Host OpenAL (ADI)

[kzone]

Does anyone have any idea what this is? Just appeared in my installed programs, something to do with Creative, but i use onboard soundmax, which is good enough for me and don't have a soundblaster installed. Don't even know what installed it...


vista 64prem

 

[mansrm81]

Its part of creative audio card here is a link.

Sound Blaster Gaming: Introduction to OpenAL

 

[stormy13]

Its part of creative audio card here is a link.

Sound Blaster Gaming: Introduction to OpenAL

Yes and no. The Host OpenAL is a software extension that allows non-hardware based sound cards (which would be everything but the Audigy 1/2/4 and X-Fi line (minus the Xtreme Audio)) to use the OpenAL API. Much more info here,

OpenAL - OpenAL® and Windows Vista™

The software extensions were added to OpenAL just over a year ago,

Changes and Bugfixes

* Added new enumeration extension (ALC_ENUMERATE_ALL_EXT) to use AL on any soundcard / audio endpoint
* "Generic Hardware" device only appears in the enumeration string if it can be used
* Fixed alcGetIntegerv's requirement for an active context
* Fixed alcCaptureOpenDevice so that it returns 'NULL' if the capture device fails to open
* Fixed software reverb bugs (Reflection Delay and Air Absorption HF)

Downloads

It seems that it just took ADI (no idea if or when RealTek added it, but assume they have) a while to integrate it into their drivers (and can be installed manually from the link above).

 

[kzone]

Thanx Stormy13, i'll just leave it alone then...

 

[KrossX]

Yes and no. The Host OpenAL is a software extension that allows non-hardware based (?) sound cards (which would be everything but the Audigy 1/2/4 and X-Fi line (minus the Xtreme Audio)) to use the OpenAL API. [...]

Non-hardware based?... Virtual devices?

It's just the software needed for to use the OpenAL API, you may consider it analog to OpenGL but for Audio. Under Vista, is the only API that can actually use your Hardware Sound acceleration directly and EAX for Creative capable soundcards.

Even Host based Creative cards (non-DSP cards like CA0106 Audigy SE and X-Fi Xtreme Audio) can use the API even if only for positional audio without EAX.

 

[vipx1]

I had this "Host OpenAL" on My Windows 7 machine which does not use a Creative sound Card. I have a SoundMAX software utilty for my sound card.
I removed "Host OpenAL" and had no bad effects.
This "Host OpenAL" only arrived after installing a 3rd party gadget..?