is happening. In DSP, I have the Output Format checked and "Channels" set to "5.1 channels" with "No upmixing or downmixing". It has to be this way because this is the only way I can get JRiver to play back multichannel files with 5.0 or 4.1 or 4.0 channels.

This wouldn't happen if I could simply set the Output Format to play the source number of channels. But, using search, I can see that this has been the subject of numerous other threads and for whatever reason this function doesn't work in JRiver - it only allows you to play files with 2.0 channels or 5.1 channels and it leaves you unable to play files with 5.0 or 4.1 or 4.0 channels.

Can anyone offer a solution?

Incidentally, if I uncheck the Output Format, 2.0 channel files then play correctly, but of course I can't then play 5.0 or 4.1 or 4.0 channel files! And I can't change this setting on the fly because I'm using JRemote.

[blgentry]

I have a MUCH older Anthem AVM-20.  Seemed like an amazing creation at the time.  Now more like a museum piece!  Anyway...

There's a rather elegant and sort of easy solution to your problem:  Zones and Zone Switch Rules.

Make a new zone and give it a name that indicates that it is your two channel zone.  Use the exact same audio device as the original zone.  Now, set up *that* zone in DSP Studio to use 2.0 channels.

Next, configure zone switch with a rule that triggers on number of channels.  Some thing like, if it's two channels send it to the 2 channel zone.  Otherwise, send it to your original zone.

There's some documentation on this in the Wiki, but you probably can figure it out yourself; it's pretty straight forward.

Oh, make sure to set up your zone switch rule so that it stops playback in one zone when the other zone is triggered.  I.e.  stop the multi-channel zone, when a 2.0 channel song triggers the 2 channel zone.

Good luck.

Brian.

[BillT]

Probably not going to help, but I had this problem with my Meridian HD621 and found that the issue was that the audio device bit depth was set to something odd, like '24 bit integer in a 32 bit package'.

Selecting automatic now sends the correct channels to the HD621 (output format set to 'source number of channels') without having to use complex work rounds.

[richard-ec2]

Probably not going to help, but I had this problem with my Meridian HD621 and found that the issue was that the audio device bit depth was set to something odd, like '24 bit integer in a 32 bit package'.

Selecting automatic now sends the correct channels to the HD621 (output format set to 'source number of channels') without having to use complex work rounds.

Thanks but it's as I said, this only works when switching between 2.0 and 5.1. When JRiver says "Source number of channels", this only works for certain channel configurations and these don't include 5.0 (quite common in classical music) or the recent spate of quadraphonic reissues with a bass channel. If you try to play back a 5.0 file or a 4.1 file, it just freezes with the "Something went wrong with playback" error message.

There's a rather elegant and sort of easy solution to your problem:  Zones and Zone Switch Rules.

Make a new zone and give it a name that indicates that it is your two channel zone.  Use the exact same audio device as the original zone.  Now, set up *that* zone in DSP Studio to use 2.0 channels.

Next, configure zone switch with a rule that triggers on number of channels.  Some thing like, if it's two channels send it to the 2 channel zone.  Otherwise, send it to your original zone.

There's some documentation on this in the Wiki, but you probably can figure it out yourself; it's pretty straight forward.

Oh, make sure to set up your zone switch rule so that it stops playback in one zone when the other zone is triggered.  I.e.  stop the multi-channel zone, when a 2.0 channel song triggers the 2 channel zone.

I was afraid you were going to say that! I appreciate the helpful guide and will have a go over the next few days but I know nothing about zones and all the time I'll be muttering to myself, "Why am I having to do this?" I know it's been said before but if only the "Source number of channels" feature worked as it should, it would save a lot of threads like this one!

[Fitzcaraldo215]

Relax.  Zones are quite simple.  Set up your stereo and Mch zones.  Elapsed time, including your reading and research time = under 5 minutes.  Switch between those 2 zones manually for awhile. After you tire of that, you will realize in under 5 additional minutes how simple Zoneswitch is.  Problem solved forever.

The major problem with Source Number of Channels is the metadata on the recordings.  It is an integer field.  So, it represents 5.0 channels as 5, but 5.1 channel recordings have the integer value 6, not 5.1.  That is not JRiver's doing.  And, while rare, I am guessing there may possibly be some 6 channel files out there, which should be treated as 6.0, not 5.1.

The real problem is that Source Number of Channels sure as heck SEEMS to be the right thing to do, but it isn't. And, it is not going to work the way you want it to.

[richard-ec2]

Relax.  Zones are quite simple.  Set up your stereo and Mch zones.  Elapsed time, including your reading and research time = under 5 minutes.  Switch between those 2 zones manually for awhile. After you tire of that, you will realize in under 5 additional minutes how simple Zoneswitch is.  Problem solved forever.

The major problem with Source Number of Channels is the metadata on the recordings.  It is an integer field.  So, it represents 5.0 channels as 5, but 5.1 channel recordings have the integer value 6, not 5.1.  That is not JRiver's doing.  And, while rare, I am guessing there may possibly be some 6 channel files out there, which should be treated as 6.0, not 5.1.

The real problem is that Source Number of Channels sure as heck SEEMS to be the right thing to do, but it isn't. And, it is not going to work the way you want it to.

I think the point that's been made in previous threads is that the problem seems to be unique to JRiver  - machines like Oppos and Sonys are able to play these discs without any problems and software players like Foobar can play the rips easily enough so it's a bit of a mystery why JRiver can't also handle them by default.

Having said that, I agree that the zones workaround is a lot easier than I'd feared and the automatic switching makes it trouble-free to use once it's all set up. I found another adjustment that has to be made in JRemote to make it work  - there's a setting that tells JRemote to follow the zone decisions made by the app and that setting has to be turned on. But other than that it all seems to be working very nicely now so I'll just say problem solved and thanks very much indeed for your help.

[RD James]

There's a rather elegant and sort of easy solution to your problem:  Zones and Zone Switch Rules.

It may work, but it's not an elegant solution at all.
Using Zone Switching means that every audio format is isolated in its own playlist and trying to play a file in a different format from something that is currently playing causes playback conflicts, since both try to play at once.
You're playing to a single audio device but now you have several zones doing different things.

An elegant solution to this problem would be an option in JRiver's output settings that let you select which formats to pass through (2.0 output as a stereo signal), which need to go in a container format (5.0 in a 5.1 container), and which need downmixed. (7.1 -> 5.1)
 
Thinking more broadly than that, some kind of support for Rule-Based DSP Switching instead of using Zones would also be much more elegant.
Zone switching should be used to handle audio devices, not DSP switching.

I think the point that's been made in previous threads is that the problem seems to be unique to JRiver  - machines like Oppos and Sonys are able to play these discs without any problems and software players like Foobar can play the rips easily enough so it's a bit of a mystery why JRiver can't also handle them by default.

Hardware players communicate directly with the AVR and can query which channel formats are supported.
I could be wrong, but I don't believe that software players have that option, and Windows only reports a "maximum number of channels".
So if the device supports 8 channels (7.1) that does not say whether it will also support 4 or 5 channel outputs. (4.0/5.0)
 
Have you tried enabling the "auto configure output settings on playback error" option?
I'm not sure what the failure state for that is, since my 7.1 device seems to accept any number of channels.
I would hope that it "fails upwards" so that 5.0 would try 5.1 if it fails, instead of falling back to 2.0
 
It might be useful if you detailed how Foobar is configured (WASAPI, DirectSound etc) and what the failure state is with it, compared to JRiver.

[tbng]

I agree that zone method is an answer.  You can switch between 5.1 and 2.0 by presetting zones.  The zone method, however is not a GOOD answer.  As noted above, there are conflicts.  Neither can you establish a play list with tracks using different zones and get the desired output on each track.  I also am having issues with the bit rate on 5.1 output in that everything is limited to 48kHz sampling max, which is, perhaps not conincidentally, what the internal sampling rate is.  This does not happen in two-channel playback.

Hey, JRiver!  PLEASE establish a setting that permits simple outputting of the source file as is so it is no longer necessary to switch manually between two and multi channel.  That's why the Good Lord invented computer software and is allowing fingers to rot away.  (Not thumbs.  Have to text, you know.)

[JimH]

Hey, JRiver!  PLEASE establish a setting that permits simple outputting of the source file as is so it is no longer necessary to switch manually between two and multi channel.

Wouldn't that be bitstreaming?

https://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=105213.0

[RD James]

Wouldn't that be bitstreaming?

No, that's not the issue here.
The issue is that most playback devices do not support all channel formats, while JRiver only has the option to set the output format to either "source number of channels" or a fixed channel format.
 
So if your device supports 2.0 and 5.1 but nothing else, "source number of channels" will fail for 4.0, 5.0, 7.1 format tracks etc.
And setting it to 5.1 means that 2.0 tracks will either be upmixed to 5.1 or played in a 5.1 container depending on your JRSS settings.
The JRSS setting affects both up and downmixing, so if you don't want 2.0 tracks being upmixed to a 5.1 container, it also means that a 7.1 track will not receive any downmixing and two of the channels will be discarded.
 
If JRSS had an option that only did downmixing and no upmixing, that might work combined with "source channels" and the "auto configure output settings on playback error" option enabled - assuming that automatic configuration works correctly.
 
At least that seems like a solution which would require the least amount of effort, rather than completely reworking how output format selection works.

[mojave]

My problem is, I can't enhance the sound of my 2.0 channel stereo files using the surround effects on my A/V receiver (AnthemLogic-Music, Dolby Pro Logic and DTS Neo) because JRiver doesn't output these files as 2.0 channel files - it outputs them as 5.1 files, and therefore these effects are not available.

I already figured out why this is happening. In DSP, I have the Output Format checked and "Channels" set to "5.1 channels" with "No upmixing or downmixing". It has to be this way because this is the only way I can get JRiver to play back multichannel files with 5.0 or 4.1 or 4.0 channels.

HDMI only accepts 2 channel, 6 channel (5.1) or 8 channel (7.1) containers. This is why Output Format set to "Source number of channels" won't work for HDMI. It isn't a JRiver limitation, but a limitation of HDMI.

Bitstreaming does take care of any format issues, but then you can't control the volume if using a JRiver app. You can install the Anthem MRX app and just switch to it for volume change if desired.

[Hendrik]

HDMI only accepts 2 channel, 6 channel (5.1) or 8 channel (7.1) containers. This is why Output Format set to "Source number of channels" won't work for HDMI. It isn't a JRiver limitation, but a limitation of HDMI.

HDMI in general can also accept other speaker counts (specific hardware limitations not withstanding), however it typically only has one speaker configuration per speaker count, so you get 4.1 or 5.0, but not both, and which it is I couldn't tell you.
So basically, anything but those standard speaker setups are not recommended. Mono and 6.1 often also work fine, but anything between 2 and 6 is hit-or-miss.

[MazingerZ]

Because HDMI can have issues with 4.0 and 5.0, can we have the following output option ?

Output Channels = "Source number of channels, except  if it's 4.0 or 5.0,  use a mapping"":

Source channels --- > Output channels
---------------------------------------------
stereo --> Output source number of channels, no change (i.e. JRiver outpus stereo to HDMI)
5.1   -->  Output source number of channels, no change (i.e. JRiver outputs 5.1 to HDMI)

5.0   -->  Use mapping: Output 5.1  (with empty .1)
4.0   ---> Use mapping  Output 5.1  (with empty  center and LFE channel)

That will solve many users' issues with the existing "Source number of channels" output when playing 4.0 and 5.0 sources.

[wer]

Because HDMI can have issues with 4.0 and 5.0, can we have the following output option ?

The best thing to do is to set the number of output channels to your hardware's maximum (say, 7.1) and MC will fill all the empty channels with silence.  This works without any trouble, in all cases, as long as you don't emotionally object to your receiver showing 7.1 for a 5.1 channel source.

If you insist on having it the way you describe, you can already achieve that using ZoneSwitch, with a rule base on the Channels count.  No new feature is necessary.

[MazingerZ]

As I mentioned,  I want the receiver to receive stereo if it's a stereo source.
Then I can let the receiver process the signal as stereo (for example to upmix  using Dolby Surround,  DTS Neural-X,  Auro 3D, etc.).

I will check out the ZoneSwitch functionality.

Thanks

[MazingerZ]

Although the ZoneSwitch feature definitely works as you suggested, it can get complicated (and I'm not sure if it will work properly) if you use the ZoneSwitch for other rules (together with the number of source channels rules).

Let's say I have these two playback zones:
 (1) Zone A (Playback = 5.1 HDMI Receiver / living room)
 (2) Zone B (Playback = USB DAC with 4 speakers: Front and Surround)

And I want to set up these ZoneSwitch rules:
 (1) Classical genre goes to Zone B.
 (2) And non-classical genre goes to Zone A

Note that classical songs can be stereo or 5.1,  or 4.0/5.0.
The same thing for non-classical songs,  they can also be stereo or 5.1, or 4.0/5.0.

How would this work if I want to apply the above rules,  in addition to the channels output rules ?
What I really need is to be able to select these output channels below in each Zone:

(1) Zone A (5.1 HDMI Receiver):
Output Channels =  "Source number of channels,  except map to 5.1  for  4.0/5.0 sources" (new feature request)

(2) Zone B (USB DAC - 4 speakers):
Output Channels=  4 Channels with JRRS mixing (existing function works fine)

I.e.,  it makes more sense to apply the channels rule within the Channels functionality (new feature request) -  and not in the ZoneSwitch rules.

[wer]

It can be done with ZoneSwitch.  You can make however complicated a set of rules you need.  You just need to remember that the first match controls. No new feature is needed.  (Also, the definition of your "feature" is incomplete: what about 3.0 or 2.1? What about 6.0 or 6.1? What about mapping to 7.1 instead of 5.1? You would need a matrix to accommodate all cases.  Not everyone has your exact need and problem.  What you're saying "makes more sense" really doesn't to everyone; just to you. Plus, many don't have your unfortunate hardware limitation, where the receiver won't do what you want. It's too bad your receiver won't apply the effects you want to anything but 2-channel signals; lots of receivers will. I assume you've double-checked to ensure it's not also a configuration option in your receiver.)

I don't really understand the example you gave because both zones you're defining are multi-channel zones, there's no stereo zone. But whatever, I'll make a simplifying assumption to make it more clear for you:

Suppose you want stereo and multi-channel sound handled separately, because you want your receiver to do something proprietary. Further assume you want classical music processed separately from all other types (say, because you want different equalizer settings for classical than for rock). 

This is easily handled: we have described four processing options, so define four zones:

Zone 1: Classical Stereo
Zone 2: Classical Multi-channel
Zone 3: Non-Classical Stereo
Zone 4: Non-Classical Multi-channel

Configure your ZoneSwitch rule accordingly.  It's a non-issue.

This sort of thing can also be done using DSP Presets, if you'd like to research that, and don't want to mess with Zones.  By setting the DSP tag for each file, a different set of DSP settings can be loaded on a per-file basis.  There are some significant problems/limitations with the current implementation of DSP presets in MC that prevent me from recommending it:
1. There is no "default" DSP preset. This effectively means you must tag every file in your library with a preset; the DSP settings will be changed with the tag is read, and will NOT be changed if the tag is entry.  This is unfortunate, but it's the way it is.

2. Some DSP settings, like Output Format (important for your case) will not change unless playback is stopped. This means the Output Format module won't change when advancing from one track to another within a playlist. This would break functionality for you if you mixed stereo and multi-channel classical in the same playlist or "album".

DSP Presets and ZoneSwitch can be used at the same time, on the same file. Be careful. If you don't know what you're doing, it will be easy to get confusing results, or no results at all.

So I suggest you stick with ZoneSwitch. It will get the job done, but it's just a bit of a maintenance burden to have to maintain the configuration of many zones.

I hope this helps.  Good luck...

[MazingerZ]

One of the requirements is to be able to send the original 4.0 or 5.0 source to the receiver through HDMI,  without any JRRS mixing.
I only need to output a minimum 5.1 signal to the HDMI/receiver to be able to do that.
It doesn't matter if I have a 5.1 or 7.1 or 6.1 receiver/speaker setup, the receiver (5.1 or 7.1 or 6.1) will be able to take the 5.1 signal (with only the 4 or 5 channels populated, and no audio upmixed to other channels or .1 LFE).
So even if I have a 6.1 or 7.1 setup,  I do not need to send/wrap it as a 6.1 or 7.1 output.

If you want to include 3.0 source channels to this feature request,  OK fine ( and also send it to the receiver in a 5.1 signal).
I'm not familiar with 6.0 or 6.1 sources,  so I cannot comment on that.

Regarding the stereo requirement,  this is not a limitation of my receiver.
I'm talking about the upmixing feature of (modern) receivers from stereo to 5.1 (or 7.1 or however number of speakers you have).
If you send a 5.1 signal (with silent center/surround channels) to a receiver with a 5.1 setup,  it will not do a stereo to 5.1 upmixing at all because the signal is already the same as the receiver/speaker setup.
So I need to send a stereo signal to my 5.1 receiver/speaker setup, so that it will upmix to 5.1.
I don't want to use the built-in JRiver upmixing if I'm sending to the receiver - I want the receiver to do that.
This is a common use case,  and not unique to me.


I do not have a stereo audio device -  but I have two multi-channel devices that I want to send different audio sources (stereo and multi-channel, including 5.0 and 4.0) to:
  (a) 5.1 (or 7.1) HDMI Receiver
  (b) 4.0 USB DAC


If I set up the zones below, is it possible to configure the ZoneSwitch rules ?

 Zone 1 (5.1 Receiver/HDMI): Classical (stereo/5.1 source):   Output channels = Source number of channels (compatible with HDMI),
                                                         and do NOT apply any equalization/"loudness" DSP

 Zone 2 (5.1 Receiver/HDMI): Classical (4.0/5.0 source):      Output channels = 5.1 (to make it compatible with HDMI),  no JRRS mixing,
                                                         and do NOT apply any equalization/"loudness" DSP


 Zone 3 (5.1 Receiver/HDMI): Non-Classical (stereo/5.1 source):   Output channels = Source number of channels (compatible with HDMI)
                                                          and apply an equalization/"loudness" DSP to non-classical songs

 Zone 4 (5.1 Receiver/HDMI): Non-Classical (4.0/5.0 source):      Output channels = 5.1 (to make it compatible with HDMI,  no JRRS mixing
                                                           and apply an equalization/"loudness" DSP to non-classical songs

 Zone 5 (4.0 DAC):     Classical,  regardless of number of channels ( stereo,5.1,4.0,5.0) of the source:  Output channels = 4.0, with JRRS mixing,
                                                                   DO NOT apply any equalization/"loudness" DSP to classical music

 Zone 6 (4.0 DAC):     Non-Classical,  regardless of number of channels (stereo,5.1,4.0,5.0) of the source:  Output channels = 4.0, with JRRS mixing,
                                                             and apply an equalization/"loudness" DSP to non-classical songs


I don't mind selecting the audio device manually.
If the feature that I'm requesting is available,  I only need to set up two zones:

 Zone 1:    Classical,  DO NOT apply any equalization/"loudness" DSP to classical music
 Zone 2:    Non-Classical, apply an equalization/"loudness" DSP to non-classical songs

I can manually select the 5.1 receiver or 4.0 USB DAC as the audio device.
And I can also manually select  Channels =  "Source number of channels,  but output 5.1 if the source is 3.0 or 4.0 or 5.0"  (if this feature is available) if I'm using the receiver.
Or select Channels = 4, with JRRS mixing (this feature is already available) if I'm using the  4.0 USB DAC.

Simple.

[wer]

Regarding the stereo requirement,  this is not a limitation of my receiver.
I'm talking about the upmixing feature of (modern) receivers from stereo to 5.1 (or 7.1 or however number of speakers you have).
If you send a 5.1 signal (with silent center/surround channels) to a receiver with a 5.1 setup,  it will not do a stereo to 5.1 upmixing at all because the signal is already the same as the receiver/speaker setup.

I understand exactly what you're talking about, and I'm sorry, but you're making an extrapolation that is not correct. Some receivers and processors are capable of what yours is not.  For example, Yamaha receivers are perfectly happy to apply the upmixing effects to the left and right channels of a 5.1 or 7.1 source.  I know this because I do it every day. The limitation your receiver has is not ubiquitous amongst "modern receivers" and processors.

(I'll mention, just an an aside for others who might eventually see your question and be interested: JRSS is an easy option but not the only one; some people don't like JRSS, so it is also possible to have MC apply upmixing (using para-eq and effects modules, not JRSS), equivalent to what the receiver would do, such as cloning the left/right channels to the side or rear channels to create pseudo-quadraphonic sound. This can be done based on rules so it can be applied selectively to different sources. Or one can let the receiver/processor do it. MC is flexible in this regard.)

I don't disagree with the sentiment of your feature request; it would just have to be more rigorously defined than what you gave. It would make some things easier for some people with some equipment.  We'll just have to want and see if JRiver implements it.

Back to your question. I've tried to be as clear as I can, and I don't want to keep repeating myself, but you asked again, and so one more time, and even for your 6-zone example, YES, WHAT YOU WANT IS POSSIBLE WITH ZONESWITCH. 

I hope this additional confirmation has helped.  Good luck, and enjoy the music!

[MazingerZ]

I have the current  Denon/Marantz ( they work the same way ) processor with the Dolby Surround, Neural:X , and Auro 2D/3D processing,   and it does not upmix a 5.1 audio source with a 5.1 speaker setup.

I know that you already said multiple times that it can be done using ZoneSwitch,  however I'm still not able to figure out the ZoneSwitch rules to apply in my example.   If I'm doing something wrong,  it would be good if someone can actually show me how to do it.
In my 6 zone example,  it would obviously be impossible to set up a rule to let the JRiver decide which audio device to use ( the receiver or the USB DAC )    --  only I can decide that (manually).

[wer]

I have the current  Denon/Marantz ...

I know about Marantz/Denon processors. That's why I'm currently using the Yamaha CX-A5000. 

In my 6 zone example,  it would obviously be impossible to set up a rule to let the JRiver decide which audio device to use ( the receiver or the USB DAC )    --  only I can decide that (manually).

Correct, because you duplicated your rule for 4.0/5.0 non-classical. You are specifically sending it to zone 4, but you are saying it should go to zone 6 because zone 6 = "Non-Classical,  regardless of number of channels".

This makes it impossible for the computer to "decide" between zone 4 and 6, except by precedence: first match controls (as I said before). However, this sort of conflict in definition is not really the problem it might at first appear to be, because...

I don't mind selecting the audio device manually.

Good, because many people use ZoneSwitch in this way to automatically route traffic through different configurations of a manually selected device.  In other words, the user selects the output device manually, and the computer selects which configuration (zone) of that device should be used based on rules.  This matches your use case.

This functionality works because when you configure ZoneSwitch, it implicitly creates associations between different zones when those zones are mentioned in corresponding ZoneSwitch rules, using  the "Play in this zone" and "Stop Playback in these zones" settings.

Here's a simple English-language example of ZoneSwitch rules to help you understand:

Rule 1: Play Classical in Zone "Unprocessed Sound". Stop Playback in Zone "Processed Sound".
Rule 2: Play Non-Classical in Zone "Processed Sound". Stop Playback in Zone "Unprocessed Sound"

These rules create an association between the "Unprocessed Sound" and "Processed Sound" zones, because both rules mention both zones in a mutually-exclusive way. Rule 1 and Rule 2 are a "Rule Set" because they talk about all zones in the association, and only zones in the association.

Now imagine a second set of rules:
Rule 3: Play Classical in Zone "Dac1". Stop Playback in Zone "Dac2".
Rule 4: Play Non-Classical in Zone "Dac2". Stop Playback in Zone "Dac1"

In this second rule-set, an association is created between the Dac1 and Dac2 zones.  Now you have two rule-sets.

Zones from Rule-set 1 are not mentioned in Rule-set 2, nor vice versa. This is what keeps them as separate Rule Sets.  Note: there is no place in the interface where you explicitly "name" rule-sets. It's implicit, not explicit. To help keep it straight, you should add a common rule-set name to the start of your "Display Name" for each rule you create.

The trick is "How do you know which rule-set is active? If it's simply precedence, Rule-Set 2 would NEVER engage."

The answer is: When you have multiple rule-sets, created through segregated mutually exclusive associations, the controlling rule-set is derived from the zone that is active when playback begins.

Thus, if you manually select the Dac2 zone, and then start playback, only rules from the rule-set that contains the Dac2 zone will be enforced. During playback, MC will freely switch between zones mentioned in that rule-set, as the rules dictate.  Stop playback, and at that point, either Dac1 or Dac2 will be active. Restart Playback, and that rule-set will still be controlling.

But stop playback, manually select the "Processed Sound" zone, and then start playback, and what happens?  The "Processed Sound" zone is in Rule-Set 1.  So now Rule-Set 1 will be the set of rules that is enforced.

This is the way ZoneSwitch works.

Also, as I mentioned previously, the sort of thing you want can also be achieved by combining ZoneSwitch with automatic DSP Presets. I personally don't like the way auto DSP Presets are implemented, but you might like it because it would let you reduce the number of Zones you create (in your scenario, 2 zones would be required for each physical output device).

The information I've given you should be enough for you to figure the rest of the way for yourself.   Good luck...

Hopefully a mod or the OP will modify the title of this thread to include "ZoneSwitch" since that will be helpful to others who are searching for a better understanding on this topic.

[MazingerZ]

Wow, thanks for the info.
I don't think I saw this kind of info in the wiki or ZoneSwitch threads.

[wer]

Glad to help.

The feature is very powerful, but is poorly documented, and it works in a non-intuitive way, so I'm not surprised you didn't find enough to help you.  There is some helpful info out there, but it would require a more thorough search of the forums for threads like this one.  The Wiki doesn't have much.

One other thing to keep in mind: If you create a rule that does not specify any zones to stop, it will not be part of any rule-set (because it is not making any mutually exclusive association).  Any rule that is not part of a rule set will ALWAYS be evaluated.  I don't think that's documented. Precedence controls for all rules that are evaluated.  So unless you really know what you're doing, it's important to ensure that all of your rule-sets are tightly defined, or you may achieve results that greatly confuse you.  So be careful, grasshopper. 

[petranta]

I think this HDMI limitation which has been addressed here can't be completely true. When I play the same multichannel (5 channels) album from my MC 23.0.104 through DLNA I get 2 channels in my AVR over HDMI 1.4 but when I play exactly the same album from USB memory stick connected to my DLNA player Sony ubp-x800m2 I get 5 channels to my Yamaha AVR over the same HDMI connection ? But again when I play 5.1 album from MC DLNA I get it correctly to my Yamaha over HDMI. MC DLNA server setting are 24bit PCM and 192kHz and "source number of channels" in DSP settings.