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Topic: WASAPI and Windows 10 (Read 21794 times) previous topic - next topic
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WASAPI and Windows 10

Is there any good reason to add the WASAPI component to Windows 10?

Re: WASAPI and Windows 10

Reply #1
IMO, WASAPI is only useful if you want to mute all other sounds.
| QAAC ~ 192 kbps |

Re: WASAPI and Windows 10

Reply #2
Not entirely true. Shared mode works perfectly well if you want a lower latency API than DirectSound, but also want to share the output device with the rest of the system. The VSTi and BASSMIDI user mode drivers use WASAPI shared mode where it is supported.

Re: WASAPI and Windows 10

Reply #3
IMO there are only two reasons to use WASAPI at all: your sound card has weird driver situation and the default Direct Sound output doesn't work correctly or you need bit-perfect output for example so that receiver can decode DTS, AC3 or MQA signal in the bitstream.

Latency is irrelevant with music playback. DS output is smoothest for user since all the default fades prevent glitches when playback state is suddenly changed.

Re: WASAPI and Windows 10

Reply #4
Latency matters with a MIDI driver, as it affects the delay between notes sent by a client application and sounds heard by the user. Of course, I guess it doesn't matter if there's a one or two second delay with music starting with random DOS games.

Re: WASAPI and Windows 10

Reply #5
Have you not slept? This is foobar2000 related question and foobar doesn't need realtime output.

Re: WASAPI and Windows 10

Reply #6
I had slept, but totally missed that this topic was in the foobar2000 forum. And I was answering to a general allegation that WASAPI was an unnecessary feature in Windows, period. Much more important to white knight random Windows features than to pay attention to what is actually being discussed.

Ever since the forum upgrade, I have felt obligated to at least give every single new topic and post a cursory glance, and reply if my vague reading comprehension kicks in and tells me that I have a relevant reply to the topic. I guess I didn't comprehend what I was reading.

Re: WASAPI and Windows 10

Reply #7
User-Mode Audio Components

https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/dd316780

is a good read.  Has a useful picture

https://i-msdn.sec.s-msft.com/dynimg/IC45726.jpg

which I may have attached to this.  The key point is DirectSound calls into WASAPI (and the other Core APIs), so if you use DS you use WASAPI, only through a different API (a very old and clumsy one).

The only reason to use DS is to work on XP systems, or if you already have working DS code and it's good enough.

BANNED

Re: WASAPI and Windows 10

Reply #8
Not entirely true. Shared mode works perfectly well if you want a lower latency API than DirectSound, but also want to share the output device with the rest of the system. The VSTi and BASSMIDI user mode drivers use WASAPI shared mode where it is supported.
But Peter's WASAPI Component works in exclusive mode. I know the benefits of low latency.
Assuming one doesn't need bit-perfect output and DirectSound is not broken as Case mentions, i can't see a good reason to use WASAPI on foobar2000. I can only see disadvantages (no nice fading effects, glitches if you seek a song... that's very bad if you listen at high levels).

IMHO most people use WASAPI because they have read somewhere that sounds better than DS and other bullshit like that.

Sorry for the late reply, i was away from home where my KeePass DB resides. :)
| QAAC ~ 192 kbps |

 

Re: WASAPI and Windows 10

Reply #9
Not entirely true. Shared mode works perfectly well if you want a lower latency API than DirectSound, but also want to share the output device with the rest of the system. The VSTi and BASSMIDI user mode drivers use WASAPI shared mode where it is supported.
But Peter's WASAPI Component works in exclusive mode. I know the benefits of low latency.
Assuming one doesn't need bit-perfect output and DirectSound is not broken as Case mentions, i can't see a good reason to use WASAPI on foobar2000. I can only see disadvantages (no nice fading effects, glitches if you seek a song... that's very bad if you listen at high levels).

IMHO most people use WASAPI because they have read somewhere that sounds better than DS and other bullshit like that.

Sorry for the late reply, i was away from home where my KeePass DB resides. :)

Thanks for not noticing that I wasn't paying attention to which forum the topic was posted in, which I already admitted to a few posts later.

Re: WASAPI and Windows 10

Reply #10
Not sure if this is the proper place to post, but I just setup a W10 PC and connected the ASUS Realtek Optical Out to my Pioneer Recv that can do 24/192.    If I set the output to WASABI, I get the Unsupported Stream format error on simple 16bit 6 ch flac tracks.

If I set the output to default sound card and set the default to Optical, it plays - but only in Stereo!  I set the config to 5.1 etc.  So I don't know whats going on.  Can someone shed some light on this issue?  I

Is there a way to disable to valid stream check and just do it?

Also the same output streams DD from Cyberlinks DVD-Player v15 just fine.

Re: WASAPI and Windows 10

Reply #11
S/PDIF doesn't support uncompressed 6-channel audio; only stereo and compressed formats such as AC3 or DTS.

Re: WASAPI and Windows 10

Reply #12
Hmm,

Why do they sell HDMI to S/PDIF that have a mode switch to pass through the high bit rate?   I have a 2nd PC that normally runs connected by HDMI to the main AVR, then I have this splitter that sends S/PDIF to the bedroom AVR.   If I set that mode to do pass through, I get that damn unrecognizable stream error on everything but 2 channel files.   Turn it off and it runs locally just fine, but only 2 chan on the remote side.  I would love to just turn that test off and see if it flies.

Re: WASAPI and Windows 10

Reply #13
S/PDIF is just not compatible with multichannel audio, unless it's AC-3 or DTS passthrough, sometimes AAC. Your SPDIF device is jsut not capable of doing it. WASAPI exclusive mode tries to force this format through it, that's why it's failing. When you use DirectSound, the Windows mixer downmixes it to 2 channels. I'm not sure if there's a plugin to convert to DTS or AAC on-the-fly, but that's one solution. You will need a proper decoder on the other side of that SPDIF cable though, which the AVR should be able to handle.

Re: WASAPI and Windows 10

Reply #14
IMO there are only two reasons to use WASAPI at all: your sound card has weird driver situation and the default Direct Sound output doesn't work correctly or you need bit-perfect output for example so that receiver can decode DTS, AC3 or MQA signal in the bitstream.

Latency is irrelevant with music playback. DS output is smoothest for user since all the default fades prevent glitches when playback state is suddenly changed.
WASAPI exclusive mode with LPCM is useful when outputting through HDMI to a multichannel AVR. This lets the AVR get the proper number of channels, and it can apply processing accordingly.