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cPlay 1.0b17 Released

Change Log (final beta release):

  1. Implement further efficiencies in DSP

  2. Physical RAM allocation method used (for WAV RAM LOAD). Activated when 'AWE' flag is in cicsPlay.ini file. This advanced technique requires LOCK privilege setting! AWE stands for Address Windowing Extensions - allocation occurs directly (system available RAM drops immediately). Windows may NOT allocate all 'Available RAM' - in which case, cPlay reverts to standard approach

  3. Advanced DSP buffer management implemented


Please REMOVE previous versions before installing cPlay 1.0b17.

New buffer management favors lowest stable ASIO latency settings. If latency is too high a warning is given in Diagnostics (just before DSP buffer allocation).

Using AWE
To enable AWE feature in cPlay, you must add the line "AWE" into the "C:\Program Files\cics Play\cicsPlay.ini" file. Next time cPlay is used, RAM will be allocated using AWE. Example:

ASIO=ASIO4ALL v2
ASIOCHANNEL=0
SRC=1
RATE= 48000.000
VOLUME=-14.0
PHASE=0
PLAYBACK=S
DIAGNOSTICS=Yes
FILTER=1
AWE


Diagnostics will show whether AWE was successful at RAM allocation. Process Explorer or Task Manager will not show RAM allocated to cPlay's working storage, instead you'll see the reduction in Available RAM.

Make sure you have LOCK privileges set on your computer. Windows will not offer all "Available RAM" for AWE - in which case cPlay reverts to standard allocation. Adding additional RAM will prevent this. AWE offers the potential to load up to 4GB of RAM - not tested.

How 2 set LOCK privilege
Perform these steps exactly:
  1. Start Menu > Run > enter "mmc" > OK button
  2. File > Add/Remove Snap-in > Add button
  3. Select "Group Policy Object Editor" > Add button
  4. Finish button
  5. Close button
  6. OK button
  7. Local Computer Policy > Computer Configuration > Windows Settings > Security Settings > Local Policies > select "User Rights Assignment"
  8. Double-click "Lock pages in memory"
  9. Add User or Group button
  10. Object Types... button
  11. check Groups > uncheck Built-in security principals & Users > OK button
  12. Enter "Administrators" under "Enter the object names to select" > OK button
  13. Apply button > OK button
  14. File > Save
  15. File > Exit
  16. Reboot

Lock privilege is now enabled. If this is not done, cPlay will fail on AWE and revert to standard RAM allocation.

SRC @145.68db SNR
In above example cicsPlay.ini file, setting 'SRC=1' to 'SRC=0' informs cPlay to use the CPU intensive 145.68db SNR upsampler. Diagnostics will reflect 'SRC(0, rate)' to show converter being used. A word of caution: do NOT attempt to use this on lightweight processors (anything less than E4xxx Core 2 Duo processor). A minimum of 2MB L2 cache is required. For example, the E2140 (1MB L2 cache) and Pentium 4 3GHz (1MB L2 cache) can only accomplish 44.1->48 - anything beyond this results in a locked/slow computer. There's a tradeoff here: more CPU power means more electrical inteference (and increased power consumption) thus reducing benefits of superior upsampling.

E6300 (2MB L2 cache, 1.86GHz) processor just manages to cope with 192k upsampling where CPU load is at ~93% (individual CPU core). There's no chance for undervolting / underclocking. RAM must operate at 266MHz (make sure FSB operates at 1067MHz). cMP using this setup operates without CPU fan giving CPU temperatures of ~65 celcius - this is adequate (system halts at 85 celcius). In cMP, no dropouts or clicks occur when Optimize is set to Critical. Upsampling to 96k may allow for undervolting / underclocking. Intel's new E7200 (based on 45nm technology) may be an excellent choice offering low power consumption and brutal performance.

Only try this with 1.0b17 due to its advanced processing methods, CPU efficiency and reduced Windows Kernel overheads.

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