WMV9 hd playback-- awesome PQ, but no sound!

[rblewes]

The codec in this video file (720p res) is WMV9 professional. The audio codec is WMA9 professional: 384 kbps, 48 KHz, 5.1 channel 24 bit, 2-pass VBR.

Why am I not getting sound?

Thanks for any ideas.

[Guest]

Can you post View -> Messages when you open file?

[rblewes]

Messages says:

dmo error: can't set DMO output type; main error: no suitable decoder module for fourcc wmap. VCL probably does not support this sound or video format.

The file is The Fifth Element 720p WM9 HD DVD (not protected) 4.32 GB. The picture is the best HD playback, so would love to somehow get the sound. Is there a certain audio codec that I could add? It won't plaly at all on WMP11.

[Guest]

I've just tried a similar video which is encoded with WMV 9 Professional and WMA 9 Professional 384kbps, 48kHz, 2 channel 24 bits 2-pass VBR and it's playing fine in both VLC v0.8.4a and v0.8.5.

Only difference is that yours is 5.1 channel while mine is 2 channel.

Maybe you should check the 5.1 settings ?

[rblewes]

Is the problem that the audio is encoded in 5 channel, and my speaker system is 2 channel? If so, is there a setting to switch/convert the input audio to 2 channel.

Many thanks for your help.

[Guest]

No sw setting, mixes to 2 channels automatically according to your sound card and windows settings. Try preferences --> Audio --> Output modules --> DirectX and be sure the "Use float32 output box is checked. If you make changes press Save and close the player.

[rblewes]

Checked and saved the "use float 32" setting as suggested, but still no sound. All my other audio settings are the default settings.

I downloaded some WMA/V9 clips from the Microsoft/wm/hdvideo site> same problem-- smooth video playback, but no sound using VLC. Then I played the same clips using WMP11 and got sound. This leads me to believe that my problem stems from a stupid setting error on my part in the VLC player. I'm using the 8.4a version, but that shouldn't matter as you used 8.4 and got sound in the playback of the same video file I'm dealing with.

Would appreciate any other thoughts you may have.

[Guest]

I downloaded some WMA/V9 clips from the Microsoft/wm/hdvideo site> same problem-- smooth video playback, but no sound using VLC.

I've just tried the 'Robotica' file from this page:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/window ... wcase.aspx
Because it's the smallest file

No problems at all to play this file on both VLC 0.8.4a and 0.8.5 so it's must be something wrong on your system, but not VLC fault for sure.

[rblewes]

As I said, it is an error on my part-- must be in my VLC audio settings; don't you think? How could it be anything else. I play a lot of video/movies, and have never had an audio issue before.

[Guest]

I've tried:

Alexander Trailer 720p
WMV 9 Professional and WMA 9 Professional 440kbps, 48kHz, 5.1 channel 24 bit (A/V) 1-pass CBR

Robotica 1080p
WMV 9 Professional and WMA 9 Professional 384kbps, 48kHz, 5.1 channel 24 bit (A/V) 2-pass CBR

On a 2 speaker system computer.

Both files are playing fine using default VLC settings.

[Guest]

Are you getting sound in WMP 10? (WMP 11 Beta is NOT recomended)

[rblewes]

Many thanks for your help in eliminating the VLC audio settings as my problem.

I use WMP11 for subscription/MP3 music transfer-- love the integration with Urge, so hope that is not the problem--- but will now experiment along those lines.

[Guest]

WMP 11 crashes when I try to play the wmv9 hd files, so I think that the wmv codecs/WM Decoder in WMP 11 is corrupted. That would explain the inability to get audio in VLC playback of these files.

I read somewhere that WMP 11 does not support DXVA for WMV HD playback. It's in HD playback that my CPU needs all the help it can get from the video card. If this is the case, then it is probably the stress on my CPU that is causing WMP 11 to crash. Has anyone else heard anything about a lack of DXVA support in WMP 11?

[DJ]

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/window ... ingpc.aspx

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/window ... wcase.aspx

Open your task manager while trying to play these and look at CPU usage. Try 720p first as 1080p may send your CPU to 100% and it will appear to lock the computer. Just press stop and go have a cup of tea. If you close the player your CPU will not know it and VLC will close but the computer will not release the program, now you will need to reboot the machine, so you have time to go have lunch.

[Guest]

DJ: Sorry for the stupid question, but where is the "task bar manager"? I have all the WMV (hd) clips downloaded, and can't wait to test my CPU usage. The video plays back great on all these files in VLC, but still unable to get sound!

[Guest]

If you have installed any codec packs, remove them. And reinstall WMP 11 after that.

[Guest]

You have stated that the video runs smooth but there is no audio. So I may be mistaken that CPU usage could be the problem, but is worth a look! May be answering to many of these again.

Anyway it's ctrl+alt+del --> Performance

For the clips I have tried ffmpeg handled the audio. So I would tend to believe you should get audio without the Window codecs installed and it's the video that's difficult for older systems. As far as settings go, I agree with the guest who said there is audio with the default settings. Also there is no particular setting that should effect this other than the possibility of the float32 option already mentioned and only for some audio cards. Most of the time the problem here is distortion or spotty sound rather than no sound.

You could try shutting down DirectX for the audio in Preferences, Audio, Output modules from the pull down select "Win32 waveOut extension output" then press Save and close the player. If this resolves the issue, it would point to sound card drivers or DirectX. But you say you have sound with other formats and file types, so I'm not sure this will help either.

FFmpeg is maintained by a separate group and compiled into VLC. So any problems with this library are considered to be theres and the VLC team kinda disregards it, but It works for me and others. So I'm not sure what to suggest here.

Ah! I know what triggered my response:

Messages says:

dmo error: can't set DMO output type; main error: no suitable decoder module for fourcc wmap. VCL probably does not support this sound or video format.

Must have been tired! Try downloading "Robotica" from the link I provided earlier. It's the demo for HD Windows media format and see if there is sound. Open Messages before playing the clip as the clip is not very long. Look to see if the error message is the same.

[Guest]

I can't get to CPU usage by hitting ctrl, alt and del (consecutively).

I agree that although my CPU (3500+, 2.2GHZ) is marginal for HD video formats, this is not likely the source of the "no sound in WMV9-hd" problem because, (1) video playback is smooth, and (2) I get sound (as well as smooth video playback) in hd.264 video format playback.

I get the same error message (as set forth in your post above) in each of the subject WMV9 video clips-- Alexander, Robotica and To the Limit (as well as the WMV9 hd movie "The Fifth Element"). Surprisingly, however, I get sound (as well as smooth video) in the WMV HD clip titled "Mystery of the Nile" found on the same Microsoft site as the other short clips.

[DJ]

I asked because, for "Robotica" Messages says it's using ffmpeg for sound and not the Windows "DMO"! Also try looking at the one that plays to see what the library in use is.

For the WMAP Windows DMO, we have been told VLC doesn't use this codec. But please understand that there has been some confusion in this area, so I can only talk about what it's doing on my machine with this video clip as the example. I also believe there is nothing that says you must use WMa with WMv so you may also want to look at "Stream and Media Information --> Advanced" to see the format in use.

Lets assume for a moment that the audio DMO is used and the message file is correct. This would mean:

1. The codec is missing.
2. The codec file is corrupted.
3. The file is there and is good but not registered with Windows.
4. The versions are somehow incompatible and has occurred when the registration numbers have been corrupted in the registry or somehow have been changed between versions. But this is supposed to be a no no according to Microsoft!

[Guest]

DJ: I learned how to view CPU usage:) Found that my average CPU usage for all 4 of the test files (the WMV9 HD clips) was about 40% (30-65%max). That was nice to know, in that my ATI X1600XT must be helping out quite a bit.

Under Media Info, all 4 of the test files had wmap audio codecs. The playback of all 4 had smooth video and no sound. All 4 showed the same error message-- the one posted earlier. I was mistake when I said earlier that one of them had sound.

I have learned so much on this forum; now if I could just leard to submit responses in my name instead of guest

[DJ]

Well obviously I was mistaken too!

After trying several clips from MS website and playing them, Messages consistently says:

main debug: looking for decoder module: 27 candidates
dmo debug: found DMO: WMAudio Decoder DMO
dmo debug: DMO input type set
dmo debug: DMO output type set
dmo debug: GetOutputSizeInfo(): bytes 589824, align 1
main debug: using decoder module "dmo"
main debug: thread 4636 (decoder) created at priority 2 (input/decoder.c:159)
main debug: looking for decoder module: 27 candidates
dmo debug: found DMO: WMVideo Decoder DMO
dmo debug: DMO input type set
dmo debug: DMO output type set
dmo debug: GetOutputSizeInfo(): bytes 1382400, align 1
main debug: using decoder module "dmo"

So VLC is using Microsoft's codecs for both sound and video for all the HD samples. Now why mine works and yours doesn't boils down to these possibilities:

1. The codec is missing.
2. The codec file is corrupted.
3. The file is there and is good but not registered with Windows.
4. The versions are somehow incompatible and has occurred when the registration numbers have been corrupted in the registry or somehow have been changed between versions. But this is supposed to be a no no according to Microsoft!

In doing a search of my system the file appears to be "wmadmod.dll" unfortunately my filter manager won't identify it. GraphEdit shows only one WMAudioDecoder but doesn't give a name for the codec. It does the same thing for the video IE one codec. A bit of searching inside the file confirms that "wmadmod.dll" is the audio codec. The file is located in your C:\Windows\System32 directory and if it exists it must be registered with the system. It is a signed file and doing a system verification for signed files may also be helpful in identifying the problem if it is corrupted, but if the file isn't there the tool will not tell you! Assuming the file is there and not corrupted it still needs to be registered.

Open a text file and copy this into it:

%WINDIR%\System32\REGSVR32 %WINDIR%\System32\wmadmod.dll

Then save as reg.bat close the batch file and double click on it. RegServer
should come back and tell you it was successful.

[Guest]

DJ: I found the codec (wmadmod.dll) in "System 32" as you directed me to look. It was described as Windows Media Audio Decoder, file version 11.0.5358.4827, date created 8/10/04.

Does this mean that it is registered? If so, then it would seem that the most likely cause of my problem is that the codec is corrupted-- right? If that is the case, the most likely source of the corruption would be related to my recent installation of WMP 11-- wouldn't you say? If you agree, then I will try to contact Microsoft. In view of the fact that WMP 11 crashes when the test HD videos are played, it would suggest that the video codec is corrupted as well, or that WMP11 does not support DXVA as I have been led to believe.

[Guest]

DirectX Video Acceleration to the best of my knowledge is used for the WMP series. In that I shut down DirectX there is more weight on the CPU. Some formats more than others. So what may be referred to here is like QT (h.264), WMv/WMa has little to no DXVA support.

Considering WMP 11 will not play it's own files I would tend to believe is a problem. Given the file is there and carries a version associated with the WMP 11 player (mine is 10.0.0.3802 1/28/05) still gives us three possibilities.

1. The file is corrupted.
2. The file has never worked with the 11 beta
3. The file is not registered.

Did you try doing a file verification for signed files? Assuming it passed, did you try registering the codec?

Of coarse you can always complain to Microsoft, but they will probably tell you to download the player again and do a fresh install. Uninstalling the old player first (if that is possible) using the add/remove programs in your control panel.

All dshow codecs must be registered in order to function. WMv/WMa is no exception. If the file is corrupted it probably will NOT register and this would be another way to find out. All we really know at this point is that the codec is present in the correct place and is not working.

[Guest]

DJ: I'm trying very hard to keep up with your directions, and would very much like to verify and try to register the signed file as you suggested. I opened a Word doc file, and copied the WINDIR line info you provided; however, I could not find an option in the "Save as Type" for "reg. bat."or anything close to that. When you say open a text file, are you saying something other than a Word doc.; and if so, how do I find a suitable "text file"?

Incidentally, do the test/sample HD videos play for you in WMP 11? Before installing WMP 11, seem to recall playing the same Mystery of the Nile sample with WMP 10 and getting both video and sound. Nothing else on my PC system has changed since then. My system only has two media players (VLC and WMP) and only one stand alone decoder-- the NV PureVideo DCD decoder--- so I don't think there are any codec conflict type issues.

[DJ]

I am answering your questions, just not in the order you asked them, perhaps numbering them would help or editing them to fit nicely in to your questions. Sigh! I will try!

1. Go to Start --> Programs --> Accessories --> System Tools --> System Information when the program opens select the "Tools" tab and then "File Signature Verification Utility" and run the program. If the program does not specifically name this file as being a problem, try registering it.

2. Go to Start --> Programs --> Accessories and double click on Notepad to open the program, then copy this command:

%WINDIR%\System32\REGSVR32 %WINDIR%\System32\wmadmod.dll

and paste it into the open window for Notepad. Now select File --> Save As and when the window opens, go to My Documents then in the file name box enter the full name of the file, anything.bat and press "Save" then close the text editor. Now go to My Documents and double click on the anything.bat file and it will register the DLL. A DOS box will pop up and then a message screen will pop up and you must agree, say "Yes" and it will come back and tell you if it was successful. I did not ask for a silent registration so that you would know if it worked. If Regsvr32 comes back and says something to the effect of "This file can not be registered" probably means that the file is corrupt ??

3. I'm not using WMP 11 Beta! Heard it was buggy and decided not to screw up my system. Have to many dshow codecs and have gathered the tools to keep them from causing conflicts. Everything works the way I expect and do not want to check everything again! But may do it when the final version is released.