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[pwantzel]

I've been noticing "hiccoughs" in video playback after I bought 5.1 channel speakers and changed to DSP audio to drive them.  What I mean is a very short hesitation in video playback, usually accompanied by a repeat of a very short section of audio (so that, if someone is speaking at the time, I hear one word repeated).  Sometimes the video and audio will get slightly out of sync (but then stopping and restarting playback makes it OK again).  These only happen occasionally (every 5-10 minutes), and got better (i.e., less frequent) with a recent build that advertised that it made DSP faster.  It happens with both avi/Xvid and mkv/H.264 video files.

I've been assuming that this is due to the greater audio processing needed for 5.1 and for DSP, but I don't see the CPU % max out at the times of the anomalies.  My PC is an older low-end Dell [3GHz Pentium 4, 2GB RAM, low end video card (Radeon X330 I believe) and motherboard audio; Windows XP MCE SP3; MC 15.0.58]. 

Short of a new PC, are there any settings in MC that might improve this?

[Matt]

What audio output are you using in Options > Video?

If you're using the same output as in Audio, then try playing with the buffering slider for the audio output plugin.  I've had good luck with ASIO and small values like 0.1 or 0.2 seconds for buffering.

[pwantzel]

Yes, it's set to "same as audio".  Audio was set to "directsound".  I changed it to ASIO with a buffer of 0.15 seconds.  I'll have to play video for a while to see how well this works.

EDIT:  I played a couple of hours of video, and did not see any anomalies.  So it looks like your suggestion worked.  Thanx.

[pwantzel]

Looks like I spoke too soon.  Although video plays fine with the suggested settings, I now have problems with audio playback.

The error message I get states:

Code: [Select]

Playback could not be started on the output 'ASIO' using the format '44100 Hz, 32 Bits per sample, 6 Channels'.
This output format may not be supported by your hardware.  You can use DSP Studio to change the output to a compatible format.
Also, make sure that your system has a valid sound playback device and that it is properly configures in playback options.
When this first appeared, I changed back to 'DirectSound' audio and it played OK.  Then I returned to 'ASIO' and it played fine for several songs, then ceased working again.  Now I cannot get it to play songs at all in ASIO.  DirectSound still works OK.

Suggestions?

[Matt]

You could try WASAPI.  It provides hardware-direct communication on Vista and Windows 7.

[pwantzel]

I'll try it, but note that my HTPC (where the problem occurs) is running Win XP MCE.

[JimH]

Playback could not be started on the output 'ASIO' using the format '44100 Hz, 32 Bits per sample, 6 Channels'.

Try 16 bit or source bitdepth.

[Matt]

If it works sometimes and not others, it points to flaky hardware.  Try updating soundcard drivers.

Also, you could try disabling the ASIO option to 'Use large hardware buffers' and see if it makes a difference.

[pwantzel]

At the moment, it always does not work for audio unless I select "directsound". 

I already updated sound drivers. This is a Dell motherboard so the drivers are (so far as I can tell) available only from them.

ASIO option 'Use large hardware buffers' was already disabled.  I'm not sure, I might have played with that the other day when I was trying to get this to work.  Makes no difference to the problem either way.

WASAPI is not a choice presented to me (perhaps because the PC is running Win XP MCE).

The #bits (in the DSP/Output format) was set to 'source bitdepth'.  Tried it at 16 bit, no change.  I noted that the text of the error message (which mentioned 32-bit) did not change when I set this to 16-bit.  Is this the right option, or do you mean something else?

[Matt]

At the moment, it always does not work for audio unless I select "directsound". 

I already updated sound drivers. This is a Dell motherboard so the drivers are (so far as I can tell) available only from them.

ASIO option 'Use large hardware buffers' was already disabled.  I'm not sure, I might have played with that the other day when I was trying to get this to work.  Makes no difference to the problem either way.

WASAPI is not a choice presented to me (perhaps because the PC is running Win XP MCE).

It's possible the ASIO driver for the motherboard soundcard isn't great.

If you use DirectSound with a smallish buffer size, do you have any better luck?

You could also try Kernel Streaming since you're on XP.  It is also hardware direct.

The #bits (in the DSP/Output format) was set to 'source bitdepth'.  Tried it at 16 bit, no change.  I noted that the text of the error message (which mentioned 32-bit) did not change when I set this to 16-bit.  Is this the right option, or do you mean something else?

ASIO does not use the bit depth setting, as it always talks to the card in the card's native bit depth.

[pwantzel]

I tried Kernel Streaming.  So far it seems to be working OK.  Audio files play, and I haven't (yet) seen any anomalies in video file playback.

Is there a writeup anywhere on what these various modes are, how they work, and how the most appropriate mode should be chosen?

[JimH]

You can find info on WASAPI and ASIO in our wiki:
http://wiki.jrmediacenter.com/index.php/Category:Frequently_Asked_Questions

Wikipedia might be good.