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[Bug] No Sound or Music: X-fi Sound cards in S/PDIF out

jonaswashejonaswashe Member Posts: 8
edited December 2012 in Windows PC (Archive)
UPDATE:
As of December 16th the problem is NOT fixed, it it occurring intermitently. After a computer restart the problem re-occurred and the sound only worked after closing and re-opening the game four times. ( I fiddled with a few sounds settings, but ultimately changed nothing)



A discussion about this problem is located here:
http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/7463/no-sound-update-how-to-fix-it/

When using Creative X-fi sound cards through S/PDIF there is no in-game sound or music.

Installing OpenAL does not resolve this issue.

A workaround for this issue is to use the generic Windows drivers which Microsoft provides if you attempt to update the sound card driver manually, however, this particular driver causes periodic severe sound distortion and can't be considered a solution.

The problem persists even when using the most recent drivers from Creative's website, and using the frequently updated PAX drivers created by Robert McClelland located here:
http://www.hardwareheaven.com/pax-download-pcie-x-fi-series/218744-official-pax-master-pcie-titanium-hd-driver-suite-v2-35-default-tweak-edition.html

I've also tried every option included in both the windows properties dialog and the proprietary Creative Audio Control Panel, no change of settings has resolved the issue, so it will most likely have to be fixed in the game code.
Post edited by Jalily on

Comments

  • jonaswashejonaswashe Member Posts: 8
    I've submitted a request (Request #1948) in Beamdog's support system.

    They responded within 20 minutes asking for my dxdiag.txt file, which I have now submitted.

    So far I've been impressed twice with Beamdog's response time regarding support issues. Hopefully I will here back soon with a solution.
  • ArincArinc Member Posts: 5
    Will be watching closely, right now there are no workarounds that don't have severe drawbacks.
  • IncasIncas Member Posts: 38
    Just so you know, i have no problems with Win8, X-Fi beta driver from creative and spdif out.
  • jonaswashejonaswashe Member Posts: 8
    edited December 2012
    UPDATE:
    The latest PAX driver works intermittently, but the problem is still occurring.
    Post edited by jonaswashe on
  • Avenger_teambgAvenger_teambg Member, Developer Posts: 5,862
    Thanks for the follow up.
  • jonaswashejonaswashe Member Posts: 8
    edited December 2012
    deleted post
    Post edited by jonaswashe on
  • AndreaColomboAndreaColombo Member Posts: 5,530
    Moved to Not An Issue since it was not a game bug.
  • jonaswashejonaswashe Member Posts: 8
    edited December 2012
    Upon computer restart the sound did not work in-game, I fiddled with settings, but in the end changed nothing and after restarting the game four times the sound started working again.

    This problem persists, so please move out of "Not An Issue" and into the appropriate forum. Thank you.

    I know other X-Fi users are having this problem in-game. If you are please contribute to this discussion as the erratic nature of this problem is making it hard to troubleshoot.
  • ArincArinc Member Posts: 5
    The PAX driver didn't work for me, but after a lot of futzing around I managed to get it to work by going to the Creative Audio Control Panel under SPDIF I/O and selecting "Play Stereo Mix using Digital Output", then making sure my SPDIF I/O was set to Default Device, and my speakers to "Default Communication".

    It still look a lot of goofing around with SPDIF properties before it worked (incidentially, I'm using DTS Audio, Dolby Digital, and 48kHz), but now that's it's working, I don't want to mess with it to try to figure out why.
  • jonaswashejonaswashe Member Posts: 8
    edited December 2012
    You can't use DTS and Dolby Digital at the same time. Check the Encoder tab on Creative Audio Control Panel to see which one you're actually using.

    My setup will only support Dolby Digital as I am going through an amp which requires it. I am also running Windows 7. Sound is working right now. Will report back when I restart if it stills works.
  • ArincArinc Member Posts: 5
    Ah very good. I should have said that the enabled formats under "Supported Formats" are DTS/Dolby/48kHz
  • jonaswashejonaswashe Member Posts: 8
    I think I've tracked down the issue, and it may be a problem with the game rather than a sound card problem:

    The game appears to mute the in-game sound whenever it detects a flash video playing on the computer. You can easily replicate this by playing a video on youtube with Baldur's gate running in the background. Usually, the sound un-mutes once the Flash video is no longer in focus. However these two programs appear to conflict with that function.

    The problem is that Spotify features video ads, which tend to pop up during playback, and Steam often features videos on the various store pages. This causes Baldur's Gate Enhanced Edition to trigger a state of permanent mute which can only be solved by closing both programs.

    You can replicate this exact problem by installing Steam and Spotify. Then go to a product page in Steam which contains a video (for example, Black Ops 2), as soon as the page loads, the sound will mute in Baldur's Gate. Sometimes after a while the sound will begin working, sometimes closing Steam makes the sound function correctly, but often Baldur's Gate will stay muted until Spotify is closed as well.

    Closing Steam and Spotify causes the sound to un-mute every single time, but if a video play on Steam, and I assume if a Video Ad pops up on Spotify, then game will mute again, often until you close both programs. This is not functioning as intended.

    Whatever is causing this should be added as optional, or removed from the game entirely. Thank you.
  • DralannaDralanna Member Posts: 2
    I'm not sure that's it, jonaswashe. I only have sound problems when I use S/PDIF... if I switch to an analog output, sound works fine. If the problem was a muting issue, wouldn't it affect both?
  • borinotborinot Member Posts: 3
    Still waiting for the sound to make its appeareance, i buyed this game before its release and im very disspointed. make the spdif out work please.
  • AsmodiAsmodi Member Posts: 10
    edited December 2012
    Yeah jonaswashe, I don't think that's the problem either. I am running my sound (and video) via HDMI from one of my Radeon HD 6990's to an Onkyo 7.1 receiver (HT-R680) and the sound doesn't work even if Baldur's Gate is the only thing open and running, not even having a web browser open. Now, when I plug in my Razer headset via USB, abra cadabra I have perfect sound. I've messed with all kinds of settings, updated drivers, and tried every fix relevant to Windows 7 that I've found on the forums with no luck. Here's my complete specs if it helps:

    OS - Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit
    Motherboard - Asus Crosshair V Formula (Realtek ALC982 onboard audio)
    CPU - AMD FX-8350
    RAM - 32GB GSkill Ripjaws Z-Series DDR3 1866mhz
    SSD's/HDD - 2 OCZ Vertex 3 240GB (RAID 0)/2TB Western Digital Caviar Black
    Graphics Cards - 2 Radeon HD 6990's
    Audio Device - Onkyo HT-S7300 7.1 Home Theater System
    Monitor - Samsung UN60D8000 LED HDTV

    As I said, I route my video/audio via HDMI from one of my HD 6990's to my Onkyo receiver; the ATI HDMI audio appears to use a Realtek codec as well. I hope this helps in finding a solution, as I'm tired of having to switch to my headphones whenever I want to play BG:EE!

  • DralannaDralanna Member Posts: 2
    it's been 2 months since this post was created and still no sound using spdif. Any update, or even acknowledgement of the problem?
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