.MOV Audio File Playbak is choppy and distorted

Whenever I upgrade K-Lite Codec Pack or a media player, I test the common file formats I use. I was previously running 15.6.5 and everything worked.
Upgraded to 15.9.0 plus the 15.9.1 update. All formats, i.e., mp4, avi, flv, etc played correctly except for a few .MOV audio-only files. The .MOV files started normally, but
after the first five seconds became choppy and disorted. Completely deinstalled K-Lite Codec Pack and the .MOV files played normally (so we assume there
is another codec installed that can play them). Reinstalled 15.9.0 etc and the problem returned. Didn't matter what media player I used, although
my default is MPC-HC. Fully deinstalled 15.9 again and reinstalled 15.6.5. It works correctly. Then found that 15.9.5 was available and was supposed
to correct some issues with .MOV files. Installed it, but the problem came back. So I have currently gone back to 15.6.5. It looks like
something changed since 15.6.5. This is under Windows 10, by the way.

Please upload one of those MOV files for me.
http://www.sendspace.com

Where did you read that 15.9.5 corrects issue with MOV file? Nobody reported any issues with MOV files in the past months.

OK, I upload one of the files. It is called Ivahoe - Rebecca (clip).mov. I swear I saw a one line description of fixes when I checked the site for updates. Not there
now -- guess I am seeing things. In any event, these files have been played correctly for several years and work as of 15.6.5. I only update periodically, so
I can't say what version after that it stopped working at. Note that 3 different media players (MPC-HC, Zoom Player, VLC) all had the same issue, so it was external
to them, not to mention the fact that it plays correctly if K-Lite Codec Pack is removed and fails when the latest release is reinstalled. As mentioned, the first 5
seconds will play normally, then it gets choppy.

You need to copy the link of the uploaded file here.

OK. I've never used sendspace. See if this link works. https://www.sendspace.com/file/i43c46

You know, when I pasted the link, your forum appears to have inserted a link to adfly in front of it. You probably know this, but
if you copy and paste the link location into the browser's address bar and remove the adfly part, it does link to the file download screen.

It plays flawless here with 15.9.5

Check that it uses the correct filters:
MPC-HC menu > Play > Filters
It should show LAV Splitter and LAV Audio Decoder

You could try with a different audio renderer:
MPC-HC options > Playback > Output

It is weird that VLC also had same problem. VLC uses its own internal codecs and K-Lite has no effect on it. So problem might be related to the audio renderer or device driver. Are you perhaps using usb or bluetooth headset?

OK, first as an aside which I did not previously mentioned, I also have MPC-HC (BE). It works fine. I checked the filters as suggested, first with 15.6.5 and then reinstalled 15.9.5
and compared them. They are identical. And the LAV icons do appear in the SYSTRAY indicating they are working. The actual filter is the Apple Sound Media Handler.

MPC-HC (BE does not use LAV; it is using the internal MPC-HC audio handler). But that isn't what the problem is. As you note at the bottom, the issue is
the Audio Renderer. By default, MPC-HC is using the first entry, which is System Default. The last entry was MPC Internal Audio Renderer --- and that works.
The second entry was for my soundcard's speakers -- and that also works. The third entry is for the Default Directsound Device --- and that has the problem.
So as far as the playback issue is concered, leaving it on the souncard's speaker entry solves the problem.

Now, I re-checked what MPC-HC (BE) uses. Its setup is somewhat different, but it was actually using Directsound: System Default, and yet it works.

So the mystery is that K-Lite 15.6.5 and prior work fine with System Default as the audio render (which appears to be the same as DirectSound Default), and
MPC-HC (BE) works with Directsound System Default. VLC Media player can't handle it whether the audio render is set to default or speakers. Zoom Player was
set to DirectSound and had the problem, but changing it to the Speakers seems to fix it there also.

So there is clearly an issue with DirectSound, and yet 15.6.5 works with it, 15.9.5 and the others no longer do. I don't know if its worth pursuing what the difference is
between the K-Lite releases, since that is the variable here. There is certainly a workaround by changing the Audio Renderer.

The default audio renderer in the past was "System Default" and was later changed to "Internal Audio Renderer". So it should already use the good setting by default in 15.9.5. Perhaps you are using multiple user accounts on your computer? The installer can only configure settings for the admin user in case of MPC-HC. For other accounts you can apply correct settings with the Codec Tweak Tool (settings -> reset).

I can confirm the stuttering issue with DirectSound renderer. This is a standard renderer from Windows, so there is nothing I can do to fix it.

Changing the Audio Renderer MPC-HC uses solves the problem. I think we can put this problem to rest. Thanks for the help.
BTW, the MPC-HC was not the one packaged with K-Lite, so it did not see your change to the derault renderer.

I recommend the MPC-HC that is bundled with K-Lite. That way you will always have the latest and best version available. There is no benefit from installing it separately.

It does work with 15.6.5 even with DirectSound, so there is possibly an issue in the audio decoder for this file. I will investigate.

I tested the file and I also have the "choppy sound after a few second" issue when played with MPC-HC & WMP. LAV splitter & LAV Audio Decoder are used.
The audio render was set as "system default", but the issue is gone after setting it to "internal audio renderer" (as you can see in my image, in French the terms are different)



VLC is stuttering immediately.

KLCP 15.9.5 standard upgraded from previous versions, Windows 10 20H2, using S/PDIF output on my integrated Realtek soundcard (ALC1150).