[Windows] AudioEngine testers - Windows platform only

@DDDamian

I fixed the playback of this Star Wars EP1 1080p MKV with DTS-ES. Turned out exclusive mode was off. Now all is ok.

I would suggest to enable exclusive mode as soon as someone selects WASAPI.

i just did a few more testing and found a little glitch.
when listening a MP3 on the last 10 secs there's a audio glitch like it looses the audio for a 1/10 secs.
it happens on all MP3's.
tried it with upmixing and without
DEBUG LOG

(2012-04-28 07:52)DanielaE Wrote:  Chris,

as you may have noticed, I've released a HD audio patched build derived from current master which should be pretty much on par with AE when it comes to XBMC's codebase. I've done that to provide a testing sidekick to AE. If you happen to see similar issues on both builds then there's a good chance that it's origin is in base XBMC code.

Right now, I'm performing a complete re-install of win7. I have to say that the Zotac AD10 is a really slow machine, and maybe all the problems are caused by the fact that running win7 on it is borderline. Even with 4GB of RAM and a Crucial M4 it's really slow.

Originally I bought this little fellow for running openelec on it, and this has always worked without any buffering issues.

It might be that I have to wait till AE has found it's way into openelec.

Chris

(2012-04-28 14:13)ix400 Wrote:  Right now, I'm performing a complete re-install of win7. I have to say that the Zotac AD10 is a really slow machine, and maybe all the problems are caused by the fact that running win7 on it is borderline. Even with 4GB of RAM and a Crucial M4 it's really slow.

Have you ever tried DanielaE's patch? She uses a Fusion e-350 machine not dissimilar to yours; runs Win8 and enables sync w/audio reclock. I have several machines, one of which is an AD04 with Fusion e-450 on Win7, works w/o issue; slow compared to my i5, but plays everything without question.

Hi all -- glad things are clearing up a bit for most of you.

A few answers/comments:

- we (both AE and Daniela's patch) are currently based off master or post-Eden code, in our case anyways because there are a few nice improvements (notably the ffmpeg version bump with 10bit video support), but mostly because we had to re-base on the latest code for review and merge. Any bugs in both AE and Daniela's patch are, as she mentioned, most likely from XBMC master, so you would probably see them with a fresh pull of master. In the case of Chris's (ix400's) buffering there's something very wrong if low-bitrate files like DD are buffering, and let's hope the re-install of Win helps. Unless there is a new bug in XBMC AE should not affect buffering/caching, and recent builds by Daniela should show the same problem. If her recent builds (post-Eden) exhibit the same issue but earlier ones don't, let us know as it means a recent bug in master.

- Exclusive mode is absolutely necessary for HD bitstreaming. Loekf - glad you are good now. I've come to the conclusion that Wasapi share mode is just not worth supporting, and plan on removing support for it in the next day or two, along with the GUI button. It's just going to cause more user issues like Loekf had. It offers none of the advantages of Exclusive mode nor any of the compatibilty of DirectSound, and with our event-based methods it does not support the preferred pull mode, only push. Short answer - it's out of there and won't be missed

- @trash - glad most things are working. The audio glitch at the end of an mp3 is a known issue mentioned in the post for this release, along with a crash I was getting on DVD menus. You may notice some odd behaviour on crass-fading too. Thx for the log and the report - it's now officially on the to-do list

- another added to the list is support for GUI sounds is not consistent across skins - but that one is a little further down the priority list, so bear with us.

@daniela - not sure if you saw my recent post on your git, but we would welcome your contributions

Possible areas for your help:
- DTS-wav support in the form of a codec
- DSP work (gnif is outlining a class structure for these and bobo1on1 is doing the DRC dsp, but more are needed)
- AAC > pcm codec

They do need to be platform-agnostic though for inclusion in the project. You can join us on IRC or pm/email - you're part of the team so we would value you joining in the discussion and collaboration there.

Posted in the main AE thread, but will add here too:

Review is under way, and we are slotted for the May merge window, meaning it will likely hit master and the now-restarted nightlies in mid-May. For anyone using nightlies you will no longer have to rely on builds posted here. I'll maintain the thread for announcements and support, and there will be at least one more build prior to merge posted here, but the long-awaited merge is coming

I have re-installed Win7, installed all updates and latest drivers and XBMC-AE as the only program.

I tested for about one hour now and I got only very few little buffering incidences in that time.

A new broom sweeps clean.

Chris

I have a question regarding the settings:

My current audio system is a 5.0 setup with two front-, two rear-speakers and a centre. My amp is also configured for 5.0 output. What settings for the speakers shall I set within XBMC? Also 5.0 or better 7.1? My impression is that it doesn't make a difference, but I'm not sure.

I wish you guys a nice sunday,

Chris

@ix400 - 5.0 is best unless your AVR can do better down-mixing for your rooms dynamics.