I hate those Creative drivers!

[ToMmY]

Im sick of creative and their stinking drivers
I have got an SBlive 5.1 and i cant find proper drivers.
When i watch DVD movies with the use of SPDIF and the
drivers decoding "ability" i sometimes hear crackling
noises to both my rear speakers (like krack,krack,krack!!)
for a few seconds every now and then. Also i get a 1/10sec
sound pause and other little problems.
BUT when i use PowerDVDs ability to decode (6ch) the sound
is perfect!!!
f..K creative. she cant do anything right (eg audigy=Live)

I have WinXP and the only drivers i have found are:
ver 3509.2.0.0 dated 2-11-01
i also think there are ver 3512 and a french ver 3520 out there

Can someone plese tell me what versions are there for WinXP
and which of them are working properly + where to get them?
I have a VIA board if it matters!

PLEASE dont tell me to go to creatives page to see for my self
i have had enough of creative and dont tell me to use PowerDVDs
6ch function. I want working drivers!

Thanks!

[MaTTeR]

I feel your pain...well actually I don't anymore since getting rid of the Creative cards sometime ago:eek:

You need the 3512 drivers as mentioned in my AC3/SPDIF FAQ. Please read the entire FAQ as it will most likely solve your issue.

Also, please use a little more specific subject line next time despite your frustration;)

[ToMmY]

Thanks friend!

I'll try 'em

OOOH please (3512) make the pain stop!!!
:D

[ToMmY]

OOH GOD!!!
3512 didnt solve my problems
they seem virtualy the same
what am i going to do?
HEEEEEEEELP
:(

[MaTTeR]

Ok, well we would rather not have to guess at your configuration and setup so please be as specific as you can be on the problem, software and hardware.

[ToMmY]

Ill try!

AMD 1.2
ASUS mobo VIA KT133A -latest drivers+bios
GF3 -latest drivers
IBM 60GXP 60GB 7200
ASUS DVD 106s
WIN XP
SBLIVE 5.1 BULK -35.12 drivers!

hope it helps
DVDs played on PowerDVD

Problem:
PowerDVD : when i use - 6ch output everything is OK
but when i use - SPDIF output i hear cracking little noises on both my rear speakers every now and then. Not all the time but when the rear speakers play something suddently-intensely!!

[MaTTeR]

ToMmY,

Your specs look fine. I 've heard these crackling noise before many times and the problem was I had the player set to Direct Sound instead of Wave Out. Did you download the Wave Out registry hack from Doom9? Back in my Creative Days I had to use the registry fix.

[ToMmY]

I did exactly as doom9 said.
And as the FAQ says.
The rear speakers DO play what they are supposed to play but with clicks every now and then.
I always make sure that wave out is selected and not direct sound.
Maybe i'll try the dooms ac3 pack again (reinstall it) to see if i can change anything. There is nothing more that i can think of doing is there?

[MaTTeR]

This is definitely a strange problem and I'd like to get to the bottom of it as well.

What version is your Intervideo audio filter that your currently using? I'm just curious as I'm sure they have nothing to do with the crackling.

Are you using a TosLink or a mini-plug for SPDIF? Are you going to an external amp?

[ToMmY]

about the cables:
i have 3 stereo-jacks-to-2RCA coming out of my SBLive and into the 6ch input of my 5 speaker home stereo+SW (its a technics stereo, not something i created with different parts!)

by the way i thnik that the cable that comes out of my SPDIF shouldnt be a "3pole" (stereo) but a "4pole" (if you can understand what i am talking about). So i belive that for some reason (drivers or cable?) the SBLive doesnt output the LFE!, and that my SW palys the content of the front speakers. Please correct me if i am wrong!

Also
IVIAUDIO is ve 1.0.0.1 + registered
oh shit it has two versions! 1.0.0.1 and 2.0
the first is on top of the tab and the second is in the "item name" box if you have XP!

[MaTTeR]

The 3 stereo jacks you describe sound like they are just straight analogs. Is that what you mean?

So I'm confused as to what cable your using for SPDIF. AFAIK the SB 5.1 card only has one SPDIF port, I think you need a mono mini-jack for output to your external amp. You might have better luck searching the HTPC forums (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/) for this information.

So you have the 2.0 IV filters, download the audiofilters.zip from Doom9 again and then see what your results are. I doubt they will be different though.

[pankov]

@MaTTeR
I'm also a little confused about the way Tommy has connected his speakers but he is right about the 3.5mm Digital Out jack on the back of the SB Live! 5.1. It's not a mono - though you can use it this way. In fact in this jack and on the 40 extention pins there are 3 sets of S/PDIF outputs - one for front, rear, sub+center - but only one of them is capable of S/PDIF pass trough.

@Tommy
Did you try the WinXP's build in drivers (or the MicroSoft updated) I find them much more stable and unlike the Creatives they start working imidiately after Windows starts. (what I mean? - When I install creative's drivers and leave the windows startup sound it sounds really loud and during it's play or very shortly after it everything comes back to normal - as if there are separate settings of the volumes while windows is starting.) The only disadvantage of the default (WHQL certified) drivers is that my surround speakers don't play with WaveOut selected but they do with DirecSound.
I also got some crackling with the Creative drivers but none with the Defaults. So give it a try!
btw
A few times I read to beware of DirecSound but didn't read why. Can somebody enlighten me? And what is this "ac3 pack" with a registry fix (to use WaveOut instead of DirectSound) and where can I find it?
I serch the download section but didn't find anything similar.
Am I blind?
:)

[MaTTeR]

@pankov

The Wave Out registry hack is in the audio dl section but I'll make it easy on you:) http://www.doom9.org/Soft21/Audio/WaveOut-DSound.zip

Beware of Direct Sound??? Not sure why that is though Wave Out should be used for AC3 pass through.

[MaTTeR]

Here are some more happy users of the Audigy that are reporting the crackling problem. (Hope you sense the sarcasm)

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=125959

[Mikele]

Which soundcard are you using, Matter?

[MaTTeR]

@Mikele
I'm using a Zoltrix Nightingale Pro 6.

@pankov
there are 3 sets of S/PDIF outputs
I don't think this is correct, if it is then it's a SB Live 5.1 card revision that I'm not familair with;)
If you look closely, only one of the mini-ports is for digital out/SPDIF. The other 2 jacks you refer to are for analog outs to various speaker sets.

@ToMmY

Thought I'd pass these v3310 drivers to you as well. These are unofficial and untested, read the usual disclaimer :-)Reports are they fix crackling and popping:D
http://alive.singnet.com.sg/drivers/wdm3310.htm
Please report feedback so I can adjust the FAQ.

[pankov]

@MaTTeR
:)
Of course I know that the other jacks are for analog out of separate channels.

If you look closely on the DigOut jack (I mean the female socket) you will see that it's not an ordinary stereo one. It has not 3 but 4 points: one ground and 3 separate lines for 3 S/PDIF streams - front, rear, sub+center.

the WaveOut-DSound reg gives me hope of fixing my problem with DTS pass trough
:)
Cross your fingers for me. I'll test it tonight.

[Rhaegar Targaryen]

There are a number of known issues with VIA chipsets (especially the KT133A) and *many* Creative soundcards.

Suggest you get hold of George Breese's PCI Latency patch @ viahardware.com. That works for many people.

Also as a simple rule of thumb, make sure your sound card is not any of the INT lines as any other PCI device. Due to VIA's half-assed implementation of various standards, including ACPI and the PCI bus, IRQ sharing doesn't work "as perfectly" as it does on superior Intel chipsets, such as the 440BX or i850. ;)

[MaTTeR]

Thanks for the tips. If you don't mind I might include them in the FAQ as well.

I would agree that VIA does have some hardware limitations compared to that of a BX chipset. However, I'm curious as to why it's mostly just the Creative cards that conflict with certains apsects of a VIA mobo. I see very few posts of these same problems using another brand of sound card:confused:

[dado023]

maybe this will solve crackling problems, if it is software nature

http://download.viahardware.com/vlatency_v019.zip

hope this helped :)

[ToMmY]

dado023 - thanks for the patch ill try it

MaTTeR - the link to the drivers is not working(new one plz)

Rhaegar Targaryen - i didnt relly understood what you have said but if this helps: the only PCI card i have is my SBlive!

pankov - that is correct -> in order to output digital signal you need(?) a "4pole" jack not a stero ("3pole") jack! but i think for analog like i do a stereo jack is ok!

I use three stereo-to-2RCA cables to connect the SPDIF and the front and rear channels to my amp analogly(SPDIF is NOT a STEREO female jack!) one other problem is that i belive my SPDIF doesnt output an SW=LFE channel because the amp doesnt get one. The center channel is OK though. The pops come out of the rear speakers only!

pankov - i havent tried the XP built in driver... does it output 6ch sound? how can i reinstall it?

[MaTTeR]

Did you not try this?
http://alive.singnet.com.sg/drivers/

[ToMmY]

There are no 3310
only 3300b!
are they the same?

[pankov]

@Tommy
Yes the WinXP built in driver support 6ch. output. You can even use the Surround Mixer.
1. you don't uninstall the drivers from Add/Remove programs
2. In Device Manager - should select to update the sound card driver with one from a list and not let winxp search but you select one manually. You shoul have 5.1.2535.0 or 5.1.2602.0 (if you have updated your winxp drivers datebase) as a point in this list. Also in the list you should have your current Creative driver (5.12.1.35xx).

The only disadvantage of the built in driver is that you can't do the DolbyDigital decoding with it. You will have to use the software player's decoder which I think is better.

It's very often that the SW is mistaken with the .1 in DD 5.1 which is the LFE channel. The LFE is a separate channel for Low Freqency Effects which add more realistic sound to explosions, crashes, ... and is normaly outputed by your SW if the decoder/amplifier is set to do this. Also the LFE channel can be mixed in the front channels if they can cope with it's low freqencies. Normaly the SW takes some bass from the other channels which also makes it not equal to the LFE channel.

[MaTTeR]

Originally posted by ToMmY
There are no 3310
only 3300b!


Arghh...not sure what happened to them but apparently they were pulled. If I run across another link I'll post it.

[ToMmY]

I just found out that SBLive 5.12.01.3520 WDM Drivers exist here:
http://shs-sound.paraknowya.com/

This quy also says not to use 33xx with my XP
Is that true?