I installed the latest version of ALVR (20.14.? Stable), I go to my audio section since I have the VACLite installed, and when I try to set it as my mic, it brings up the error that mentions Voicemeeter and / or VB-CABLE not found.
#VAC not being recognized.
gilded snow
gilded snow
-# :(
tribal loom
@gilded snow if you use Virtual Audio Cable, are you able to use the microphone?
gilded snow
I’m able to use the microphone.. In VD.
Through help of VoiceM
When I try to use VAC through the mic selection in ALVR, the error of mentioning it cannot find VB or VM.
tribal loom
hm can you tell me how the VAC devices are called? input and output
gilded snow
From the ALVR Launcher, I think it’s literally none of the options there.
Unless you meant from Windows Sound, then both are called Line 1.
I’m not at home, I could send a screenshot once I get there.
gilded snow
@tribal loom
tribal loom
From the ALVR Launcher, I think it’s literally none of the options there.
you meant ALVR Dashboard?
tribal loom
<@777160299080974376>
also it shows here
yeah ok, we put the wrong name, we use "Virtual Cable 1"
to be fair I haven't tested recently, I thought I tested in the past and it was working. maybe they changed the name in a later release?
hmmm they called both input and output "Line 1"? that makes things so complicated now :(
we search through both input and output at the same time to select the device
I guess we need to do prioritization, for example search first input devices for the input role
gilded snow
oo
gilded snow
you meant ALVR Dashboard?
I always mix up the ALVRs from different platforms.. sorry lol
tribal loom
the reason we search through output device for input is because on Windows we have loopback, ie every output device is also an input device
gilded snow
Well..
I'm not sure if what I'm about to say may involve that expensive kernel audio thing, but err
Let me make a thing rq (list I think)
tribal loom
that's not going to happen
gilded snow
R.I.P, hmm
Well.. is there a way to perhaps err
I mean, Voicemeeter, right?
And like, since ALVR can't have it's own Audio Output, is there a different way?
tribal loom
voicemeeter is not as easy as VAC. I wanted a simple thing that we would eventually make as the only option and install automatically
gilded snow
I see..
tribal loom
basically have the experience of VD but using a third party software, without the user having to care about it
tribal loom
we search through both input and output at the same time to select the device
actually nevermind, this is not true for the microphone pair. we search separately input and output devices, so this is fine
tribal loom
actually nevermind, this is not true for the microphone pair. we search separate...
actually double nevermind, just read the documentation and input devices may contain output devices
not sure what to do because the library we use doesn't support device ids, I made a PR for it but they just said no, while many other people saying they want the same thing
gilded snow
Jeez, sounds confusing..
tribal loom
it seems that the library we use (CPAL) uses the EDataFlow property to check i it's either eRender (output) or eCapture (input). this is what used to show as eitehr input or output. then we could open an input stream on an output device that supports loopback
so this means that the code should be fine as it is
@gilded snow if you want to give it a try now, go to the ALVR audio settings, and put in the microphone device fields "Line 1" and again "Line 1" for both input and output microphone
gilded snow
I just restarted my PC at the right time, will do!
gilded snow
I managed to find Line 1 only in output devices, not input devices.
Should I still proceed with Virtual Audio Cable?
tribal loom
uh
tribal loom
<@777160299080974376>
I was looking at your screenshot
tribal loom
h no, I meant you type it
gilded snow
oh
tribal loom
in the text fields
gilded snow
OHHH, I see-
tribal loom
tribal loom
no no no
gilded snow
oh
tribal loom
you are typing in the wrong field
looka t my screenshot
it should be under microphone
now you need to reset the speaker settings
otherwise ALVR will complain
set headset speaker to device default
any luck?
tribal loom
show me your dashboard settigns
gilded snow
I now have a backend for some reason..
tribal loom
yeah I told you you need to reset the headset speaker settings
gilded snow
I'm sure I did, strange
tribal loom
if you can't change the settings, restart your pc, steamvr might be stuck
tribal loom
you haven't changed the speakers audio again
you need to click "Default"
I don't undrstand how it even works, we have a check to avoid using the same device
it seems that with this configuration, people would her your own speakers thoruhg your microphone
gilded snow
Even when I did default, either worked or backend..
tribal loom
do you understand why you got the backend error?
gilded snow
Not at all.
tribal loom
also could you test using just "Line 1" without (Virtual Audio Cable) ?
gilded snow
I assume it's when the headset stays off for a while
gilded snow
also could you test using just "Line 1" without (Virtual Audio Cable) ?
I sadly can't test atm.. sorry :(
tribal loom
ok. but when you got the backend error, did the microphone continue working after?
gilded snow
Stopped working
tribal loom
stopped or continued?
did you get the error multiple times?
have you checked the log?
gilded snow
When I looked at the logs, yes the error displayed many many times.
tribal loom
ah damn
tribal loom
@gilded snow that error is not even on the microphone side. it;s because you used the same device for game audio and microphone. you need to select another device for speakers
gilded snow
I see, I'll remember that then
tribal loom
ah wait now i see why it didn't stop you...
we only check for that when you explicitly select VAC or VBCable except that was broken...
except we only match by name, that's why we can't completely enforce this
gilded snow
Can't we change an input/output name?
Actually, mayb I should see if that's possible first..
tribal loom
not from ALVR, also there is no use for that
gilded snow
Oh, rip..
tribal loom
ALVR can only identify audio devices by name
if you rename audio devices you will confuse and brea ALVR
gilded snow
Like the actua standard name then.. I'm assuming?
Oh, that's a new fact that I learned then.
tribal loom
let me know when you are back at testing
gilded snow
let me know when you are back at testing
🔔
gilded snow
@tribal loom ping
tribal loom
hey
gilded snow
hi
tribal loom
have you managed to run again without the same device with speaker?
just select default
gilded snow
No mic selected as well?
gilded snow
<@497402160242360322> that error is not even on the microphone side. it;s becaus...
I think you're right, it's not in the mic side. It's in the speaker side.
I selected System Default for the speaker selection, I used Line 1 in windows settings = Backend. I also tried another output, Voicemeeter VAIO3 = Backend.
No mic was selected to also add that on.
tribal loom
hm weird. i think you have some issues with your system then
gilded snow
Either that, or it’s probably what I think..
tribal loom
in any case I think I got enough info and I can push a fix for the microphone
tribal loom
@gilded snow Could you test the current nightly if the issue with VAC is solved? Just select VAC in the presets. If it says that speakers and microphone cannot point to the same device, select some other device for speaker
gilded snow
<@497402160242360322> Could you test the current nightly if the issue with VAC i...
Will do.
gilded snow
@tribal loom done! Ignore the sounds, only thing I could think of. The mic works, this is the sound setup.. however when I re-center, the screen goes to void.
tribal loom
<@777160299080974376> done! *Ignore the sounds, only thing I could think of.* T...
you have yet to change the speaker device just set it to default I said
how did it even run I wonder, we check not to use the same device as microphone
gilded snow
Default was the Line 1
tribal loom
no set it to default i said
gilded snow
It was
tribal loom
the button that says default
gilded snow
I checked windows settings, even in the ALVR Dashboard
tribal loom
the screenshot still says Line 1
also you haven't done what I said
the microphone must be set to VAC, not custom
when you set ti to VAC it should check you're not useing the same device for microphone and speaker
gilded snow
gilded snow
Do I also change anything here?
tribal loom
if you change the preset microphone to VB Cable, what happens to the advanced microphone settings?
gilded snow
tribal loom
I think your installation folders are corruptted
download the launcher again, this time in another location
gilded snow
oh?
tribal loom
then download ALVR again
gilded snow
I'm not good with file locations, so I'll see. Might take a little longer
Unless I just make a new folder for it?
tribal loom
did you use the launcher to download ALVR?
gilded snow
Yes, launcher used to install the Nightly.
tribal loom
ok, download the launchr again, in a different folder
I just tested the dashboard settings myself, this is a problem only on your side apaprently. do as I said redownloading stuff and it should work again
it's important that you don't copy over your session.json. it's that file that's corrupted
gilded snow
Oh.
That's what I did then..
I copid 20.14.0's session over to the nightly
Also, I reinstalled the ALVR launcher to a different folder.
tribal loom
try again without cpying over the session
gilded snow
Completely reinstalled in a new folder, and yet still doesn't allow System Default and VAC
tribal loom
Kill steamvr and try again
Steamvr might be corrupt
I mean, try again without launching steamvr
The dashboard can work without steamvr
gilded snow
I actually have problems opening SteamVR with ALVR, happens all the time.
I will restart my PC instead, drives me nuts
tribal loom
Yeah, don't launch steamvr at all
gilded snow
Okay, restarted the PC.. but wdym don't launch SteamVR at all
Isn't that.. how we test the audio?
tribal loom
no, we're testing the dashboard
the dashboard was not working for you
now try changing again the audio settings using the preset and then check again the advanced settings
gilded snow
Output is System Default, Mic was Disabled. I changed Mic only and selected VAC
So the image above is just all empty @tribal loom
tribal loom
that's not how it should be
it should chahce to default speaker and VAC mic
not text fields
tribal loom
i thought you were using presets...
gilded snow
Okay-
What I was doing the entire time..
- I went to preset page, selected devices
- Went to Audio page, selected Output for Set
- Mic to Custom
I thought that's what you meant when to like see in the advanced audio settings
tribal loom
you were doing things twice
the preset already set the other settings
I only wanted you to "see" not click in the advanced settings
gilded snow
rip.. sorry-
tribal loom
anyway at least the dasboard is not broken
now, set the preset to speakers default and mic to VAC, then test
gilded snow
Never renamed them. 'v'
gilded snow
.<.
tribal loom
though, if you select Automatic for the microphone it should use Virtual Audio Cable with no problems
this is what we look for, in order
automatic will just go through this list in order
gilded snow
So you want me to set the Mic to Automatic rn?
gilded snow
Good / Bad news
ALVR lets me through, but instead no audio because of the Backend Error.
queen troutBOT
Hello! This is automatic message.
If you are seeking help on Windows with audio, you can try asking other people for help and ignore this message.
If you are seeking help on Linux, please make sure to check this page: https://github.com/alvr-org/ALVR/wiki/Linux-Troubleshooting#no-audio-or-microphone
tribal loom
oh yeah, because you're using the VoiceMeeter as system audio, which you shouldn't
select your actual pc speakers for the system audio in the system tray (keep alvr dashboard to default)
you should probably uninstall Voicemeeter if you don't need it anymore
gilded snow
It's pretty useful for VD sadly, so that'll be a problem
tribal loom
just use a different audio output
gilded snow
Especially when I have an Alexa Echo to blast music off from. Also, ofc yes for the different output :)
This output is the monitor, yet the backend error still shows up.
tribal loom
hm try some others for example wired earphones
try this one
you have a bunch called just Speakers, have you renamed them?
tribal loom
i don't know what else to do
usually how do you get speakers audio to work?
for ALVR
gilded snow
Okay, before (months ago), I use Steam Streaming Speakers -> ALVR Output
Then VB-CABLE -> ALVR Mic
Now today, I used Voicemeeter VAIO3 as the Output, mic the same
However since I reset my PC recently, I don't have VB-CABLE installed
Also, found 5 outputs with "Speakers".
tribal loom
can you try Steam Streaming Speakers again?
gilded snow
Oh before I continue
tribal loom
you said the backend error happens even with mic off
gilded snow
can you try Steam Streaming Speakers again?
You want me to set this device as Windows Default?
gilded snow
you said the backend error happens even with mic off
No I have the mic to Automatic rn
tribal loom
No I have the mic to *Automatic* rn
yeah it's fine
tribal loom
try without microphone enabled
gilded snow
No backend error, loaded in successfully.
gilded snow
I'm not sure what changed then.. I forgot the last time I said the backend happened even with the mic disabled
Sounds like a while ago
tribal loom
for me I cannot reproduce the backend error. everytime i select automatic it works
maybe try reinstalling VAC
gilded snow
When I reinstall it, obviously run it as administrator right?
gilded snow
Lovely, I can't uninstall it..
oh nvm
nvm
I can't uninstall it.
@tribal loom , which one do I proceed to open?
tribal loom
Sorry for the delay. Now try testing again
gilded snow
Wait, what do I test again?
tribal loom
Audio
tribal loom
Sure
civic saffron
trying this out myself
on version v21.0.0-dev05+nightly.2025.07.04
i have Virtual Audio Cable installed, with both input and output with their default names (both "Line 1")
in the ALVR Dashboard, in the Headset Microphone setting, when selecting Automatic, I get an output to the headset (through the "Line 1" output), but the "Line 1" input doesn't change (looking at the Windows sound settings, no signal)
when selecting Virtual Audio Cable, I get the following error repeating:
18:54:22.386 ERROR Handshake error for 2950.client.local.: Virtual Audio Cable, VB-CABLE or VoiceMeeter not found. Please install or reinstall one
18:54:27.085 INFO Initial socket buffer size: send: 65536B, recv: 65536B
18:54:27.398 ERROR Handshake error for 2950.client.local.: Virtual Audio Cable, VB-CABLE or VoiceMeeter not found. Please install or reinstall one
18:54:31.090 INFO Initial socket buffer size: send: 65536B, recv: 65536B
when selecting Custom and setting the Sink and Source names to Line 1, it's the same as when selecting Automatic
if I rename the input to "Line 2" while keeping the output as "Line 1", and then setting the microphone's Sink and Source as Line 2, I get this error:
and still no signal from "Line 2" when speaking
@tribal loom anything you'd like me to test?
also I gotta say this: even if I set my headphones as the default Windows output device, the moment ALVR connects to the headset it changes the default output device to "Line 1", and it doesn't get changed back when closing ALVR
tribal loom
Ok, I finally decided to test this all the way through. for some reason Line 1 was selected as default on the system tray which was giving me the error (microphone and output audio cannot point to the same device). when I selected another device, VAC worked as expected showing levels both at the input and output devices. but every time I put the headset off and then reconnect, the default audio device would reset to Line 1. after a few attempt it stopeed doing that and now it works as it should
@civic saffron pings you. just so you know the last nightly fixes the Virtual Audio Cable dropdown selection, but may not solve the issues of input/output Line 1 not being linked. i suggest you reinstall VAC
civic saffron
<@311814678399418370> pings you. just so you know the last nightly fixes the Vir...
gotcha, I'll test it out soon
just so i understand it better, does ALVR explicitly change something about VAC? as in, if I install ALVR and then VAC, does ALVR write something to the config of VAC? Or does ALVR just use VAC "as is"?
tribal loom
if I rename the input to "Line 2" while keeping the output as "Line 1", and then...
by the way, you should not rename the audio devices, also the custom microphone devices are selected from output and input devices respectively. can't point to the same device. in any case you should use the dropdown selection
tribal loom
just so i understand it better, does ALVR explicitly change something about VAC?...
nope. ALVR has no power to change system settings like default audio device
but VAC could, in theory, since it's a kernel driver
civic saffron
got it
tribal loom
so something is up with VAC
civic saffron
@tribal loom just making sure, after installing VAC which input and output devices should i set as default? the VAC device or something else?
tribal loom
in the ALVR dashboard you should set the presets headset speakers as system default and microphone as Virtual Audio Cable or Automatic. don't use the advanced settings. then in the system tray select an output device that is not Line 1
tribal loom
hmmm not sure if that is the microphone or steamvr
civic saffron
alright that was a one time thing
it went out after i changed the windows output device at least
that's the mic!
tribal loom
output?
tribal loom
there is line 1 input and output
civic saffron
so the current state of things is
i had my sound card as the default windows output
when ALVR (with microphone set to Disabled) connected to my headset, i did get sound to the headset
now i have ALVR with microphone set to Virtual Audio Cable, and I am getting a signal from the mic. And Windows is showing that there is signal going to the VAC output. But in the headset I hear nothing. Do note that right now, the VAC output is set as the default windows output device. This was not done by me
aha! And now that I've changed the default output device to my sound card, while the headset still being connected with ALVR, I do get sound in the headset
civic saffron
so the mic works, only issue is with the default output device being set automatically to VAC
civic saffron
does it still switch default output on its own?
yes exactly
civic saffron
i'm trying to tell you
at no point did I set the output to VAC myself
ohg wait
sorry
lemme try
tribal loom
yeah i know. the output changes on its own. have you tried instead changing the input default to something else? in the system settings
civic saffron
i have just done that
tribal loom
I'm thinking that VAC tries to be clever somehow
civic saffron
what should I be looking for?
tribal loom
try again connecting the headset and see if the default output changes again
civic saffron
after putting the headset to sleep, and waking it back up, it connects back to ALVR and neither the input nor the output gets changed
they stay on my sound card
tribal loom
hm yeah. it's random and I cannot reproduce it anymore
civic saffron
im gonna restart my pc and see what happens
after rebooting, defaults are still on my sound card
same after just launching the ALVR dashboard
after the headset connects, the default output is set to VAC, while the default input remains on my sound card
oh god how weird
tribal loom
ooh, it might actually be steamvr the culprit
the output mic device is used just to tell steamvr which device to listen to
actually nevermind, let me chck the code
i found indeed something wonky
civic saffron
first test:
okay so in the initial connection "session" between PC and headset, since the default output is set to VAC then I just hear the headset's mic input in the headset's speakers. During that session, if I change the default output to my sound card, the behavior remains, I still hear the mic in the headset
tribal loom
it seems we set the microphone output as the default steamvr output playback
not sure how that happened
civic saffron
reboot, then second test:
VAC is set as the default output, as expected, but this time I don't hear anything in the headset's speakers. Switching to my sound card and I can hear the pc in my headset
shit's actually random
tribal loom
reboot, then second test:
VAC is set as the default output, as expected, but thi...
you probably would hear your own voice
civic saffron
i didn't
that's the thing
in the second test i talked into the mic and it wasn't being echoed in the speakers
i still get a signal in the VAC input tho
tribal loom
ok, nevermind, ALVR code is not bugged, at least in the way I thought
it could be though that steamvr has some interaction with VAC in particular. maybe because it's used with Steam Link
Steam Link used (or still use) a third party virtual cable
tribal loom
@civic saffron there is one test you can do to confirm this theory
civic saffron
🫡 tell me
tribal loom
go to advanced setting, under microphone, select device custom, then for sink you put "Line 1" and for source you put for example the name of your sound card output
civic saffron
what do I set as my windows default input and output?
tribal loom
you can set your sound card
civic saffron
argh i had to have thwo sound cards named Line
civic saffron
there is another
tribal loom
hmm
tribal loom
ok
civic saffron
look at what it set as the default output after connecting
(i did try steam link vr in the past)
tribal loom
look at what it set as the default output after connecting
not sure what I should deduce
civic saffron
okay so
the Steam Streaming Microphone got set as the default output
the default input is still my sound card
interestingly enough, when sound is playing on my computer, I get a signal going to the Steam Streaming Microphone output, but also to the Steam Streaming Microphone input
civic saffron
so this is what i changed right
maybe since it's called "Microphone" it just detected that one first
argh this doesn't help much
tribal loom
so it seems that the corresponding device output gets selected as default when the input is passed to steamvr from ALVR
could you try with VB Cable?
tribal loom
well first I would try using the presets. so hedset speakers to system default, microphone to VB Cable and system tray output to your sound card
let's see if there is still some weird default changing
civic saffron
i still have VB-Cable installed on my machine btw, is that ok?
tribal loom
sure
civic saffron
this is how it is
restarting SteamVR
after connection, default windows output remains my sound card. Default input gets changed to VB-Cable
they both get signals
tribal loom
oh hm
civic saffron
and i hear my pc in my headset
tribal loom
so we know something is changing default devices, ie steamvr
civic saffron
note that it seems extremely lucky that i suddenly don't get the os error 10053, since i had it before with vb cable
tribal loom
maybe this error has something to do with steamvr attempting to change default device?
maybe steamvr decided again not to change default device
try a pc restart and then try again with vb cable, let's see if you get the os error 10053
civic saffron
🫡
tribal loom
so yeah, I'm theorising that all these wonky issues with vac and vb cable are because of steamvr messign with default devices
OOH i think i know what's happening
it's easier than i thought
I mean, what kind of bug steamvr bight have
civic saffron
try a pc restart and then try again with vb cable, let's see if you get the os e...
do i change the default input back to my sound card first?
tribal loom
when we set the default ALVR headset microphone, steamvr looks for any device that has that name and sets it as default, even if it's not input. that has to be some spaghetti code, to go from UUID to name to setting both input and output...
tribal loom
do i change the default input back to my sound card first?
uh sure, to see if it changes
civic saffron
it connects, and the input is set back to vb-cable ofc
civic saffron
well the error happens once in the logs, however
i do think it also happens just once when using VAC
lemme just check previous logs
oh does alvr not save previous logs into files?
civic saffron
awn
tribal loom
we should probably fix this
civic saffron
well this is with vb-cable as the ALVR mic
17:24:40.724 [INFO] Server connected
17:25:52.108 [INFO] Initial socket buffer size: send: 65536B, recv: 65536B
17:25:52.927 [INFO] Server disconnected
17:25:55.562 [ERROR] Handshake error for 2950.client.local.: An established connection was aborted by the software in your host machine. (os error 10053)
17:25:55.732 [INFO] Server connected
17:25:57.509 [INFO] Initial socket buffer size: send: 65536B, recv: 65536B
17:25:57.813 [INFO] Initial socket buffer size: send: 65536B, recv: 65536B
17:25:57.813 [INFO] Set socket send buffer succeeded: 18446744073709551615
17:25:57.813 [INFO] Set socket recv buffer succeeded: 18446744073709551615
17:25:57.934 [INFO] Server disconnected
17:25:58.237 [INFO] Render Target: 4288 2336
17:25:58.237 [INFO] Refresh Rate: 72
17:25:58.260 [INFO] Audio recovered
17:25:58.300 [INFO] Received new playspace with size: [2.816268, 2.5894444]
17:25:58.737 [INFO] Server connected
17:27:06.404 [INFO] Received new playspace with size: [2.816268, 2.5894444]
17:27:06.409 [INFO] Received new playspace with size: [2.816268, 2.5894444]
17:28:20.281 [INFO] Client disconnected. Cause: An established connection was aborted by the software in your host machine. (os error 10053)
(last error is just me putting the headset to sleep)
civic saffron
yes
tribal loom
and send log
civic saffron
setting VAC as ALVR mic, putting my sound card as in/out defaults
restarting steamvr
tribal loom
ok
tribal loom
it never connects?
civic saffron
it does
last line is Server Connected
VAC was set as default output, sound card remains as default input
tribal loom
VAC was set as default output, sound card remains as default input
default input as you sound card?
civic saffron
mhm
tribal loom
so I think steamvr does set only one device, and which one to select is random (input or output). is they find that one dvice with the right name is already default it will not try to select the default again. So I might have a solution, at least a test
civic saffron
after the headset connects, the default output is set to VAC, while the default ...
same as before
tribal loom
so, try to rename the VAC output to "Line 2" for example. then in ALVR use custom device for mic, and set sink to "Line 1" and source to "Line 2"
if we don't break VAC, this should fix the steamvr bug
also, change back the system default devices to sound card to test
civic saffron
on it
civic saffron
ah lol
tribal loom
if you use output Line 2, then use sink "Line 2" and source "Line 1"
source is the input device that steamvr looks for
civic saffron
got it
OH
okay so i set defaults to sound card, restarted steamvr
upon connection: output stayed on sound card, and input changed to VAC
civic saffron
other issue tho
this keeps happening, and sound playing on my pc going to the headset is mega choppy
tribal loom
hm I don't think this is related
civic saffron
ah ok
tribal loom
restart steamvr and try again?
civic saffron
sure
tribal loom
same settings
civic saffron
still choppy
civic saffron
oh and VAC mic works btw
tribal loom
I wanted to try another experiment
rename "CABLE Input" to "CABLE Output"
civic saffron
sure
tribal loom
then set "CABLE Output" both as sink and source as custom devices mic
gotta be careful with casing
civic saffron
mhm
the "CABLE Output" output is set as default, the input doesn't change
im guessing that's what you expect
tribal loom
im guessing that's what you expect
that's what I expected, it being a bugged behavior
tribal loom
yeah so we found the issue
now, there is the issue of the choppy audio
maybe VAC doesn't like being renamed
maybe instead of Line 2, use another name, then use the instruction as before
civic saffron
okay
tribal loom
if you use output Line 2, then use sink "Line 2" and source "Line 1"
this
civic saffron
tho from my experience with audio in music production, buffer overflow issues tend to stem from something other than just the device's name
tribal loom
yeah, but this in particular could be a bug of VAC, trying to route to a potential Line 2 which sounds like they could support in their full version
tribal loom
civic saffron
now my question would be, is this fixable without complex user intervention?
as in without asking users to go and change the device name
tribal loom
I'm thinking we might have to pull some script that the user has to run as administrator, during the setup wizard for example
though, how much better is VAC than VB Cable
the v20.14.0 was an experiement, making VAC default
apart from this bug, not sure how much it can improve the os errors
civic saffron
VAC doesn't give OS Error 10053 randomly, at least not yet. I'm forced to switch from VB-Cable because that one becomes unusable after the error appears and doesn't want to leave
tribal loom
hm ok
civic saffron
i'd definitely welcome VAC. Last time I installed ALVR with VB-Cable on a fresh laptop I immediately got the OS Error and I just had to play without a mic
now I just hope that VAC will be more stable
tribal loom
ok then, i think you can continue with this new audio setup and you can tell me how usable it is, and how often you get the os error
civic saffron
will do!
tribal loom
thanks :)
civic saffron
thank you 
tribal loom
beside the os errors, I prefer VAC because its license allows for embedding into non-commercial third party software like ALVR. so we could actually finally have mic working out of the box for ALVR
civic saffron
oh that's class
btw if you make a github issue about this device naming bug feel free to send it here and ping me
tribal loom
sure
I'm thinking if we are responsible for this bug after all
there is a way to test this, but I need to add more logs
oh actually it might be us
shit
this is the code that finds the UUID from device name. we are not checking if the device is input or output
so if there are multiple with the same name, the device would be randomly an input or output device
welp, gotta add a fix for this before v20.14.1
civic saffron
doing god's work
tribal loom
i'm just happy we've found this
civic saffron
im so happy i could help ngl
i was almost gonna learn to code just so i can get audio working cuz i was this tired of it
tribal loom
I think the only sane way out of this is to expose the GUID from CPAL. apparently they already have into_raw() methods, we just need a simple "pub" and we are there. gonna make a PR to them
tribal loom
I might make a just a small patch to the WINAPI for now for v20.14.1. this should be enough to unbreak this specific case. but things will keep being weird while there are audio devices with the same name. The full fix might come in a future release, probably with v21.0.0
tribal loom
@civic saffron @gilded snow in the last nightly I should have fixed VAC support. use Virtual Audio Cable from the mic preset; and make sure you haven't changed the names of VAC (both input and output should be "Line 1")
so give it a test and let me know. if it's fixed I'll make a new release
gilded snow
May do this in 1 hour or 2 depending..
-# Unless overridden by cereal
gilded snow
Able to help now! Possibly give me a few minutes.
@tribal loom , I got welcomed with this:
Also, I never renamed the devices.
tribal loom
<@777160299080974376> , I got welcomed with this:
Headset speaker should be set to default
gilded snow
tribal loom
Check your system tray
gilded snow
Windows Default Output is Lina 1
tribal loom
Yeah it must not be line 1
gilded snow
So a random output?
tribal loom
Use your speakers
I think i must remove the selection of the device from ALVR. People keep messing that up
It's redundant anyway when you can set this is the system tray
gilded snow
I choose my monitor's speakers, that led to a Backend error.
I'm going to try the VM VAIO3 as my windows default and see..
^ ^ ^
Same backend.
@tribal loom , I sound rude pinging you often. Just to confirm this isn't a bother, right? 😅
tribal loom
Sorry but it think i'll wait for cereal to test, your system is messed up
gilded snow
That's fine
tribal loom
You probably need a wipe and reinstall
gilded snow
Uhh.. I don't get the backend anymore.
I think VM is in the way of that (the reason of the error)
@tribal loom , I think my audio culprit was Voicemeeter
civic saffron
I'll try it out in a bit
civic saffron
Uhh.. I don't get the backend anymore.
also this has been bugging me, "getting a backend" doesn't mean anything grammatically in this context x3
tribal loom
also this has been bugging me, "getting a backend" doesn't mean anything grammat...
maybe their native language is not english
gilded snow
It isn't my primary
So I can't understand advanced phrases or something
I don't know what it means that it doesn't mean this grammatically
tribal loom
backend is the thing that says in the back, that is the hidden part of a system. for wesites, these are the programs that run on the servers (far away computers) to allow the webpage to load
gilded snow
I see, now I understand it
tribal loom
for audio, i think this is the driver
gilded snow
for audio, i think this is the driver
I did use google to aid this question of what backend meant
It did include audio
tribal loom
oh and, for ALVR, we use a code library called CPAL which uses "backends" what are the specific implementation (driver/APIs) to make audio work. for Windows there is only one backed we use, which is WASAPI
the message of the error comes directly from the library itself, so it's a little vague
gilded snow
ohh
civic saffron
<@311814678399418370> <@497402160242360322> in the last nightly I should have fi...
works perfectly!
tribal loom
Oh good! I think i'll go and remove arbitrary output selection and then make a release
civic saffron
default windows output stays on my sound card, Line 1 input gets mic signal, and i get sound in the headset speakers
civic saffron
Oh good! I think i'll go and remove arbitrary output selection and then make a r...
awesome :D
lyric void
Hello, sorry but I have to continue this thread - I'm currently testing the latest nightly since I was having the same (initial) issue as @gilded snow and couldn't get the sink/source names working.
The good news is: there's no error anymore, but the bad news is the microphone doesn't pick up my voice and the logs are getting spammed with Client client.wired: [Error] Audio record error: Internal
ALVR v21.0.0-dev08+nightly.2025.07.11
I included screenshots of my setup, maybe I messed up something...?
Aaaaaand nevermind, I was just on the wrong client version AND forgot to allow microphone access on the headset
civic saffron
phew
civic saffron
Oh good! I think i'll go and remove arbitrary output selection and then make a r...
hey, sorry if the ping isn't relevant but the Meta Store version is still 20.14.0. I wanted to test the release from the store so that i don't get the anti-piracy pop-up ^^'
gilded snow
this
tribal loom
hey, sorry if the ping isn't relevant but the Meta Store version is still 20.14....
20.14.1 doesn't affect the client so I haven't made a release for it. it's still compatible
tribal loom
I see how the announcement message might have been misleading. Protocol compatibility is broken only for major version changes (X.x.x) not for minor (x.X.x) or patch (x.x.X)
civic saffron
got it
yeah now that im reading the announcement multiple times, I realize that my initial interpretation was wrong, but also I genuinely do not understand what the announcement means
We are lifting ourselves from the difficult task of keeping protocol compatibility between different versions of headset app and streamer.
sounds likeWe have stopped keeping compatibility when the streamer and the client have mismatched versions, meaning you will no longer be able to use a streamer and client that have different versions
You should update the ALVR streamer using the Launcher as soon as a new version comes out to keep things running smoothly. For people using the Quest store release, this is especially important since the Quest might force you to upgrade the ALVR app.
this to me sounds likeYou absolutely must always keep the streamer and client on the same exact version
tribal loom
Well yeah. You know, it's better for users not need to worry when and how to upgrade, just do it always when possible. For meta store users, the auto updating should allow not to worry about that
civic saffron
yea but it makes it look like if you can't update to the latest version in the headset then it won't work
limpid hill
Have you fixed the issue with Virtual audio yet?
tribal loom
Have you fixed the issue with Virtual audio yet?
yes! check the latest release
limpid hill
will do
limpid hill
So, latest release and no need to fumble with the microphone/audio settings anymore?