From mAirListWiki

This page contains a description of how mAirList uses sound cards (audio devices), and how to configure them.

Contents 1 Audio Devices 2 Assigning Audio Devices 3 Select device Dialog Box 3.1 Driver 3.2 Device 3.3 Details … 3.4 Channel 3.5 Sample rate

Audio Devices

In mAirList, an audio device is any single audio output channel (usually a stereo pair) on a PC audio card, or on a motherboard.

If your PC has a sound card with two or more output channels, mAirList treats each output channel as a separate audio device.

Assigning Audio Devices

In a traditional analogue radio studio, you connect (for example) a CD player to an input channel on a mixing desk using a cable or a patchbay. In mAirList, making the equivalent connection between (for example) a mAirList player and an audio device (see above) is called audio device assignment.

By default, all audio outputs from mAirList are assigned to the default Windows audio device. You change this by assigning (routing) mAirList Players, the Cartwall, and the PFL players to audio devices using mAirList Configuration. If you wish to set Regional devices, please see the Regional Container article for details.

You can assign any number of mAirList Players etc. to the same audio device, but you can only assign each mAirList Player etc. to one audio device. For example, you cannot assign Player 1 of Playlist 1 to two audio devices, but you can assign all the Players in Playlist 1 to the same audio device. If you prefer, every Player etc. has only one output 'socket,' but all audio devices have an unlimited number of input 'sockets.'

You can also mute a Player etc. by assigning it to the dummy audio device.

To change an audio device assignment:

1. Run mAirList Configuration.
2. Navigate to the page for the assignment you want to change:
   • For a Player or its PFL Player, a Player page
     (for example, Playlists, Playlist 1, Player 1).
   • For the Cartwall or its PFL Player, the Cartwall page.
   • For the Extra PFL Player, the Miscellaneous page.
3. Click the Select button beside the Device assignment you want to change.
4. In the Select device dialog box, make your changes (see below), then click OK.
5. When you have finished making Configuration changes, click Save to save your changes,
   or click Cancel to exit without saving.

Select device Dialog Box

A list and description of the controls in the Select device dialog box is shown below. Usually, you should only change the Device and Channel settings.

Driver

NOTE: Do not change this setting unless you have audio playout problems, and you have read Section 8.2.1 of the manual.

mAirList has three different drivers, each of which sends audio to your device in a different way. Changing the driver may cure audio playout problems, but this is not guaranteed, and you should never change the driver without a good reason.

Always use the default mAirList driver, WDM/MME hardware mixing, if at all possible: it has the least system overhead and usually has the least latency (delay).

Select the driver you want to use by clicking its button:

• WDM/MME hardware mixing
  A WDM/MME driver which uses the sound card hardware to perform all mixing.
• WDM/MME software mixing
  A WDM/MME driver which uses the PC processor to perform all mixing.
• ASIO software mixing
  An ASIO driver which uses the PC processor to perform all mixing.
  (NOTE: Requires an installed ASIO driver for the sound card.)

Device

Select a Windows audio device (usually a sound card or motherboard audio device) by using the dropdown. Select Dummy (no sound output) to mute the output.

There may be two or more entries in the dropdown for the same sound card, especially if the card has both analogue and digital outputs. Check the entire list before making your selection.

The entries shown in the dropdown depend on the currently selected driver.

Details …

Click this button to display a message box listing some information about the currently selected Driver/Device combination, such as number of channels and sample rates available.

Channel

Select an output channel on the currently selected Device by using the dropdown.

Although you can select default to use the Windows default output channel on the device, you should assign a specific channel from the list, especially if you assign two or more Players etc. to the same channel.

If the dropdown does not list all the output channels available on your sound card, check that the Speaker Type set for the card in Windows Control Panel is correct (for example, 5.1 or 7.1). If you still have problems, select Force multichannel output on the BASS.DLL Configuration page, then try again.

Sample rate

The default value is 44100 Hz, which is the sampling rate used on all audio CDs.

Do not change this setting unless you understand the implications of doing so, and you understand why you need to change the setting. Also remember that you will need to change the sample rate to the same value for every mAirList Player, the Cartwall, and all PFL players.

NOTE: This setting is ignored if the default WDM/MME hardware mixing driver is currently selected.