Fix for the random audio pops - please test!

[delroth]

Hi everyone,

I think I might have fixed the random audio pops that happen with Dolphin even when your game runs at 100%. TL;DR: test https://dolphin-emu.org/download/dev/32579a08dd74d35647c7a016d190a54aae60b97b/ (mixer-rewrite branch), HLE/LLE shouldn't really matter.

Please test for the 92 minutes audio issue again: it's unlikely to happen again, but we're never too sure

This is mostly untested: instead of fixing random pops, it might also crash, eat your babies, etc.

Thanks!

[MayImilae]

It's definitely better. Audio pops are gone, I didn't hear a single one. Unfortunately it isn't all good. I have noticed some odd... hiccups? I guess that's a good word to describe it. The music just stops and goes "HICK". It's much much rarer than the old pops problem though. There was no discernible drop in FPS, nothing else going on with the computer, just random HICK. *shrug* It sounds like a stutter in the audio log, but I'm pretty sure it sounded a little different in game.

Here's an audio log. Because of dialup, I had no choice but to trim it down to just one hiccup and a few surrounding seconds. It's mp3, but 320kbps, so it shouldn't have lost too much quality. This problem seems to happen every minute or so give a few seconds, so it shouldn't be hard to replicate.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/519564/Mixer%20Rewrite%20Brawl%20Hiccup.mp3

Settings:
DSP LLE
DSP on Thread disabled
Xaudio2

Test:
Super Smash Bros. Brawl NTSC
Lylat Cruise level on pause

EDIT: Tried it with Dsound and another stage. Still there. And it definitely sounds different while playing compared to the log. While playing, it sounds like the audio just stops for a tiny portion of a second then lurches back into play. In the audio logs, it sounds like a stutter. It's much more annoying while playing a game. On to another game!

EDIT2: Happens in Mario Kart Wii. Curiously it didn't seem to happen in Super Mario Sunshine. Perhaps the music style makes it hard to hear? I'm going to try more gamecube games.

EDIT3: Melee and Windwaker both have it. Don't know what was going on with Sunshine. I tested it yet again, and Sunshine still doesn't have the hiccups. *shrug* Can someone please reproduce this so I know I'm not going crazy?

EDIT4: Oh, yea, and it pops every time you start emulation. How did I forget to mention that?

[delroth]

degasus pointed out a few bugs in the implementation this morning - I'll fix most of these issues this evening (~12h from now), that should at least fix the "pop" when starting emulation (noticed that one too, was too lazy to fix in the first iteration of that code ). Not sure about these random hiccups yet.

[isamu]

(07-12-2013, 06:45 PM)delroth Wrote: degasus pointed out a few bugs in the implementation this morning - I'll fix most of these issues this evening (~12h from now), that should at least fix the "pop" when starting emulation (noticed that one too, was too lazy to fix in the first iteration of that code ). Not sure about these random hiccups yet.

Interesting. I wonder if this fixes the popping sounds in F-ZeroGX if it's not running full speed? Let us know guys

[delroth]

No, that's not a bug. Don't complain about audio not running at full speed if the game does not run at full speed.

[haddockd]

I should be able to test your new build tonight when I get home. Looking forward to it!

[haddockd]

I played WW with the above build using LLE (not Dedicated Thread) and about every 1.5 minutes (ish) the sound would simply stop for .5 to 1 second and then start back up.

*Anxiously awaits the new build from delroth*
</salivation>...lol

[delroth]

New build to test: https://dolphin-emu.org/download/dev/32579a08dd74d35647c7a016d190a54aae60b97b/

This should fix a few issues.

[MayImilae]

Random pops are back. But they're quieter than on master, so it isn't all bad. And the 1min/1.5min hiccups seem to be fixed, though it's hard to tell through the popping. Swat the new problem and the old one sneaks back in >_<.

[haddockd]

I can confirm MaJoR's findings. I will say that the pops do sound less pronounced and the hiccups have been eliminated