5 important concerns/questions and I need an answer for each! Thank you!
1. At some point in JRiver I accidentally set to use refresh rate of 50Hz for PAL videos. Neither my monitor, nor my TV support that resolution. When JRiver accidentally tried to go into 50Hz mode or some other strange resolution/refresh rate mode - my screen went black and both TV and monitor had an error on the screen "Mode Not Supported". So, I had no choice but to restart my PC, which would go into the previously-used resolution (one used before restart), which was either 50Hz or other unsupported in my case, and that would just show me a black screen with "Mode Not Supported" upon booting Windows 8.1 desktop. There was no way to fix it as I could not get to my desktop with a supported refresh rate and resolution! I luckily, VERY luckily, made a full system backup image 20 minutes before this happened, so I restored my previous system state without many issues. Still, I think something should be done about it... What should one do if something like this happens? Using F8 during boot to get into Safe Mode is no longer supported in Windows 8/8.1 and it boots so fast that using the proper SHIFT+F8 doesn't work either! It requires you to go through a complex process -
http://pcsupport.about.com/od/repair-recovery/a/force-or-stop-safe-mode-windows.htm . I know MS is kind of at fault, but
JRiver needs to address this by at least - NOT allowing to set an UNsupported resolution for any video types! 50Hz is not an option in my videocard settings, so it should've never been selectable in JRiver.
2. I have is how VideoClock compares to ReClock. ReClock does both - video and audio speed correction to create perfect audio & video sync. Does VideoClock do the same or does it do it only for Video since there is no AudioClock? If so, are you planning on adding AudioClock? Does JRiver work with ReClock? Also, ReClock only allows WASAPI bit-perfect bitstreaming over SPDIF if audio speed correction is disabled. I assume VideoClock does the same or else the sound isn't bit-perfect.
3. My sound card - Creative X-Fi Titanium PCIe actually has ASIO drivers (JRiver can opens ASIO settings), but ASIO is supposedly for Audio Creation Mode, so I am not sure if it is of any benefit to media playback. The problem with it is that I can't get ASIO to work (no sound at all!) when it is selected as the sound output device in JRiver Audio settings. ASIO is not available for selection in Windows Audio Settings, so I am not sure how to set it up properly...
4. I own an Astro A50 Wireless Dolby Digital 5.1 headset/DAC. The idea of using it is that when paired with Dolby Digital Live soundcard, it can reproduce 5.1 surround sound if it receives 5.1 Dolby Digital audio signal from my X-Fi Titanium soundcard. Thing is - there are 2 methods of doing this. One requires you to enable Dolby Digital Live encoder in Creative Control Panel and then using "X-Fi Speakers" for default audio device in JRiver, configured to 5.1, to reproduce audio, which will actually be going through SPDIF. With this method, LAV Audio and JRiver should NOT be set to use Dolby Digital and/or bitstreaming over SPDIF because it is blocked by the Dolby Digital Live encoder. Audio path will actually show 6-channel output. Creative says that using this method audio will be bitstreamed, but I am unsure of this... The second method requires you to disable Dolby Digital Live encoder, select "SPDIF Out WASAPI" for default audio device in JRiver, enable Dolby Digital & 5.1 in LAV Audio and JRiver, and also enable "Bitstreaming over SPDIF" in JRiver. Audio path only shows 2-channel output! Why is that? Some say that its only a technicality because SPDIF Out cannot be configured to 5.1 channels in Windows Audio Settings. However, this is the only way to do bit-perfect bitstreaming over SPDIF, right?
5. Going back to the second method from #4, where Dolby Digital Live encoder is disabled, but Dolby Digital is enabled in LAV Audio and in JRiver, which is also set to use Bitstreaming over SPDIF. Does that mean that ANY soundcard with digital capabilities can produce Dolby Digital bitstreaming signal? I have an onboard Realtek ALC892 soundcard that supports Digital SPDIF and HDMI, but it only supports DTS, not DDL. Can't it also send Dolby Digital sound to my headset when Dolby Digital is enabled in LAV Audio and JRiver along with bitstreaming? Here is the link to its full specs -
http://www.realtek.com.tw/products/productsView.aspx?Langid=1&PFid=28&Level=5&Conn=4&ProdID=284