Is ther an easier way to switch audio output?

August 29, 2008 2:56 PM

On my computer, is there an easier way to switch between two output sources?

I have an onboard soundcard, a soundblaster soundcard, and a USB headset. I would like an easy way to switch my system's audio between these three outputs.

If I'm going to watch a movie or a TV show, I like to watch with headphones on, but if i'm playing a game at the same time, i'd prefer if the game audio goes through my speakers. The only way I know to accomplish this, is to open up the system audio properties, change the output to my headst, start the video, then change it back to my soundcard of choice... there has to be a better way.

for the record, if i could get Media Player Classic to default to my headset, I would be happy, but if i have my soudblaster set as the system default, I can't figure out how to get MPC to default to my headst.

Thanks in advance

posted by Kraki to Computers & Internet (7 answers total)

Does your MPC have a selector for which soundcard to use?
posted by rhizome at 3:46 PM on August 29, 2008

Response by poster: yes. when i change that it doesn't seem to save. It always reverts back to the system default. Its entirely possible I'm missing something incredibly simple though.
posted by Kraki at 3:52 PM on August 29, 2008

Best answer: How's this one?
posted by rhizome at 9:48 PM on August 29, 2008

What you need is something like this; an output switch box.

The way it works is you plug all your audio outputs into the box (so you'll need a few cables) and then run one extra cable to your speakers. Then whenever you want to switch output sources, you just flick a switch. Easy as pie.
posted by Effigy2000 at 11:21 PM on August 29, 2008

It's commonly called an audio switch, here is a bunch at Amazon < $20. Don't mess with two soundcards or any software solution, external hardware switch is cheap and fast.
posted by sophist at 11:41 PM on August 29, 2008

Response by poster: I've looked at hardware audio switches, they fall short. They switch ALL audio, all the time, and they don't allow me to plug in my usb headset.

For example, When I play World of Warcraft, I like the game audio to come out of my speakers. With Ventrilo, I have my voice chat going to my headset. This works perfectly, but I can't get MPC to do the same thing. It always switches to the default system audio output.

The quick system audio switchers work well. While not ideal, that is exactly what I was looking for.
posted by Kraki at 12:50 AM on August 30, 2008

mplayer is rock-solid, plays just about anything, and there's a GUI frontend available that allows you to pick which sound card you want it to use. The only trouble I've ever had with that GUI is that its user interface seems to want to default to Danish, and unless you speak Danish, figuring out that you need to click on the fourth tab and select English under "sprog" is tricky.
posted by flabdablet at 6:31 AM on August 30, 2008