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Author Topic: Difference between loopback and WDM  (Read 1599 times)

jjazdk

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Difference between loopback and WDM
« on: April 28, 2017, 06:11:38 am »

Based on his other threads, I think he was talking about the stutter right when the WDM driver starts up in the first few seconds; I've never seen the issue you're describing with stutters continuing after the opening moments (once the WDM driver fully starts it's stutter free for me), but I definitely hear a brief stutter everytime a stream starts as the WDM driver is latching on and a few seconds of audio are lost .  So I think he wanted a way to turn on the WDM driver and have it stay on to avoid the stutter when it first starts up, and the loopback solves that problem.  If you play a local file the loopback just switches off, and you can switch the loopback on again at the end if you want. 

The only time I've seen recurrent stuttering with the WDM was when my buffers weren't correct, but it looks like you've been through all that already based on prior posts.

Agreed, that is also what I think he wants, and what I tried to describe as his wish :-)

I guess, I really don't understand the difference between loopback and the WDM driver. It seems to me that according to your description they do exactly the same?
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mwillems

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Re: Difference between loopback and WDM
« Reply #1 on: April 28, 2017, 06:42:27 pm »

I guess, I really don't understand the difference between loopback and the WDM driver. It seems to me that according to your description they do exactly the same?

Similar but not the same. 

Similarities:

1) Redirects all "system audio" into JRiver

Differences:

1) The WDM driver doesn't require any other sound devices and starts automatically when sound begins playing in windows.  Because it starts and stops automatically it takes a second to lock on leading to stutters when it starts.
2) The loopback was the "old" functionality that existed before the launch of the WDM driver.  Loopback requires another unused sound device to use as a "dummy" (i.e. the motherboard soundcard or an HDMI output) and has to be manually turned on to redirect audio.  Because you can manually turn it on, it stays turned on until you stop it or play something else, so it doesn't have the "lock on" issues the WDM drivers does, but is less "automagic."  It's still useful if you want a system that's always listening on the device like someone upthread asked for (i.e. if you're using JRiver solely for DSP and are using something else as a playback front-end).
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