SPDIF / AC3 output �gets lost’ on pausing or fast-forwar

[SugarRay]

My problem is as follows… (and with me, probably, for many others)

When playing a movie (.avi) with AC3 / SPDIF output or pass-through enabled (either by means of ffdshow or AC3filter) 5.1 sound playback starts normally and will continue to work fine (except for some hick-ups every now and then, for which I also haven’t found a solution yet) until I start fast-forwarding/reversing or pause and play the movie. After that my SPDIF / AC3 output �gets lost’. Both my external AC3/Dolby Digital decoders (Creative Inspire 5.1 or Creative DDTS-100) seem to lose the AC3 signal because of these actions during playback (forwarding/reversing and pause/play). Both jump back to stereo-mode and don’t seem to detect an AC3 signal anymore.

It seems to me that my decoders indeed lose the AC3 signal, since during fast-forwarding/reversing or pause there is - of course - no sound output by BSPlayer. When returning from fast-forwarding/reversing or pause the movie will start playing but AC3 5.1 sound doesn’t return. When I actually STOP the movie and press PLAY again, there will be sound again!! So it seems that by some means the BSPlayer or an streaming filter must �initialize’ AC3 / SPDIF output before playback starts and that this �initialization’ is not done just after returning from a fast-forward/reverse or pause state.

The Windows Media Player and other players shows the same problem, but this player is not really build to support AC3 / SPDIF output from DivX/XVid files.

The only info I found so far on this on this forum was written by dabo, see:

http://forum.bsplayer.org/viewtopic....8bac82084e8776

Note that dabo tells us that it also happens under 2000 and 98, so it is non-OS-specific! Furthermore… He states that he went back to v0.85 of BSPlayer since this version did NOT have this problem… I have not yet been able to check this statement, but if it’s true then I will like to know what the difference between BSPlayer v0.85 and v1.02 is, with respect to the problem described above.

Is it possible to fix this problem in BSPlayer (use the old v0.84 method)? Or can someone give me (and dabo) any hints on solving this issue !??!

I hope there are people out there who can help! And people with the same problem that are willing to share their experiences/solutions.

SysSpecs:
- Windows XP SP2
- ASUS P4C800E-Deluxe, PIV 3.2 GHz, 1GB Ram
- ATI 9600 Pro
- BSPlayer 1.02 with either ffdshow or AC3Filter

Other possibly conflicting software/codecs:
- PowerDVD
- Pinnacle PCTV software installed

[majk_tajsam]

Is there any difference using AC3Filter 0.70b (http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/a...b.exe?download) and 1.01a RC5 (http://ac3filter.sourceforge.net/dow..._1_01a_rc5.exe)?

[SugarRay]

Originally Posted by majk_tajsam

Is there any difference using AC3Filter 0.70b (http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/a...b.exe?download) and 1.01a RC5 (http://ac3filter.sourceforge.net/dow..._1_01a_rc5.exe)?

I've just tried used v0.70b but as I expected it too did not help, stil losing the AC3 signal when I go skipping frames or pause the movie playback.

[artam]

SugarRay:
The major hint is that if the Windows Media Player and other players show the same problem, that the main reason is probably in something really bad in your system and the players are only the final result.

What is your sound card? Are the sound drivers ok? Aren't there any notes or reports on the same problem somewhere in discussions relating to your soundcard or sound chip used?
Etc.... etc...

[SugarRay]

Originally Posted by artam

SugarRay:
The major hint is that if the Windows Media Player and other players show the same problem, that the main reason is probably in something really bad in your system and the players are only the final result.

What is your sound card? Are the sound drivers ok? Aren't there any notes or reports on the same problem somewhere in discussions relating to your soundcard or sound chip used?
Etc.... etc...

I recently discovered that when I select 'Cyberlink Audio Renderer' as 'Output Device' in de preferences of BSPlayer that the problem is partly solved. When using this output device fast-forwarding and reversing seems to perfom OK (though some stuttering just after releasing te forwarding en reversing buttons/keys)... Though pause/plat still remain a problem !!!! Sometimes a bit reversing/forwarding just after pause->play 'corrects' (reinitializes) AC3 output, but this seems not always be the case!!!

From these findings, I assume the problem has something to do with the Output Rendering Method! Therefore, I guess many more people might have this problem..

I guess the 'Cyberlink Audio Renderer' isn't part of windows or the sound device drivers, but a part of Cyberlinks PowerDVD player.

If not Cyberlink's renderer, I'm using the default sound drivers/device that came with my mainboard (Asus P4C800E-Deluxe) which is the standard SoundMAX on-board audio.

Maybe someone can tell me/direct me to 'better' SoundMAX driver that may not have this problem... Or a better 'generic' Wave Output renderer which might solve this problem..

I still wonder, though, if the 'media player' (read: BSPlayer, WMP, or any other player) should be responsible for 'reinitilizing' te SPDIF/AC3 output when it may assumed to be 'lost' by an external decoder.... So I guess an good media player (and BSPlayer is!!!) might improve upon adding this functionality! Even if this functionility should be provided by aan audio rendering device driver! Maybe a Checkbox such as 'Reinit AC3/SPDIF output on Pause/Resume...' or something like that should be available in the preferences of BSPlayer, so that users with 'crappy' audio renderers and an external decoder can still correctly use BSPlayer with AC3 functionality! It must be possible for the BSPlayer team to do this, 'cause when I manually put the 'time-slider' to any position within a movie and press Play, BSPlayer correctly initializes audio and start playback, so why not do this 'reinit' after each pause/play and forward/reverse !!

Anyway, these are my ideas for now... I still hope there are some people out there that can help me (us) further with this!!