[In 11.2.1] Selecting audio output for video files

[Tewkesound]

Hi,

I am using SCS 11.1.4 to show a video clip as part of a show.

For some reason the audio device associated with the video file is locked to "default". After a bit of head scratching I twigged that this routes audio to the windows default output, which I couldn't hear it as this output is usually muted on my show PC as a safety measure.

Is this the standard behaviour, or am I missing something?

As a workaround I have remapped the default audio output to the main FOH feed, but this is not ideal.

Any thoughts very much appreciated!

Rob

[Mike Daniell]

Yes, unfortunately the only video playback DLL's I can find and use do not provide audio device selection - they only use the Windows default sound device. As a precaution, make sure your Windows "Sound Scheme" is set to "No Sounds", and also that "Play Windows Startup sound" is off.

[runawaymartin]

Hi Rob . . .
If you are already using Audio Cues in your show I suggest that you extract the audio from your video as a .wav file and run it as an Audio Sub-Cue of the Video Cue. You can then output that audio to the relevant output/s on your audio i/f . . . .

Cheers . . . Martin

[Carleton50]

Hello,

If you're using SoundMan-Server as the audio engine, then, it might be possible to physically patch the default outputs (from a video) to a pair of inputs on an audio interface and using SM-S then route the live inputs to the outputs you want?

Seems on the surface it would be more flexible and keep the video and audio in synch - assuming there isn't very much latency.

I'm not presently at a machine so I'm unable to try it but on the surface, it might be a more generic solution that could be applied anytime the default outputs aren't the outputs you need.

Just a thought - Mike may know if this bit would work.

I'll try it when I get access to a machine.

Carl Underwood

[Mike Daniell]

Interesting idea, Carl. I've just run a test here and it works perfectly - no noticeable latency issue with the video I used.

One of the issues with the Windows Default Sound Device is the garbage that can get sent there by Windows itself or other applications (eg mail programs). But this solution does at least enable you to route your default sound device to an ASIO output and possibly to multiple ASIO channels.

[Mike Daniell]

In SCS 11.2.1 you can select any DirectSound device for your video's audio output. Unfortunately the underlying video API's do not support ASIO outputs.