ffplay: WASAPI can't initialize audio client error

[Budman1]

Recently I upgraded my FFMPEG, FFPLAY, and FFPROBE and when I used FFPLAY to preview an FFMPEG script, it played the video without audio and got a "WASAPI can't initialize audio client error" error. Returning to an old version eliminated this error.

Searching the internet for this error I found multiple references to a workaround but I cannot find how this is done or why it needs to be done since my Windows 7 did not have this error in the earlier version and nothing has been changed as far as the audio is concerned.

A workaround is to specify an alternate output driver. Set SDL_AUDIODRIVER environment variable value to the driver you want to use. Under windows 7, directsound and winmm both solved my issue.

Does anyone know how or why I can/should change my drivers and how this would be done. I have a Sound Blaster card and a Sound Blaster GUI to control the audio but there is no reference to setting to direct sound.???


Thanks
Budman111

[pandy]

Same issue on my side - didn't try to solve it so can't help right now - will try later to check some hints.
Seem issue is quite old:
https://ffmpeg.zeranoe.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5192
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/46835811/ffplay-wasapi-cant-initialize-audio-clien...g-3-4-binaries
https://trac.ffmpeg.org/ticket/6891

[autodidact]

It isn't a problem with your soundcard driver. FFPLAY defaults to WASAPI, one of several audio interfaces in Windows, and has a bug that prevents it from initializing. I've been using the mentioned workaround for a while.

At a command prompt type:

set SDL_AUDIODRIVER=directsound

which forces FFPLAY to use directsound instead of WASAPI in the current session only.
To set it permanently, at least until FFPLAY is fixed:

setx SDL_AUDIODRIVER directsound

[Budman1]

@autodidact... thanks for the explanation and the fix. Exactly what i needed. Since I run the ffplay preview from a script I should be able to add it to the script generating code.

I also assume that since it is only for that session, it should not mess up any other program using audio??
Thanks again.

[pandy]

@autodidact... thanks for the explanation and the fix. Exactly what i needed. Since I run the ffplay preview from a script I should be able to add it to the script generating code.

I also assume that since it is only for that session, it should not mess up any other program using audio??
Thanks again.

If you using SETLOCAL in your script then it will be only for particular batch. I assume SDL is used by only some open source software (native Windows application mostly use one of Microsoft API's).