WASAPI crashes Asset UPnP

[Art Evans]

I've not used WASAPI for a few weeks - now I've started to need to use it, every time I choose the soundcard, Asset crashes (disappears from task manager list and can no longer be accessed from playback devices).

This happens regardless of the playback device I'm trying to use.

It used to work fine. I can't think of anything I have changed which might be relevant - so I'm wondering whether a Windows 7 automatic update may have broken it.

Has anyone else started to have trouble with WASAPI playback?

Any suggestions for a fix or workaround?

(I've tried reinstalling, turned off Windows firewall, run as Administrator, etc).

[Art Evans]

SOLVED - WASAPI crashes Asset UPnP

Sorry to have troubled you with this - I've fixed it, though perhaps the fix may help someone else.

The problem was that I have "Airfoil" running on the same system. "Airfoil" is a program which streams any audio playing on your PC to other PCs or to an Apple Airport Express device. It has a setting which is called "Instant Hijack" - this basically interposes Airfoil between your soundcard driver and your soundcard (as I understand it). However, when Asset does much the same thing in WASAPI mode, there's a clash as both programs are trying to grab the soundcard's output at the same time, and down goes Asset.

So, for anyone else who happens to have Asset and Airfoil on the same PC, don't enable "Instant Hijack" in Airfoil. Or (and I haven't tested this myself) put Asset in the "Instant Hijack" exclusion list in Airfoil's settings.

Maybe the moderators might care to amend the title of this thread to include the word "fixed" - I wouldn't want casual readers to think there's any kind of basic problem with WASAPI in Asset - there isn't!

Having fixed this problem I am now able to listen to audio all round my house using "PlugPlayer" running on a $99 Android phone to connect to the full functionality of Asset. This enables me to

- listen to tracks in our 10,000 track collection selected in Asset and play on the phone with high quality headphones

or

- do the same thing but route the playback to the hifi via uPlayer.exe

or

- listen to anything else being played on the computer, routed via Asset's WASAPI option to the phone.

Asset, PlugPlayer, and Android are a pretty killer combination!

Cheers!