ASIO Support

[KA1J]

Hi to all,

My first post with the group so first of all, saying hi. I've been using VLC ever since leaving Winamp many years ago. I have used it for my fairly extensive FLAC music collection, and for watching videos in DVD/MKV formats. My stereo/home entertainment is with McIntosh, using the C2700 digital preamp & the PC computer hosting the DVD/Blu Ray/FLAC duties. The rest of the stereo is McIntosh tube & Sonus Faber speakers. With this entertainment system, I use the McIntosh ASIO USB driver and sadly discovered VLC does not support ASIO, reducing 24 bit recordings to 16 bit output in VLC.

With my sound system, I absolutely hear the difference with higher bit rate recordings, vs VLC's 16 bit/44KHz and it's more desirable to listen in the native format. As much of the music I have is in the 24bit format, I've stopped using VLC for music and now use MusicBee which allows ASIO and plays music in the proper bit rate. As Foobar and MusicBee are allowing use of ASIO as a source, and 24 Bit audio files are commonplace today, I'm surprised this option is not currently provided within VLC.

I'd prefer to continue to use VLC as I'm used to the format and like how convenient it is to use. My google search about ASIO with VLC not including this option, has only found a few replies and genuinely unhelpful at that, with no links provided. All those replies are from some years back with nothing current showing up with the search. Looking at the "wish list" for VLC, I didn't find ASIO on the griddle.

If VLC indeed has no intention of utilizing ASIO, I will have to continue using MusicBee for audio. With that, I need to ask if there are there any plans on including ASIO in VLC. If not, is there a known work-around that allows me to do so?

Thanks so much.

[Rémi Denis-Courmont]

Your question cannot be answered because VLC is a community, not a business. There are no plans: whatever people contribute is whatever gets into the next release.

In other words, ASIO will be done if/when somebody does it. Historically, the licensing problems have been a major impediment.

[KA1J]

Rémi,

Thank you for the reply, that was interesting information. I knew there was a community effort as to VLC, but there is always an organizational structure to any developmental process, usually that resulting in a team who decides what is included or excluded, avoiding conflicts as the process unfolds. I know little of software, I'm retired from health care (albeit currently volunteering my services with Covid treatment until the crisis ends). With that, I have no idea how ASIO is implemented, e.g., I'm good at saving lives, I'm worthless in software development.

To my thoughts; If McIntosh, for example, freely provides the ASIO driver as a download for those with respective McIntosh equipment, it seems the ownership of the intellectual property is McIntosh, not the software that permits it to be utilized as a driver. In my google search inquiries on this I never found any information directly relating to licensing issues with VLC and ASIO, I assumed the reason ASIO was not included with VLC was a functional conflict within VLC, not with licensing with programs developers freely make available.

MusicBee is a fine software, very powerful features, but more complex to use than VLC which is to the point and user friendly and my preferred CD quality software. As I am increasingly using 24 bit audio, I find it less desirable to use VLC and hope ASIO gets implemented sooner than later. It appears Foobar and MusicBee have found the path to include the ASIO option in their Open Source offering, hopefully the VLC developers will reconsider its inclusion.

Thanks.