Trainz is not very Bluetooth sound friendly.

JonMyrlennBailey

Active member
I've discovered that if I shut off my Bluetooth headset and turn it back on again during a session, there will be no Trainz sound when the headset is turned on again. I will get no sound whatsoever from either the headset or the PC speakers unless the program is shutdown and restarted. What's the deal with this? It doesn't matter if it's TS 2012 or even TANE SP4.
 
Likely a Windows/Sound (Bluetooth Driver?) issue rather than anything to do with Trainz. Try using Sound Control Panel to select sound output and reconnect again.
 
I've discovered that if I shut off my Bluetooth headset and turn it back on again during a session, there will be no Trainz sound when the headset is turned on again. I will get no sound whatsoever from either the headset or the PC speakers unless the program is shutdown and restarted. What's the deal with this? It doesn't matter if it's TS 2012 or even TANE SP4.

Do not shut off the Bluetooth device while running the simulation. If so you will need to restart the simulation to reinitialize the Bluetooth driver software. Some newer Bluetooth devices and receivers like Alienware Killer Wireless can overcome this.
 
I don't have this problem with other apps on my PC such as YouTube videos or Windows Media Player. Switching on/off Bluetooth devices disables the sound only in Trainz. Trainz has screwy audio.
 
Hi,
All of the Trains programs will use the sound output (as selected in Windows) that was current when Trainz program was started.
If you change the audio output while Trainz is running there's no effect.

I guess that restarting Bluetooth changes the output stream settings - which Trainz ignores.

Colin
 
Either trying to restart Bluetooth or convert back to PC speakers will cause Trainz in progress to go silent. You can start Bluetooth in Trainz, but not interrupt it, lest all sound will be lost until program is shut down and restarted. Trainz software engineers are some piece of work. Most other programs with audio as media players, Windows Sounds and browsers don't seem to go silent when switching between audio outputs. I'm not sure if other sims or PC games behave like Trainz when switching Bluetooth headsets on or off. By my own discovery, TS12 and TANE SP4 behave exactly in the same fashion when switching between audio outputs while the game is in progress. One can't switch between full-screen mode and window minimize/restore down mode while the game is running also. Trainz is not flexible with regards to some settings.
 
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There are other applications that have this issue so it's not just Trainz that's having problems. The issue is how the audio is accessed. Some applications use the audio passively, such as a browser for example. With a browser, the operating system is doing the work and any application that needs to output sounds does so through whatever means is provided. Applications such as games, yes this does include Trainz, Arma3, Cities: Skylines, to name a few, and other audio-specific applications such as those used to edit audio, access the hardware directly via the driver provided by the operating system in order to optimize the performance. What this is doing is it's removing the extra layer of the operating system getting in the way, and the applications talk to the drivers through their own connection. When you disable your Bluetooth device, you are actually disconnecting the hardware driver, without reinitializing a driver connection to the software, and this causes the programs to continue to point to the Bluetooth port. The only way to reconnect to a new hardware device is to restart the program since the original port and connection isn't there any longer and let the program find the new device that's now connected.
 
Simple solution: Don't change your audio output device after starting Trainz. Problem solved!
 
Simple solution: Don't change your audio output device after starting Trainz. Problem solved!

If the battery in my Bluetooth headset is low it could shut off and kill Trainz sound. I tend to have a Trainz session open sometimes and running for days in the background. I have to use my PC for other purposes meanwhile and my headset for other purposes (phone, music, etc.) as well in between. Sometimes I want to have my headset on during Trainz play to get a more awesome sound than my puny desktop PC speakers put out. Other times, the headset gets uncomfortable after wearing so long and I want to go back to open speakers again. Since I have a start-up helicopter in my game, I have to go thru the bother of restarting that as well following a session relaunch. Vulcan's aircraft engines die and chopper blades stop spinning when a session is closed and relaunched. The other bothersome thing about Trainz is I cannot switch between full screen, restore down and minimize window during game play. In full-screen mode, I have to shut the game down and be able to access other parts of my PC. Many programs allow you to hit Escape, Esc, to get out of full screen. YouTube let's you get out of full screen by hitting Esc.
 
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I use old time RF (radio freq) wireless headphones and I really like them. Sennheiser RS120's. In fact, I have four of them I like them so much. They are almost all I use for my Macs, PC, and iPad. The base unit just stays on and plugged into computer's audio output. Simple.
 
It could be that Trainz is a piggy domineering program that has too much control over the computer's hardware but is not smart enough to manage changes between speakers and headset. Windows should be left to run the audio; Trainz should just run the locos.
 
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This problem occurs with my Cowin bluetooth headset as well but it doesn't bother me since I usually have the Trainz sound turned right down. I'd rather listen to music than a half dozen diesels making a racket. :) I don't drive my car with all the windows down so I can hear all the road noise so why would I do it in Trainz.
 
Well to be fair, the sounds in Trainz are an important part of the "experience" for many. Even though the sound quality and options are often criticized in these forums.

If I was a car enthusiast (which thankfully I am not) I would more than likely wind down the windows to get a better appreciation of the engine noises.
 
It could be that Trainz is a piggy domineering program that has too much control over the computer's hardware but is not smart enough to manage changes between speakers and headset. Windows should be left to run the audio; Trainz should just run the locos.

Read my post. To get a bit more technical, it's called DMA or Direct Memory Access, meaning the device hardware is mapped directly so that it has high priority through its drivers. What this means is a program, such as Trainz, can take control of the hardware directly, as I said above, to avoid the overhead of the operating system. When you turn your device off, or the batteries run out and it powers down, the device reference is removed and Trainz no longer has sounds. There are other devices with DMA interrupts such as hard drives. If we have more than one hard drive and the none boot drive goes offline, we lose that drive until the system is rebooted. USB works differently and so do removable hard drives because there are two parts to the driver. The USB device, for example is accessed via special hardware ports, in addition to the physical ports. These have their own way of accessing the peripherals and they apply the disconnect from the outside instead of being directly off of the internal buss.

Hope this explains it.
 
OK, John, how come then sound is not lost in web browsers and media players such as Windows Media Player when audio outputs are switched between Bluetooth headphones and speakers? I guess these apps do not use this DMA sort of thing? Overhead of the operating system? Windows is installed for a purpose and has a number of jobs to do.
 
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