[Windows] AudioEngine testers - Windows platform only

(2012-05-06 04:37)DDDamian Wrote:  Thx guys - obviously this is not just a lost handshake - have a solution

On another note, a new class has been created for DSP's (digital signal processing), and we hope to have two initial DSP's in for the merge: a HRTF headphone-listening DSP (google it lol) and DRC (dynamic range compression). True DRC is long-awaited for those who listen at night etc. Note that it applies only to PCM - passthrough works as normal. Toggling transcoding of AC3, DTS, etc off and enabling DRC will give you the equivalent of "night mode".

Cool!
Any chance we could have a 'night mode' button in the on screen GUI during playback or a keyboard shortcut that would toggle all passthrough modes to the best decoded PCM?

I have mostly used the linux version, but here are some info about how AE works on my Windows system.
My configuration is shown in post #6.

AE has improved a lot since 2 months back and you are doing a great job.

I made an installation yesterday, with the box "clear all settings" ticked. I have only activated exclusive use and set speaker configuration to 7.1 in audio settings. In video settings I have changed rendering method to DXVA.
Before I changed rendering method it looked like some frames were dropped, when I played non HD media.
The log is from before I changed video settings, but there is nothing in the log about dropped frames.

The log shows:
- about 20 minutes from a video with Celine Dion. The audio format is Dolby True HD 96 kHz, which played without any dropouts.
- a video with AC/DC. The first audio track is LPCM 48 KHz and the second is Dolby Digital. Both play fine in Windows, but the LPCM track has a lot of distortion when played in Linux.
- a video with Within Temptation with 3 audio tracks, Dolby Digital 2.0, Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 96/24. All tracks played fine.
- the last video is ZZtop and the audio track is DTS HD MA. This isn't working that well. There is no sound and it looks like the reciever doesn't manage to sync the audio stream. The video is shown OK. The behaviour in Linux is the same.

http://pastebin.com/tGWuyyvF

@T800 - while we're still deciding how best to handle the GUI and all the options AE provides, I for one like the idea of making them instantly accessible.

The issue is whether we clutter/confuse the existing GUI - or better phrased, how not to. We would like to make these easy to get at, but not overwhelming to a new user.

It may be that an advancedsettings.xml tag will enable additional GUI settings, or we may have an addon for advanced settings which enabled them via a window.

I'm good with either, but it's a team decision and I started the debate a month ago in internal forums. To be honest, we've been busy enough getting the core stuff as ready-to-go as possible, and haven't given this the attention it deserves, but ofc once it hits master we'll have the talents and skills of our GUI coders & skinners looking

(2012-05-06 17:32)DDDamian Wrote:  It may be that an advancedsettings.xml tag will enable additional GUI settings

Hey Damian,

just stumbled upon this...and it might get a bit OT...sorry for that
I think this idea should be kept in mind...not only for AE but more in general...
I know that some team members fear that they clutter the GUI...
Based on this fear, I shouted an idea out here:
https://github.com/xbmc/xbmc/pull/819#is...nt-4798174

Maybe we can discuss something like this in a feature request thread? Any opinion?

BTW: Great work on AE. Next week my new HTPC arrives and I'm able to bitstream HD audio...
The new Denon AVR deserves good "food"

EDIT: Made my proposal in feature suggestions:
http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=130871

@P-I H - hey, thanks for the feedback. Sounding mostly good - will take a look at your log for the DTS-MA issue. Cheers for that!

@Mad-Max - funny, just responded in your thread before reading your post here. I've made my opinion known that I favour allowing access to these settings, it's finding a way to do so without making things more difficult/confusing. I agree that as.xml is not user-friendly, no does it lend itself to "live" switching which audio options benefit from. As you saw in your thread, many devs are against adding options to the GUI, for understandable reasons. I'm not enitrely in that camp, but they have a good argument. How to find a balance? As I replied in your thread, I think addons for opening up advanced settings are the way to go.

EDIT: I also think that method will find the support of some very senior devs - to quote one of the veterans when I asked how best to add settings for AE, "add-on the shit out of it"

I compiled the Linux version today and this version played PCM 48 kHz, PCM 96 kHz and also DTS HD MA. The Linux version behaves much better than I wrote in post #332.

I think you'll find the same changes are in the next Windows build as well - that's kinda how it works

(2012-05-07 02:38)DDDamian Wrote:  EDIT: I also think that method will find the support of some very senior devs - to quote one of the veterans when I asked how best to add settings for AE, "add-on the shit out of it"

Was that Spiff?

(2012-05-08 17:58)ashlar Wrote:  

(2012-05-07 02:38)DDDamian Wrote:  EDIT: I also think that method will find the support of some very senior devs - to quote one of the veterans when I asked how best to add settings for AE, "add-on the shit out of it"

Was that Spiff?

I can neither confirm nor deny

Sad news is, on investigation Python as implemented cannot pass live values back and forth....

AE was just officially merged with master