[AudioEngine] Support for AE on Windows platform

(2012-07-01 04:04)Death-Axe Wrote:  My post about it is here:http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=134351

It's only doing it through coax/spdif. When I switch to speakers (my headphones are connected via 3.5mm in the PC) the videos play fine without that error and without juddering.

So for some reason AE doesn't like the surround system, or it has issues outputting vis optical.

Are you using a monitor or TV to watch the movies? How is it connected? I read through your pasted log file and could see that your display is set to an odd resolution and frame rate which does not match normal HD resolutions of 1920x1080 @ 24/25/30/50/60 framerate. It's always best to have your display capable of handling the resolution and framerate natively, rather than have the software trying to modify the data "on the fly".

That said, you say there is no issue with earlier versions - why not stick with them or with Eden code? Your display and sound setup can't handle full HD video and sound in any case. You need an HDMI connection (video and sound) to a suitable AVR and TV display to get the full benefit. The S/PDIF (coax or optical) can only handle two channel audio (or compressed DD or DTS) or if you are using the speaker jacks all the decoding will be done by the sound card anyway.

Don't misunderstand my answer please - the AE builds are (as I understand) experimental nightlies. However, they should support (in time) all configurations of kit. It's just that you seemed to be demanding an immediate fix in the other thread. I'm sure the devs will read all posts and will incorporate fixes as time goes on. I'm not having any particular difficulties with the basic sound and video capabilities of the AE nightlies as I have a fully HD capable chain of equipment through my AVR and TV. You are obviously being affected by somewhat "bleeding edge" code.

Will there be Dolby ProLogic IIx decoding in future releases?

Well for one I didn't ask for your opinion on my setup. You keep spouting about HDMI, but like many; my sound system is of modest value and does not support HDMI.

I do get the full benefits of sound, dolby digital and DTS are nice formats in which my speaker system does decode and sounds beautiful. I have never experienced HD sound, but I seriously doubt the human ear can tell the difference despite what people claim.

As for AE, it is designed to do anything audio related and should not only be geared toward HDMI. Spdif is a very popular connection used by a lot of people, and AE should be supporting it better.

As for my TV setup, that is the native resolution of my TV it is a modest "HD ready" TV; a few years old now and does indeed have an odd resolution. I have tried setting it to 1080p but the resulting picture looks a little odd.

As for older builds, the odd thing is the one I was using has started dropping frames like the builds after, no idea why.

As I said, it only does this when using the optical out. If I set it to wasapi speakers which I have my headphones connected it plays it fine. So obviously AE has some compatibility issues that need fixing ASAP.

And to add, It's not will all audio formats. For example ghost in the shell series I have uses AAC 5.1 and has frame drops. Movies with DTS though no frame drops.

An anime I have uses ogg and is mono has frame drops. All with that discontinuity error.


But on speakers mode (analogue headphones) works fine.

so far I'm only getting it with DVDs when interlacing is OFF. Also, funnily enough I'm only experiencing it on my AMD E-450-based HTPC. When I try the same test on my Core i7/nVidia GT240 workstation, it's fine.

Wonder if AE needs to be made to work better with realtek? that is what my system has for audio and probably allot of others with small scale systems.

@Death-Axe - apologies - I did ask you not to misunderstand my answer and I did not comment unfavourably on your setup - I merely pointed out that you would not receive the full HD experience on sound or vision without appropriate equipment. AE is in the main branch for nightlies now and will have to cater for all configurations in time. I think that one of the main devs for AE (DDDamien) is on a break at the moment, but I'm sure he will review the posts in this thread, so you should get a definitive answer when he returns. I'm on my third HTPC system in about two years in the quest for quality video and audio. Things change so fast it's difficult to keep up with the latest kit! My Fusion-based motherboard (MSI E350IA-E45) handles HD sound formats perfectly on Windows, but won't do so on Linux, which is where I want to be. So I'll have to wait until the drivers are eventually updated to support multichannel sound.

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(2012-07-02 13:56)Death-Axe Wrote:  Wonder if AE needs to be made to work better with realtek? that is what my system has for audio and probably allot of others with small scale systems.

It doesn't work at all well with the Realtek drivers which I had installed on my Fusion motherboard. I had to change to the native ATI/AMD HDMI drivers from the Catalyst Windows update pack in order for a satisfactory video and sound experience.

I did not suggest that to you as you did not seem to be using HDMI, but maybe if different drivers are available for your graphics card and HD audio you could try them. See earlier pages in this thread for details - http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=131237&page=11

(2012-07-01 12:26)DocMAX Wrote:  Will there be Dolby ProLogic IIx decoding in future releases?

I think that Dolby Prologic decoding is a function of your sound system receiver which enhances standard 5.1 audio to 6.1 or 7.1. My Onkyo receiver supports this, but it's a waste of time for me as I only have 5.1 speakers. It's probably a licensed feature which would have to be paid for by the manufacturer of the receiver. If you are feeding a sound system with analogue feeds from a PC with 7.1 audio there may be "enhancements" in the sound driver which would do the same. If xbmc were to incorporate that feature it might have to be licensed. What is the configuration of your sound system?

Can't use hdmi; My speaker system is optical. My TV will only output stereo through it's optical out. So it's directly connected from the pc to the connection at the back of the sub.

(that aside, I'm happy with what I have. And as I said earlier I seriously doubt the human ear can tell the difference)

Can't use any other drivers as the sound chip is realtek. Graphics card drivers therefore have nothing to do with it.


You said "do not misunderstand bla bla" but let me give you something honest: and from what you just said as well "I buy a new set up every year bla bla" with that kind of thing, you come across as being a douche.

Apart from that though you seem to be helping people as best as you can despite that. So thanks.

Well that's me told off!