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[davorko_t]

I have a following problem with MC.

I have installed trial version onto Win 10 computer together with Dante Virtual Sound Card, which works via ASIO drivers.

I have setup 5 zones and set into DSP to resample audio to 48kHz before sending to Dante VSC.

The problem is that MC only plays music into one zone, and if I try to play something in the other zone, it  gives an error.

Anybody has an idea what is happening, is it Win10 or drivers or...?

[JimH]

Did you choose the sound card for each zone?

[mwillems]

I have a following problem with MC.

I have installed trial version onto Win 10 computer together with Dante Virtual Sound Card, which works via ASIO drivers.

I have setup 5 zones and set into DSP to resample audio to 48kHz before sending to Dante VSC.

The problem is that MC only plays music into one zone, and if I try to play something in the other zone, it  gives an error.

Anybody has an idea what is happening, is it Win10 or drivers or...?

The most likely issue is that you're using ASIO to communicate with the soundcard and ASIO is an exclusive audio mode.  Most ASIO drivers are "single-client" meaning that playing back to them takes exclusive control of the device preventing any other program from communicating with it.  In this case, the first playback zone takes exclusive control, preventing the others from outputting to the device.

If that is the problem, you have two options:

1) Use a non-exclusive output mode, like wasapi (with the exclusive box unchecked) or direct sound.  
2) Look into finding a way to make your ASIO driver multi-client.  I'm not familiar with your hardware so can't speak to it's configuration but it may have an option to allow that kind of thing.  I also know that Steinberg offers a multi-client ASIO driver for download that works with most kinds of ASIO hardware (not just Steinberg gear) and might help with your situation.

[blgentry]

Most ASIO drivers are "single-client" meaning that playing back to them takes exclusive control of the device preventing any other program from communicating with it.  In this case, the first playback zone takes exclusive control, preventing the others from outputting to the device.

That's odd.  MC is one program.  Maybe it uses multiple processes under the covers to talk to different zones, thus making it appear (from the ASIO driver standpoint) to be multiple programs?

How do all of you that have 8 to 16 channel DACs deal with this?  WASAPI in non-exclusive mode?

Brian.

[mwillems]

That's odd.  MC is one program.  Maybe it uses multiple processes under the covers to talk to different zones, thus making it appear (from the ASIO driver standpoint) to be multiple programs?

You'd think so wouldn't you? It's a longstanding limitation of the way MC works with ASIO devices.  With many devices, one can't even open the same device for ASIO input (ASIO line in) and ASIO output at the same time (without using the multi-client driver), which has confounded many persons looking to use JRiver as an audio processor over the years.  Every time JRiver opens an ASIO device, whatever part of JRiver grabs it first takes exclusive control, usually blocking everything including other parts of JRiver.  It would be nice if that were fixed (with respect to other parts of JRiver), but it's a long-standing limitation of the program, and the Steinberg multi-client driver solves the issue for 90% of the use cases I've run into.

Forum user mojave had some thoughts on this a while back I think. For my part I'd welcome JRiver being a little more tolerant of sharing ASIO devices with itself, but I expect it would require implementing the equivalent of a general purpose software audio mixer/router, which might make it labor intensive.

How do all of you that have 8 to 16 channel DACs deal with this?  WASAPI in non-exclusive mode?

I run an 8-channel DAC and I just use one zone for all 8 channels (because they're all feeding one active crossover-ed stereo rig), but I assume what you mean is "how do folks with multi-channel DACs trying to split them into multiple stereo pairs do it?"  When I've done it, I've done it with wasapi non-exclusive or used the Steinberg multi-client driver (which as noted, works on lots of hardware).  Some ASIO devices are natively multi-client, so those would work too, and some ASIO devices present as a series of disaggregated stereo pairs (i.e. one device presents to windows as multiple sound devices), so those work too.  Direct sound works too, of course.

[blgentry]

Thanks for a nicely detailed reply as usual! 

I'm not currently using Windows for MC, but I'm always trying to learn more about how the audio sub-system works under windows with respect to MC.  This definitely helps.

Brian.

[davorko_t]

mwillems, for your information, it's most helpfull.

I will definitely try to do something with the drivers.