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Topic: Homebrew CMI 8738 drivers (Read 532281 times) previous topic - next topic
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Homebrew CMI 8738 drivers

Reply #275 –
maybe this will clarify things keeto:

Code: [Select]
microphone ----------------- (mic in) |
                                      |
                                      |
                                      | Computer
                                      |
                                      |
amp's spdif in ---------- (spdif out) |

Homebrew CMI 8738 drivers

Reply #276 –
no, it's ok... ...I do understand ...I do really...

the problem is and has been that when I try to set up the microphone wizard- he tells me that I cannot have a 'simultaneous' listen and speak situation...I can hear someone, but they can't hear me, if ya get me. The mic in and spdif out,  and the use thereof at the same time, are the roots of the problem for me.
Please tell me of the 'checked boxes' that I should have in order to en-able:

mic in and spdif out[so I can use the conversation utility in msn]----in Dogbert's driver control panel

and many thanks to everyone[Leto, you've a hidden talent !-never mind your patience]

Homebrew CMI 8738 drivers

Reply #277 –
What am I missing?
....would someone please tell me?

Homebrew CMI 8738 drivers

Reply #278 –
by the drawing I would surmise that if I use the mic[in] from the sound card and spdif out from the card. then I should have mic capability. That is the way I set it up.
However, the mic calibration prog[''hardware test''] in XP won't accept this setup and says that I can't have it this way as I can't have a simultaneous[sound out and mic in] configuration.

These 2 connects are on 2 different channels surely[one for sound out and one for mic in] so why would one interfere with the other, which it is seemingly doing?
Initially I tried the spdif in[using a special adaptor/connector] and the spdif out, but no luck there.

Anyone got any ideas...someone...?

Homebrew CMI 8738 drivers

Reply #279 –
Have you followed the Installation Guide? There are troubleshooting links regarding WinXP and Vista installation at the bottom. Maybe it hasn't installed properly.

Cheers, Slipstreem. 

Homebrew CMI 8738 drivers

Reply #280 –
keeto, you're doing everything correctly - the wizard is buggy. the hardware is limited to running at only one sampling frequency at a time which means that the recording and playback stream have to have identical sampling frequencies.
The purpose of the wizard is to determine whether a soundcard can record and play a stream simultaneously ("full-duplex"), but this fails because the recording stream can't be opened due to a incorrectly chosen sampling frequency. However, this doesn't affect normal apps like Skype or MSN - the kmixer usually converts the recording or playback stream to the necessary sampling rate to overcome this limitation, so it should work right out of the box.

Homebrew CMI 8738 drivers

Reply #281 –
ok...thank YOU.
A rather odd thing going on here now. The Sound Is Working from the mic, but there are NO drivers installed...no control panel, nada, I did get the mic working for a short time and then lost it...did a re-install of the MSN 8.1 and an uninstall of the Dog drivers, but found they were still on my system, re-started and there was the sound intro[ms]...and still the drivers were in the 'choice of device' and there was/is sound ..and  the mic works..lol...can't believe this, very strange indeed.
will keep youse posted...

Homebrew CMI 8738 drivers

Reply #282 –
I did a re-install of the D's C-Media drivers and so far so good.
I have to do alot of 'messing' around with some of the choices[setting of the buttons] in the control panel[re-setting]. I have to re-configure the analog and digital output to my receiver for some reason...this is undone every time I exit from the systema nd restart msn...nuisance, but better than not working at all.
Cheers for now.

Homebrew CMI 8738 drivers

Reply #283 –
/quote[Have you followed the Installation Guide? There are troubleshooting links regarding WinXP and Vista installation at the bottom. Maybe it hasn't installed properly.]/quote

Slipstream      that did the trick.

I did a 'long' install of the d's media drivers and no problems with sound or msn. problems seem to have been resolved with this style of install.
all the best & thnx,
keeto

Homebrew CMI 8738 drivers

Reply #284 –
Hi,

I have been using these drivers for quite some time now and they provide absolutely perfect AC3/DTS passthrough and bitperfect music playback. Many thanks to Dogbert for providing them.

However, I just wondered if someone could tell me what the options "Enable 5v signal levels" and "Enable copyright bit" in the S/PDIF output page of the audio control panel are for and when you would enable them.


Many thanks


Russell

Homebrew CMI 8738 drivers

Reply #285 –
Quote from: RussellS on
However, I just wondered if someone could tell me what the options "Enable 5v signal levels" and "Enable copyright bit" in the S/PDIF output page of the audio control panel are for and when you would enable them.

the copyright bit can be enabled for creating DAT tapes/MD discs (?) with copy protection - the security of the SCMS system relies on it. The 5V level switch enables 5V voltage for the high level - the specs just mention it and so I've implemented it. I haven't bothered to test it with an oscilloscope.

Homebrew CMI 8738 drivers

Reply #286 –
Thanks for the reply,

So, should the 5v level be enabled or not.


Regards

Russell

Homebrew CMI 8738 drivers

Reply #288 –
The 5V 0.5V is for adjusting output level to optical/coax.
For optical, choose 5V
For coax, it depends on hardware. With on board 5V-0.5V convertor, choose 5V otherwise choose 0.5V

Homebrew CMI 8738 drivers

Reply #289 –
Why should it matter what it's set to for optical?  How does an optical connection even have a voltage?

Homebrew CMI 8738 drivers

Reply #290 –
The CMI8738 chip itself does not have an optical output, just a "good old metal" output pin that gives low and high voltages.
This low-high voltage swing is configured with the checkbox, and obviously must match the used electrical to optical convertor.

Homebrew CMI 8738 drivers

Reply #291 –
Thank you for the new relase!

Homebrew CMI 8738 drivers

Reply #292 –
thanks DB and.....many thanks Axl Mas, for the heads up

Homebrew CMI 8738 drivers

Reply #293 –
Quote from: Leto Atreides II on
Why should it matter what it's set to for optical?  How does an optical connection even have a voltage?


The toslink requires 5V to power the LED light.

Your stereo's spdif input and output requires 0.5V (which is the spdif standard).  You may damage your stereo if you give the stereo a 5V voltage.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S/PDIF

The problem is that TTL voltage is 5V --- i.e. communications between one computer chip to another computer chip is 5V.

This whole confusion started with early soundblaster live sound cards with spdif in the daughter cards --- they communicated in 5V.  Then Creative "forgot" that the spdif standard was 0.5V and the daughter card outputs the spdif signal "naked" at 5V via its RCA connector.  Asus also made the same mistake in their early spdif module.  Later designs of soundblaster cards and asus spdif modules reduced the voltage back to 0.5V before it goes out the RCA output connector.

There is also a potential problem with the input channel.  Your stereo is designed to output the spdif signal at 0.5V, but early soundcards and motherboards forgot about that (and expects to be communicated via TTL signals at 5V).  Without putting in an amplifier chip inside the soundcard or motherboard --- it doesn't hear the 0.5V spdif signal.

The CMI8738 chip has 2 spdif inputs --- the first spdif input can hear both 0.5V and 5V, the second spdif input can only hear 5V signals.  So if you plug a stereo with a 0.5V spdif signal into the CMI8738's secondary spdif input (which can only hear 5V signals) --- you won't hear anything.

Homebrew CMI 8738 drivers

Reply #294 –
I have installed the driver, but I can't get Direct Stream working in my winamp output plug-in... it crash my winamp everytime.

When I use the official driver, it work with direct stream, I really don't know which output method is the most suitable for this driver.. Direct Sound? or what else? n how can I get direct stream working again? Thank You..

Homebrew CMI 8738 drivers

Reply #295 –
Quote from: sam987 on
Quote from: Leto Atreides II on

Why should it matter what it's set to for optical?  How does an optical connection even have a voltage?


The toslink requires 5V to power the LED light.



Hmm...  I've been using the optical connection fine for a long time and have never enabled the 5V option.  Perhaps it always has it at 5V for the optical connection, and the toggle only affects the coax connection.

Homebrew CMI 8738 drivers

Reply #296 –
Quote from: Leto Atreides II on
Hmm...  I've been using the optical connection fine for a long time and have never enabled the 5V option.  Perhaps it always has it at 5V for the optical connection, and the toggle only affects the coax connection.


It really depends on how they design the motherboard and the spdif module.

For example, this is a 2003 forum discussion on the design flaw of the discontinued Asus spdif module (the pictures are long gone in the page) --- the flawed spdif module had both inputs and outputs for both optical and coax.

http://www.abxzone.com/forums/f96/looking-...dule-55195.html

I suspect that Asus motherboard just feeds the flawed spdif module with 5V (because it needs 5V for the LED light).  So there were 2 potential problems: (1) the coax gets 10x the juice which could fry your stereo and (2) Asus use a million different chipset combinations in their motherboards and some of the chipsets can't listen to 0.5V spdif coax input from your stereo.

The corrected spdif modules have 2 versions: (1) coax and optical outputs and (2) coax input and output --- but no more 4 jacks version.

And they have to put an IC chip on the correct version to correct the voltage problem.

This is an old (1999) DIY hack to get spdif from an old soundblaster live card --- voltage converters everywhere in the DIY hack.

http://www.andrewkilpatrick.org/mind/spdif/

Homebrew CMI 8738 drivers

Reply #297 –
Quote from: kyousuke on
I have installed the driver, but I can't get Direct Stream working in my winamp output plug-in... it crash my winamp everytime.

the hardware doesn't support direct recording of the playback stream, and there isn't a software implementation for a loopback recording pin in my driver yet. This is the most requested feature by now, so when I manage to get some free time, I might implement it.

Homebrew CMI 8738 drivers

Reply #298 –
I'm wondering if it's possible to software decode Dolby Digital coming from the SPDIF input and output the sound in multichannel to the analog ports. I have a XBox 360 attached to my trust sc-5250 via TOSLink and I can only select Stereo, triying to select DD only outputs clicks and distorted sounds.

Homebrew CMI 8738 drivers

Reply #299 –
Get a receiver, maybe? The whole point is to bypass the analog part of c-media card.