So...which audio driver for XP and Vista?

BlitzMax Forums/BlitzMax Programming/So...which audio driver for XP and Vista?

MGE	(Posted 2009) [#1]

I researched the audio posts but couldn't find a definitive answer. Which audio driver should I use for Vista and XP? Thanks.

GfK	(Posted 2009) [#2]

OpenAL.

You can use FreeAudio on anything pre-Vista. I have code in the code archives to determine the OS version if its any use to you.

MGE	(Posted 2009) [#3]

Thanks Gfk. Do you have to install any external .dll's or anything? I want to use sound in a screensaver and not sure about laying down a .dll in the windows folder. If a different version older/newer is there, that could cause problems.

GfK	(Posted 2009) [#4]

Yeah you need two DLLs for OpenAL.

ImaginaryHuman

(Posted 2009) [#5]

Does the end user need the dll's/ie install openal, or will the app work standalone?

GaryV

(Posted 2009) [#6]

You don't need an "audio driver". If you are using Vista or XP, I would just use the native API commands (MCI or DirectSound)

xlsior

(Posted 2009) [#7]

GaryV: some Vista machines have problems using DirectSound, where the audio is delayed by up to a second -- making it nearly unusable for sound effects and such during a game.

boomboom

(Posted 2009) [#8]

Yea...esp on laptops with there sound chips. I dont' see why this can't be fixed automatically by BRL though (automatically selecting the right driver and embedding the needed libs) at compile/run.

TaskMaster

(Posted 2009) [#9]

My notebook with Vista has the 1 sec delay issue with DirectSound.

GaryV

(Posted 2009) [#10]

some Vista machines have problems using DirectSound, where the audio is delayed by up to a second -- making it nearly unusable for sound effects and such during a game.

That is why I suggested using it directly and not using BM's audio drivers.

JazzieB

(Posted 2009) [#11]

I thought the 1 second delay was with FreeAudio. This is the first I've heard if it for DirectSound. I use Vista and only get the delay with FreeAudio, although I do have a decent soundcard and not built-in audio as you would on a laptop, so I'm not doubting.

Anyway, yeah, OpenAL should be the default on Vista, with everything else using FreeAudio. I allow the end-user to change between the drivers if they so desire.

Brucey

(Posted 2009) [#12]

FreeAudio works with either DirectSound or MMS - you can choose either -> "FreeAudio DirectSound" .. "FreeAudio Multimedia"".

QuickSilva

(Posted 2009) [#13]

I never knew about those options Brucey, are they documented somewhere? Does OpenAL work on Mac? With regards to the .dlls that need to be included do they work on Mac also?

Jason.

MGE	(Posted 2009) [#14]

"That is why I suggested using it directly and not using BM's audio drivers. "

Is there any code available to show us how to do that?

Grey Alien

(Posted 2009) [#15]

I thought the 1 second delay was with FreeAudio. This is the first I've heard if it for DirectSound. I use Vista and only get the delay with FreeAudio

Me too... I'm just using FreeAudio in XP without changing any other settings does that mean it defaults to FreeAudio DirectSound or the other one?

I use OpenAL in Vista and include the dlls in the game folder (might be an issue for a screensaver).

DirectSound sometimes sounds noisy to me and has a few clicks and pops.

Grey Alien

(Posted 2009) [#16]

@MGE:

SetAudioDriver("DirectSound")

As you know all my code and preferred solution is in my framework. It's worked pretty darn well. Some users have reported the sound stopping working on PC and Mac after a while but reloading makes it work again. This may suggest some memory issue somewhere, but it's not a widespread issue.