Stuttering when using SPDIF-Output

[Guest1979]

I just tried to use VLC as a DVD Player and tried to use the SPDIF-Output. But then I get stuttering sound. Using 5.1 or Stereo is no problem. What can it be? When I enable the SPDIF-Option a little window pops up "Dolby Digital Bitstream Out". I never saw this window before I got my new X-Fi Extreme Music. Does it come from my creative drivers? What else can I try to change to get a normal SPDIF-Output? This output is working correctly within PowerDVD 5 so it must be VLC.

[ReplayMan]

Same problem with an Audigy 2 running with Audigy 4 drivers. Maybe an incompatibility between last Creative drivers and VLC ...

[Ravn]

Try swtiching the audio output module to Win32 waveOut like this:

1. Go into preferences under settings.
2. Choose Audio and make sure the advanced options is checked.
3. Switch the Audio output module to "Win32 waveOut extension output"

Hope it works!

[Guest1979]

Nope, this doesn´t work unfortunately

[Zulan]

I also have the problem described by Guest 1979. I have a X-fi Elite pro.

I have tried the different audio output module but nothing works.

[peter12]

same problem here, please help. running audigy 2 platinum ex.

[Guest]

same here, audigy2 under windows xp sp2

once you choose spdif its studders and will not work.

media player classic handles it fine.

is there a way to be sure VLC is using my AC3 Filter (directshow)

cause i prefer to use vlc since it has some many more options....

[Guest]

Try swtiching the audio output module to Win32 waveOut like this:

1. Go into preferences under settings.
2. Choose Audio and make sure the advanced options is checked.
3. Switch the Audio output module to "Win32 waveOut extension output"

Hope it works!

this worked for me!!!

[Guest]

Same prob ive got.

Playin a divx file with ac3 my av reciever acknowledges DD but every 5mins or so the audio cut outs 2 or 3 secs and starts again, happens with every ac3 encoded divx file.

Ive got a trust sound card and have had it for a while, i use the opticle out, dont recall having this prob with previous versions of vlc? is it specifcally new bug?

[Silverklo]

When I try to play any ac3 stream over SPDIF the result is a stuttering sound, very much like when a cdplayer hangs.

This occurs with both 5.1 and DTS tracks. My receiver recognizes the signal as a 5.1 or DTS but it is obviously not receiving it properly. Playing PCM works just fine though.

I've been surfing around in the forum and haven't been able to find any solution, although it seems to me that several threads is about similar problems...

I've tried the Win32 WaveOut solution with no result. Forcing Audio Output frequency to 41000 works but seems to down mix the streams to PCM. Forcing identification of Dolby Surround don’t work either.

In 0.8.2 I had a similar problem that occurs while pausing, but that could be fixed just by pause and unpause one or twice. Now the problem is permanent :-/

Video plays just fine but without sound it isn't really the same thing.

I'm using;
Windows XP SP2
VLC 0.8.4
SB LIVE!
and no other players or codecs than VLC.

Hope that this can be fixed because I really love VLC!!!

[guest2]

Try swtiching the audio output module to Win32 waveOut like this:

1. Go into preferences under settings.
2. Choose Audio and make sure the advanced options is checked.
3. Switch the Audio output module to "Win32 waveOut extension output"

Hope it works!

this worked for me!!!

it also worked for me

[Luke_A_P]

The above tip to change the audio output module worked for me too. My sound card is an X-Fi extreme music.

My thanks to those who contributed.

[eXtr4ktor]

I had the same problem with 0.8.4, i switched back to 0.8.2 and it works fine, maybe they updated a codec in 0.8.4?

[ulven]

Try swtiching the audio output module to Win32 waveOut like this:

1. Go into preferences under settings.
2. Choose Audio and make sure the advanced options is checked.
3. Switch the Audio output module to "Win32 waveOut extension output"

Hope it works!

this worked for me!!!

and me to

[rloureir]

this setting worked fine for me. I did have to restart VLC before the setting actually took.

However, I still get sound cuts every few minutes...

[Guest]

Thanx guys it worked for me

[Guest]

I think this should be made a sticky or put somewhere quite visible like a faq or something because its very usefull.

[tsiMental]

Maybe in the next big release, they will make waveOut the default audio output filter? At least until the current default filter is evolved to a level where it is working as good or better than the waveOut filter. Or until it is fixed.

[tsiMental]

I tried to play an OGG 5.1 file using ffdshow, compiling AC3 output with 640 kbits output, and got similar stuttering, especially at parts in the movie with lots of different sounds. The near silent parts whent fine... this had me thinking maybe there is something wrong with the output bitrate. Maybe compiling uses to much CPU or maybe the reciever can't handle AC3 with such bitrates?

I whent to the ffdshow audiofilters config page, chose 448 kbits instead of 640, which is the default, and now using Media Player Classic and ffdshow to process 5.1 OGG into AC3 output seems to work just as it should. No stuttering and fluid playback.

If VLC is implementing ffmpeg and using a none standard bitrate to compile AC3 output via SPDIF, this could be the reason why we see this bug.

But I'm just guessing.

I would really like to see VLC being able to handle ogg vorbis the way ffdshow does, compiling it to 5.1 AC3 using 448 or 384 kbits bitrate pushing the result out over SPDIF.

Why?

Because VLC is currently the elsely most featured player for windows. Neither the XVID decoder filter nor ffmpeg handles xvids with none square pixels. Using Media Player Classic to correct the AR doesn't work either. This player will rather shrink the height than expand the width - which of course greately reduces quality on high resolution displays.