Login at Kodi Home

EarnheadJ · 2012-12-21, 20:47

I am running xbmc Frodo RC1 on a windows vista machine. I have read the wiki on the sound configs, but I don't quite understand the difference between audio output device and passthrough output device. I have hdmi hooked to my tv and optical running from computer to my receiver. In the audio settings I have checked optical/coax as ouput device and checked 5.1 speakers also dolby digital and dts capable receiver. If I select wasapi spdif realtek digital output for both audio output and passthrough it works fine for all my movies, but as soon as I try to play any music file the computer locks up and I have to control alt delete and it says xbmc not responding. Sometimes I have to shut computer down by holding power button. If I leave wasapi checked as passthrough but change audio output device to SPDIF direct sound realtek digital output it seems to work, but I don't know if that is the correct setting to use. Excuse me if this is a noob question but if I am passing the audio straight through to receiver why is there another audio output device to select. I'm confused about the difference. I want all sound to passthrough to my receiver. What would the correct settings be for me?

**jjd-uk** · 2012-12-22, 16:59

The Passthrough setting is used when bitstreaming to your AVR for decoding there, the Audio Output setting is used for passing PCM audio.

For example, if your AVR supports DTS then set DTS Capable receiver and DTS is sent out by Passthrough device to your AVR. If your AVR didn't support DTS then DTS capable receiver is left unset so DTS is decoded by XBMC to PCM then sent by the Audio Output device.

In your case music is causing a problem, so what format are these files? It seems like an issue when trying to pass PCM in WASPI mode.

To better understand what is happening please provide a debug log, see http://wiki.xbmc.org/index.php?title=Log_file

Check also the skicky thread http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=146911 for fault finding tips.

EarnheadJ · 2012-12-22, 20:38

Here is my log. I tried both .mp3's and .m4a"s with same result. They would not play and locks up computer. I read in a sticky that there is a problem with realtek sound and WASPI.

http://pastebin.com/qvrVbtfg

DDDamian · 2012-12-23, 09:53

Haven't seen that one before. The log is not a full Debug Log (debugging wasn't enabled in XBMC's settings), but the line:

Code:
117.13:16:41 T:2404   ERROR: CAESinkWASAPI::AddPackets: Endpoint Buffer timed out

tells me that we never received a callback from the audio driver (via Windows) to refill the buffers within the allotted timespan.

Two things to try:
a) make sure you have the latest service packs for Vista (WASAPI requires SP1 minimum)
b) try adding the following to your advancedsettings.xml file

Code:
<advancedsettings>

    <audio>

        <audiosinkbufferdurationmsec>200</audiosinkbufferdurationmsec>

    </audio>

</advancedsettings>

The above will extend the buffer size and time-out period.

If that fails please post another Debug Log with debugging enabled in Settings>System>Debugging.

EarnheadJ · 2012-12-23, 16:51

Sorry I thought I enabled debug. Anyway I added the advancedsettings.xml and started xbmc with wasapi checked in both places, then tried playing a song and same result it didn't start playing but the play arrow showed up in bottom left so I clicked that and then small music player popped up and I hit stop but it locked up and I couldn't even get task manager to get me back to windows. So I had to hold in power button to shut down computer. My computer stays up to date with windows update with all service packs. If it helps my motherboard is Gigabyte GA-E7AUM-DS2H and I have a Nvidia GT430 that I have hdmi out to tv. I have optical out of motherboard (Realtek Digital Output) to Yamaha HTR-5550. Both items are checked for exclusive mode in windows. Here is the latest debug log. Like I said in original post if I use direct sound spdif realtek digital output for audio output device and Wasapi spdif for passthrough it seems to work.

http://pastebin.com/tVmDV54Y

**jjd-uk** · (This post was last modified: 2012-12-24, 02:42 by jjd-uk.)

I've done a quick scan of the log as I'm away for Xmas at the moment so only on my phone, but I notice some strange entries in that log I've not seen before, seems some issue passing audio data to the playback process at a guess, hopefully DDDamain can sort you out.

Realtek drivers are known to cause issues on systems with AMD/ATI chipsets for HDMI but for me jury is still out on whether they cause issues in all cases on SPDIF. However in your can case WASAPI is working for passthrough formats so if a Realtek issue I'd expect it to affect passthrough as well as decoded audio.

Is this an upgrade from a previous XBMC release? if so you could as a long shot try renaming the guisettings.xml to something else to default your settings, details in trouble shooting sticky towards top of Windows forum page.

EarnheadJ · (This post was last modified: 2012-12-24, 15:42 by EarnheadJ.)

(2012-12-24, 02:36)jjd-uk Wrote: I've done a quick scan of the log as I'm away for Xmas at the moment so only on my phone, but I notice some strange entries in that log I've not seen before, seems some issue passing audio data to the playback process at a guess, hopefully DDDamain can sort you out.

Realtek drivers are known to cause issues on systems with AMD/ATI chipsets for HDMI but for me jury is still out on whether they cause issues in all cases on SPDIF. However in your can case WASAPI is working for passthrough formats so if a Realtek issue I'd expect it to affect passthrough as well as decoded audio.

Is this an upgrade from a previous XBMC release? if so you could as a long shot try renaming the guisettings.xml to something else to default your settings, details in trouble shooting sticky towards top of Windows forum page

I usually always do a fresh install by uninstalling the previous version of xbmc and starting from scratch. It was a fresh install of RC1 that I was having problems with in the original post. Since then I installed RC2 over the top (didn't uninstall RC1 first) and that was where my debug log came from so I would think I started with default settings from RC1.

On an unrelated topic, I have update library on startup unchecked but whenever I start xbmc it updates library and searches for new movies. I've tried checking and unchecking it and it always updates on startup. Anything in that log about this?

EarnheadJ · 2012-12-25, 20:36

Should I start a new post on my library update issue? Just thought it would be convenient in here because of the log already posted?

DDDamian · 2012-12-25, 23:25

Hi Earnheadj - I read your new log. I'm pretty convinced the issue is the RealTek driver. It's supposed to generate an event or callback when it has a buffer available for filling, and this does not occur. Initialization looks fine, although it's debateable whether the driver will really accept 24-bit audio as it reports it does.

This is an error I have not seen elsewhere in the forums. If you are certain exclusive mode is enabled in the Windows settings and your service packs are up to date your only real recourse at the moment is to use DirectSound or search for better drivers for your chipset.

Another might be to disable the oboard RealTek stuff and install a $35 ATI 6450 if your receiver can handle HDMI. Your overall experience will be much better.

debennett2 · 2012-12-25, 23:46

All of these audio problems can not be driver issues. It seems more people than not are having some kind of audio-related issues. Seem to all have reared there heads in the beta stages as the nightlies all summer long didn't seem to exhibit this mess.

EarnheadJ · 2012-12-25, 23:47

(2012-12-25, 23:25)DDDamian Wrote: Hi Earnheadj - I read your new log. I'm pretty convinced the issue is the RealTek driver. It's supposed to generate an event or callback when it has a buffer available for filling, and this does not occur. Initialization looks fine, although it's debateable whether the driver will really accept 24-bit audio as it reports it does.

This is an error I have not seen elsewhere in the forums. If you are certain exclusive mode is enabled in the Windows settings and your service packs are up to date your only real recourse at the moment is to use DirectSound or search for better drivers for your chipset.

Another might be to disable the oboard RealTek stuff and install a $35 ATI 6450 if your receiver can handle HDMI. Your overall experience will be much better.

It's an older receiver and does not have HDMI. So would it be best to set direct sound for both device and passthrough or can I leave passthrough as WASAPI? Thanks for your help

DDDamian · 2012-12-26, 00:13

If passthrough is working with WASAPI I would recommend leaving that as-is, and just switching your non-passthrough device to DirectSound. With mp3's you won't hear much audible difference.

There are a couple of fixes coming after Frodo which may help you out, and hopefully RealTek drivers get a bit more compliant soon, but in the meantime its a workaround for you.

**msderganc** · 2013-01-17, 05:20

Maybe this is a small thing, but when I select WASAPI, for the non-passthrough, the skin sounds take a second to register. For instance, if I hit left, no sound happens. But if I continue to hit left, on the second or third press, the normal skin sounds come on. I tried the code you listed above Damian, but it's not fixing the issue. Any suggestions? I also tried using DirectSound, but for some reason, every time I start XBMC I have to reenable the DirectSound for it to work at all.

Win7 x64
AMD 4860
XBMC Frodo RC3

**Martijn** · 2013-01-17, 08:30

We really should just remove navigation sounds Tongue

DDDamian · 2013-01-18, 05:23

(2013-01-17, 05:20)msderganc Wrote: Maybe this is a small thing, but when I select WASAPI, for the non-passthrough, the skin sounds take a second to register. For instance, if I hit left, no sound happens. But if I continue to hit left, on the second or third press, the normal skin sounds come on. I tried the code you listed above Damian, but it's not fixing the issue. Any suggestions? I also tried using DirectSound, but for some reason, every time I start XBMC I have to reenable the DirectSound for it to work at all.

Win7 x64
AMD 4860
XBMC Frodo RC3

The code above was for something different. Only thing I would suggest for you is the <streamsilence>1</streamsilence> tag. See the wiki under AudioEngine.

Default code for XBMC RC1+ was to put the audio engine to sleep after several seconds of inactivity, which may mean you miss the first navsound as it wakes. The above tag set to true should prevent that.