VA will not play audio file sounds

[Habu]

I have been using VA for over 10 years and starting today, since the v1.11, 64 bit upgrade my profile commands will not play .mp3 or .ogg audio files, which are located in the default VA/Sounds folder. Upon issuing the voice command, the program freezes for about 60 sec. while it searches unsuccessfully for the file, then resumes with a file-not-found error message. The files do play properly in VLC, for instance. I performed uninstall/reinstall of VA with no joy.

[Gary]

Hi, Habu

What do you have set as your Audio Output Type on your Options > Audio tab?

[Habu]

Tried both Windows Media Components and Legacy Audio. Error message says file Not found, but it is definitely in designated folder and spelled correctly. Only system change I made was Nvidia driver update.

[Pfeil]

Have you checked which device is configured as the Windows default playback device?

Nvidia does ship audio drivers, for displays connected through interfaces that support audio, so that could have affected something audio-related.

[Habu]

Win Default Playback = my headset.
Audio Output as Win Media: .wav does not play. "Sound Initialization timeout"
Audio Output as Legacy: .wav plays normally.
Audio Output as Legacy: .mp3 "Unable to play..."

.mp3 and .ogg files play normally in VLC.

[Pfeil]

Are "Legacy Audio" and "Windows Media Components" the only options in the "Audio Output Type" dropdown?

[Habu]

Integrated Components exists also.

[Pfeil]

That would be the preferred option (and the default); is that the one you're getting the " file-not-found error message" with?

Also, what is the complete error message (you can right-click the log entry and copy it)?

[Habu]

Audio Output Integrated Components: will not play .mp3. Error "10:14:55.184 Error initializing sound - Stream failure : Audio stream did not load in a timely manner."

[Pfeil]

Is that the same error message you saw previously?

If you create a new command, add a "Play a Sound" action to it, and leave the "Channel" dropdown set to "Default", does clicking the "Preview" button play the sound?
If not, it play if you set the "Channel" dropdown to your headset instead?

[Habu]

Audio Output Integrated Components, Channel Default. .mp3 does not play. Error "9:33:35.981 Audio stream did not load in a timely manner."
Audio Output Integrated Components, Channel Headset. .mp3 plays normally.

[Pfeil]

Is the "Override Default Playback Device" option on the "Audio" tab of the VoiceAttack options window set to the "Do not override (use Windows Default Playback Device)" option?

[Habu]

Affirm. Switch to headset?

[Pfeil]

Under normal circumstances it should make a difference if your headset is the Windows default anyway, but do try it, yes

[Habu]

Changing Default Override Playback Device to headset seems to correct file playback issues. TYVM for all your help. Still have no idea why this issue cropped up. Been using this file and setup for several years.

[Pfeil]

Normally this type of issue would happen when audio devices have their internal IDs changed, which is something that can happen due to, among other things, a driver update (even if it's not for that specific device), but only if a non-default device is selected within VoiceAttack itself.

You could try changing the Windows default playback device to a different device, and then back to your headset, then change the "Override Default Playback Device" option to do not override, and see if that made a difference.

[Habu]

FYI changing default playback device then back to headset, Do Not Override, also appears to restore normal ops. BZ