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Topic: 1.6 beta 4: visualization is choppy with WASAPI exclusive and fading enabled (Read 6038 times) previous topic - next topic
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1.6 beta 4: visualization is choppy with WASAPI exclusive and fading enabled

If output mode is WASAPI exclusive (with official component) and Fading (on Output page settings) is enabled, visualization becomes choppy. It especially noticeable on Spectrogram. And it is even more noticeable with 3rd part component foo_musical_spectrum
Another problem: if Fading is disabled during active playback with WASAPI exclusive output, it results in error "Device in use". Is this  expected behavior?

Re: 1.6 beta 4: visualization is choppy with WASAPI exclusive and fading enabled

Reply #1 –
Should be fixed in beta 5, thanks for reporting.
Microsoft Windows: We can't script here, this is bat country.
 

Re: 1.6 beta 4: visualization is choppy with WASAPI exclusive and fading enabled

Reply #2 –
Hi Peter, I find the issue reported by Rollin (OP) is not fixed with the latest beta 5. I'm on Windows 10 64-bit build 2004.

Furthermore I just noticed that the visual representation, for example with UIE Vis Channel Spectrum, is quite different using the new default WASAPI output, which presumably implies that the sound output is different (and perhaps of lower volume?). Whereas comparing the old official WASAPI output plugin v3.3 with the WASAPI shared plugin v0.6.12 by Case, both of these provide the same sound output and visual representation. Currently I'm sticking with WASAPIS by Case.

Please let me know if you need any further details or perhaps require my assistance to investigate the issue further.

Re: 1.6 beta 4: visualization is choppy with WASAPI exclusive and fading enabled

Reply #3 –
The issues (see previous post) remain valid with recent beta 6.

Re: 1.6 beta 4: visualization is choppy with WASAPI exclusive and fading enabled

Reply #4 –
I don't see any problems in beta 5 and 6. Although i never used UIE Vis Channel Spectrum. Maybe it is just too outdated to work correctly with last fb2k?

Re: 1.6 beta 4: visualization is choppy with WASAPI exclusive and fading enabled

Reply #5 –
What makes you think UIE Vis Channel Spectrum does not work correctly with current foobar2000 just because of its release date?

I said that the visual representation of UIE Vis Channel Spectrum is the same both with the old exclusive WASAPI output plugin and the WASAPIS output plugin by Case. Only when using the new internal WASAPI shared output the visual representation is different. It shows a lower global volume and a more dense frequency range, i.e. the very high frequencies shown to the far right of the spectrum appear to be non-existent.

Also choppy output with smooth seeking, pause and volume changes enabled using the old WASAPI output or the WASAPIS plugin is still a issue in beta 6.

Re: 1.6 beta 4: visualization is choppy with WASAPI exclusive and fading enabled

Reply #6 –
Sounds like it's hooking into the output stream rather than the visualization subsystem. I don't know what sample rate the visualization subsystem operates on, but it appears that visualizer is showing the output of the resampler pass before the audio goes to the output device.

Of course when you upsample the output sharply, perhaps to 96kHz or higher, the frequencies are going to look more bunched together, as it's showing frequency bands all the way up to 48kHz, instead of whatever your file may actually be.

The fact that it's also showing a lower volume level, appears to indicate it's getting the audio after the playback and output chain has reduced the volume to account for the ReplayGain correction level and/or the configured playback volume level, which are also applied before output.

Neither of these should be affecting visualization, though. So either there's something funny with the visualization system, or there's something funny with the way this component collects that data.

Choppiness could be due to the increased sample rate of the audio it's processing. The visualization subsystem allows components to sample PCM and optionally FFT data at any interval they desire, limited only by the CPU usage incurred by the FFT process on the audio.

Please do report whether this visual anomaly also affects the player's bundled visualizations, and not just this third party component.

Re: 1.6 beta 4: visualization is choppy with WASAPI exclusive and fading enabled

Reply #7 –
Quote from: kode54 on
Of course when you upsample the output sharply, perhaps to 96kHz or higher, the frequencies are going to look more bunched together, as it's showing frequency bands all the way up to 48kHz, instead of whatever your file may actually be.
I'm outputting sound in Foobar2000 via WASAPI with no additional upsampling (like to 96 kHz). The native output rate of my soundcard Soundblaster ZXR is 24-bit 48 kHz. The soundcard speaker output is configured to Stereo Direct, which means no additional soundprocessing takes place, like Crystalyzer, Surround, Enhanced Bass etc.

Quote from: kode54 on
Choppiness could be due to the increased sample rate of the audio it's processing. The visualization subsystem allows components to sample PCM and optionally FFT data at any interval they desire, limited only by the CPU usage incurred by the FFT process on the audio.
I just rechecked that issue with foobar2000s default UI, as I'm normally using ColumnsUI. The choppiness issue remains the same. Again, it ONLY appears when activating the "smooth" option in the output section and using either the WASAPI exclusive output plugin or the WASPIS plugin by Case. The choppiness is NOT affected by any visual output plugin, as I checked that with no visual output plugin enabled!

Quote from: kode54 on
Please do report whether this visual anomaly also affects the player's bundled visualizations, and not just this third party component.
The internal Spectrum view shows similar behavior (lowered volume, denser spectrum range) with the internal WASAPI output, while with the old WASAPI plugin or WASPIS by Case the visual appears identical with no such issues.

Re: 1.6 beta 4: visualization is choppy with WASAPI exclusive and fading enabled

Reply #8 –
Quote from: deus-ex on
I'm outputting sound in Foobar2000 via WASAPI with no additional upsampling (like to 96 kHz).
If you use new Default (WASAPI shared) then fb2k will automatically resample to the samplerate which is set for sound card in Windows' sound settings.

Re: 1.6 beta 4: visualization is choppy with WASAPI exclusive and fading enabled

Reply #9 –
Quote from: Rollin on
If you use new Default (WASAPI shared) then fb2k will automatically resample to the samplerate which is set for sound card in Windows' sound settings.
Thanks for noting, Rollin, it is set to my soundcard default 24 bit 48 kHz. I wonder how come there are no such issues using Case WASAPIS plugin, which also uses shared WASAPI mode?

Re: 1.6 beta 4: visualization is choppy with WASAPI exclusive and fading enabled

Reply #10 –
Quote from: deus-ex on
I wonder how come there are no such issues using Case WASAPIS plugin, which also uses shared WASAPI mode?

Different implementation of wasapi plugin, explained here.
Somewhere, there's someone dying in a foreign land
Meanwhile, the world is crying stupidity of man
Tell me why, tell me why

Re: 1.6 beta 4: visualization is choppy with WASAPI exclusive and fading enabled

Reply #11 –
Hi Vicas. Yeah, that's true. Then again, the output of the old WASPI exclusive plugin by Peter and the WASAPIS shared plugin by Case appear acoustically and visually the same. Why would foobar2000s new internal WASAPI solution differ that obviously?

Re: 1.6 beta 4: visualization is choppy with WASAPI exclusive and fading enabled

Reply #12 –
I don't know but hope it will get fixed.
Somewhere, there's someone dying in a foreign land
Meanwhile, the world is crying stupidity of man
Tell me why, tell me why

Re: 1.6 beta 4: visualization is choppy with WASAPI exclusive and fading enabled

Reply #13 –
Quote from: deus-ex on
I wonder how come there are no such issues using Case WASAPIS plugin, which also uses shared WASAPI mode?
ObviouslyProbably, because it does not resample automatically to the samplerate which is set for sound card in Windows' sound settings or maybe resampling is done later in signal path.

Re: 1.6 beta 4: visualization is choppy with WASAPI exclusive and fading enabled

Reply #15 –
Maybe related issue, lyrics display doesn't look smooth here with WASAPI Exclusive and fading enabled

Re: 1.6 beta 4: visualization is choppy with WASAPI exclusive and fading enabled

Reply #16 –
Quote from: deus-ex on
Hi Rollin, I think it's not quite like that. Check this post from Case regarding the inner details of his WASAPIS plugin: https://hydrogenaud.io/index.php?topic=116739.msg963522#msg963522
"if needed" in relation to Case's component actually means "if samplerate is not supported by sound card (or windows' mixer)".

Re: 1.6 beta 4: visualization is choppy with WASAPI exclusive and fading enabled

Reply #17 –
The reported issues all remain unresolved with recent beta 10. I wonder why this thread does not get more attention by the developer(s)? If any more details or assistance is required in order to fix the problems, I'm glad to help.

Re: 1.6 beta 4: visualization is choppy with WASAPI exclusive and fading enabled

Reply #18 –
I saw jerky playback progress indication in earlier betas. Waveform seekbars weren't running smoothly but instead the position cursor was jumping. This was fixed.

And I see the difference in visualization spectrums - this is because the new default output injects an invisible resampler to the playback chain. My component uses resampler internally without affecting core DSP chain.

But I can't see any choppiness with Channel Spectrum panel visualization. I thought it runs at my monitors 144 Hz rate but recording seems to indicate it runs at ~60 fps. Either way it looks very smooth. Please provide a video showing the issue as currently there's nothing Peter can do.

Re: 1.6 beta 4: visualization is choppy with WASAPI exclusive and fading enabled

Reply #19 –
Quote from: Case on
I saw jerky playback progress indication in earlier betas. Waveform seekbars weren't running smoothly but instead the position cursor was jumping. This was fixed.
If that should also apply to the UIE Wave Seekbar, that one was never jerky for me.

Quote from: Case on
And I see the difference in visualization spectrums - this is because the new default output injects an invisible resampler to the playback chain. My component uses resampler internally without affecting core DSP chain.
Thank you for sharing some inside view on this. That's one question down.

Quote from: Case on
But I can't see any choppiness with Channel Spectrum panel visualization. I thought it runs at my monitors 144 Hz rate but recording seems to indicate it runs at ~60 fps. Either way it looks very smooth. Please provide a video showing the issue as currently there's nothing Peter can do.
Attached are example videos I recorded using Windows' internal Xbox Game bar feature. Note that the "WASAPI exclusive" video does not carry any recorded sound due to being exclusive to foobar2000, obviously. Both WASAPI exclusive and your WASAPIS plugin produce the same output visually and acoustically and are equally affected by the "smooth fade" output option. Personally I don't mind this issue much as I'm using your WASAPIS plugin which does not require the smooth fading enabled.

Re: 1.6 beta 4: visualization is choppy with WASAPI exclusive and fading enabled

Reply #20 –
The waveform playback progress cursor doesn't seem to move smoothly in any of the videos. Are you perhaps using the GDI render mode? That would explain why you didn't see a problem with that as it doesn't have subpixel rendering.

The smooth mixer enabled recording shows also audio glitching, is that accurate? Which resampler does the console report as being used? Could you check foobar2000 process CPU usage? Those large visuals must be quite demanding. I believe smooth mixer runs with much smaller output buffers to be able to do its fades in near-realtime.

Re: 1.6 beta 4: visualization is choppy with WASAPI exclusive and fading enabled

Reply #21 –
Quote from: Case on
The waveform playback progress cursor doesn't seem to move smoothly in any of the videos. Are you perhaps using the GDI render mode? That would explain why you didn't see a problem with that as it doesn't have subpixel rendering.
Now that you mention it I can confirm that the waveform doesn't progress smoothly either. I didn't notice it as it is rather subtle to see. I witnessed a general increased system burden after the last two major Windows updates, the system does not run as smooth as it used to. And yes, I use the GDI renderer of Zao's waveform plugin, as this is the only one which allows me to get the visual result you see.

Quote from: Case on
The smooth mixer enabled recording shows also audio glitching, is that accurate?
Yes, with smooth fading enabled there are audio glitches, indeed, but only with WASAPI exclusiv and WASAPIS, not with the new internal WASAPI.

Quote from: Case on
Which resampler does the console report as being used?
According to the console the PPHS resampler is called automatically (screenshot 1), but I don't know why it does this. In my DSP chain I have configured the SOX resampler to take action on any audio data which is not 44 kHz. The sample rate of the used test sample is 44 kHz.

EDIT: It appears that foobar2000 does not necessarily obey to your DSP chain configuration. I have the SOX renderer set to 44 kHz, but often the internal PPHS renderer is used instead. I cannot detect a foolproof pattern why this happens. I have changed the SOX renderer to 48 kHz now, so it is not triggered when using WASAPIS output. This seems to have ended automatic calling of the PPHS renderer, too. Note that this change does not affect my CPU usage.

Quote from: Case on
Could you check foobar2000 process CPU usage? Those large visuals must be quite demanding. I believe smooth mixer runs with much smaller output buffers to be able to do its fades in near-realtime.
Actually it's not that much of a burden on my system (screenshot 2).

Re: 1.6 beta 4: visualization is choppy with WASAPI exclusive and fading enabled

Reply #22 –
Thanks for all the details.
Can you please test with any other sound device, such as onboard audio? To rule out soundcard (SoundBlaster ZxR, I assume) as a factor.
Microsoft Windows: We can't script here, this is bat country.

Re: 1.6 beta 4: visualization is choppy with WASAPI exclusive and fading enabled

Reply #23 –
Quote from: deus-ex on
It appears that foobar2000 does not necessarily obey to your DSP chain configuration. I have the SOX renderer set to 44 kHz, but often the internal PPHS renderer is used instead.
It's not replacing one resampler with another. Additional resampler is put at the end of the chain to ensure that the correct sample rate is sent to the output. If another resampler did the job before, it's does nothing and just passes unaltered data thru.
Microsoft Windows: We can't script here, this is bat country.

Re: 1.6 beta 4: visualization is choppy with WASAPI exclusive and fading enabled

Reply #24 –
Quote from: Peter on
Can you please test with any other sound device, such as onboard audio? To rule out soundcard (SoundBlaster ZxR, I assume) as a factor.
Sorry, I can't as my mainboard does not have a regular onboard sound chip installed. It comes with an optional extension card which houses some old Soundblaster XiFi-ish solution which I never had installed/used.

For completeness I just checked all available speaker output options of my Soundblaster ZxR (5.1 Surround, Stereo 2.0/2.1, Stereo Direct) but that does not affect the "smooth fading" choppiness issue. If I can assist with any additional info/details or by running a foobar2000 debug version/output driver of some sorts, please let me know.