Using VST plugins and ASIO for everything?

Question

Just a thought. Oh how much I'd like this!
To be able to use universal VST plugins and ASIO for everything directly from Windows would be ideal. To put this simply, making the Creative Windows "mixer" a true equivelent of a pro-software mixing app (Ableton, ProTools, Sonar, Cubase, or any other) in terms of absolute control for all Audio effects and I/O.
If Creative won't ever do this even on their next gen cards, somebody or some company that knows a decent mixer setup should write such a replacement mixer soon offered at a fair price (if not free) that will do so with easy, complete, reliable integration.
Long and specific
VST related:
- Use X-Ram to cache inserted VST plugins. Now theres a potential great reason for it since it obviously doesnt use any to cache the I/O bus like ALL OTHER periphials that have Ram caches. Its use is dictated by software, so why not?
- Allow setting some tiny but likely necessary amount of X-Ram as an additional plugin audio I/O buffer. This should be much less than what mixing software needs for this setting since that would all have to pass the CPU.
- Use Creative's processing hardware directly instead of the CPU so VST plugins won't increase CPU usage (within reason of course).
- Yield overhead when using lots or higher-demand plugins if set in bit-match mode. Why waste all that power for SRC when Voxengo R8Brain or plenty of other pro software can do that a million times better and way faster in non-real-time? OK, only Creative could work this one in.
- Why VST plugins? I'd trust my favorite EQ, digital limiter or whatever that has 64-bit float internal precision and oversampling vs. a 24-bit (rounding-error heaven) with no oversampling like the built in Creative ones.
- If Creative has confidence in the quality of their own propriety effects, doesn't have to be VST but simply making them usable as a ReWire bridged devices into most any host with parameter automation controls and all. Obviosly these could have much lower latency than VST that normally relies on CPU processed software code.
- The only argument against this is that some VST plugins have huge latencies. Optional latency delay to keep tracks
- Allow Creatives hardware to insert as a ReWire slave or otherwise bridged device to ASIO-based apps so VST's can be outsourced from demanding more CPU when mixing. I could also add MIDI plugin effects as well.
ASIO related:
- Allow changing any and all audio I/O routing for individual channels on the fly for Windows and ANY software (not just ASIO compatible stuff). Just like in Ableton, Pro Tools, and every other WELL designed "mixer".
- Treating XP itself and any software that normally goes through DX/MME/etc to use this ASIO mixer by making it appear as an insert send/return in the mixer so it can get routed and processed individually to my liking.
- Can insert send/return signals for any DX/MME/etc program to/from any track or #tracks in any combination up to some reasonable limit with pre/post gains. At least several send/returns slots per channel.
- A game that uses ASIO would be sweet. 0% FPS drop. IMO DX/MME/wave-mapper sound sucks. No control, many wasted CPU cycles, and horrible latency.
- Ability to save/load PROGRAM-specific routing chains. Having it so simly running a certain program will automatically insert it how/whereever I specified, if not default, with all relevant I/O settings, including plugins and related settings that were put in the insert send/return path series to that program of course.
- Put real-time SRC, compression encoding/decoding, or any Creative effects as well whereever I want in the signal chain, whether universal to a track I/O or program insert send/return I/O.
- Ability to record tracks or the master likewise.
- No digital feedback possible caused by monitering/recording/routing configs that would be possible in any decent mixing software. Surely not ever from a default setting or made sometimes impossible to prevent like on the Audigy series. Well unless I do something stupid that SHOULD cause feedback. Speak of a truly worthless mixer, this BTW is the ONLY reason I couldn't just go the manual route and run my host all the time, forcing ALL sounds through it for real-time playback with my Audigy. I'm assuming XiFi's Audio-Creation Mixer doesn't have this horrible problem.
- Imagine putting any combination of sounds in 7.1 surround, monitering specific channels to any physical output, or up/downmixing 5.1 as it plays in real-time, etc. any thing like this possible instantly with a few mouse clicks! This would be SO EASY and completely possible to implement, most of the above right onto existing XiFi's as is.
It's not like it would be competing with pro-interface rackmount products so no harm to Creative. I sure as h*ll wouldn't record with any soundcard's analog pre's or unbalanced connections for that matter. Guess I just love the interface and control of a REAL mixer that can do it all.

Answer 1

cusis wrote:
But would it be possible to somehow use the power of the card to take on some of the load of the cpu, users would surely then see alot more benifits from these cards.
I don't see why this isn't possible with enough X-RAM. Why no host apps support offloading VST plugin cache buffers and rendering threads to it? I'm probly returning my XiFi and sticking with my old Audigy 1 until either I blow it up or Creative makes a REAL upgrade with most the aforementioned features that literally COULD'VE been implemented in XiFi's current hardware.
If they do, they'll have my business and many others I'm pretty sure. Creative, if your listening and you want to like triple your sales - PLEASE get a clue and get the software end right. Microsoft or any audio host software developers, heres your (fat) chance if Creative wont do whats really their responsibility.
If ALL apps were forced to pass through ASIO as I mentioned, this could force all apps and games to use part of X-RAM as an I/O buffer no matter what specific support is. The same way a video card can offload ALL video including Windows, not just when running certain games, or even worse, certain audio apps lol that specifically support video RAM and DX performance controls! That would be the stupidest, most worthless idea and why Video Cards don't waste their hardware this way. And yet this is what XiFi currently does regarding audio. Somebody change this SOON.
This would be SO cheap and easy for Creative toss together and implement and would solve EVERYONE's problems and make ALL games at least get SMOOTH AUDIO. He!! Creative could charge $30 extra for it or just push out a new line of cards and itd still be worth it. Creative, did you read that part? More profit$$$ Like a video card upgrade, I EXPECT a night vs. day improvment but as it stands, XiFi is simply a glorified Audigy that costs more but much LESS likely to work right.
More importantly, its use of ASIO (the real deal) remains no less limited than an old Creative card from way back when. If Creative wants their soundcard to integrate with software better, learn from Nvidia/Ati and deliver the goods as they've done it all along.