Multiplay problem

[sleah]

I've discovered a problem with Multiplay, it's my first time using it too!

 

It makes mp3 file sound awful, a bit muffled and distorted, like they are playing through a tranny radio. The same file played on the same machine using a.n.other media player and they are fine.

The problem isn't there with wav files.... and it's not the sound card or even the machine. A second PC shows identical results.

 

Not an isse for this show as I'll just makes sure everything is wav. But could be an issue in the future if I'm presented with an mp3 on the last minute....

 

Methinks it is probably a bug in the mp3 decoder :unsure:

 

Ideas anyone?

 

It's version 2.5.3.0 running on Winders 7.

 

Cheers

[smalljoshua]

It's a known bug, just have a quick converter to allow for last minute files!

 

Josh

[david.elsbury]

Fre:ac (Free Audio Converter) is my go-to for these sort of things, takes almost no time at all to convert files over :)

[ninjadingle]

Or just have your show machine run another OS. My laptop runs XP, is stable as anything and plays MP3 fine through Multiplay - though if given the choice I keep everything in .wav

[sleah]

Thanks folks :)

 

So long as it's not me going daft.... not on this occasion anyway :** laughs out loud **:

 

Oh, BTW does anyone know off top of their heads, the keyboard shortcut for "GO!" on Multiplay?

 

I'm using a touchscreen, but, well, you know....

[DrummerJonny]

Has anyone tried MultiPlay on Windows 8 yet? I'd be interested to know if this bug has carried over...

[Lamplighter]

Oh, BTW does anyone know off top of their heads, the keyboard shortcut for "GO!" on Multiplay?

 

 

 

The default is the space bar, but it can be reallocated in one of the property menus.

Brian

[sleah]

Has anyone tried MultiPlay on Windows 8 yet? I'd be interested to know if this bug has carried over...

 

Shirley the bug would be carried with the version of the software, rather than Winders version? :huh:

 

I've got 8 on a lappy I can try tonight :)

 

 

 

And thanks Brian!

[Lamplighter]

One thing to note, MP3 files play using Multiplay BUT there are issues with the perceived file length. This probably is not an issue if you are playing tracks but can bite if you are using sound effects with tightly edited starts and finishes. This is not experienced using WAV files.

I can only comment on Windows XP not having moved with the times.

Brian

 

 

[DrummerJonny]

Has anyone tried MultiPlay on Windows 8 yet? I'd be interested to know if this bug has carried over...

 

Shirley the bug would be carried with the version of the software, rather than Winders version? :huh:

 

I've got 8 on a lappy I can try tonight :)

 

 

 

And thanks Brian!

AFAIK It's to do with the mp3 codec within W7 (or something along those lines), and the problem isn't apparent using the same version with an older OS.

 

Many thanks for having a look :)

 

 

[timtheenchanteruk]

not used on 8, but have on 7.

 

The other win7 issue to look out for is the delay between pressing GO and the track actually starting.

still have no idea why, but it does it on all 3 of my win7 machines, its not related to if the machine is idle, as Ive tried it on my main home machine, doing something else, then going and clicking "GO" so its not down to the machine being idle.

 

wav/mp3 I can live with, but the delay is getting a bit annoying TBH, I have to put a duplicate muted standby cue in so it is playing when the actual cue needs to be triggered, im looking at weather I can roll back my playback machine to XP, if not I might have to look at an alternative to multiplay.

[DrummerJonny]

Has anyone tried MultiPlay on Windows 8 yet? I'd be interested to know if this bug has carried over...

 

To answer my own question in case somebody searches, this fault (MP3's not playing correctly) has carried over to Windows 8.

 

.wav functions fine, and even seems smoother than on w7.

[TimmyP1955]

8 does not have the "XP Mode"?

[DrummerJonny]

It does, but this doesn't fix the issue unfortunately...

[allanr]

I've been trying out MultiPlay and I'm very pleased with its features and flexibility. However as reported by other Blue Room members, I've found MP3 playback on non-XP PCs problematic.

I ageee it's reasonable for sound effects to be in WAV format, but for simple interval music it would be so much easier to use existing MP3 files without having to convert.

 

After some experimenting, I've discovered a possible workaround/fix.

I confirmed that MP3s play ok on MultiPlay under XP, but that the same showfile on both a Vista 32bit and a Win 7 64bit PC play MP3s in mono. In addition, Windows Media Player (WMP) and applications such as VLC and foobar2k, all play MP3s fine on XP, Vista and Win 7. So what's different about MultiPlay?

 

After a bit of digging around I found that WMP uses decoder l3codeca.acm, and VLC etc use LAME. MultiPlay uses decoder l3codecx.ax on XP, but this file is not included with Vista & Win 7/8, so it defaults with poor results. After copying l3codecx.ax from my XP system to both the Vista (32bit) and Win 7 (64bit) PCs then registering and rebooting, MultiPlay now plays MP3s fine across all the Operating Systems.

 

I've shared this info with David Duffy (MultiPlay author) and he plans to add an entry to the MultiPlay FAQ, but it would be helpful to get feedback from other Blue Room members to check whether this solution fixes their MP3 problems. Also, if you haven't experienced MP3 problems on Vista/Win 7, it would be useful to know what MP3 decoder(s) e.g. l3codecx.ax are on your PC. It's possible that during installation of other audio software you unknowingly added a decoder which MultiPlay uses successfuly.

 

I've included instructions below to assist.

 

AllanR.

 

 

SOME BACKGROUND

------------------------------------

For 32 bit applications like MultiPlay, the system decoders/codecs are usually located as follows:

On 32 bit OS, %SystemRoot%\System32\

On 64 bit OS %SystemRoot%\SysWOW64\

 

Note: %SystemRoot% usually denotes C:\Windows\

 

 

COPY & REGISTRATION INSTRUCTIONS:

--------------------------------------------------------------

Administrator logon required. Take care, usual disclaimers apply.....

 

1) Locate and check the revision of l3codecx.ax on an up-to-date XP SP3 installation. The file is usually held in C:\Windows\System32\. Use XP File Manager "Properties" to check the revision. The latest version is v1.6.0.52, dated 15Jun2010, size 143,422 bytes. It is important to use this latest file because it contains the fix for a security issue identified in KB2115168, see http://technet.micro...lletin/MS10-052

 

2) Copy l3codecx.ax from XP system and paste into the Vista/Win 7 system. For 32bit versions this is usually C:\Windows\System32\

For 64bit versions this is usually C:\Windows\SysWOW64\

 

2) The file now requires to be registered on the Vista/Win 7 system.

- Open a Command Prompt box in RUN AS ADMINISTRATOR mode, and type:

regsvr32 FILEPATH\l3codecx.ax (substituting for "FILEPATH" the actual path on your PC, which depends on whether Vista or Win 7 is 32bit or 64 bit. e.g. C:\Windows\System32\ )

- Press ENTER and you should get the "Successful" message.

Note if you need to reverese (undo) this action, type: regsvr32 /u FILEPATH\l3codecx.ax

 

3) Reboot/Restart Vista/Win 7 PC and open MultiPlay. Play a MP3 file and check the result.

 

Job done?

 

EVEN MORE DETAILS

-----------------------------------

If you attempt to check the file revision of l3codecx.ax AFTER you've copied it to Vista or Win 7/8, you won't see that info. That's because Microsoft File Manager on Vista/Win 7/8 only reports version details of EXE or DLL files. So it is easier to check the version on XP BEFORE you copy over. Once copied to Vista/Win 7/8, a workaround is to temporarily append a .dll suffix to the .ax file, then use File Manager "Properties" as normal to check the revision. After checking, remember to remove the .dll suffix leaving it as .ax

 

end of document.