Audio Output
| Output Mode & Output Mode Settings
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Select the output device the program uses for playback. Use the default "Wave Out" and Windows will automatically choose the right playback device. However, if you have multiple sound cards or hi-fi soundcards with multiple outputs, you may want to select other settings. The available modes are:
- Wave Out. This is the default setting. Select the device and buffering under Settings.
- Direct Sound. Use this to route the sound. Settings: Select the device, channels and buffering under Settings. If you are using multi-zone playback, select the soundcard for the zone you are currently setting up, then repeat for the other zones.
- Disk Writer. Use Disk Writer to record sound to your computer. Under Settings, select the path of the recorded file, and whether the output will be one long file, or individual tracks. Output will be WAV
- ASIO: Use this if you have an ASIO device. Under settings, select the desired output, and buffering level.
- Kernel Streaming (MC15). It bypasses KMixer and Windows volume control. This might be interesting when using XP. XP can be configured to deliver bit perfect output but this is probably a better way as no other device can use the sound card during playback.
- WASAPI. Windows own ASIO. A driver available in the new Windows audio architecture (Vista and later). In exclusive mode it bypasses all the mixing, sample rate conversion, etc normally applied by Windows audio engine.
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| DSP & Output Format
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Opens the DSP Studio box, where you can set equalizer, effects, replay gain and output format settings for your output. See DSP Studio (Equalizer, Replay Gain & DSP)
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| Do not play silence
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If this option is selected, the program skips long portions of silence during playback. This is quite useful for hidden tracks or tracks with a lot of leading or trailing silence. This option may not be a good choice for classical music or other genres that contain long, intentional pauses in the middle of songs.
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Audio Settings
| Switch Tracks
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This setting describes how the program sounds when it changes tracks.
- Standard. The traditional method of changing tracks. One track comes to a complete stop, there is a brief pause, and the next track begins.
- Cross-fade (smooth) or Cross-fade (aggressive). This blends the end of one track with the beginning of the next track. It makes track changes smooth - much like the transitions used in clubs and on radio stations. A smooth fade slowly fades one song out as the next fades in. An aggressive fade starts the new song at full volume and slowly fades the old song out.
- Gapless. Track changes are perfectly seamless. There is no pause between the end of one track and the beginning of the next. Useful on classical and other recordings where track boundaries don't always occur during silence.
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| Seeking
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This setting affects how Media Center sounds when it changes position within a track.
- Standard. The old material will stop completely, there will be a brief pause, and then the new material will begin.
- Gapless. The end of the old material and the beginning of the new material are played with no gap.
- Smooth. This blends the old and new material together (cross-fade). The duration of the blend affects how noticeable it will be.
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| Stop
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This determines what happens when you select the stop button on the Player Window. You can have Media Center stop the file immediately or you can have the song fadeout.
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| Alternate Mode Settings
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Media Center saves two playback settings: a default and an alternate setting. Select this and set the options for the alternate setting. To use the alternate audio settings, select Main Menu > Player > Playback Options > Use Alternate Settings. You can also use the keyboard shortcut to toggle: Alt+M.
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Note: Some of these options will only affect the playback of an Audio CD if you have "Use Digital Playback" selected under Tools > Options > CD. Some CD drives do not recognize digital playback. If you have a problem playing Audio CDs, try disabling this option.
Changes to many of the playback settings will not take effect until playback comes to a complete stop and is then restarted.