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[mojave]

Last week I installed some new SSD drives in my HTPC and reloaded Windows 7. I had been using 64-bit but decided to switch to 32-bit OS. I installed all the motherboard drivers, video drivers, and audio drivers. No hardware changed except the SSD drives.

I am now getting occasional audio distortion when seeking during video playback or switching music tracks. Pausing and restarting playback will fix the issue. I used DPC Latency Checker and my latency is usually between 4-9 with it getting as high as about 35 once every minute or so. This is the lowest latency machine I've ever used and my work computer is usually at 100-135.

I am using ASIO output since WASAPI only allows my to use 5.1 and not 7.1. I have changed the ASIO driver from 64 samples to 2048 samples with no difference. I have also changed the buffer settings in JRiver for the ASIO output and have gone from .02 to 1 second. I can actually playback with the lowest samples and buffer settings with no problems except for occasionally when seeking or switching tracks.

I have tried different USB ports, without my bluetooth keyboard attached, with network disabled, with onboard audio disabled, with HDMI audio drivers uninstalled (I don't use them anyway), with Videosync on/off, with Red October and Red October HD all with no success.

I did load Drive Bender to pool my SSD drives. I have not unloaded it yet. I have used both local and files from my NAS and have had the same issue.

Does anyone have any other ideas? I may reload Windows 7 64-bit and see if that helps.

[mojave]

I should note that I am using 18.0.52, but also rolled back to 18.0.46 which was the last version I used with the old O/S.  I did this to make sure the ASIO change in 18.0.47 wasn't causing the issue. I still have the issue with 18.0.46. I may try V17 or another software player to see if I still get the issue with ASIO playback.

[mojave]

After trying everything I can think of short of reinstalling the O/S with no success, I've decided to try reinstalling the O/S.

[mojave]

I reinstalled the 64-bit Windows 7 and started driver installation the USB ASIO driver first. I still get static occasionally on pause/unpause of music and video seeks. I tried it on a different computer and still get the same issue. I tried Foobar2000 with ASIO playback and still get the same issue so it is hardware/driver related. I even tried different USB cables to rule that out.

I have tried two different Steinberg drivers with the same behavior with each. I'm having about 30 guys over to my house on Saturday and need to get this figured out.

The music or movies plays perfectly except when pausing/unpausing or seeking. Repeated pause/unpause will fix the issue for either music or movies. In other words, I can get it back to perfect sound, but it is a hassle. It is almost as if the clock isn't syncing perfectly or something.

I wonder if the "Play silence at startup for hardware syncronization" could have a similar feature like "Play silence on upause or seeks for hardware syncronization." Maybe since the stream isn't broken then it won't work.

[Matt]

With WASAPI - Event Style, the hardware never sees a pause.  Instead, we just play silence.  This works around devices that are flaky with buffer flushing / pause, and makes the device communication simple and consistent.

Maybe we should consider the same approach for ASIO?

[mojave]

Yes, please try it with ASIO. With audio, I can seek back and forth with no issues. Only a pause causes the issue. With movies a seek does cause the issue. Is a seek for movies different than a seek for just music?

Unfortunately I can't use WASAPI because my device only then allows 6 channels. I don't know why it can't use 8. It is the same with DirectShow. ASIO is the only output that allows me to use 8 channels.

I just tried some more stuff and happened to find that a new ASIO driver was released on 10/17/12. It isn't on the Steinberg website, but it is on the Yamaha website. I installed it and it made no difference.

The strange thing is this all worked before I decided to add new SSD drives and reload my O/S. However, now I can't get to work even on two different computers.

One interesting thing I found through all this is that my device allows me to specify the output routing. The default with JRiver is to use channels 0-7. This corresponds to Mix 1/2, Mix 3/4, Mix 5/6, and Mix 7/8 on the outputs. If I used a mic and tried to record with REW I would get feedback. I never could get it figured out. I realized I can put the offset in JRiver to 8 and now it will output to DAW 1/2, etc. This bypasses the mixer completely. I was trying other software to test my ASIO and one of them allowed me to select DAW 1/2 as my first two channels. I tried it, but got silence. I then changed the output routing in my audio drivers and got it to work.

I say all this to suggest that maybe JRiver show the ASIO outputs available rather than just asking for an offset.

[Matt]

Yes, please try it with ASIO.

Next build:
NEW: Added the ASIO option 'Play silence on pause (instead of performing a hardware level pause)' to workaround devices that don't nicely pause or resume.

[mojave]

This works perfectly now! Buffering is set to .02 seconds with a buffer size of 64 samples (lowest possible) and everything plays flawlessly. Thanks for the quick fix. 

If you come to the Omaha Home Theater Tour on Saturday you can stay for dinner at my house. I'm serving prime rib and smoked tri-tip. Maybe I'll just have to send you leftovers.  Just drive to Ames, IA and carpool with Chris from Seymour AV.

[mojave]

I took my Steinberg home last night and tested extensively on my HTPC and couldn't get any glitches, static, or issues to occur. Thanks again.

Matt, I would like to report this to Steinberg\Yamaha to see if I can get the driver fixed. Can you explain a little more about a hardware level pause and how it usually works? Is there a specific way I can describe the problem?

[Matt]

If you come to the Omaha Home Theater Tour on Saturday you can stay for dinner at my house. I'm serving prime rib and smoked tri-tip. Maybe I'll just have to send you leftovers.  Just drive to Ames, IA and carpool with Chris from Seymour AV.

Thanks for the invite.  It'd be really fun, but it's a little too much of a haul for this weekend.  For next year, what's the policy on wives and kids?

Matt, I would like to report this to Steinberg\Yamaha to see if I can get the driver fixed. Can you explain a little more about a hardware level pause and how it usually works? Is there a specific way I can describe the problem?

Good idea.

Please just give my email (matt at jriver) and I'd be happy to tell them what I know and work with them to improve it.

[mojave]

Thanks for the invite.  It'd be really fun, but it's a little too much of a haul for this weekend.  For next year, what's the policy on wives and kids?

According to my wife there won't be a "next year" and I'm banned from all future audio events. I'll see what happens after a few months go by.  We do have some wives attending, but no kids. This year we have 28 confirmed attendees and there isn't really room in our small home theaters or living rooms for kids. However, if you are in the Omaha area I can set up a few private tours for your family.