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[Spike1000]

I've been learning and developing my MC setup over the last few months. Really pleased with JRiver but there is an awful lot to it so I've been researching and developing things one step at a time but I've got a bit stuck. . . it might just be my lack of understanding. . .  ?

I had been playing YouTube videos (through a Windows browser) via my TV and playing JRiver audio through a USB DAC.
If I wanted the Windows browser sound through the USB DAC I'd have to 'jiggle' things a bit with the sound driver/stop the player in JRiver to stop them 'fighting' over exclusive use of the sound output device. This is too fiddly when MC running from a TV.

So I thought I'd install the WDM driver and put all sound through JRiver. The recommendation is to set up a new zone for the WDM driver; I've done this.

Now I think I need use zone switching to seamlessly switch between JRiver audio and browser sound. I have a rule (using the path variable) that stops the WDM zone when a JRiver audio track plays, but I can't seem to set up a rule to stop the default MC 'player' zone  and switch to the WDM zone when I play a video in YouTube in a browser. The WDM zone shows IPC and Live:// streaming type info when playing a youtube video in a browser.

Am I going about this in the right way?

Is there a way to achieve what I'm after ie seamless audio (using my USB DAC) switching on my MC when moving between browser based YouTube videos and JRiver based audio tracks?

Spike

[mwillems]

You've done everything right, but currently zoneswitch will not stop audio playing in JRiver when the WDM driver engages (although vice versa works as you've noted).  I think this is deliberate because otherwise system sounds or random ads on webpages would stop playback which would be very irritating. 

So you need to stop playback in JRiver manually before starting a youtube video, which is not perfectly convenient, but is (IMO) better than the alternative where any system sound from any source shuts down audio playback.

Does that make sense?

[Spike1000]

Ah ha, I see. It does make sense. Many thanks for your explanation.

It's not a huge issue, just something I need to become familiar with so I know what to do when.

I'm also seeing the "IPC Audio (WDM Driver) stalls indefinitely" issue reported by "6233638" and as these issues were happening at the same time it was extra confusing for me 

I'll be interested if there's a solution to that problem.

Spike

[mwillems]

If you get in the "stuck" state he describes, try stopping playback in both zones, and everything should work again.

[Spike1000]

• Have a Zone Switch rule which routes IPC to its own zone (Zone A) that plays to your sound device (DAC A) with exclusive access.

6233638, I'm just starting to play with WDM and zone switching may I ask how you have set up this rule?

Cheers

Spike

[6233638]

6233638, I'm just starting to play with WDM and zone switching may I ask how you have set up this rule?

As the very first rule on your Zone Switch list (items are processed in order) create a rule which routes IPC audio to your destination zone.
The code I use for switching is:
 

Code: (Engage when file matches this search:) [Select]

[Filename]=[live:////ipc"
For all other Zone Switch rules, ensure that they stop playback in your "IPC Zone".
That way IPC audio gets routed to its own zone, and will not interfere with the playlists for other zones.
You will of course need another rule to route all non-IPC audio to its own zone.
This could be: -[Filename]=[live:////ipc" or something more specific like [Media Type]=[Audio] or [Media Type]=[Video]

[mwillems]

One clarification: the stop playback rules need to be mutual (the IPC zone should stop other zones as well) or zoneswitch won't automatically switch back from the IPC zone to normal content.

[glynor]

mwillems wrote this:
http://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/WDM_Driver

Which covers most, if not all, of that.

[6233638]

One clarification: the stop playback rules need to be mutual (the IPC zone should stop other zones as well) or zoneswitch won't automatically switch back from the IPC zone to normal content.

I'm not seeing that behavior, and I specifically do not want the IPC zone to be able to stop playback in other zones.
If you do that, an email notification could stop playback in the middle of a movie for example.

[mwillems]

I'm not seeing that behavior, and I specifically do not want the IPC zone to be able to stop playback in other zones.
If you do that, an email notification could stop playback in the middle of a movie for example.

Try it, at least for me, that doesn't actually happen.  IPC is "special" and the stop part of the stop playback rules have never actually engaged for me with IPC.  The routing works, but the playback doesn't get stopped when IPC engages.  I assume it's "by design," i.e. a hidden feature.

Without mutual stop playback rules, routing will not work correctly in all cases.

[6233638]

Try it, at least for me, that doesn't actually happen.  IPC is "special" and the stop part of the stop playback rules have never actually engaged for me with IPC.  The routing works, but the playback doesn't get stopped when IPC engages.  It's a hidden feature.
Without mutual stop playback rules, routing will not work correctly in all cases.

You're right, it doesn't seem to stop playback.
 
However I wonder if there's additional "special behavior" going on because I haven't seen an issue where either IPC is not routed to the correct zone, or audio that should be routed to another zone ends up being played in the IPC zone due to the lack of a stop rule.
But I'll add the stop rules now for consistency. I don't think that special behavior was there when I set them up.
 
Note: this has no effect on the issue with IPC stalling indefinitely.

[mwillems]

However I wonder if there's additional "special behavior" going on because I haven't seen an issue where either IPC is not routed to the correct zone, or audio that should be routed to another zone ends up being played in the IPC zone due to the lack of a stop rule.

I've never seen the former behavior, but I have seen the latter behavior without the stop playback rules.  I never send anything to a specific zone as all my zones have mutually exclusive rules, so I tend to notice immediately when routing's borked.

Try (with the IPC zone active) just pressing play on a library item in a normal library view.  Without the mutual stop playback rules, I see no zoneswitch.  

Note: this has no effect on the issue with IPC stalling indefinitely.

Agreed.  The indefinite stall issue is a separate issue and has been there since day one.  I think I even reported it once, long ago and far away, but I can't find the post now.

[Spike1000]

The code I use for switching is:
 

Code: (Engage when file matches this search:) [Select]

[Filename]=[live:////ipc"

Thank you for taking the trouble to clarify the code used for the zone switch. I was working along the same lines but getting confused by the IPC/WDM 'driver stalling' issue.

Cheers

Spike