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[ToasterPC]

Hey there!

Long time no see, but I come back with a question into how does JRiver handle the IPC playback of the WDM driver.

I like to use JRiver as a DSP for my whole computer (Alienware m15 R6), but for some reason I could never get my Realtek ASIO device to play anything at all within the device output zones.

However, today on a whim I attempted to play a FLAC file through the ASIO device of my laptop, and not only did it sound better, but it also played all the way through!

I already attempted to uninstall and reinstall my sound card drivers, but so far I'm still not able to get WDM to output through the Realtek ASIO device, is there anything I might be missing?

I'll attach a link to my computer's drivers (https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-us/drivers/driversdetails?driverid=54x0v&oscode=w2021&productcode=alienware-m15-r6-laptop) just to be sure.

Thanks in advance!

[JimH]

Using the WDM driver, you should just need to select JRiver in Windows sound options, then set up an audio device in MC's options, then reboot.

[ToasterPC]

Using the WDM driver, you should just need to select JRiver in Windows sound options, then set up an audio device in MC's options, then reboot.

Oh, I already have done that.

In Windows my output device is set to JRiver's at 100% Volume and as long as the Zone is set to output to the corresponding audio device in either of its DirectSound or WASAPI variants the sound will play correctly through the DSP and everything, but for some reason when I select "Realtek (ASIO)" as the output device in the WDM zone, JRiver keeps trying to play the IPC file and getting stuck in a loop of closing and opening the stream, to the point that the only way to get it back to a working order is to keep pressing around until it crashes and then opening it again, in which point I have to be fast to choose another output device before JRiver tries to open the IPC stream again, and when I succeed everything returns to normal.

The weird part is that even if the WDM zone is actively playing the IPC stream to the same WASAPI device that corresponds to the ASIO driver, I am able to open a FLAC file in a different zone with the output device set to "Realtek (ASIO)" and playback succeeds without issue.

I already have captured some logs, though I'm not too sure which part would be the relevant one, so I'll just upload it to a Zip file and link it here.

https://1drv.ms/u/s!AlYW1BPO6zRtgYW_ZTdnjrLCP_MPuwA?e=yS3A2J

Thanks for the help!

[JimH]

I'm also seeing some weird problems with the WDM driver in the latest build. 

What is the full version of MC that you're using?

What version of Windows?

[ToasterPC]

I'm also seeing some weird problems with the WDM driver in the latest build. 

What is the full version of MC that you're using?

What version of Windows?

Okay, that sounds like a problem.

My JRiver version is 30.0.59 (64-bit)

And my Windows version is "Windows 11 Pro for Workstations Version 22H2 OS Build 22621.1344 (64-bit)"

Thanks for the help!

[ToasterPC]

I'm also seeing some weird problems with the WDM driver in the latest build. 

Hey there! I'm still seeing the issue in the latest build. Should I try logging and sending the logs over again?

Thanks in advance!

[ToasterPC]

Hello there!


I'm still seeing the issue in the current build. Is there anything else I could do to look into this?

[JimH]

So this works?

Directsound
WASAPI

But this doesn't?

ASIO

That seems like a driver problem.  Does it work from MC, not using WDM?  You should get the same behavior.  WDM shouldn't matter.

32 bit MC would be worth trying.

[ToasterPC]

So this works?

Directsound
WASAPI

But this doesn't?

ASIO

That seems like a driver problem.  Does it work from MC, not using WDM?  You should get the same behavior.  WDM shouldn't matter.

32 bit MC would be worth trying.

Okay, just to be sure I made a clean install of Windows (same version) and installed both JRiver x86 and x64. Both seem to fail in the same way, but oddly enough, now the ASIO driver seems to only be able to play through the onboard speakers when opening a FLAC file.


If I try to play either the WDM stream or the FLAC file through both DirectSound and WASAPI everything goes smoothly on both architectures, so given that not even the onboard speakers seem to be able to play through WDM, I'm kind of stumped on what else I could try to diagnose the issue.


So far, the only thing that seems consistent is that when trying to open the ASIO stream with the IPC stream, JRiver stutters heavily until I manage to change it back to any other output device, but aside from that nothing can continue working within JRiver itself while the connection is attempted.

[JimH]

ASIO is the responsibility of the audio device manufacturer.  If it doesn't work, you can use WASAPI or Directsound.

[ToasterPC]

ASIO is the responsibility of the audio device manufacturer.  If it doesn't work, you can use WASAPI or Directsound.

I see... In any case, thanks for the help until now.


In your opinion, given this is Dell/Realtek we are talking about, would it be worth it trying to get them to fix my device's drivers? And if so, what in particular should I ask them for/show as evidence of malfunction, aside from JRiver having problems with it?

[JimH]

You could try.  We'll provide a license.

But why struggle with it when you already have a solution:

If I try to play either the WDM stream or the FLAC file through both DirectSound and WASAPI everything goes smoothly on both architectures ...

[ToasterPC]

You could try.  We'll provide a license.

But why struggle with it when you already have a solution:

Being completely honest, the only benefit I would potentially see from it would be a reduction in latency (particularly helpful when dealing with other applications like Synthesia and MIDI keyboards).


Aside from that, I'd like to see if fixing things for my model would maybe help down the line other people with the same problem (also from Dell I have another family member's laptop exhibiting the same behavior).

[JimH]

Try comparing WASAPI and ASIO to see if you can detect any difference.

[EnglishTiger]

Try looking on the Realtek website to see if there are any newer drivers/firmware/other software for your device.

[ToasterPC]

Try comparing WASAPI and ASIO to see if you can detect any difference.

It's not much, but trying to play with ASIO seems to make a ~800ms difference, probably more if I disabled the DSP effects.

[ToasterPC]

Try looking on the Realtek website to see if there are any newer drivers/firmware/other software for your device.

Sadly it seems they no longer offer generic audio drivers, the only download page I was able to find only included NIC drivers.

[JimH]

It's not much, but trying to play with ASIO seems to make a ~800ms difference, probably more if I disabled the DSP effects.

You shouldn't see that much difference.  Buffer settings?

[ToasterPC]

You shouldn't see that much difference.  Buffer settings?

Hey there, long time no see.


What you mentioned did strike me as odd for a while, and I've been back and forth with Dell and Microsoft to check where could the problem lie, long story short turns out it was easier to just redo my Windows installation again and magically the problem solved itself (Even with effects, my latency roams around the 450ms mark now), so all I can say is thanks for the help and I guess I'll begin saving up for a decent DAC, this was far too much of a goose chase.


So, thanks for everything!