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: Playback Issues (Read 3969 times) previous topic - next topic
0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Playback Issues

I've recently started using Foobar on my laptop and I've run into a few problems.  Either running off a external HDD or the internal HDD I get skips and stuttering in the music.  At first, I thought it was a problem with the external HDD, so I moved some songs onto the internal HDD, but the problem was still present.  After that I thought it might be a problem with the USB interface of the HDD screwing with the computer, so I removed the USB cord, still nothing.  The only external plugs coming into the laptop are Ethernet, sound, and power, I really don't see how those could affect playback.

I'm running 0.9.4.2 with the latest ColumnsUI, and QuicksSearch.  I thought that it might be a problem with the spectrum analyzer, but after disabling it the problem persisted.

Theoretically this laptop should have no problems running Foobar.  It has 2GB of RAM, a Core 2 Duo @ 2.03ghz, and a HDD which should have more than enough bandwidth to stream music.

I'm stumped as to what can be causing this.  I'm running WindowsXP SP2 and I think this laptop has Sigmatel Onboard Sound.  Is there a possibility that the delay is caused by the speakers?

Thanks for the help!

Playback Issues

Reply #1 –
I'm running a laptop with almost identical setup (also using an external USB harddrive) and fb2k 9.4 version. The only difference I see is that I don't use QuickSearch.  I don't have the problems you indicate and I doubt the issue is in your computer (it certainly can run fb2k properly).  I don't have a good answer for you, but I assume you have tried these same files on other players (winamp, itunes, etc.) and the songs do NOT skip and stutter on these players (i.e. the files themselves are fine).

One thought, go into preferences, playback, output and check your settings. Give it a reasonable buffer (maybe 1500), and see that the playback is set for 16 bit.

Playback Issues

Reply #2 –
I'm going to try removing QuickSearch and see if that fixes any problems.  Thanks.

Playback Issues

Reply #3 –
Alright, after removing QuickSearch the problem was still there.  I went to the Dell site and got the latest drivers for my soundcard, but it seems to not have fixed the problem.

Every 20-30 seconds there is this pause/break in the music with a little crackling sound, other than that the music plays beautifully.  I had already played around with the output settings as you mentioned.

Come to think of it, I was having a problem similar to this in DVD playback.  I was reading another thread about skipping and they were talking about HDD PIO stuff, which I don't really get.  Could that have something to do with it?

The problem seems to be exacerbated when I am using the computer, but it is still present when I am not...

I'm clueless here!

Playback Issues

Reply #4 –
Go to Preferences>Playback>Output
Try to disable or enable the options (play with the settings here) on this page. Try to change the Output, or disable Dither, or select 16-bit, or set the Buffer around 1500 ms.
Also take a look on the DSP Manager. Try to disable Resampler.




Quote from: JBruckner on
Alright, after removing QuickSearch the problem was still there.  I went to the Dell site and got the latest drivers for my soundcard, but it seems to not have fixed the problem.

Every 20-30 seconds there is this pause/break in the music with a little crackling sound, other than that the music plays beautifully.  I had already played around with the output settings as you mentioned.

Come to think of it, I was having a problem similar to this in DVD playback.  I was reading another thread about skipping and they were talking about HDD PIO stuff, which I don't really get.  Could that have something to do with it?

The problem seems to be exacerbated when I am using the computer, but it is still present when I am not...

I'm clueless here!

Playback Issues

Reply #5 –
I run a very sililar setup on very similar laptops (E1705 and a 600M) with a WD passport. The 600M I run thru a MAudio Audiohile USB, the E705 I run thru the onboard Sigmatel (driver : 5.10.0.4995.)

I have no issues running a very low buffer (1000) with dither enabled.

I would look at DSPs (disable them all and see if that helps), make sure your drivers are updated and look at programs you have running in the background (AntiVirus's especially).

Try shutting down any apps you have running that aren't necessary and see if the playback improves.

Playback Issues

Reply #6 –
Still no luck.  I never had any DSPs enabled.  I have 18 processes running, so that isn't a problem.  I've tried changing my sampling rate and the dither, none of that works.  I've played with the buffer too, going all the way up to 8000ms and that doesn't help at all...

I'm out of ideas here.  This bug, or problem, makes listening to music miserable.

Playback Issues

Reply #7 –
You can try one thing. Go to Preferences, Advanced tab , Playback and there look for Thread priority, set to 1. Or if even that is not working, U can select foobar2000.exe in the Task manager, processes and select Priority to High.

I had the same problem, bad sound , distortions , like a phaser effect, when I was using the CD-rom.

Playback Issues

Reply #8 –
Another two options are:
The PIO thing: go to Control Panel->System Properties->Hardware Tab->Device Manager->In the tree in the new window expand IDE/ATAPI controllers. Double click on any channel (Primary/Secondary IDE channel) there then a new window will appear. Go in Advanced Settings Tab and check the "current transfer mode" whether in Ultra DMA Mode X (X is a number with your computer I think it should be 5 or 6) yet. If it's not in the combo box above chose "DMA if available" OK then restart your computer. You have to do this for every channel there. If it's still not in DMA mode then just uninstall every channel there under IDE/ATAPI controllers node and restart your computer. Only do this if it can't go in DMA mode. I have experienced this problem a few time Windows just goes crazy and I cure it by this. Whether it works for you or renders your computer unusable I can't guarantee.

The second thing is lower hardware sound acceleration. Control Panel->Sound and Audio Devices. Under Speaker Settings press on Advanced... button and select Performance tab in the new window. The try lower your Hardware Acceleration one by one until maybe it goes good.

EDIT: For Octavian idea, I think it should be 7 the highest (default) value. Don't know the reason why he choses one.

Playback Issues

Reply #9 –
Alright, I tried all sorts of combinations with those three, but the problem still persists.  I even tried adding a buffer under advanced settings, but that doesn't work either.

I changed hardware acceleration, the PIO thing was not a problem.  I almost feel like I am exhausting my possibilities!  Shoot.  Thanks for the help thus far.  I am sure this hinges on just one little setting somewhere.

Edit:  Another thought, could this problem stem from the interaction between a FAT32 and NTFS device?  The external HDD is formated as FAT32...

Playback Issues

Reply #10 –
It shouldn't be, because HD access is transparent to application like foobar. That's the thing the OS handle so if it's so, you can go and sue M$ for making crappy Windowz.
 

Playback Issues

Reply #11 –
I seem to have fixed it.  The problem was being caused by the Audioscrobbler plugin!