Playing Audio CDs - Jitter Problem

[JustCantStop]

Hi there...


I've got a strange problem.

When i play audio CDs straight through my CD-Rom drives (using the play button on the face of the drive) they sound fine. However when i use software to play them (such as WinAmp and Media Player) the songs have jitters in them (about 2 jitters per second). Sound from MP3s and Programs is fine.

Please help!


JCS

 

[TyrantSSV]

Hi JustCantStop!

I met such problem. Your CD-ROM drive may be too old and can not read digital audio data. Replace the drive and all will be fine!

 

[underpaid]

Check to make sure that you have an analog cable hooked up between your cdrom and sound card. By the sound of it, you probably have digital audio playback enabled for the drives, and uses up more cpu cycles than what its worth, hence the jittering. After you have the analog cable hooked up, check to make sure that digital audio playback is not checked in the multimedia applet in control panel, (if your're using 98, might possibly be set there in me too, can't quite remember). For 2k it should be in the sound properties i believe, can't remember off the top of my head.

 

[TyrantSSV]

Hi!

When playing audio-CD and control CD-ROM drive from the front panel the drive reads audiotracks and transfers the data on internal DAC, and the generated sound through an audiocable is transferred to a sound card of a computer. That is, the sound card in this case is used as analog mixer only.

When playing audio-CD using Winamp the drive reads audiotacks as digital data and transfers them through the IDE-interface. Further these data loads in a sound card's DAC to produce sound. The sound cable between CD-ROM drive and soundcard in this case is not necessary. But this feature are not supported by old CD-ROM drives.

If your CD-ROM drive not supports this feature only jitters will be audible. If you hear misic and jitters together, your CD-ROM drive supports reading audio tracks as digital data but the problem can consist in a wrong mode for CD-ROM drive or CPU's overloading if you have an AC'97 (software) codec with slow processor. To resolve the mode-related problems be sure to connect CD-ROM drive to separate IDE channel and set UDMA mode off for it.

 

[DorothyDix]

Hi JCS
What version of DirectX are you running?
Go to C:/program files/directx/setup/dxdiag.exe and run it.

This will tell you if you have a problem with Direct sound or anything else to do with directX.It has specific tests for sound so it may pinpoint the problem. If you don't have DirectX 8.1 then it wouldn't hurt to download it and update.

Give it a try anyway.

CYA

PAUL