Skip to main content

Notice

Please note that most of the software linked on this forum is likely to be safe to use. If you are unsure, feel free to ask in the relevant topics, or send a private message to an administrator or moderator. To help curb the problems of false positives, or in the event that you do find actual malware, you can contribute through the article linked here.
Topic: Quick question: Is direct sound supposed to work on Windows 10? It doesn't. (Read 2500 times) previous topic - next topic
0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Quick question: Is direct sound supposed to work on Windows 10? It doesn't.

Hi!

I'm wondering if this should be working. In foobar no directsound output options appear. In recording apps, if there's a directsound option, it will only record silence.

If it's supposed to be working what could cause it to brake like this?

Re: Quick question: Is direct sound supposed to work on Windows 10? It doesn't.

Reply #1
Yes, Direct Sound, MME, and WASAPI all work in Audacity with Windows 10 (for both recording and playback).

From what I've read, MME (and maybe Direct Sound) are "emulated" in Windows 10, but I don't know exactly what that means...   Maybe it's "translated" to WASAPI?

Quote
if there's a directsound option, it will only record silence.
Are you trying to record from actual hardware (a microphone, etc.) or are you trying to "capture" streaming audio?

Re: Quick question: Is direct sound supposed to work on Windows 10? It doesn't.

Reply #2
Yes, Direct Sound, MME, and WASAPI all work in Audacity with Windows 10 (for both recording and playback).

From what I've read, MME (and maybe Direct Sound) are "emulated" in Windows 10, but I don't know exactly what that means...   Maybe it's "translated" to WASAPI?

Quote
if there's a directsound option, it will only record silence.
Are you trying to record from actual hardware (a microphone, etc.) or are you trying to "capture" streaming audio?
I'm trying to capture the directsound output device. Well, right now I can't even see it in any app. I audacity I can set Directsound ands speakers/primary-sound-device. It just says error when opening device.

If I run "ffmpeg -list_devices true -f dshow -i dummy"  in the "DirectShow audio devices" section I only get "virtual-audio-capturer"which was installed for capturing.
I remember soundcard inputs and outputs being here normally.

Definitely not streaming audio from the web, just sound output.

Re: Quick question: Is direct sound supposed to work on Windows 10? It doesn't.

Reply #3
Quote
I'm trying to capture the directsound output device.
Normally you record an input and playback or monitor through the output. ;)

WASAPI (loopback) works to capture/record the output on most Windows devices.    But there has to be an "audio stream" before it will start...   It can be a silent stream, but normally the playback has to start before you can start recording.  

And if you have more than one output/device have to select the correct loopback device.   i.e.  If you're listening through USB headphones, you have to choose those as your loopback device.

The above link has a couple of other hardware/software solutions if loopback doesn't work on your system.

Sometimes "Stereo Mix" or "What-U-Hear" will work with Direct Sound (to capture/record sound output) but I believe these are driver features and not all computers have it.

Re: Quick question: Is direct sound supposed to work on Windows 10? It doesn't.

Reply #4
Quote
I'm trying to capture the directsound output device.
Normally you record an input and playback or monitor through the output. ;)

Only if you have input. For me, not using a microphone only the system output is interesting.

Sometimes "Stereo Mix" or "What-U-Hear" will work with Direct Sound (to capture/record sound output) but I believe these are driver features and not all computers have it.
Well, it worked for me with the same hardware, before I upgraded to Windows 10

Re: Quick question: Is direct sound supposed to work on Windows 10? It doesn't.

Reply #5
Quote
Well, it worked for me with the same hardware, before I upgraded to Windows 10
Apparently your new Win10 drivers don't have this feature.  It's getting rare on newer computers.    But WASAPI loopback should work or there are other possibilities.

Quote
Only if you have input. For me, not using a microphone only the system output is interesting.
That's why I asked about streaming.    It's usually the reason people want to record the output. 

Direct Sound "always works" on the inputs but capturing the output can be tricky...     The input doesn't have to be a microphone.  If you have a regular soundcard you can record the line input or you can record from a USB turntable or a guitar plugged-into a USB audio interface, etc.