Sonicstage "freezing" Fixed

[JyriK]

I had a really really annoying problem where SonicStage ( versions 2.0 - 2.3)

kept freezing / hanging during mp3 conversion to atrac. It kept happening at random,

so I didnt have a clue at first what the problem might have been.

And searching through this forum & others didnt help at all, everywhere the threads

stopped at either sending the MD unit for repairs or with a link to MS support Article ID : 887811

But I had had it working perfectly for a while, few weeks back until I had to do

a format and reinstall of windows. So with "simple" looking what was new in this setup

I found that ffdshow was the culprit.

Now I have uninstalled it and everything works smooth again!!

I had to post this tale here so that others can learn from it. (Might even want to add this to some kind of FAQ)

Hope this helps somebody.

[dex Otaku]

I found that ffdshow was the culprit.

Now I have uninstalled it and everything works smooth again!!

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If you wish others to learn about or from it, you might consider including the reasons why [at least one of which I posted in your original thread].

This is theory which I haven't had the time to verify yet, but I strongly believe it may be correct:

FFDSHOW contains filters for many audio and video formats. By default, the mp3 filter it uses [on my machine this is libmad] puts out >16-bit audio to the sound card's driver, which will then convert it to 16-bit if necessary.

SS appears to have difficulty dealing with the output of the libmad filter, probably because it is sending out >16-bit audio.

The advantage to FFDSHOW is that it allows near-complete control over what filters decode what streams for both audio and video within directshow applications.

My current proposed solution to those users who wish to stick with FFDSHOW is to go into its audio config dialogue [in the start menu], scroll down to "Input/Output" and under "Supported output sample formats" deselect all but 16-bit integer.

A second possible solution is to, again, open the FFDSHOW audio config and right at the top of the list, select "Codecs", then look for "MP3" and select "disabled" from the dropdown box. This will stop FFDSHOW's included filters from decoding MP3 at all.

FFDSHOW is currently installed on my machine and does not interfere with SS in any way, shape, or form.

[JyriK]

Yeah, I was thinking about that too & planning to do some testing,

but first had to transfer a few albums, now that it is possible

[swan_scribe]

My current proposed solution to those users who wish to stick with FFDSHOW is to go into its audio config dialogue [in the start menu], scroll down to "Input/Output" and under "Supported output sample formats" deselect all but 16-bit integer.

A second possible solution is to, again, open the FFDSHOW audio config and right at the top of the list, select "Codecs", then look for "MP3" and select "disabled" from the dropdown box.  This will stop FFDSHOW's included filters from decoding MP3 at all.

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Thank you so much for your post. I was having the random freezing problem, and I tried everything to fix it. Upgrading, getting that microsoft update and nothing worked until I disabled the MP3 filters in FFDSHOW.

I did have to upgrade my FFDSHOW first, because initially the earlier one wouldn't let me change it, but once I got the latest release, I was able to clear everything up.

So far everything still seems to be working smoothly.

I'm glad I can finally transfer music again. You've made my bus rides a lot more enjoyable.

[Daijoubu]

I've reported this bug long ago and the author of ffdshow managed to reproduce this bug but still haven't fixed it

Just tested with SS3.0, same thing

100% CPU