BUG: wrong channel configuration disables Realtek SpeakerFill option
Using chrome/edge with command line parameter --try-supported-channel-layouts in order to make it output sound in (first available) stereo instead of the configured 5.1
This is because otherwise chromium outputs Youtube (or any other) stereo streams to the left front and right front channels of the available 5.1, leaving the audio empty on the others, and then Realtek SpeakerFill does not activate, since it works only when the detected stream is stereo.
This works correctly as long as FxSound is not used, and the music plays on all speakers.
When using FxSound and giving it the Speakers (Realtek (R) Audio) device as output, the SpeakerFill no longer works.
It seems that FxSound is upmixing the stereo track from the browser into 5.1 by simply playing the left and right of the stereo onto the left front and right front of the 5.1.
Another possibility is that FxSound declares to the browser that stereo is not supported and gives it a 5.1 channel configuration, so the --try-supported-channel-layouts defaults to 5.1 and the SpeakerFill option cannot activate.
Any suggestion if this is fixable? Some workaround?
If not can it be fixed in the future?
By the way a SpeakerFill option would be a great feature of FxSound by itself, so people don’t have to rely on drivers or other software.
Right now, unfortunately I cannot use FxSound, because this is a deal breaker.
I don’t have a problem with surround sound itself. It works correctly for every app that outputs surround sound via FxSound.
My problem is if the app outputs stereo sound and my soundcard is configured in 5.1, then I woudl expect FxSOund to accept and forward such stream as stereo.
From what I see somewhere in the path via FxSound stereo is lost, making unavailable the soundcard feature to expand the stereo into surround, since it already is (but not upmixed).
Simply put: I lose the ability to listen to stereo music on all my speakers instead of just the front left and front right.
To clarify I can listen to stereo on all my speakers if I upmix stereo into surround in the app itself.
For example in Winamp or Potplayer this is possible.
However for the browsers there is no “upmixing” functionality.
Plugins have no access to that, only access to effects, like boosting or equalization.
The only way to achieve the functionality I want is to force the browser to think it has only stereo available, via the aforementioned command line switch, and subsequently enable the option in the sound card that expands stereo into surround, which works only when the soundcard is playing a stereo stream.
When using FxSound as the soundcard, it seems that this stereo from the browser either no longer works or the stereo sound when passing through FxSound is given in my default 5.1 channel configuration to the soundcard.
In both cases the soundcard is no longer able to upmix into surround.