MrGrynch

Ok, this is getting a bit nuts.. Just found this.. could be a VR game changer (for Meta Quest headsets) D-Link VR Air Bridge

Just ordered about $800 worth of hardware to upgrade my pincab for VR! Going to be upgrading motherboard (z690), CPU (12th gen), RAM (DDR5), cooler (Noctua). Also ordered a better headstrap and link cable for Quest 2 headset. I'm also going to go with Ghost Spectre for my Windows install

Not 100% sure of anything, but... I'm more than 100 starts/exits of PBX without a recurrence. Previously I could get it to happen every 30 starts/exits or so

Well, I think I can call this one resolved! I only installed the driver that came with the card because I couldn't find another way to test the surround speakers in my SSF. That's where the really old .dll came from (2015). I removed the drivers and let Windows install its own (2019). This worked but I was back to not having a way to test/configure the surround speakers. I decided to check the control panel, and I saw the USB Audio device. I checked the menu and was able to find a configuration screen! I then tested with PinVol, EqAPO, Thump and its all working. More importantly, the PBX problem is gone!

The cmedia file referenced is definitely from my recently installed USB sound device. The date on the driver is quite old. I'm going to try a few things to see if Windows has better drivers than the OEM.

Original problem description Update 09/07/22 Serendipity has struck. I have been having issues with sound disappearing within PBX, but not in the tables. The PBX log and ini are fine. I wasn't seeing any error events in Event Viewer. This morning, the problem happened again. I was able to finally confirm that PBX wasn't trying to initialize a different audio source. On a whim, I also decided to run Event Viewer with admin permission, and voila! I see the error that coincides with the problem. See attached image. While this doesn't answer why the frontend seems to be the only thing affected, it does open up some new avenues for troubleshooting

I've just uploaded Table, Launch audio, and wheel images for Balutito's "Big Trouble in Little China" table. It's available from Game Manager and Game Database Manager

The problem is still happening, but I can't seem to capture anything that will reveal why, nor why it is so intermittent. @Draco1962 you can close this

Event Viewer shows nothing of note

I have attached my Device Manager screen. You can see the Sony device is disabled. I disabled the audio on the motherboard via BIOS, so it's not even visible to Windows. As for the ini and log, I have to wait until it happens again.

I've just uploaded Table and Launch audio for South Park (Sega 1999). I've also uploaded a wheel image. It's available from Game Manager and Game Database Manager

If I did, it wasn't intentional, as I haven't explicitly touched them since installing.

Well, so much for that.. today I had a new experience... see attached video. I've also had the no audio problem twice :-( IMG_1898.MOV

So far so good. It was very intermittent to begin with so still evaluating. Looks promising so far

I disabled all audio devices except for the USB. We'll see how it goes

I didn't disable them, but maybe I should. I've got EQAPO configured to only use my USB sound, but... best defense may be not to be there

PBX doesn't direct sound through the center channel (mono). It's using L/R (stereo), so I don't think that's the issue. Once you copy the channels in Equalizer APO, you have to map the source to the copy or you won't get any sound at all. If it sometimes fails to make that mapping, then that could explain the behavior. Just dont know why it would be specific to one program (PBX). I just verified that when it occurs, if I load a table, and exit back to PBX, the problem persists. However, sometimes the sound works fine initially and will fail when I exit a table and go back to the frontend. That doesn't make a ton of sense either. Another possibility is that PBX is trying to use a different audio output than my USB audio. I have two others (TV and Realtek on the motherboard). If that happens, the same effect with occur. I'm trying to determine that now

I was just able to reproduce the problem with PinVol and EqAPO enabled. I have the channels copied so I can redirect the center channel to L/R speakers. It's possible the mapping is not always working, but then that doesnt explain with the tables aren't affected

I'll give it a shot. I've been running PinVol for a long time, so I dont think thats an issue. So I'll focus on EQAPO and Thump

I just added TABLE and LAUNCH audio for Time Lord. I also uploaded a wheel image. It's available from Game Manager and Game Database Manager

Yes, I run PinVol, EQAPO, and Thump. Not going to disable those. Audio is fine for the tables, even when launched from the frontend with no sound. It's only the frontend that has an issue. Nothing of note in the Event Viewer logs. Audio drivers are current. I'll update the frontend and let you know how it goes

Sometimes, when I launch PBX from the desktop, I don't have any sound in the frontend. This also happens occasionally when I exit a table and return to the frontend. The table audio plays just fine. It's only the frontend that is having the problem. Most of the time, I can close PBX, relaunch it and the problem will be gone. It's hard to isolate when it started. I installed the latest version of PBX, but I also added a new sound card to support my SSF. I've attached a video demonstrating the issue. I've also attached a log file recorded at the time the problem occurred, as well as my configuration IMG_1865.MOV pbx_info.7z

Edit: sorry, I did not realize you want it superimposed. You can still do this in Popper at play time, but its more tricky and wont always work (depending on transparency settings). For the frontend, if you can get it to work in play, then you should be able to record it and use it in your frontend media as mentioned below. There are DMD frames you can find online that have sections for the DMD and topper in an integrated frame, but they don't overlap. You can create a simple PuP pack and run the screen configuration. Partition your DMD space for your DMD and Topper accordingly on the DMD screen, and place the resulting PinUpPlayer.ini file in the same folder as your PuP Pack. Then when you run the game it will just work. Make sure to backup your orignal .ini file first. That takes care of how it looks during play. To make it work nice in PBX, simply record your DMD video area and use it as your frontend media

Never heard of that project!! I'll have to check it out! As for VR, I like it for some gaming, but never tried for pinball. I know a few people that really swear by it. I think its a cleaner alternative to having head-tracking gear. In any case, I'm anxious to try it. Haven't heard anything new on the Unreal Engine port either

OK.. I know I said I was broke, but I had to jump on this. I picked up a NVidia 3080-Ti Founders Edition for $825! My goal is to be VR-Ready by the end of September. I hear VR pinball is really cool.