SBZ Switcher - Double click Speakers/Headphones mode switching available

here's a hotfix and the requested icon customization for secondary playback devices!

version 1.8.7:
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- fixed exit sound blaster control panel process after switch may result in missing audio.
- added tray icon customization for secondary playback devices.

http://sourceforge.net/projects/sbzswitcher/files/Release/SBZSwitcher_v1.8.7.7z/download

 

This is absolutely flawless applejack, well done!

 

Hi kastriot, device detection is already using such logic, although there's a bit more to it than a simple "if statement", but still.

however I think I found the culprit.
currently, although devicestate 1 is prioritized on multiple device detection, it also accept devicestate 4.
if your previous guid was set in ini and had devicestate 4 in registry, it wouldn't bother searching for other devices (until you delete guid from ini).

thing is, I was mistakenly treating devicestate 4 as "unplugged", while it should have been devicestate 8.
apparently devicestate 4 means "not present / disabled". I should change that to devicestate 8, which is "unplugged".
after all I want to detect relevant device even when all jacks are unplugged.

but there will be another issue to handle differently now. when using stereo direct, the primary guid changes devicestate to 4. it was previously solved as I accepted 4.
restricting it to either 1 or 8 will again break detection when stereo direct is active. I'll probably have to allow devicestate 4 only when stereo direct guid is using devicestate 1.

anyway thanks for letting me know about your issue,
next version will include the fix.

 

I'm using the latest version of SBZ Switcher and am having a problem. If I enable equalizer presets, it gets to the end of the switch and hangs. It seems that the mouse cursor is selecting "Advanced Features" instead of Equalizer and that is causing the program to get confused. I just recently started having this problem. I tried going back to an old version but still had the same issue.

EDIT: I turned the mouse cursor on and the cursor is definitely selecting the "Advanced Features" tab instead of the correct "Equalizer" tab. If I click on the Equalizer tab manually, it finishes the process, otherwise it gets hung up.

EDIT 2: After some digging around, I fixed the problem. The issue was that my Cinematic tab was missing which screwed up the order of the rest of the tabs. I had recently reinstalled my drivers and after I uninstalled everything, I had only reinstalled the driver and not the Dolby Digital stuff. Without the extra stuff installed, the Cinematic tab isn't there and it causes issues.

 

Hi Tyler,

the missing cinematic tab issue has already been addressed in previous versions.

SBZ Switcher check existence of both DDL & DTS packs in registry (specifically their uninstall or add/remove entries).
if both are not found, it should use alternative EQ coordinates to match situation where cinematic tab is missing.

could it be that either DDL or DTS pack was still listed as installed after its removal, or maybe you didn't uninstall them on driver removal and for some reason they had to be reinstalled in order to function with new driver installation ?

FYI, SBZ Switcher also logs its findings regarding DDL/DTS packs existence. it looks like this:

Code:

[00:01:11.483] Dolby Digital Live Pack Installed: 1
[00:01:11.483] DTS Connect Pack Installed: 1

there's also a debug/misc option in extra tab, which force SBZ Switcher to act as if cinematic tab is missing, regardless of digital packs existence.
see "EQ workaround...", originally added for ZxR users with missing/uninstalled daughter board.

 

Important note:

I've just noticed the new driver is now available for download at creative's.
I installed it and turns out it DOES update control panel software from version 2.04.10 to 2.15.04.
I can approve some text/pixels have shifted coordinates (win7 at least), meaning some functionality of SBZ Switcher will break with this update!

thus, the next version of SBZ Switcher will be further delayed as I must implement some small changes.
(damn Creative, instead of adding feature they just move sh*t around, making it harder to support with the 3rd party tool)

I can handle win7 EN/RU/DE, but I need your help for adding win8 EN/RU/DE fixes.
can someone please capture control panel windowed images (ALT+Printscreen) for following categories?

- SBX Pro Studio
- Speakers/Headphones
- Cinematic
- Equalizer
- Profile

I need these 5 images for each lang (EN/RU/DE). you can change software lang. via control panel dropdown menu (requires logoff/logon).

to sum it up, I need 15 images (preferably PNG) to perfectly support new driver
if you decide to help, please notify here so others won't bother to do the same. (I've also requested the images at the Creative's forum thread)

 

I have a ZxR and there was a new driver on Windows Update but not on Creative's website (yet), so the control panel version stays the same and therefore this doesn't affect ZxR owners for now. My control panel version is 2.04.13.

Edit: I downloaded the Z/Zx driver and it looks like it's a unified driver (same version/date as the Windows Update driver I installed for my ZxR a couple of days ago). There's really only one "Z Series Control Panel" so, if you update it manually from the Z/Zx installer, then even as a ZxR owner you could also be affected. I guess it's a matter of time that Creative updates the ZxR driver download page with the new installer.

 

so, no win8.x users with updated driver/control panel (Z / Zx) around here ?

my internal build already support new driver for win7 EN/DE/RU, added encoder toggling, some other fixes and currently working on fully synched user profiles detection/selection.

I hope to not release an update without support for new control panel on win8.
it only takes ~2-5 mins to capture and send 15 images. not asking for much, am I ?
personally I don't even care for win8, its for you guys afterall...

 

version 1.8.9:
-------------
- added support for latest driver (control panel version 2.15.04).
- added toggle encoder hotkey (inc. synced tray menu item and command-line switch).
- added realtime log viewer.
- added automatic user profiles detection.
- updated user profiles setting UI (inc. tray menu sync with current profile).
- updated device detection.
- more tweaks and fixes (inc. SBCP automation timeout, notify save settings failure, ect...)

http://sourceforge.net/projects/sbzswitcher/files/Release/SBZSwitcher_v1.8.9.7z/download

note: win8 DE/RU control panel languages might not be compatible as I only received win8 EN control panel images to work on.

 

First of all thank you for this utility.

Second, how come when I switch from headphone to speaker it automatically defaults to the 5.1 speaker setup option(vs. the stereo mode) in the SB control panel?
*This is not in the windows control panel, but the actual 5.1 speaker setting in SB control panel.
*I have a 2.1 speaker setup.

Not related to your software, but it is related to the Soundblaster Z card, maybe you can help:
This started randomly this morning.
When switching to stereo direct mode sometimes there will be no audio.
Also switching to stereo direct messes with the other options, for instance if I enable stereo direct and then switch to regular stereo I have to set it to 5.1 and then back to stereo in the windows control panel to get audio. The same thing will happen when switching from stereo direct to headphone. Sometimes it will actually take a little while to get the audio back.

I have uninstalled and reinstalled the latest driver.
BTW I could not download the driver from the creative sight because the download speed was horrendous. I had to search for it online! I guess this is a known issue which they said the fixed on 12/29/2014, but it sure does not seem fixed!

 

SB Control Panel should remember your last speakers mode when switching from headphones to speakers.
SBZ Switcher relies on this behavior and simply toggles the speakers/headphones switch. it does not specifically select 2.0/2.1 or 5.1 speakers.

I also manually tested some stereo direct switching in control panel and stumble into bug where switching from stereo direct to 5.1 took a while and resulted in just 2.0 in windows settings without option to change that (I had to switch a couple of times until it sorted out).

these are Creative's drivers/software bugs which has nothing to do with SBZ Switcher, so there's little I can do to overcome it. the best I could do is maybe supply option to specifically select control panel speakers mode instead of just speakers/headphones switch. but this would still just automate user actions and not actually solve any Creative bug so I doubt its worth it.

 

Been using this for a few weeks now and I couldnt live without it. Thank you applejack!

Mods, please sticky this!

 

SBZ switcher systray popup "Category content fade timeout reached" when switching from speakers to headphones; how to fix ?

 

@adrock311, if you're using an Equalizer profile and missing the Cinematic tab in control panel, try enabling the "EQ workaround..." in debug/misc section.
otherwise, which control panel software language are you using ? are you using any SBX or user profile ? anyway I'd suggest you enable logging and send me a log file for when this issue occurs.

 

version 1.9.0:
-------------
- fixed stereo direct detection at launch.
- fixed potential bug when switching tray icon.
- tweaked "sleep after mode switch" delay (increased minimum to 30ms, set default to 40ms).
- tweaked category content fade timeout (increased to 4sec).

http://sourceforge.net/projects/sbzswitcher/files/Release/SBZSwitcher_v1.9.0.7z/download

 

i'm not using any EQ profile, control panel software language 2.15.04; on win 8.1 64 bit with version 1.8.9 ; the error hasn't occured in a long time; it must be very infrequent, maybe a few reboots fixed it? anyway I'll let you know if it happens again, thanks for all your hard work

 

Just in case people hadn't noticed, but Creative just released a driver update for the Z series cards in December. I think it was the first update in a year or so. I just stumbled onto it the other day.

Applejack, SBZSwitcher is still working great for me, thanks!

 

^ its still working as newer versions were made compatible with said driver, which did require some adjustments.


version 1.9.1:
-------------
- fixed issue introduced in 1.9.0 with resetting tray icon on volume overlay, etc.
- added debug option to ignore category content fade-in timeout and continue the switch operation.

http://sourceforge.net/projects/sbzswitcher/files/Release/SBZSwitcher_v1.9.1.7z/download

notes:
debug option to ignore content fade-in timeout allows the app to "blindly" continue operation if it couldn't find selected control panel settings page. it may increase compatibility in some cases, but isn't yet added to main UI, so for enabling its required to edit SBZSwitcher.ini and set "IgnoreCategoryTimeout" to "1" under [debug] section.

oh, I also tweaked delay between feature switches to default at 50ms.

 

version 1.9.2:
-------------
- fixed GDI memory leak when handling tray icons.

http://sourceforge.net/projects/sbzswitcher/files/Release/SBZSwitcher_v1.9.2.7z/download

this should sort out some nasty issues caused over time.

 

Applejack, your app is friggin great. Been using it for over a year now. It's sad that it's even necessary, but I'm incredibly thankful for it.

I recently upgraded from 1.6.7 to 1.9.2 and I'm excited that you've added some colored icons to represent selected Speakers or Headphones. I realize you've already got this app jam packed full of features (and icons) but, if you ever get bored, adding an actual 'headphone' and 'speaker' icon would be icing on the cake.

Thanks again for all the hard work!

PS: i'd post some .ico's i found that could work, but my post count is too low