Develop Reference

SharpDX XAudio2: 6 SourceVoice limit

I have been playing around with SharpDX.XAudio2 for a few days now, and while things have been largely positive (the odd software quirk here and there) the following problem has me completely stuck:
I am working in C# .NET using VS2015.
I am trying to play multiple sounds simultaneously.
To do this, I have made:
- Test.cs: Contains main method
- cSoundEngine.cs: Holds XAudio2, MasteringVoice, and sound management methods.
- VoiceChannel.cs: Holds a SourceVoice, and in future any sfx/ related data.
cSoundEngine:
List<VoiceChannel> sourceVoices;
XAudio2 engine;
MasteringVoice master;
public cSoundEngine()
{
engine = new XAudio2();
master = new MasteringVoice(engine);
sourceVoices = new List<VoiceChannel>();
}
public VoiceChannel AddAndPlaySFX(string filepath, double vol, float pan)
{
/**
* Set up and start SourceVoice
*/
NativeFileStream fileStream = new NativeFileStream(filepath, NativeFileMode.Open, NativeFileAccess.Read);
SoundStream soundStream = new SoundStream(fileStream);
SourceVoice source = new SourceVoice(engine, soundStream.Format);
AudioBuffer audioBuffer = new AudioBuffer()
{
Stream = soundStream.ToDataStream(),
AudioBytes = (int)soundStream.Length,
Flags = SharpDX.XAudio2.BufferFlags.EndOfStream
};
//Make voice wrapper
VoiceChannel voice = new VoiceChannel(source);
sourceVoices.Add(voice);
//Volume
source.SetVolume((float)vol);
//Play sound
source.SubmitSourceBuffer(audioBuffer, soundStream.DecodedPacketsInfo);
source.Start();
return voice;
}
Test.cs:
cSoundEngine engine = new cSoundEngine();
total = 6;
for (int i = 0; i < total; i++)
{
string filepath = System.IO.Directory.GetParent(System.IO.Directory.GetCurrentDirectory()).Parent.FullName + #"\Assets\Planet.wav";
VoiceChannel sfx = engine.AddAndPlaySFX(filepath, 0.1, 0);
}
Console.Read(); //Input anything to end play.
There is currently nothing worth showing in VoiceChannel.cs - it holds 'SourceVoice source' which is the one parameter sent in the constructor!
Everything is fine and well running with up to 5 sounds (total = 5). All you hear is the blissful drone of Planet.wav. Any higher than 5 however causes the console to freeze for ~5 seconds, then close (likely a c++ error which debugger can't handle). Sadly no error message for us to look at or anything.
From testing:
- Will not crash as long as you do not have more than 5 running sourcevoices.
- Changing sample rate does not seem to help.
- Setting inputChannels for master object to a different number makes no difference.
- MasteringVoice seems to say the max number of inputvoices is 64.
- Making each sfx play from a different wav file makes no difference.
- Setting the volume for sourcevoices and/or master makes no difference.
From the XAudio2 API Documentation I found this quote: 'XAudio2 removes the 6-channel limit on multichannel sounds, and supports multichannel audio on any multichannel-capable audio card. The card does not need to be hardware-accelerated.'. This is the closest I have come to finding something that mentions this problem.
I am not well experienced with programming sfx and a lot of this is very new to me, so feel free to call me an idiot where appropriate but please try and explain things in layman terms.
Please, if you have any ideas or answers they would be greatly appreciated!
-Josh

As Chuck has suggested, I have created a databank which holds the .wav data, and I just reference the single data store with each buffer. This has improved the sound limit up to 20 - however this has not fixed the problem as a whole, likely because I have not implemented this properly.
Implementation:
class SoundDataBank
{
/**
* Holds a single byte array for each sound
*/
Dictionary<eSFX, Byte[]> bank;
string curdir => Directory.GetParent(Directory.GetCurrentDirectory()).Parent.FullName;
public SoundDataBank()
{
bank = new Dictionary<eSFX, byte[]>();
bank.Add(eSFX.planet, NativeFile.ReadAllBytes(curdir + #"\Assets\Planet.wav"));
bank.Add(eSFX.base1, NativeFile.ReadAllBytes(curdir + #"\Assets\Base.wav"));
}
public Byte[] GetSoundData(eSFX sfx)
{
byte[] output = bank[sfx];
return output;
}
}
In SoundEngine we create a SoundBank object (initialised in SoundEngine constructor):
SoundDataBank soundBank;
public VoiceChannel AddAndPlaySFXFromStore(eSFX sfx, double vol)
{
/**
* sourcevoice will be automatically added to MasteringVoice and engine in the constructor.
*/
byte[] buffer = soundBank.GetSoundData(sfx);
MemoryStream memoryStream = new MemoryStream(buffer);
SoundStream soundStream = new SoundStream(memoryStream);
SourceVoice source = new SourceVoice(engine, soundStream.Format);
AudioBuffer audioBuffer = new AudioBuffer()
{
Stream = soundStream.ToDataStream(),
AudioBytes = (int)soundStream.Length,
Flags = SharpDX.XAudio2.BufferFlags.EndOfStream
};
//Make voice wrapper
VoiceChannel voice = new VoiceChannel(source, engine, MakeOutputMatrix());
//Volume
source.SetVolume((float)vol);
//Play sound
source.SubmitSourceBuffer(audioBuffer, soundStream.DecodedPacketsInfo);
source.Start();
sourceVoices.Add(voice);
return voice;
}
Following this implementation now lets me play up to 20 sound effects - but NOT because we are playing from the soundbank. Infact, even running the old method for sound effects now gets up to 20 sfx instances.
This has improved up to 20 because we have done NativeFile.ReadAllBytes(curdir + #"\Assets\Base.wav") in the constructor for the SoundBank.
I suspect NativeFile is holding a store of loaded file data, so you regardless of whether you run the original SoundEngine.AddAndPlaySFX() or SoundEngine.AddAndPlaySFXFromStore(), they are both running from memory?
Either way, this has quadrupled the limit from before, so this has been incredibly useful - but requires further work.

UWP AudioGraph setup not working in all devices, HRESULT: 0x88960001 thrown on AddOutgoingConnection

I'm having trouble with a AudioGraph in a UWP app. My trouble is that when I'm adding adding an Outgoing Connection to my input device node I get a Exception thrown with HRESULT: 0x88960001.
Using trial and error I figured out that the problem is with the MediaEncoding profile I set on both the input and output node... but I have now 2 settings only work on one machine and the other only works on another machine... I needed the audio to be Single Channel, 16bit sample with a 16K sample in PCM.
The code I'm using is fairly simple and was based on samples that exist online, the thing is it works only on some microphones and not others... I needed it to be generic and have always the same output so that I can input that to my service endpoint.
I left the 2 AudioEncodingProperties settings there (one of them commented out)
var result = await AudioGraph.CreateAsync(
new AudioGraphSettings(AudioRenderCategory.Media));
if (result.Status == AudioGraphCreationStatus.Success)
{
this.graph = result.Graph;
var microphone = await DeviceInformation.CreateFromIdAsync(
MediaDevice.GetDefaultAudioCaptureId(AudioDeviceRole.Default));
// Low gives us 1 channel, 16-bits per sample, 16K sample rate.
var outProfile = MediaEncodingProfile.CreateWav(AudioEncodingQuality.Low);
//outProfile.Audio = AudioEncodingProperties.CreatePcm(16000, 1, 16);
outProfile.Audio = AudioEncodingProperties.CreatePcm(44100, 2, 32);
var inProfile = MediaEncodingProfile.CreateWav(AudioEncodingQuality.Low);
//inProfile.Audio = AudioEncodingProperties.CreatePcm(16000, 1, 16);
inProfile.Audio = AudioEncodingProperties.CreatePcm(44100, 2, 32);
var outputResult = await this.graph.CreateFileOutputNodeAsync(file,
outProfile);
if (outputResult.Status == AudioFileNodeCreationStatus.Success)
{
this.outputNode = outputResult.FileOutputNode;
var inputResult = await this.graph.CreateDeviceInputNodeAsync(
MediaCategory.Speech,
inProfile.Audio,
microphone);
if (inputResult.Status == AudioDeviceNodeCreationStatus.Success)
{
//EXEPTION IS THROWN HERE
inputResult.DeviceInputNode.AddOutgoingConnection(
this.outputNode);
this.graph.Start();
}
}
}
else
{
throw new Exception("Could not create AudioGraph");
}
Thank you guys for our help

Instead of constructing the inputResult with the inProfile.Audio object, try using the default encoding properties for the graph:
var enc = graph.EncodingProperties;
CreateAudioDeviceInputNodeResult deviceInputNodeResult = await graph.CreateDeviceInputNodeAsync(MediaCategory.Media, enc, this.outputNode);
I had a similar issue and this cleared things up, and allowed the audio to be input from any device without specifying the encoding profile.

Monotorrent Peermonitor downloadspeed not updating

Hell all,
I'm having the following problem:
When I am trying to get the downloadspeed for every peer in a torrent with the MonoTorrent libary, It just retus zeroes. I get the downloadspeed for every peer like this:
foreach (PeerId p in manager.GetPeers())
{
nTorrentPeerStatus pStatus = new nTorrentPeerStatus();
pStatus.Url = p.Peer.ConnectionUri.ToString();
pStatus.DownloadSpeed = Math.Round(p.Monitor.DownloadSpeed/1024.0, 2);
pStatus.UploadSpeed = Math.Round(p.Monitor.UploadSpeed/1024.0, 2);
pStatus.RequestingPieces = p.AmRequestingPiecesCount;
s.PeerStatuses.Add(pStatus);
}
This always returns zeroes for both the down and upload speed. But when i place a breakpoint on one of these lines, they return something else than zero? So does anyone have any idea why it does work when I place a breakpoint and wait a few seconds before continuing instead of just getting all the download and upload speeds at once?

WP8.1 - C# - Overlapping audio with MediaComposition class

I am developing a voice recorder app for Windows Phone 8.1 that stores the recordings on the local storage and a cloud storage service.
Everything's almost done except the fact that being able to pause an ongoing recording is a strong requirement for this app and I have to get it done.
Now, since PauseRecordAsync() and ResumeRecordAsync() are not available for Windows Phone 8.1 in the MediaCapture class but they will be available in Windows 10, I had to make a workaround: Every time the pause button is pressed, an audio chunk is saved in the temp folder and that file is stored in an array. When the stop button is pressed, the last chunk is stored in the array and the following Concatenation function is called and a final audio temp file is created:
public async Task<IStorageFile> ConcatenateAudio([ReadOnlyArray]IStorageFile[] audioFiles, IStorageFolder outputFolder, string outputfileName)
{
IStorageFile _OutputFile = await outputFolder.CreateFileAsync(outputfileName, CreationCollisionOption.ReplaceExisting);
MediaComposition _MediaComposition = new MediaComposition();
MediaEncodingProfile _MediaEncodingProfile = MediaEncodingProfile.CreateM4a(AudioEncodingQuality.High);
foreach (IStorageFile _AudioFile in audioFiles)
{
if(_AudioFile != null)
{
BackgroundAudioTrack _BackgroundAudioTrack = await BackgroundAudioTrack.CreateFromFileAsync(_AudioFile);
MediaClip _MediaClip = MediaClip.CreateFromColor(Windows.UI.Colors.Black, _BackgroundAudioTrack.TrimmedDuration); // A dummy black video is created witn the size of the current audio chunk.
// Without this, the duration of the MediaComposition object is always 0.
// It's a messy workaround but it gets the job done.
// Windows 10 will dirrectly support PauseRecordAsync() and ResumeRecordAsync() for MediaCapture tho'. Yay! :D
_MediaClip.Volume = 0;
_BackgroundAudioTrack.Volume = 1;
_MediaComposition.Clips.Add(_MediaClip);
_MediaComposition.BackgroundAudioTracks.Add(_BackgroundAudioTrack);
}
}
TranscodeFailureReason _TranscodeFailureReason = await _MediaComposition.RenderToFileAsync(_OutputFile, MediaTrimmingPreference.Fast, _MediaEncodingProfile);
if (_TranscodeFailureReason != TranscodeFailureReason.None)
{
throw new Exception("Audio Concatenation Failed: " + _TranscodeFailureReason.ToString());
}
return _OutputFile;
}
The problem is that when I play the file, all the audio chunks are played from the beginning of the final audio file at the same time instead of playing the second one right after the first one ended and so on. They are all playing one over the other. The length of the file on the other hand is correct and after all audio files finished playing, it's total silence.

I figured it out. I had to manually set the delay for BackgroundAudioTrack.
Here is the working code:
public async Task<IStorageFile> ConcatenateAudio([ReadOnlyArray]IStorageFile[] audioFiles, IStorageFolder outputFolder, string outputfileName)
{
IStorageFile _OutputFile = await outputFolder.CreateFileAsync(outputfileName, CreationCollisionOption.ReplaceExisting);
MediaComposition _MediaComposition = new MediaComposition();
MediaEncodingProfile _MediaEncodingProfile = MediaEncodingProfile.CreateM4a(AudioEncodingQuality.High);
TimeSpan totalDelay = TimeSpan.Zero;
foreach (IStorageFile _AudioFile in audioFiles)
{
if (_AudioFile != null)
{
BackgroundAudioTrack _BackgroundAudioTrack = await BackgroundAudioTrack.CreateFromFileAsync(_AudioFile);
MediaClip _MediaClip = MediaClip.CreateFromColor(Windows.UI.Colors.Black, _BackgroundAudioTrack.TrimmedDuration); // A dummy black video is created witn the size of the current audio chunk.
// Without this, the duration of the MediaComposition object is always 0.
// It's a messy workaround but it gets the job done.
// Windows 10 will dirrectly support PauseRecordAsync() and ResumeRecordAsync() for MediaCapture tho'. Yay! :D
_MediaClip.Volume = 0;
_BackgroundAudioTrack.Volume = 1;
_MediaComposition.Clips.Add(_MediaClip);
_MediaComposition.BackgroundAudioTracks.Add(_BackgroundAudioTrack);
_BackgroundAudioTrack.Delay = totalDelay;
totalDelay += _BackgroundAudioTrack.TrimmedDuration;
}
}
TranscodeFailureReason _TranscodeFailureReason = await _MediaComposition.RenderToFileAsync(_OutputFile, MediaTrimmingPreference.Fast, _MediaEncodingProfile);
if (_TranscodeFailureReason != TranscodeFailureReason.None)
{
throw new Exception("Audio Concatenation Failed: " + _TranscodeFailureReason.ToString());
}
return _OutputFile;
}

Is there a way to check if a printing process was successful?

I have an application where I need to print a ticket. Each ticket must be unique. The application is windows forms and written entirely in c#. For our application we're using Samsung ML- 2525 laser monochromatic printers.
The flow is basically the following, the operator picks a product/ticket (which is unique) and then it presses a button that does 2 things:
Connects to a database and updates the product as used
Prints the ticket (this is done using System.Drawing and GDI+)
For some reason, every once in a while, the image that needs to be printed is not sent to the printer. It's a rare case, but it happens.
I tried to connect to the printer using Win32_Printer ( http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/Aa394363 ) but I can't get to get the current printer's state (online, offline, low toner, paper jam, etc). I can only check if the printer exists and that the paper size is installed correctly. I tried code similar to the following but it didn't work
private string MonitorPrintJobWmi()
{
var jobMessage = String.Empty;
var scope = new ManagementScope(ManagementPath.DefaultPath);
scope.Connect();
var selectQuery = new SelectQuery { QueryString = #"select * from Win32_PrintJob" };
var objSearcher = new ManagementObjectSearcher(scope, selectQuery);
var objCollection = objSearcher.Get();
foreach (var job in objCollection)
{
if (job != null)
{
jobMessage += String.Format("{0} \r\n", job["Name"].ToString());
jobMessage += String.Format("{0} \r\n", job["JobId"].ToString());
_jobId = Convert.ToInt32(job["JobId"]);
jobMessage += String.Format("{0} \r\n", job["JobStatus"].ToString());
jobMessage += String.Format("{0} \r\n", job["Status"].ToString());
}
}
return jobMessage;
}
I tried to get an API for the printer but I couldn't get a hold of it. By the way, the printer's software do indicate different errors in the windows toolbar.
My question is if anyone can lead me in the right direction as to how to connect to a printer and check if printing was successful.
Also, it would be helpful if someone know of some other specific printer in which I may accomplish this ie, changing hardware.
Thanks,

To get a list of print queues on the local machine, try PrintServer's GetPrintQueues method.
Once you have an instance of the PrintQueue object associated with the relevant printer, you can use it to access the printer's status (IsOffline, IsPaperOut, etc.). Also, you can use it to get a list of the jobs in the given queue (GetPrintJobInfoCollection) which then will allow you to get job-specific status information (IsInError, IsCompleted, IsBlocked, etc.).
Hope this helps!

After try to print your PrintDocument (System.Drawing.Printing), try to check status of printjobs.
First step: Initialize your printDocument.
Second step: Get your printer Name From System.Drawing.Printing.PrinterSettings.InstalledPrinters.Cast<string>();
And copy it into your printerDocument.PrinterSettings.PrinterName
Third step: Try to print and dispose.
printerDocument.Print();
printerDocument.Dispose();
Last step: Run the check in a Task (do NOT block UI thread).
Task.Run(()=>{
if (!IsPrinterOk(printerDocument.PrinterSettings.PrinterName,checkTimeInMillisec))
{
// failed printing, do something...
}
});
Here is the implementation:
private bool IsPrinterOk(string name,int checkTimeInMillisec)
{
System.Collections.IList value = null;
do
{
//checkTimeInMillisec should be between 2000 and 5000
System.Threading.Thread.Sleep(checkTimeInMillisec);
// or use Timer with Threading.Monitor instead of thread sleep
using (System.Management.ManagementObjectSearcher searcher = new System.Management.ManagementObjectSearcher("SELECT * FROM Win32_PrintJob WHERE Name like '%" + name + "%'"))
{
value = null;
if (searcher.Get().Count == 0) // Number of pending document.
return true; // return because we haven't got any pending document.
else
{
foreach (System.Management.ManagementObject printer in searcher.Get())
{
value = printer.Properties.Cast<System.Management.PropertyData>().Where(p => p.Name.Equals("Status")).Select(p => p.Value).ToList();
break;
}
}
}
}
while (value.Contains("Printing") || value.Contains("UNKNOWN") || value.Contains("OK"));
return value.Contains("Error") ? false : true;
}
Good luck.