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[Badge]

I just bought Media Center 16. I have tried several of the audio out formats. I cannot get any sound with ASIO, so I am using WAVE out. All my files are WAVE format. I did download ASIO for all and it activates when I select ASIO format. A little more on the setup. XP computer, 2gig ram, 1 T-byte Fathom USB hard drive, USB DAC. Can someone tell me why I am not getting any sound when I select ASIO? Does it sound better than direct or wave out? Thanks

[JimH]

Welcome.  Did you try WASAPI?

For ASIO, you need a driver from your device's manufacturer.

[craigmcg]

Can you reply with some details about your soundcard/onboard sound? ASIO is usually considered the best because it "talks" directly to your soundcard, if your soundcard/onboard sound supports it. If your device doesn't support it, you will get no sound if you select that output format.

[lhwidget]

I just bought Media Center 16. I have tried several of the audio out formats. I cannot get any sound with ASIO, so I am using WAVE out. All my files are WAVE format. I did download ASIO for all and it activates when I select ASIO format. A little more on the setup. XP computer, 2gig ram, 1 T-byte Fathom USB hard drive, USB DAC. Can someone tell me why I am not getting any sound when I select ASIO? Does it sound better than direct or wave out? Thanks

In XP, use ASIO4ALL as you are trying to.  If you get no sound while audio is playing, open ASIO4ALL and try re-mapping the channels  (or do you re-map channels in MC?  it has been a while since I needed to do this and I can't remember now). 

If I remember correctly, ASIO4ALL has 8 input channels.  If you are only using two for stereo, and they aren't mapped to your actual L & R outputs, you'll hear nothing.  ASIO4ALL doesn't always assign the source Left & Right channels to its actual L & R outputs.

[lostvibrations]

Is ASIO better sound quality than WASAPI, WASAPI event style or Kernel ?

[JimH]

Overview
 
Media Center can output audio data in a variety of ways. This is important, because different hardware requires different communication methods to obtain the best possible audio quality and performance.
 
Hardware Direct
 
To get the best audio quality, your software should communicate directly with your sound hardware, without Windows or any other layer doing resampling or other processing of the signal.
 
ASIO, WASAPI, and Kernel Streaming are all hardware direct.

There are some things to be aware of when using hardware direct communication:
During audio playback, the soundcard will be locked. You will not be able to play sounds from a web browser or other program while audio is playing.
 Playback of sample rates your soundcard does not support will not be possible. Use DSP Studio > Output Format to allow Media Center to convert to a supported sample rate.
 
Choosing Audio Quality Output Mode
 
Choose the best output for your hardware in this order:

1) If your hardware has a native, well-behaved, ASIO driver, use ASIO.

2) Otherwise, on Windows Vista, Windows 7, or newer, use WASAPI exclusive.

3) Otherwise, use Kernel Streaming if it works.

4) If none of the above are possible, use DirectSound or WaveOut. Neither of these provide hardware direct output, so choose based on performance.
 
If you have problems, start with DirectSound and get MC working. Once you have audio working and are comfortable using MC, then experiment with other audio output choices.
 
ASIO
 
ASIO is a sound card communication system created by Steinberg.

If your soundcard has a native ASIO driver, this is the most direct (and normally best) way to communicate with it.
 
Please note that ASIO4All is basically Kernel Streaming with an ASIO wrapper. There's no good reason to use ASIO + ASIO4All vs just using Kernel Streaming directly in Media Center.
 
For more information, see ASIO.

WASAPI (Windows Audio Session API)
 
WASAPI is a hardware communication system in Vista, Windows 7, and newer. When used in 'exclusive' mode (available in Output mode settings... below WASAPI selection), the Windows system mixer is bypassed.
 
For more information, see WASAPI.

Kernel Streaming
 
Kernel Streaming is a hardware direct way to speak directly to a WDM audio driver. It works on XP, so is useful when the above two options are not possible.
 
Direct Sound
 
This is Windows default and the most compatible output method. It plays through the system mixer. This means all formats will be converted by Windows to the native format of the card. It is highly compatible, but it is not the highest quality method.
 
Wave Out
 
This is a legacy output mode. With some misbehaved hardware, it may work better than DirectSound.
 
Disk Writer
 
This writes whatever would have gone to the soundcard to a WAV file on disk.

Volume
 
There are several choices. "Internal" will usually work. Set it by clicking on the speaker icon to the left of the volume slider in the upper left corner.
 
Notes
 
The only way to prevent a Creative Labs X-Fi based card or Asus Xonar card from resampling all incoming audio is to use ASIO and the driver that came with the card. With these cards, WASAPI exclusive will not change the master clock of the card.
 

[WeeHappyPixie]

Very good info Jim.

Thanks for sharing.

John
 

[Badge]

Thanks for the welcome and all the good info. I don't see the option for WASAPI. I have done nothing with ASIO4all so I will open it and try and configure for two channel. This is a dedicated music server, so I don't think disabling the sound card by going direct will be a problem.

[Matt]

Thanks for the welcome and all the good info. I don't see the option for WASAPI. I have done nothing with ASIO4all so I will open it and try and configure for two channel. This is a dedicated music server, so I don't think disabling the sound card by going direct will be a problem.

As noted by Jim, we don't recommend ASIO4All:

"Please note that ASIO4All is basically Kernel Streaming with an ASIO wrapper. There's no good reason to use ASIO + ASIO4All vs just using Kernel Streaming directly in Media Center."

[gappie]

Thanks for the welcome and all the good info. I don't see the option for WASAPI. I have done nothing with ASIO4all so I will open it and try and configure for two channel. This is a dedicated music server, so I don't think disabling the sound card by going direct will be a problem.

what sound card are you using?

 
gab

[mschneid]

Hmm.  I have been using Asio4all with a USB bridge to my Dac for years.
Under media center ... audio... audio output i set it to ASIO
Output mode settings are ASIO$ALL v2....  this is the only choice     Everything works.

How do I get Kernal streaming to work

When I select kernal streaming.
Then Output device is USB Audio Device    I get silence.

With kernal streaming... and the Conexant AMC AUDIO device... i get music out of laptop speakers.

Do I have to remove Asio4all driver some how?...  (Any idea how you do that.)

[Badge]

The computer is a Dell brand and I see SoundMAX Integrated digital Audio listed under the audio devices.

[mschneid]

Follow up... removing Asio4all completely does not make a difference. 

Is kernal streaming hardware dependent.

[gappie]

The computer is a Dell brand and I see SoundMAX Integrated digital Audio listed under the audio devices.

i think soundmax has no asio drivers, your best bet would be to use kernel streaming. in some ways asio4all is a blast from the past. i have less brand new dell with also a soundmax. when you need help to set it up maybe i could help a bit.

 
gab

[lhwidget]

Thanks Jim,
I really appreciate the detailed info.  When I started with MC v15 about a year ago (on XP Pro, with an old Audigy Platinum sound card), I had seen other posts about using ASIO4ALL, so I just grabbed it and it worked.

I had noticed a post or two about Kernel Streaming, but I didn't know it was preferred.  I had also noticed a few old posts about mis-mapped outputs in ASIO4ALL, hence my post.

I've since switched to an EMU 1212 card using the card's native ASIO driver and I love it.  The EMU supports both ASIO and WDM drivers simultaneously, I use MC's internal volume and set the EMU's ASIO & WDM drivers' output for a suitable level for Windows programs.  Neither EMU driver allows software (including the kernel mixer) to access the soundcard's output level.

[gappie]

The computer is a Dell brand and I see SoundMAX Integrated digital Audio listed under the audio devices.

btw.. the soundmax is apparently not the usb dac you mention in the first post?