Need Voicemeeter To Output 5.1 Sound

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TheVoice
Posts: 29
Joined: Wed Aug 12, 2020 10:19 pm

Need Voicemeeter To Output 5.1 Sound

Post by TheVoice »

I haven't found a way to get Voicemeeter to output 5.1 sound. I'm using Potato v3.0.1.4. Realtek onboard digital output does not work any longer so I disabled it and setup 5.1 through Realtek's analog outs. In Voicemeeter output it's listed as Speakers (Realtek High Definition Audio). I configured the output in Windows as a 5.1 output. Realtek analog outs go to a 5.1 receiver. Receiver has 5.1 channel analog inputs. You can see in Voicemeeter VAIO there is only 2 channels coming through. If I go to the sound settings icon at the bottom right of Windows 10 and select Speakers (Realtek High Definition Audio) thus bypassing Voicemeeter altogether, then 5.1 is passed through to the receiver. Could someone please tell me if Voicemeeter will pass 5.1 sound and if so, how to do it with my setup.
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Andres
Posts: 192
Joined: Fri May 01, 2020 7:25 pm

Re: Need Voicemeeter To Output 5.1 Sound

Post by Andres »

Hi. Voicemeeter Virtual Inputs like Voicemeeter Input, Voicemeeter Aux Input and Voicemeeter VAIO3 Input support up to 8 audio channels. You can therefore use any of the Virtual Inputs to connect your 5.1 audio source. Voicemeeter Hardware Inputs are limited to 1 or 2 audio channels (mono or stereo).

Take the following steps to configure the number of channels for each Voicemeeter Virtual Input using Windows Sound control panel (this example uses VAIO3; repeat the same steps for the desired Virtual Input):
  • (In Voicemeeter) Be sure that the routing mode for the A1 hardware output is set to Normal mode in the Master Section
  • (In Voicemeeter) Route the Voicemeeter VAIO3 Virtual Input to the ►A1 hardware output
  • Go to the Sound control panel and select the Playback tab - Select the device corresponding to the desired Voicemeeter Virtual Input and press the Configure button
    Windows Sound control panel - Configure VAIO3.png
    Windows Sound control panel - Configure VAIO3.png (28.01 KiB) Viewed 22358 times
  • Choose the desired configuration (5.1 Surround) in the Speaker Setup window and press the ►Test button. You should hear the test sound through each of your speakers
    Speaker Setup 5.1 Surround.png
    Speaker Setup 5.1 Surround.png (22.85 KiB) Viewed 22358 times
  • Complete the Speaker Setup process by clicking Next
There is also a special routing mode, called Composite which allows you for example to compose a 5.1 audio signal from any combination of the channels from hardware or virtual inputs using the PATCH COMPOSITE section of the System Settings / Options... window.

Hope this helps. Please let us know if you need further assistance.
TheVoice
Posts: 29
Joined: Wed Aug 12, 2020 10:19 pm

Re: Need Voicemeeter To Output 5.1 Sound

Post by TheVoice »

Andres wrote: Mon Nov 23, 2020 10:04 am Hope this helps. Please let us know if you need further assistance.
Hi Andres,
I tried your suggestions. When I run the test on VAIO 3 after 5.1 setup, I get no sound or sometimes sound through the front speakers only. Although I can see the reactions for all 6 channels on the VAIO 3 meter. I'm using Media Player Classic and when I open a file with 5.1 content, I get distorted sound and even when I close the file, the sound continues until I restart the Voicemeeter engine. What could I be missing?
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Sound Settings.PNG
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Andres
Posts: 192
Joined: Fri May 01, 2020 7:25 pm

Re: Need Voicemeeter To Output 5.1 Sound

Post by Andres »

Hi. The screenshot of Voicemeeter Potato in your last post differs from the previous one in the hardware output selection. Could you please try to perform the following additional tests?
  • Make sure that the Speakers (Realtek High Definition Audio) playback device is still configured in 5.1 mode. Use Windows Sound control panel to test it.
  • Select WDM: Speakers (Realtek High Definition Audio) from A1 Hardware Out selection list.
  • Play some 5.1 content using Media Player Classic. While playing check the level meters at VAIO3 virtual input. You should see 6 bars.
  • While playing 5.1 content check the level meters at A1 hardware output. You should also see 6 bars.
I did a simple test using Media Player Classic and a sample 5.1 audio file and this is the resulting screenshot:
Voicemeeter Potato 5.1 audio test VAIO3.png
Voicemeeter Potato 5.1 audio test VAIO3.png (185.21 KiB) Viewed 22310 times
Hope this helps. Please keep us informed.
TheVoice
Posts: 29
Joined: Wed Aug 12, 2020 10:19 pm

Re: Need Voicemeeter To Output 5.1 Sound

Post by TheVoice »

I 'm confused Andres. You asked me to assign a virtual device to output A1, so I switched it to VAIO3. So It's unclear what I should have in A1 out. When I test speakers Realtek high def audio in sound settings, I can hear all 6 channels. However when I test VAIO3 at first I wasn't hearing anything, but as I write this, it now tests OK with 6 channels. It seems finicky. I uninstalled/reinstalled Voicemeeter today in case a Windows 10 update might have corrupted something. Even when VAIO3 tests out OK with 6 channels, when I play a 6 ch files, it only plays 2 channels. With VAIO3 in output A1 I hear nothing and the meter shows 2 channels playing. When I have Speakers Realtek high def audio set to output A1 I can see and hear 2 channels playing. As I said, my DIGITAL output doesn't work any longer so I'm using the 5.1 analog output. As it seems all the 6 channel files I can find are AC3 or Dolby Digital, I wonder if that is the problem. The 5.1 analog input on my receiver may not be able to decode AC3 and spits out 2 channels as a result.
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Last edited by TheVoice on Sun Nov 29, 2020 11:47 pm, edited 1 time in total.
TheVoice
Posts: 29
Joined: Wed Aug 12, 2020 10:19 pm

Re: Need Voicemeeter To Output 5.1 Sound

Post by TheVoice »

Win Sound Settings.PNG
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Andres
Posts: 192
Joined: Fri May 01, 2020 7:25 pm

Re: Need Voicemeeter To Output 5.1 Sound

Post by Andres »

Hi. I apologize for the confusion. When I wrote:
Andres wrote: Mon Nov 23, 2020 10:04 am
  • (In Voicemeeter) Route the Voicemeeter VAIO3 Virtual Input to the ►A1 hardware output
It should have been written to be more clear:
  • (In Voicemeeter) Turn on the ►A1 button in the Voicemeeter VAIO3 Virtual Input to send the audio to the A1 hardware output
So please keep the WDM: Speakers (Realtek High Definition Audio) selected from A1 Hardware Out selection list.

Since you already configured VoiceMeeter VAIO3 Input as a 5.1 device, try to test it again using Windows Sound control panel. You should hear the test sound through the 6 speakers.

Unfortunately I can't help you testing this setup with the media player since I don't know it. You can find some multichannel audio samples here:
https://www2.iis.fraunhofer.de/AAC/multichannel.html
I used Windows Media Player (downloaded the .mp4 and .wav files) and Google Chrome to playback them and they worked fine. I was unable to play them back using MPC.

Please let me know if you need further assistance
TheVoice
Posts: 29
Joined: Wed Aug 12, 2020 10:19 pm

Re: Need Voicemeeter To Output 5.1 Sound

Post by TheVoice »

Hi Andres,

So I've got it set up as you've described and it tests correctly in sound settings. I found out as you have that MPC will not play the files (my own and those from your link) back correctly while Windows Media Player will. I've been using MPC for years and am pretty disappointed in it's failure in this area, or could it be a compatibility issue with Voicemeeter? In fact when I circumvent Voicemeeter by selecting Speakers Realtek Hi Def Audio from the bottom right of the screen, it plays 5.1 just fine. For some reason Voicemeeter doesn't play nice with MPC in this regard. I'll have to figure out what move to make next. How much time to spend troubleshooting and which player to move to if MPC doesn't work out. Or just work around Voicemeeter.

Thank you for walking me through it. MPC really acted like a smoke screen as I hadn't thought to try another player.
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Andres
Posts: 192
Joined: Fri May 01, 2020 7:25 pm

Re: Need Voicemeeter To Output 5.1 Sound

Post by Andres »

Hi. I know this is a little off-topic but apparently there are different versions of MPC (Home Cinema, Black Edition). The Wikipedia article shows a link to a fork https://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php? ... ost1831201

I used that player to test the same multichannel audio file and it worked flawlessly. The only change that I did was to select the Output device to be the desired Voicemeeter Virtual Input. (Go to View menu - Select Options... - Expand Playback and select Output - Choose the desired device in Audio Renderer list)

Hope this helps.
TheVoice
Posts: 29
Joined: Wed Aug 12, 2020 10:19 pm

Re: Need Voicemeeter To Output 5.1 Sound

Post by TheVoice »

Hi Andres,

Not really off topic as it pertains to my issue. I had heard about the black edition (MPC-BE) recently and tried it last light without success. Then after reading your last comment, I changed the output to a Voicemeeter virtual output and it worked! Then I tried to troubleshoot MPC-HC which has 2 places in the settings to set audio renderer. After failing with that, I went back to MPC_BE and now that failed too. Tried resetting Voicemeeter engine, Windows audio service, rebooting PC and nothing worked anymore. Only 2 channels, even though Voicemeeter virtual output test still worked with 5.1 correctly in Windows sound settings. What a finicky situation!

MPC-HC comes included in a codec pack from small to mega sizes. I uninstalled the K-Lite codec pack, which also removes MPC-HC. After doing that I retested the test file and 5.1 was working correctly! I'm not sure if MPC-BE comes with built-in codecs or not, but it was able to play avi, MKV and MP4 files correctly. It looks like there is some conflict between MPC-HC and MPC-BE and the latter seems to play nice with Potato when the former is not installed. Thanks again for the assist!
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